One Last Time(43)

“I still can’t believe you’re getting married in less than a month and then moving to Canada!” Danielle shakes her head.

“I know, it’s insane, but Eli got the movie role and I want to be with him.”

“I’d want to be with him, too,” Nicole adds on.

I bob my head in agreement. “For real. Don’t let a man like him out of your sight.”

Danielle raises her glass. “It’s like when I decided that I should go to college away from Eddie. Big mistake. Beginning of the end.”

Here we go again. Danielle, when she drinks, talks about her ex, who she swears was her literal soulmate. The one God hand-picked for her and as a punishment for not being nice to him, sent him away.

“Oh, for the love of God!” Nicole bursts out laughing. “You know he’s married with kids and . . . so are you! You were that whacko who would’ve married him when you were fifteen.”

“At least when I was fifteen I could’ve married someone,” Danni counters.

And then the fight between Nicole and Danielle begins while Heather and I shake our heads.

The conversation shifts for the next hour as we laugh about the stupid things we did when we were young. I don’t know how these stories never get old, but they don’t.

“Do you think Mrs. Yoder still has nightmares about Nicole?” Danni asks. “That poor woman retired from teaching after you.”

“She was crazy! She needed someone to show her that she was losing her damn mind.”

Heather waves her hand and bounces. “What about when Nicole got caught having sex with Mr. Fink under the stairs!”

I laugh, snorting wine from my nose. “Oh my God! I forgot about that. I really hope you got an A in physics. I mean, you earned that shit.”

“Why are all these stories about me? Oh, wait, because I’m the one who actually does shit that’s story worthy.” Nicole pulls her knee to her chest. “Unlike you boring asses.”

She’s always been the one doing crazy things, but she makes no apologies for it.

“Calm down, Scary Spice.” Heather sighs. “We’ve all done our fair share of stupid crap.”

“Hell yeah, you all have! I’ve got stories because when you three do something, guess who you call? Me. You call me, so I know all your secrets.”

The three of us look at each other with wide eyes. What the hell have they done that I don’t know about?

Nicole bursts out laughing as we study each other. “I love you guys so much. Let’s find out what we really want to know.” She grabs my hand. “How bad did Scott have to pay?”

They let me go this long without questions, I guess it’s time to fill them in on the drama that today was. I recount the divorce hearing for them, loving the faces they make. It’s still a little surreal to think he tried to accuse me of cheating on him. There isn’t a chance that he believes that shit.

“I’m so glad we’re never going to have to be around Asshole anymore,” Nicole says as she props her feet on the coffee table. “I really would like to chop his nuts off.”

“Seriously, maybe he and Matt will become best friends.” Heather giggles.

I drain another glass of wine before refilling it again. “Well, I still have to deal with him every other weekend. I’m sure he’ll parade Jillian around now that we’re divorced and he can throw it in my face.”

The more I drink, the more I realize how much I hate him. He is a prick for trying to screw me out of money like that. I left the damn house. I never said a word about his slutty secretary he was banging. I didn’t ask for jack shit, and he feels like I’m entitled to nothing after fourteen years of marriage? Fuck that.

“Don’t worry about her, honey, you’ve got Noah Frazier sticking his tongue in your holes!” Nicole laughs and slaps my leg.

“What?” Heather gets to her feet.

“Nicole!” I screech. “Do you seriously not know how to keep your mouth shut? So much for all our secrets.”

She shrugs. “I’m pretty sure that your mouth was what was open.”

I roll my eyes and throw a pillow at her as she wiggles her tongue.

“Hello! You kissed Noah?” Heather demands my attention. “When? Where? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I really thought she knew. “It was no big deal.”

Danielle coughs with a laugh. “Until he told you he’s going to win your heart.”

“Jesus Christ! You guys suck!” My hands fly in the air.

Heather stares at me with her hands on her hips. Thanks to big mouth one and two, I might as well tell her.

“Fine. Yes, I kissed Noah when we went to our dinner thing. Then he came over here the other day, telling me how he felt and that he had feelings for me. However, I haven’t seen him since then.”

A slow smile spreads across her face. “Then tonight is your lucky night. Eli and Noah are on their way here to pick me up.”

Of course they are.





Chapter Eighteen





Kristin





I’m in the kitchen, hiding like the chickenshit I am.

I haven’t seen Noah in what feels like forever. I don’t have his stupid phone number so I couldn’t call him to coordinate our next meeting, and I wasn’t asking Heather or Eli. Now, I’m half drunk, which around him is never a good thing, and emotionally unstable.