187
The music shifted into something louder, bolder — a celebration track Samantha definitely queued on purpose. The penthouse felt warmer now, buzzing with laughter and adrenaline from the photos, the comments, the moment.
Samantha clinked a spoon against a glass.
"Okay, okay—attention please."
Leah, Carter, Jamie, Maria, Danielle, Samantha, and Amanda all gathered near the island, shot glasses already being lined up like soldiers.
The bottle made its way back to the center of the island, already lighter than it had any right to be.
Samantha lined up another round of shot glasses with surgical precision.
"Okay. One more. For fun. Not for chaos."
Carter snorted. "Those are the same thing."
Amanda poured, laughing as the liquid sloshed a little too close to the rim. "Everyone ready?"
Leah raised her glass. "I was born ready."
They clinked.
"To love," Maria said.
"To the internet surviving tonight," Jamie added.
"And to Ericka absolutely killing that red dress," Danielle finished loudly.
They all drank.
Immediate reactions followed.
"WHY is it spicy?!" Carter coughed.
Jamie made a face. "That tasted like confidence and regret."
Samantha laughed so hard she had to grab the counter. "You're all dramatic."
Amanda laughed with them, but her eyes—
her eyes were still on Ericka.
Ericka stood a little off to the side, red dress catching the light every time she shifted. Calm. Glowing. Completely unaware—or pretending to be—of how Amanda kept looking at her like she was the only person in the room.
Leah noticed first.
She leaned in toward Maria and whispered loudly, "Is Amanda blinking, or...?"
Maria followed her gaze and smirked. "Oh no. She's gone."
Danielle turned around and caught Amanda mid-stare. "HELLO??"
Amanda didn't even flinch. "What?"
Danielle pointed between them. "You have not taken your eyes off her for the last ten minutes."
Jamie added, "Not even during the shot."
Carter nodded solemnly. "Which is saying something."
Amanda finally laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Okay—yeah. Guilty."
Ericka arched a brow, amused. "Am I distracting you?"
Amanda looked her up and down once more—slow, unapologetic—then met her eyes with a grin.
"If you guys weren't here right now," she said casually, "I'd be doing a lot more than just looking."
The room exploded.
Danielle screamed.
Samantha covered her mouth, wheezing.
Leah clutched her chest. "PLEASE—my heart."
Ericka laughed, cheeks warming, shaking her head. "You're ridiculous."
"But she's not wrong," Maria added helpfully.
Ericka shot her a look. "Maria!"
Amanda lifted her hands innocently. "I'm just appreciating my fiancée."
Danielle fanned herself. "I need water. Or Jesus."
That's when Ericka's parents stood, smiling fondly.
Her mom glanced at the clock. "Alright, as much as we're enjoying this... it's getting late."
Her dad nodded. "We're going to head back downstairs and turn in."
Ericka walked over immediately, hugging her mom gently. "Okay. Goodnight."
Her dad hugged her too, squeezing a little tighter. "You look happy, kiddo."
"I am," Ericka said softly.
Amanda hugged them both next. "Goodnight. Sleep well."
Her mom smiled at Amanda warmly. "Don't stay up too late."
Danielle snorted. "Too late."
They all laughed as Ericka's parents waved goodbye and headed for the elevator.
The doors closed.
There was a half-second of silence.
Then—
Samantha clapped her hands once. "Alright. Parents gone."
Danielle grabbed the bottle. "NOW we party."
Carter turned the music up.
Jamie pulled out more glasses.
Maria cheered.
Amanda felt Ericka step closer, their arms brushing.
Ericka leaned in, voice low and teasing. "You were really staring."
Amanda smiled, eyes flicking back to that red dress. "Can you blame me?"
Ericka laughed softly. "No. Not at all."
The music crept up a notch—something with a deeper bass, slower rhythm. The lights dimmed just enough to feel intentional. Someone—probably Samantha—lit another candle, and the space took on that warm, late-night glow that meant no one was checking the time anymore.
Danielle reclaimed the bottle like it was her birthright.
