21. The Girls and The Occasion (2)
Before long, Eve, Maria, Alicia and Kelly were gathered by the usual spot in Eve's kitchen: also known as wherever the wine was. Each of them had a glass to hand and sizeable sips were already being taken while gossip and conversation flowed; it was the natural order of things, apart from one glaring thing missing. Or person, rather...
"When's Kaitlyn arriving?" Kelly asked, again peering back towards the direction of the front door as if that would make her turn up quicker. "I haven't seen her since Mike's party and I never got the chance to apologize!"
Maria, Alicia and Eve shared a discreet yet knowing look.
"Oh, did I not mention earlier?" Eve said with as much nonchalance as she could muster, taking another sip of wine. She couldn't make it tonight; she's had a flight booked out to Iowa for a while to visit friends and had no idea all of this was going to clash."
"Yeah," Alicia continued, to Eve's surprised. "She texted me and said she's really mad with herself that she couldn't make it, but I told her it's all good. Plus, you're all invited to dinner with me in NYC as soon as we've got our apartment looking gorgeous."
"That sounds so good!" Maria beamed, trying to be useful to the unspoken plan.
Kelly frowned. "Oh. Well that sucks. I can't believe she didn't say anything to me. Is she still mad at me?"
The other three were to assure her that this was not the case, and all let out a deep breath when Justin and Wade entered the kitchen. Alicia was quick to flock to her man's side and Justin pulled Kelly in for an embrace just as quickly. Eve and Maria looked over at each other with identical expressions on their faces.
"It's so nice to finally meet you two," Eve said cordially, pouring out another glass of wine for each man and offering them up like the good hostess she was.
The initial introductions were interesting, to say the least. Kelly and Justin were first to arrive, and Maria answered the door with a large grin and glass full of wine (for herself). She pulled Kelly in for a warm hug, letting her know how glad she was that she was okay after her week of silence and then when she was introduced to Justin, her greeting was just as warm. He was taken aback by the redhead's use of the bear hug as an initial greeting, but it was quickly understood that this was a part of Maria's charm. While Eve had been begged by Kelly not to be stony, her reception was far from warm. Knowing all that she did about Justin's alleged infidelities, she struggled to accept him into her house, offer him a drink and let him know how happy she was to finally meet the love of Kelly's life. But she did it anyway, and as soon as he was out of earshot Kelly was quick to thank her for it.
Wanting to save Maria some embarrassment, Eve was the one to answer to door to Alicia and Wade. Although she had seen pictures, she was taken aback by the man in real life. He was tall and very well-built, practically dwarfing the supermodel tall Alicia as they stood in the doorway. She offered him a similar greeting, the 'lovely to meet you' and whatnot; of course not failing to mention how impressed she was with the rock he had put on Alicia's finger.
Now, as they stood around the kitchen, drinking and chatting while waiting upon the remaining guests, the girls were all on alert. Alicia and Eve, knowing what they knew, chatted casually with Justin; attempting to dig out any dirt on him as quickly as possible. Meanwhile Kelly and Maria spoke with Wade; mostly taken aback by his family background, but still trying to make sure he was good enough for their girlfriend. At this point, fortunately enough for the two men, everything was going swimmingly.
When the doorbell rang again, Eve gulped and smoothed down her skirt. When she opened the door to Mike and Maryse, both stared back at her with bright smiles.
"It's great to see you Evie," Mike said, pulling her in for a hug. "I can't believe I'm back in the Torres household."
Eve let out a giggle and graciously accepted the bottle of wine the couple had gifted her.
"Thank you so much for inviting us," the gorgeous French Canadian beamed, also embracing Eve.
"Thank you guys for coming," Eve said, taking in Maryse's designer dress: white, form-fitting and low-cut. Stood next to Mike in his fancy suit, they certainly looked every bit the power couple. "You both look fantastic. Come in."
