I pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building and someone was there to meet me. He hurried to open the door to the SUV and wanted me out so he could properly park the vehicle.

I looked back at Nikki in the middle row and Stacey in the back row.

They had sat in silence the entire ride into the city like two children.

“Ready?” I asked.

“For what?” Nikki asked.

“You’ll see,” I said with a smile.

Something told me they hadn’t had a good night in a long time. And not a night at the same bar with the same people. Flirting, drinking, washing away sorrows, hoping to find someone for a little temporary comfort. There was nothing wrong with that but I wanted to show them something different.

Very different.

I took them to my apartment.

I opened the door and smiled. “Get inside and get a drink.”

“Holy crap,” Nikki said as she slowly walked through the massive open floor plan.

“This is…” Stacey looked at me. “You’re really The Princess, aren’t you?”

“No. I’m Olivia. I work hard. I was lucky in some ways and unlucky in other ways. I don’t even notice this stuff anymore.”

“Well, I’m seeing it,” Nikki said as she ran her hand along the marble countertop in the kitchen. “Look at that lighting.”

“Here, check this out,” I said.

I had a massive outlet panel just outside the kitchen. There were eight sets of lights in the kitchen. I could control each set to make them brighter, dimmer, and even change colors.

I dimmed the lights so there was just a little over the island. That was my favorite part. The way the light bounced off the counter.

I opened the stainless steel fridge and pointed to what I had.

“Is that wine?” Stacey asked, pointing to my wine fridge.

“Yup,” I said.

“What’s the most expensive bottle you have?” Nikki asked, smiling.

I opened the door and crouched. I grabbed the bottom right bottle and stood up. I put it on the counter. The label wasn’t even in English.

“This is worth around ten grand,” I said.

“Ten thousand dollars?” Nikki asked. “For wine?”

“How good does it taste?” Stacey asked.

“Let’s find out,” I said.

They both shook their heads but I opened the bottle anyway. What the hell was I going to do with a bottle of wine worth ten grand? Keep it for twenty years? Brag about it? Screw that.

I dropped the cork and corkscrew to the counter. I looked up and thought about getting wine glasses.

“No,” I whispered.

“No what?” Nikki asked.

“Fuck being a lady,” I said.

I grabbed the bottle and drank from it. Then I handed it to Nikki.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Drink.”

She took a drink. She smacked her lips together. “Tastes like wine.”

“That sip was worth like three hundred bucks,” Stacey said.

“Here,” Nikki said. “Try it.”

Stacey took the bottle and drank some.

“Wine,” she said.

“See? It’s all bullshit. A countertop. Lights. An apartment. Wine. It’s all bullshit. I hate it.”

“How could you hate it?” Nikki asked. “You have nothing to worry about?”

I laughed.

I turned and opened the wine fridge again. I grabbed two more bottles.

“Here,” I said, and gave each of them a bottle.

I grabbed the corkscrew and then my phone.

“I want to show you something else,” I said.

I sent a text message to the apartment building security and we all waited outside the apartment door.

The guy who came was named Drew. I had gotten to know him over the time I lived there. Nobody really paid attention to anyone else, but I did. I liked talking to Drew. He had a son - Drew Jr. - that was working on his criminal justice degree. He wanted to become a detective in the city. His son thought it was so cool that his dad got to wear a badge and carry a gun. To Drew, he downplayed what he did, but for me, it was important. He kept the building safe, and everyone inside too.

“I’m not supposed to do this,” he said as we climbed up the fire escape stairs.

“I know,” I said.

“Nobody better fall or do something stupid,” he said.

“We’re all smart,” I said

“Where are we going?” Nikki asked.

Drew stopped at a door and swiped his card and typed in a code. The door popped and he nodded.

“Make sure it’s shut tight when you’re done. Please let me know when you’re done so I can double check.”

“Not a problem,” I said. “Thank you, Drew.”

Right through the doors was the roof to the building.

I heard a collective gasp from Nikki and Stacey.

“Look at this,” Nikki said.

“Come on,” I said. “Keep walking with me.”

I had a spot I came to. I had some chairs and a small table. Sometimes it was nice to just be on top of the building. Everything under me. All the noise. The decisions. The drama. Everything.

“This is insane,” Stacey said. “Look at the lights. I mean… the city…”

“Better than home,” Nikki said. “When it gets dark there’s nothing on.”

“Except the neon light of the bar,” Stacey said.

“The only place to go after dark,” Nikki said.

It was good to see them have a civil conversation.

“So… let’s have a drink,” I said. I opened the other two wine bottles. “And talk.”

“Talk?” Nikki asked.

“You scammed us,” Stacey said.

“No,” I said. “I saved you. You two were going to kill each other. In front of Gavin. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing.”

They both laughed. They looked at each other. Then they looked away.

“Every so called friend I ever had was fake,” I said. “I never had someone I could count on. Everyone wants something from me, including my own father. He uses me. All the time. But then I met Gavin. And I started seeing all these people. And it felt like a family. Sure, a messed up family, but who doesn’t have a messed up family? Nikki, I met you the morning after I met Gavin. I got so drunk the night before, I threw up. I made Gavin pull over and I threw up. He thought he was getting lucky… nope.”

