Chapter 43 Emma
Chapter forty-three
Emma
Safe to say, Ronnie’s in shit.
Once Sam has returned and I’ve peppered Little Tulip’s face with kisses, we refill our glasses and gather up some snacks and extra wine bottles. We bring the lot to the living room table, then sit down side by side on Morgan’s huge sectional.
We look absolutely ridiculous in our dresses with wine glasses in hand, but the laughter that pours out of us every time we peek at each other makes it totally worth it.
Plus, Morgan has the biggest grin on her face and looks like herself for the first time today, which was the whole point of this wild activity.
“Hey, I thought you said you were working tonight, Brey?” Cecilia frowns, checking the time.
“I was supposed to, but I called to let the girls know I wouldn’t be in tonight and asked them to lock up instead.
We were three scheduled on the floor, and Tuesday nights are usually pretty quiet, so they should be okay.
But I told them to call if there was anything, and I’m picking up one of their shifts in exchange. ”
“It must be cool to be manager of your own little store. You practically make all the decisions,” I say.
“Yeah, but I still have to do my job and report back to my boss. Clara mostly gives me free rein on everything, but I don’t want to disappoint her, either,” Aubrey adds.
Morgan hums from beside Cecilia, who sits to my left, while Veronica is at my right. “That makes sense. What about you, Ronnie? Took the day off, too?”
“Ha! Every day is a day off for me since Saturday night.”
Cecilia leans in to look past me and over at Ronnie. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I was scheduled to work a double Saturday even though I told them I couldn’t work that night because of the gala.
But they refused to cover my shift, so I left, and they called me ten minutes later to tell me I was fired.
” She shrugs like it’s no big deal. I guess for her it isn’t, this girl passes jobs like crazy.
I just think she hasn’t found the right one for her yet.
“So now I’m looking for another job. Again. ”
“Hmm, you know, I think I might have the perfect job for you,” Cece tells her.
She pipes up, looking excited. “Really? Where?”
“It’s for some of the hockey players. It’s a cleaning job mostly, so I don’t know if you’d be into that.
But it pays really, really well, and you’d only work like three times a week.
You might also have to run errands for them since their schedule is so packed and all over the place, but I’m sure it would be worth the money,” Cecilia informs her.
Oh, the sneaky little bitch. I know exactly where she’s going with this. And from the side-eye she keeps shooting me, she knows I’ve caught on.
Morgan goes to open her mouth, probably questioning if we’re talking about Gabe and Noah, but I shake my head slightly, telling her to zip it. She retracts herself into her seat and suppresses a giggle.
“Shit, sign me up, then! If I get paid a lot to only work three days a week, I’m in. I’m good at cleaning, just ask Brey,” Ronnie says, nodding her head.
“She really is. It’s surprising and kind of scary sometimes, to be honest. Sometimes I put something down for two seconds, and when I turn around, it’s gone because she’s already picked it up to put it in its rightful place. She’s kind of a clean freak,” Aubrey concurs.
“Okay then. I’ll let them know and send you the address with the date and time for your first day. I don’t want to just give out their information without their approval. But I’ll tell them to be there on your first day so you guys can come to an arrangement,” Cecilia ends with a satisfied smile.
She’s so evil, this little one. Ronnie is going to flip when she finds out who she now works for.
We decided on the movie Girls Trip with two of my favorite actresses, Queen Latifah and Tiffany Haddish. We’ve already refilled our glasses twice since we sat down and just passed the part about the grapefruit when Aubrey speaks up. “Do people actually do that?”
We all start laughing and Aubrey instantly turns red. “Some do, and others probably do even nastier stuff. But promise me you won’t ever try that when you give your first blowjob, baby Brey. That is not for beginners,” I tell her, still giggling.
She frowns and folds her arms. “Who says I haven’t already given one? Just because I’m a virgin doesn’t mean that I’ve never done anything.”
We all turn to her, calling bullshit. “Babe. No offense, but you turn red the minute we mention sex. Even more when you see a man shirtless or in tight shorts. I bet you haven’t even kissed a guy yet,” Ronnie says from beside her.
Aubrey looks down at her glass with that blush still permanently in place. Then she lifts it to her lips and drains the rest. Oh my God! She hasn’t.
“Holy shit. I was joking, Brey. But wait, you really haven’t?”
“How is that even possible?” Morgan asks, completely in shock just like the rest of us.
