“Like, never,” Danielle said.
“It’s all my fault, you know,” Dempsey said. He finished pouring his root beer from the can into the glass of ice on the table before explaining. “After all, I’m the one who met her first. That job at Shea’s Café was the worst one I ever had…and Stephanie Crittendon is a big part of the reason.”
“You guys,” Kara began, “I’m sorry…but I just have to say this. There’s a whole different atmosphere here tonight without Steph. I know it’s mean, but I was always waiting for something awful to happen whenever she was here. It seems like she was always mad about something or at somebody.”
“I know,” Boston said, guilt expanding so rapidly in her chest she thought she might explode. “I’m so sorry, you guys. I should’ve developed some backbone a long time ago.”
“Hey, baby,” Dempsey said, putting a strong arm around Boston’s shoulders and hugging her with reassurance. “First of all, it wasn’t your fault. We all thought maybe we could soften her up a little. You just have more compassion and endurance than the rest of us.” Dempsey released Boston and picked up his glass of foaming root beer. “If I’d have been the one living with her, I would have beat the…the snot out of her by now.”
“Me too,” Danielle agreed.
Boston smiled as she saw Dempsey wink at Danielle in agreement. Danielle’s cheeks pinked up, and Boston wished the two of them would pull their heads out of the sand and each see the other one liked them.
“How’s work going, Max?” Halle asked, heaping chili on the hot dog in a bun on her plate.
Max, Kara’s should-be fiancé, was a tall, slender, quiet young man. He sort of reminded Boston of a friendly old scarecrow, only more handsome.
Max ran fingers through his tousled blond hair and said, “It’s all right. I feel a little cooped up being in an office all day. But…it’s good. I like the work. It keeps my mind busy.”
“Well, I may as well tell you guys,” Halle began, sprinkling grated cheese over her chili dog. “I didn’t get that job with Winfield and Roux.” Halle sighed with obvious disappointment.
“Sorry, Halle,” Danielle said.
Halle shrugged. “It’s okay. But sometimes…sometimes I just wish life was as easy as it was when we were all working at the North Pole. You know?”
Dempsey laughed. “Easy for you maybe…but my self-esteem took a big hit that summer.” He shook his head, chuckling at the memory.
“Oh, but you made such a cute elf,” Kara teased.
“Yeah. You did,” Max said, fighting back a smile. “I’ve seen photos.”
“Dude!” Dempsey countered. “It takes a real man to dress up in green knickers, red and white striped socks, curly pointed shoes, and an elf cap and still pull off manly man.”
Everyone laughed, and Max nodded. “You’re right about that, man. You’re right about that.”
“What’s so funny?”
Everyone turned and looked at Vance. He stood before them, fresh out of the shower, wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist, wet hair, and an innocent expression of curiosity.
When no one responded to his question, he rubbed his hands together and said, “Ooo! The chili dogs are ready?”
“Vance!” Danielle immediately scolded. “Sheesh! Can you at least put on a bathrobe?”
Boston smiled when Vance, Dempsey, and Max simultaneously exclaimed, “A bathrobe?” The men looked at each other as if Danielle had suggested the most asinine thing she possibly could have suggested.
“Danielle,” Vance began, “guys don’t wear bathrobes.” He looked to Dempsey, then to Max, and asked, “Am I right?”
“Totally, dude,” Dempsey agreed. “Bathrobes are for dudes who are too chicken to show a little pectoral flesh.”
“Are you telling us that you never wear a bathrobe…Mr. Green Knickers and Curly Toed Shoes?” Danielle teased.
“Heck no!” Dempsey exclaimed. The girls giggled as Dempsey proceeded to strip off his shirt. “I ain’t ashamed of my perfectly sculpted torso.” He flexed and everyone laughed.
“How about you, Max?” Dempsey asked.
Max, who was normally quite reserved, stripped off his shirt, saying, “I don’t even own a bathrobe, dude!”
