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“I have a feeling you want the wedding reception because of open bar and filet mignon,” I said on a laugh.
“That might be part of it.” Cassie grinned. “But how am I supposed to give you your gift if you don’t have a wedding reception?”
Wes chuckled and held up both hands in defense of her imaginary gift. A dildo. A third for the night. Handcuffs and a ball gag. You never really knew what you were going to get when it came to Cassie Phillips-now-Kelly. “You don’t need to get us anything, Cass.”
His tone said, “Seriously, don’t get us anything.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” she continued. “Because my gift to you guys would be too big to bring to the reception.”
“Too big?” Thatch questioned skeptically, his eyes narrowing as he wrapped his arm around the back of her chair and leaned threateningly into her. “What the fuck are we buying them? A horse?”
Unfazed, she leaned down and pulled papers from her purse and slid them across the table to Wes and me. I glanced down at the papers to find realty listings for homes in New Jersey. In Kline and Georgia’s neighborhood—close to the stadium.
“What are these for?” I asked shakily, even though I already knew. I couldn’t fucking believe it, but I knew.
Cassie smiled. “We’ve found three houses that we think the three of you—and maybe more—will be happy in. But we want you to pick the one you love the most.”
“We?” Thatch chimed in. “Who’s we?”
“Me and you,” she answered nonchalantly. “We’re giving them their dream home for their wedding present.”
“What?” Thatch shouted in response. “We’re buying that prick a house?”
She narrowed her eyes. “We’re buying Wes and Winnie a house for their wedding present.”
“I knew something was up when you were browsing realty listings. I fucking knew it,” he muttered. “Who’s paying for the house, Crazy?”
“Oh, shut up.” She waved him off. “You have enough money. And it’s not about the money, Thatcher. It’s about the thought. And this is what friends do for each other, for fuck’s sake.”
“Put us down for a new family car,” Kline interjected, and once again, as happened all too often, Thatch flipped him off without even looking away from his completely cracked wife.
“Pretty sure Wes and Kline didn’t buy us a house when we got married,” Thatch retorted. “I mean, what the fuck, honey? Have you completely lost it?”
“Oh, come on, you’re a shitty friend, Thatcher,” Cassie responded. “A real pain in the goddamn ass. We have to make up for that somehow.”
Kline and Georgia looked at each other and at us and back to each other, and then it was all over. He started chuckling and she started giggling, and eventually, the amusement worked its way over to Wes and me, and we were doing the same.
“Cass,” I said once I could catch my breath. “We love you, and we appreciate the gesture. I mean, it is so thoughtful.”
“Really fucking thoughtful,” Wes agreed.
“But there is no way we can let you buy us a house,” I went on.
“Yeah, sweetheart,” Wes added with a genuine smile. “We really can’t let you do that.”
“But…” Cassie started to refute, and Thatch wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders and whispered something in her ear. She looked up at him with a devilish grin. “You promise?”
Thatch nodded.
“No bullshit?”
He shook his head and grinned.
“Well, okay, then,” she said and slapped her hands down onto the table and stood. “We’re going to call it a night. And we’ll buy you guys a gravy boat or a Crock-Pot or something for your wedding gift. Maybe a salad spinner. You look like salad people. Sound good?”
“Wait!” Georgia protested. “You guys are leaving dinner before dinner?”
“Yep,” Cassie said and slung her purse over her shoulder. “Since Melinda is watching both Lexi and Ace tonight, we’re going to take full advantage of it before we head home in the morning. Who knows? Maybe we’ll take a page from your and Kline’s book and go full-on anal tonight.”
“Cassie!” Georgia’s eyes went wide, and Kline choked on a laugh—or bread. It was really one or the other. All I knew for sure was that he was motherfucking choking for real.
Thatch slapped his meaty hand on Kline’s back until he coughed his way to clean air.
Georgia covered her face with both hands. “Kline, make them stop. Make them stop looking at me.”
Finally safe from asphyxiation, he grinned and stood up from the table, picked his wife up out of her seat, and cradled her in his arms like a baby. She reached behind her legs to prevent a full-on Britney Spears-esque pussy shot.
“Kline!” she shrieked. “What are you doing?”
“Just saving my Benny from unwelcome anal.”
Probably by taking her upstairs for the welcome kind.
“Think we should go take advantage of a free night too?” Wes whispered in my ear, and a tingle shot down my spine.
My husband, our friends. All of it was perfect. “Yes, please.”
And that was that. Everyone stood up and dug in pockets and threw bills on the table in a haphazard pile.
“Is everyone really leaving dinner before actually eating dinner? Are we a bunch of horny bastards?” Cassie asked comically, grabbing a big handful of her husband’s ass as she did.
“Yep and yep,” Georgia admitted as Kline set her on her feet.
Cassie squealed as Thatch started to drag her out of the restaurant, high-heeled feet fluttering to keep up, and then abruptly pulled him to a stop that made us all run right into the back of one another like a crashing train.
“Hey!”
“Jesus,” Wes muttered from behind me.
“Can we at least group hug it out before we go?” Cassie asked, starting to pout.
Already nodding, I grabbed Wes’s hand and pulled him closer into the huddle. “Let’s hug it out, ladies,” I said and held out both of my arms. Georgia, Cassie, and I hugged each other tightly. Thatch was the first to give up all pretense, wrapping his giant arms around the entire group of us, and Kline and Wes joined in before long.
All six of us stood there in the middle of the resort’s fanciest restaurant in one giant group hug.
Yeah, no doubt we probably looked like a bunch of weirdos, but I had to admit it felt good. Leaning on each other, literally, there wasn’t one of us who doubted we’d be able to do it forever—for whatever we needed.
“See you guys later,” Kline muttered, pulling back from the group and taking Georgia with him.
“You bet your sweet ass, you will,” Thatch remarked.
Wes couldn’t help himself. “He actually didn’t mean you. We’re hoping to ditch you.”
Thatch smiled wide. “Never.”
Always up for the challenge of bringing it home, the last thing that was said before we officially parted ways for the night came straight from Cassie’s lips. “I hope everyone in this restaurant thinks we’re leaving dinner early for a gang bang.”
Okay. It was the last thing until Thatch raised an eyebrow in intrigue.
“No!” we all shouted at once.
“Think about it,” he pushed as we started to walk away. “Billionaire Bad Boners: A Pornographic Trilogy.”
I bit my lip to contain my laugh as Wes’s hand settled into the small of my back.
“Shut up, Thatcher,” Cassie advised.
I could hear his smile from across the room. “Okay, Crazy. I’ll shut up. For now.”