Nikki laughed. “That’s great. And he still helped you?”

“Of course he did,” Stacey said. “That’s Gavin.”

“And, Stacey, I was jealous of you.”

“Me?” she asked.

“Yeah. You were all over Gavin the night I met him. I thought you two…”

“Oh, that was in a different life,” Stacey said.

“Sometimes I used to wonder about me and Gavin,” Nikki said. “He’s such a good person. And he really is sexy. Ew. That felt weird to say. He’s… like, my brother.”

Nikki hurried to drink from her bottle.

“Gavin told me everything that happened,” I said. “With Luke.”

It was a little breezy up on the roof of the apartment building. And it was dead quiet after I made that comment. Stacey stood up and shook her head.

“What?” Nikki asked. “Are we here to fight?”

“If that’s what you two need to do,” I said. “Do it.”

Stacey turned. She had tears running down her cheeks. “I was so in love with him. I was a teenager. I knew he loved you. You hurt him, Nikki. But you were a teenager too. We all were. You knew what Luke wanted.”

“I wanted him with me,” Nikki said. “We were going to have a family.”

“You have a family,” I said. “You have Ava. You have Gavin.”

Stacey hugged herself. “I never meant to hurt you, Nikki. And when Luke…” She touching her mouth. “Nobody was there for me.”

Nikki stood up. She drank a lot of wine in a big gulp and stood there, staring. I thought they were going to go at it again.

“What do you mean?” Nikki asked.

“You had Luke. You had the town. You were pregnant with his baby. You had his baby. And then you had Gavin again. To help with Ava. Nobody even looked at me once. You don’t know what it’s like to feel the way I did for him and he just wanted you. I was honestly just a really good friend. Yeah, maybe some things happened between us, but it wasn't serious. And when he talked about the military, do you know what I said?”

Nikki shook her head. “No.”

“He asked me what he should do. I told him he should go talk to you. Sit down with you and see what was right. Because it was a commitment and that you two being apart was never a good thing.”

I swallowed hard. My emotions were starting to catch up to me.

What a fucking mess, huh? And Gavin had been managing it for years.

“You swear you said that?” Nikki asked.

“Yes,” Stacey said. “Because he hugged me and said he was sorry he could never love me. And then he went to you. And then you got pregnant. And when he left to go overseas, everyone worried about him, you, and Gavin. I was always on my own with it. The outsider. And all I ever wanted, Nikki, was to reach out to you and tell you I know how it feels. And that you’re not alone. And that if you ever need someone, I’m here.”

“Oh, shit…”

Nikki’s voice cracked.

She stepped forward.

So did Stacey.

The two hugged each other.

I sighed deep inside my soul.

Then they looked at me.

“Come here, you bitch,” Nikki said.

I joined their hug.

And we all stood there, crying. Like babies. Crying because of what happened to Luke. Because Ava would grow up without her father and have to realize the tragedy. We cried because Stacey finally had a chance to let it out. We cried when I told them about Abigail and when I told them about my mother.

Next thing I knew, it was a couple hours later, the wine was almost gone, and we were all drunk.

I caught Stacey standing near the edge of the building. She was gently swaying with the wind.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked.

Stacey looked at me. “Jon.”

“Jon?”

“Nikki. Do you remember Jon?”

“With the leather jacket?” she asked. “The one who thinks he’s in some kind of motorcycle club?”

“Yeah,” Stacey said.

“Who’s Jon?” I asked.

“The last guy I sort of dated. He told me I was putting on weight. That he didn’t need saddlebags on his motorcycle.”

“No he didn’t,” I said.

“Yeah.”

“What a fucking loser,” Nikki said. “I bet he wasn’t even that good, was he?”

“Let me just say,” Stacey said, “that he rides that big motorcycle to definitely make up for what’s not there…”

I laughed. “Why are you thinking about that?”

“Because I let the wrong people hurt me. Maybe I like being hurt?”

“No,” I said. “You’re just looking for love. And maybe sometimes you think you see it when you don’t.”

“That’s deep,” Nikki said. “I crashed my car and I could have killed my daughter.”

“But you didn’t,” I said. “You were smart enough to make sure Ava was okay.”

“I chased you away too, Nikki,” Stacey said.

“I’m a bad mother.”

“No you’re not,” I said.

“Far from it,” Stacey said. “You know what? Fuck these feelings. Fuck being a bad mother. You’re not, Nikki. You’re good at what you do for your daughter. She loves you. And, Olivia? Fuck whatever hurts you. Be happy. Right now.”

“What about you?” I asked.

“I feel like blowing up Jon’s motorcycle. But we’re too far away.”

“No we’re not,” I said. I grabbed my phone and made a call. “Yeah… I need a car… right now…”

 

* * *

 

“This is insane,” Stacey said.

I handed her a dozen eggs. “It’s not a bomb, but it’s still fun, right?”

“This is better,” Nikki said. “He’ll have egg everywhere on his motorcycle. Calling you fat? Fuck that guy.”

