Chelsea leaned over and hugged me. When she released me, Lucy, who was on my other side, did the same.
“Tell us what’s going on now,” Tanya said. Her eyes gleamed with curiosity. “Clearly he’s interested in more than just a fling.”
I shot Lucy a look. “Did you tell them everything?”
“Of course I did.”
I couldn’t even be upset with her. I hadn’t told her to keep it between us, and I really hadn’t expected her to. Though they surprised me with their ambush this evening, I knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. We were all good friends and most of them had no respect for boundaries. Tanya and Yancy tried, but Lucy and Chelsea were wild cards.
Our appetizers arrived in the middle of my story. I stopped talking for a bit so we could all eat, but I finished explaining everything that had happened around the same time our entrees arrived. The girls listened and occasionally asked a question or said something, but, for the most part, they let me talk and just listened.
As everything came tumbling out, I felt lighter and lighter. I realized how much weight I’d been carrying around by not talking to someone about what was going on in my life and in my head. How much it dragged me down. And how much I needed someone to just listen to me and tell me I wasn’t being too anxious or needy.
“I always liked Elijah,” Chelsea said. “I’m still kinda mad at him for hurting you, but I also have to admit that he’s got rizz.”
“Rizz?” Tanya asked, her brows shooting up to her hairline.
“Charisma,” Chelsea clarified.
“Oh, I know what it means, but why are you talking like an adolescent?”
Chelsea didn’t bother to answer. She stuck her tongue out at Tanya.
“He makes you happy,” Yancy said, echoing the words Lucy used earlier in the day. “We can all see it. As long as he keeps doing that, he’ll be welcome around us. But if that changes…”
“Then I’ll have Chris kick his ass,” Lucy said when Yancy trailed off.
Yancy rolled her eyes, and the rest of us laughed. Chris was a shark when it came to business, but he wasn’t the type to get into a physical altercation.
“What? He will!” Lucy insisted.
“That’s sweet, Lucy, but even if Eli and I don’t work out, I don’t want Chris assaulting him on my behalf,” I stated.
“Why not? I have a couple of ex-boyfriends I wouldn’t mind Chris beating up,” Chelsea said.
“Because it wouldn’t make me feel better. If I want him to suffer, I want to be the one to cause the suffering.”
All four of my friends looked at me as though they’d never seen me before.
“That is absolutely vicious,” Tanya said. “And I love it.”
“Damn, you’re more gangster than I thought, Gigi.” This statement came from Lucy.
“Why are you calling her that?” Yancy asked.
Lucy’s answering grin was full of mischief. “That’s what Elijah calls her.”
“Awwwww.” The sound came from all four of them simultaneously.
“Zip it,” I commanded, finishing off my wine.
“It’s cute,” Chelsea insisted.
They spent the next fifteen minutes teasing me as we all paid our checks and walked out to our cars.
“We need to do this more often,” Tanya said. “Especially before the baby comes. Once she’s here, I know I won’t have the time or energy for a while.”
“Agreed. Charles and I have been talking about giving Carolena a sibling, and I know the baby fever will hit full force when your little nugget is born.”
