Chapter 2

"Mi, that's too tight--it's pushing my boobs out the sides!"

"Alright, hold on, Let." Mia stuck the end of the bobby pin between her lips, pushing Letty's dark, wavy locks over one golden brown shoulder, so she could adjust the straps and ties at the back of her dress.

The two women had been holed up in Mia's room all afternoon, adjusting their dresses and pouring over bridal magazines--more so Mia than Letty--looking for fashion and beauty tips.

Letty's gaze drifted out the window, watching the boys play basketball on the driveway as she waited for Mia to loosen her dress enough to allow her to take a much-needed breather before she passed out.

Ava was sitting on the grass, watching Vince and Dom go head-to-head in a fierce battle, both desperate to emerge the victor and pass off dish duty to the other, in hopes of gaining immunity for the night. Hmmm...They'd watched one too many seasons of Survivor.

Letty smiled and took a deep breath of fresh air as the pain in her chest subsided. "That's loose enough. Thanks, Mi."

Grabbing a hold of Letty's shoulders, Mia steered her away from the window and towards the full-length mirror in the corner so she could see herself.

Taking in the reflection of the girl staring back at her, Letty winked at herself, "I like, I like..."

"Oh my goooood, I can't believe this is actually happening!" Mia screeched happily, throwing her arms around Letty and squeezing the air out of her all over again. "I've waited for this day for like, well forever! I'm so happy right now, Let; I can't even describe!"

Letty tapped Mia's arm to get her to loosen her hold before turning to face her oldest friend, smiling so wide she felt like her cheeks might burst. "I know, girl, me too. But let's get outta these get-ups before the guys come in and think we turned all wussy on them... Oh wait--just me, I guess. That ain't nothing new for you, Mi--" Letty joked, laughing wickedly as she ducked the playful punch Mia threw her way.

"Shut up, Let!"

Still chuckling to herself, Letty slithered out of her dress and pulled on a pair of ripped and faded low-rise jeans and a white beater, slipping her feet into her discarded flip-flops, as she heard the back door squeak open and bang closed.

"Mia?!"

Walking out into the hallway, Letty peered over the banister and into the kitchen, "Wassup, Dom?"

Mia appeared beside her a second later, smoothing the fabric of her supergirl baby-tee over her swollen belly, a knowing smirk on her face: "Dinner's not ready yet!"

They heard a loud groan from the kitchen and laughed evilly and then burst out in laughter at the hilarity of it all as they made their way downstairs to help get dinner started.

"Did you beat V?" Letty asked Dom, nonchalantly entering the kitchen and walking over to her man, pressing a kiss to his cheek in greeting before continuing on to the fridge and pulling out some odds and ends.

In answer, Dom laughed that deep, booming laugh of his, as though her question was the funniest thing he'd heard all day. Just as he was reaching for a can of tomato sauce from the cupboard, the back door creaked open and Ava marched purposefully into the kitchen, followed closely by Vince who quickly scooped her little body up into his arms and deposited her gently on the counter top.

Dom, Letty, and Mia all watched, amused, as Vince leaned in close to the little girl and gave her a winning smile, "Hey pipsqueak, you wanna help Uncle Vince wash the dishes after dinner?"

Swinging her chubby little legs back and forth as she tugged on one of her dark, curly pigtails, Ava seemed to give the question some serious thought before shaking her head, causing Mia and Letty to errupt into another fit of giggles.

Vince snorted, throwing a glance at Dom over his shoulder: "She gets that from you."