Page 21 of Love on the Waiver Wire

“Can you pass me my brush again?” Amara asks me as she fluffs her hair in my bathroom mirror.

“Yeah, here you go,” I hand it to her before going back to lining my lips.

“It’s been a while since we did this,” Mila mutters from her place perched on the toilet as she watches us.

“I think last time we went out like this, Amara ended up passed out on a bathroom floor,” Heidi chuckles.

“Yeah, that was one time after I broke up with Josh. Of course, that happened. Am I ever going to live it down?” Amara snaps, rolling her eyes.

I can see Mila making a face from my peripheral, but I decide not to chime in and annoy Amara even more. She’s had a short fuse for as long as I can remember.

But Mila is right. We haven’t really had a real night out in years. We used to drive into the city on Monday nights specifically to go to Lulu’s, but as we got older and they went off to college in different states, we stopped.

The four of us have been friends since middle school. We’ve seen each other go through every phase of life, whether it be losing their virginity behind the bleachers like Amara or losing their dad like Heidi.

No matter where we were in the world, we have always been there for each other, no matter how irritating we can get.

“Are the guys going out tonight?” Mila asks, brushing her fingers through her hair.

I shrug, grabbing my lipstick. “I’m not sure. I haven’t heard anything.”

Which is true. I haven’t heard anything from my brother or Owen, actually.

If I’m being honest, I’ve been waiting for the sound of the fantasy app all day, but nothing has come. Nothing at all.

Since the team usually has off on Tuesdays, the guys like going all out Monday nights. And there’s really only one club that’s worth going to on Mondays. Lulu’s.

The reason we’ve always gone? Women get in free on Mondays. None of us have normal jobs, so why not? And even if one of us did—Amara worked an office job for about a month before deciding that being tied to a desk wasn’t exactly her thing and got her old job at the old pub back—we would always make time for Lulu’s.

“Well, maybe we’ll see them.” Mila gets up from her seat and heads out of the bathroom. I watch as she grabs her dress, slipping it on over her shorts and sports bra. She’s been asking more questions about the team lately, and although I know that she doesn’t like my brother like that, I can’t help but wonder if she has her eyes on someone else.

Mila had a crush on my brother in high school, which quickly dissipated when she saw him chase a ping-pong ball around a room.

When Amara and Heidi are done with their hair and makeup, we all get dressed. Nothing fancy, but not sweats either.

And finally, we’re on our way, and all I can think about is how happy I am that we’re all back together.

* * *

“Is that your brother over there?” Heidi asks, peering through the fog filling the room as lights bounce around at an almost dizzying rate.

“Is he bigger and taller than almost everyone here?” I ask. It’s pretty easy to spot my brother. We’re a tall family, with him coming in at six-five and me at five-eleven.

“He has a whole gaggle of women around him,”

“Then that’s probably him,” I nod, rolling my eyes. Nothing changes with him.

When I finally spot him, he’s jumping up and down, a beer in his hand splashing all over the people around him.

As the four of us grab drinks at the bar, I scan the rest of the room for Owen. Maybe I should message him first? He left my apartment in a rush the other night, and I don’t want him to feel like he upset me. It was awkward, sure, but it was also funny.

Maybe he’s not as quiet as I thought he was.

Still, I hate how much I desperately want to hear from him.

“Are all the usual suspects here?” Mila asks as she brings her vodka cran to her lips.

“I think so. Cooper is over there,” I point to the left of Leo, where Cooper sits in ripped jeans and a white t-shirt, sipping his drink as he watches the dance floor. “and Myles is against the back wall talking to someone, I think.” All I can see is a bright blue suit, which he’s worn out before. How many bright blue suits can you see at a club?

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