Last Place You Look

Chapter 36

Harry called it "group chat of the sexes". It was supposed to be a play on "battle of the sexes", but that joke quickly failed. I was the only one that laughed.

We all met at their house. They'd decorated everything and had a huge dinner planned out. Niall helped Kimmy in the kitchen, he just couldn't stay away. She told him to join the rest of us in the living room, but he wouldn't have it.

"You can't be cooking a huge meal with me in the house and not expect me to insert myself, Kimmy."

He said it with a beer in each hand too. No one was shocked though. Niall could smell a pint from across the city.

The rest of us, however, spent our time waiting in the living room. We caught up with each other. I told everyone about my new job, Harry boasted about our fish. He showed pictures too.

Yes, he did photoshoots with our fish. Don't ask me how. I don't actually know. He got very crafty with his angles though, I'll give him that.

Kira and I talked about work a lot though. She told me she hated working without me.

"Work is so fucking boring now."

"It's not supposed to be fun. It's called work for a reason."

"Okay but that's beside the point. I miss my favorite work friend." She gave me an exaggerated pout.

"I miss working with you too, but working under Ryan is an absolute dream. This is everything I've ever wanted."

"I'm happy for you, kiddo."

"I'm happy for me too."

When dinner was done, we sat at the table together. Kimmy and Niall served everyone the food they'd prepared together. Niall boasted about the stuffing he'd made from scratch and how the turkey was perfectly cooked because he'd helped her. He was drunk before the turkey even came out of the oven.

The dinner conversation stayed light and fun. We spent it laughing with each other. These moments were my favorite moments. They were the ones where I felt most free.

After dinner, sat around the table drinking. Kimmy grabbed a few board games from their game closet. Yes, closet. It was filled top to bottom with every game imaginable. She grabbed every game you can play with six people. Since Niall had helped with dinner, and got drunk while he did, he was granted the privilege of choosing the first game.

He chose Life. It was a bit of an ironic choice. We all started from college, taking turns oldest to youngest, leaving me for last. One by one, everyone spun the spinner. I watched as they all got their first jobs. Harry got the performer card, adding to the irony of the game. I got the journalism card, keeping the streak alive.

When we all got closer to the marriage part, we all made fun of Kira and Niall. They were the only ones denying that they were together. Kira rolled her eyes at our jokes. Niall coped by finishing the drink in his hand and opening another one immediately after.

Harry and I were the last ones to go, since we were the youngest of the group. He spun his turn and landed perfectly on the marriage stop. It was required, so he put a pink person in the car next to his blue person. I could feel the tension at the table.

I'd told Kira and Kimmy about our conversation. They'd asked about the fish and I couldn't hold it in. I knew telling them he'd said he wanted to marry me while he was drunk was probably a disastrous idea and I just needed to get it out. I was trying to process.

I knew Kimmy was going to tell Dustin. That was expected.

"We're married. We don't have secrets."