The 25 Pack, page 7
“I know. Thank God I couldn’t resist you.” Cecelia laughed, but Hannah knew this wasn’t a joke, especially when she turned to look at her with a serious expression on her face. “Seriously, though, thank you for never giving up on the idea of us. I know I was afraid of this at first, but I don’t know what I would do without this life.”
Hannah waved her hand. “It’s water under the bridge by now.” She smiled as she thought back on their ten years together. “Technically, it’s also a house, a wedding, and soon-to-be five kids under the bridge as well.”
“We’ve made quite the life for ourselves, haven’t we?”
“The best.”
Arms draped over Cecelia and Hannah’s shoulders and when Hannah turned to see who it was, she found Maggie standing between them. “What are you waiting for?” Maggie asked. “It’s time to go have some fun.”
Maggie Cahill. Speaking of things that had changed in the past ten years. Not only had Maggie married someone who was practically family to Hannah, but she had also completely changed careers. The biggest surprise though was probably that Maggie actually liked Hannah now and was practically besties with Cecelia.
Hannah smiled over at Cecelia as Maggie walked away. “You heard the woman. Ready to go have some fun?”
“Sweetie, it doesn’t matter whether we spend the night the way we did ten years ago or spend it playing arcade games with our kids. Everything with you is fun.”
Chapter 16
Maggie Cahill
“Alright. It’s time to get food,” Maggie told Gavin, Amaya, and Stacey.
“Aw, come on, Mama. One more race,” Gavin whined, sounding more like a child than a tenth grader.
“Yeah, Mama. One more race,” Stacey said from where she sat beside him with Amaya in her lap.
“Seriously?” At this point, Maggie had lost count of how many times Stacey and Gavin had played the racing game so far, but it was far more than necessary.
Stacey playfully poked her in the side and flashed her the smile she had to know Maggie couldn’t resist. “Yes, seriously. We’re tied. We just need one more race to figure out who the champion is. I need to show our son that females will always be the superior gender.”
Maggie rolled her eyes at her wife. “Fine. You better win though.”
“Kiss for good luck?”
Maggie leaned down and gave Stacey a kiss on the cheek.
Stacey immediately turned to smirk at Gavin. “Now I’m definitely going to win.”
Instead of looking at her, Gavin stared straight ahead at the screen in front of him. “Time to put your money where your mouth is.”
Maggie watched as the two started their race, and Amaya acted like she was the one controlling the car on the screen instead of Stacey. She was pretty sure she actually believed she was even though she couldn’t reach the steering wheel or the gas. Maggie tapped her foot impatiently when she realized Gavin and Stacey must have picked the longest track to race on, and she was pretty sure they probably did that on purpose.
Once they were down to one lap to go though, she actually got into it, mostly because she wanted Stacey to kick Gavin’s butt. She loved her son, but he was too cocky for his own good. He needed to be knocked down a few pegs. The race was close, but Stacey was luckily a little bit ahead of him. Gavin stuck out his tongue as he focused, and it made Maggie laugh because it was the same thing Stacey did whenever she focused really hard.
“Yes!” She pumped her fist in the air as Stacey crossed the finish line right in front of Gavin.
As soon as she did, Gavin glared over at her. “You’re not supposed to root against me.”
Maggie shrugged and put a hand on Stacey’s shoulder. “Sorry, bud. Us women need to stick together.”
“I can’t believe you tricked me into coming and now you’re ganging up on me too.”
“Tricked you, huh?” Maggie asked with a smirk since Gavin had yet to admit that he had only come so he could flirt with Paige. “How did we trick you?”
When Stacey started to laugh, Gavin crossed his arms over his chest. “You didn’t tell me that Paige had a girlfriend.”
“Hm.” Stacey lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t think we had to since you told us you wanted to come to have family time.”
“And you believed me?”
“Nope.” Stacey popped the P and it made Maggie laugh with her. “But that’s what you get for lying.”
“Whatever. Jokes on you though since I’m actually having fun.”
“Jokes actually on you, because we knew you would,” Stacey argued back.
Maggie laughed because it honestly felt like she had four kids. Hell, sometimes she was convinced Troy was more of an adult than Stacey. She loved her though. God, did she love her. She pointed toward the dining area. “Let’s go, children.”
They made their way over to the room that had been reserved for their group, another benefit of Stacey’s social media clout, and stopped along the way to get plates of food from the buffet.
Maggie looked at her plate as she sat down next to her sister. “No wonder you fell for Ryann after she brought you here. This food looks banging.”