She led the two into the kitchen where Maria was currently engaging Wade and Justin in stories about Alicia and Kelly's younger years. The two women sat behind a glass of wine each, watching her while laughing and shaking their heads. Eve interrupted the conversation by introducing Mike and Maryse; the latter of whom Kelly, Alicia and Maria all immediately dropped what they were doing and flocked to.
"Ladies!" Maryse's French-Canadian accent called out. "It is so nice to see you all again!"
Maryse rushed over to the three, exchanging hugs and kisses with them. Maria and Alicia were especially happy to see her after the fashion connection between them that had been established the first time they met. While the four of them quickly began complimenting and discussing each other's outfits, Eve was more than happy to pour out three more glasses of wine.
"Trust me," Mike came up behind Eve and began muttering into her ear. "This always happens. The second that woman enters a room the whole world has to stop."
Mike grinned and Eve laughed at his joke, offering him a glass of wine. She turned and introduced him to Wade and Justin, both of whom having heard much about Eve and Mike's high school relationship were intrigued by the presence of him and his new girlfriend tonight.
"Mike Mizanin..." Wade frowned to himself, making Eve shuffle nervously from his side. "Hold on a second, you're not Jacob Mizanin's son, are you?"
The smile on Mike's face widened. "Guilty," he replied with a casual shrug.
Wade shook his head, a bright smile on his own face. "Your father is one of the biggest names in Connecticut," he said in disbelief. "My father used to travel here to do business with him practically every other month!"
"No way," Mike gasped. "You're a Barrett?! The Barretts?!"
Eve shook her head and took a generous sip of wine. Having dated Mike back in school she was more than used to standing around awkwardly while people gushed over his wealthy family lineage, and now once again she was in the same spot. At the very least, she was glad that the two had found some common ground.
"These rich guys, eh?" Justin had sidled up by Eve and was now stood besides her smirking as Wade and Mike compared the land owned by their families. Eve looked at Justin and gave her best chuckle of agreement. "With that being said though," Justin continued, peering around her kitchen. "You have a lovely home."
"Thanks, Justin," she said, trying to ease up as she caught Kelly watching their interactions. "Kelly's told me a lot about you. So you're one of those extreme sport kind of guys, right?"
Justin grinned and was more than happy to begin talking about his passion for jumping out of and off of things. As he did so, Kelly approached the two and linked an arm through his.
"He's nuts, right?" She giggled, looking up at her boyfriend with starry eyes.
"Totally," Eve said as she eyed him carefully.
"Alicia, I had no idea you worked in fashion journalism!" Maryse beamed excitedly, her eyes wide as Alicia told her all about her new job. "And in NYC?! You are so lucky!"
Alicia blushed. She looked over at Wade hoping he'd heard this part of their conversation, but he was still heavily embroiled in conversation with Mike.
"Alicia has always been fantastic," Maria gushed, filling in for Wade's lack of admiration. "Watch, she'll be some big shot magazine editor five years from now.
Maryse beamed and nodded in agreement but Alicia shook them off.
"Five years?" She said, giggling. "Try ten."
"You're too modest," Maryse shook her head. "But if you're ever in LA, you should definitely come and see me. My line should be out in the next year and I'd love a second opinion before I debut it."
Maria's eyes widened.
"You have a line coming out already?" She breathed. "You're so lucky."
"It's not luck," Maryse assured her. "It's hard work! And money," she added with a giggle.
Alicia laughed. "You hear that, Maria? Horoscopes aren't going to do it all for you."
Maria rolled her eyes and poked her tongue out at her. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but admiration began streaming from her mouth.
"You're literally living my dream Maryse," Maria breathed. "You've got a great guy who loves you, you're moving to LA of all places, you've got a fashion line!"
Maria sighed and stared dreamily into her glass of wine. Maryse gave her a warm pat on the shoulder while Alicia looked across the room to make eye contact with Eve; from the look on her face she'd heard it all. Alicia was quick to follow her to the hallway when they heard the doorbell ring.
"How many glasses is she on now?" Eve muttered under her breath as she and Alicia headed towards the front door.