She shrugs but doesn’t make eye contact. “I don’t know, I’ve never had a boyfriend. So it’s not like I had someone to kiss.”
“Yeah, but surely you’ve kissed some random guy before? Like at a party or club?” I ask.
She just shakes her head.
“Not even playing spin the bottle? A dare?” Cecilia questions next.
“Nope. I never really went out or had friends that did. Not until you guys at least.”
“Aww, so that means Shane will be your first everything? That’s adorable,” I coo.
“Ugh! Why are we bringing Shane up again? There will never be anything between us, so there’s no point in even talking about it,” she says, irritated, but there’s a touch of sadness in her voice.
“Why not?” I ask her.
“Because, Em. He’s my brother’s coach. You out of all of us know how my brother is and how protective he can be.
He would never accept it. Never. And then how do you think it would go if something did happen and he found out?
He’ll never respect Shane again. How do you think that would play out for him on the team?
Not well. He’d either find a way to get Shane fired, or Shane would try to get Grey traded. ”
Shit, I hadn’t thought about that… Greyson doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, so I know it could always be a possibility. It’s something we’ve already talked about. I told him I was okay with it if it came to that, but I’d hate to leave my friends and family.
“No matter the outcome, it would end badly. Either I’d resent my brother and hate myself for being the reason for Shane losing his job, or we’d lose you. It’s not something I’m willing to risk, so can we please just drop it?” she finishes quietly.
I reach around Ronnie and place my hand on Aubrey’s thigh. “I’m sorry, Brey. I never thought about it that way. I just want you to be happy, that’s all.”
She places her hand over mine and squeezes lightly. “I know, Em. I’ll just have to find my happiness elsewhere.” She offers me a sad smile.
“Okay, enough. Can we please change the subject or go back to watching the movie? This got depressing real quick. I thought we were getting drunk and having a good time?” Ronnie says from between us, ruining our little moment. But she’s right, this did get depressing.
We all turn back to the movie and it’s quiet for a few minutes until Sam walks through the back door with the little ones.
He brings them over quickly for a kiss and tells us he’s going to change their diapers and then head into one of the empty spare rooms on the bottom level that he’s already set up with the kids’ toys and snacks.
When the room falls silent again, I break it with the most random thought that just popped into my mind while keeping my eyes glued to the movie. “I used to masturbate while thinking about Clay.” Wow. Okay, I think the wine might be kicking in a little now.
Someone spits out their wine while two others choke, and Cecilia slaps my arm. “What the hell, Em? Why would you say that?!”
“I don’t know. It just came to me.” I lean over, looking at a wide-eyed Morgan. “It was way before I met you, don’t worry. I’m not that crazy.”
“Oh God! Emma! Please stop talking,” Cece groans from beside me with her eyes closed.
“Oh, shush. You think I’ve never done it thinking about Silas?” I roll my eyes at her even though she can’t see me.
Her eyes whip open as she glares at me. “What?!”
I wave her off. “Relax. It was before you met him. It started off with Clay, but then I found out who he was married to, and you know how obsessed I was with Morgan. So I kind of felt guilty about getting off on her husband. That’s when I switched to Silas.
” I chuckle and shake my head. “But then you actually met him, and it just felt weird because you’re my best friend and you were so in love with him.
That’s when I started masturbating to pictures of Grey all sweaty after his games.
” My eyes go wide when I realize what I’ve just admitted.
Ronnie explodes beside me, slapping her thigh as she bellows with laughter. “This is the best conversation I’ve ever had.”
“Wait, so you used to touch yourself thinking about your current boyfriend? Like, before you met him in person?” Morgan asks, intrigued.
“Well… not exactly. It started after I met him at your Halloween party. He seemed like kind of an ass, a hot one, so that was good enough for me. Then he’d always roll his eyes at me or grunt when I’d talk.
” I giggle, remembering it clearly. “We’d never actually talked much to each other, but I could always tell I was getting on his nerves, and then I’d get home pissed because I didn’t know what his problem was.
And next thing I knew, my hands were down my pants, and I was moaning his name.
” I’ve never admitted that to anyone, not even Grey.
“Em, please stop talking. I can’t hear another word about my brother that way.” Aubrey shivers with a disgusted look on her face.
“I think it’s time we cut off your wine.” Cece grabs my glass from my hand and sets it on the table.