Page 3 of Laugh

Leaning down, he gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Call me tomorrow. Love you more than Drogon loves Daenerys.”

“I love you more than Jamie loves Cersei.”

“Damn…” he mutters, then waves goodbye to Addie and makes his way out of the bar.

“Come on Haddie. I need your moral support. So,” she whispers conspiratorially. “The girls picked up this group of guys, but seriously, there’s this guy named Jensen…” I peek at my friend and watch her face flush as she trails off just from mentioning his name.

“Uh oh. Someone has a crush. Point him out to me. I’ll be the judge on whether he’s good enough for you.” She hooks my arm and I grab the beer left on the counter that Marcus didn’t finish before she pulls me away. Yelling over my shoulder to Ricky, “I’ll be back, Ricky! Marc left his half under the glass. Keep the tequila coming, I’m gonna need it!”

“Hush, come on. It won’t be so bad,” my friend assures me.

“Soyouthink. Bamber is going to make me pay for crashing the cool kids’ table tonight. Make sure you speak well of me at my funeral. There’s already the perfect eulogy written in my journal. It’s in my side table under my vibrator. Make sure you toss it before my dad finds it. Unless Deborah cleans out my room, then make sure you add a butt plug in there for me.”

“So dramatic. That’s what I’ll talk about. How you could turn shaving your legs into a three-hour ordeal that ends with tears and epiphanies.”

Stopping us in the middle of the bar, I grab her shoulder to look at me, then clench my hands under my chin and look up at her. “You know me so well…” I sniffle. She just rolls her eyes at me and bites her cheek to stop from laughing.

“Sometimes I don’t know what to do with you.”

Laughing, I turn her back around to face the direction we were heading in. “My evil plan to keep you on your toes is working. Alright. Show me the guy.”

Chapter 2

Kirk of Thunder

Haddie

Whispering, Addie points out her interest to me. “He’s the guy in the green Henley and brown hair.Don’t be obvious!” she hisses.

“Seriously? I’m not going to ask him to stand up or anything, but I have to look, Addie.” I roll my eyes at her, and then nonchalantly glance around the table like I’m just taking a brief look.

The guy, Jensen, is sitting next to an open chair with his arm over the back of it. I curl my lips under my teeth so I’m not obvious when I smile. But he’s adorable and clearly interested in Addie. He’s staring at her like a lost puppy and definitely not being shy about it.

I look up at my friend, and she’s got a soft smile gracing her face. She holds her hand up a little to wave hi to him. Chuckling to myself, I encourage her to go sit down when he nods his head at the empty chair he’s saving. “Go on, my friend. I have to say, great taste. He’s adorable.”

She turns her back to him and widens her eyes at me, letting out a little squeak of excitement. “Aah! He’s super cute, right? Will you be okay? I really want you to stay.”

I wave her off. “Yeah, I’ll stick around for a bit until you’re sucking face, then I’m out of here.”

“If only I were so lucky,” she sighs out.

“You know what they say about luck. ‘Good luck is a residue of preparation’. Meaning… I hope you shaved.” I wink at her when she glares at me.

“Of course, I did. Have you not met me?” And that’s why I love her.

She turns back around to walk over to him, so I smack her ass. “Go get ‘em, tiger. Make good choices!” She throws me a megawatt smile over her shoulder and finds her way to the open seat Jensen has saved for her.

It’s amazing to me how confident my friend is in her own skin. From the moment I met her, I’ve loved her. She’s kind, bubbly, sweet, and has always accepted me for exactly who I am. For that easy acceptance when my experience has been judgment and awkward encounters, I’ll forever love her.

“Harry, what are you doing?” I briefly close my eyes at Amber’s question before turning to her with a fake smile.

“Bamber!” I call out, sliding between tables to join the group. “I didn’t see you there. I’ve missed you.” Dropping into an empty seat opposite of where Addie sits next to Jensen, I drop my chin into my hand and bat my lashes as my sister.

She places her hand on a muscular arm and leans into him, “Ignore her. That’s just my little sister.” Her hair flies over her shoulder when she flips it at me. She mastered the art of the hair flip before her age hit double digits. I’ve never been able to do it.

Before I get a chance to see my sister’s choice for the night, Addie calls out to everyone. “Guys, this is one of my best friends, Haddie. Haddie, this is Jensen, Garrett, Marshall, and Beau.” I look at each one of them when she points them out, then my gaze settles on Beau. He’s the owner of the muscular arm that my sister has her claws dug into.

The guys ramble out hellos while I raise my eyebrow at my sister’s hand and focus back on Beau’s face. He’sbeautiful,and I can honestly say that I think this is the first time I’ve ever been jealous of Amber. His body is linebacker massive, thick arms stretching the short sleeves of his black t-shirt that’s so tight I can see his pecs moving as he shifts in his chair.

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