“Yeah,” Stacey said, finally smiling. “Yeah.”

I had the window up so the driver couldn’t hear us. He was simply just driving us back to town, no idea what I had in mind. Stacey gave him the address to this Jon guy’s place.

The car turned up his street and I saw Stacey hesitate.

“You got this,” Nikki said as she touched her leg. “You do. We change everything tonight. All of us. Well, I don’t know about you, Olivia. Your life is pretty perfect it seems. But me and Stacey… we’ve lost too much time. We should have been closer. Healing together. But I stopped that. I did it.”

“No, I did it too,” Stacey admitted. “I couldn’t get what I wanted and I let it bother me. I shouldn’t have made it seem like both Luke and Gavin needed to make a choice. There was no choice to make.”

“We have the future,” Stacey said.

“We have right now,” Nikki said.

“We have eggs,” I said.

The car came to a stop.

I put the window down.

“There it is,” Stacey said.

“How does he afford this house?” Nikki asked.

“His mother gave it to him,” Stacey said.

“Momma’s boy,” Nikki said and laughed.

I grabbed an egg and nodded. “Let’s do this.”

“What if we get in trouble?” Stacey asked.

“I’m rich,” I said with a smile. “I have plenty of lawyers.”

“You rich people suck,” Nikki said. “But it’s not so bad tonight. Give me a fucking egg.”

Nikki grabbed an egg and threw it out the window. The egg smashed against the driveway, missing the motorcycle.

We all giggled.

“You try,” Nikki said to Stacey.

She threw an egg and it barely went anywhere.

“No, no,” I said. “Stand up. Plant your feet.”

I was hunched over but I had my balance. I leaned out the window a little and lobbed the egg into the air.

We all watched as the egg came down and splattered against the seat of the motorcycle.

“Yes,” Nikki said. “Nice throw.”

“Have at it,” I said to Stacey. “Show this guy just how small his dick is. And that no man has the right to tell a woman she’s gained too much weight. Ever.”

Stacey smiled. She blinked back tears. She put the container of eggs between her and Nikki. Then she grabbed an egg for each hand. For the next few minutes she perfected her egg throwing abilities, leaving Jon’s motorcycle covered in yellow, gooey egg.

After she threw the last one, Stacey sat back and frowned. “I wish there were more.”

“I could get more,” I said.

“No,” Stacey said. “I’m good. I needed this.”

I put the window up and then put the window down between us and the driver. “Drive, please.”

“Where to, Miss Olivia?”

“I’m not sure yet,” I said. “Just drive, please.”

I put the window up and the car started to move.

The three of us sat there in silence for a few seconds.

“Fucking men,” Nikki whispered.

“Amen,” Stacey said. “I have to stop hiding in my own pain with things.”

“I have to stop waiting for my self destruction to continue,” Nikki said.

They both looked at me. I guess it was my turn. I licked my lips. “I have to take control of my future.”

“Does he talk about me?” Nikki asked.

“Who?”

“Gavin.”

“No,” I said. “I mean, nothing bad. He loves you, Nikki. He loves Ava to death. He said there was a time when he thought you and he were going to be together but it never happened.”

Nikki smiled. “I would have been lucky. But it would have been weird.” Then she looked at Stacey. “You would have been lucky, too.”

“I know,” Stacey said. “He’s such a good person.”

I felt a little jealousy kick up. I was sitting in a car with two other women who loved Gavin.

“But it wasn’t real,” Stacey said. “You are lucky though, Olivia. He loves you. You can tell. You can sense it. It’s such a relief.”

“He deserves it,” Nikki said. “And there I am, busting through the door with Ava, interrupting you.”

“No,” I said. “You’re family. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

“Not like that,” Nikki said. “I run to him too much. I hide behind him. I try to do one thing right and then I fuck everything up. Sad part? I used to call and text when I was at his door. Afraid that I was going to interrupt him. I wanted him so badly to find someone. But I knew I’d fuck it up.”

“You didn’t fuck anything up, Nikki,” I said. “Look at tonight. I haven’t had a night like this… ever. Just us. You know? Nothing fake. Nothing revolving around business. Not needing to watch what I say.”

“Is that what it’s like?” Stacey asked. “Fake?”

I swallowed hard. “In the city, yes. But when I’m with Gavin, it’s not fake at all.”

“Damn,” Nikki said. “You’re making my heart melt.”

“So what’s the problem?” Stacey asked.

Oh, nothing. I’m supposed to push Gavin into making the biggest decision of his life. If he goes one way, I become richer. If he goes another way, he screws up the life of every person in town.

“I just said it,” I said. “The future. I need to control it.”

“So then control it,” Nikki said. “What the hell are you doing in a car with us?”

I smiled. “You’re right. You two are boring.”

“Bitch,” Stacey said.

I put the window down. “I know what’s happening next.”

“What’s that, Miss Olivia?”

I looked at Nikki and Stacey. I nodded.

I knew exactly what I needed to do.

“You’re going to take me to Gavin’s house… and then you’re going to take these two beautiful women back to the city, to my apartment, and be their personal driver until I say so.”