Surrendering (Surrender 1)

“Boyfriend, boyfriend in a band.” Declan quickly corrects her.

All eyes move to me and I smile and shrug. “It’s all planned then. NNN, dancing, and live music; we can plan the menu later.”

Ella speaks up, “Not to sound like a chump, but since Abbi and I are new to this, what is NNN?”

Harper leans in to answer, “Naughty Nightie Night.”

There’s a collection of groans from every man in the group. They’d been kicked out of the house several times over the years for NNN. It was a girls’ only event and my mom always made sure Robbie and his friends weren’t around. It became a tradition right after high school graduation.

“What does that mean?”

I take to answering the question this time. “We all get dressed up in sexy nighties and have a girls’ night in. We play games, gossip, order-in dinner, and get inebriated.”

“What kind of games?”

“We can’t discuss it here because it’s a girls’ only event. But I promise you will have a blast.”

Gabe shouts from across the table, “I’ve been trying to get an invitation to NNN for three and a half years. One year we even snuck back into the Hayes’ house to eavesdrop, but that was a big mistake.”

“What happened?” Declan asks.

“Mr. Hayes met us in the hallway with a shotgun. He reminded us we had other places to be. That was the last time we tried to crash it.”

All of us laugh at the memory. I start to hiccup because I can’t catch my breath. Declan hands me some water and runs his hands over my shoulder. I shudder. I want to be alone with him, but I can’t invite him back to my room. We already have five girls and our stuff is everywhere.

“I’m going to sign the tab and head to the room. Jimi brought beer for anyone who wants to continue the party. I think we should start a game. Declan, you’re more than welcome to join us.” Robbie states as he gets up.

“No thanks, I think I’m going to bed. It’s been a long night.”

I look at the clock on the phone on the table. It’s already 1:30 in the morning. I slowly rise out of his lap and get my purse. “I’ll walk you out.”

Declan reaches in his wallet and tries to hand Robbie a fifty dollar bill. “Here’s for Raven and my drinks.”

Robbie declines and explains the tab is on the room.

“Thanks, man, I owe you.”

I wave good night to the table and tell the girls I’ll see them in a few minutes.

When we hit the foyer, Declan directs me to the elevator. He takes out a keycard and hits the button for the fifteenth floor.

“What are you doing? I’m on the twentieth floor.”

“I know, that’s why I got our room on the fifteenth floor. I don’t want to answer any questions.”

“What kind of questions?”

“Well, there are six guys in that bar that will kick my ass if they see you in our room. So, I specifically asked for another floor for privacy.”

“Our room?”

“Yes, our room. You didn’t think I could stay away from you tonight after seeing you in that dress, especially since we’ve spent the last few nights apart, did you? I got us a room away from everyone, but close enough where you can get together tomorrow for breakfast before your friends leave.”

“How did you do this?”

“My sisters helped.” He dips his face and kisses me quickly.

“I need to get some stuff from my room.”