"Okay, rules are gone," she announced. "If you're still upright, you're drinking."
Samantha laughed, stepping in beside her. "Bold assumption that I plan on staying upright."
They clinked glasses, shoulders brushing a little longer than necessary this time.
Amanda noticed.
Ericka noticed Amanda noticing.
Danielle leaned closer to Samantha to say something—quiet, just for her—and Samantha's laugh dropped into something softer, lower. Their knees bumped at the island. Neither of them moved away.
Amanda leaned into Ericka's side, fingers slipping into the small of her back like it was muscle memory.
"You're dangerous tonight," Amanda murmured, barely audible over the music.
Ericka smiled without looking at her. "I'm literally just standing here."
Amanda dipped her head, lips brushing Ericka's ear. "In that dress."
Ericka shivered, a quiet laugh escaping her. "Behave."
"I am behaving," Amanda whispered. "I haven't even touched you yet."
Ericka turned her head just enough to look at her. "Amanda."
Amanda smiled, innocent and absolutely not. Her thumb traced a slow, subtle line along Ericka's waist—nothing obvious, nothing anyone else would clock—but enough.
Leah glanced over from the couch and smirked.
"Oh wow. They're in their own little world again."
Jamie nodded. "Yep. They're doing that whisper thing."
Maria leaned forward. "What whisper thing?"
"The one where Amanda says something and Ericka pretends she's fine," Jamie replied.
Ericka laughed, shaking her head, and Amanda pressed a quick kiss just below her jaw—soft, fleeting, like a secret.
"You look unreal," Amanda murmured. "Every time you move in that dress, I forget how to breathe."
Ericka leaned closer, voice warm. "Good. I picked it for that reason."
Across the room, Danielle poured another round but handed Samantha hers first this time.
"Careful," Samantha teased. "You trying to get me in trouble?"
Danielle grinned. "Oh, absolutely."
They drank. Laughed. Danielle rested her elbow against Samantha's arm this time. Samantha didn't move it.
Carter watched the room and shook his head fondly.
"This is... very couple-coded tonight."
Amanda slipped behind Ericka now, arms wrapping loosely around her waist, chin resting briefly on her shoulder. Nothing scandalous. Just claiming.
Ericka reached back and squeezed her hand.
"You okay back there?"
Amanda smiled against her shoulder. "More than okay."
Another kiss—this one slower—just at the corner of Ericka's mouth. Enough to make the room notice. Enough to make Danielle wolf-whistle.
"Oh my God," Danielle laughed. "If you two get any closer, I'm charging rent."
Ericka laughed, leaning back into Amanda. "Ignore them."
Amanda's voice dropped. "Hard to ignore anything when you look like this."
The night rolled on like that—
laughter spilling over music, glasses clinking, bodies leaning closer, glances lingering longer.
Danielle and Samantha found themselves sharing a couch.
Amanda kept drifting back to Ericka like gravity demanded it.
The music had softened into something slow and low, the kind of song that wrapped itself around the room instead of filling it. Laughter still bubbled near the kitchen, glasses clinked, but for Amanda and Ericka, the noise faded into background hum.
They ended up on the couch almost without realizing how they got there.
At first it was innocent—Amanda sitting back, one arm draped along the cushions, Ericka settling beside her with a glass in hand.
But proximity did what it always did to them.
Knees brushing. Fingers grazing. Amanda's attention drifting again and again to the way the red dress caught the light every time Ericka moved.
Ericka noticed.
Of course she did.
She turned toward Amanda slowly, smile soft but knowing. "You've been staring all night."
Amanda didn't deny it. "You've been letting me."
Ericka laughed under her breath and leaned in, kissing her again—gentle at first, then lingering. Amanda's hand slid to Ericka's waist instinctively, thumb brushing the small of her back. The kiss deepened, easy and familiar, like breathing.
Someone across the room muttered, "Oh this is getting—"
They didn't hear it.
