A/N: Super short or not, it's still a chapter. I hope you like it anyway! Thank you to WolfGirl1335 and ReneeFF for pre-reading. Love you girls. Love all you readers! Enjoy!

In This Skin

Chapter Fourteen

Sixteen Candles

Sixteen candles
Make a lovely light
But not as bright
As your eyes tonight
Blow out the candles
Make your wish come true

-16 Candles – The Crests

Josie

It didn't take long to get back into my routine from before the Christmas break. I was so excited to finally be able to drive around with my learner's permit. I couldn't wait for the time when I wouldn't have to have Mom or Dad with me. Dad was worse than Mom; he acted like I was going to kill everyone in the car plus a few bystanders. I told him to shut up a few times, but it always resulted in him telling me to pull the car over so we could switch. I learned pretty quickly to keep my mouth shut and focus on the road.

I could almost feel myself growing closer to sixteen years old. So soon I'd be able to get my actual license. I even dreamed of it a few times. It was awesome.

February in Seattle was weird. The wet, rainy weather shouldn't have seemed out of place, yet I couldn't help but remember sunshine and warm weather by my birthday. Eli loved every second of it, because he got to spend more time outside. I supposed that made it okay-ish. I still wanted to get my birthday tan.

The last week of January was spent organizing my birthday party. Since I didn't want to try to do anything on a school night when my friends would have to leave early, and also because Lily and a few other of my friends had other time restrictions on Sundays, I decided to have my party on Saturday, the first of February. It wasn't going to be the typical sweet sixteen birthday ball like I'd seen on TV, but I was okay with that. I didn't need all that shit; I just needed my friends and my family to shower me with love and gifts.

Mom made my favorite cheesecake brownies and Dad took me shopping for a new dress. I found the perfect one. It was strapless, dark blue, and sparkly. The bodice was nice and tight, but the skirt was frilly and poofy like a tutu. It ended just above my knees and made me feel like a ballerina. Dad tried everything to talk me out of it, but he didn't actually forbid it so I argued until I got it. I also got some silver high heeled sandals to go with it.

The party was scheduled for seven o'clock so we could all eat dinner and be ready for cheesecake as soon as everything started. As I got ready before my friends showed up Saturday evening, I pulled my hair back into a tight bun. I had a little tiara clip from years ago and put it in at an angle, then I did my makeup before I got my dress on. For a moment before I went downstairs, I pretended I was a ballerina princess. I would have tried to dance a few steps if I knew I wouldn't break an ankle in my shoes. Instead, I curtsied to myself in the mirror and left the room.

A few of my friends were already there by the time I made it downstairs. They made a huge fuss over my dress, and I took the time to show off a little bit.

I was eager for the rest of my friends to show up. Pretty much all of them had been invited, and I'd gotten a total of twenty RSVP's telling me they were coming. My best friends were among those who had already shown up; Jennifer, Lily, Kaitlyn, and Amanda. Trish had even shown up even though I hadn't actually invited her. I didn't want to make a big fuss, though, so I allowed her to be there. She sneered at me like usual and asked me if my cousin was coming. I said yes, he was walking from Arizona and would be there by the next week.

"Hot damn, girl," Kyle said when he showed up. His hands went to my waist. "You are one sexy mama."

I loved that my shoes made me closer to his height. I leaned in and kissed him. "I know I am."

His arms pulled me closer and wrapped around me in a tight hug and he kissed my ear. "Happy birthday," he whispered.

I pushed him back and smiled. "Thank you."

We took our places on the couch to talk and wait for others who had said they were coming. Kyle sat beside me with his arm around my shoulders. Dad had mellowed out some when it came to my boyfriend, but I still saw the daggers he glared at Kyle's hand when it rubbed my arm. I had a feeling Dad didn't like me strutting around boys in this dress. It made me smile bigger.

