Page 27 of Party Favors
Chapter Seven
Wren watched Amanda get dressed. That was a kind of intimacy Wren had never clocked before. Everything felt intimate with Amanda. Everything felt different. Like it could be more.
That was what Wren wanted. Wren would have to hold onto her hopes, keep them safe. Once this girls’ getaway was over, she would remember all these moments, cherish them.
Until then, though, she was going to put her mouth on Amanda’s body as many times as Amanda would allow.
“I love those earrings,” Wren said. They were blue pompoms. She could tell they were vintage. The rest of Amanda’s outfit seemed modern—high-waisted black cigarette pants, a cream sweater, and black heels—but that pop of whimsical retro was soher.
Amanda blushed. “Thank you. They’re my newest find. Got them at the antique shop down the street from my apartment. I had to have them.”
“What about them appealed to you?” Wren wanted to know everything about Amanda.
“I have a picture of Twiggy hanging in my room. In it, she’s wearing one of those quintessential mod mini dresses, and she has the short hair, and the winged eyeliner, and these huge yellow bauble earrings. When I saw these blue ones, they reminded me of that picture.”
“They’re perfect on you. Very fun.”
“You’re the fun one,” Amanda said, flirtation in her voice.
Fun. Not serious. A vacation fling.
Wren’s phone rang, distracting her from her pity party. A picture of Benji cheesing for the camera flashed on the screen.
“Hi, Benji,” Wren said as she answered it.
“Wren, my boyfriend ditched me to make money. Please hang out with me.”
“What do you want to do?” To Amanda, Wren said, “Benji is bored.”
“I don’t know,” Benji said, a whine in his voice.
“We’ll meet you at the lodge in a few minutes. I think they’re having a cider tasting and other shit like that today.”
“Boring.”
“Benji!” Wren said, laughing. He was such a loveable brat.
“Boring, but I’m looking forward to it, I mean. Love you. See you soon.” He hung up.
Wren shook her head, unable to stop her smile. Benji would make the afternoon interesting, and it was probably a good idea for them to leave their cottage for a while.
“Are you ready to hang out with Hurricane Benji for a few hours?”
“Sure.” Amanda leaned in and kissed Wren. “As long as you’re there, I’m there.”
If only that were true for longer than New Year’s Day.
They made it to the lobby of the lodge a few minutes later to find Benji lounging in the atrium reading a holiday edition ofMidwest Living.
There was a large easel sign with a schedule of the happenings for the day. Wren read through them quickly. On the far side of the room, registration for an event was in progress. All the attendees were receiving a plastic wine glass with a company logo on the side, and people were drinking from their cups after they entered the event space. It seemed like all you had to do to make it through the door was grab a wine glass and a name tag, which was shoddy security if you asked Wren.
She turned back to the schedule to see the event was calledNew Year, New You: Finding Your Light and Self Through Conscious Intentionality.
So that sounded like a load of bullshit, but she was going to get free wine and a cup out of it.
“Come on,” she said to Amanda and Benji. They both thankfully followed her without question. She loved when a plan came together.
She marched up to the name tag table and grabbed three. She passed one each to Benji and Amanda.