Ericka shifted, turning fully toward Amanda, one knee sliding over her leg. Then—without really thinking—she straddled her, settling into Amanda's lap like that was exactly where she belonged.
Amanda's breath hitched. Her hands came up automatically, resting at Ericka's hips as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
The kiss changed—slower, warmer, heavier.
Ericka's fingers slipped to Amanda's shirt, brushing the fabric, then finding the first button. She popped it open with a quiet click, smiling against Amanda's mouth.
"Ericka," Amanda murmured, half warning, half encouragement.
Ericka grinned. "What?"
The room blurred until it was just the two of them on the couch, knees pressed together, Ericka settled confidently in Amanda's lap like it was the most natural place in the world.
The kiss deepened again—slow, unhurried, full of heat that had been building all night. Amanda's hands slid up Ericka's back, steady and sure, like she was grounding herself there.
Ericka's fingers traced Amanda's collarbone, then drifted down, tugging lightly at the lapels of her jacket.
"You don't need this," she murmured against her lips.
Amanda didn't argue.
She pulled back just long enough to shrug the jacket off her shoulders, letting it slide to the floor beside the couch. The movement made Ericka's eyes darken, appreciation written all over her face.
"Well," Ericka said softly, smiling, "that feels dangerous."
Amanda leaned back in, kissing her again—slower this time, savoring it. Her hands settled at Ericka's waist, thumbs brushing along her sides, holding her there like she wasn't letting go anytime soon.
Ericka responded instinctively, fingers slipping into Amanda's hair, tugging just enough to make Amanda inhale sharply. She kissed her with confidence now, like she knew exactly what she was doing to her.
Somewhere behind them:
"Are they—"
"Nope," Samantha said quickly. "We're not acknowledging it."
Danielle was already half-standing, phone hovering, torn between filming and respecting boundaries. "I'm not saying anything, but this lighting is insane."
Ericka's hands slid up Amanda's chest, fingers working deftly, undoing more buttons than she meant to. One. Then another. Then a third.
Amanda exhaled sharply, head tipping back as Ericka's lips followed the line of her jaw, down her neck—slow, deliberate—before drifting back up, reclaiming her mouth like she owned it.
Ericka's fingers slid under Amanda's open shirt, nails grazing skin, and Amanda tilted her head instinctively, giving her access to her neck. Ericka kissed there, once, twice, lingering just a second too long.
Amanda's grip tightened without thinking—protective, grounding, hungry.
And Ericka—
Ericka let out a soft, breathless sound before she could stop herself.
"Amanda..."
Not loud.
Not intentional.
But clear.
The room went dead silent.
Every single person heard it.
Danielle's phone froze mid-air.
Leah's jaw dropped.
Carter made a noise somewhere between a cough and a laugh. "Oh—WOW."
Samantha slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide. "She said the name."
Ericka froze instantly.
Her eyes widened as reality crashed back in, color flooding her cheeks as she realized exactly what had just slipped out. She pulled back just enough to look at Amanda, mortified and amused all at once.
"Oh my god," she whispered. "I did not—"
Amanda burst out laughing, hands still on her waist, forehead dropping to Ericka's shoulder.
"I mean," Amanda said, breathless, unapologetic, "I'll take it."
Ericka buried her face in Amanda's neck, groaning softly—this time very deliberately quiet.
"I forgot we weren't alone," she muttered.
Leah lifted her glass. "That was... intimate. And unforgettable."
Danielle finally lowered her phone, shaking her head. "Yeah, that one's burned into my brain forever."
Ericka slid off Amanda's lap, still smiling, still flustered, and immediately tucked herself against Amanda's side like that's where she belonged.
Amanda wrapped an arm around her without hesitation, pressing a kiss to her temple.
"Later," Amanda murmured low, just for her.
Ericka glanced up at her, eyes warm, mischievous returning.
"Later," she agreed.
From the kitchen, Carter called out, "Okay! Reset! Shots anyone?"
Ericka didn't move.
She just smiled, still leaning into Amanda, and whispered, "You started this."
Amanda smirked. "I'll happily finish it."