Soul Sisters

I wanted to hear about Erin's night. I wanted to tell the girls all the stuff that happened but when Roger started talking about his party and the hassle with parking that morning and the idiots on the highway driving too slow, I listened.

"That piece of crap truck can't go over sixty," Roger said. "My M3 idles that fast. I never thought we were going to get back."

"Do you think you could help me find a new car, Roger?" I asked. "I'm not good at price haggling."

Roger was about to charge forward trying to get acknowledgement then stopped.

"Yeah, no problem," Roger said. When he finished chewing he took a drink and looked right at me and said, "You're a damn good cook, Jan."

Before I could thank him, Roger started grinning. "You're a fucking freak too," he said.

The girls started laughing and though Roger was a jerk, he wasn't an evil person. Once we all acknowledged the order, he was ready to cede the floor to me. That's what guys needed. However long the battle took, the hierarchy needed to be established and acknowledged each time. As soon as it was settled, everyone moved on.

"Sorry," I said. "I got a little out of control. You had to slap the fire out of me like in those old movies."

Roger glanced over at Erin while he sucked down the rest of his beer.

"We were doing fine until Erin stuck her nose into it," Roger said. "Standing over me with her hands on her hips acting like a badass...Here I was doing the right thing...and after I hooked you up with that gig."

"I still haven't counted all the money yet," Erin said. "The groomsmen kept inviting me to the wedding. Should I go, Roger?"

"Fuck no," Roger said then leaned back in his chair. "Every one of those bastards will be divorced...You know I'm just fucking with you about standing over me."

He laughed and we all laughed.

I took Roger's empty and pulled a fresh one out

of the refrigerator. As I set it down, Roger grabbed me around the waist and said, "No offense, Erin, you're a hot babe and all, but I've kind of got a soft spot for Jan."

Roger was an idiot. He made a big production of kissing me on the lips to show that he wasn't afraid to be intimate with me.

After lunch Roger and Lori took off for the wedding. We drove up to Phoenix to clean out Lori's apartment. Erin went through every detail of the bachelor party and we stopped at a dozen different ATMs to deposit the money to make it seem like a lot more. After she deposited the last of it, she stopped and the opened door of the truck and pointed her ass at me.

"I paid off three of our credit cards with that dynamite ass," she said. "I did it all on my own."

"I wish I could have seen it," I said.

On our way back to the apartment, I asked, "Is your accounting project so big Lori's moving down to Tucson for a while to work on it full time?"

Erin shook her head. "Lori's moving down because she's finally going to start dating Dane," Erin said.

Chapter 22

It took six months, but we finally got settled. Lori and Erin share responsibility for growing the Tucson office and I work for Professor Lito. Though I don't see him as much, I get along with Roger now. He keeps a picture of Lori and me kissing after finishing a triathlon and brags about fucking twins. Then he freely admits I have a cock and he loved banging me. You never get over your first. When he hugs me, I still get that feeling and usually end up making him food.

When Dane and Lori got married, we all moved into Dane's fantastic home. Erin and I are in the downstairs master, and Dane and Lori have the one upstairs.

People always want to know about the sex.

I kiss everyone on the lips and everyone else does too. Erin and I aren't on the pill but we don't use condoms. The element of danger, the crazy ways to try to avoid pregnancy, the recklessness of playing through Erin's periods add spice to our great lovemaking. And we can't wait until we 'mess up.' We've got our debt paid down and are ready for children. Even when we have kids, we'll still have our date nights on Saturday.

We each have three rings on our left ring finger. Dane has three bands, the rest of us an engagement ring and two bands.

Sometimes Erin and Lori sleep together in their bedroom. Sometimes Dane takes me to the other bedroom. Though Lori and I love each other and we'll get carried away shaving, we're girlfriends. Erin's bond with Dane runs as deep. Erin brought all of us together and the two of them persisted when it looked hopeless. Erin loves to climb into Dane's lap and be held. She needs that time, just to touch base and make sure their relationship is still strong and growing.

On the weekends, all the boys come over to the house. I cook. Erin is eye-candy and Lori the hostess. Dane sits in his chair laughing and directing the fun. After the main crowd heads home and a few of the guys are watching sports on the big screen, Lori, Erin and me sit out around the pool with our chairs in a triangle, Lori's feet in my lap. Mine in Erin's and Erin's in Lori's.

You know what happens next. We are soul sisters after all.