"The bitch said what?!" exclaimed Dahlia, smacking her hand on the table so my cranberry margarita and hers spilt slightly.

"I was so confused, she's so sweet in front of Jordan," I sighed, picking up my drink and downing what was left of it, before anymore of Dahlia's outbursts wasted more of my drink.

Dahlia lifted her hand and gestured to the waitress to come over, ordering four tequila slammers when he did. "I'm going to need this," she said. We slammed the drinks on the table, as you should, and downed them. The tequila burnt my throat slightly, but it was good.

"I just want a phase in my life where things are normal, I know it'll never be easy, but fuck, why does it have to be this hard? At this point, I am basically an alcoholic, with the amount of times I have to drown out my sorrows," I explained to Dahlia, who completely understood.

"Well, I want to get pissed and get laid," said Dahlia, getting ready to do the next tequila slammer, and she did the one after than as well. "I think things will settle eventually, it's just going to be a lot of adjusting, and if you have to go to the courts, you have to go to the courts, Jordan will win, probably."

"I don't want him to win on a probably, I want it to be definitely, and I don't want to be the reason he doesn't see his child," I threw my head forwards and rested it on the table.

"You won't be the reason he doesn't see his child, it'll be that witch Cleo," snarled Dahlia.

"Let's forget about this for tonight hey?" I asked, brining my head up from the table. So we did. We forgot, just for tonight, because sometimes problems are better dealt with another day, sometimes all you need is a night to forget, even if in the morning it will all come crashing back and seem a hundred times worse, sometimes the one night where you have no idea of anything going on is worth it.

***

Tabs is about four months pregnant, Cleo is about 6 months, maybe slightly more, both of them have bumps that you can quite clearly see, although Cleo's is much bigger than Tabs', obviously. Today was about Tabs though, for it was her baby shower. Noah and I had organised the whole thing, it was kind of a surprise, although Tabs knew it was happening, however the decorations, who was going, the venue, everything like that was a complete surprise to her.

"Are you guys seriously not going to drink?" Tabs asked me, as we made our way to the car to drive to the venue, which was just a little cute hall that we had decorated.

"If you can't drink, we won't drink," I reassured her.

"You know you don't need to do that..." she answered.

"But we will, because we are the bestest of friends you could ever ask for, right Aves?" Noah said.

"Exactly right Noah," I agreed.

"You two are weird," chuckled Tabs.

We had decorated it all in a pastel theme, blues, pinks, yellows, lilacs. It was all very pretty, and the flower arrangements were beautiful, props to the florist who sorted all of that out! The music was pretty standard, it wasn't a raging party by any means, it was just a nice, chilled, gathering of friends to celebrate the growth of a baby inside my friend's belly. Not weird at all.

"This is so weird," said Dahlia, taking a seat next to me, holding one of the 'virgin cocktails' that were being served at the bar. "The only reason they call this a virgin cocktail and not just orange juice is so they can whack the price up ridiculously high. Look at them, preying on the pregnant people who can't drink, stealing their money. They should be ashamed." I just laughed in response to her.

"I think the boys are on their way," Noah said, looking up from his phone.

He wasn't wrong. Pretty quickly the boys entered through the doors, dressed extremely smartly, all looking very dapper actually.

"That Dylan is sexy, wow," Dahlia whispered in my ear, clearly checking Dylan out.

"You know he bought his girlfriend a dildo and she threw it at him, giving him a black eye?" I whispered back to her, not removing my gaze from my own sexy boyfriend, Jordan.

"His girlfriend was clearly uptight, I would've taken the dildo and told him to use it on me," Dahlia answered, taking another sip of her drink. "This is literally just orange juice what the fuck," she complained.

"Hello ladies," Smoli said, the first of the boys to waltz up to us, followed by Max and Dylan, Jordan, Kyle and Ryan. Oli was already sat with Tabs over with her parents and brother, Edward, and Edward's fiancé, Erin, an old school friend of ours.

"Hey sexy," Dahlia said, giving Smoli an overdramatic wink.