Kara was so astonished by Max’s brazen act of displaying a well-toned physique that she gasped, blushed, and placed her hands over her eyes.
“Oh my heck!” Danielle scolded. “You guys are ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously ripped,” Vance said, flexing massive biceps, sculpted pectorals, and chiseled abs.
“That’s right!” Dempsey said, flexing his own well-molded musculature.
Max flexed as well, though his tall, slender look was more that of an athletic distance runner—yet still very impressive.
“Wait a minute,” Dempsey said, looking to Vance. “You’re still all wet.” Dempsey looked to Max. “We need some water, dude. He’s showing us up.”
Instantly, Dempsey and Max raced to the sink. Dempsey turned on the faucet and began splashing water at his chest. Max, always the thinker, grabbed the spray bottle Danielle used to mist her ferns from on top of the fridge.
“Dude,” Max said to Dempsey as he began to spray his chest.
“Exactly!” Dempsey laughed. Quickly, they returned to stand on either side of Vance, spraying their chests, arms, and stomachs.
“Here, man,” Max said to Vance, squirting him a couple of times. “You’re beginning to dry off.”
Boston laughed so hard she thought she might never catch her breath!
Halle crossed her legs and, through her laughter, begged, “Stop! Stop you guys!” Halle had a bladder the size of baby toad, and the sight of her only caused Boston to laugh harder.
Danielle was overcome with such complete gut-busting that she’d sat down on the floor, wiping tears from her eyes as she tried to control her laughter. Even Kara, who was normally the most guarded of Boston’s friends, was laughing so hard she appeared to be in pain.
And then—just when Boston didn’t think she could laugh any harder—Vance said something to Dempsey and Max. They smiled, and in the next moment, all three men began to march in place in unison, singing the opening verse of “Macho Man.”
Danielle was immediately on her feet. “Stop! Stop!” she begged breathlessly. Racing forward, she clamped a hand over Dempsey’s mouth. Dempsey, however, simply shook his head, liberating his face from her grasp. His arms encircled Danielle’s waist as he continued to march in rhythm and sing.
Halle was literally rolling on the floor, and tears of mirth were streaming down Kara’s face.
“Stop!” Danielle begged, barely able to draw breath. “I can’t breathe! I’ll be sick! I swear it!” she panted between gasps for air.
Vance began to chuckle and broke into his own laughter, and the singing stopped, replaced by the deep resonance of masculine chuckles.
“Oh my heck!” Danielle breathed. “I haven’t laughed that hard in years! I swear I haven’t!”
Boston at last drew a deep breath—sighed with blessed relief—even as sporadic giggles continued to escape her throat. Never, never had they had this much fun when Steph was present—never! Stephanie wouldn’t have approved of the guys being so silly—let alone so scantily clad. But it was all in good fun, and Boston was all the more thankful that Steph wasn’t there.
Boston watched as Vance and Max wiped the moisture of mirth from their eyes. Vance was hysterical! After all, hadn’t the whole hilarious scene been orchestrated by him? She liked that he’d unearthed Max’s playful nature—that because of the whole incident, Danielle had ended up in Dempsey’s arms for a time. Her heart swelled as she looked at him—but she quickly reminded herself of the date she had scheduled with Logan West the next day. Furthermore, Vance was Danielle’s brother—Danielle’s ridiculously ripped, lethally gorgeous brother maybe—but brother nonetheless. Boston knew nesting on the thought of “what if” where romance with Vance Nathaniel was concerned was out of th
e question—even if he had shown any kind of interest in her, which he hadn’t.
“Look out!” Halle giggled, pushing past Vance and heading for the bathroom.
“Go put some clothes on, Vance,” Danielle scolded, tousling his wet hair and smiling at him. “I’m sure you haven’t eaten all day. Come get a chili dog.”
Boston watched as Vance nodded, turned, and headed for his bedroom. Dempsey chuckled as he put his shirt back on—so did Max.
“Your brother’s a scream, Danielle,” Dempsey said.
