“You guys know I drink sometimes. There’s literally wine in our fridge right now. I’m twenty, not twelve. I can handle myself.”
“Three hundred and sixty-five more days and we’ll stop giving you shit about it. Hell, I might even buy you a shot or two,” Ash says, finally forcing me to look at him. I’d been doing a really excellent job of avoiding his presence until now.
Like the other guys, he’s in some version of athletic leisure. Gray sweatpants and a black zip-up jacket that matches his all-black sneakers. He looks good in dark colors, something about the way his light brown hair contrasts against it. Today those long locks are tied back in a bun. I didn’t think I had a thing for long hair, but Ash’s is this great length. It’s long enough to pull back into a small bun but too short to do anything else. It suits him.
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Ev tells him. “You are throwing me the most epic party when I turn twenty-one.”
Jack is standing with his back against the wall, arms crossed over his impressive chest. Grace showed me this advertisement he did for some suit company. He’s super intimidating but undeniably one of the hottest guys I’ve ever seen in real life. “I’ll be skipping that one. Nothing says fun like a twenty-one-year-old getting alcohol poisoning,” he says dryly.
“You’re not invited,” Everly snaps back.
“And I think that’s our cue to get out of here.” Tyler steps forward and hugs his sister. “Happy birthday.”
“Thank you.” She rests her head against his chest and wraps her arms around him. Their relationship makes me long for that closeness with someone. A friend, a family member, a partner. I’ve pushed away so many people that my circle is depressingly small. And the truth is I feel too old to form those kinds of relationships again. When you reach a certain age, people have already found their people. It’s not like high school where friend groups change weekly.
The guys each hug Everly and wish her a happy birthday. Tyler and Ash hang back as the others file out the front door.
Grace and I walk in the space between the rooms, standing between the two groups.
“Be careful tonight, and call me if you need anything,” Tyler says. “Don’t take drinks from strangers. Are you driving?”
“We’re taking an Uber,” Everly tells him. “And we’ll be fine. Tell your wife and the rest of the girls if they need a night out, to come find us.”
“Have fun, Little Sharpie,” Ash says. “Make terrible decisions and text me later to tell me all about it.”
Tyler cuts him a glare, which Ash just laughs off. Then those blue eyes find me and he winks. He winks at me in my faded high school sweatshirt and shorts that date back just as far. Do I own nicer things? Yes. But they’re not nearly as comfortable.
While Tyler is giving Everly more instructions, Ash walks by me slowly and whispers, “Text me later with embarrassing pictures of Ev dancing in the club?” He says the last word in a deep, mocking voice.
“Absolutely not.”
“Boo. You’re no fun.” He winks again and nudges me lightly with his elbow as he heads out.
Once Tyler is through the door, Everly closes it and turns with a huge smile on her face. “Who’s ready to party?”
She and Grace squeal together.
I glance down at my sleepwear. “Uhhh. I think I need to change first.”
They both look at me and laugh.
“Yeah,” Grace says. “Though with legs like that, they’d probably let you in regardless.”
“Are jeans okay?”
Grace’s brows rise, but she says nothing.
Everly pauses but then says, “Sure. Jeans would be fine.”
I’m going to stick out with these two. And not in the way I’d like. Sure, it’s Everly’s birthday and all the attention should be on her, but I’d like to look just slightly less hot than her for my first night out at a club with my new friends.
“I don’t have anything like that.” I motion to their outfits. “I have a knee-length dress I wore to Gabe’s company party last year that might work.”
My roommates exchange another look that I can’t comprehend, then they both walk toward me.
“Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.”
16
EWWW
BRIDGET
“Stop fidgeting. You look gorgeous.” Everly glances over her shoulder at me as the line moves up another step.
The thing is, I believe her. I feel gorgeous, but I still can’t stop pulling on the hem of the very small blue dress. One of at least twenty that my roommates made me try on until they found the perfect one. It was fun. Their closets are much more adventurous than mine. Between school and work, and a long relationship where I didn’t go out very often, my clothes need a serious overhaul for this new phase of my life. Oh, and jeans… yeah, they would not have been fine. I’ve not seen a single scrap of denim.