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Apparently, Noah's version of 'party time' turned out to be babysitting for Lily. It's Sunday, and Ashley got called into work unexpectedly, so she texted Noah this morning and asked if we could look after her for the evening.

We spend the rest of our morning moving the last of my stuff from Olivia's into Blake's house. We all then unboxed my new Xbox together, took turns having Blake drive us around on his motorcycle, and organized the rest of my clothes in a few of his spare drawers. 

After Blake and I took a nap in his bed while the other two watched Spongebob in the living room, we got the call from Ashley at around 4 pm that she was heading to work soon, so we all hopped into Noah's truck to drive there.

As we arrive at Lily's house, we all buzz with excitement to see her again. Even though we just saw her at the recent football game, we only got to talk to her for a few minutes before Coach Wilson was yelling at us to get back onto the field.

With quick steps, we make our way up Lily's driveway, the gentle rustling of the wind accompanying our excited chatter.

Blake knocks on the door and it is opened a second later by Ashley dressed in scrubs, looking a bit stressed.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice, I didn't expect to get called into work today," she grimaces nervously.

"Don't worry about it!" Olivia smiles. "We'll take any chance we can get to spend some time with Little Lily."

Ashley nods and smiles. "I can see about running to the ATM after work to pay you guys, I don't know how much-"

"No, don't even worry about that," Blake interjects, shaking his head.

Ashley glances between us nervously, biting her lip. "Are you guys sure? You've already done so much for us with the football games and Justin even said you bought his last plane ticket. I'd hate to take advantage of all your kindness."

We spend the next minute or so reassuring Ashley that we all really don't mind before our conversation is interrupted by the sound of Lily's laughter echoing throughout the house.

Her little feet patter against the hardwood floor as she races toward us with outstretched arms, aiming for Blake first. He pulls her into a tight hug and Ashley gives her a kiss on the head, telling her to be good before thanking us one more time and getting into her car.

"Lily, you've grown since we last saw you!" Noah exclaims, lifting her up playfully. She giggles, shaking her head. "You just saw me!"

"Yes, but now that you're seven, I hear little girls grow over an inch a day!" Noah jokes, setting her down.

"Really?" she asks with wide eyes. "Maybe I'll be taller than Black soon!"

We all laugh and she turns to lead us into her house. She brings us into her all-pink room, her shelves lined with dolls of all shapes and sizes.

We all sit down on the cozy rug in her room, surrounded by her plush toys and brightly colored books.

Lily hands all of us a Barbie. "Let's have a tea party with our dolls!" she exclaims, her voice filled with the purest form of excitement.

We arrange the dolls around a small, make-believe table, pouring invisible tea into tiny porcelain cups. Our voices take on new inflections as we animate the dolls, weaving tales of friendship and royalty.

I giggle as Blake doesn't even attempt to make his voice for the doll high-pitched. When he asks Lily's doll for more tea, his voice comes out alarmingly deep.

Lily giggles at Blake. "Barbies don't sound like that!"

"Mine does," he grins.

We spend the next hour or so playing pretend with all of her dolls and I can tell Blake and Noah are getting a bit antsy, despite enjoying spending time with her.