buy a Christmas basket for every guy I know.” Rix leans back in the booth, and I see the toe of her black boot peek out where she’s got her feet propped up on the bench across from her.
She’s the picture of the cool, don’t fuck with me attitude. I’d love to take a picture, but my camera is at home. My brain still takes the frame. Click.
“Good idea, bad execution,” Katelyn corrects. “If you do a male line, don’t do anything crass. If it’s classy, I could use them as part of my bride and groom kits at the resort.”
The light over the table shines on her blonde hair and big, blue eyes giving her an All-American, Barbie doll look. Click.
I look around the table again. Each woman is so different and so beautiful in her own way.
“Uh, guys . . .”
My mouth opens before my brain can stop it, and everyone’s attention is on me. I almost say ‘never mind’ and forget about the stupid idea I just had. But somewhere inside, a tiny spark of ‘what if’ grows brighter.
“Can I ask you a crazy question?”
Shay snorts. “Considering we started the night by discussing blowjobs, I think we’ve made it quite clear that we’re up for anything. Whatcha wanna know? I can’t exactly offer everything I know about Bobby, but if you were to ask, I could maybe . . . blink once for yes and twice for no?” Her smile says she thinks that’s brilliant.
“No, I . . . uh . . . this is going to sound weird, but . . .” I don’t know why this is hard for me to ask. I’ve done it before, but not with people who mattered this much.
“Spit it out,” Katelyn says, pointing a sharp finger at Shay that tells her ‘not now’ like she could read her mind.
“Can I photograph y’all? Not for the blog, but just because. Like portraits. It’s not my primary work, but I think it could be something really special.”
There’s a half-beat of silence where I think it’s the stupidest idea ever before they explode.
“Yes!”
“When?”
“Now!”
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
I don’t even know who’s asking what, but somehow, I answer, “My place? We could go now and get some cool moonlight shots. And the cabin is cute, especially the kitchen. It’s cheery and vintage.”
Before I’m even done talking, they’re getting up, gathering their things, and shoving me toward the door. I manage to squirm my way over to Unc first.
“Thank you so much for tonight. I think I needed this, needed them.” It’s the truth, and though hard to admit, I hope he can see that needing others isn’t such a bad thing. It’s not a weakness, it’s simply human nature. I kiss him on his sandpapery, scratchy cheek, and he smiles.
“Go have some fun, Willow. I love you, girl.”
“I love you too,” I tell him. But I turn back once more before I leave. “At two, you get out of here. I’ll be in early to do tonight’s cleaning and tomorrow’s prep. Sit down, pull beers, and don’t overdo it.”
“Nah, I got it. Pretty sure I lost that bet anyway, so it’s my duty, fair and square.”
“Nope. The blue T-shirt Coors Light and the green tank top Girly Beer might not have made it out the door, but they made it down the hall to the bathroom,” I admit with a grin. “You won.”
His laughter is deep in his belly and so fierce, it makes his eyes water. “Shit. I don’t know how I missed that. All right then, add a deep clean to the bathrooms to your opening list in the morning.”
“Men’s room. They never go to the women’s for a hookup.”
It had started out so well. Simple and sweet, even.
We’d pulled up to my little house en masse, my little Subaru and a few trucks. Katelyn, the wedding pro, did everyone’s makeup and hair while we played around with various poses and setups.
I took individual photos of each woman, both planned images and candids of us talking, laughing, and having fun.
Rix sitting on the kitchen table, one boot on the chair and one folded up. She looked stunningly bad ass, glaring into the camera as she complained that she didn’t know how to do this. When she saw herself, she’d laughed and I’d captured that expression too. The dichotomy of her hard and soft edges is beautiful.
Sophie had been the opposite, an easy model full of poses and expressions. “I used to pose for paparazzi