“Ohmy God, Kylie, I’ve been wanting to call you all fucking night, but I knewyou’d be at the show and I didn’t want to interrupt, and …”
Hervoice faded from my cone of hearing as I realized what she was saying.
Myfirst best friend and Devin’s cousin had refrained from telling us about themost momentous occasion in their lives, because of his rapid succession tostardom. They had felt less important in comparison, and I stopped my walk tothe bed and felt my breath catch in my throat.
“Wait,what?”
“Oh,I just, you know … I figured it could wait, and—”
Ishook my head and turned around, hurrying back into the bathroom and closingthe door behind me. “Brooke, why would you even think that?”
“It’snot a big deal, Ky,” she said lightheartedly. “You guys have been really busywith everything going on.” She talked like it was the most normal thing in theworld for me to not have time for her, as I sat on the toilet, thrusting a handinto my hair. Wondering how things would change in another six weeks, sixmonths, six years. “But seriously, you better not be too busy to be my maid ofhonor, because Ineedyou.”
“Shutup! You just better not tell me to dye my hair a morenormalcolor or tocover my tattoos, because that definitely isn’t happening,” I joked, managing alaugh in my tone.
Shesnorted. “Guess I better write you out of the wedding party then,” shedeadpanned. “But in all seriousness, I’m actually thinking of dying my hairblue. Get it? It can be my something blue.”
Igiggled lightly through my blend of excitement and strange disdain over thecurrent state of my life. “I love it. You totally should.”
“Anyway,”she said with an adoring sigh, “you should get to sleep. I’m going to go screwmyfiancé. Oh God, Kylie, I fucking love saying that! When is Devinproposing? It feels fucking amazing.”
Ilaughed, suddenly a bundle of jitters. “Actually, he told some chick tonightthat I’m his wife, to get her to back off.”
“Uh,what?”
“Iknow, right?” My fingernails found themselves between my teeth. “Thenhesaid he’s going to buy me a ring when we get home and that he’dproperlyask, and …”
Sometimesit struck me out of nowhere—that we were even together—and I had to take amoment to let my heart rejoice and resettle.
Thiswas one of those moments.
Islid my fingers over my lips and gently closed my eyes. The moment I utteredthe word “husband” filtered into my mind. The thought of him as the man I wouldundoubtedly marry and spend the rest of my life with. The fact that we wereevenin a positionto consider marriage, that I hadjust made ferociously aggressive love to him an hour ago, before he passed outfor the night.
“You’redoing it again, aren’t you?” Brooke asked knowingly, her voice gentle andlight.
Pullingfrom the moment, I groaned. “Sorry. It’s just crazy that this is my life rightnow.”
“Yeah,sweetie, I know the feeling,” she said, sighing. “Youhaveto see therock on my finger. I can’t stop staring at it.”
“I’llsee it soon,” I laughed, not bothering to mention I had already seen a pictureof it. I knew it wasn’t nearly the same as seeing the real deal. “And then wecan talk all about the amazing wedding you guys are going to have.”
“Ican’t wait,” she replied happily, and we both sighed.
“Ishould go to bed,” I said regrettably, suddenly missing Devin horribly andneeding his arms around me.
“Yeah,me too. I need to go consummate my engagement. Trent’s really gettingimpatient.”
Mygroan was coupled with a laugh. “Have fun. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, and hey,Brooke?”
“Yeah?”
“Congratulations.I love you guys.”
“Welove you too,” she said, and the line went dead.
Ipulled myself to my feet and walked back to the bed. Devin had taken tosnuggling with a pillow, and gently, I pulled it from his tattooed grasp toreplace it with my body. He breathed out a contented sigh, burrowing his faceinto my hair.
“Kylie,”he muttered, tightening his hold on me.