“Yeah…I know,” Danielle said. She was still blushing—still a little rattled at having been in Dempsey’s arms. Boston loved it!
“You know what, Kara?” Max began then.
“What, baby?” Kara asked, still giggling now and again.
“I’ve got something for you.” Boston held her breath as Max reached into the front right pocket of his pants.
Danielle looked to Boston, an expression of anticipation on her face.
“I’ve been trying to find a moment…or a way…to give this to you for three months,” Max said. “I think it’s time I quit messing around.”
Boston and Danielle gasped in unison as Max dropped to one knee in front of Kara.
“No way!” Halle breathed, stepping from behind Dempsey.
As Max held out a red velvet jeweler’s box, Kara’s eyes filled with tears. She covered her gaping, gasping mouth with trembling hands.
“Will you marry me, Kara?” Max asked.
“M-Max!” Kara breathed through her tears. “Of course! Oh, Max!”
Boston felt her own tears trickling down her cheeks as Max stood, capturing Kara in a strong embrace as she threw herself into his arms.
Dempsey chuckled as Danielle, Halle, and Boston squealed, jumped up and down with delight, and began congratulating Kara.
“Good job, man,” Dempsey said, patting Max on the back. “Congratulations.”
“What did I miss?” Vance asked Boston as he returned. He pulled a black T-shirt on over his head.
Boston brushed a tear from her cheek and smiled at him. “Just a marriage proposal. That’s all.” She nodded toward Max and Kara, who stood kissing in the kitchen as chili and hot dogs simmered on the stove.
“That’s all?” Vance exclaimed. He smiled and laughed. “I was only out of the room for sixty seconds. Dang! You people move fast around here.”
“He’s had the ring for, like, three months,” Boston whispered. “It’s taken him this long to get up the nerve.”
“I can understand that,” Vance said, nodding.
“You can?” Boston asked.
“Sure,” Vance told her. “He’s a quiet guy, probably scared to death of rejection…not that all guys aren’t. But Max, he seems like a guy who likes things organized and in control most of the time. Proposing marriage…that’s something that can sometimes have an unpredictable outcome.”
Boston’s mouth gaped open as she looked at Vance.
“What?” he asked when he glanced over and saw her expression.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” she began, “but isn’t tonight the first time you’ve met Max?”
“Well…yeah. So what?”
Boston simply shook her head. The guy was incredible! She wondered if Vance’s ability to read people at first sight would ever cease to amaze her. She thought not.
As the Friday night soiree at Danielle’s wore down, it seemed the lighthearted moments of shared friendship only grew. Kara and Max were in la-la land, overjoyed and content in their new official engagement. Dempsey was as hilarious as always, forever dropping the funniest answers to game questions or going on about the most bizarre things. Halle was her typical energetic and giggly self. And Danielle’s eyes never stopped sparkling, especially if she were looking at or listening to Dempsey.
Several times during the evening, Boston found Vance’s elbow nudging her ribs as he drew her attention to Danielle and Dempsey’s rather uncharacteristic flirting. Boston tried to ignore the fact she liked feeling Vance’s elbow at her ribcage. As everyone was sitting on the floor in a circle playing a game of cards, she tried to ignore that the magnetism he radiated was pouring over her like hot syrup.
Vance leaned over and whispered, “Maybe we’re starting to get somewhere,” as Danielle and Dempsey laughed over a shared amusement.
At the sense of Vance’s warm breath on her neck and ear—the pure fact he was so close to her—Boston found her entire body suddenly riddled with goose bumps.
“Let’s hope,” she whispered in return.
“I’m out!” Halle announced, tossing her last card onto the floor in the middle of the circle of friends.
“No way!” Dempsey exclaimed. “I got stuck with, like, three hundred points in this hand.”
“Too bad, Dempsey!” Halle giggled.
Boston smiled and began to count the points of the remaining cards in her hand.
