I'm New York City

thirty one

Today, I'm going to James' birthday party. I've been really excited for this since it's one of the very little times I get to leave the house. All of our friends would be there and more of James' friends. Mom and Ivy are coming along with me, but I'm just glad to be surrounded by all of them again. 

"Do you have her present, Sage?" Mom asks as we're about to head out the door. I nodded my head, holding up the teal gift bag with white glittery tissue paper peeking out of it. 

When we arrived, I was immediately greeted by James who opened the door and basically screamed in my face from excitement. Ivy was quick to run off to hang out with the younger kids upstairs and Mom greeted James before going into the kitchen where her parents were. 

"Oh my god, we're gonna have so much fun tonight. Is your mom letting you sleep over?" James asks as we walk into the living room where a couple of friends are sitting. 

"I didn't even ask yet," I mumble, receiving a shocked look on her face. I knew that if I asked while I was at home, Mom would really say no, but I plan to ask her when James is next to me.

I handed James her present and sat down next to Lily and a couple others. There were a lot of faces I knew, but mainly because I've just seen them around when I did go to school. We all basically talked for quite a while, catching up on a lot of things, especially what I've missed in school. 

"Oh hey! Sage, meet the new kid in our grade, Mason. Mason, this is Sage, she's homeschooled," Aubrey says and Mason reaches out and we shake hands. 

"Hi," I say in a low voice. I didn't want to be weird, but I'm hardly ever around boys my age. At this point, I didn't know how to interact with them. There were a couple other guys in the room, but I knew the rest of them.

I see little Erica peeking behind Aubrey and I give her a smile, waving. This little girl was basically living with Aubrey. James went into the kitchen to fetch a couple more snacks since they were going really quickly. They turned on a video game and some girls sat on the floor, while the rest stayed seated on the couch. I really enjoyed how chill this was going.

"Hiii Sage!" Erica says, jumping onto the spot next to me. I chuckled, greeting her back as she stayed tucked to my side. 

After a while of watching them play, Mom and James' parents came into the room to see what we were all up to. I saw Mom give Erica a weird look, but I glared at her since she about made it awkward. 

"Are you guys ready for cake?" Aunt Blake asks and James groans, pausing the game.

"Momm, this isn't a little kid's party," James says, clearly annoyed. I chuckle a little knowing my mom is the same way.

"Well, I want my pictures with the birthday girl and her cake. Come on, gather around the table and we'll sing, eat cake, and you guys can go back to doing whatever," Aunt Blake instructs and we all get up. 

Uncle Ryan calls the little kids down from upstairs and they all come running into the room. We all get on one side of the table, the little kids in front of us as James is centered in the middle. I was shocked to see Mason standing beside me, but there was barely any room, so I didn't blame him. 

"Okay, smile!" Aunt Blake says after we finished singing to James and we pose for a like a million pictures before she was satisfied. 

Mom helps with cutting the cake and it was red velvet which wasn't my favorite, so I didn't have a piece. Mom knew that, so she didn't hand me any. I sat back down in the living room and immediately regretted it when James' younger siblings all came in telling me about their day and the rest of their plans for tonight. 

"Oh my god, guys, leave!" James yells, pointing back up the stairs. I chuckled, shaking my head, watching the kids run up the stairs. 

They resume the game while eating cake and I felt someone sit next to me. I thought it was Erica, but when I looked over, it was Mason. I kept my eyes glued onto the screen, knowing it would be rude if I just got up from my spot. 

"Are you not going to have any cake?" I hear Mason ask. 

I shake my head, "I'm not a big fan of red velvet," I reply.

Mason nods his head, going back to eating his piece of cake. I took quick glances at him every once in a while. There are so many places to sit, why are you sitting next to me? I saw Mom looking from the kitchen, basically staring at me. Her expression was firm, looking back and forth from Mason and I.

"Sage, go ask your mom to sleep over," James urges, standing in front of me. 

"You need to come with me," I sigh, getting up from my spot. 

Mom quickly turns to me, giving me a soft look as she puts her arm around me. James chuckles slightly as Mom basically waits for me to say something. 

"Can I sleepover with the rest of them tonight?" I ask in a quiet tone. Mom furrows her eyebrows, looking back and forth between James' parents who just smile.

"She'll be fine, Taylor, we're all going to be here," Uncle Ryan assures her.

Mom sighs, looking around the room, thinking. "I don't know, babe," she goes on.

"What's going to happen? It's just us and we are in James' house with her parents present," I explain. 

"I guess so..." Mom sighs. 

"Just for tonight. I'm getting you in the morning," she continues as I immediately nod my head. 

James basically lets our a squeal as we head back to the living room. I see Mason still in the same spot, but this time Erica is in my spot and talking to him. James and I sit down next to Aubrey who watches Erica, laughing to herself. 

"Mason is never going to escape her," Aubrey chuckles. 

"She'll be talking her mouth off the whole night," James says.

"Wait, is he sleeping over too?" I ask, looking over at them.

"Yup. Don't worry, he isn't anyone you should be afraid of. He is really cool and since he is new to the school, this group is the closest friends he has," James explains to me. 

I nod my head, knowing that if Mom found out about this, she would take me home with her. It didn't take long before Ivy came down the stairs, clearly annoyed with some of the other kids and how they aren't playing the way she wants them to.

"Okay, you call me if you need me to come get you right away. Stay safe and listen to Blake and Ryan. I love you so much," Mom says, smothering me in kisses as we stood by the front entrance.

I quickly nodded my head, not wanting her to embarrass me any farther. She gives me one last big kiss on the forehead before she headed out with Ivy. Aunt Blake chuckles as she closed the door and I go join the others again.

"Sage, you'll sleep in my room with Lily, Aubrey, and Erica. I don't care who sleeps beside me, Lily or you. Erica won't leave Aubrey, so they're sleeping on the blow up bed on the floor," James explains. 

James goes on, explaining the rest of the sleeping arrangements and Mason will be sleeping in another guest room with James' cousin, Luke. The night went on pretty quickly as we all started preparing for bed. Everyone ended up exhausted earlier than I thought, but they all blame it on using up all their energy so early on in the party. 

As I'm walking out of the guest bathroom, I pass Mason in the hallway who seems to bed headed towards it.

"Good night, Sage." he says with a quick smile.