“After she brought me here?” Kiera asked with a laugh. “Did you miss all of the pining from the time I was like five?”
“Whatever. You know what I mean.” Maggie leaned over and stole a loaded tater tot off Kiera’s place. “I’m just saying, this is a genius first date and I give my bestie props.”
Ryann did a half bow in her seat. “Thank you. Thank you.”
Maggie’s heart warmed as she looked around the room at her group of friends. “I can’t believe tomorrow is 2023.”
“I can’t believe we actually found a time to finally get together,” Kiera added. “It’s been forever since we’ve had the whole crew in one place.”
“We were all together for your wedding a few months ago,” Maggie pointed out.
“True, but I was so busy getting married that I really didn’t have the chance to appreciate the whole group being together. This is the first time in forever that we all just get to really hang out.”
Ryann slipped an arm around Kiera. “Well, if we’re all chiming in about things that are mind-blowing, I’d like to add the fact that it’s been exactly ten years since this ragtag bunch first came together.”
All three of them looked around the room at their friends. What started out as a group of six, ten years ago, was now much bigger as significant others and children had been added to the mix. With each new addition, the love between them only grew stronger. They weren’t just friends anymore—they were family.
“What are we talking about?” Stacey asked as she put Amaya into her high chair and took a seat next to Maggie.
“Just how crazy all of this is.” Maggie motioned around the room. “Ten years ago, we were just a group of single gals out for a night of fun. Now look at us.”
“Cheers to that!” Hannah said from across the table, holding up a glass of water instead of her usual alcohol.
Maggie held up her drink as well. “To the Six Pack.”
At the other end of the table, Amelia grabbed her beer. “I’d say we’re not much of a six pack anymore.”
“What are we now?” Sarah’s eyes moved around the room as if she was trying to count, but she focused on Cecelia instead. “You’re the math whiz. Tell us what we are now.”
Cecelia moved her mouth as she counted in her head. “With the three babies on the way, we’re at twenty-five.”
“Damnit.” Hannah snapped her fingers. “We really blew it with the twins. Twenty-Four Pack would sound so much better.”
Cecelia nudged Hannah playfully but looked at her with so much love no one could ever doubt how she felt. “I think Twenty-Five Pack is perfect.”
“Here, here!” Maggie held her drink even higher. “To the Twenty-Five Pack.”
“To the Twenty-Five Pack,” everyone repeated.
And what a perfectly imperfect pack it was.
The End
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Lee, Erica, The 25 Pack
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Hannah waved her hand. “It’s water under the bridge by now.” She smiled as she thought back on their ten years together. “Technically, it’s also a house, a wedding, and soon-to-be five kids under the bridge as well.”
“We’ve made quite the life for ourselves, haven’t we?”
“The best.”
Arms draped over Cecelia and Hannah’s shoulders and when Hannah turned to see who it was, she found Maggie standing between them. “What are you waiting for?” Maggie asked. “It’s time to go have some fun.”
Maggie Cahill. Speaking of things that had changed in the past ten years. Not only had Maggie married someone who was practically family to Hannah, but she had also completely changed careers. The biggest surprise though was probably that Maggie actually liked Hannah now and was practically besties with Cecelia.
Hannah smiled over at Cecelia as Maggie walked away. “You heard the woman. Ready to go have some fun?”
“Sweetie, it doesn’t matter whether we spend the night the way we did ten years ago or spend it playing arcade games with our kids. Everything with you is fun.”
Chapter 16
Maggie Cahill
“Alright. It’s time to get food,” Maggie told Gavin, Amaya, and Stacey.
“Aw, come on, Mama. One more race,” Gavin whined, sounding more like a child than a tenth grader.
“Yeah, Mama. One more race,” Stacey said from where she sat beside him with Amaya in her lap.
“Seriously?” At this point, Maggie had lost count of how many times Stacey and Gavin had played the racing game so far, but it was far more than necessary.
Stacey playfully poked her in the side and flashed her the smile she had to know Maggie couldn’t resist. “Yes, seriously. We’re tied. We just need one more race to figure out who the champion is. I need to show our son that females will always be the superior gender.”
Maggie rolled her eyes at her wife. “Fine. You better win though.”
“Kiss for good luck?”
Maggie leaned down and gave Stacey a kiss on the cheek.
Stacey immediately turned to smirk at Gavin. “Now I’m definitely going to win.”
Instead of looking at her, Gavin stared straight ahead at the screen in front of him. “Time to put your money where your mouth is.”
