"what i wouldn't give to be eighteen wild and free!"

"BIRTHDAY BOY!"

preston groaned as i jumped up and down on his bed like an annoying sibling but i didn't care.

my best friend was officially an adult, and all he wanted to do was sleep.

was i letting that happen?

nope.

i knew he would do the same thing to me on my birthday — which was quickly approaching — so i thought i'd get the revenge quickly.

"bec."he mumbled, before tugging me down next to him earning a scream coming from my lips, "just five more minutes."

"preston ray—!"i was cut off by preston putting a finger to my lips, "shh! just lay here with me for a little birthday that's what i want for my birthday."

i froze for a good seconds, before eventually melting into his arms, and he propped his chin on my shoulder, "your looking cute today."

i laughed, shaking my head before going to face him, "do not."

i was wearing one of preston's old luke bryan concert t-shirts, along with a pair of jean shorts and my hair up in a messy bun.

my right hand was in a brace, and i was so thankful that the cast had come off because i was about to rip it off if it didn't come off soon.

"do too."preston mumbled, and i went to argue when he pressed his lips to my ear, "don't argue with me becca kay. it's my birthday and i'm always right."

he wasn't wrong about that.

after a little while of the two of us sitting there talking about everything under the sun, a knock on the door came, and opened revealing kolby, "you two ready to eat? if not i'm going to drag your asses downstairs so we can."

a laugh escaped my lips as preston grumbled something about how it was his birthday and all he wanted to do was sleep, "yeah we'll be down in a few."

kolby sent me a wink before closing the door, and i faced preston, "can we please go eat."

"why?"he whined, and i laughed, "because i'm hungry."

"fine."he caved in, getting up, and the two of us walked downstairs.

"preston!"i watched as the little girl jumped into preston's arms, and he grinned ear to ear, making me raise an eyebrow.

"hi miss.tinsley."preston grinned, and tinsley had the biggest grin on her face.

"guess who's here!"she threw her arms around his neck as the two of us stood there, "is it becca?"

"nope!"tinsley shook her head, before preston raised an eyebrow, slowing turning his head towards me, and tinsley gasped before letting out the loudest scream i've ever heard, "becca!"

"hi sweetheart."she jumped into my arms, hugging me tightly, making me grin even more.

"preston ray and becca kay get your ass's in here so we can eat!"uncle chris yelled, before letting out a yelp making me laugh.

we walked into the dining room, with tinsley still in my arms, and i found ashley and eli, along with they're son cam, "well i'll be damned!"

Eli let out a yelp as both Nana and Mama Becky smacked him upside the head, "ow!"

"better watch out for nana."i snickered, placing tinsley down, "read me my rights after the other night."

"speaking of—"ashley was cut off by the door closing, and i raised an eyebrow.

boots walked across Mama Grace's floor, making her growl, "brantley keith! take those boots off before you track mud into my house!"

a laugh came from the hallway, as i sat down next to preston, and tinsley next to us.

i looked towards uncle chris who had a forced smile, and a little bit of guilt in his eyes.

why the hell did he have guilt in his eyes?

the man walked in, and his green eyes immediately met mine.

it took me a little bit to realize who it was, and once i did, my mind went into a little bit of panic.

my favorite male country singer, brantley gilbert was standing right near me, and i couldn't believe it.

"when you said you knew brantley i thought you were shitting me."i whispered over to preston, but apparently loud enough for nana to hear me, and smack me upside the head, "ow! damn it nana what is with you and hitting people today?"

a laugh escaped kolby's lips, as mama becky grinned, shaking her head, "becca sweetheart."

"that's my brother."kolby held in his laugh as my jaw dropped, "and you didn't tell me?!"

"nope."he popped out the p, as i sent him a playful glare.

"so your the famous ms.becca kay."Brantley grinned, and i nodded, "heard you've been arrested too many times to count by now."

i was about to say something when uncle chase broke in, "can we please eat?!"

"i second that!"preston yelled, making me laugh, before mama grace shook her head laughing.

we all grabbed a plate to eat, and everyone struck up a conversation with each other.

"oh!"eli yelled, making everyone look at him, "you becca kay never told me what you did to get you arrested last time!"

"two words."i smirked, "pott's farm."

"and a few drinks to go with it."uncle chris muttered, making mama becky smack the back of his head, "christopher michael keep your mouth quiet!"

ashley didn't looked shocked, and laughed, "your taking after chris."

"that's what i said!"i threw my hands up making everyone chuckle, "he's like 'i never ever did that'"

"i never said that!"uncle chris argues, and i laugh, "all i said was that i didn't want you to make the same mistakes that i did."

"chris man."brantley paused trying to keep in his chuckle, "you were the worst out of all of us at times."

"alyssa was worse than all of us."kolby laughed, making brantley, ashley, and eli shake they're heads.

i tried to keep the pain of hearing my mothers name visible on my face, but preston, mama grace, and uncle chris noticed.

"we'll be right back, we're going on a walk."preston grabbed my hand, and we slipped outside with sneakers on before we started to walk a path behind his house.

"talk to me becca."he demanded after a little bit, "please. i don't want you to keep it all to yourself."

"i'm just not used to hearing her name without seeing her near me."i explained, scratching the back of my neck, "it's just weird."

"i get it."he mumbled, "it's weird hearing someone you loved name even if it's just a common name like john, but it makes you think they're there."

we continued to walk on the path, before reaching the lake we were at the other day, and sitting down on the grass, dipping our toes in the lake.

smiling, i looked up towards preston who had a small smile on his face.

"happy birthday."