Sweet Caroline

#40 Trying not to miss you

Tiff raises an eyebrow at me. "You've been talking about me?"

I roll my eyes. "It would be weird if I didn't talk about you, right? The two of you are my best friends."

"I am?" Tiffany asks, looking surprised yet pleased. "And you think I look like Shaughna?" She lets her eyes travel over Shaughna's body. "That's a pretty big compliment."

"I like you," Shaughna decides with a grin. "Come on in, girls."

When we walk into her living room, I immediately spot Dshawn lounging on the couch in grey sweatpants and a white T-shirt with a coffee stain on it. He's got a beer in his hand and is watching Say yes to the dress with a cute frown on his face. I rush over to give him a hug and flop down next to him, motioning for Tiffany to sit down as well. She takes the chair next to the couch, looking a little out of place.

"Hey," Dshawn greets Tiffany, giving her one of those typical looks where he basically undresses her with his eyes. "You must be Caroline's work friend."

Tiffany raises her eyebrows at him, not impressed by him. "And you must be Caroline's ex."

Shaughna laughs loudly from the kitchen where she's getting us some beers from the fridge. "Yeah, he is. He's also my boyfriend."

"Oh," Tiffany says, giving me a glare. "Caroline didn't mention that."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," I say with a shrug. It's not like I talk about my friends all the time. With Tiffany, I mostly chat about work, movies, series we both watch, stuff like that. I don't give her a play-by-play of everything that happens with Shaughna and my other friends back home.

"Obviously Caroline is still madly in love with me," Dshawn teases, nudging me in the ribs.

"Yeah right," I scoff, slapping his arm. "Head over heels for sure."

Shaughna comes over and hands both me and Tiffany a beer before she wedges herself in between me and Dshawn on the couch.

"Better safe than sorry," she teases, winking at me. "Gotta keep some distance between you and my man."

Tiffany looks from me to them and I shake my head at her, grinning. I know Shaughna well enough to know she's not worried about me and Dshawn at all. And she shouldn't be either. Dshawn's already got his arm around her, his fingers trailing up and down her arm as he keeps watching TV. Those two are way too smitten to worry about me.

"He's already picking out your wedding dress," I tease, motioning at the TV. "I'm thinking sweetheart neckline, strapless, long flowy train."

"No way," Dshawn responds immediately. "Short skirt and plunging neckline. She's got killer legs and boobs. No flowy train could ever do that justice."

Shaughna's eyes widen in sudden panic and I burst out laughing. She may like him, but she's been afraid of true commitment ever since her last relationship years ago. By the way Dshawn's eyes are twinkling, I can tell he knows that as well as I do. He's just riling her up.

"Come on," I tell Tiffany, taking a swig from my beer before getting up from the couch. "Let's get our stuff from the car and start getting ready. Dshawn might be able to be get dressed and ready to go in two minutes, but we sure as hell aren't. And we've got some air mattresses to inflate so we've got somewhere to crash when we get back, since there's no way we're both gonna fit on that couch."

"Oh, no need!" Shaughna says quickly, happy that I'm changing the subject. "I'm crashing at Dshawn's after, so you and Tiffany can take my bed. Or one of you can take the couch if you don't want to share. Car, you've still got that spare key, right?"

I nod, taking my keys from my pocket to show that I've indeed still got her key on my chain.

"Don't lose it," she warns me sternly. "I know you, Car, you lock yourself out on a daily basis."

"I don't!" I argue. "I haven't locked myself out in weeks!"

Tiffany grins. "Two weeks, to be exact. Remember? You called me when Nate was on that business trip and you accidently put your keys in his bag instead of your own?"

"Shut up," I groan. I'd forgotten about that. "I don't lock myself out that often."

Dshawn laughs at that. "Yes, you do. Didn't you meet Nathan when you locked yourself out?"

"Yeah, and I actually found out about the two of them because she forgot her keys and had to call me to let her in," Tiffany adds with a smirk. "I take it she's always been like that?"

"Oh yeah," Shaughna confirmed. "From the moment her parents gave little Carebear her own set of keys when she turned 12, she's been losing them every few weeks. Sometimes even two times in one week."

I roll my eyes as they keep talking about what a mess I am. Instead of sitting around to listen to them bonding about my inability to keep my keys with me at all times, I make my way outside to get my bag and Tiffany's as well. It's nice that Tiffany has something to talk about with my other friends, I just wish it weren't my many faults that have them laughing so much. Not that I truly mind. If it wasn't for me locking myself out every now and then, I never would have met Nathan. I'd happily stand outside in the pouring rain on a weekly basis if that meant I got to keep Nate.

When I return, Tiffany is telling an animated story about me falling down in the middle of the hallway with plenty of parents and kids around to see it. Shaughna and Dshawn are laughing their asses off, causing me to grunt in annoyance.

"Bond over something else," I warn them, pretending to be angrier than I actually was. "How about we talk about that time Shaughna fell into a river because she thought she could walk across a wobbly wooden bridge in five-inch heels? Or that time Dshawn got so drunk that he hit on a lamp post, trying to persuade the poor thing to go home with him?" I grin when both of them grunt at those embarrassing memories. "And don't think I've got nothing on you, Tiff. Remember when you accidently called Felicia's mother far while her husband could hear you?"

"Fine, fine," Tiffany said quickly. "We all do stupid shit. Doesn't mean we need to make a list!"

"Like you've been doing for the past half hour, you mean?" I throw her bag at her, laughing when she shrieks in surprise. "I'm gonna change into my dress and do my make-up. If I hear anyone tell one more embarrassing story about me, I'm gonna kick their ass."

"I'd like to see you try," Dshawn replies, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "Last time I checked, you're still just a little girl and I'm a big strong man."

"Please," I scoff, deciding to tease him some more. Purposefully, I let my eyes travel over his body, resting on his lower regions. "I've seen bigger."

He huffs at the innuendo. "I highly doubt that."

Shaughna roars with laughter at how offended he is. "Don't worry baby, you're huge. Massive. Hung like a horse."

"Okay..." Tiffany says, getting up slowly. "On that note, I think I'm gonna follow Car's lead and get ready too."

"Good choice," I mumble as I glance at Shaughna and Dshawn who are looking at each other like they are ready to get naked. "We might want to stay in the bathroom for a while..."