Page 102 of When Stars Collide
“Right, it’s too early.”
Elle sighed, setting her bag down on my bed. Violet and Kirsten followed suit. Alex hung back, preferring to stand next to the bathroom door. She reminded me a lot of the way Elle was when I first met her—meek, mild, and unassuming. Must be Mark’s genes.
“You can come over here,” I offered, attempting to make her feel included. “We don’t bite. Well, I don’t bite, anyway. I can’t speak for Kirsten over here.”
“So, I did a thing,” Violet announced.
“You changed your named to Daffodil?” I guessed, knowing from her tone of voice that the thing she’d really done was probably going to affect us, too.
“Not yet, but that’s certainly a possibility in the future.” Violet reached inside of her overnight bag and pulled out four tank tops. “I took the liberty of having custom tops made for Elle and the rest of us,” she squealed, sounding far too giddy.
“Of course you did.” I caught my tank top—the same shade of yellow as my dress—after Violet tossed it to me. Turning it over, I noticed there was something inscribed on the front of it.
“Maid of Dishonor.” I peered up at Violet, my eyebrow raised. “All right, Daylilly, I thought we called a truce, but if this is the way it’s going to be, then so be it.”
Violet giggled. “They all have tongue-in-cheek expressions written on them” She turned her orange tank top around so that I could read the front.Extra AF.
“Now, that one I agree with.”
“This side up?” Kirsten asked, puzzled. “With an arrow pointing upwards?”
“It’s telling people to pick you up when you pass out drunk on the floor,”I cleared up her confusion.
“Oh,” she responded with a laugh. “Yes, this seems appropriate for me.”
Elle held her tank top up.Drunk on Love … and Moscato.
“It’s actually usually a tossup between that and rum, but still true, nonetheless,” I mused.
Alex snickered softly, appearing far too pleased to not be included in the whole ordeal.
Below everyone’s individual inscription,Sloan/Hutchins Wedding 2020was printed, along with our individual roles in the wedding, further tying us together to ensure none of us would be able to ditch our group tonight.
“So, since no one else is going to address the elephant in the room,” Kirsten announced, reaching inside her overnight bag, “I will.” Eager to the point of excitement, she pulled out a copy ofHollywood Now—the very one I had hoped I’d left behind in New York. “Mena, do you have something you want to share?”
“Nothing Iwantto share, but I guess I have to now. Page sixty-two. I’m there.”
“What?” Elle asked, disappointed that she was just now finding this out for the first time. She snatched the magazine from Kirsten’s hands and turned to the page. “Look at you, flashing some major boob action, all hot and stuff. And would you look at Phineas?”
Kirsten sighed at the mention of Phineas’s name. Even Alex showed some interest, having made her way over to the bed.
“Whoa,” Violet added.
“You two look rather cozy next to each other.” Elle peered up at me, a knowing look on her face. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say maybe there’s more going on there than meets the eye?”
All eyes were on me, waiting for me to either confirm or deny Elle’s suspicions. “That’s some mighty fine conjecture you’re throwing out there, Ms. Bride-To-Be.”
“It’s not conjecture if you have enough facts to back it up.”
It was my turn to let out a comically loud sigh, but for a completely different reason. “We may have gotten cozy a time or nineteen. Who’s counting, really?”
“You, apparently.” Elle shook her head. “Are you guys dating?”
“No? Yes? I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
“Huh,” Elle muttered.
“Huh, what?”