Maggie watched as the two started their race, and Amaya acted like she was the one controlling the car on the screen instead of Stacey. She was pretty sure she actually believed she was even though she couldn’t reach the steering wheel or the gas. Maggie tapped her foot impatiently when she realized Gavin and Stacey must have picked the longest track to race on, and she was pretty sure they probably did that on purpose.
Once they were down to one lap to go though, she actually got into it, mostly because she wanted Stacey to kick Gavin’s butt. She loved her son, but he was too cocky for his own good. He needed to be knocked down a few pegs. The race was close, but Stacey was luckily a little bit ahead of him. Gavin stuck out his tongue as he focused, and it made Maggie laugh because it was the same thing Stacey did whenever she focused really hard.
“Yes!” She pumped her fist in the air as Stacey crossed the finish line right in front of Gavin.
As soon as she did, Gavin glared over at her. “You’re not supposed to root against me.”
Maggie shrugged and put a hand on Stacey’s shoulder. “Sorry, bud. Us women need to stick together.”
“I can’t believe you tricked me into coming and now you’re ganging up on me too.”
“Tricked you, huh?” Maggie asked with a smirk since Gavin had yet to admit that he had only come so he could flirt with Paige. “How did we trick you?”
When Stacey started to laugh, Gavin crossed his arms over his chest. “You didn’t tell me that Paige had a girlfriend.”
“Hm.” Stacey lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t think we had to since you told us you wanted to come to have family time.”
“And you believed me?”
“Nope.” Stacey popped the P and it made Maggie laugh with her. “But that’s what you get for lying.”
“Whatever. Jokes on you though since I’m actually having fun.”
“Jokes actually on you, because we knew you would,” Stacey argued back.
Maggie laughed because it honestly felt like she had four kids. Hell, sometimes she was convinced Troy was more of an adult than Stacey. She loved her though. God, did she love her. She pointed toward the dining area. “Let’s go, children.”
They made their way over to the room that had been reserved for their group, another benefit of Stacey’s social media clout, and stopped along the way to get plates of food from the buffet.
Maggie looked at her plate as she sat down next to her sister. “No wonder you fell for Ryann after she brought you here. This food looks banging.”
“After she brought me here?” Kiera asked with a laugh. “Did you miss all of the pining from the time I was like five?”
“Whatever. You know what I mean.” Maggie leaned over and stole a loaded tater tot off Kiera’s place. “I’m just saying, this is a genius first date and I give my bestie props.”
Ryann did a half bow in her seat. “Thank you. Thank you.”
Maggie’s heart warmed as she looked around the room at her group of friends. “I can’t believe tomorrow is 2023.”
“I can’t believe we actually found a time to finally get together,” Kiera added. “It’s been forever since we’ve had the whole crew in one place.”
“We were all together for your wedding a few months ago,” Maggie pointed out.
“True, but I was so busy getting married that I really didn’t have the chance to appreciate the whole group being together. This is the first time in forever that we all just get to really hang out.”
Ryann slipped an arm around Kiera. “Well, if we’re all chiming in about things that are mind-blowing, I’d like to add the fact that it’s been exactly ten years since this ragtag bunch first came together.”
All three of them looked around the room at their friends. What started out as a group of six, ten years ago, was now much bigger as significant others and children had been added to the mix. With each new addition, the love between them only grew stronger. They weren’t just friends anymore—they were family.
“What are we talking about?” Stacey asked as she put Amaya into her high chair and took a seat next to Maggie.
“Just how crazy all of this is.” Maggie motioned around the room. “Ten years ago, we were just a group of single gals out for a night of fun. Now look at us.”
“Cheers to that!” Hannah said from across the table, holding up a glass of water instead of her usual alcohol.
Maggie held up her drink as well. “To the Six Pack.”
At the other end of the table, Amelia grabbed her beer. “I’d say we’re not much of a six pack anymore.”
“What are we now?” Sarah’s eyes moved around the room as if she was trying to count, but she focused on Cecelia instead. “You’re the math whiz. Tell us what we are now.”
Cecelia moved her mouth as she counted in her head. “With the three babies on the way, we’re at twenty-five.”
“Damnit.” Hannah snapped her fingers. “We really blew it with the twins. Twenty-Four Pack would sound so much better.”
Cecelia nudged Hannah playfully but looked at her with so much love no one could ever doubt how she felt. “I think Twenty-Five Pack is perfect.”
“Here, here!” Maggie held her drink even higher. “To the Twenty-Five Pack.”
“To the Twenty-Five Pack,” everyone repeated.
And what a perfectly imperfect pack it was.
The End
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Lee, Erica, The 25 Pack
