Sparks - Wendy Higgins Page 0,38
Rhea and I shared a smile. I took her heavy purse off her shoulder so she only had to carry her roller bag.
“Oh, my gawd, you’re the best.”
We got ready in record time, and the five of us filed back down the stairs and into my car again, this time with Willa in the front with me since she was the tallest so the other three could squish together. I looked at my GPS and texted Ren our ETA. Twenty-two minutes. Thankfully I had plenty of gas. It was the last thing I’d used my card for.
Nice, he shot back right away. What do you drink?
Aw! Points for Ren! Vodka cran.
I pulled out of the lot with my heart dancing in anticipation.
“I forgot to tell you guys,” I said. “I got a dick pic.”
I pulled out my phone to show them, but Sydney screamed incoherently about not using my phone while driving and jacked the phone right out of my hand. I let her, because I’d never before been worried about anyone seeing anything in my gallery. But then I remembered.
“Wait—” I started to say, just as Syd exclaimed, “Damn girl, look at you!”
A volley of wooos! Rose up from the back seat and I wanted to die. My stupid freaking photo-sesh in my undies.
“No, you guys! Don’t look at those!”
“What?” Willa asked frantically from the passenger seat. “Show me!”
“No!” I yelled, but it was useless. I needed to delete those ASAP.
“Look at baby girl in her booty shorts!” Syd said. I tried to slap the phone down as she held it out for Willa to see, but I got my own hand smacked instead.
“Keep scrolling!” I told them, and they finally settled down and moved on. I could tell when they got to the dick.
“Dios mio, mama, no!” Syd said. “That’s too big!”
“Syd-Lo can’t handle the big D,” Willa said, bending over as she hooted and smacked her leg.
“That shit would hurt!” Sydney said, making us all break into giggles.
“You could handle it,” Rhea assured her, but Syd shook her head emphatically.
“Mm-mm. No.”
Willa snorted and slapped her leg harder, leaning into me and nudging my arm, making me crack up with her.
“Is that the fireman you’re meeting tonight?” Rhea asked, making an aggressive purring sound that made me laugh.
“No. Some rando. I deleted him.”
“You deleted that guy?” Beth asked. “Are you crazy?”
“He sent it immediately. Right after I told him I wasn’t down to fuck. So, yeah.” I glanced at my GPS. We were two minutes away. “Oh, my gosh. We’re almost there.” They cheered. I was edgy and felt myself sweating under my sweater and coat. The only thing that made this all okay was knowing I had girls I could trust this time.
Willa pointed out the restaurant and I pulled in, letting out a weird little scream. All the girls clapped and screamed with me. I smoothed down my hair and they assured me I looked perfect. I was wearing the tight jeans Ren had complimented, along with the boots that went above my knee and a fitted long sweater that landed mid-butt. I zipped up my coat and we all piled out, booted heels clicking the pavement. When a gust of frigid wind kicked up, we sped forward, laughing.
We were still giggling when we entered the restaurant and didn’t realize how loud and obnoxious we were until we looked up and found the whole bar area staring at us. I quickly looked down.
“Damn, girls, we know how to make an entrance,” Rhea said under her breath, which brought a nervous giggle up my throat. I pressed my lips together.
“Table for five?” the hostess asked.
“No, thank you,” Syd told her. “We’re headed to the bar.”
The hostess held out an arm. “Enjoy.”
Oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit. My friends were moving forward. That meant I had to move too. I finally let myself look at the faces and I found Ren almost immediately. He was the biggest man at the bar, and when he grinned at me with that scruffy jaw, my breath hitched. We got to their group and I went straight to him, feeling shy, but unable to stop smiling. I held out my hand.
“Hi, I’m Harlow.”
“Forget that,” Ren said, getting off his stool and wrapping me in a hug. “Nice to meet you, darling.” Oh, wow, he was so large. My cheek smooshed into his full pecs and I felt very safe there. I finally looked up into his boyish smile and made myself pull