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“Anyway,” June continued, blissfully unaware of my internal self-loathing, “we’re celebrating tonight and I’d love it if you could come.”

“Sure,” I said automatically. “Name the place, I’ll be there.”

“You really don’t have to go if you’re not feeling up to it.”

I blew out an exasperated sigh, the pillows soft under my head where I lay on Nikkie’s bed.

“It’s June, Nikkie,” I told her. “Of course, we’re gonna go. We even made a bet, remember?”

She chuckled darkly from her place in the closet. “If so, then I won, right?”

I rolled my eyes and chucked one of her lacy bras at her head. “Yeah, yeah,” I muttered, disgruntled at a loss I was sure I’d avoid. “You’ll get your money, you asshole.”

“Thanks, sweetheart, I need a new pair of shoes.”

“Seriously, though.” I sighed. “We’re going, okay? We need to be there to support her.”

“I know, I’m just…” She paused, her voice growing nearer as she walked back toward the bed. “I’m worried about you. You haven’t been yourself lately and I don’t want you to burn out.”

“Be careful, Nikkie,” I warned jokingly. “Mom may be in the hospital but she’ll still hand your ass to you if you try to take her place.”

“Could you be serious for more than a second?” She chucked a pillow at me and it hit me in the gut, making me give out anoof.

“Fine, I’ve got my serious face on.”

“I know this thing with Hayden has you down,” she said, sitting next to me and threading her fingers through my hair, “but I want you to know that I’m here like I always am. And you’re allowed to feel upset about it.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, enjoying the sensation of her fingers gently dragging through my hair. It brought me enough peace that I let her continue doing it, remembering how we’d sit like this when we were kids.

“And I want you to know that I totally understand your crush on her because,Goddamn, that woman is fire.”

“Fire?” I giggled despite myself. But she had a point. “She’s really something.”

Nikkie hummed. “Which is why we’re gonna doll you up all nice and party with our friends,” she announced. She hopped off the bed and yanked me up by the arms.

I groaned, turning my body to dead weight. “Can’t I just nap for ten minutes?” I pleaded. “It takes you way longer just to do your hair.”

“Not anymore,” she insisted. “It’s short and easy to maintain. You could learn a thing or two.”

“I should be short and easy to maintain?”

“You know what I mean now, scoot your butt into the shower!”

“I’d like to propose a toast!” Nikkie announced, lifting her champagne glass. The chime of her knife against the glass quieted the rest of the group, each of us turning our attention to her.

“Of course you would,” Dane teased from beside June. His long blond hair fell in waves around his broad shoulders, but his face was soft as he stared at his new fiancé.

“Hush, Danny boy,” she tutted, using the nickname she knew he hated. “Anyway, I’m not a huge believer in love at first sight, but I am a believer in soulmates.”

“Hear, hear!” one of Dane’s friends chorused, but Nikkie forged ahead.

“And I think that soulmates will always find each other,” she said, looking at Dane. “Even if there are a few extra changes along the way.”

I smiled. Dane’s transition hadn’t been an easy one, but June never left his side.

Part of me relished the giddiness of it all, the sweet romance that fluttered around them like butterflies on a spring breeze.

Without meaning to, my thoughts switched June and Dane out, replacing them with Hayden and myself.