“This is crazy. Soph and I went to see Ever and Jesse play, and she posted photos from the show afterward. She’s an awesome photographer, by the way. Some random guy comments on her post, and they start messaging and instantly click.”
“Because you meddled,” I add.
“It’s who I am, you can’t fight DNA,” Lola says, matter-of-factly, and everyone laughs.
“Oh, I like you even more now,” Gemma says, still smiling.
“Little did she know that the guy she’s getting flirty with is Ever?—”
Gemma stops her. “Wait, did he not have photos of himself on his profile?”
Lola shakes her head. “Nope. And this one,” she jabs a thumb at me, “never posts photos of herself online either. Not one fucking selfie.”
“So, you’re chatting with no clue who the other person is? He could’ve been seventy and lived in the Arctic Circle,” Scout says.
We must be more alike than I realize because that’s almost the exact thought I had back then. “Clueless. He just made me laugh. And I made him laugh.”
“That’s so sweet,” Audrey says with a tilt of her head.
Lola continues with the story. “Then she gets invited to go out on tour with the band as a photographer. Sparks fly?—”
Scout leans forward in her seat. “Wait. Did you know Ever was the mystery guy online when you agreed to do the tour?”
I shake my head. “No. I still had no idea. We’d only been messaging for a few weeks at that point.”
A smile grows on Scout’s face, she’s invested. “You were attracted to Ever in person? When you got out on the road with him?”
I take a gulp of my margarita to finish it and then nod. “Obviously. Impossible not to be when the man looks like that.”
Gemma sighs next to me in solidarity. “Was it the tattoos? Franco’s tattoos were the reason I agreed to have a drink with him the first night we met. Looked so naughty, I couldn’t say no. I’m a sucker for tattoos. And a good sense of humor, he did make me laugh.”
“I mean, I do love his tattoos, but he’s funny, and he’s thoughtful, and he’s talented.”
Lola smirks. “And those abs, and that face, and those dimples.”
“Those too. And he has great hands,” I concede with a smile. “Ever checks every box for me.” I hand Scout my glass. “Can you top me off, please?”
She takes it and gladly gives me a refill. “Were you also attracted to him online before you knew who he was?”
Taking my glass back, I say, “Thanks. I don’t make friends easily, never have, but he was different. Like Lola said, we just clicked. So, yeah.”
“Shut your mouth, you do make friends easily. Look at us,” Gemma says. “Plus, you’ve won Scout over. Only unicorns get past this one’s defenses.”
Scout shrugs in unapologetic agreement. I wish I had her confidence.
Lola adds, “Soph’s being honest. She doesn’t. Ever, Jesse, and you guys are anomalies.”
“Nothing wrong with that. You’re good at seeing through bullshit.” Scout states it like it’s something she already knows to be true. “I love that.”
“Like you,” Gemma adds.
“Took me alongtime to get there,” Scout says, before she jumps back into the story. “So, you fell for two different men, one in-person and one online, but they were both Ever?”
“Three men,” Lola corrects, and when everyone looks at her, she wiggles her eyebrows.
Audrey crosses her arms on the table and leans in. “The plot thickens.”
“Treachery’s Riot. Raven is Soph’s ultimate fantasy,” Lola says with a knowing smirk.
