“The kissing. The groping. It’s as if you’re still dating.”
I smirk and pull the ingredients out for the charcuterie board. “We’re in love, Jules. And don’t give me that shit because I see the way you and Nate are.”
“I know,” she says with a sigh. “I’m happy for you. And me. And all of us.”
“Me too. Now, help me set this out.”
“You’ve transformed your whole table into a charcuterie board,” she says with a laugh. “This is awesome.”
“It’s a lot of people,” I reply. “We’ve grown.”
“I know, and it’s fun. But it’s more difficult now to get us all together.”
“So we’re going to enjoy it tonight,” I remind her.
Just as we’re finishing up with displaying the food, Nic and Alecia arrive, followed by Meredith and Jax.
“I know I’m not a girl,” Jax says, carrying one of Nic’s bakery boxes. “But I bat for your team, and I need a night out.”
“You’re always welcome,” I assure him. “Nic, thanks for bringing these.”
“No, thank you,” she says with a smile. “You’re all my guinea pigs tonight. It’s a new flavor.”
“What is it?” Jules asks, peeking inside.
“Strawberry lemonade,” Nic says with a smile. “And I’ve been told it’s divine.”
“I can’t wait,” Meredith says. “But first, I need a drink.”
“I have a peach sangria, huckleberry lemon drops and champagne with pomegranate.”
“Yes, please,” Mer says with a laugh. “I’ll work my way through all of those tonight.”
“I can’t believe I have to stay sober,” Meg says as she walks in with Sam.
“I can make you virgin cocktails,” I offer and giggle when Meg’s smile turns naughty.
“It’s been a minute since I was a virgin, but I’ll take you up on it.”
“No sex talk tonight,” Jax says, pointing at all of us.
“Who’s talking about sex without us?” Brynna asks as she and Stacy arrive, followed shortly by Amelia and Anastasia.
“Haven’t you met us?” Alecia asks. “We drink and we talk about sex. That’s what we do. You can’t change the rules.”
Jax reaches for the sangria. “I’ll be working my way through all of these, too.”
“Okay, now that we’re all here,” I begin, while we’re all still sober. “I have a ton of food on the charcuterie board. And if we run out of anything, there’s more in the fridge. Just let me know and I’ll fill it back up.
“Also, there’s a wet bar set up over there. I have a huge batch of peach sangria made, and have the fixings for huckleberry lemon drops and cham- poms.”
“What’s a cham-pom?” Sam asks.
“Champagne with pomegranate juice,” Jules says with a wink. “And be careful because you’ll get shitfaced on those things.”
“I’ll have two,” Sam says with a laugh.
“Have I mentioned that I’m not happy about being sober?” Meg asks.
“You get to have a baby,” I remind her and her face goes all gooey, making me laugh. “Just think about that. Here, I’ll make you a huckleberry lemonade.”
“That sounds really good,” Meg replies with a smile and follows me over to the wet bar as most of the others make a beeline for the food. “Thanks for doing all of this.”
“It’s my pleasure,” I say with a smile, mixing the lemonade and huckleberry syrup in a shaker with ice, then giving it a good shake before pouring it into a pretty glass. “Here you go.”
She takes a sip and looks at me in surprise. “Wow. This is really good.”
“Told you.”
I spend the next twenty minutes mixing cocktails and making sure everyone has what they need before I make my own drink and load a plate with food.
“Nat, you have to see this,” Stacy calls out, holding a photo in her hand.
“What is it?”
“Our baby,” Nic says with a smile as Stacy passes the ultrasound photo to me. “She’s going to be born in three months.”
“Oh, Nic,” I murmur, taking in the little nose and little fingers. “She’s perfect.”
“Do you get to be there when she’s born?” Brynna asks.
“Yes, the first mom and I have been in communication, and she said that I can be there. She might not be confortable with Matt being there, but we’ll see.”
“You’re calling her the first mom?” Jax asks. “That’s interesting.”
“It’s accurate,” Nic says with a shrug. “She’s the baby’s first mom, and I’m her forever mom.” She smiles and bites her lip. “I’m really nervous.”
“All moms are,” I reply, holding my hand up in cheers. “Are you doing anything fun before she arrives?”
“Matt just told me that we’re going to Italy next month,” she says with a grin. “It’s our last vacation away as a couple before we become a family, and I’m so excited.”
“That’s awesome,” Jules says. “I know I’ve said it several times, but I’m going to say it again. I’m so happy for you both. I know how badly you’ve wanted this.”
“Thanks,” Nic replies with a grin. “I’m still pinching myself.”
“Wait, shouldn’t Nic be drinking a virgin drink with me?” Meg asks. “I mean, she’s expecting, after all.”
“You’ll have to pry this liquor out of my cold, dead hands,” Nic says with a laugh. “This is one of the perks of our situation.”
“Kill joy,” Meg mutters.
For the next hour we drink and eat and laugh, progressively getting more inebriated, until finally, everything is funny.
“I don’t even know how to say charcoal board,” Sam says with a frown. “But it sure is delicious.”
“Charcuterie board,” Jules corrects her. “Here, it’s easy. Repeat after me. Char.”
“Char,” everyone in the room repeats, making us all dissolve into giggles.
“Cooter,” Jules says. Brynna snorts sangria through her nose, making us all laugh even harder.
“Cooter,” we all repeat once we catch our breath, still snickering like teenage boys.
“Ee,” Jules says.
“Ee.”
“Char-cooter-ee.”
We repeat it about six times, giggling, until Sam finally says, “Yay! I can say it!”
“I’ve never been so happy to say cooter in my life,” Jax says with a wink.
“Having a gay friend is so fun,” Stacy says. “Let’s talk about orgasms again.”
“Again?” Jax asks. “Haven’t we already covered this? Like fourteen thousand times?”
“We were drunk, Jax,” Sam reminds him. “We forget.”
“Meg should write it down,” Amelia suggests. “Since she’s sober.”
“Way to rub salt in the wound,” Meg replies with a scowl. “I’m not writing shit down.”
“She’s grouchy,” Anastasia says with a laugh. “And if I’d known that girls nights were this much fun, I would have come way more often.”
“I had orgasms today,” I volunteer proudly. “Luke took the kids to his mom’s and when he got home, bam. Orgasms.”
“You always get them,” Alecia says with a sigh. “But then again, I think we all do.”
“We’re lucky bitches,” Jules says. “I’ve been feeling bad lately, though.”
“Why?” we all ask in unison.
“So, Nate is awesome about going downtown, if you know what I mean.”
We all nod, sipping and chewing.
“And I don’t think I… reciprocate enough.”
“I get it,” Brynna says with a nod. “Sometimes I don’t think I have a great technique.”