"I don't even think she knows," Alicia sighed in response. "Please don't tell me she invited Phil Brook tonight."
Eve pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh, and Alicia groaned and tossed her head back.
"I'm guessing we're on high alert tonight?"
The two women shared a knowing look, answering the question that didn't even need to be asked.
As much as she was enjoying the company of friends, old and new, out in Davenport, Kaitlyn was more than grateful for the few moments of peace she'd been able to grab by sneaking out of the pub briefly. Ettore's friends really were her kind of people. The conversation and banter had been flowing freely all afternoon, so much so that one would never even guess that she and AJ were newcomers to the circle. AJ beamed and expressed this same thought as she too bounced outside to join Kaitlyn.
"Aren't they great?! Big E really was not kidding."
Kaitlyn laughed and shuffled over so that AJ could perch on the ledge with her.
"They're all so nice," Kaitlyn nodded in agreement. "Especially that Xavier... right?"
AJ blushed and let out a shy giggle. The two had already become acquainted with Xavier some years before; back in college when he came to visit his best friend Ettore for a few days. Even then, he and AJ had quickly hit it off and Kaitlyn and Ettore were quick to notice it. Most of the afternoon spent today in the Davenport pub, the two had shared many knowing glances over how inseparable AJ and Xavier had quickly become.
"Hey, as if we needed any more reasons to move to Davenport," Kaitlyn continued, grinning at her friend's suddenly shy demeanour.
"What about you?" AJ teased, poking her tongue out. "As if you haven't been checking out Seth since the minute he walked in here."
Now it was Kaitlyn's turn to blush and look away, causing AJ to continue her prompts.
"I knew it!"
"AJ!" She hissed, looking over her shoulder for eavesdropper. "You mean Paige's boyfriend, right? They've barely been able to keep their hands off each other since he got here."
"You sound disappointed."
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and AJ shrugged.
"The last thing I'm looking for in Davenport is a man," Kaitlyn groaned.
"You say that, but..." AJ's sing-song voice forced Kaitlyn to look over at the petite woman with a grimace and threaten to push her off the ledge. AJ squealed and jumped to her feet, and Kaitlyn laughed in response, getting to her feet too.
"Come on pipsqueak, we better get back to the party."
The two linked arms and continued their gossip and giggling as they returned to the group. Big E stood and waved over at them with a grin.
"And they have returned! Just in time, too." He shuffled over to them and forced his way in between them, putting his large arms over their smaller frames. "Now it's time to show you guys a real Davenport party."
"Huh?"
"Oh yeah," said Paige, looking over with a laugh. "We are only just getting started."
The dark haired woman patted Seth on the thigh (with a level of intimacy that Kaitlyn definitely noticed) and whispered something in his ear (again... intimately.) Seth chuckled and shook his head, before rising to his feet and eagerly ushering Kaitlyn and AJ over. The two shared a confused look while Ettore grinned and pushed them forward. The chuckles coming from the group of friends made the women even more hesitant as they moved to occupy the spots by the booth that Seth had freed for them.
"Perfect," the bearded man grinned, clapping his hands together. "Hey, Joe!"
The barman looked up with a "what?!" as Seth gestured towards him.
"Come on Joe. We are celebrating tonight."
Kaitlyn looked around nervously, trying to make sense of the commotion around her. Ettore was now stood between Xavier and Kofi, all three of whom were struggling to keep in their laughter. Even Bayley and Emma were giggling to themselves from across the table; and Paige remained sitting with a knowing smirk on her face, watching Seth proudly as he conversed with the barman. Noticing Kaitlyn's gaze on her, she poked her tongue out and nodded over at the bar again, where Seth had apparently completed his negotiations. The tall man turned back to his friends with a satisfied grin as Joe the barman shook his head, with a smile to himself nonetheless, and began busying himself behind the bar.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Seth's voice boomed as he raised his arms, looking around the group. "In honour of our guests this weekend," with a grin in Kaitlyn and AJ's direction, "I think it's time to throw a welcoming party like only we know how."
