Chapter 29 #4
The carry-on toppled onto its side as she let go of the handle.
"PEPPER!"
Mars took off running so fast one of her platform heels nearly folded beneath her.
Pepper barely had enough time to brace herself before Mars slammed into her, wrapping both arms around her neck.
"Oh my God," Mars cried into her shoulder.
"You're really here.
I thought you couldn't make it."
"I wasn't supposed to," Pepper laughed, hugging her just as tightly.
"But I called the creative director and told him there wasn't a campaign, celebrity, or fashion house in the world more important than this weekend.
There wasn't anywhere else I'd rather be than watching my best friend marry the love of her life."
Mars buried her face into Pepper's shoulder, crying harder than before.
"I've missed you so much.
How are you even standing in my living room?"
"I told you, I'd cancel work a hundred times over for you," Pepper smiled, pulling back just enough to cup Mars's face in both hands.
"I've missed you too."
Watching them together made my chest tighten.
The four of us grew up on the same block.
Mars, Stormy, Pepper, and I were an absolute force back then.
They cheered me on while I played basketball until the streetlights came on.
We went to high school dances together and had sleepovers nearly every weekend because none of us wanted to be apart.
If one of us got grounded, somehow all four of us ended up sitting on somebody's porch keeping each other company.
Life eventually carried us in different directions.
Mars built an empire in public relations.
I found my place helping athletes get back to the game they loved.
Stormy became one of Houston's most sought-after event planners.
Pepper chased a camera halfway around the world.
What started as a photography internship after college turned into editorials for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Elle, alongside campaigns for some of the biggest luxury fashion houses on the planet.
Somewhere between Paris Fashion Week, Milan, New York, and Tokyo...
Tokyo became home.
We never stopped talking.
FaceTimes became birthdays.
Group chats became holidays.
Late-night phone calls became our way of staying close despite the thirteen-hour time difference.
No matter how many miles separated us, we never stopped being us.
Stormy quietly walked over, wrapping both of them into another massive hug.
"There she is."
Pepper laughed through fresh tears.
"Storm.
I've missed your hard-headed ass."
"You too.
We talk almost every week, so why am I crying?"
Pepper smiled.
"Because FaceTime isn't the same."
Stormy laughed as she wiped beneath her eyes.
"No.
It really isn't."
I finally stepped forward, and Pepper's smile somehow grew even bigger.
"Nia."
I wrapped my arms around her tightly.
"You look like money."
She laughed.
"Says the woman who finally straightened her hair.
I've missed you."
"I've missed you too."
She looked between all four of us and smiled.
"We actually made it."
Mars nodded, tears still clinging to her lashes.
"We made it."
A voice behind us interrupted the moment.
"I feel like I should wait until everybody stops crying before I introduce myself."
We all turned.
Becky stood there holding a champagne flute with an amused smile on her face.
Pepper laughed.
"You must be Becky."
"And you're finally Pepper.
I've heard so much about you."
"I hope only good things."
Becky smiled.
"Mars talks about you like you've always been family."
Pepper looked over at Mars before stepping toward Becky.
"If Mars loves you..."
She pulled Becky into the hug without hesitation.
"...then you're family too."
Five women stood wrapped around one another in the middle of the living room.
Different careers.
Different cities.
Different lives.
Yet somehow, it still felt like we were the same girls from the block who promised we'd be standing beside each other on the biggest days of our lives.
And somehow, we'd kept that promise.
The doorbell rang a second time, and the second the door swung open, a familiar voice filled the foyer.
"Darlings!
Now it's a party!"
André threw both arms into the air.
"André!" Stormy shouted.
He immediately walked over and kissed our cheeks before noticing Pepper standing there.
"Oh my God..."
He clutched his chest dramatically.
"Do my eyes deceive me?"
He leaned forward, squinting.
"Is it the Pepper Swanson?"
Pepper laughed.
"It is."
He let out the loudest screech I'd ever heard before hurrying toward her.
"You chic goddess!"
He pulled her into a warm hug before holding her at arm's length, taking in her outfit from head to toe.
"You are queen.
Tokyo has been treating you very, very well."
Pepper smirked.
"I could say the same about Houston."
André grinned.
"The one and only.
It is refreshing to finally meet you."
"The feeling is mutual."
Mars laughed, wiping her face.
"You two are going to get along entirely too well."
"I already love her," André declared dramatically.
Pepper laughed.
"I had a feeling I was going to like you."
Right on cue, a deep horn sounded from the driveway.
The black stretch limousine had finally arrived to carry us out into the Houston night.
One by one we climbed inside, champagne already chilling in crystal buckets while our favorite throwback playlist blasted through the speakers.
The second the doors closed, André pressed a button and the ceiling lit up with thousands of tiny stars.
We spent the drive singing every early 2000s song we could remember, horribly off-key and not caring one bit.
By the time we pulled up, my cheeks already hurt from laughing.
The building looked nothing like I expected.
From the outside, it resembled an exclusive, members-only lounge tucked behind towering black iron gates, valet attendants lining the entrance beneath glowing lights.
The moment we stepped inside, Mars's jaw dropped.
Velvet seating wrapped around the room beneath crystal chandeliers that shimmered against dark wood finishes and marble floors.
A massive circular bar stretched through the center while live music filled every corner of the club.
Private VIP balconies overlooked the main floor where performers entertained the crowd from an elevated stage.
It felt less like a standard club and more like an upscale Vegas production.
Suddenly, the doors across the room swung open.
"Surprise!"
Mars stopped dead in her tracks.
Her mom.
Jalen's mom.
Her favorite aunts.
Jalen's cousins.
Family friends.
Every woman who had helped shape her into the woman she was today stood waiting with champagne glasses raised high.
Mars covered her mouth.
"No..."
The room erupted, and she immediately burst into tears.
"You guys..."
Everyone rushed toward her at once, swallowing her in a massive group hug.
"I thought we were just getting drinks!" she laughed through her tears.
Stormy shrugged innocently, a proud smirk on her face.
"You really thought I was letting you have a boring bachelorette party?"
Mars looked around the room in complete disbelief.
Music filled the venue as servers appeared carrying trays of colorful cocktails.
Champagne flowed, laughter echoed, and stories from childhood quickly turned into embarrassing memories.
The women who'd known Mars since diapers traded stories with the women who'd only known her through Jalen.
At one point, her mom challenged one of Jalen's aunts to a dance-off, and neither one backed down.
I couldn't remember the last time I'd laughed this hard.