“We brought drinks!” I exclaimed as I held up two bottles of champagne.

Meadow opened the door and welcomed Paul and I into her new apartment. It was the night of her housewarming.

“Thank you guys!” she said, hugging us both. “And don’t worry Paul, I stocked up on beer from the brewery for you.”

“As if I’d show up empty handed,” Paul said, whipping out a case of beers and strutting through the door.

“Meadow, your place looks amazing. I can’t believe all the work you’ve done. You’ve got incredible style” I said as I made my way to her kitchen.

“Seriously,” Paul said. “I can’t believe this is the same place we checked out three weeks ago. You’ve completely transformed it.”

“Thanks,” Meadow said, beaming with pride.

“I should pay you to redecorate my place so it doesn’t look like a frat house,”  Paul added, cracking open a beer.

“Really? Do you guys like it? I was on a really tight budget.”

“Could have fooled me,” I said. “It looks like something straight out of a design magazine.”

“You guys are the best friends a girl could ask for. Here, follow me, a few others have already arrived,” Meadow said, leading us through to the next room.

Paul and I said hi to everyone while Meadow went to answer the door again. There was a mix of people she’d met over the last month from working at the café and hanging out at the brewery. She had really settled into Pismo Beach and was now just a regular part of the gang.

She was a completely different woman than the one who showed up a mess and in tears. She arrived with nothing and figured out how to start a new life all her own. Over the last few weeks, Paul and I offered to help set up the new place but she always refused. She said she wanted to do everything herself and she meant it.

When her divorce papers arrived, we all got drunk at the brewery and she signed them on the beach at a lifeguard tower she said held sentimental value to her. I’d never been so proud of her as I was at that moment.

I watched as she lead the next batch of people into the living room. She looked so beautiful and confident as she showed off her new place. She was proud as a peacock showing off it’s nest!

“Hey, Paul, do peacocks have nests?”

“What?” he said from across the room. “Someone had a few pre-drinks.”

I gave him my guilty as charged smile.

“Speaking of drinks, where’s your drink, Meadow?” I said as she sat down next to me.

“Oh, I’ve got a glass of wine somewhere. I must have left it in the kitchen,” she said as she adjusted the snacks on the coffee table.

Just as she started to sit back and relax with her guests, there was another knock on the door and she was up again. As she walked out of the room, I caught Paul’s eyes glued to her ass.

“Enjoying the view?” I said with a playful nudge.

“I didn’t mean to stare, but she did not have that ass when she first got here. Must be all those shifts at the café,” Paul said, leaning over to watch her walk away.

I hit him playfully on the arm.

“Once an ass man, always an ass man,” Jason added from across the room.

“You could bounce a quarter off that ass,” Paul added.

The guys all started debating the pros and cons of being an ass man or a breast man. The room seemed fairly evenly split. I added my two cents, asking the girls if they were into men’s asses. Next thing I knew, all the men were standing up, bending over and displaying their butts. It was going to be a hilariously fun night for sure. Meadow came back in the room and didn’t quite know what was going on.

“Does anyone have a quarter?” Paul asked when he saw Meadow back in the room.

The guys all laughed. Meadow looked at me and I just shrugged.

Jason leaned over and reached in his pocket, handing Paul a shiny new quarter.

“What’s going on?” Meadow said.

“Meadow,” Paul said, “we’re conducting an experiment. In the interests of science, would you please bend over?”

Meadow looked confused but obliged. Paul flicked the quarter at her ass and it bounced right off. All the guys howled in laughter and I grabbed Meadow.

“The guys are all in agreement,” I said to her. “You have the best ass in the room.”

“Do I say thanks or pretend to be offended?” Meadow said, laughing.

“It’s a compliment,” Paul said.

“Well, turning down your offer to use your spare car was the best decision I ever made. I’ve never walked or biked so much in my life.”

“Here’s to Meadow and her killer ass,” Paul said as he held his drink in the air.

“Not only her killer ass, but her amazing new bachelorette pad,” I said, holding my drink up too. “We’re so lucky to have you in Pismo Beach, Meadow.”

The whole room cheered for her.