Page 165 of Cruel Steps

“Pictures! Let’s get some of everyone before we forget,” Rose said.

I stepped out of my boyfriend’s arms. My dad smiled at me and stepped in to kiss my cheek. Rose motioned everyone over to a wall that would provide a pleasant backdrop.

“Okay, first, let’s do a family photo. Taylor said she’d take the photos for us.”

Colter squeezed my hand and stepped beside Taylor. My dad and Rose stood in the middle, with Hope on Rose’s side. I went to my dad’s and was surprised to find Holden standing next to me. I lifted an eyebrow, and he only narrowed his.

“Smile, everyone!”

Taylor took a few, and then we traded out for Colter and Holden with me, then one with each. We took a few doing the classic dance poses and then real ones. My cheeks burned when we finished, and I couldn’t wait to see them.

“I’ll send them to you,” Rose said, reading my mind.

“Thank you. We’ll see you there.”

Hope climbed into my dad’s car with Rose, and we walked over to the new SUV my dad had gotten yesterday. He’d been able to get the insurance money for my car to come through quickly, and I’d decided to get something with more room for the tall men in my life, much to Cody’s dismay. He’d really loved my Audi.

The drive was nice, and the guys took time to talk to Taylor and get to know my best friend. However, when she decided to share embarrassing stories about me, I regretted introducing them.

“I can’t believe you’re sharing this.” I cringed, hiding my face.

“It’s what best friends are for, Mer!”

“Ugh.”

“What happened next?” Colter asked. I turned and glared at him, but he smiled and winked at me, not caring in the slightest.

“So, our crew went to this club after a competition. We were all decked out in the clothes we’d worn to perform in. Mer had on these hot pants that sculpted to her. They were difficult to put on, meaning going to the bathroom was nearly impossible.”

“Seriously, you can go back to Brighton now.” Taylor ignored me, continuing.

“We’d been dancing for a few hours when she begged me to help her get her pants off because she had to pee.” Taylor laughed, struggling to find breath to finish. “We go into the stall and try to pull them down, but between the sweat and hours they’d been on, they’d become stuck to her.”

“It was awful,” I said, whining as she laughed. “I was about to pee my pants.”

“So, in desperation, she bends over and tells me to rip them open. She was all, ‘Just do it. Rip them, Tay. I need it.’ Well, you can imagine how that sounded in a bathroom stall.” She laughed more, Holden and Colter joining in.

“Just as I finally get the damn things down enough to pee, the door is kicked open by some beefy bouncer, nailing me in the head.”

“She’s trying to squat over the toilet to pee in the small gap she made, clasping her forehead where the door hit her, and this guy just stares at her.”

“Apparently, not finding us in the throes of passion like he assumed, just a girl with sweaty fake leather pants barely over her hips, makes him freeze,” I huffed.

Taylor cackled, wiping her eyes. “So Mer goes, ‘If you’re going to watch me pee, it’s gonna cost you because I worked so hard to get these damn pants down that I’m not stopping now.”

“Which made the guy realize he was staring at a woman peeing. His face turned bright red, and he stuttered, spinning to flee and smacking right into the same door he’d thrown into me.”

“He went down, falling right into the bathroom at Mer’s feet, and she just shrugs and pees while everyone else in the bathroom freaks the fuck out.”

“I ended up with a knot on my head and had to cut myself out of those pants when I got home, and this one,” I said, pointing to Taylor, “went home with Peeping Tom.”

“Someone needed to monitor him for a concussion,” Taylor laughed.

“I don’t think they meant with your vagina.”

“Their loss.” Taylor shrugged. I loved how unapologetic she was about her sex life. She’d taught me a lot over the two years I’d lived with her about being sex-positive.

Holden and Colter both howled with laughter, wiping their eyes of tears. As embarrassing as it was, I knew neither would think of me differently. They loved me, mortifying moments and all.

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