Page 34 of Winning the Nightcap

“Thank you. At a minimum, you devour two stacked Pringles together and make a mess of yourself with crumbs. That’s the rule. You’re a hot Pringle, Carissa. It’s time to find another Pringle to hop onto…or get under. Better yet, find yourself two Pringles. Turn yourself into a Pringle sandwich.” Dee raises her eyebrows at Carissa with a devilish grin on her face. I swear she wears that expression 90 percent of the time and it’s warranted. Always fucking up to something.

“Are you reading a why choose romance right now or something?” Carissa asks.

“I am,” Dee answers with a smirk. “Why do you ask?”

“Now I really want a Pringle. Help,” Ellie whines. “I havebreastfeeding munchies.”

“On my way,” I assure her.

“Can we please change analogies? It’s making me hangry and also giving me weird images of Carissa as a Pringle trying to seduce other Pringles,” she implores, calling out from my couch where she’s strapped to her breast pump with Hop curled up happily next to her.

Moms deserve a fucking medal. The way her nipples look in those tube things? Yeah, okay, a medal isn’t enough. Maybe paid parental leave is a good place to start. Oh, or free ice cream for life. No…maybe endless orgasms from their partners. I watch the tugging in sync with the littlepuff, puff, hmm…of the machine’s motor. Yeah, all three of those combined still aren’t enough for me to sign up to use that modern-day torture device. Ellie’s a fucking badass.

“Sorry, El. I don’t have Pringles, but I do have potato chips and tacos will be delivered in twenty.” I pull a bowl and bag of chips from the pantry and join Ellie and Abby in the living room. Dee and Carissa follow as I set up more snacks on the coffee table in front of Ellie.

Hop follows my every move with his eyes, knowing that at one point or another, there’ll be an opportunity for him to steal food from one of us. He’s as ornery as ever, but we’ve had a good time today. We went to the local dog park and worked on his leash training during two long walks. My hope was that I could exhaust him enough that having guests over wouldn’t bother him too much, the need to rest winning out. But he is as well socialized as I suspected, given the history Aiden shared, and he’s done amazing. Sitting while greeting each of the girls as they arrived, he didn’t jump on anyone, and he hasn’t stolen anyone’s shoes…yet.

“Well, if you really need to know, I can vouch for the pillow placement. It’s worth the hype,” Abby chimes in before taking a sip of her drink.

“I knew I would like you,” Dee says. Turning to Carissa, she adds, “You’re off the hook this time, single Pringle. Now, Abby. Tell meeverything.”

“Abby, you don’t have to answer her. Deepromisedshe’d be on her best behavior so that you’ll want to hang out with us again. Don’t scare her away.” I do my best to give Dee a chastising look, which is nearly impossible because I kind of hope Abby answers.

Sue me, I’m curious.

“Okay, well, I’ll say this. It’s good, really good, no matter which way you…flip the Pringle,” Abby says.

“I don’t get it. Like head to feet?” Carissa asks.

“No, like face up or face down…Pringle style.” Abby winces with a crinkled-up smile as she tries to act out the chip-flipping motion with her hands, before giving up. “Sorry, the chip metaphor is really throwing me. On your back or your belly, either way willnotdisappoint. My ex wasn’t good for much, but he did introduce me to that, so it wasn’t a total loss.”

“I bet with the right person it’ll be even better. Too bad Ellie’s the only one here with one of those,” Dee says.

“Are we sure about that? Because Bec owes me an explanation for why there’s a furry guest here tonight,” Abby says.

“I thought you said Hopper is from one of your training classes. You’re helping out the family who couldn’t find boarding, right?” Carissa asks.

Okay, so I might have been a little skimpy on the details, conveniently forgetting to mention exactly who thatfamilyis, but I didn’t think Abby would remember to call me out. She’s been busy getting her pieces ready for a local art show. I assumed she’d forget my tiny slipup. I’ve basically begged her to show me her artwork, but she says it’s easier to share it with strangers than to show it to her friends. I’m hoping she eventually changes her mind, but I won’t push her. If I had any artistic talent, I’d be showing itoff.

I act casual, grabbing a handful of chips and joining Ellie on the couch on the other side of Hop. “Uh…he is. Hop is from one of my classes. He’s Aiden’s dog.”

That gets Ellie’s attention. Her head snaps up from the candy bowl she’s scouring through to find a red Starburst, her favorite. I’m a firm believer that candy is a legitimate appetizer and it should always be included when hosting. I stand by this. I’m always sure to have everyone’s favorites on hand. I grabbed Abby’s for tonight too. Twix bars. Solid choice. I grab one and shove it in my mouth, hoping I can buy myself some time before I have to answer any questions.

“Aiden is bringing his dog to one of your training classes? How am I just now hearing this? Aiden didn’t mention it, and he was just over last week to catch the game.” Ellie looks at me with a heavy dose of suspicion. I don’t keep anything from Ellie, so I’m sure she’s confused why I haven’t at least mentioned this until now. Ellie knows me better than anyone. She’ll see right through any bullshit I try to throw at her.

I’m done keeping all this weirdness with Aiden secret, anyway. Dee is a great listener, but I need advice from all the girls now more than ever. The problem is, I don’t even know where to start.

“I didn’t want to mention it before because things with Aiden and I are kind of…strange? I should probably tell you about how I met him,” I say.

“At our wedding, right? Am I missing something?” Ellie is sitting on my couch, nips out and I’m the one who feels exposed right now. I feel so dumb explaining my non-history with Aiden, because what is there really to tell? We made out before we realized we were in the same wedding party, and I killed any chance of us going further. Oh, and we definitely would have banged if not for the girls arriving for the bachelorette party earlier than expected.

I look to Dee, the only one who knows the story. To her credit,she’s kept my secret for years. I honestly thought she’d last five minutes before blabbing to Ellie and Carissa. She nods with a stern expression, laying a hand over her heart like this is a fucking movie. “It’s…time,” she says with a poetic pause. I let out a little laugh at her ridiculousness, and it helps. She smiles, and I do too. She always knows how to break the tension.

As awkward as I feel for making a big deal of this, I sigh and dive in, explaining how Aiden and I connected initially and almost took things further. How we’d planned to meet up again after Dom and Ellie’s rehearsal dinner before we realized our best friends were getting married. How we decided to call it quits on our weekend fling before it could be…flung? And all that’s taken place since he popped back into my orbit two months ago.

Including the audiobook incident in my car and the death of my vibrator. I’m pretty sure my neighbors three floors up could hear the girls laughing. Hysterically. Literally howling at my humiliation. Well, except for Dee, who dramatically wailed as if our friendship was over because we don’t have matching vibrators anymore. Yep, my life is a sitcom. Damn Aiden for being right about my big mouth. The girls are going to tease me endlessly.

Yes, it’s embarrassing to relive, but it’s a huge relief too. I didn’t realize how much I needed to talk about this. And these girls right here, they’re the best I could ever ask to have sitting around me, helping me figure out what I want. Abby only moved here a couple of months ago, but I knew instantly when we met at work that she’s a true friend. A lifer. She’s stuck with me now, poor thing.

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