At least that was what my head was saying. My heart and my pussy strongly begged to differ. They knew they were here for additional reasons as well.
"Surprise!" we shouted in a unified voice.
"Sweet fancy Moses!" Kristen shouted, clutching her chest.
"Happy birthday, dumpling," Logan said, emerging from the shadow and kissing Kristen on the cheek.
"Did you plan this?" Kristen asked, almost making it sound like an accusation.
"Megan did," Logan confessed.
"Hey, Kristen," Megan said, waving from her position by one of the bay windows.
"Hey," Kristen said, "You lit them."
"I thought it would be nice to see what they looked like," Logan said.
"They're lovely," Kristen said, casually wiping away a tear.
"Right, who needs a drink?" Logan asked, heading for the bar.
Despite my apprehensions, the party went pretty well. The candelabra idea had worked like a charm and everyone seemed to enjoy the wine I'd brought. Despite the fact that theirs were obviously more expensive and from nations better known for producing high-end vintage.
The time for gifting came and it turned out I had been right about the sex toy, since a girl named Amber was giving Kristen a fancy and expensive looking new model of vibrator. There was even some sexy underwear, courtesy of Megan, who apparently knew Kristen's size. I wondered if she had also stalked Megan’s underwear drawer.
It was my turn next. I approached Megan, box in hand, hoping I hadn't screwed up royally.
“Here you go, old friend,” I said, smiling timidly.
"Wow. Amazing. Where did you get this?" Kristen asked, staring into the polished black onyx.
"I have my ways," I said, doing my best to sound mysterious rather than shifty.
"It's beautiful," she exclaimed, slipping it onto her finger.
"You like it?" I asked, still in need of confirmation that I had gotten her the right gift after all my wandering and my long search.
Pathetic, I know.
"I love it," she said, hugging me.
From the huge smile she had on her face, I could tell she genuinely meant it.
The rest of the gifts were the usual fare. A surprising number of gift cards in the mix. Finally, it came down to Logan. There was no fancy wrapping on his gift either. It was held in one of those paper bags with handles that had a picture on it.
"Here you go, sis," he said, heading it to her.
"Thanks, bro," Kristen said, reaching into the bag.
She pulled her hand out immediately like she had been bitten, putting both hands to her mouth. I wondered if maybe he had gotten her the kitten she had always wanted but couldn't have because their mom was allergic. She reached in again and pulled out a small black teddy bear.
"Mr. Cuddles!" she cried, raising the bear into the air, the bag flying to the floor. “Oh my God.”
"I forgot that's what you called it," Logan said.
"Where did you find him?" Kristen asked, hugging the bear to her chest.
"It wasn't easy. I actually had to hire some Internet detectives. They found him on eBay of all places, but it is definitely him. He still has the chip in his nose from when you dropped him down the stairs."
Kristen inspected the nose of the bear, and then, after nodding her agreement, took Logan in a one-armed version of what they used to call an attack hug.
"Whoa, down, girl," Logan said, pushing her gently away, though smiling as he did so.
Kristen returned to a two armed hug on her long lost and much beloved bear, continually saying, “I can’t believe you found him. Thank you!”
After the happy reunion of Kristen and Mr. Cuddles, it was time for dancing, Megan rousing the DJ she had hired from his hiding place in the linen closet. He had had a late night playing at a club last night, and had seemed only too happy to snooze in the closet while we had been setting up, waiting to surprise her and then having part of the party.
Now that it was his time to shine, he set up his rig on the kitchen table, which was still extended with the center piece from the dinner party that Kristen had thrown, and started working through a set list no doubt given to him by Logan. At least if the song selection was anything to go by.
The party continued as before, the music kept down to a level that allowed for conversation. Unlike most of the clubs Kristen had snuck me into when we were in high school.
I smiled at the memory. Kristen with her fake ID, me with my real tits so big the bouncer took me for an adult, even though I was only seventeen. I blocked all thoughts of Logan and his incredibly sweet gesture to his little sister who we both loved out of my mind and tried to mingle with Kristen's other friends.
I searched the crowd for someone who looked like a likely candidate. I soon made up a list in my head of instant deal breakers. Anyone wearing a designer label or more than three pieces of diamond jewelry was crossed right off the list. That might seem like inverted snobbery, but I had learned to tell the signs.