Page 134 of The System

“Congrats, Dylan. You’ve earned it,” Raleigh said.

“Agreed,” Ripley added.

“Hey, I’ll wait until after you get that drink, but I think the story’s even better now. Can we talk later?”

“Yeah, in like, six months, when my sister is out of jail. So, chill,” Kieran replied.

“That’s usually my line,” Ripley added.

“Hey!” Kenna looked over at her wife with a wide smile on her face.

Carina laughed and said, “I’m going to order at the bar. I’ll be right back. What do you want?”

“Whatever you’re having.”

“I’m having wine,” she said.

“Then, wine,” Kieran replied and kissed her cheek.

Carina smiled and walked to the bar, where she waited for the bartender to approach.

“Hey. Your usual?”

“Two, please,” Carina replied just as Jessa walked out from the back office and spied her at the bar.

“Hey,” Jessa said as she walked over. “We’re so busy; you had to come to the bar to order. Can you give me, like, fifteen to get the line down, and we can go in the back?”

“I need to talk to you about that, actually,” Carina replied and nodded toward the group.

“Oh, you’re here with your friends. Got it.”

“And my girlfriend,” Carina revealed.

“Shit. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile.

“Okay. Got it. Let me know if anything changes again. And have a good night, I guess.”

“I hope it doesn’t,” Carina said. “With my girlfriend, I mean.”

“Understood,” Jessa replied. “Her drinks are on me,” she added to the bartender. “For old times’ sake.” She then winked at Carina, and Carina knew that she understood that they wouldn’t ever be having sex in this bar again.

EPILOGUE

“I feel weird.” Marin tugged on her dress. “I’ve never had an expensive dress like this.”

It wasn’t really all that expensive. Kieran had bought it for her at a department store, and it had even been on sale, but she supposed for someone who just opened her first bank account and started saving money from her new job, it probably felt expensive.

“If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to wear it. You can wear whatever you want.”

“It’s a wedding, though. I need to dress up.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to wear a dress, specifically,” Kieran offered.

“It’s not the dress part; I like wearing dresses. Mine just usually came from a thrift store and were at least a few decades old. This one is fancy and brand-new. What if I stain it or something?”

“Then, you’ll get it dry-cleaned.”

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