The group cheered, with now even AJ and Kaitlyn beginning to join in with the excitement, as Seth clapped his hands together and beckoned the barman over. Kaitlyn's jaw dropped as she eyed the tray of shots he carried over to the booth.
"So, my father has very kindly agreed to re-open our tab... which means it's time to drink his bar dry!"
Joe shook his head and put the tray down on the table.
"Make sure you tell your dad I had nothing to do with this," he grumbled, shaking his head and laughing at the bouncing young adults around him.
"Of course, Joe!" Paige grinned and was the first to grab a shot. "So, Corey's just texted me and let me know that the party tonight is a-go. So let's get drinking motherfuckers!"
Kaitlyn's jaw remained dropped as she watched Paige down a shot before thrusting two in her and AJ's direction.
"Drink up newbies," Seth grinned, patting them both on the back. "If you're gonna be a part of the Davenport bunch, you better get ready to party like one."
"Oh god," Emma winced as she too grabbed a shot. The rest of the group followed and before long the tray had been cleaned out and Seth was straight onto ordering another round. Kaitlyn could do nothing but sit back and giggle as she watched AJ jump to her feet and begin dancing around to the increasingly loud music, her small frame being swung around by Ettore before joining in with Emma's crazy dance moves and sharing a giggle and moment of eye contact with Xavier. When she looked around again, Kaitlyn noticed Paige continuing to throw back drinks and get right in the middle of the action; exactly where she seemed to belong. In the midst of all of this, Kaitlyn barely even noticed Seth sliding over to her side.
"Pretty wild bunch, huh?" She turned around nervously to look at him, giggling and nodding. Since when was she so shy? "Just wait 'till you get to Corey's."
"Oh yeah?" She piped up, now grinning at the tall man next to her; shaking off the feeling that Paige was eyeing her from across the room. Seth nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh yeah. Trust me when I say there's nowhere better to be than at one of Corey Graves's parties."
He then held up one of the glasses in his hands to offer to her.
"Now get drinking, two-toned. We've got a big night ahead!"
The scene in Eve's house was quite the opposite. Almost all of the guests had arrived; with the latest arrival Roman Reigns now becoming embroiled in conversation with Justin. Alicia, Kelly and Eve had not stopped their cautious monitoring all night, peering around the kitchen from the corner they occupied and each letting out a sigh of relief at the smoothness of the interactions between their guests. The one glaring issue, however, was the conspicuous absence of Maria's.
"Should I say something?" Eve whispered as the three watched Maria sit at the kitchen counter glumly staring at her phone.
"It's already seven," Alicia sighed. "If he's not here now and he hasn't called to explain..."
"He's totally blown her off," Kelly concluded.
"Asshole," Eve muttered. "I'll go and speak to her."
"No," Alicia stopped her. "Me and Kells will do it. You need to go and talk to your man candy over there!"
Alicia gestured towards Roman, who at that point made a hair-flicking motion that caused all three women to swoon; taken or not. Eve bit her lip, but before she could open her mouth to protest, the other two had already shoved her further in his direction and were making a beeline towards Maria.
"Hey, 'Ria," Kelly grinned, taking a seat.
"Before you ask," Maria sighed, "I don't think he's coming."
"I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason for why he can't make it," Kelly said, placing a comforting hand on her knee.
"Yeah, so there's nothing stopping you from just forgetting about it and having a good time!"
Maria pressed the off button on her phone and sighed.
"Why is it always me who gets made an ass of?" She muttered, sniffing and jumping to her feet, rushing out of the room. Kelly went to follow her but Alicia grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Let her go," she said under her breath as they watched Maria hurry upstairs.
Eve looked over from her conversation with Roman and bit her lip, watching the same scene Alicia and Kelly did. Evidently, Roman was too.
"Is she alright?" He asked quietly, his hand inching near Eve's lower back. Concern was etched across his face, to Eve's surprise.
