Love Like Theirs

She found everyone in the kitchen, Shelby perching beside the large kitchen island chatting with some people Keira didn’t know. Work colleagues, she presumed. They looked pretty put together, with neat hair, trendy outfits, and confident smiles. Keira felt suddenly very uncomfortable in the presence of these apparently calm, collected other friends of Shelby’s.

“Keira!” Shelby exclaimed, noticing her then. “You came!” She placed her glass heavily onto the counter and wobbled toward her friend, clearly already a little tipsy. “Oh my God, I never thought I’d see you again,” she wailed, throwing her arms around Keira’s neck and squeezing.

Keira patted the arm that choked her. “Don’t be silly,” she squeaked. “I’ve just been taking a bit of off time.”

Shelby moved out of the vise-like embrace and looked her up and down. “Wow, you look gorgeous!” She plucked the fabric of Keira’s dress in her fingertips, making it spring back against Keira’s hips. Then she turned her head to address the room. “Look how gorgeous my friend Keira is!” she cried. “AND she’s SINGLE!”

Keira blushed immediately. “Please, Shelby,” she muttered out the corner of her mouth. She felt less than attractive, no thanks to the extra pounds she’d gained recently.

“What?” Shelby giggled. “You’re back on the market and I have some very handsome friends. And girl, your ass is looking fine.”

“There’s a difference between fine and fat,” Keira muttered. “And I’m not ready to date yet. This is literally my first evening out of Mope Mood in two weeks.”

“Okay, okay,” Shelby replied, rolling her eyes. “I won’t push it. But I will give you some wine.” She grinned devilishly.

“No!” Keira protested. She knew far too well what a sloppy drunk she could be, and how easily she drank too much when she was feeling emotional. Alcohol was the last thing she needed right now.

But it was too late. An overfilled glass of white wine was thrust through the crowd toward her. She took it from the extended, bodyless hand, peering through the crack between people’s heads to see who was offering it.

“MAX!” Keira cried, when she realized, finally, it was her other best friend.

Max wedged herself through a small gap between two tall, immovable-looking guys, and hugged Keira.

“Hi, stranger,” she said. “It’s so good to see you.” They drew apart and Maxine smiled at her, her dark eyes glittering with kindness. “I was so worried about you I even texted your sister.”

Keira’s eyebrows shot up. Maxine and Bryn hated each other. Some inexplicable feud neither could remember the origins of made their relationship frosty at best.

“She didn’t tell me,” Keira said.

“Of course she didn’t,” Maxine replied, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here now. Now I can tell you face to face that you’re a strong, powerful, wonderful woman who’s not defined by a man.”

Keira laughed. It felt like the first genuine smile she’d cracked in days.

“Thanks, Max,” she said, nudging her friend.

Feeling a little happier, Keira took a sip of the wine. It was nice, with a delicate, light flavor. Instantly she could imagine Cristiano’s voice in her head, telling her it would pair wonderfully with seafood. She felt a pang of loss.

“Have you noticed that Rob is staring at you?” Maxine asked suddenly, breaking into her thoughts.

“No,” Keira said, looking over to where he was leaning against the fridge. He looked away immediately.

“You should talk to him,” Maxine urged. “He clearly likes you.”

Keira shook her head. “I’m not in the right place to be liked right now. Cristiano was a rebound from Shane, remember. And look how badly that went.”

“Shane was a rebound from Zach,” Maxine reminded her. “And it was the best decision you’d made for yourself in a long time.”

Keira shook her head again. She lowered her voice. “Please can I just have one night without thinking about relationships?”

Maxine let out a reluctant sigh. “Fine. But on one condition.” She grabbed Keira’s hand. “You dance with me all night!”

Keira exhaled loudly but didn’t put up much resistance as Maxine tugged her into the middle of the living room. The couches had been pushed back, the coffee table moved to the side, and there were a few other people already dancing in the space. Standing right in the middle of the room like that certainly wasn’t Keira’s first idea of fun, but anything was better than being forced into flirting.

Shelby bounded over then, throwing her arms around both Keira and Maxine.

“My faves!” she cried. “Have I told you two recently how much I love you?”

Keira laughed.

“Someone’s drunk,” Maxine commented.

“Yup!” Shelby confirmed. Then she raised her voice and yelled over the music. “And it feels awesome!”

They began dancing together to the track, pulling silly, overly enthusiastic dance moves. Keira let herself relax into the moment. She drank more from her glass of wine, giving herself permission to enjoy herself and let her hair down just a little bit. With her best girlfriends she could loosen the reins a bit.

Her glass was empty when Shelby suddenly exclaimed loudly, “Oh my God! When was the last time we did shots together?”

She grabbed both their hands, looking from one to the other with expectant excitement, like she’d had the best idea in the world.

“No way,” Keira said, shaking her head. She was already one extremely large glass of wine down. Adding a shot to the mix would be dangerous.

“Come on!” Shelby said, pouting. She bounced up and down, her expression and tiny frame making her look like a petulant pixie. “We have tequila!”

Keira recalled how the three of them had always had tequila shots back at college parties, almost ritualistically on a night out, and just how much fun it had been.

“For old times’ sake?” Maxine said, nudging her.

Maybe one wouldn’t hurt, Keira thought.

“Okay, okay,” she said finally, giving in to peer pressure for the umpteenth time that night.

Taking Keira by the shoulders, Shelby steered her over to the kitchen counter, Maxine following behind like a conga line. David was there talking to a group of his male friends, Rob included.

“Babe, we’re doing tequila,” Shelby slurred, reaching an arm around his shoulders and planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek. Her engagement ring sparkled under the bright lights.

David gave her one of his adoring looks and Keira looked away, feeling a pang of jealousy deep in the pit of her stomach. As she averted her gaze, she inadvertently looked straight into Rob’s. He seemed to have a matching expression to her own, like he was holding back envy. She wondered whether he was currently riding the wave of a breakup like she was.

“Of course, my darling,” David told Shelby, kissing her nose.

She unslung her arms from around his neck, and he went over to the cupboards, collecting the things they’d need – tequila bottle, salt, and shot glasses.

“Rob, can you get the limes?” Shelby instructed, pointing at the fridge his back was against.

Keira watched him fish a bag of limes out from inside the refrigerator. He came over to the counter and placed them down.

“I’ll have one of those, too,” he said, nodding to the row of shot glasses David was lining up.

“HELL YEAH!” Shelby cried.