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Candice kicks her feet up on the coffee table, braiding her hands on her stomach as she chuckles.
Meeting Georgia’s gaze across the space, I shake my head. “My life was normal a couple of months ago. Then I met all of you.”
“Your life was boring,” Simone corrects. “We made it better.”
My smile betrays me. They all know it’s the truth.
Simone gasps, her eyes suddenly going wide. She plants her hands on the floor on either side of her hips, then whips her head around to look at Georgia. “You’re going to see Piper in Lovers’ Peak for Thanksgiving, right?”
Georgia nods. “Yeah. I have to drive her car over to her, and I want to see how she’s settling in to her new job.”
“Let’s all go.” Simone clambers up to her feet and claps her hands. “Let’s all go!”
Fiona sits up straighter. Candice gets an interested gleam in her eyes. Georgia bites her lip.
“Could we?” Candice asks quietly. “Allie wants to spend the holiday with her boyfriend’s family. They live near her college, and she said she has to prep for exams and can’t make it back.”
“There are a ton of rentals,” Fiona notes, tapping on her phone. “Oh! Look. We could even rent both sides of a duplex. ‘Sleeps twenty,’ it says.”
“My mother’s on a cruise this year, so I’m free. We could go with Trina and the kids. All the men…” Candice looks at Simone, who’s still bursting with excitement.
“Book the duplex,” Simone shouts. “I’ll look at flights. We’ll need cars. How long? Two nights? Three? We could do Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights, and be back here for the weekend.”
“There’s some fancy light show the day after Thanksgiving,” Fiona says, still looking at her phone. “The town is famous for it. At least two nights. We could do a potluck dinner for Thanksgiving, or something. Keep it simple.”
“Jen’s making pie,” Candice notes. “She and Fallon can probably coordinate the food.”
“Amazing,” Simone says. “Potluck. Mountains. A light show. Mia having hot monkey sex. I love it. We’re doing it.”
I finally give in and start laughing. “Really? You guys are going to come to Colorado?”
“Girl. You obviously need a bunch of forty-something-year-old cheerleaders. It’s like those elderly women from that town—”
“The Sun City Poms.”
“YES!” Simone fist-pumps the air. “Let’s get pompoms and stand outside the Thomas residence chanting Mia’s name.”
It’s my turn to fall out of my chair. I laugh until my cheeks hurt, then shake my head as the women get on a phone tree and plan an impromptu Thanksgiving getaway for the whole gang.
Fiona catches my gaze and sends me a wink. “Worst case, if it’s a disaster, you and Bailey can always come sleep at our place.”
“Is this whole trip an excuse to provide me with an exit plan?” I ask.
“Hell no,” Simone cuts in. “I want to see the fireworks, girlie. Chairs are breaking. Vibrators are buzzing. Deals are being made. I’d pay a premium for front row seats.” She walks over and throws an arm around my shoulders. “Mia, honey, you’re the best show in town.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Candice adds with a giggle.
“I wonder if we could get an invite to watch the race,” Fiona muses.
“If we do, we’re definitely bringing pompoms,” Simone says, deathly serious.
Georgia cackles. “Is it too late to get matching T-shirts made?”
I’m suddenly laughing again, the weight of the past few weeks melting off my shoulders like the first snowflakes of winter hitting asphalt. My trip doesn’t seem so daunting anymore. The deal I struck with Des—a fake date to Thanksgiving dinner in exchange for free rent—doesn’t seem so ludicrous. So what if I kissed him? So what if I had to have an emergency masturbation session? So what if I’m kind of freaking out about him leaving afterward?
These women make me feel normal for wanting more than what I have. They make me feel part of something bigger than myself.
“I’m going to call Maude and casually mention that we’re all going to be in town,” Georgia says, pulling out her phone, “see if I can score us some spectator seats to the race, at least.”
