May 26th #3
“He didn’t say. Just asked me if I would join him.
Of course I would. I’m so excited—” she says, flipping the card over, which causes her to stop speaking.
She looks back over to the area where she saw the flowers, and we can see Danny standing just outside the window with a grin on his face. “I have to go!” she says, rushing off.
Mom and I watch as she runs across the room, flies out the French doors to the patio, leaps into his arms, and kisses him .
We both sigh just as the champagne bottles that Jennifer ordered are set on the coffee table next to the flowers.
And when the server offers us some, we don’t decline.
“I feel so relaxed,” I say as I take a seat next to Haley after hours of being pampered.
“Me too,” Haley says. “I even got a body scrub—she just didn’t touch my injured leg. It was so awesome.”
“It was,” Dani says, sitting next to us. “I’m hungry though.”
She barely speaks the words, and an attendant is showing us the way to a buffet, where we can build our own salads.
“So, Dani,” Haley says, “how is the honeymoon going?”
Dani’s cheeks turn slightly pink. “Since I married him, honeymoon things have always been amazing. But really, it’s just nice, being alone together with no restrictions on our time.
Other than our morning workouts, we can do whatever we want.
Obviously, we chose to stay here for a week and spend time with the family, but we don’t feel the least bit guilty if we don’t participate in every single event.
And our suite is, in one word, incredible.
It’s the kind of place a leader of state would stay in.
Huge, plush, with an amazing outdoor space.
We have our own pool and spa. Outdoor dining and living.
I don’t think we can find time before we leave, but we should plan to do a dinner for all of us—me and Chase, you and Daine, Ainsley and Damon—in the very near future. ”
And there’s something about the way she says it. The fact that I’m seemingly paired up with her brother, like it’s the most natural thing in the world—it touches me.
“That would be so fun!” Haley says, looking excited.
“I know you are crushing on Daine,” Dani says, “but is it more than that?”
“A bit,” Haley says. “We’re friends. We text often.
And we’ve gotten to know each other over the last three years, and even though he’s had girls in and out of his life, we’ve been consistent.
He actually said that to me yesterday. How I was a constant in his life.
I didn’t tell him a ton about the accident.
And he was surprised when he heard how Damon had me working out.
But I hadn’t told him because I think, on the phone, I could pretend I wasn’t all busted up.
That my dreams weren’t dying every time I looked at my leg. ”
“I love how close you and Damon are. Well, how close you all are,” I say to them. “It’s really special.”
“You seem close to your cousins,” Haley says.
“I’m closest to Baron and Alexa, which is funny because they are in their mid-thirties. Wilder and Peony are closer to my age, but we just don’t really have a lot in common, I guess you could say.”
Dani clears her throat, grins, and says, “Back to the Daine discussion.”
I shove food in my mouth to keep from cracking up.
“Yeah, well, I like him. A lot. And, yes, I am aware that he is older than me.”
“That’s not what I’m asking,” she says, raising her eyebrows .
“Fine. We have had a few encounters,” she says.
To this, I laugh. “You’d think he was an alien or a black bear or something.”
Haley opens her mouth to speak and then seems to reconsider. “I’ll tell you if you both give me some details about your sex lives with my brother and my best friend.”
Dani taps her slipper-clad foot against the edge of the table. “I don’t want to know details. Have you kissed?”
“Oh, yeah, duh. He’s hot,” Haley says, causing us all to break out in laughter.
“You girls sound like you’re having too much fun,” my cousin Alexa says as she takes a seat with Peony and Dani’s mom.
“That’s what this day is all about,” Dani’s mom says. “Wait until you see what is in store for us tonight!”
“There’s more?” I ask.
“In case you missed it on the board, ladies’ day lasts all day. And all night actually. We’re having a slumber party!” she says.
And I have to be honest, I cannot picture Damon’s mom in a sleeping bag on the ground.
“Oh, I’m not sure—” Dani starts to say.
But her mother goes, “Your presence is not required. But I do believe you will miss out on some amazing memories if you don’t come.
With the wedding being a surprise, we never got to throw you any bridal showers or a bachelorette party.
And this isn’t those things, but spending time with the women in your life is always time well spent. ”
“Cheers to that!” Jennifer says, coming into the room with a glass of champagne in one hand and her arm wrapped around Jadyn.
“There’s going to be champagne, I assume?” I ask.
“Fountains of it,” Jennifer hoots. “At least, that’s what I was told!”
Dani’s mom whispers to us, “Maybe not a fountain, but we will be doing a champagne tasting, eating some not-so-healthy food, making friendship bracelets, and watching girlie movies.”
“That actually sounds like a wonderful night,” Dani admits, looking at me and Haley.
Once everyone is done with their treatments, we are led over to the resort, and the doors to a ballroom are opened up.
“I swear, this week just continues to surprise me,” Haley says.
And I have to agree with her.
The room is doused in shades of pink. Massive strands of beads, forming friendship bracelets for someone with a wrist the size of a tree trunk, hang from the ceiling.