Once everyone was there and settled down, Mom brought out the cheesecake. Everyone sang Happy Birthday while Mom snapped a thousand pictures. I closed my eyes to make my wish. Like she did every year, Mom told me to make sure it was a good one. I smiled and wished for a laptop; one that would be all mine. I blew out the candles and didn't hesitate to start pulling them all out so I could eat it. Dad congratulated me; I was officially sixteen years old. Everyone seemed amazed at how good they were. I kinda felt bad for them for never having tasted the awesomeness of Mom's cheesecake brownies, but then I realized that now they knew and would want more.

"Now I understand why you love cheesecake so much, Josie" Kyle said. "These are great, Mrs. Black."

Mom smiled proudly. "Thank you."

When everyone was done, it was time to do presents. I was almost as excited about them as I had been about the cheesecake. I bounced a little in my seat and clapped my hands as my dad announced the first gift was from him. He handed the box to me, and I eagerly ripped the wrapping paper.

The box showed a beautifully ornate silver jewelry box with a butterfly design on the top. He'd been known to stuff not-so-wonderful things inside boxes like this, though, so I opened it with caution. I was surprised to find the very same jewelry box inside, complete with butterfly design. It even had my name inscribed on it with my birth date.

"Oh, Dad, this is beautiful!" I got it out of the box and showed it to all of my friends.

Eli's present was next. He got me a butterfly necklace with designed with amethysts in it. I thought about putting it in the jewelry box but then decided I'd rather wear it. I gave him a big hug then moved on to Mom's present.

"I spent a long time on that," she said as she handed the box to me. "So no matter what, you have to love it."

I smiled at her. "I'm sure I will."

It was a scrapbook. On the cover was a picture of me when I was a baby in an oval frame. I was standing next to Faith with my arms around her neck. Above the picture said my name and below it said "Sweet Sixteen." I spent a few minutes going through the book and showing off the pictures to my friends. It had not only pictures, but also stories of my childhood told through my mom's perspective and different flowers she'd pressed and included for different reasons. My eyes watered as I told my friends about some of the pictures. I knew my mom loved to do this kind of thing, but to have this book from her was something so special. I got up and gave her a huge hug.

"Thanks, Mom. I love it." I set it aside and planned to go through it more carefully later that night when I was alone.

Next I opened the one from Kyle. He'd gotten me a bracelet made with amethyst stones set in silver. It was beautiful. I had him put it on me, then I admired it dangling delicately from my wrist.

"Thank you, baby," I said sweetly. "I love it." I kissed him and moved on to the next gift.

Lily and Jennifer had gone in together on a spa set for me. It was all in a basket and included bubble bath, lotion, body oil, some scrubby stuff, a face mask, and some stuff for my feet. Trish tried to slap her name on it, too, but I knew she had nothing to do with it. She was here for the boys and nothing more.

I ended up with a shitload of gift cards. I liked them better than a lame gift, though, so I didn't complain. The best one was a fifty dollar gift card to the Cheesecake Factory. I also got some more jewelry to put in my new jewelry box. I had one, but it was pale pink and plastic with Disney princesses on it. The new one was much more grown up. When I was younger, I'd always wanted one like Mom's with the inscription "Stay out of my shit," but the one Dad got for me was so much better.

After presents were done, a few people said goodbye and had to leave. Mom got up to get some drinks for anyone who wanted them.

"So have you gotten your birthday spankings yet?" Kyle asked.

I looked at him and smiled. "No."

"No? We should fix that."

Dad cleared his throat. I sighed and glared at him. He rolled his eyes and got up. I felt Kyle tense beside me, but Dad went into the kitchen after Mom. Kyle relaxed and kissed my cheek.

"That's probably not a good idea," I said softly. "I don't want to get grounded again."

He pouted. "I didn't mean anything bad by it."

I gave him a look. "Yes, you did."

"Maybe a little. But seriously, doesn't your family do birthday spankings?"

"For the kids, yeah. I don't think it would be a big deal if I wasn't wearing a short, strapless dress."

