“Oh my God. I…they…” I flummox over my words, not really knowing where to start.
“It happened?” Natalie’s hands fly to her face, concealing the widest grin.
“Kind of. They gave me the best oral, and then I did the unforgivable and fell into an orgasm coma.”
My bestie splutters with laughter, holding her stomach as though it’s hurting her. “That’s such a man thing to do,” she says, then punches me in the shoulder exactly as I imagined she would.
“I know, and I’m mortified. But not mortified enough not to be hoping we’ll get to that place again.”
“You will. They practically manhandled Sally into a different seat so they could save you the one you’re sitting in, and I saw the way they were looking at you last night.”
“Did you?”
“Didn’t you? They looked like six-year-olds on Christmas morning.” She bounces a little on her toes the way she always does when she’s excited.
“We’re going to the beach together.”
“You’re so gonna fuck them all,” she says.
“I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more in my whole damned life. Not even the pink dollhouse with matching convertible that I begged my parents for when I was seven.”
Natalie claps her hands. “This is perfect. I won’t be the only one in a freaky relationship. In fact, you’ll have four husbands, and I’ll be positively boring in comparison.”
“Husbands. Whoa there. I’m talking about a vacation fling here, not marriage.” As the words leave my lips, Natalie seems to deflate, her arms dropping to hang by her sides.
“You don’t like them?”
“I don’t know them, Nat. I mean, I do a little. Enough to trust that they’re going to rock my world in a filthy yet respectable way. But not enough to want anything else. And anyway, even if I did, they live too far away.”
“You could move. They could move. You could all move,” Natalie says hopefully.
“I’m not even thinking that way, honey. And I’m pretty sure they’re not either. We’re away from the grind of our daily lives in this breathtakingly perfect place. We’re just here to make the most of it. Well, I am. And I hope they’ll think that giving me more coma-orgasms will be a good way to spend the rest of their vacation. After that, we’ll all return to our routines, and it will feel like it never happened.” My finger finds a hangnail and worries at it as Natalie cocks her head to one side and considers me carefully.
“I have a feeling that things might turn out very differently than you think,” she says. “And I’m only saying this from experience. The Banbury men have charms that snuck up on me.”
“There was no snucking involved,” I laugh. “Their charms poked you in every hole until you lost your mind.”
“And that is what is about to happen to you, my friend,” she says. “Just have an amazing time and follow your heart. It’s not always easy to do, but it’s worth it.”
A lump forms in my throat at her words, and for the first time, I feel the pang of losing my friend. I know she’ll still be around for me. I don’t doubt her devotion to our friendship, but I’ll be sharing her with three other people. Her life will be so much fuller than mine.
“I have news,” she says suddenly. “I have to tell you now because we need to get back. Our cab will be here soon.”
“What is it?”
Natalie’s hand moves to rest on her belly, and I know what she’s going to say before she says it. “I’m pregnant.”
“Oh my God.” I grab hold of her and pull her into a fierce hug, almost floored by a flash of a memory of us sitting on the grass at school, talking about how many children we want. Where did those little girls go? They sure grew up fast, and here is Natalie, living her dreams in all the ways that really matter. “I’m so happy for you.”
“It’s twins,” she says. “I told the boys last night…it was my wedding night gift to them.”
“How did they react?”
“Well, it morphed from overwhelmed happy-hugs to some seriously loving sex.”
“I bet it did.” We stand for a moment, grinning at each other. Things are changing fast for my bestie, but it’s not time for me to be worrying about how I’m getting left behind. Those are thoughts for a time when I’m not wearing a sunshine-colored two-piece about to swim in water that is so turquoise it’s almost blinding.
“I actually need to use the bathroom, now,” I laugh.
“Me too,” Natalie says. “Too many glasses of orange juice!”
“So you weren’t drunk last night when you were shoving me into Kane’s arms?”
“Of course not,” Natalie says, sauntering into the bathroom stall like she’s strutting on a catwalk. “That, my darling, was my gift to you. I hope you enjoy it.”