Brandon winked at me. “You’ve got a little gamer on your hands. Maybe she’ll grow up to be in those tournaments and beat all the neckbeard guys.”
“I have higher hopes for her than that, but I’m glad she’s having fun,” I told him. “Thanks again for letting her play with your stuff.”
Daphne was pretty good at zoning out during boring adult talk, even when she was in one of her clingy attached-at-the-hip moments, but it was nice to get a little space for myself too. My mom senses were always on though; I was keeping an ear out for any sign of trouble while my kiddo was out of sight.
“I’m a DIY queen,” Jenn piped up, pulling me back to my circle of friends as she pulled off a fancy flourish of glitter glue on her own mason jar. “This is beginner shit. When are we gonna rehab some old furniture or something? I could use an accent table for my living room, and Regina has a sander now.”
Regina laughed. “Only because that construction guy left it at my house.”
“Use what the universe gives you,” Kara said with a wink.
We all settled into a rhythm, snipping pieces of magazine pages, Mod Podging them onto random objects. Jenn got Kara to break out the yarn, and in seconds, she’d started to crochet the beginnings of a scarf. Meanwhile, I’d gone from a plain mason jar to a much stickier one that looked like a glitter monster had thrown up on it.
At least I was having fun.
Between the giggles and the clink of drinks, the conversation naturally shifted to the topic of our love lives.
“So, Kara,” Jennifer drawled, swirling her soda like it was a cocktail. “Any new developments with that barista you’ve been drooling over?”
Kara flushed pink and hid her face behind a sheaf of scrapbook paper. “Maybe,” she mumbled. “He asked for my number.”
“And did you give it to him?” Regina asked, eyes wide.
“Obviously,” Kara said, pretending to flip her hair. “I’m just…a little worried he’s too young for me.”
“What, is he eighteen or something? You’re only twenty-seven,” I rebuked her.
Kara shrugged. “Twenty-one, at least. But I think he’s still in college. Like, do I want to be dating an undergrad? I’m not sure I want to be the hot cougar just yet.”
Brandon cackled. “Speaking of animals on the prowl—I had an absolutelyyummydate the other night. And you’ll be proud of me, Jenn, because I didn’t take him home.”
“Because I was in the apartment with food poisoning,” Kara pointed out. “And the guy lives with his ex. Not exactly sexy vibes.”
“Still counts,” I told Brandon, who smiled at me in appreciation.
“Do we like him? What’s this guy’s deal?” Regina piped up as she abandoned her craft altogether. Instead, she hugged a throw pillow against her USC T-shirt and leaned in for the deets.
“We might like him,” Brandon said coyly. “His name is Ian. I met him at the gym. And we’re getting drinks again tomorrow night.”
We cheered for him like it was the Super Bowl. Or some much girlier equivalent. A Taylor Swift concert, maybe.
“What about you, Allie?” Regina asked me, and somehow before that point I hadn’t considered that I might have to contribute to the conversation.Oh, not much going on with me! Just having mind-blowing sex with three different guys, one of whom is the father of my child and doesn’t know it yet.
Felt a little heavy for a girls’ night.
“What about me?” I answered, faking obliviousness. Brandon rolled his eyes, and Kara pinned me with a serious look. Seeing right through me. Ever the genius at securing gossip, Kara got Jenn to leave the room to hunt down some specific craft supplies, and then she convinced Regina to get all of us drink refills. That meant I was alone with Brandon and Kara for the first time since all of the stuff with the guys really got started.
“You’ve got tea about the three Vegas daddies, don’t you?” Kara asked with a conspiratorial tone. I let out a deep sigh, and both of my friends were on the verge of screaming at me in their eagerness to know all the nitty gritty. I didn’t even have time tocome up with some kind of excuse, some attempt to put them off until we wereactuallyalone, before Brandon leaned in.
“I’ve been dying for updates on your trio of delicious men,” he said, tenting his fingers together like a movie villain. “I need more excitement. The holding out thing isn’t as fun or sexy for storytelling purposes.”
“I knew you’d tell him,” I shot at Kara.
“There’s nothing sacred between roommates,” Kara said, unashamed.
“You should’ve told me yourself!” Brandon insisted. “Thescandal.”
I exhaled heavily. “Okay, fine. I…may have slept with all three of them again.”
