Chapter 194: Girls’ Night In: Hannah
Lori and Lauren arrived in usual fabulous fashion. They always managed to look so prim and proper, their designer outfits suitable for a business meeting or a conservative night on the town.
One day, I hoped to be as fashionable and adorable as my baby sister. Was that weird to think? I didn’t care. I couldn’t look at her and not be happy and playfully jealous of her impeccable style. Somehow, that side of life had always escaped me. I never put much thought into shopping or what I wore, but Lori always seemed to have it down to an actual science.
"Greetings, greetings!" Lori cheered as she walked into the room. "Welcome one, welcome all," she continued, waving her hand in a cupped motion as though she were the Queen of England. Kristen and I cracked up at her little gesture and welcomed them into the family room.
We all piled in, but my eyes fell on Lauren who was shuffling uncomfortably.
"As much as I love Prada, this just isn’t comfortable for movie watching and the like. Hannah, can I borrow some clothes?"
Before I could open my mouth and say of course she could, Kristen chimed in. "Before we get cozy, why don’t we go out to dinner?"
"Out? Why not order in or cook something? Isn’t this supposed to be a girls’ night in?" I asked her, looking at her with growing curiosity.
"Yes, but I think it’d be fun to go out all together, don’t you? We’ll come back and watch movies and have snacks," Kristen stated.
"I don’t know, Kristen," I muttered, not getting the greatest of feelings from the idea.
"Aren’t you trying to transition back out into the world? What’s a better way than to go out with loved ones and enjoy a good meal? We can take as many guards as you want," she fired back.
"You’ve got me there," I muttered. I looked over to Lori and Lauren. "What do you guys think?"
"Sure," Lori nodded.
"I’m in. I’m starving," Lauren chimed in.
"That’s that. Now, go get changed," Kristen beamed before hurrying off on her own.
I looked between the other two, who could only shrug at me before I relented and went on to change myself.
I decided on a black turtleneck dress with floral tights and ankle boots. I fixed my hair in the mirror and put on some accessories before heading back downstairs. I typed a message to Roman, letting him know that we were going out to dinner and that I would let him know where we were going once I did.
By the time I joined the others, they were all ready by the door. "What are we feeling for dinner?" I asked.
"How about that Japanese place downtown?" Kristen suggested. "I could go for some sushi."
"Do they have hibachi?" Lori asked.
"Of course they do," Kristen chuckled.
"I’m in," Lori nodded.
"Sounds good to me," I added in.
We gathered six of the guards and headed out to the largest SUV, which happened to be Lauren’s. After piling in, we were on our way to downtown.
I took in a deep breath and told myself it was all going to be okay. We were safe, we were in familiar territory, and we were together. That was all that mattered. No force against us could get to me. It was going to be a fun, easy evening.
Once we got to the restaurant, I shot Roman a text letting him know the name of the place. He sent back a heart along with a sweet message, telling me to have a good time. It felt wrong eating without him, but some girl time was definitely needed. It was a great way to try and transition into things being normal again.
Normal again? Had things ever been normal?
I brushed off the thought. That wasn’t the time or place to think about that. It was the time and place to have fun and cut loose a little bit with the girls.
Well, responsible fun. After all the drinking I did at the gala, I had no intentions of drinking that night. That didn’t mean I couldn’t have fun and forget my troubles, though.
We got seated at a table of our own, the guards off to the side of it.
The inside of the restaurant was like something from a movie. It was sleek, modern, and so tastefully decorated. Lori and Lauren chatted excitedly about the art on display, debating whether things were originals or replicas, and what era each piece was from or modeled after. I found myself rather engulfed in their chatter, even though I knew little of what they were talking about. It was just captivating to hear how passionately they debated and conversed over it.
I was so engulfed that I hadn’t noticed Kristen take the liberty of ordering drinks for us all until a little glass of sake was sat in front of me. She called out a word I didn’t recognize - I guessed it was Japanese - and everyone except me moved in unison to down the shot.
I shyly slid mine to Lauren, who was sat right next to me. She grinned and shot that one back as well.
"Are you not going to drink with us, Hannah?" Kristen asked.
"No, not really in the mood for it. But I’ll still have fun," I assured her.
"Oh come on, now. You have to do a couple shots! Just to loosen up and have fun," Kristen urged.
I chuckled and shook my head. "It’s alright. If I feel like it, I’ll have a little wine when we get back to the house."
"Party pooper," Kristen huffed.
"Don’t be that way, Krissie," Lauren smirked. "Just means more for us. Waitress!"
They all did another round of shots and hollered in laughter. I simply sat back and watched with a grin stretched across my face.
Just because I wasn’t drinking didn’t mean I wasn’t going to have fun. In fact, I dared say that watching them all rapidly get tipsy and borderline drunk was equally as fun.
Before our entrees even arrived, they were all slurring and laughing loudly. Lori and Lauren were talking about whether or not a math equation could be posted to calculate exactly how big your breasts could be before your back started hurting, while Kristen insisted they were asking the wrong question, and that they should be discussing why there hadn’t been a perfect bra made to prevent the back pain.
They bickered, argued, and laughed about it for what seemed forever. I couldn’t do anything but watch and laugh. It was all so ridiculous and perhaps one of the silliest conversations I had ever heard. At one point, I was starting to think that there was more sake in their blood than anything else.
Thankfully, they all seemed to slow down, and Lauren stopped drinking all together, and focused instead on sobering up with water and her food.
Lori wasn’t really willing to let the argument go, but eventually the conversation shifted into something else, a rehashing of embarrassing puberty stories. We all shared a couple, talking about our first menstrual cycles, our first crush on a boy, and other perfectly girly things. Lori and Kristen even dragged our waitress into some of the points of conversation when she simply came by to refill drinks and ask if we needed anything else. Thankfully, the woman was a trooper about it.
Just watching the two of them get plastered made me feel a little drunk. It wasn’t until I got to the bottom of my club soda that I realized I tasted alcohol in it, too.
I glared over at Kristen.
Lauren leaned into me. "She got it for you when you were in the bathroom, but I mixed our drinks together while she wasn’t looking. Shouldn’t be like half a shot in there. Don’t give her a hard time, she just wanted to make sure you’re relaxed and having fun too. You see how drunk she is."
Just like that, my anger fizzled out. I guessed Lauren had a point, but it still didn’t feel right for someone to literally drug me.
The best thing to do, though, was to let it go. She was drunk and clearly not thinking all that clearly. I really shouldn’t hold it against her.
Letting out a sigh, I tried to forget about it and just simply thanked Lauren for mixing our drinks. She, too, had been drinking club soda.
We finished the meal without another incident, and for that, I was grateful. Then, Lori drunkenly called to the waitress for mochi ice cream. As full as I was, that sounded delicious. I had always wanted to try it.
Plates of mango and strawberry mochi were sat in front of each of us. I cut into mine and popped it into my mouth. I glanced over to see Kristen and Lori eating it with their hands. It didn’t seem wrong for the dessert, but it didn’t seem right for the locale, either. Lauren and I shot one another a look and giggled.
It was going to be quite the time to get them back to the house without making any scene or ruining the upholstery of Lauren’s SUV.