AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Somethings, yes,” Wren agreed. “For your bachelorette party!”
I jerked back in surprise at her words. Their accompaniment to my bridal appointment was practical, part of the wedding planning they’d both taken on over the past couple weeks.
Even the detour to the small boutique had felt friendly, but not quite forme. It felt like something they would’ve done for any woman who was marrying their friend, a way to try to make Dev happy in whatever way they could, even if it meant outfitting me in a ridiculously expensive pair of underwear.
But this, this felt personal. It wasn’t something for Dev. Not something to help make our marriage work or the agreement between our people. It wasn’t a necessary part of the wedding planning or another thing they were dragging me to, so that the wedding went off without a hitch. No, this was for me.For the three of us. Something to tie us together, to make me feel included in the tight-knit group in a way that felt more meaningful than a few dinners at Alex and Ames’s house.
“You guys didn’t have to do this.” My protest sounded weak as warmth spread throughout my chest.
“We did,” Ames insisted. “With you and Dev getting married, we realized the crew is…done after this. Our group has changed so much in the past year, with Alex and Dev adopting Wren and then Alex pulling me in. I brought in Bex, and then she and Wren got together. Dev was alone for a bit, but now he has you.
“Alex said he doesn’t plan on hiring anyone new for at least a few years, which means the six of us are going to be together for the long haul. So Wren and I thought it would be fun to get something…permanent to commemorate the moment our group rounded out. For the girls, at least.”
“What about your girlfriend?” I asked Wren, wondering if the three of us getting matchingsomethingswithout her would rub Bex the wrong way.
“Boo,” Wren intoned with a thumbs down, pitching her voice low with her free hand over her mouth. Just as quickly, she brightened, laughing as she said, “Just kidding. I asked her, and she’s uninterested. Besides, this is more like a mafia wife thing and she’s more mafia than wife in this equation.”
Ames and I couldn’t argue with her reasoning, and we lapsed into a comfortable silence as the group of women ahead of us finished up, the occasional mechanical noise raising a slight amount of concern. I would’ve been worried about the girls secretly organizing matching tattoos - my fear of needles possibly stronger than my need for camaraderie - but I felt fairly confident that the sanitary precautions necessary for a tattoo parlor were higher than this office building could provide.
It was finally our turn, and it didn’t take long for me to take in the lengths of chains draped across a long table, flanked by various charms and gemstones.
“Customizable jewelry?” I asked with a laugh, the delicate chains perfect for making necklaces and bracelets.
“Permanent jewelry,” the woman sitting behind the counter corrected me with a smile. “I weld the chain together so it doesn’t come off.”
“After this, you’re stuck with us,” Wren said, wrapping an arm around my waist as she and Ames looked through the options available. It didn’t take long for the three of us to settle on a dainty chain that sparkled in the light but was still casual enough for daily wear, considering we didn’t really have the choice of taking them on and off.
I didn’t really care about the choice of chain, nor did I give an opinion when Ames and Wren debated on whether to add charms to their bracelets. All I could think about was the warning that felt more like a promise coming from Wren’s mouth:After this, you’re stuck with us.
So when they finally decided on what they wanted, and the woman asked who wanted to go first, I held out my wrist and said, “Let’s do this.”
Half an hour later, we walked out of the shop with matching chains wrapped around our wrists, tangible evidence of the first friendships I could ever recall having.
My bachelorette party didn’t end with the bracelets. The three of us - John and Cian following behind like shadows, though their attention felt less oppressive than usual knowing their focus was split between all of us - went out for an early dinner and dessert, ending up back at Ames’s house as the sun set. Alex, Bex, and Dev were still out for his bachelor party, which they’d been extremely vague about.
The anxiety about what tomorrow would bring made me antsy, and my mood extended to the women in front of me. Wren rocked on her heels while Ames tugged at a couple of her piercings, the three of us trying to decide how to rid ourselves of this excess energy.
“Let’s get drunk,” Wren suggested as she reached over to the bar cart in the corner and wrapped her fist around the neck of a liquor bottle.
It was fully darkwhen I felt his eyes on me, burning hotter than the alcohol coursing through my veins and the fire crackling in front of us. It had seemed like a good idea an hour ago, when the alcohol warmed us and the sharp winter air felt like the only way to cool the heat in our cheeks.
Speaking of cheeks, Wren’s were bright red, the skin around her eyes splotchy as she jumped and spun to some emo song that played over the outdoor speakers. Ames was clearly familiar with the band too, bopping her head like the punk she was as she mouthed the lyrics with her eyes closed.
We’d left the patio lights off in our haste to escape outside, lighting the fire when the chill quickly hit our bones and stubbornness from the alcohol kept us from admitting defeat. The flickering flames were the only source of light, casting shadows across the patio and making the yard feel much more ominous than it did during the day.
Alex melted from the shadows first, spinning Ames with his hands on her hips until their chests pressed together, arms entangled in a slow dance much too gentle for the pounding music echoing through the speakers. Bex was next, lookingamused as Wren grinded against her to the music, the alcohol giving her even less shame than usual.
I relaxed before his hands even made their way around my waist, simply the thought of his presence and the feeling of his eyes on me enough to put me at ease. The alcohol had blurred my inhibitions, and I reached my hand behind my head until it tangled with the thick hair at the nape of Dev’s neck, shivering at the groan that rumbled against my back at the motion.
I didn’t stop dancing, anchoring myself to Dev with my hands in his hair and my head resting against the curve of his shoulder. Dev didn’t hesitate to return the connection, his arms wrapping around my torso in a tight grip. One hand wound around my shoulder, his palm warming my chest where it rested against my collarbone. The other slid lower, around my waist, his palm spanning my lower stomach.
He didn’t try pulling me closer at first, allowing me to keep my distance, as if worried I’d run if he got too close. But the alcohol mixed with the discussion I had with Ames and Wren earlier today made me reckless, wanting to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the lust I’d been feeling wasn’t one-sided. So I relaxed even further against him, erasing some of the space between us, and Dev pulled me tighter when he realized my intention.
He didn’t bother to hide the hardness in his jeans as he pulled me closer, and I didn’t shy away. I pressed as close to him as I could, reveling in the knowledge that at least in this moment, he wanted me.
The minutes ticked away, each song fading into the next without our notice as the six of us danced in our small pairings. The only thing that broke our trance was the playlist coming to an end, music trailing off into silence in the dark. I released my fingers from where they’d stayed wrapped in Dev’s hair, but Icouldn’t bring myself to leave his embrace, continuing to relax into the cocoon of his body.
Alex spoke a quick command to his phone, and the patio lights finally flicked on, dimmed enough that we didn’t burn our retinas.
