Page 16 of Saving His Heart
“I like this one, Preston,” Julia says, pushing past us into the apartment.
Preston silently mouths, ‘I’m sorry!’
“Who would have guessed,” Lexi says. “You found a gorgeous girl with brains. I’m impressed, dickwad.”
Preston rolls his eyes but bites his tongue.
“We really are not that bad. I promise you’ll have fun. Come on, girl rules start now. That means it’s time for Mr. Westbrook to head to his own firing squad.” Lanie smiles while looping her arm with mine and dragging toward the apartment.
Something tells me Lanie will keep her word, and I am in for the fun night the girls promised, but somehow, I don’t expect Preston will get off so easily. Giving him a tight wave, I allow Lanie to lead me back into my own apartment.
As soon as the door closes, my heart rate picks up. I don’t know these women from Adam, but walking into the small family room, I burst out laughing. Julia and Lexi are both removing their bras through the armholes of their shirts. When Julia notices me, she slingshots it. Her baby blue bra goes whizzing past my head.
“What kind of girls’ night is this exactly?” I ask.
“The best kind. No bras, no glasses, and junk food for days. The only rule is to be yourself,” Julia informs me.
“Jesus, girls, you cannot just throw Ems into our wicked ways. Warn a girl,” Lexi says, handing me a bottle of wine. “Cheers, Emory.”
I watch in amusement as all three of them raise their own bottles and drink.If you can’t beat them, you might as well join them.
“You see, Emory,” Lexi continues, “the three of us have known each other since birth, but we are not the mean girl crew.”
“No way,” Lanie interjects. “Mean girls can kiss my tush. We are the ‘more awkward, the better, just don’t be a jerk’ kind of crew.”
“Honestly, we think the devil invented bras, so we lose them every chance we get,” Julia informs me.
This is all a little weird, but since I’m a modest B-cup, I don’t really need to wear a bra most days, anyway. Handing my bottle of wine to Lexi, I reach around my back to unhook my bra. I pull it out of the armhole just as the others had. Looking around, I shrug my shoulders and toss it over my head.
All three of my guests break out in applause, and I feel like I just scored the winning basket. I’ve never really had girlfriends, but these girls seem determined to fill me in on all I’ve missed.
“First things first, there are a few requirements of our girls’ nights,” Julia enlightens me, and my palms get sweaty waiting for her to finish. With a glint in her eye, she smiles. “Thanks to Preston, we have the alcohol. Thanks to us, we have the company, and thanks to Door Dash, we will soon have the food. Do you have any allergies, Ems?” she asks while typing away on her phone.
“Ah, no. I’ll eat just about anything,” I tell her.
“You’d have to if you’re sleeping with Preston,” Lexi quirks.
“Lex,” Lanie admonishes, and I feel my face flush beat red. “We promised no inquisition tonight, and we are going to stick to that.”
“Food will be here in twenty minutes,” Julia informs us. “And Lanie is right, no inquisition. We invited ourselves down here, so we have to cut her some slack. But,” she says, and I sit up straighter on the couch, “we should play a game.”
“Yes,” Lexi jumps in. “A get to know you game.”
I look around nervously. Lexi and Julia look like trouble, while Lanie at least seems as nervous as I am.
“What kind of game?” Lanie asks.
“Never Have I Ever,” Julia and Lexi say in unison.
“I’ve never played,” I tell them, and watch three heads whip in my direction.
“What do you mean? Even Lanie has played, and she is usually the goody-two-shoes. No offense, Lanes,” Lexi says.
“You’ve really never played?” Lanie asks kindly.
“No. Um …” Do I really want to tell these girls how tough my life has been? By the looks of them, I can all but guarantee they won’t be able to relate. Deciding to just get it over with, I tell them a little about me. “I didn’t do most things. I didn’t exactly have a normal childhood. I started raising my sisters when I was seven years old, so I never really had the time for, well, fun, I guess.” For the first time in a long time, I feel embarrassed about my past. I lower my eyes to my knees. I wouldn’t change it because I know my sisters needed me, but it has its own sense of shame in times like these.
“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.” Moving in close, Lanie wraps me in a hug. It’s an odd sensation. I’ve only ever received hugs from my sisters, and tonight I’ve been attacked twice. Donny was against hugging, the asshole.
