"Hmm," Tristan crooned while moving tiles across onto the table. "I don't get why Nicole and Cal don't elope if they're planning on getting married in Vegas."
I had to laugh at him; this poor sucker didn't know Zoey Quinn. He had no idea of the damage she was capable of. "Zoey would kill Nikki if she did that. She's been planning her maid of honor speech for the last two years. We all pulled names out of a hat to see who would be whose maid of honor and Nikki got Zoey for hers. I don't think anyone expected her to get married before forty honestly, much less the first one out of all of us to do so. We thought that bitch would get hitched after one of our first-borns."
Tristan snorted as he sipped his coke. "Who did you get as your maid of honor?"
"Nikki," I said with a laugh, imagining her bossing everyone around. "I'm going to be Josh's best woman."
"Who did you guys think would be the first one to get married?" He was looking down at the pieces I'd just moved, and even though I felt like I should lie to him, I didn't.
"Me."
Chapter31
"I can't believe you're getting married," my words were slurred as they slipped out of my mouth.
Nicole raised a lazy eyebrow in my direction, cradling her chocolate martini close to her huge jugs. "Who would've guessed, huh?" She smiled as she nudged me with her big toe. We were sitting around her sectional; the two of us sprawled out and halfway to our destination— Hangover City, with an estimated arrival time around tomorrow morning.
I whacked Nikki's foot away from me and let out a deep sigh. "I thought your bitchy ass would be the last one."
"Me too," she agreed.
Nikki looked so different than what I was used to; she'd always been a happy person in her own way. She wasn't all shits and giggles like Zoey. She was the calm and collected type underneath her tough layer. Nicole was very serious and determined on whatever task she had ahead of her but recently things had changed. Her facial expressions, energy, and just everything about her now radiated light, love, and all that other great, corny stuff she'd never believed in. I couldn't count how many short relationships she'd been in over the last seven years, but it'd been a lot and she had never, ever been like this. Not even close.
If she were any other person, I'd be bitter with resentment at the level of happiness she'd obtained but this was my Nicole. She deserved all of this and more. I wouldn't belittle her into asking for reassurance with her decision because I knew her. When the entire world might be crumbling in chaos, Nikki was the epitome of solid and steady. She knew exactly what the hell she was doing.
Hence, why we were both desperately trying to get drunk and stay drunk as quickly as possible.
Calum and Tristan had left a couple hours before, and I thought we were both feeling it in our own ways, but I could only begin to imagine how Nikki must have been feeling. She was marrying someone who was going off to "bone bitches," as she'd eloquently put it earlier. She gave him her blessing because she understood that he kind of had to go since he'd already made his commitments. She was not one to break her promises but by the glazed over look in her eye, that knowledge and acceptance was eating away at her.
My friendship was eating away at me.
I cried last night for at least half an hour after Tristan dropped me off. It wasn't prettyatall. I was a sloppy mess when I cried. Big gasps, snot everywhere, body heaving: the works. Matlock freaked out and hid under my bed until I got myself under control. Almost as if she knew what I was doing, Nikki sent me a text message a little while afterward demanding that I spend the weekend with her.
"Let's go get haircuts and blow some money on cupcakes tomorrow. What do you say?" she suggested with a slow waggle of her eyebrows.
"Deal," I accepted without a second thought. The key to our hearts was through cupcakes. Stuffing our faces was a tried and true method in healing our souls. There was also something about getting a haircut, regardless of whether you cut off an inch or six that just made you feel better about yourself.
Nikki smiled at me sadly, before plopping her foot way too close to my face. "I hate feeling like this," she moaned in misery.
"I know, Nik. I can't even imagine—," I told her simply, knowing she'd understand what I was trying to express. I couldn't imagine how she felt. I could barely contain my own emotions, but somehow voicing them made them seem so much more painful and harsh.
"And you, you asshole. What's going on with Tristan? I saw you all snuggled up at the bar."
I snorted because I figured it was the only reasonable noise to express. "There is nothing going on, trust me. He just wants to be friends, and I'm not going to try to force anyone to be with me, you know?"
"Of course I do," she rolled her clear, blue eyes. "You're better than that. I better not ever hear you trying to make anyone be with you, K. Any guy would be lucky to have you. It kills me enough to know that you're pining away for Robby, I mean Tristan—"
"I'm not pining away for him!" I said a little too loudly and indignantly.
"Is that why you're always hanging out with him?" she asked, smiling smugly when I didn't bother responding. "K, don't you waste your time on him when he doesn't want the same thing you do. At least, don't waste all of your time on him hoping that something will come out of it. You need to live your life, too. Okay?"
I saw the reasoning in her words because they made a lot of sense. What was I going to do? Waste away years of my life on a guy I liked hoping that he'd see me as more than a friend at some point? Is that the life I wanted to live? A part of me screamed,yes!Tristan was worth it. The other half yelled back,no!Life was too short to wait around.
"Okay," I agreed with her. There wasn't a point in disagreeing, she was completely right.
She gulped down the last bit of her martini in a way that was anything but feminine. "I love you, and I want you to be happy, Kat. I know he makes you happy, but I just don't want you to get your heart broken. It isn't fair he gets to go off and bang other girls while you sit around and wait for him to pull his head out of his ass. You need to get laid," she enunciated in a sing-song voice. I knew she was well on her way to being drunk. She didn't sing-song. Ever.
"I love you too, Nikki. So much," I grinned, flicking her big toe. "You're fucking right too, what does he think I am? His girlfriend? I can do whatever I please."
