Page 158 of Neighbors With Benefits

Some of the guests laughed and muttered amongst themselves.

“Apparently I’m not the only one who thought that,” Jazz said. “You see, Cat is one of the most carefree people I know. And Imean that in the best possible way. She’s quick to love, and quick to forget grievances. When bad things happen, she’s angry for a day—and then moves on. She is fiercely independent, and resists letting people change her.

“But the moment she met Amy at Thanksgiving last year, shedidchange. I saw it that night, and in the weeks and months to come. Now, change can sometimes be bad. We’ve all known people who start dating someone and then become atotallydifferent person, often times for the worse. But that’s not the kind of change I’m talking about. Cat changed… for the better.”

She said that last part in a spooky voice, and the crowd chuckled again.

“I did not!” Cat shouted, which made everyone laugh even harder.

“Trust me: you did,” Jazz yelled back at her while trying not to laugh. “Amy, get your wife to settle down.”

Amy put an arm around her, and Cat snuggled up against her.

“As I was saying before being rudely interrupted by the peanut gallery,” Jazz continued, “Cat changed for the better. She slowly became the best version of herself. Cat, you’re my best friend. I love you with all of my heart. And somehow you becamemorelike you when you started dating Amy.”

Jazz turned to address the crowd. “And that’s what I think a relationship should be, at its core. Two people who make each other better than they were before.”

Her gaze touched mine, then Dante and Bash, and I could hear the version she was trying to tell us:or more than two people.

Bash put his arm around me, and around Dante on the other side. “We’re lucky,” he whispered.

“We are,” I agreed. “Hey, when is Dante going to become a better version of himself?”

Dante leaned around Bash and showed me his middle finger.

“And based on what I’ve seen from them so far?” Jazz concluded. “These two are going tokeepmaking each other better for the rest of their lives.”

Jazz handed the microphone to the DJ, then found me with her eyes again. She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

For the rest of our lives.

That sounded nice.

But her smile faded, and she waved at me to join her.

“Don’t you have a speech to give?” Dante said dryly.

“Shit!”

My speech was boring by comparison, but everyone still applauded at the end. I considered that a win.

And then everyone was on the dance floor. We were properly lubricated with alcohol by now, so we weren’t afraid to let loose a little—even if we looked silly. Even Dante shuffled his feet a little bit with the rest of us.

Cat wasn’t drunk, but she waswelllubricated, and loved being the center of attention on her special day. She wrapped an arm around Amy and grinded with her for a while, then began twerking up against anyone and everyone. Even my Mom wasn’t immune; Cat backed her up against a wall and twerked while everyone cheered loudly.

“This is the best version of her?” Mom asked while laughing.

“She still has some work to do!” Amy agreed.

Jazz took turns dancing with each of us. Dante got her for a slow song, but Bash and I had faster songs with more dancing and grinding.

Eventually Cat danced her way over to us and said, “You’re welcome!”

“What do you mean?” Jazz asked.

“I gave you cover to dance with all three of your fuckboys,” Cat replied. “That’s why I was dancing up on everyone!”

“Is it really?” Amy asked with a wry grin.

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