Emily leads the way into the biggest ballroom I have ever seen. The sweeping staircase in the distance belongs in the grand library or a museum, definitely not a private residence on the forty-first floor on 5th Avenue. It’s bigger than the Bruels’ townhouse, for crying out loud.
My family is very well off. I’ve never heard the word “No” when it came to buying clothes, shoes or taking trips. But what the Bruels have is something entirely different. Their type of wealth you only read about; it’s the kind of money that will open any door. And believe it or not, Emily does not flaunt her status. Any other woman would be shopping day and night, surrounding herself with other wealthy snobby socialites, but not my Emily. I secretly love how my best friend only wants to spend time with her family and me. She doesn’t let strangers into her inner circle. Besides her sister, Jenna, and me, Louis is her only other best friend. Their bubble is something to admire and strive for. Not that I could ever find someone that would only need my company the way her husband wants and needs to spend every breathing moment of his time with her. Anyway, Emily will never make another human question their worth in her presence. She’s humble to a fault and couldn’t be more down to earth if she tried.
She watches me take in this lavish suite we’ve entered and stands right next to me, taking it all in as well. Her eyes are dancing with excitement as though this isn’t her lifestyle. I love that. We both smile at each other and I instantly think back to our slumber parties back when we were teenagers. She wasn’t allowed to sleep anywhere but home, and my parents couldn’t give a shit where I slept, so I would end up sleeping at her house almost every weekend. We would start off in separate rooms, but we always snuck in and ended up falling asleep in the same bed. Oh, the good ol’ days. Where does the time go?
“What do you think?” she asks me with a ridiculous smile.
“‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth’ by Belinda Carlisle,” I answer with an expression I’m sure mirrors her own. Not sure why I’m so happy! I have more problems than God and I haven’t figured out anything except that I won’t be needing to crash at my brother’s or my parents’ or be alone at a hotel somewhere. “Tonight, will you fuck your husband extra hard for me?”
Her face drops before she starts smiling again. “If that statement came out of anybody else’s mouth, I’d scratch their eyes out. Only you can say shit like that to me and it’s actually comforting to hear.” She smirks my way. She knows I wouldn’t touch Louis if he were the last sperm donor on the planet. I may have slept with a married man my whole adult life, but Louis and Emily are family. It’s like Eddie always said to me, “you don’t shit where you eat.”
We laugh as we continue to inspect my humble abode for the next month. I look over to a beautifully-set table and I swear it’s like Pinkoulicious did the catering in honor of our arrival. Pink cupcakes, pink macaroons, pink mousse, pink lemonade, I think I even see pink tea sandwiches and wraps. I look over to see Emily holding her head in her hands and shaking it from side to side.
“Sara, I’m sorry! I told Louis we needed some girl bonding time and this is what he thinks women eat when they bond. He’s not well, it’s the drugs they have him on.”
We both erupt into uncontrollable laughter. It’s incredibly sweet how thoughtful her crazy husband is. To think that we’re standing here, laughing, when only a month ago, Louis had been fighting for his life. If something would’ve happened to him, I don’t know how Em would go on. He really is her whole life, her first real kiss, her first love, her first everything…hopefully, first and last, I think sadly to myself.
I always thought the boy I first kissed would turn into the person that I’d get the privilege of kissing for the rest of my days. Em must think that I lost count of how many men I’ve kissed in my life, but I can count them all on one hand with three fingers: Jeffery, Phillip, and Gavin. I