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out a scrap of fabric. She tossed it to me and it landed on my head covering my eyes. I pulled it off and examined the cobalt blue…what looked like a scarf. “This came out of your purse?” I eyed the evening bag she’d just tossed her lip gloss into.
“Mmmhmm,” she hummed. “Why?”
“Because it’s not even a big purse. It’s like a small purse. The fancy kind you carry around in your hand.”
“It’s called a clutch. You got a point coming, Say?”
I stood and walked over to the mirror, holding up the ‘dress’ in front of me. It wasn’t much but I admit, the color did wonders for my eyes. “My point is that if this fit in your CLUTCH, then how is it supposed to cover these.” I waved my hand over my breasts which were currently covered by a loose fitting t-shirt.
Josh flashed me a wicked smile and snatched the dress from me. “That’s the point. It’s not supposed to cover them.”
A few moments later, I was showered and wearing the dress. Josh tossed me a thick robe to wear while she fussed with my hair and makeup. She tamed the natural waves in my hair to something much lighter and more manageable she called ‘beachy waves.’ I paired the dress with a borrowed pair of black sandals that wrapped around my ankle with a delicate wedge heel just a couple of inches high. I wouldn’t cave when it came to the ridiculous giraffe heels Josh tried to get me to wear. I’m glad she gave in to my refusal or else I’m pretty sure I was moments away from her bending me over and nailing them to my feet like she was shooing a horse.
After Josh took a few minutes to apply some makeup to my face she turned me to face the mirror and I was shocked to find that I was still looking at me. Just a shined-up version.
“I played up your eyes with a little mascara and a little liner in the corners and I put a natural gloss on because your lips are already so pink and perfect,” Josh said, resting her chin on my shoulder.
“You didn’t cover them up.” I ran my fingers over my freckles.
Josh smiled and smoothed down my hair. The bangle bracelets on her arm clinked together. “I’m a cop, Say.” She ran the tip of her finger around the heaviest collection of them around my right eye. “Covering up these freckles? Now that would be a damn crime.”
“Thank you,” I said softly.
“Don’t thank me yet, you haven’t seen the dress on yourself yet. Stand up,” she ordered.
I stood and Josh pushed the robe from my shoulders.
“Hollyyyy shit,” she whispered, taking a step back to give me room to take it all in.
And the only thing I could say when coming face to face with a girl who was me, but not me at the same time, was an echo of Josh’s words.
“Hollyyy shit,” I whispered back. Slapping my hand over my mouth.
Josh laughed at my attempt to swear. “Those legs are everything.”
The fabric of the cobalt blue dress was stretchy and comfortable, but fitting, hugging my waist and breasts, but not squeezing the life from me. It was short sleeved and the hem was several inches above my knee, showing off my muscular legs and the curve of my butt. It was very feminine but almost like a t-shirt in style, complete with a small pocket right above my right breast. The neckline dropped into a soft V just low enough to see the curve of my breasts, but not too low where I’d be worrying about pulling it up all night. I felt…pretty, yet still me.
“So, are you going to tell me what we’re doing tonight?” Josh asked curiously as I started taking the food items I’d bought earlier from the refrigerator, placing them onto the counter.
“We’re having dinner,” I said, nodding toward the ingredients.
“We didn’t have to get so dressed up if we were going to be having dinner with just the two of us,” Josh said, looking amused.
“It’s not just the two of you,” Miller said, peeking in through the front door.
“My stance remains the same,” Josh muttered.
“Thank you for inviting me,” Miller said, handing me a bouquet of wild roses. Most of the stems were bent. “For you, madam.”
“Thank you,” I said, taking the flowers. “You look handsome tonight. Doesn’t Miller look handsome?” I asked Josh.
“He’s wearing a t-shirt,” she said flatly.
“It’s my fancy t-shirt,” Miller explained, pointing to the bow tie printed at the neck.
“It’s lovely,” I said with a laugh. “Can you help me carry this outside?” I handed Miller a basket of rolls and Josh a bottle of wine. I followed them to the deck with a cheese plate I’d cut up earlier.
“Is it just the three of us?” Josh asked.
“I’m not gonna lie, I’m thoroughly enjoying the girl to guy ratio in this scenario,” Miller said.
“I invited Critter but he said he already had plans.”
“That didn’t answer the question,” Josh said knowingly.
“No, it’s not just the three of us.” I set the wine glasses out on the table. I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. My heart thumped hard against my rib cage. My palms began to sweat.
“Then who else is coming?” Miller asked.
Finn stepped out of the shadows into the moonlight wearing a tight black t-shirt and jeans, his blond hair slicked back from a recent shower, his dark jeans low on his hips.
“Me.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Finn
My friends looked me over as if they’d seen a ghost and it was fair because in a way, they had.
They looked accusingly to Sawyer, only she smiled and pretended not to feel their questioning stares. She went about pulling out chairs for us to have a seat at the table like having the four of us together was a regular occurrence. “I made lasagna,” she said, biting her lower lip, “I’ve never made one before. I followed the instructions on the box. I hope it turned out okay.”
“What in the holy fuck is going on here?” Miller asked, sitting down on the little four-person table on Sawyer’s new deck. “Is this a friendervention?”
Sawyer popped a cube of cheese in her mouth and held out her hand as I approached. Once our hands connected it was as if I knew, despite everything, despite the looks of hurt and betrayal on my friends’ faces, despite the damage I’d caused, it was all going to be all right.
“It’s called a dinner party,” Sawyer started. “Kayla told me about them. It’s my first time ever hosting one. Isn’t it exciting?” She clapped her hands together and bounced on the balls of her feet.
If they were thinking of leaving or barking or even grumbling about the circumstances, Sawyer had pretty much made it impossible with her excitement. There was no way they were going to kill that for her. You’d have to be completely soulless to want to have any part in tearing that smile off her gorgeous face.
Miller and Josh both nodded slowly, neither one of them took their eyes off me as if at any moment I was going to be wielding a knife and taking both of them hostage.
“Sit, guys,” Sawyer said, as she turned to me. “Can you help me inside?”
I followed her inside leaving Josh and Miller on the deck with a confused look on their faces that was almost laughable if my gut wasn’t churning. “It’s going to be fine,” Sawyer said, smiling as she bent over and pulled a tray of lasagna from the oven. I couldn’t help staring at the back of her legs and her ass when her dress rose up. She grabbed a pot holder and removed the foil from the top. The most amazing smell rose with the steam.
The blue color she was wearing made her entire face and eyes light up. It didn’t hurt that she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Dress or not. “Before I forget to tell you, you look absolutely beautiful,” I said, coming up behind her and kissing her on the head. She leaned back and inhaled my scent.
“Thank you. You don’t look too bad either.”
She turned in my arms and handed me two of the four salad bowls on the counter. “It really is going to be okay,” she assured me.
I didn’t know if she was right or wrong but after I’d helped h
er see storms in a different light she insisted that she help me with my biggest fear.
My friends.
I laughed. “I’m a grown-ass man and I’m scared to fucking death because I have to apologize for being the world’s biggest dick to them for over two years. Why are you so confident that they’ll forgive me?”
“The reason why they’re so mad at you is because they love you so much. I know they’ll forgive you. You haven’t known me long but you let me in. You’ve known them almost your entire life. Let them in, too. They’ll forgive you.”
“When did you get so wise?” I asked, staring deeply into her beautiful golden-brown eyes. Eyes I could get lost in.
Eyes I was already lost in.
