Trinity reaches over and rests her hand on my leg, a gentle offer of support.
“I’m having trouble getting pregnant now,” Lilly says quietly.
I lift my eyes to hers, grateful to have the focus off of me.
She shrugs one shoulder in a nervous or embarrassed way. “One broken condom gave us Chance but now we’re raw-dogging it all over the place and nothing.”
I burst into much-needed laughter.
Hope blinks several times. “Thanks for the visual, Lilly.”
“Besides all the…raw dogging,” Trinity says, “did you see your doctor?”
“No. I’m afraid of what they might tell me,” Lilly admits.
“Mine was kind of a jackass,” I say.
“You should go see my doctor,” Hope offers. “She’s very kind.”
Although she’s still sitting right next to me, Heidi’s gotten awfully quiet. I squeeze her hand. “I am very excited to meet my new niece,” I assure her.
Lilly reaches across my lap to touch Heidi’s leg. “Me too.”
“I know,” Heidi says.
“Should we head downstairs before the guys get themselves into trouble?” I suggest.
Heidi rolls her eyes. “Ten dollars says Blake and my brother are already in some sort of trouble.”
“I’m not taking that bet.” I look at each of their faces and can’t understand why I waited so long to tell them this. “Thank you. I feel a lot better. Just having it out there.”
“You don’t have to go through anything alone.” Trinity looks at me, then Lilly. “Ever. No matter what.”
We all agree.
“Hey,” Heidi says. “Don’t tell her I told you, but I think Shelby’s writing a song for you guys. For your wedding.” Heidi sighs and rests her hand on her chest. “I’m totally not jealous at all.”
“Really? That’s so sweet.”
“All right.” Trinity slams her binder shut. “Speaking of Shelby, she and Serena should be here soon.” She lifts her chin at Hope. “Will you run home with me for a sec?”
“Of course.”
We file out of the bedroom and Hope locks the door behind us.
In our absence, the party’s gotten louder and rowdier. Brothers and their bunnies for the night have moved to the upstairs hallway, but some haven’t bothered to take their activities into a bedroom. A girl with her shirt pulled down to expose her enormous tits has her mouth wide open, about to swallow Hoot’s dick. I accidentally kick the heel of one of her shoes, almost face-planting. She shoots a glare at me.
“Sorry,” I mutter, shielding my eyes and hurrying past them.
“I didn’t need to know Hoot’s dick was pierced,” I whisper to Lilly.
She giggles and bumps into me while she turns, craning her neck to see. Moans and slobbering noises propel us faster toward the stairs.
At least downstairs, there’s more conversation than fornication going on.
“Perfect timing.” I spot Shelby wandering around the party and wave to her.
“There y’all are!” She races over, hugging each of us. “Hoo boy. Rooster got called into the principal’s office.” She jerks her thumb toward the war room. “Jiggy’s searching for a bedmate. And Serena ain’t here yet. I thought I was on my own.”
“Nope. Trinity wanted to do some wedding planning.”
“Aw,” she pouts, “what’d I miss?”
“I’ll fill you in,” Trinity promises. “Hope?” The two of them wind their way through the crowd and out the front door.
Lilly hugs me again. “Call me whenever you want to talk,” she says against my ear.
“I will.”
Heidi yawns and rubs her stomach. “I need a nap.” She squeezes my arm. “If you see Murphy, tell him I went to the house.”
“Do you want us to walk you home?” I ask.
“No.” She waves off the offer. “Shelby just got here.”
“Did they all just ditch us?” Shelby squints at the front door.
“I don’t think it was intentional.”
“Oh, well.” She flashes a quick grin and loops her arm through mine.
Jiggy waves to us from one of the couches in the corner. Shelby tugs me across the room. For such a tiny woman, she’s awfully strong.
“Hey, there, songbird,” Jiggy tips his head back and flashes a warm smile at Shelby, then me. “And ray of sunshine.”
I chuckle. “Hey.”
“Hey, Jiggy.” Shelby cocks her head. “Ya find what ya needed?”
He squeezes his arm around the tanned blonde practically sitting in his lap. “This is Amy. Amy, this is Shelby.” He nods to me. “And Charlotte.”
“Hiya.” Shelby wiggles her fingers.
“Sit, join us.” Jiggy nods to the space next to him.
Amy doesn’t seem as welcoming. Either she’s missed that we’re already patched and therefore not interested in stealing Jigsaw away or she’s seen our patches and assumes we’ll be mean to her.
Ignoring her, I reach for the filmy material of Shelby’s dress. It’s made up of layers and layers of gauzy lilac fabric with vibrant butterflies scattered over it. “I love this, by the way.”
“Yeah?” She plays with the frills covering her chest. “I thought it might be a little too baby girl, ya know? Rooster and I don’t play that game.”
Jigsaw rubs his hand over the side of his head. “As long as you don’t put your hair in pigtails and call him Daddy, I think you’re fine.”
Ignoring Jigsaw’s advice, I nod to Shelby’s silver cowboy boots. “Damn, if we were the same size, I would so steal those boots.”
She beams at me and sticks her foot out to show them off. “Rooster bought ’em for me.”
“My boy has a foot fetish,” Jiggy announces.
“Hush your mouth.” Shelby leans over and gives him a playful shove.
Amy’s dizzy gaze narrows into something catty as she stares at Shelby. She points one long orange fingernail at Shelby’s waist, almost poking her in the stomach. “Aren’t you a little chubby for that kind of dress?”
Shock wipes the sweet smile off of Shelby’s face. She blinks, then seems to find her cool. “I dunno, aren’t you a lil’ bitchy to be flappin’ those lips in my ol’ man’s clubhouse?”
The girl pushes against the couch as if she’s about to launch herself at Shelby. Jigsaw wraps his hand around her chicken-wing arm, holding her in place. “Don’t you fucking dare,” he warns. He releases her and she wobbles out of his lap. “Get the fuck outta here.”
“What?”
Jigsaw ignores her and snaps his fingers at one of the prospects. The movement also catches Steer’s eye, and he follows the prospect over.
“Jiggy, come on,” the girl whines. When he still won’t look at her, she stands and stomps her feet. “Fine.” She casts her conniving gaze around the room.
“No.” Jiggy stands and blocks her path. “Get the fuck out of our clubhouse.”
“Jigsaw,” Shelby starts.
Jiggy ignores her. When the prospect arrives, he shoves the girl into his arms. “This one needs to go.”