Chosen Read Free

going out with Jack for two point five weeks as of today. (We all know because Damien is ridiculously romantic and he celebrates the half-week anniversaries as well as the weekly ones. Yes, it makes the rest of us gag. In a nice way.)
    â€œHello! Speaking of presents!” Shaunee said.
    â€œYeah, bring that overbowed box over here to the present table and let Zoey get to opening,” Erin said.
    I heard Jack whisper to Damien, “Overbowed?” and caught Damien’s
help
look, as he assured Jack, “No, it’s perfect!”
    â€œI’ll carry it over to the table and open it first.” I snatched the package from him, hurried to the table, and started to carefully extract the ginormous green sparkly bow from the red foil saying, “I think I’m going to save this bow because it’s so cool.” Damien gave me a thank-you wink. I heard Erik and Shaunee snickering and managed to kick one of them, which shut both of them up. Putting the bow aside I unwrapped and opened the little box and pulled out . . .
    Oh, jeesh.
    â€œA snow globe,” I said, trying to sound happy. “With a snowman inside it.” Okay, a snowman snow globe is
not
a birthday present. It’s a Christmas decoration. A cheesy Christmas decoration at that.
    â€œYeah! Yeah! And listen to what it plays!” Jack said, practically hopping up and down in excitement as he took the globe from me and wound a knob in its base so that “Frosty the Snowman” started tinkling out around us in painfully cheap and off-key notes.
    â€œThank you, Jack. It’s really pretty,” I lied.
    â€œGlad you like it,” Jack said. “It’s kinda a theme for your birthday.” Then he shot his eyes over to Erik and Damien. The three of them grinned at each other like bad little boys.
    I planted a smile on my face. “Oh, well, good. Then I’d better open the next present.”
    â€œMine’s next!” Damien handed me a long, soft box.
    Smile wedged in place, I started to open the box, though I couldn’t help wishing I could turn into a cat and hiss and run from the room.

 
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CHAPTER TWO
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    â€œOooh, it’s beautiful!” I stroked my hand over the folded material of the scarf, thoroughly shocked that I’d actually gotten a cool gift.
    â€œIt’s cashmere,” Damien said smugly.
    I lifted it from the box, thrilled that it was a chic, shimmery cream color instead of the red or green birthmas presents I usually get. Then I froze, realizing I’d been thrilled too soon.
    â€œSee the snowmen embroidered on the ends?” Damien said. “Aren’t they adorable?”
    â€œYep, adorable,” I said. Sure—
for Christmas
they’re adorable. For a birthday present, uh, not so much.
    â€œOkay, we’re next,” Shaunee said, passing me a big box haphazardly wrapped in green Christmas-tree foil.
    â€œAnd we didn’t follow the snowman theme,” Erin said, frowning at Damien.
    â€œYeah, no one told us,” Shaunee frowned at Damien, too.
    â€œThat’s okay!” I said a little too quickly and enthusiastically, and then tore into their package. Inside was a pair of black leather stiletto boots that would have been utterly cool and chicand fabulous . . . had it not been for the Christmas trees, complete with red and gold ornaments, that were stitched in full color on the side of each boot. This. Can. Only. Be. Worn. At. Christmas. Which makes it definitely a lame birthmas present.
    â€œOh, thanks.” I tried to gush.
    â€œThey’re really cute.”
    â€œTook us forever to find them,” Erin said.
    â€œYeah, plain boots would not do for Ms. Born-on-the-Twenty-Fourth,” Shaunee said.
    â€œNo indeedy. Plain old black leather stiletto boots would never do,” I said, feeling like crying.
    â€œHey, there’s another present left.”
    Erik’s voice pulled