Sin City Baby

“What kind of fucked up question is that?” I asked. “Of course, I can. I already have.”

I drew her in for another hug, but this time I could feel her smiling against my shoulder.

“So now, I only have one question.”

“What’s that?” I asked as I held her close.

“Which one of my brothers is legally stuck with you?”

“Oh shit. That's right,” I said.

“What’s right?”

“I completely forgot about the divorce papers.”

“Divorce papers?” she asked.

“It is a very long story. But before so many other things took place, I asked the guys for a divorce. And I haven’t looked at the papers to see who I married that night.”

“So you have no idea.”

“Not a fucking clue,” I said with a giggle.

“Your life is so screwed up sometimes, you know that?”

“Trust me, I know.”

“Do you want to look at them?”

“I don’t know how to answer that. I love your brothers, Lauren. All of them. And I’m not sure if only being married to one of them will make any difference how I feel about all of them.”

“Then you need to tell them that, Sam. Because they’re running around like they’ve had their heads cut off, and I’m tired of watching them bleed for you.”

“I know. That’s why I’m—shit!”

I took off running for the kitchen, and smoke was starting to billow out of the stove. I opened it up before Lauren yanked me off to the side, then she grabbed some oven mitts and pulled out the very burned lasagna I was trying to make. The smoke alarm went off, and she whipped the mitts around, turning off the stove and kicking it closed.

“So—pizza?” Lauren asked.

“The guys are coming over to talk. I was trying to make them all a meal.”

“Well, a note for the future? It takes more than one stovetop lasagna to feed those hungry hounds.”

“Duly noted,” I said between coughs.

I got on the phone with the pizza place up the road and placed an order for some food. Lauren hugged me tightly and wished me good luck, then we made plans to get together the next day. She wanted to know all the details once all of us talked, and it felt so good to have my best friend back.

But I was still nervous about talking with the guys.

A knock came at the door, and my hands started to shake.

“Hey there, Samantha. Why do I smell smoke?” Liam asked.

The guys all barged into the townhouse, and I shook my head and giggled.

“Are you okay?” Levi asked.

“I’m fine,” I said. “I burnt what I was cooking, so it’s pizza for us tonight.”