"Um..." She sighed and shook her head. "Her guest unfortunately can't make it tonight."
Roman nodded. "His loss, right?"
"Exactly," she confirmed. "But she doesn't believe that."
"It's a shame Dean isn't here," Roman chuckled. "If there's anyone who knows how to get a smile out of a woman, it's him."
Eve raised her eyebrows and a grin spread across her face.
"Hey Roman," she said quietly. "Do you think he's got any plans tonight?"
Roman's frowned dissipated as he began to make sense of Eve's question. He grinned and shook his head.
"As far as I know he's currently parked on my sofa, watching my TV and eating my food."
Eve gave a mischievous nod and eagerly grabbed her phone, making Roman chuckle.
"I like the way you think, Torres. You do your thing, and I'm gonna go talk to your friend."
Typical. Maria sniffed and wiped her eyes, snuggling closer with the teddy bear that resided in Eve's bed. She had already looked a big enough fool for even inviting Punk in the first place, but now that he hadn't even bothered to turn up she felt like a complete jackass. Just once she wanted to prove to the girls that she had the slightest idea of what she was doing... but obviously she didn't.
She was just about to burst into a fresh fit of tears when a light knock came from the other side of the door.
"I don't want to hear your 'I told you so', Eve," she sniffed, turning away in a huff.
The door edged open and she was surprised by the deep voice that followed.
"I'm not here to say anything like that," Roman said softly. "And I'm sure Eve wouldn't either."
Maria almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice. She turned around, mortified that the gorgeous Samoan was stood watching her cry with a teddy bear clasped to her chest.
"Oh my god," she groaned, wiping her cheeks. "Yet another person to find out what an ass I am."
Roman laughed and shook his head, perching on the edge of the bed.
"I don't think that at all. From everything I've heard, you're just... full of love, I guess."
"Who have you been talking to?"
He smiled at the suspicion in her tone.
"Oh, no one. Eve mostly, Mike too. And my buddy Dean has been surprisingly complimentary of you."
Maria snorted, but let out a giggle anyway.
"Full of love... I'll take that." She laughed and shook her head. "Is that code for 'naive and stupid'?"
"Hey," Roman patted her knee sympathetically. "There's nothing wrong with wearing your heart on your sleeve. Eve was just telling me downstairs all the different wacky things you've done for your friends, and family, and peers... and strangers... and everyone, pretty much."
The two laughed as Maria blushed.
"God, I'm such a mess," she said, shaking her head. "I guess I just wanted to prove that I could be as put together as the others, y'know?"
Roman frowned, urging her to continue.
"Well, Alicia's engaged and moving to New York to start this cool new job. Kelly might as well be married to her guy, and Eve's got this training job now and is so smart that she could pretty much do anything. Not to mention she's got y-"
She quickly stopped and cleared her throat, but judging by the smirk on Roman's face he understood what she was getting at.
"God, and look at Mike and Maryse. And Wade, who's pretty much a freakin' gazillionaire. And you're literally one of the coolest people I have ever met!"
She wasn't sure whether it was the wine or her present company, but for some reason Maria just couldn't stop.
"Everyone's gonna be sat around that table with someone, talking about all the cool stuff they've got going on. And all I've got is a childhood crush who I can't even get to come to a damn dinner party."
She sighed and once again buried herself in Eve's sheets. Roman grinned and folded his arms in thought.
"You know, Maria, I grew up in a huge family. Cousins and siblings everywhere." She sat up a little, listening to his story. "So we were always butting heads; we still do. You know, competition and all that. So my mom used to sit us down and tell us that the best way to hurt ourselves and stop ourselves from growing is by comparing ourselves to each other. She'd always say how we each have our own paths and move at our own pace. And sometimes we spend so much time looking at what everyone else is doing that we miss things when they come our way. And I think she's right. Do you?"
She nodded, still pouting.
"Your mom's a smart lady," she mumbled. "She's right."
"So what do you wanna do about it?"
Maria grinned and finally allowed herself to leave Eve's bed.