There are glittered balloon arches. Tables for crafting.
Flowers galore. Stations with food—we’re talking cotton candy, colorful sprinkled doughnuts, cupcakes, macarons, flavored popcorns.
And a long table, set with rows of flutes—presumably for the tasting.
A wall-sized movie screen with actual mattresses set up in front of it with adorable sleeping bags on top and pillows strewn about.
Haley, Dani, and I are sitting next to each other, sipping on strawberry mocktails, making friendship bracelets, and eating cupcakes when I remember what I heard Damon say earlier today.
“What are cupcake dreams?” I ask Haley.
“Where did you hear that?” she asks me as Dani raises her hand and goes, “I know that one.”
“Um, at the gym this morning, I overheard Damon tell Chase that Haley needed to be at Nebraska so you could finish your cupcake dreams together.”
“They said that?” Haley says, her eyes getting teary.
“Is it bad?” I wonder if I just said something I shouldn’t have.
“Not at all,” Dani says. “But it’s kind of a long story.”
I look around at everyone happily enjoying being around each other and say, “I think we have time.”
“So, the first summer we were here,” Dani says, “we celebrated Emersyn’s birthday, and some of us helped the resort’s pastry chef make unicorn cupcakes for her party.
It was fun because everyone’s interests seemed to come out even though we were all doing the same thing.
Haley mastered the art of frosting, I learned about marzipan and edible glitter sugar, and Jennifer didn’t care as much about the decorating, but was like a mad scientist, making different flavor combinations of batter.
After we were all finished, I stayed and made another cupcake for Chase.
It turned out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.
The frosting was swirled into a neat pile with iridescent edible glitter dust coating it.
But it was the intricate pieces of marzipan I made that were the real masterpieces.
There was a green-and-white striped mini football field, complete with goalposts.
A brown football with white laces. A red number one, which is Chase’s number.
Then I added a black-and-silver microphone and the word dream , which I hand-crafted with white chocolate and little rhinestones. ”
“Like the ones you served at the wedding?” I ask.
“Yes. The importance of the cupcake was that Chase and I always used to talk about our individual dreams, but on the cupcake was a combination of our dreams, together—his playing football, me being a sideline reporter.” She stops and smiles, and I can tell she’s remembering an important time in their relationship. “Chase took a million pictures of it.”
“Then probably demolished it!” Haley says.
“He did enjoy the cupcake,” Dani says with a laugh.
“Fast-forward to me leaving for college. Chase and I had sort of broken the ice that had been in our relationship, and he left me a note in his window. Our bedroom windows at home are right across from each other, and since we were little, we used to leave each other notes.”
“What did the note say?” I ask because this is all quite interesting. It’s crazy—the trials relationships go through sometimes, but then still somehow manage to work out.
“Dream,” she says, holding up her right hand and showing me a ring with the word on it.
“He gave me this forever ago. Anyway, before I left, I put a photo of the cupcake in my window. Since it was our dream. And Chase took the dream note and cupcake picture and has had them in his football locker ever since.”
“You’re missing the part about me,” Haley says. “How it went from your and Chase’s dream to all four of us sharing a dream.”
“Oh, sorry, you’re right,” she says, now looking at her wedding ring dreamily.
“So,” Haley says, “it was time for Chase and Damon to commit to college. Their dream was to always go to Nebraska, but Chase and Dani were in this sort of situationship, and he decided he couldn’t go there if they weren’t together.”
“I saw the video of you interviewing them, Dani, when they made their announcement. I know everyone was excited they chose Nebraska.”
“But they wouldn’t have if we hadn’t given them cupcakes in each of the school colors and added a volleyball and Damon’s number eleven—telling them that whichever school they chose, we would all go there together,” Haley explains.
“It also, obviously, indicated a commitment between the two of them.”
“And the cupcake dream won’t be complete if you don’t go there to play volleyball?”
“That’s right,” Haley says with a grin. “Maybe you should come too. Be part of the dream.”
And for a moment, I’m silent, imagining what it would be like to be with Damon, to be part of this close-knit group. And I will admit, it’s pretty appealing. Mostly because Damon is quite appealing.
“Although it sounds really fun,” I say, “I only have one more semester left and would probably lose credits again if I tried to transfer.”
“So, what’s going on with you and my brother?” Dani boldly asks.
“Oh, um, same as always, we’re friends.”
Both she and Haley just stare at me, clearly knowing that I’m lying.
“We kissed,” I admit.
“And do you like him?” Haley asks.
“Of course I like him. He’s family.”
“Stepfamily,” Dani clarifies.
“Fine. I think he’s smart and funny and good-looking. But he’s four years younger than me. I’m going to graduate, and he’s just starting college. We’re at different places in life. Which is why it’s best for us to keep things on a friendly level.”
“That makes sense,” Dani says and goes back to stringing beads on the bracelet she’s working on.
And part of me is disappointed by this.
Shouldn’t they have argued his case? Tell me it could work?
And I come to the realization that I want it to.