Page 106 of Lush

“Shaking some ass at the bachelorette party is mandatory.” Gigi rolled her eyes. “You’re not getting out of this.”

“It’s tradition,” Noelle chirped. She brandished a sash that read “Bride to Be” and draped it across my shoulders.

I touched the cheap sash. “Did you pick this up from the dollar store?”

Gigi hopped up and went straight for my clothes. “Jesus, your closet’s bland as hell.”

I sucked my teeth as she muttered, tossing a pair of black boots over her shoulder. “I may just call down to Celeste’s boutique and have her send us some clothes…”

“Those boots are Rene Caovilla.”

Gigi shot me a look. “You’ll thank me later.”

“You deserve this.” Noelle smiled.

“And trust me, Lu, if I’m planning it, it’ll be epic. None of that bullshit.” Gigi walked out of my closet, holding up a gold sequined dress like she was planning to wear it herself.

“Fine,” I said, standing. “But let’s keep it reasonable, alright? No leopard print or feathers.”

A sharp rap echoed through the quiet room, making her jump. The door flew open, and Serena was there.

“You finally decide to crawl out of your hole?” Gigi asked.

Serena turned to me, her expression unreadable. “I came to talk to you.”

A month of silence. A whole damn month where not a word came from her. My stomach churned as I stared at her, trying to decipher whatever hidden agenda she had.

“Why don’t you go back under your rock? ’Cause we got plans, and you’redefinitelynot invited.” Gigi snapped her fingers, pointing to the door. “Step, homie.”

“Since when are you Lu’s lap dog?” Serena glared at Gigi.

“Jealous?”

Serena’s gaze remained steady. “Don’t test me, G. You don’t want to go down that road.”

“No, you don’t want to go down that road with me.”

“Enough, you two,” I interjected. “Can y’all give us a minute?” I glanced at Gigi and Noelle.

Gigi narrowed her eyes, clearly offended. “Wrap this up. I have a stylist coming in fifteen.”

She strutted out, shooting Serena one last over-the-shoulder glare. Noelle followed, albeit less dramatically, her hazel eyes flicking between me and Serena. The door shut, and we were alone. I wanted to say something, but I waited to see what she’d do.

“I wanted to apologize,” she said finally.

I blinked, surprised. Apologies weren’t Serena’s usual thing. “For what?”

“I’m not going to give you some grand emotional speech.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Her eyes flickered to the right, and she sighed, her shoulders drooping.

“For before,” she said. “For the things I said.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific. We’ve had a lot of befores.”

Serena’s mask slipped for a moment.

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