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I took in a long shaky breath and let it out. “I know.”
“You know what she would want?” Tori wiggled her eyebrows. “For us to do shots.”
I groaned once again. “You’re all crazy, and I hate you.”
“Don’t kid yourself. You love us.” Tori grabbed a bottle of vodka and four shot glasses, then filled them up and passed one to each of us.
It looks like we’re doing this.
Lisa held her shot glass high in the air. “To Willow.”
“To Willow,” we all repeated before tapping our glasses together.
I cringed as the liquid burned its way down my throat. Definitely too old for this.
We were all quiet for a few minutes, clearly lost in our own thoughts, before Tori broke the silence. “We need to do something to honor Willow. Something big.”
I figured it was just the alcohol talking, so I giggled, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. Clearly, that shot had tipped me over the edge from buzzed to drunk. “What did you have in mind, drunkie?” I asked between giggles.
Tori shrugged. “Beats me. You’re the smart one.”
I shook my head. “The rest of you are the fun ones.”
“Aww, don’t sell yourself short,” Lisa said, slurring her words as she spoke. “I think you’re really fun. I wouldn’t have been your best friend for all these years if you weren’t.”
A throat cleared beside me and when I looked over, I noticed Tori blinking back tears while she watched the interaction between me and Lisa. I pointed a finger at her. “No tears. Remember?”
The fake smile Tori gave me when she nodded in response broke my heart, so I wrapped her up in a tight hug. “I get it. Trust me.”
Tori squeezed me even tighter as she brought her lips close to my ear. “I know you do. Thank you.”
Something about the tone of her voice as she whispered those words caused a chill to run down my spine that was in stark contrast to the warmth I felt from her hug. I leaned into the feeling, because it was comforting. Ever since Willow’s death, Tori had become my safe space. No one truly knew what I was going through as much as Tori did. Willow was my person, but she was also Tori’s. Tori didn’t have a significant other to lean on. We only had each other.
I almost forgot we weren’t the only two in the room until I felt Lisa’s arms wrap around both of us. “We all get it. Willow was one of a kind. She was special.”
“She really was,” I agreed as we pulled away from each other.
“That’s why we need to do something big for her.” Tori’s face suddenly lit up, and I swore I could see the lightbulb go on above her head as if she was in a cartoon. “Pride! We should throw a Pride event in her memory.”
I laughed, because Tori couldn’t be serious. “A Pride event? Where?”
Tori rolled her eyes as if it was a stupid question. “Here, of course. In Melsborough. It’s about damn time this town showed a little pride. Willow would fucking love it.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “She really would.” A small smile parted my lips and a warmth settled in my heart, as if Willow was giving me a hug from the inside out. “Let’s do it.”
“Really?” The excitement on Tori’s face doubled, and I knew there was no way I could back out now. Not that I wanted to. Because she was right. I didn’t know the first thing about planning a big event like Pride, but Willow really would love it. I had no doubt about that.
“Really.” I elbowed Tori in the side. “And now that you’re moving in with me, we’ll have plenty of time to plan it.”
Lisa’s eyebrows shot up as she pointed between the two of us. “You two are moving in together? Is there something you haven’t told us?”
“What?” My heartbeat picked up at the realization of what she was saying. Me and Tori? Tori and I? Never. We wouldn’t. We couldn’t. Why the hell was I suddenly sweating? “No, that’s not… it’s not like… we’re not…”
“Chill, girl.” Lisa reached out and squeezed my arm. “I’m kidding. Obviously you two aren’t boning. How weird would that be?”
“So weird,” Tori said before I could think of a response. “No offense, Rosemary.”
“None taken,” I said with a laugh, but the pit in my gut said otherwise.
