Sparkling Hope (The Eastburgh Devils Series Book 1)

‘You guys don’t light up at all,’ said Aria, tumbling toward us with open arms as Luna and I arrived at the corner of the sofa where our friends were.

‘Not anymore,’ Carter laughed, putting his lips to a cup.

Luna kicked him in the calf with her foot for his comment.

‘Come here. We need to keep drinking before Trevor turns twenty-one,’ Charles yelled over the loud music, handing us both a cup that smelled strongly of vodka and an energy drink.

Trevor, who everyone was here for, was standing on the table again and excreting beer through a hose that came out of a canister. This guy had an alcoholic stomach almost as big as Carter’s.

Only the difference, that the morning after, Trevor almost falls off his skeleton, and Carter can kick three pucks in a row into the net without complaining about any typical hangovers.

Like I said, the guy was a god in that regard.

I’d even give him my liver if I had a second one because I’d never want to miss him on the ice, but hopefully, he was aware that if we were allowed to sign a New Jersey Devils’ contract, he wouldn’t be allowed to drink as much at parties.

Carter mostly drank only at parties but absolutely did not know his limit.

I was already counting the days until, one day, we would be on the ice next to each other in the same jersey.

Only there was one problem.

The New Jersey Devils weren’t just the only team that wanted Carter. The Columbus Blue Jackets thought he was great, too.

Aria smeared something on Luna’s face and approached me with the can.

‘Do you have to do that? I’ve had enough of this.’

Aria stood before me, staggering from one leg to the other. ‘Don’t be like that,’ she slurred.

I felt her cool finger on my cheek.

‘Done,’ she grumbled proudly, glaring at us.

On Luna’s cheek was an eleven.

‘Now you both have the number eleven on your cheek.’

My back number, and now?

‘Remember that situation where Henry brought us jerseys for the game?’

‘Yeah?’ said Luna, looking at me in confusion.

‘That was all on purpose.’ Aria drew out the word all extra long and held a finger to her mouth in response, ‘but shhh.’

What the, from the bottom of my heart, fucking fuck?

A voice suddenly roared out before Luna, who looked just as dumbfounded as I was, could say anything. All heads turned toward Trevor, who was no longer standing alone on the table, but Spencer was hugging him with one arm.

‘We’re all going to count down right now, and then we’re going to celebrate the first wrinkles on this old fucker’s ass.’ Spencer raised his cup, which spilled over.

People started counting down from thirty, and Luna and I and our friends approached the table and mingled with the crowd. I put my arm around Luna’s waist, knowing she didn’t like the thought of her birthday being in thirty seconds.

With the touch, I tried to let her know that all was well and she could relax.

‘Five…Four…Three…Two…One,’ everyone counted down, and at zero, we all yelled HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

There was cheering, clapping, and confetti cannons exploding from all directions. I turned to Luna and glared at her before pulling her close and approaching her lips, and she wrapped her arms around my neck.

‘Happy birthday, Hazel Bug,’ I breathed against her lips and kissed her again.

‘Thank you, Wes,’ she whispered against my lips as she pulled away from the kiss.

I adored this girl so much that I couldn’t put it into words. No words can describe how intensely I felt for this girl, falling more in love every second.

Carter extended his hand in Henry’s direction, who looked at him confused after they all wished Luna a happy birthday.

Aria almost screamed the whole house together as she hugged Luna, and they both nearly lost their balance after she loudly slurred HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BESTIE.

‘What?’ Henry asked, confused.

Carter continued to hold his hand stubbornly in front of him.

‘Fifty dollars. I won the bet.’

‘What bet?’ asked Luna curiously.

Henry rolled his eyes and pulled his wallet out of his pocket.

‘On Weston and you.’

‘You guys did what?’ I asked them both in shock.

‘Carter was sure you guys were going to fall for each other, and I thought it was just going to be such a fuck story because you shared a bathroom and had rooms next to each other.’

Charles raised his eyebrows, ‘and then Carter caught you sleeping in bed, and it was only a matter of time before you were as trashy as you are now.’

I’d love to make his heartbreak a topic of conversation right now and bomb him with questions to learn more about what happened in New York.

‘Oh my God, you guys are idiots.’

‘You guys are just blind. Everyone here,’ Carter pointed to everyone sitting on the sofa, ‘knew you were coming together. Except for Henry, of course.’

I didn’t believe it.

My best friend and my cousin were betting on me and Luna.

‘You guys were really blind.’ Charles lifted himself off the sofa and stood next to Carter.

‘The Jerseys? Like Aria said. Full intention. Your fucking looks… My food almost came up when you guys kept staring at each other. By the way, I would have had to join you in the storage room at the Halloween party, but Mr. I’m just fucking was against it.’

Asshole.

I’d liked Luna for so much longer than I wanted to admit.

‘Are you done?’

Luna leaned her forehead against my arm and put her hand in mine. I didn’t know how the conversation would be if I had no drop of alcohol in my blood.

It was now shortly after midnight. We’d wished Trevor a happy birthday, and now I was standing outside in the garden with Luna, a little apart from the celebrating people.

‘I have something for you.’

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.

I have never put so much thought into a gift as I did for Luna because I wanted it to be perfect. Luna looked at me curiously with her big eyes, and I pulled out a dark blue flat box from my pants pocket.

The reason I was late to the party. Carter had the box all night, after I told him why I was late because I was so afraid I would lose it. ‘Open it.’

Out came a gold bracelet with a red heart as a pendant and a matching necklace.

‘Wes,’ she looked up at me from the box, and I’d never seen such an intense sparkle in her eyes as I did right now. Even in the dim light in the cold, her eyes shone as bright as the moon.

Luna played with her finger on the red heart pendant of the necklace. ‘That is so beautiful.’

‘Look,’ I turned over the thin red heart plates of the bracelet and necklace.

The bracelet was engraved with an eleven, and the back of the plate on the necklace was engraved with the first letters of her three names.

LFM. Luna Florence Montgomery.

‘How did you know what my middle name was?’

‘Your mother helped me.’

Luna looked up at me in shock. ‘Really?’

I nodded.

With the box in her hand, she fell around my neck and hugged me before giving me a kiss on the lips. ‘Thank you, Wes. Really. I love it.’

She pressed the box into my hand, turned her back to me, and held her hair up. It was harder to fasten the necklace and bracelet in the low light.

‘This is so pretty.’ Luna played with her fingers on the bracelet which hung around her wrist.

‘Only the best for my girlfriend.’

Luna looked at me. ‘Say that again.’

‘That I only want the best for you?’ I provoked her because I knew exactly what she meant.

‘The other thing.’

‘That you’re my girlfriend?’

A broad smile spread on Luna’s lips. ‘Mhm,’ she smiled.

‘Only if that’s what you want.’

‘Of course I do. I thought you’d never ask me.’

The butterflies became known in my stomach and fluttered throughout my body, stopping on my heart, which was racing.

I took her freckled face between my hands and kissed her for the first time as my official girlfriend.

This was the best feeling I have ever felt, and I never want this to end.

Never.