Megan and Lila are talking softly on my loveseat, and judging by the way she keeps turning her phone in Lila’s direction, I’m assuming she is showing off pictures of her newborn son, Jack.
They’re both wearing black dresses, but where Lila’s is on the shorter end of slutty, Megan’s is not. Megan’s is a beautiful shirtsleeve dress that hits her right in the middle of her thighs. Loose in the skirt and hiding what she refers to as her stubborn baby weight.
Lila’s is sleeveless, but with thick straps and a deep neckline that shows off her cleavage impressively. And where Megan’s is loose, Lila’s is skintight and hits her just under her bottom.
Nikki, Lyn, Dani, and Stella are in similar dresses as Lila’s, each a little different from the other but all black.
“We look like we’re going to a funeral,” I mumble before attempting to sit on the couch next to Nikki. But before my bottom hits the cushion, she is pushing against my back and shoving me forward. “What the hell, Nik!”
“You need to go get dressed!” she snaps.
“She’s right,” my sister says, coming in the room. “You’re the last one!”
She pulls me forward and down to my bedroom. When the light snaps on, illuminating what has been laid out on the bed waiting for me like a snake ready to strike, I feel my stomach start flipping nervously.
“Uh,” I start.
“Nope. No. No way in hell,” my sister starts to fuss. “You will put that on and freaking like it.”
“That,” I say, pointing to the blood-red fabric on my bed, my voice getting a little manic as I continue, “is not a dress. That looks like something a toddler would wear.”
“It’s stretchy,” she tells me as if that’s all that matters. She starts to unbutton the shirt that I had put on over my strapless bra earlier and I slap her hands away.
“I’m not wearing that,” I screech.
“Yes, you are,” I hear behind me and turn toward the doorway to see Stella. “My pops spent a ridiculous amount of time hunting for the perfect birthday outfit for you for as he says hours and hours, darlin’ girl,” she says, mocking her pop’s voice perfectly. “You know what happens when you ignore the advice of that man.” She stands up straight, tosses her long curled hair over her shoulder before continuing in Sway’s voice. “There’s certain times in a woman’s life when she needs to make sure to work the goodness God gave her with no hesitation whatsoever, darling girl. Just flaunt all that beauty and make every man you pass die a little inside because he will just not live another second if he can’t have you. For little Miss Emberlyn, that moment will be tonight, and Sway demands pictures and pictures before you hit the town.” She relaxes her posture instantly and shrugs. “So let’s do this.”
OPENING NIGHT IS IN FULL swing.
I’m sweaty and hotter than fucking hell, but the smile on my face hasn’t left for a second since we opened the doors three hours ago. Even before the six o’clock opening time, the line had been so out of control to get in the door that we went ahead and opened up the holding room at almost four in the afternoon. The girls and guys had been working together in perfectly synchronized movements ever since.
I see Shane the second he starts to climb the stairs to my office, where I’ve been observing the insanity while I cooled off some.
“Fucking madhouse,” he rumbles with a smile on his face.
“We did it,” I tell him, not looking away from the packed floor below us. Even the areas that hold the tall tables and beyond are packed with bodies undulating with the pounding bass flowing through the speakers. The house DJ, Thorn, changes the song to another fast-paced tune and throws one arm up and down with the beat. The bodies surrounding his staged-off area begin to move together a little closer. You can tell without being down there that things are getting heated, which isn’t a surprise since each bar has been passing drinks in rapid speed.
“We didn’t do shit, brother. This is all you.”
I move to deny his claim, but a flash of color by the entryway into the madness stills the words before they could even leave my lips. I squint my eyes and try to see through the dim lights and smoky air, but the vision was gone so quick I’m almost positive it was just a trick of the lights.
“Did you see the crowd during the bar dances?” Shane asks, moving to my side and watching the floor.