"I guess I might as well go to this dinner party; even if I don't have a date."
Roman chuckled. "A date, huh? So that's what this is?"
"Oh, so Eve didn't tell you?" She giggled.
The large man rose to his feet and trailed behind Maria as she approached the door. As she grabbed the handle, she hesitated a moment.
"Hey, Roman?"
"Yeah?" He frowned.
"Thanks."
"Anytime. Since me and Eve work together now I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lot more of each other, right?"
Maria rolled her eyes. "Yeah, since you work together."
Roman shook his head with a smirk.
"And your friend Dean's pretty cool too," she added with a shy giggle.
He gave a knowing nod and held open the door for the two to leave, only to bump into Eve as she made her way up the stairs.
"Hey Evie!"
Eve frowned and looked back and forth between Maria and Roman, their smiling faces making her feel as if she'd missed something... or everything.
"Uh, is everything alright?"
Maria nodded and beamed.
"Uh, duh! Now let's get this show on the road!" She grinned and rushed down the stairs past her friend, who mouthed a 'thank you' in Roman's direction before heading back downstairs herself.
"Here, I've got you another glass of wine."
Alicia murmured in appreciation as Wade passed the glass of red liquid her way. She was only half paying attention as he began chatting away to her about his conversations with Mike, with most of her attention being fixed on Kelly and Justin as they talked softly and playfully with each other by the kitchen island. She was brought back to attention by Wade clearing his throat and placing his hand on the small of her back.
"Oh," she sighed, looking up at him with a smile. "Sorry."
"What's got you so distracted?" He murmured into her hair. Alicia shrugged and sipped at the wine.
"I'm not distracted, babe. What makes you say that?"
"I don't know, maybe it's the fact that you've spent most of the evening so far worrying about other people so much that you've barely even been able to give me the time of day."
"Wade," she groaned, rolling her eyes. "Don't be like that."
He sighed and placed his own glass down on the counter.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
She hissed after him as he stormed out of the kitchen, but was once again distracted by Maria bouncing back in; her bad mood from earlier apparently fully resolved. Alicia grinned as she watched Roman and Eve follow in after her.
"Could you explain this to me?" Alicia giggled to the Latina.
"What can I say?" She beamed in response. "This guy is a miracle worker."
Roman shrugged and shook his head.
"Nah, not at all. Let's just say I have a way with women."
Eve scoffed and whacked his broad chest, making him put an arm around her waist and direct her back over to Maria, Mike and Maryse.
Alicia laughed to herself as she watched the scene before her. As much as it was early days for Eve and Roman, she was surprised by how comfortable the two seemed to be with each other. As far as she was aware the two hadn't once been on an official date, nor was there any indication that there was something official going on between them, but it had all the makings of a romance. And as Justin and Kelly drew themselves away from each other's lips long enough to approach the rest of the group, she couldn't help but to notice how young and carefree their own relationship seemed; especially considering they had been together just as long as she and Wade had. Alicia was beginning to wonder if Kelly's concerns were justified. Looking at Justin now, it was practically impossible to believe that he'd step out on Kelly. He looked at her like she was his dream come true, as she did him; and Alicia was inclined to believe that this was the case.
With a sigh, Alicia left the kitchen in search of her own man. She wasn't sure where his current mood had come from, but it was nothing a kiss-and-make-up couldn't fix.
"...No, this is just awful timing."
She stopped in her tracks at the sound of Wade's voice, coming from behind the bathroom door.
"Listen, Tom, we're just at a gathering with friends right now... Yes, I've asked her... For goodness sake, we've barely been engaged five minutes... Yes I understand that it's what my parents want... Don't be ridiculous, of course I want it too... It'll be fine, I promise you... You know she isn't one of the money types, she just doesn't get some of these things... Okay, Tom, I really have to go. We'll speak tomorrow."
Alicia's breath hitched in her throat. She turned and went to head back to the kitchen but was again stopped by the sound of Wade's voice.
"You alright, love?"
