"I'm going to get a drink first. What do you want me to get you?" she asked.
I was glad it wasn't so loud enough that I couldn't hear her. "Whatever you get, Zo." I shrugged. She tended to stick to really girly drinks which I was all for, so I knew her choice would be good. She nodded and headed to the bar while I weaved through the people milling about, spying both Nicole and Calum sitting up on stools at a table.
She shot me a big smile and wrapped me in a tight hug. "I've missed you," she admitted, and I had to nod in agreement. I didn't think I'd ever gone three consecutive days without seeing her sandy colored head in all the years since we'd met. Even though I had Tristan's company to distract me from her absence, my heart still recognized that I hadn't spent any time with someone I loved and valued. My mom has been dead for fifteen years, and I still missed her in a way that words could never explain properly. I'd learned over the years that when you genuinely loved something, it left an impression on you forever.
"Hi Kat," Calum piped up from his spot next to Nikki.
"Hey," I said, holding my hand up for a high-five, which he slapped with vigor. I liked him. A good high-five said a lot about a person; just like a handshake did. I hated limp fish handshakes like you couldn't imagine.
I felt my ass being grabbed roughly, and although I should have been alarmed by the intimate gesture, with Zoey and Josh possibly in the picture I had no doubts that it was one of their perverted asses. Sure enough, I turned around slowly to spy two blonde heads behind me. One head had short hair, while the other had much longer and darker blonde hair. Josh and Leo, of course.
"Booger Bear!" Josh exclaimed in his loudest shriek. He only did that when he had already started drinking, so I was a little scared.
"What's up, homolofagous?" I laughed and gave my friend a hug. I hadn't seen him since we'd gone bowling, and we had only been texting intermittently since he began seeing Leo the day of his party. That sort of absence with my closest friends seemed to be going on much more frequently now than ever before, leaving me a little unsettled.
He rolled his eyes and shot me the middle finger. He hated it when I called him that but seriously, I thought he got a kick out of it secretly. Josh busied himself saying hi to Nicole and Calum while I tried to high-five Leo, who played hand-tag with me until he awkwardly landed his palm against mine. I'd forgiven him for the weak high-five since he could moonwalk. In no time, Zoey was back with what looked like two margaritas before shoving one in my direction. Nicole made us rally around the table, her hazel eyes wide and a little maniacal.
I sat between Zoey and Josh, smashed in close to their two thin bodies when I felt two big hands land on my shoulders. Looking over one, I spotted the familiar reddish-brown hair towering over me. "Hey," he said, very close to my ear. I raised a hand to squeeze his fingers. I wanted to lean back against him but I didn't; he was warm enough to feel through the thin material of my blouse.
"Now that all of you bitches are here," Nicole began. She stood right next to Calum, holding hands like cutie pies. "We have something very important to tell you."
Oh my God.
Then it hit me,she's going to start doing porn, too.
"What? No!" Nicole blurted out, her pretty face screwed into a grimace. Oh shit, I guessed I said that out loud and blushed all over. "Calum asked me to marry him, and I said yes!"
I gasped.
Tristan's hands squeezed the shit out of my shoulders.
Zoey tensed up.
Josh made a noise that could only be described as a snicker and a snort mixed together.
Then there was silence.
"Seriously?" Zoey's small voice squeaked.
Nicole rolled her eyes and held up her hand to show a mighty nice-looking solitaire diamond resting on her ring finger. "Yes, dumbasses."
What. The. Fuck.
My brain raced, and I was sure everyone else's were as well. Calum and Nicole had only known each other for three weeks. Three weeks! They'd only been seeing each other for two of those.
I had fish that didn't survive longer than that same amount time, and Calum and Nikki were deciding to get married. I was dumbstruck. As my brain continued trying to process all of it, I only thought of Nicole and the person she was. She was the most self-assured and confident individual I had ever met, she knew what she wanted and always got it. Nikki didn't wear her heart on her sleeve, and never made decisions without seriously considering all of her options. She knew what she was doing.
This was the Nikki who always catered to all of my whims, regardless of how stupid she might think them to be. Who stood in line for four hours to watch the last Transformers movie with me at midnight on opening night? Nicole. Who went with me to a book signing the day before her bar exam? Nicole. Who had always been there for me no matter what? Nikki. I loved her, and the fact that she was excited as hell while the rest of us just stared dumbly forward snapped me out of my haze.
"I'm so happy for you!" I gushed out while my head spun with information and acceptance.
She lit up like a firecracker and smiled so brilliantly I felt terrible that I hadn't been immediately excited for her. The only time I'd ever seen her so excited was when we'd been at porn con waiting to meet Calum. Go figure.
"I can't believe it!" Zoey finally snapped out of her mind-trip, hopping out of her seat to jump into Nikki's arms.
Very quickly after that, the other two idiots, not including Leo — who hadn't given me enough reason to consider him one — were offering their congratulations to the newly engaged couple. I was sure we were all wondering the same things, but none of us wanted to ruin their happy moment with difficult questions. Technically, it shouldn't be any of our business how they decided to work out their relationship, but I was so attached and protective of Nikki that I needed to have answers at some point.
"I'm going to need another drink," Zoey whispered into my ear once our circle had dispersed a bit. She was sucking her margarita down like it was water on a hot day.
