Page 2 of Love at First Slice
After less than three weeks of dating and him getting our seal of approval to date our best friend, our sister from another mister. He was in his massive kitchen cooking something that I could only describe as smelling mouthwatering while our shy, bookish Tabitha dropped a bomb on us.
Well, more on me.
“So, it would be the four of us, your boyfriend, and your boss?” I croaked, hating how mean I sounded, but I couldn’t wrap my head around it. This was what I got for agreeing to change things up for Halloween. Now, my holiday was going to get obliterated.
“Is this like a why choose situation?” Rosie whispered, leaning forward. “Because I think we should totally read one ofthose in the new year for book club.” Ember snickered, and I rolled my eyes.
“That would be six of us,” I counted, trying to figure out the logistics of fitting two more people into the gathering I usually hosted.
“Well… that’s what I wanted to talk to you guys about,” Tabitha said, and that’s when I noticed the nervousness in her gaze. “What if this year, we changed things up?” I blinked.
“Changed things up how?” My throat felt dry.
“What if each of us, including Brew, invited someone who might not have anywhere to go Thanksgiving?”
“Invite a plus one?” Ember took the words right out of my mouth.
“Yeah.” She smiled. “I mean, there is always someone who doesn’t have plans or family, and instead of them spending it alone, we could gather together. The more the merrier,” Tab finished. It felt like she was avoiding looking at me.
“What if we all invite a guy!” Rosie said, and my eyes widened.
“Excuse me?” I croaked. “A guy?”When did she turn guy crazy?
“Yeah, I mean, invite someone as a friend. Someone we think would be a good… date option?” Rosie added. My hearing slowly went muffled. A matchmaking event? This was the last thing I wanted. I didn’t want to be with anyone. I didn’t even really believe in love and forevers.
“Wait, who would Tab’s boss be meant for?” Ember asked instead of shooting this whole idea down.
“What! Wait, this is supposed to be a Friendsgiving! Not Bangs-giving.”
“Bangs-giving! Oh my god! That’s genius!” Rosie cried, and the girls all laughed loudly enough not to notice my growl.
“I wasn’t suggesting it. I was just saying that Thanksgiving, out of all the holidays, is literally the most unsexy holiday. We sit, chat, be lazy, and stuff our faces with way too much food. Who is going to want to take part in that?”
“Unsexy holiday? I don’t know about that. I’ve watched Brew eat ice cream and want to tackle him to the floor after a bite,” Tabitha swooned. The three of us looked at one another, and even though I didn’t want to laugh, I did right along with them.
“I think that’s a you issue.” I shook my head with a smirk. She was so head over heels in love, and I was happy for her, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever meet someone who I was so into that watching them eat would do it for me. “Can we not make it a matchmaker thing? That would be awkward.”
“But we can invite people?” Tab asked. She had a heart bigger than the ocean. I was shocked she didn’t somehow have ten cats, bringing in strays off the street with how big hearted she was.
“I mean…” I sighed. “It would be tight at my place with ten but?—“
“That was my other idea.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “We could have it here,” Tab suggested.
“Here?” I repeated and heard Rosie sayuh-ohunder her breath behind me.
“Yeah. Brew said it would be okay to host it here, and he has the space.”
“Right.” I swallowed. Hosting Friendsgiving was the thing that got me out of going to my family’s huge Thanksgiving shindig. If we had it here, I wouldn’t have that excuse anymore. I realized my eyes had dropped to my lap, and when I looked up at my best friends, the women I had grown up with were all staring at me. “You could help me set everything up still. You wouldn’t have to go home.” I scoffed. I loved my mom, but she was a lot. She would figure out I wasn’t hosting it at my place and make me go help her.
“It’s fine.” I shrugged. “We can have Friendsgiving here,” I said with a tight smile.
“Oh! I know who I can invite!” Ember said, and I heard them start to talk.
I’d known change was coming when Tab and Brewster Graham got together, but it seemed that change was already here.
Too bad I sucked when it came to change.
Or so I used to think.
