Page 44 of Party Favors
Wren and Rosie had a camaraderie that made Amanda jealous and excited all at once. She’d not had in-person female friends since school, and even then, she’d felt isolated. It was fun to see Wren and Rosie interact. They so obviously loved and respected each other.
At the moment, they were showing off their bruises from their last roller derby throwdown. It was hard to imagine Rosie, who seemed a tad starchy, being a vicious and aggressive roller derby queen.
“I brought you jam,” Rosie said suddenly. “It’s New Year’s themed. I have some for you too, Amanda.”
That touched Amanda more than she cared to admit.
“What kind is it?” Wren asked.
“Fig, pomegranate, and grape.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of stuff.”
Rosie smiled. “In Ancient Greece, they smashed pomegranates on New Year’s Day for good fortune. And eating twelve grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve is a Spanish tradition that’s supposed to lead to prosperity. And lastly, figs symbolize fertility.”
“I was with you until the fertility,” Wren said dryly.
“It was what I could find at the grocery store. Not very artisan of me, I know.”
“It’ll be delicious. Your experiments always are.” Wren blew Rosie a kiss, and they both laughed.
The conversation moved to a gallery opening for Leo. It seemed as if Leo traveled quite a bit and that Rosie had met him for the opening in Pittsburgh since it fell over her winter break at school.
“What kind of art does Leo do?” Amanda asked.
There was an awkward extended silence that ended in Wren giggling. Rosie squared her shoulders. “The erotic kind. He’s really talented.”
“Oh.” Amanda glanced at Wren, who was laughing harder, seemingly at Amanda’s surprise. “I’m sure he is.”
“I’m in his newest collection,” Wren bragged. “He painted my hands grabbing our friend Dean’s dick.” Wren turned to Rosie. “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?”
“It’s a good-looking dick. And beautiful hands,” Rosie said wryly. She laughed. “It’s my favorite in that collection. I remember when you two posed for him. He came home, and we—”
“Ahem, ladies.” They all jumped at Leo’s voice. He had snuck up on them. Amanda had been way too enthralled hearing about Wren’s hands and some man’s penis to notice his approach. “I hate to interrupt this intellectual conversation about my … art.”
Amanda laughed. Wren’s friend group blew her mind a little. She wanted a piece of this.
“What’s up?” Rosie said.
“The resort had a cancellation, so we were able to get a room after all. We won’t have to bunk with William and Benji.”
Rosie smiled at him, something sharp in her eyes. “That’s wonderful news. We won’t have to be quiet.”
Leo blushed, which was very intriguing. “Yep. It’s in the lodge and has its own balcony overlooking the atrium, which is cool. It’ll be loud from the party, but it’s better than nothing. All that to say that you can get ready in our new room or here, if you want. There are options.”
“I’ll get ready here.” Rosie smiled at Amanda and Wren. “It’s nice to have a second and third opinion.”
Leo gave Rosie a kiss and left.
“We should hop to it, huh?” Rosie said.
From there, it was a whirlwind of dresses and heels and hairspray, interspersed with enough champagne and pop music to make Amanda feel giddy.
Rosie was wearing a maroon tea-length dress with a brocade pattern and a peter pan collar. She looked like a hot and fancy kindergarten teacher, which was pretty much exactly what she was. The thing she evidently needed extra opinions on was her lipstick color.
While Amanda was fixing her hair, trying to give it big, loose curls, Wren got dressed, so it was a surprise when Wren waltzed into the large, elegant bathroom wearing the hottest outfit Amanda had ever seen.
The black mini body-con skirt hugged her narrow hips and showed off her strong, roller derby legs. She had on black stockings, garters, and ultra-tall chunky heels. The highlight, though, was the completely sheer, loose crop top showing off a black delicate lace bra underneath.
