“Not at all,” she says with a headshake.
“Cheers to you,” Madisons says, raising her glass. “I’ve always been a bit terrified of the institution that is holy matrimony.”
“Oh, hush,” one of the girls says. “It’s not an institution. It’s love. It’s romantic. And Holly and Ben are perfect for each other.”
“They really are,” another girl says with a sigh. “Are you nervous about tomorrow night?” she asks with a smirk.
Holly smirks, too. “What’s to be nervous about? There’s nothing Benny and I haven’t done…” she says, and everyone squeals.
Oh god…
I force a smile and reach for another chocolate.
I’m not jealous. The breakup came as a surprise, but when I was standing on the outside of it, I could see everything from a third-person point of view. What I saw was that we weren’t right for each other.
“So how is he?” one of the girls asks.
“I think this is my cue to go mix up some more Sangria,” Madison says, walking over to the mini-kitchen. I’m tempted to follow her, but I’m also curious what she has to say. Because, like his father, Ben was a bit wild. Although Gavin is much more dominating. And learned. And…other things.
“He’s gentle,” Holly says, and it throws me.
“Gentle good or gentle bad?” one of them asks.
“Like all he cares about is me and kind of lets me take the reins.”
Hmm.
That is not what I was expecting her to say.
“I don’t mind it at all,” she goes on. “I like being in charge. And he’s so freewheeling about everything else, it’s a nice change of pace,” she smiles, taking a sip.
“Does it ever bother you?” I find myself blurting out. “That he doesn’t have an off button?”
“Not really,” she shakes her head.
“But it’s like…he never stops,” I say.
“Well, I don’t want a boring man, that’s for sure,” she giggles into her glass.
I sit up straight. I only had one sip of my drink, but it seems to be going straight to my head and out my mouth. “Having a chill button doesn’t make them boring though,” I say.
“No, you’re right,” Holly agrees. “But I still have no complaints.”
“I think someone like Ben, but a little rougher around the edges, is the kind of man I need to find,” one of the girls says, and I reach for another chocolate.
“You mean like Ben’s snack of a dad?” another girl asks, and I actually choke on the truffle. Everyone freaks out for a moment, but I swallow, insisting I’m fine.
I am glad for the turn of the conversational wheel. Though this particular conversation seems to be on a round-a-bout.
“I’m sorry, did you just say Ben’s dad?” Holly asks, scrunching her nose. I keep in mind that she is about seven years younger than me.
“Yes, I did,” she says. “Gavin is gorgeous.”
Thank you… but also, calm down.
“He’s like fifty!” another girl lets out and before I think about it, I correct her.
“Forty-five.”
