Kacey laughed lightly. “See you soon, Kari.”
“Yep. See you soon.” Only, even the few hours when we would be back together at Bo’s didn’t seem soon enough.
***
I got to Bo’s house an hour before everyone else was set to arrive and was greeted by an overly eager Duke. Bo pointed to him. “Remember this guy? I’m pretty sure you told me you were going to pick him up last night.”
I rubbed behind Duke’s ear as an apology for being away from him for so long. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”
“No big. We watched porn and cuddled. Everything okay though?”
“Yeah. Umm… I just… fell asleep at Kacey’s.”
Bo smirked and lifted an eyebrow. “You sly dog.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “It wasn’t like that. We were watching a movie and fell asleep.”
“That’s lame. Let’s get everything set up. Who knows. Maybe today will be the day you and Kacey make it to first base.”
Kylie was the first to arrive. “What’s up, bitchachos?” she shouted as she walked in holding a bottle of tequila in the air.
Bo wrapped her in a big hug. “My girl. Always bringing the good stuff.” When he pulled away from her, he walked up to me and put an arm over my shoulder. “Did you know your sister had a not-so-adult sleepover last night?”
Kylie’s face lit up. “No way! You and Kacey finally sealed the deal? Way to go, Sis.”
She put her hand up for a high five, but Bo grabbed it instead. “Not so fast. I said not-so-adult. They fell asleep while watching a movie.”
Kylie scrunched up her nose. “Yawn. How boring.”
Bo grunted in agreement. “That’s what I said.” He pointed out the window. “Speak of the devil. Here she comes.”
I looked out the window to where Bailey and Kacey were approaching the house hand in hand. Kacey had loose curls in her hair and was wearing a blue and white flannel under a form-fitting, cream-colored sweater. Her blue jeans were mouth-wateringly tight, and she topped off the outfit with a cute pair of boots.
“Did it hurt?” Kylie whispered from behind me.
“Did what hurt?” I asked, turning around to face her.
“When your jaw just hit the ground.” Kylie laughed, then nodded her head at me. “By the way, you might want to wipe the drool from your face before your girlfriend gets in here.” I glared at her, but quickly ran a hand over my face just in case she was telling the truth.
“Well, if it isn’t Kacey Caldwell,” Kylie said as she greeted her at the front door.
Kacey’s eyes went wide when she realized it was my little sister standing in front of her. “Wow, Kylie, I can’t believe it’s you. You look great.” She looked unsure of what to do next, but Kylie reached her arms out to her.
“No reason this has to be awkward. Bring it in.”
I could see Kacey’s demeanor relax as my sister hugged her. After pulling away, Kylie knelt in front of Bailey. “And who are you?”
Bailey stuck out her hand. “I’m Bailey Caldwell. Nice to meet you. Are you Kari’s sister? You’re so lucky.”
Kylie threw her head back and laughed. “How much did she pay you to say that?”
Bailey’s face was serious as she shook her head. “She didn’t pay me anything.”
Kylie continued to laugh and put a hand on Bailey’s shoulder. “If you think my sister’s cool, just wait until you hang out with me.”
I felt a little disappointed when I saw the other guests start to arrive. It would have made me happy to spend the day with just the five of us, but soon the house was filled. I was helping Bo carry food to the long table that extended from his kitchen to family room, when I felt a hand on the small of my back.
“Need any help?” Kacey whispered into my ear, causing goosebumps to form on my arms.
I turned around so I could face her completely and rested a hand on her hip. “We’re good. Just finished up.” I bit my lip as my eyes drifted over her body. “Have I told you how pretty you look today?”
Kacey swallowed hard as her eyes briefly landed on my lips. “You think I look pretty?”
The awe in her voice caused my stomach to do a flip. I didn’t think there was anyone in the world more beautiful than Kacey, and the fact that my words meant that much to her, made me want to remind her of it every single day.
I jumped at the sound of a throat clearing beside us. Bo chuckled and shook his head. “If you two are going to rip each other’s clothes off, could you at least go to the guest room to do it? I’m all about this. I just don’t want to get anything on the turkey.”
I slapped him on the shoulder and pushed him away from us as he continued to laugh. “We’re just talking, Bo.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I could’ve sworn I saw you guys making sex eyes at each other. My bad. Keep talking.” Bo turned his attention to the rest of the guests and spoke louder. “Lunch is served. Adult table is here. Kids table is over there. Enjoy. Mingle. Make new friends.”
Kacey and I took a seat across from Joey and Faith Hopkins. Joey tapped her wife’s shoulder and pointed across at us. “Honey, you remember Kari. This is her new neighbor Kacey. She also went to Bellman around the same time as us.”
Faith smiled sweetly. “Would you look at that? Four Bellman alums. I’m surprised none of us ever ran into each other. I’m Faith.”
Kacey reached a hand across the table for Faith to shake. “It’s very nice to meet you, Faith. Always great to meet another Bulldog.” She looked between Faith and Joey. “So, I take it you two met at school?”
Faith smiled lovingly at Joey, then looked back at us. “We did. We met our senior year when we both volunteered to deliver meals to shut-ins from our church.”
Joey hitched her thumb toward Faith. “She was volunteering. I got stuck doing it after a big party at the track house got busted.”
I laughed when I realized what she was referring to. “Wait a second. I was at that track party. It was my sophomore year. I was so wasted. Totally would have gotten busted if it wasn’t for this one.” I put my hand on Kacey’s shoulder and squeezed lightly enough that only she would notice. “She snuck me out some window in the back, then ran about three blocks with me piggy-backing her.”
My story made Kacey laugh as well. “Oh my God. That’s right. I totally forgot about that, which is shocking, given how sore I was for like a month following that.”
“So, you two knew each other back in college?” Joey asked.
Kacey gave me a smug grin that caused my stomach to do flips all over again. She continued to stare at me while she answered. “You could say that.”
“Wait a second.” Faith pointed between Kacey and me. “Were you two—?”
I nodded and let my eyes stay locked with Kacey’s. I could feel my smile grow as I spoke. “We were together through college. Had a bit of a falling out and spent way too many years apart. Now we’re getting reacquainted.” I found myself lost in Kacey’s eyes and the way they were focused so deeply on me. She always had a way of making me feel like we were the only two people in the room, and this moment was no different. Except we weren’t the only two people in the house. We were surrounded by people. I shook myself out of my trance and looked back at Faith and Joey, who were both staring at us, a slight smirk present on each of their faces. “As friends. We’re getting reacquainted as friends. That’s what works best for us.”