She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the other girls, who sat in the living room, while Hector joined Charlie in the kitchen.
Steven was standing over a smoking stove, waving his hand so the smoke wouldn’t set off the fire alarm. Hector rolled his eyes at him and pushed him out of the way so the chef could take over making a simple cake.
Some of the guys had decided to join us for our movie day. But I was glad, so I could get some alone time with the girls because I had so much to tell them about last night, especially that Charlie had said … he loved me!
Heather flopped down on the couch between Sierra and Sun. “So?”
Evelyn rocked back on her heels and glanced up from her phone, eyebrow raised.
I grabbed Evelyn’s hand and squeezed. “You will not believe it!”
Suddenly, the couch girls sat up taller, as if they were waiting for the tea.
After peeking briefly in the other room to make sure that Charlie was occupied, I grinned and lowered my voice. “Charlie said that he loves me.”
“FINALLY!” Heather shouted, jumping up. “About damn time.”
Sierra followed. “Did he really?!”
I glanced at Sun, who stood and grinned.
“Yes. And I said it back.”
“The sky is falling,” Heather said. “You admitted your seven years’ worth of feelings!”
“It hasn’t been that long,” I said, cheeks warming. But really, it had been.
“So, how did it happen?” Sierra asked.
“We were in a fight,” I said.
Heather rolled her eyes and giggled. “Classic. Did it accidentally spill out?”
My cheeks warmed even more. “Maybe …”
“Who said it first?” Evelyn asked.
“Me.”
Heather slapped me hard on the arm, as if she couldn’t contain herself. “Bitch!”
I burst into a fit of giggles because I couldn’t contain myself either. I had been holding it inside all morning, just waiting for all of them to get here so I could tell them everything that had happened.
Heather grasped my elbow. “I’m so happy.”
I glanced down at her fingers on my arm, then did a double take because they were bruised. “What happened to your knuckles?” I asked Heather. “They’re bruised.”
Heather snickered. “You should see the other girl.”
My eyes grew even wider. “What do you mean, the other girl? You got into a fight?”
The girls all grew quiet—very unlike them—and shared a look.
“What happened?” I asked again.
“Charlie didn’t tell you?” Sun asked.
I glanced over at Charlie, who was talking to Hector and Steven. “No?”
