Julianna set the bags on the counter. “You thought wrong! Let’s turn up!”
Sia clapped her hands as I ran to them. “Period!”
“That was my surprise!” Mikki grinned and started handing out Jell-O shots. “Ny, I made you some alcohol-free ones. Those are red.”
Fuck those shots. I was starving and went straight for the wings on the counter. Soon, the whole Airbnb was loud with music and conversation. Julianna and Peeches were dancing near the fireplace while Tina sat at the counter, telling Sia stories about the chaos at the lash studio that week. Then, Mikki had usplaying some ridiculous “Let’s Talk Bride Shit” card game that had everybody screaming.
“What’s your honeymoon safe word?” Julianna read from a card.
“Oh hell no,” Sia laughed.
“Pineapples, bitch,” Peeches said immediately in her best Kevin Hart voice.
“Girl, nobody asked you,” Mikki snapped. We were all dying laughing.
“Okay, skip that! Who’s most likely to cry at the altar?” Tina read next.
“Me,” I admitted, warm and comfy, curled up in a throw blanket on the couch. “Soon as I hear Knuck’s vows. You know, we wrote our own? Chile…”
“You better not cry,” Mikki said, already getting glassy-eyed. “If you cry, I’m crying, and my lashes are gonna slide right down my face.”
Julianna nodded. “Not if I do them!” We laughed again, but then the room got quiet for a second.
And I felt that heavy, beautiful, overwhelming feeling. I looked around the cozy room at all of them. “I’m really getting married,” I whispered, my eyes filling fast. “Like… in two days.”
Mikki reached over and grabbed my hand. “You deserve it.”
Sia nodded. “You deserve the kind of love that makes you feel seen, safe, and beautiful every day.”
“And that’s what Knuck gives me,” I said quietly. “Even when he gets on my nerves. Even when we bump heads. He… he gets me. He’s never tried to change me. Just protect me.”
Tina handed me a tissue. “That man looks at you like you hung the moon.”
Peeches smiled. “He definitely loves you.” We all sat there for a minute, letting the moment breathe under the warm lights and soft music.
Later that night, we made ratchet TikToks, had a twerking contest, and ended up watchingThe Best Man. Eventually, we were all laid out in the living room on blankets and oversized pillows.
???
T h es m e l lo ftequila, leftover food, and candle wax slapped me awake. Light crept through the blinds, turning every glitter balloon into a dull pink blob. A single sequin clung to my pillow like it survived a war. I sat up on the couch slowly, bonnet hanging by a thread.
The living room looked like a tornado had touched down. Mikki’s satin robe lay across the coffee table with one of her lashes stuck to a cup. Sia snored on the floor, wrapped in a throw blanket that belonged on the couch. Julianna was out cold near the fireplace, a half-eaten slice of pizza still on a paper plate by her head. Peeches hugged an empty wine cooler like a teddybear. Tina slept upright in a dining chair, tweezers still clutched in one hand and a lash tray balanced on her thigh.
I slid to my feet and tiptoed to the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of water then scrolled on my phone to play something on the speaker. “Alright, hoes. Wake up,” I yawned, standing in the living room.
Tina stirred first. She blinked, clocked the lash tray still on her lap, and groaned. “Why did y’all let me fall asleep holding work tools?”
“You passed out in mid-lecture about lash retention,” I whispered. “We respected the craft.”
Julianna rolled over, sniffed the air, and groaned. “Why don’t I smell bacon?”
“‘Cause your ass is supposed to be up frying it,” yawned Peeches as she sat up.
Sia stretched. “We gotta clean up. I got a teeth whitening appointment in two hours.”
Mikki yanked the blanket off her face. “Damn. I feel like we just laid down.”
After all that complaining, the brownstone buzzed like it was supposed to. Julianna flipped bacon with shaky hands while complaining about her edges. Sia scrambled eggs and dropped half the shells in the pan. Tina tossed potatoes in a skillet and threatened violence if anyone didn’t like them. Peeches set out plates and cups while Mikki made mimosas. We ate, laughed about last night and by eleven o’clock, the house looked presentable again.