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Mom and Dad came back with the drinks. All seven of my friends still around took a cup.

"So do you guys have any fun games to play?" Jennifer asked.

I leaned forward to see her on the other side of Kyle. "We have some board games. Want to play some?"

She and Lily nodded. I had Kyle help me get them out of the cupboard. Mom and Dad left the room to let us play. I guessed they realized nothing was going to happen in a group of people.

Eli wanted to play with us. We made teams and played a few rounds of three different board games, then I came up with the brilliant idea of combining Monopoly, Clue, and Fact or Crap together to make one epic game. The rules were confusing as hell and nobody had any idea who won, but it was fun anyway.

When we got bored of the games, we put them up and sat around talking for a while. Eli went up to his room to get ready for bed. I glanced at the clock and was a little surprised to find it was almost ten o'clock. He came back down to say goodnight to everyone, and Mom went up to tuck him in. A few other friends had to leave. Kyle, Lily, Jennifer, and Jason decided to stick around for a little longer.

It was almost a half an hour later that Mom came out, already changed into her pajamas. She smiled at us and went into the kitchen. A few minutes later, Dad followed her. I groaned and shook my head; he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Dad," I whined. "Go get dressed!"

He came back to the living room and stopped for a second. "Why?"

"Why? Really?"

He smiled. "I will, I will. I only came out to tell your mother something. You kids have thirty more minutes, then everyone's getting kicked out."

Mom came in holding two mugs. She handed one to Dad. "Thirty minutes," she repeated.

Dad took her hand and kissed her knuckles. I thought about hiding my face when he all but tugged on her arm, leading her back to their bedroom. Talk about really fucking embarrassing. I didn't mind my parents being affectionate, but there was something about what just happened that seemed way too intimate to have been in front of my friends. Or, more specifically, my boyfriend.

Jennifer turned to me as soon as their bedroom door shut. "Goddamn, Josie, why didn't you tell me your dad was so hot?"

I groaned. "He's not. Besides, you've seen him before."

"Not without a shirt," Lily said. It sounded like a moan.

"Jeez, he does that all the damn time. It's not a big deal, and he's my dad so he's really not that hot."

"Your mom's hot," Jason said.

"What is it with you and really hot guys in your family?" Jennifer asked. "Your dad, your cousin . . . is your uncle hot?"

"No! He's my uncle for crying out loud." I felt like I was being ganged up on.

Kyle squeezed my shoulders. "Calm down, babe. People usually think other people's family is hot."

"Did anyone hear me?" Jason asked. "I said her mom's hot."

"We heard you," Jennifer said. "We just chose to ignore you."

"Do you agree with me, Kyle?"

Kyle looked over at Jason with a hilariously scared expression on his face. I wondered if he knew how precarious this situation was. I also wondered if he could find an answer that wouldn't piss me off.

"Uh, well . . ." he looked at me nervously. "I know where Josie gets her good looks."

I smiled. "I'm proud of you, Kyle. That was actually a nice answer."

He beamed. "I passed!"

Jason groaned. "You're a pussy, man. You can say it in front of a girl. See, watch." He turned to Jennifer. "I'd fuck her mom if I could."

Jennifer scowled. I did, too. "You better not let my dad hear you say that, Jason. Teenager or not, he doesn't let other guys say that about her."

"Ooh, I'm scared."

"I would be," Kyle said.

I sighed. "Anyway, that's enough talk about my parents. How would you like it if all your friends were saying how hot and fuckable your parents are? It's disgusting, so knock it off."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Okay, jeez."

I wasn't all that sad when they had to leave a little while later. Kyle kissed me and said goodnight. I went upstairs to wriggle my way out of my dress and get ready for bed.

A/N: Hooray for the shortest chapter yet! Are we ready for this story to get serious? I loved all the reviews for the last chapter wondering what the drama could be. You'll find out soon enough. The next chapter is all ready to go next week.

Thanks so much for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts!