“Since when do you like gossip?” I shot back.
“Since it involvesyou.”
“Okay, here’s an idea. Let’s go out to eat tonight, all four of us. On me?” June offered.
The rest of us snickered. “Yeah right, as if we’re ever going to let you pay for that.”
As June tried to put up a fight, I mused about how right this all felt. Each of us felt like a missing puzzle piece that had somehow found its way to the rest. It was the closest feeling to a real family I’d experienced in longer than I cared to remember.
Epilogue
~
June
“Well, we made it. More or less,” Mads said as I helped her string up the last of the Christmas lights.
Chloe, James and some of our other mutuals had arrived early to help get the upgraded apartment ready for the Christmas party we were throwing tonight. After Madison qualified for the Master’s program, her folks had felt extra generous and thought that us having to stay around campus for at least another year warranted a bigger place.
I was certainly not going to complain about being a second-hand beneficiary. Even though she brushed it off, I could tell there was something more serene about Mads ever since we’d gotten our results back. She wasn’t as directionless as she’d felt in the beginning of the semester. Instead she was actually looking forward to us coming back next year.
After all, it was another opportunity for growth and rebirth. Life was sometimes so deliciously unpredictable with where it chose to take you.
“We’re in one piece, that’s all that counts,” I replied.
And that much was true. We shared a smile before a crash dragged our attention to where James, with his cast-induced clumsiness, had dropped an ornament. I closed my eyes as Chloe lightly berated him and attempted to pick up the ceramic shardsfrom the floor. Mads sighed heavily and just turned back to our task.
“I’m so glad the squirrels won.”
By some force of luck, we managed to finish up the decorations and set the table before our first guest arrived. We even managed to clean up pretty nicely; I was wearing a semi-formal silver mini dress under a chunky sweater, and Mads was wearing her iconic red midi halter neck dress.
We waited in the living room to greet the trickle of people arriving and soon the party began to pick up speed. But when my three dates showed up, more than a few heads swiveled our way.
I heard a few murmured questions about why they were there but Mads caught my eye and a wordless message carried over and understanding dawned on her. Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline but she didn’t freak out or do anything other than chuckle a little to herself.
And my wonderful, sweet, big-hearted friend decided to walk over and break the ice.
“Good to see you Professors,” she said in greeting.
“The academic year is over, Miss Ashford,” Ronan said with that same, charming smile of his. “I think we can move forward on a first name basis from now on.”
“Got it. Well, Ronan, right? It’s good to see your taste in cardigans doesn’t translate to your taste in Christmas sweaters,” she said.
There was a beat of silence until Lucas burst out laughing. “I told you. Oren owes me five bucks.”
“That’s what my pride is worth to you?” Ronan said in mock offense.
“It’s the love of the game,” Oren said.
Mads winked at me and I mouthed a thank you to her as the atmosphere began to ease. The three guys slowly began to assimilate into the group, and by the time we were all seated around the table to eat and drink, it didn’t even feel like those old barriers of student versus professor existed. They were just three easy-going guys and watching them look more comfortable and relaxed than I’d seen them in a long time filled me with warmth.
The evening stretched on into night and the flowing wine and festive drinks started to blur the lights and music into an atmosphere that felt magical. Everyone was talking and laughing and dancing together. Even Oren didn’t stay secluded in a corner the entire night like I suspected he might. And at one point, I found myself dancing with all three of them at the same time.
They might’ve been distracted by the alcohol but no one stared or looked at us funny or did anything to make it feel as though we were some kind of freak exhibition. Everything just felt… normal. Like this was the way it was supposed to be.
And around the peak of the party, Ronan gently guided me away from the still-full makeshift dance floor. Lucas and Oren were in tow, and no one noticed as the four of us slipped into my bedroom and locked the door behind us.
“You looked magnificent tonight,” Lucas said, the first to greet me with a kiss. I slid my hands up his chest and felt another pair touch my hips.
