“Awwww….” A chorus of high-pitched squeals halted the kiss. She glanced over her shoulder to see all the women huddled at the end of the hall smiling and laughing. Heat covered her face as she turned back to Bogs. He was grinning and shaking his head. He leaned down for another kiss. This one quick. He stepped back and shouted, “Don’t scare her away.”
She watched him walk down the stairs before closing the door and walking inside.
Six beers and four hours later, Kenzie could barely feel her face. It was numb from laughing so much. These girls were a trip. They had spent the last hour giving their stories of how they had come to be Garrisons. She had a feeling there were missing pieces to the stories, the gaps were obvious, but she wasn’t questioning them.
She had expected them to grill her on what was going on with her and Bogs but they didn’t. They spent most of the night bullshitting about everything. There was something amazing about how different each of them were, yet their personalities flowed. Even her.
“And then we got married,” Sadie said, getting up from the couch next to Emory.
Emory snorted and pointed her beer at Roxanne. “That leaves you as the last single girl in the room.”
Rox held up her finger. “Thank you, Captain Obvious. Ever think maybe I like being on my own? Don’t have to deal with overly protective men. I think you’re jealous, Em.”
Emory twisted her lips and raised her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah, sure, girl. I’m jealous of your abstinence. You don’t know how bad it sucks getting laid nightly.”
Roxanne covered her face with her hands. “No talking about sex with my brother, you bitch.”
Kenzie laughed with the group. She liked them all butRoxanne was her favorite. There was a way about her. Even though it was obvious that they were all close, Roxanne made a point of making sure Kenzie felt comfortable and filling in the backstory when the girls said, “Remember that one time…”
Sadie came back in the room and sat next to Kenzie. “You know any guys for our girl?”
Kenzie didn’t. Except may be one. It was hard to miss how he looked at her the night of the dinner. “What about Jonah?”
The room got quiet. She wasn’t sure if they knew who she was talking about.
“The guy from the party,” she clarified. Gazing around, she noticed the hidden smiles on Sadie and Cassie. Emory’s was less subtle.
Emory wiggled. “The one with the sleeve tattoo, the muscles bulging out from his shirt, the gorgeous, rugged face that could make any girl squirm one second and disrobe in record time? Is that the one you’re talking about?”
Kenzie laughed. “That’s him.” She glanced over to Roxanne. “He’s really nice, too.”
Roxanne blushed and took a sip of her wine. “The one who doesn’t know I exist?”
“Oh, shut up, Rox. Not a man alive that doesn’t know you exist. Please, spare me.” Emory tossed a pillow at her. Roxanne dodged the assault while balancing her glass. Kenzie had to agree with Emory on it. Roxanne was beautiful.
“I think you should make a move, Rox. Pursue him,” Sadie said next to her.
“There’s nothing to pursue. Yes, he’s gorgeous, and yes, he’s successful and yes, when I tried to talk to him at the party, he avoided me like the friggin’ plague. So, can we drop the Jonah talk.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and gazed over at Kenzie. “I wanna hear more about the Bogs situation. Girl, my brother has never, and I mean never, been so into a girl in his life. What’s your secret? And please leave out thenaked parts.” Her face scrunched in disgust. “I need new friends who aren’t banging my brothers.”
Emory threw something at Roxanne again. Kenzie was pretty sure it was food this time. This get together might be getting out of hand. “Hell no, don’t you dare leave out the naked parts. Bogs is hot!”
Roxanne scoffed, widening her eyes in disbelief. “He is not.”
“Yeah, he is, Rox,” Sadie chimed in, giggling.
“He’s our brother!” she shouted.
Cassie shook her head. “No, he’s your brother. And I agree, Bogs is sexy.”
Kenzie laughed and sat back in the couch and locked eyes with Roxanne. Kenzie shrugged and smirked. “Don’t look at me, I’m banging him. Of course, I think he’s hot.”
The roar of laughter from the girls, including Roxanne, had Kenzie joining in. While she wasn’t going to discuss their sex life, she wouldn’t deny that he was hot.
“I’m getting the tequila. Let’s do shots.” Emory got up from the couch and disappeared into the kitchen.
Kenzie wasn’t sure she could handle any more alcohol. She sunk into the couch wondering how Bogs felt about holding her hair back again as she prayed to the porcelain gods.
All the girls leaned forward taking their glasses from Emory, who was passing them around. The last one had an amber hued tone and she passed it to Cassie.