She turned to face him and put on her bravest face.
"I'm great," she said quietly. "Was just looking for you."
She hesitated for a moment but then inched closer to him, stroking his hand.
"I wanted to apologise for earlier. You're right; I have been a little distracted. But it's fine now, I promise you."
He frowned for a moment but then nodded, kissing her forehead.
"Sorry for snapping at you," he sighed. "I'm just stressed with work and all that stuff. Let's just enjoy tonight, yeah?"
"Yeah."
She nodded and leaned upwards to plant a kiss on his lips. In return he lightly ruffled her hair and took her hand, leading her back to the kitchen.
"Here they are!" Kelly grinned, gesturing her glass towards Wade and Alicia as they entered the dining room, hand in hand, and took their seats at the table. "Mr and Mrs Barrett!"
"Not quite," Wade chuckled. "First I've actually got to get this one down the aisle!"
"Oh please," Maria snorted. "Alicia's been ready to get down the aisle since the day she was born!"
Eve and Kelly giggled and Alicia rolled her eyes, her cheeks flushed.
"Ha ha ha," she poked her tongue out at the girls.
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a romantic," Maryse chimed in. Mike grinned in response and squeezed her tighter, kissing the top of her head.
"And this is the time when the bitter single bitches over here start dry heaving," Alicia joked, winking in Maria and Eve's direction.
"For those of you who don't know," Eve said, raising her glass and looking around at her guests. "Ms. Fox here has not been single since Kindergarten."
Alicia shook her head and sipped her wine as the group laughed. Wade grinned beside her and kissed her hand.
"And now she will never have to be again," he said with a smirk.
Maria and Eve grimaced at each other while Maryse and Kelly gushed; meanwhile the rest of the men at the table shuffled in their seats as if they felt the pressure rising. Alicia, unsure of how to respond, giggled nervously and raised her glass of wine in a toast.
"Here's to all the couples at this table," she began. "Old, new... potential..."
She added this final part with a wink at Roman and Eve; who both shared a quick glance at each other before quickly looking away.
"I'm gonna barf," Maria groaned, pouting at the empty seat next to her.
In the midst of the jokes and laughter, Kelly looked over at her boyfriend as he sat next to her; laughing along with the others at the table. Justin had been his charming self all evening long; easily getting along with the other guests, just as he did with practically everyone he met. To Kelly's delight, he had not touched his phone all night long. Of course, she was well aware that Alicia and Eve were cautious of him; but even they had admitted that he was every bit the charming, doting and loving boyfriend Kelly had spent years making him out to be. It was difficult to be wary of him when even the cheeky grin he sent in her direction as Eve rose to answer the door to the final guest made her knees weak.
"Finally!" Eve gasped as she jumped to her feet. "Maria, Kelly, Alicia – if you guys could start bringing the food out to the table while I go get the door?"
All three looked at each other and frowned, but followed Eve's instructions.
"Do you think that's Punk?!" Maria hissed the second they walked into the kitchen.
"Who else could it be?" Kelly replied, still frowning.
"At this point, as long as we're getting fed tonight I wouldn't care if it was Creepy Curtis."
"Well, that would definitely explain why Kaitlyn's avoiding this shindig."
The three giggled and continued their joking as they carried the dishes of food back into the dining room, almost forgetting that they had a new arrival until they reached the table to find the seat next to Roman and opposite Maria now occupied by a familiar face. Maria gasped and almost dropped the dish in her hands.
"Dean?!"
Part 3 coming soon!
*Will Kaitlyn finally be able to let her hair down at her first party with the Davenport crew? And how far can new friends be trusted?*
*Is Roman really the dream guy he appears to be? And how long will it take for old demons to cause a rift between Eve and Mike?*
*How will Alicia react to Wade's secret phone calls? And what exactly are his intentions?*
*Will Kelly finally be able to lay her worries about Justin's infidelity to rest?*
*Is Maria really ready to move on? And what does Dean Ambrose have to offer her?*