Page 7 of Joint Custody

I launched myself out of the seat and threw my arms around his neck. “Thank you, thank you!”

This meant so much to me. It was terrifying; I’d never lived on my own, but I had lived in the dorm. It wasn’t quite the same, and although I didn’t feel quite as free living there, I felt much freer than I imagined living with my parents would be. But this? This felt like a chance to start a new chapter for myself.

“Thank you so much!” I said again.

“It’s no problem.” He squeezed me into a hug. “I’d have taken you there myself, but I think I’m getting too old to stay out past 6 p.m.”

Mario laughed, and I tried not to think about how sexy it sounded as I laughed too.

“Mario knows where it is, he could take you, or I could take you some other time. You should really come over and meet your niece one of these days. After you’re settled. It’d be nice to hang out as a family with no hidden motives,” he said.

“I’d love to meet her.” I smiled.

“Okay.” He smiled and hugged me again before turning to walk away.

“I’ll take you home.” Mario jumped up.

“No, nonsense. Stay and look out for my little sister. I’ll get a cab,” he said.

I was flushed again. There, he said it. Little sister. So embarrassing. Besides, why did he need to look out for me? Mom and Dad were here. Oh damn, that made it worse, didn’t it? I wanted to tell Mario that I’d be fine, that wasn’t necessary, but he was already off with Chris, his arm around his shoulders, saying, “Okay, well at least let me get the cab for you.”

Chapter 4

Tiffany

Well,okay,atleastthat was over. Both men seemed to have left for the evening, which meant I still had time to prepare myself to not be flustered at the interview tomorrow. But for tonight, I was going to avoid any more lawyer talk and find my friends to celebrate my newfound sense of independence. My own car, paid off, and my own freakin’ apartment!

After wandering around, dodging my parents and the suits in search of my friends, I decided I wanted another drink and found them at the bar.

“Oh, there you are! I’ve been looking all over for you.” I smiled at my friends.

Laura’s hair was bleached at the ends and her face was rounder than ours. She was stunning and so was her figure. She wore a piercing in her nose and on her eyebrow. My parents had given me lectures about “girls like her.” I hadn’t found her to be any less than equal to me so their lectures had been one of the many things I had ignored, especially since I saw Mom’s younger pictures. She had piercings too and wore figure-hugging clothes. Dad wasn’t complaining then, was he?

Annie wore her hair in a pixie cut and she had small, slender features. She could be a model, as anything she wore just looked as if she stepped onto a runway. Whenever we entered anywhere together, she would have people staring at her in awe. She didn’t wear a lot of jewelry and kept her makeup on the more natural side.

Simone was curvier than the rest of us, something she embraced. She was blonde and had some pretty impressive boobs. All my friends were hot, and they knew it. They carried their bodies without shame and leaned into their sexuality. Even as they walked around this garden, they attracted attention from married and unmarried men and women alike.

They were the opposite of me. I didn’t think I was sexy. Sure, I thought I was attractive but sexy? Before tonight, I’d have run away and hid if I thought anyone was interested in me that way. But something changed tonight, and I had thoughts that made me feel dirty. Thoughts that I needed to suppress.

“Excuse me.” I leaned over the counter.

“Um, what are you doing? Don’t tell me someone popped your drinking cherry?” Annie gasped and motioned toward the empty glass.

“No!” Simone clutched her neck as if she was wearing pearls.

“Nah, I bet it was just a mocktail,” Laura teased, throwing back a shot.

“Well, actually, it was a glass of sow-tierns and I’d like another one,” I said with a raise of my head, and my friends started laughing.

“You mean, Sauternes?” Simone laughed and snorted as she did. Ms. Ma’am was wasted.

“Isn’t that what I said? Excuse me,” I said, trying to get the server’s attention.

“Hey, Bartenderrr! Anotherrr glass of Sau—”Hiccup.“Ternes for the guest of honor,” Laura shouted over the heads of the people seated at the open bar.

“So, if you’re popping cherries tonight, what do you say we leave this borefest and you finally hit the clubs with us? I don’t knowhow manymore drinks we can drink to make this party more entertaining. Who knows when we’ll be able to do this again? We’re gonna start working soon, and I’m pretty sure we’re gonna be so overwhelmed with work, we won’t have time for much else. We might not see each other again for a while. Come on, let’s break your partying virginity tonight. Please?” Annie brought her two palms together and batted her eyelashes.

I was beginning to feel the second glass of wine, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to sleep or stay awake, but the wave of dizziness that hit me had me laughing out loud as I grabbed the third glass of wine.

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