Oh, wow. Did he really? Not my shining moment. If I'd been a few shades lighter my cheeks would've reddened.
"Are you serious?" I asked, adjusting the back to one of my earrings.
A laugh hit the air. "Yup. Says he remembers the moment you and I spotted each other."
That was a little embarrassing, that his friend could remember more about that night than the two of us could.
"And the rest is history," I added with a laugh, accepting the fact that there was no point in letting myself feel weird about our initial hookup at this point.
"And the rest is incredible," Marco corrected, and I smiled even bigger.
"The yard is starting to fill up," came a familiar voice from the bottom of the steps-Mrs. Rios. She'd been running a tight ship downstairs from what I could hear and I imagined we'd get to see her in action now that guests were starting to arrive. It'd been her idea to leave the side gate open and to adorn it with balloons to let people know to enter the party that way, minimizing traffic through the house. Like I said: she ran a tight ship.
"I guess that's our cue," Marco said with a light groan as he stood from his comfy position on the edge of the bed. When he passed by, my fingers warmed from his light touch to them, but the sensation was fleeting as he continued on to the door.
"I'm gonna head down and speak to whoever just got here. Take as much time as you need," he said sweetly, bringing a smile out of me when I nodded.
After that, the door closed and I was alone in his bedroom again to finish readying myself, which didn't take long. One swipe of my lip gloss, a spritz of perfume, and I was headed down those steps, too.
In a matter of a few hours, Mrs. Rios and her daughters had completely transformed the kitchen-the only area of the house she okayed for guests to venture inside-and the yard. I took slow steps to the window just beyond the kitchen table and took it all in.
Marco's property was pretty expansive and no space was wasted. Tents and rented tables and chairs were delivered and set up the night before, but that had only set the plain white foundation for what Mrs. Rios envisioned. Pink faux-chandeliers lined the middle seam of the large tent, their pink and silver jewels dazzling when the sunlight hit them just right. Each table was decked out, too. Pink and white table cloths alternated and beautiful, pink bouquets rested at their centers. There was more, so much more, and I loved every detail, great and small.
"I hope you're pleased with how everything has turned out," Mrs. Rios said softly when she came to stand beside me.
She hoped I was pleased with it? I was speechless and because of this, my response came in the form of a tight hug around her small shoulders. A dainty laugh slipped from her lips as I embraced her, fighting the sting of tears. She'd done so much, she and Marco's sisters, and I was overwhelmed by the fact that they cared enough to make today special for us. I didn't have much family, but I knew that this was what family was about. Love. Acceptance.
"Thank you," I breathed, feeling her arms tighten around me, too. "Thank you so much."
This extreme weather made me so grateful the baby shower dubbed as a pool party. As soon as the gifts were open, I planned to take a swim myself. Already, there were so many people here and by the celebration being coed, no one was excluded.
At that thought, a shadow off to the left caught my attention and my eyes went there, doing a double-take at what I saw. A massive man-glacier passed through the gate, entering the yard. The mass wasn't just one guy, it was three-all towering over the other guests, all ‘prettier' than seemed natural for any human being, and all shirtless … already and they'd just arrived.
They were all so different, and yet the same. A bearded brute with dirty-blond hair led the pack and he was huge, slightly more ripped than the two who flanked his sides. To his left, skin the same rich bronze as Marco's caught my eye. Dark features stood out on this one-thick brows that had definitely been tamed by more than nature, but they weren't overly done. Long cornrows stitched silky hair toward the back and a few hung over his shoulder, revealing his hair's full length. Basically, he had a ton of it. His lineup was tight, freshly edged, accentuating huge, diamond studs in both ears.
To the right of the bearded brute stood a brown-skinned guy about the same complexion as me. A fresh fade tapered at the edges of his hairline where a set of dark shades rested over the tops of his ears, hiding his eyes. A chiseled jaw emphasized more perfect features, which seemed to be the norm in this bunch.
Ink stained various patches of skin on two of the three and I knew right away whose handiwork that was because I knew who these men were. I recognized them from the picture and from Marco's club as they came my way. Well, as they came Marco's way, but he was standing right beside me near the deck. They were cut, uncomfortably attractive to the point that every person they passed-male and female-paused their conversations to stare. Muscled arms shifted with their easy, synchronized gait, but what I saw at the ends of those arms, clutched in those hands, had me smiling.
Pink, glittering bags and colorfully gift wrapped boxes.
They came bearing gifts.
"Late as usual," Marco greeted them, smiling big as he embraced each one.
Together, the four of them now that Marco was added to the group, were a sight to behold. Standing beside them, I was up close and personal with Indecent Exposure's starting lineup, the lineup that had women wrapped around the building the night Mona was in town. It'd been crazy to see so many turn out just for a few hours of entertainment, but they had. And though my friends and I didn't have to pay the cover, from what I heard it was pretty steep. Yet and still, those ladies were there in full force, ready to give up their hard-earned money, mostly for the four who stood before me right now, especially Marco.
The boisterous screams of strange women chanting his name echoed inside my head, drowning out the short conversation the men had before Marco's hand went into mine, silencing the noise. I glanced down for a moment, surprised for some reason that he didn't change his usual affectionate behavior now that his friends were present. Apparently, they knew we were close.
"This is Brynn," he said, introducing me to the men.
Three perfect, white smiles flashed my way.
"Carlos," Marco went on, pointing at the one with the cornrows.
"Nice seeing you again," he greeted me, reminding me that he was the one who remembered our first night together.
"Justin," Marco said next, aiming his finger at the one in the shades.
"Congratulations. Lovely meeting you," he said, taking my free hand to place a kiss on the back of it.
"Thank you. Nice meeting you, too," I replied with a smile. This one was the charmer. I could tell that already.
"All right, man. That's enough," Marco cut in, pulling my hand free from Justin's as he pretended to be bothered by his friend's gesture. The two shared a laugh and then he went on to introduce the last, the bearded one. "And this is Logan."
A mumbled, "Sup," was all I got from him as he dipped his head in a slight bow, which made me smile.
"It's nice meeting you. All of you," I corrected. "Here, I'll take your gifts over to the table."
"I can get them," Marco offered, but I wouldn't hear of it. There were mostly bags, then just one box, and a purple envelop with a card inside. I managed to grab them all easily and left Marco to talk with his friends.
I set the items down on the decorated tabletop and arranged them beside the others. Marcela flagged me down just as I was headed back over to Marco. Meeting her halfway across the lawn, I worked up a sweat after managing to find relief in the shade for a few.
I met her with a smile and she flashed me a distracted one as she passed a glance toward Marco and his crew. Thinking nothing of it, I spoke. "What's up?"
My voice brought her attention to me again as she pushed long, brown strands of her thick hair behind her ears. "Um … mom just wants to know if you want her to go ahead and cut the cake so we can start handing it out?"
I glanced down at my watch, noting that Mona and Ced hadn't gotten here yet. We were only an hour and a half into a celebration that wasn't scheduled to end at a designated time, so it wasn't a big deal. The whole thing had been pretty unstructured, which was nice. Guests were free to snack on the catered dishes at their leisure as they arrived, so serving the cake would be the only really organized aspect of the party other than opening gifts.
"You know what? Sure. That's fine. That way anyone who needs to leave early can get a slice."
Marcela gave a faint smile with her short, "Okay," but then remembered something else. "Oh! And could you let Marco know Dad just got here with our grandmother? They're inside."