“You know,” Dempsey began, “I’ve just got to say this…though I know you guys are all too nice to. I know you’re probably all thinking the same thing…but I’ve gotta say it out loud.”
“We never have this much fun when Steph is here,” Danielle stated.
“Way to be brutal, Danielle!” Dempsey exclaimed.
“It’s what you were thinking…wasn’t it?” Danielle asked him.
“Unfortunately…yes,” Dempsey admitted. “Though I feel like a dirty dog about it.”
“But it’s true!” Kara said. “I feel so free…like I can be myself tonight. And I haven’t felt that way when Steph is around…ever!”
“I know!” Halle added. “I’m feeling guilty about feeling so carefree and happy…but I can’t help it.”
Boston frowned, a tidal wave of conflicting emotions snapping around within her. It was obvious—more obvious than ever! Stephanie Crittendon was a mean person who caused everyone around her to feel intimidated, frightened, nervous, and unhappy. She seemed to poison self-esteem the way rotting flesh poisoned water. Yet Boston felt guilty—guilty for consciously thinking such things. After all, Steph was a human being; she deserved to be treated kindly, even if she was mean.
“Right about now, old Boston Rhodes here is whipping herself,” Vance said. “Am I right?”
Boston looked to him, frowning. “Maybe,” she admitted.
“It’s not your fault, Boston,” Dempsey said. “We all tried to help her…tried to be her friends. In the end, sometimes you just have to cut out the infection before it spreads.”
“Kind of like gangrene in a wound,” Vance offered. “If you leave it there, it spreads, destroys everything, and you’re dead.” He looked to Boston. “Same goes for your mental health…for your soul.”
“That’s right,” Max said. He tossed his cards to the pile in the center of the floor. “Wanna know why it took me so long to propose to Kara?” he asked.
“Of course,” Dempsey said.
Max nodded. “About six months ago, Steph pulled me aside one Friday night…and told me that she’d overheard Kara talking to Boston about how scrawny I was…about how I’d never amount to anything.”
“What?” Kara exclaimed.
Max nodded again. “It’s true. She told me that. I figured she was making stuff up…but then, she also told me that I was too tall and skinny…that I’d be lucky to find a woman who would be able to look beyond my weak exterior.”
“You’re kidding, man!” Dempsey exclaimed. “Are you serious?”
“Oh, yeah,” Max admitted. “I knew she was full of it…but you know how people can get into your head.”
“Baby, you’re gorgeous!” Kara said, snuggling against him. “That’s why she tried to pull us apart. She was jealous.”
Boston wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She felt sick—literally sick! She wondered what else Steph had pulled behind her back. She wondered what other kinds of cruelty her true friends had endured because Boston Rhodes was too weak to pull herself out of the trap Step
h had tripped her into.
“Remember the time we were supposed to go to Rayvon’s for dinner for Boston’s birthday?” Halle asked.
“Yeah?” Danielle prodded.
“Remember how we ended up going to that little truck stop dive instead?” Halle continued. “It’s because I was in charge of planning it, and I gave Steph the assignment of making the reservations. She claimed Rayvon’s wasn’t taking any more reservations for that night. But I found out later…they had plenty of tables available.”
“Sounds like your ex-roommate spewed a little more vinegar than it appeared,” Vance said to Boston.
“Why didn’t you guys tell me this stuff?” Boston asked. Her eyes were still brimming with tears. To think she’d caused her friends to have to endure such atrocious treatment! She was heartbroken.
“She was your roommate, Bost,” Danielle said. “We didn’t want to make your situation any more miserable than it already was.”
“I am too nice,” Boston mumbled, shaking her head.
“There’s no such thing,” Vance said. “You just need to be a better self-advocate…that’s all.”
“You wouldn’t be you if you weren’t so caring and nice to people, Boston,” Halle said, putting a comforting arm of friendship around Boston’s shoulders.
“Logan West wouldn’t be hot after you if you weren’t the Boston we all know and love,” Danielle teased.
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