He scoops her up in his arms for a hug, and then he pounds my back. Ashley has some gold squares in her hand, and she takes her water bottle and starts soaking a paper towel from the stash on Winter’s dressing table.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask Ashley.
“Giving us all some temporary tats. To celebrate your engagement in style.” She presses a square onto my upper arm and holds a wet paper towel over it.
When she peels off the backing, I stare down at a glittery goldNOLA Groomdesign on my arm.
“NOLA Groom?” Murph breaks into laughter. “That’s pretty funny.”
Ashley grabs his arm and presses a square and then a wet paper towel onto him next. When she peels off the backing—
“For Better or Worse?” He squints at the design tattooed on his arm. “Is that a gold dick pic below the words?”
Ashley smirks at him. “It’s not an actual picture. It’s a design to match the slogan. That’s what you get for making fun of my business accessories.”
“I wasn’t making fun!” he protests as he tries to wipe off the tattoo.
To no avail. I try, too, but those suckers hold.
Ashley works her way around our circle, and before long, we’re all wearingNOLA Squadtattoos. Winter’s also sporting aNOLA Brideand aMuch Hap-penistattoo that has another—as Murph said—“gold dick pic.”
“Are you satisfied?” Charly asks Ashley. “I think you’ve accessorized the hell out of all of us.”
“Very,” Ashley says as she hugs Winter. “I want to remember my best girl’s engagement.”
Not to be outdone, Murph insists on having an impromptu engagement party.
Winter takes my hand, and we head out of the dressing room. Murph is always looking for any excuse to throw a party, and I can hear him calling people as we walk to the parking lot.
And he got his damn hot tub, so he wants to show that off, too.
It’s a win-win.
As soon as we arrive at his house, I pull Winter onto my lap, and we hang out by the pool area in the backyard. The hot tub is filled with women in bikinis, and I don’t think any of us actually know who they are.
When Ashley joins us, she complains about all the women Murph invited.
“That’s Murph,” I say. “He won’t settle down.”
“He’s not even talking to any of them, though,” Winter points out.
That’s true, actually. I’d been so focused on Winter I hadn’t noticed what my teammate was doing.
“Why the hell did he invite them all then?” Ashley says curtly. “They’re just puck bunnies. It’s pretty obvious they only want one thing.”
Murph strolls over to us. “Hey, y’all.”
Ashley rolls her eyes at him. “Seriously, why invite all these strangers over if you’re not even going to hang out with them?”
Murph glances over at the hot tub. “They bothering you?”
Ashley blushes. “No. Yes. I don’t know!”
She storms off, and I shake my head. “Murph, what are you doing?”
He just grins. “I didn’t invite them for me. I invited them for Dean.”
“Dean?” Winter looks around. “I don’t see him.”
