Page 58 of Shameless With Him

“I don’t know if I should tell you,” I said, this time trying not to burst into a fit of giggles.

“Oh, you should totally tell us,” Erin said. “This is what girls’ night is for. Cheese, wine, and penises.”

“Stop saying penis when you’re talking about my brothers. I need new friends. Ones that aren’t sleeping with my brothers,” Amelia said.

“Oh, come on, maybe you shouldn’t have brothers with amazing dicks,” I said, laughing when Amelia threw a throw pillow at me. I caught it before it knocked into the wine bottle and shook my head. “You’re such a baby,” I said, and Amelia flipped me off.

“I’m going to find a way to get you back for this. All of you.” Then she closed her eyes, and Erin grinned.

“Okay, thumbs up or thumbs down.”

I knew I should probably be discreet and not talk about Caleb when he wasn’t here, however, I couldn’t help it. I was excited. This was new for me. This was everything that I had ever wanted, even though we didn’t know exactly what was happening.

So, I held up both thumbs, and wiggled my butt, grinning widely.

Erin laughed, and Amelia groaned.

“Is she making penis hand gestures or something? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

“You can open your eyes now,” I said, laughing. “I’m not going to talk about how I defiled your brother,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes.

“Oh, yeah, Caleb was totally a virgin,” Amelia said, rolling her eyes. And then she froze and put her hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled.

“What?” I said, truly not hurt at all. “Do you think I actually thought Caleb was a virgin? I have met so many of his girlfriends in my life, it’s a little ridiculous. I could probably write a tell-all book, and it’d end up being five hundred pages long, and I’d still miss a few,” I said honestly.

“Does that bother you?” Amelia asked.

“Does what bother me?”

“That he’s been with so many women? I mean, I don’t think he slept with all of them,” Amelia said, wincing. “No, I don’t want to think about all of that. However, I don’t think he’s slept with every woman he’s been on a date with.”

“Well, if he did, his number would be a little staggering,” I said dryly. “But I don’t know, I don’t think it bothers me that he has a past with women. He’s allowed to. And I’ve always seen him treat women wonderfully. And every ex that’s ever come up to us recently has been sweet with him, but never jealous or rude.”

“I swear, Denver’s the biggest small town ever,” Erin said. “I keep running into my ex, so I can only imagine what it’s like for you and Caleb.”

I reached out and squeezed Erin’s hand.

Erin smiled. “It’s fine, really. I’ve truly moved on. And you can’t exactly change your past with Caleb, but you can look forward to a future.”

I shrugged.

“I don’t want to look only forward, because that’s where disappointment can lie. I’m allowed to live in the moment and help plan three weddings all at once, and just have fun. I’m allowed to have fun.”

“Yes, you are.”

Amelia kissed my temple, and Erin kissed the other, and then we ate some cheese, drank some wine, and purposely did not talk about dicks. Mostly because I was afraid Amelia might actually hurt me.

By the time they left, I was full, happy, and thinking about another glass of wine. The doorbell rang, and I frowned, wondering if it was one of the girls.

I opened it and froze. “Caleb,” I whispered, my throat dry.

“Hey there. Devin said that Erin was just getting home, so I thought I’d stop by.”

“You didn’t call or text, right? I didn’t miss something, did I?” I reached into my pocket to get my phone, but he put his hand on my arm and shook his head.

“I thought I’d surprise you. Pretend that we’re living in a pre-cellphone era. Like the stone age.”

I snorted. “I know, how did people deal with others just randomly showing up on their doorstep? Or, God, using the phone for talking rather than texting.”