“Anyone taking bets on Jodi and Free sneaking out in the middle of the night to see each other?” Roxy asked, swinging her head to look at the other three.
Shaun laughed, still laying on her back, staring up at the log ceiling. “One hundred percent going to happen.”
The other three women laughed, and Shaun rolled into a sitting position. “I’m heading to bed. Y’all should think about it, too.”
A chorus of “Okays” from the other three met her as she crossed to the door, exiting into the hallway and heading down to the room she would be sharing with Jodi for the night.
Slipping out of the skin tight bodycon dress, she left it on the floor and stripped off her thong and matching lace bralette,padding naked over to where her suitcase was still laying open on her bed. Rifling through the clothes, she found a pair of boy short underwear and pulled them up her legs. Next, she pulled on a well-worn t-shirt that hung clear to mid-thigh. She was fairly certain it had belonged to Tommy, left behind after he’d left town. At first, she’d kept it for sentimental reasons, but now it was just a comfortable sleep shirt.
Taking her hair down from the high topknot she’d pulled her curls into, she shook her head, running her fingers through it enough to detangle some of it, before securing it into a loose French braid over one shoulder.
She had washed her face and was brushing her teeth when Jodi finally came into the room, looking well-kissed, her curls a finger tumbled mess around her head. She closed the door and leaned back against it.
“Jid ou uys oo iht ihn dhe kishen?” Shaun asked around her toothbrush, leaning out the bathroom door to glare at her sister.
Jodi rolled her blue eyes that were so similar to her own and shook her head. “Not entirely.”
“Eww, grosh,” Shaun groaned before going to the sink to rinse. Putting her toothbrush on the bathroom counter, she turned the water off and flipped the lights off. Crossing to the bed, she jumped into the middle of it, bouncing as she landed. “I hope we can’t hear Mom and Dad tonight. They’re always the worst.”
“The worst,” Jodi laughed, crossing the room to stand at the edge of the bed, then turned her back, pulling her hair to one side. “Can you unzip me?”
Shaun rolled to the edge of the bed, reaching up to unzip the pretty white cocktail dress Jodi had chosen for the evening, before flopping back onto the bed when Jodi thanked her and walked into the bathroom.
Shaun was almost asleep, still on top of the covers, when Jodi exited five minutes later, dressed in a pair of white lounge shorts and a button-down, short sleeve sleep shirt in a buttery soft material with ‘Bride’ embroidered in gold thread over her left breast. Her hair had been pulled into a high knot on the top of her head and her face was clear of make-up.
“Where are the maid of honor pj’s I got you to wear?” she heard Jodi ask petulantly, slapping her on the back of the thigh.
“I’m going to wear them tomorrow to get ready,” Shaun mumbled into her pillow without turning her head. Yawning broadly, she said, “You’re lucky I’m wearing clothes at all.”
“Scoochover,” Jodi whined, pushing hard on Shaun’s deadweight body that was taking up the entire bed, since she’d laid on it diagonally.
“You have a whole bed over there,” Shaun whined back, but smiled when Jodi shoved again, rolling her over onto her back until her head was hanging off the edge. “Sleep in your own bed!”
“No,” Jodi grumbled, pushing Shaun’s feet aside and climbing into the bed under the covers, snuggling down into them. “I want to sleep with you tonight.Move over!”
Laughing, Shaun righted herself on the bed and slid under the covers too, rolling to her side and stacking her hands beneath her right cheek, Jodi facing her in the same position. “You’re getting married tomorrow.”
“I’m getting married tomorrow,” Jodi whispered reverently, and Shaun watched as her blue eyes shimmered with tears. “I love him so much.”
“I know,” Shaun whispered back, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her sister’s ear. “You’re going to be the most beautiful bride, sis.”
Jodi caught her hand as she made to bring it back, squeezing it three times, their secret way of saying, ‘I love you’. Shaunsqueezed back four times, ‘I love you, too’ the response. “Thank you for being here.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Shaun said quietly, then yawned again. “Now go to sleep. You need all the beauty rest you can get.”
“You’re a brat,” Jodi laughed, but snuggled deeper into the pillows. Within minutes, Shaun knew Jodi was asleep by her slow, rhythmic breathing.
She was asleep in minutes herself but awoke only a couple hours later. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was only two in the morning. She knew without rolling over that Jodi was no longer in the bed and rolled her eyes, not in the least surprised. She sighed quietly into the dark before sliding from beneath the sheets and padding to the door.
The giant house was dark and silent, except for the quiet noises coming from Free’s room, and Shaun hurried down the hallway and down the wide staircase. Crossing to the kitchen, she opened the fridge, taking a bottle of water out and drinking half of it before closing the fridge door, once again ensconcing the room in darkness. There was faint moonlight filtering in through the wide windows in the great room, the snow having finally given way to a cloudless, star filled sky.
“Is thathisshirt?”
Shaun squeaked in alarm at the husky growl that came from somewhere in the dark behind her. Spinning on her bare feet, she swallowed hard when she saw the outline of Kasey sitting in a high-backed armchair across the room. The moonlight cast him half in shadow, half in pale light. He was slouched slightly in the chair, reclining on his tailbone, his thighs widespread. One arm lay along the arm of the chair, his long fingers clasped around a crystal glass with several inches of amber liquor. He wore a pair of dark sweatpants and a black sleeveless tank topthat clung to his upper body. His arms were well muscled and bare for her to stare at.
“Wh-what?” she asked, the word coming out way more breathless than she’d intended. Her heart hammered in her chest.
“Is thathisfucking shirt?” he asked again, the darkness in his voice making her nerves skitter.