"And who is the gorgeous woman next to you," Smoli asked Dahlia, referring to one of Tabs' work colleagues, who was indeed absolutely stunning, with gorgeous ginger hair, hazel coloured eyes and a perfectly freckled nose.

"Jamie," replied Jamie herself, taking Smoli's hand. I tuned out of their conversation after that.

The boys decided to infiltrate our table, and as there weren't enough seats for them all, because they had completely disregarded the seating chart that Noah had made (believe me, Noah let them know how much they had disregarded it), I was swooped off my feet, Jordan stole my seat, and then pulled me down onto his lap.

"Me sitting on your lap seems to be becoming a common occurrence," I spoke to Jordan, having a conversation of our own, whilst I think the boys were already complaining about the lack of beers, and Dahlia was obviously agreeing.

"I don't think it is common enough," Jordan mumbled into my neck, where he had already nestled his face. "I think you should never sit on a chair again, just my lap, or my face." Okay, now that sent tingles right down to my lady parts.

"I think with a bit of negotiation, for example not when I am working, we can come to an agreement on that one," I said back to him. I got no verbal response, just a tightening of his arms around my waist, and a soft kiss to my neck.

"Aves, want some?" asked Ryan, holding up a hip flask, filled with some kind of liquor I am sure of. I shook my head. At this point Jordan had rested his chin on my neck, and my back was facing his front as I sat on his lap, so that he could talk to the rest of the table.

"Put some in there for her," Dahlia said, nodding over at Ryan.

"Jordan, you are the deciding vote, one point for no alcohol in Aves' drink, one point for alcohol," Ryan asked.

"Hmmmm, go on," he smiled cheekily, kissed my neck and then put his head back into the position it was in before. I sighed, and took the drink like a champ.

***

After the present giving, the food and the speeches, it was time for the dancing. Most of the boys had taken off their blazers, ties, and undone a couple of their top buttons, except Oli, who was still having, what looked to be, very professional conversations with Tabs' parents. Dahlia and I had taken our heels off ages ago, and were currently dancing on the dance floor wearing just our tights on our feet.

Jamie and Smoli were off somewhere together, word from Max is that he last saw them in the garden sucking eachother's faces off. Good for them.

"Baby, dance with me," Jordan pouted, trying to grab my waist and pull me closer to him.

"Is this the big bad boxer, what do they call you... the 'Ravager', looking like a lost puppy?" I teased him.

"Avery Watts, if you want me to ravage you, all you have to do is ask, my car is parked outside," he whispered seductively in my ear. I just giggled, and pushed him away, whilst be laughed at me, pointing at himself and mouthing 'ravager'. He is such a child.

"Later, Jordan Shaw, later, I have some matchmaking to do," and with that I spun on my heel, and walked over to Dahlia, who was dancing with some other girls who were invited, whose names a could list but that would be long, and boring.

After I had grabbed Dahlia and sat her down at one of the tables, and gave her a drink, topped up with some liquor that one of the boys had snuck in with a hip flask, I made my way back over to the boys, who were having some kind of dance off. "Dylan," I whisper shouted, and beckoned him over. The boys looked at me with questioning looks, but I just brushed them off. "What do you think of Dahlia?" I asked him.

"As in Kyle's sister?" he asked, and I nodded. "She's funny, she's fit too... why?" he asked, slightly suspicious of me.

"No reason, just come with me," I grabbed his hand and led him over to where Dahlia was sitting at the table.

"Dahlia, this is Dylan, Dylan this is Dahlia. You both think eachother is funny and fit. My preposition is you make out right now, and live happily ever after," I stated, with a couple of hand gestures thrown in there too.

"Can do the first one right now, second one you might have to wait on for a bit," said Dylan, before he grabbed Dahlia's face and smashed his lips onto hers. Honestly, I didn't think they would immediately start making out, but, I mean, it worked, so, there's that.

"Care to explain?" asked Tabs as I walked past her table, Oli also looked like he wanted an explanation too.

"Just a little bit of matchmaking," I shrugged my shoulders, a cheeky smile playing on my lips. "Hey, come dance, and Oli, they boys are doing a dance off, I think you need to show them how it is done." And with that, we danced, and sung at the top of our lungs, till morning came.

***

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