During the baby shower, Rian and I decide to show Savannah and Xiu around the mansion. They both stare up in awe at how luxurious and almost ostentatious it is. Savannah holds up her phone, occasionally taking pictures.

"It's a house, not a museum." I tease.

"A house? This isn't just a house, Alex!" Savannah exclaims.

"It's just a house to her now because she's been here a lot." Xiu replies.

"Exactly."

We all walk through one of the hallways, and Brendan accidentally bumps into Rian.

"Shit! Sorry little bro." Brendan says apologetically.

"It's fine, Brendan." Rian says quickly.

"Well, Alex never told me that she has such gorgeous friends." Brendan says, looking more at Savannah than he is looking at Xiu.

Part of me groans, because I've almost totally forgotten that Brendan claims girls are stuck to him like a magnet. He definitely is the type who seems to play girls, not only from what Vanessa has said, but from my judgement and Rian's.

I look over at Xiu, who has furrowed brows, looking more than confused as to who Brendan is referring to. Savannah's cheeks are pink, and she tucks her hair behind her ear before twirling it around her finger.

"I'm Brendan, Rian's older brother. What's your name?" He asks politely, looking at Xiu.

"Xiu." She says, and they shake hands.

"Nice name, but I think I'll call you X."

"I get that nickname a lot now." Xiu chuckles, and I furrow my eyebrows.

"Since when did people call you X?" I ask.

"Levi started it, and now everyone just calls me that." Xiu explains, and I smirk.

"What about you?" Brendan says, looking directly into Savannah's eyes.

"I'm Savannah." She says bashfully.

Brendan shakes her hand for a little too long, and I can feel the sexual tension rising. Rian clears his throat, and the two let go of each other.

"We were just showing them around since they've never been here before." I explain, and Brendan nods.

"Well, how are you liking it so far, ladies?" Brendan says in a somewhat charming voice.

"It's amazing! I wish I grew up in a place like this."

"Well, I'll continue the tour with you later on if you want." Brendan says flirtatiously, and Savannah nervously giggles.

Hell no. He's getting way too friendly with her.

"If you could excuse us, I'm going to talk to Brendan. It'll be quick." I blurt out, and everyone looks confused except for Rian.

They all walk into another room, and I grab Brendan's arm roughly, and I drag him further down the hallway. I resist the urge to slap him as he has that idiotic look on his face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I whisper yell, and his eyes widen.

"What?! I can't talk to your friends?" He defensively asks, and I roll my eyes.

"You weren't talking to them, you're flirting. It's pretty obvious, too. Don't even try denying it, Brendan."

"Okay, fine. I think Savannah's really hot." He admits, not even sounding ashamed.

"Excuse me! One, that is my best friend, and two, you're like nine or ten years older than her!"

"So? Rian's six years older than you. My parents were eleven years apart."

I open my mouth to say something back, but he does have a point. I'm kind of being hypocritical.

"Well, still. I know that you're no good for Savannah. Yes, she might not make the best decisions, but she's smart enough to know that you're not the one for her."

"Are you sure? Because she practically melted when we shook hands." Brendan retorts, and that arrogant look on his face irritates me.

He's still a conceited asshole.

Yes, we've made up, but I still need to keep my guards up.

I step on his foot, and I don't have to do it that hard because my heels are pointy enough to cause pain even if I did it on accident. Brendan yelps, and his face scrunches up in pain.

"Ow! What the fuck!" He cries out.

"Just because you apologized for treating me like shit doesn't mean that I'm going to allow you to play one of my friends and treat her the same way. Are we clear?" I ask, and my voice is cold.

"Yes!"

Good.

He straightens his posture, and to tease him, I act like I'm going to step on his foot again. Brendan quickly steps away from me, and I chuckle before sashaying away from him. We all unite with the rest of them again, and I can tell that Brendan and Savannah are exchanging a few glances, very similar to the looks that Rian and I would give each other.

No, don't ruin your own baby shower.

I grab Rian's hand, shaking any negativity from my body and we return to the party as if nothing happened.

Soon, people begin to disperse from the mansion, saying goodbye to all of us and giving Rian and I their congratulations. Soon, everyone is cleaning up the mess and helping each other out.

I crouch down to pick something up, but my eyes meet Rian's. He gives me that charming smile, and takes the trash from me before throwing it away and continuing to clean.

"Alex, just go relax. I don't want you to wear yourself out." Rian says.

Ever since I've gotten pregnant, he's worried about me more than he usually does, which is extremely flattering. To know that he's this concerned about me makes me realize how much of a good father he's going to be once Rosie is born.

Now that it's getting closer and closer to the arrival of Rosie, my stomach has been ballooning, and even some of my maternity clothes won't fit anymore. Some hormones are worse than others, and they occasionally flourish at inconvenient times.

Ugh, I'm over this pregnancy and I'm tired of waiting!

I just want these next few weeks to hurry up so we can meet our daughter.

Rian and I have become extremely impatient, and there's times where I wish I could just cut her out of my stomach and have her in my arms at this moment instead of having to wait.

Yes, pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but I'm sick of waiting for this baby. Once we have Rosie, I know it'll be a million times better than just talking to my stomach.

I stand back up, holding onto my stomach as I walk over to Xiu and Savannah. They both have the same grin on their faces, and they both stare down at my stomach.

"Man, I can't wait until she gets here." Xiu squeals, and she claps her hands together.

I almost forgot how excitable she is.

"You cannot wait? I can't wait." I sigh, and her eyes widen.

"Yeah, I guess I forgot who's the one who has to carry the baby." Xiu replies.

Everyone seems to forget who's tired of waiting.

The only person who hasn't said anything like that is Emmanuelle, because she's had kids and knows what it's like to carry a child and experience a huge physiologic change.

"Yeah, idiot. What're you thinking?" Savannah asks, nudging Xiu in her side.

"Hey, college has really fried my brain!" Xiu defensively exclaims, and I laugh.

"It's okay, Xiu. It's just really nice to see you." I say, and she smiles.

"We need to catch up! It's been forever since the three of us have just talked." Savannah exclaims, and we all nod.

"So true! I say we just head to Vannah's new apartment and just chill." Xiu suggests.

"Yes! I've been so busy planning for this wedding and preparing for Rosie's arrival, and I've been so stressed and exhausted. I just want to relax and hang out with my girls." I say, and they both hug me.

"Aww, she missed us!" Savannah exclaims, and I laugh.

"I've missed my two idiots."

"Hey!" Xiu gasps, playfully hitting my shoulder.

"Well, we all know that I'm the dumbest one." Savannah says, and the sardonicism is obvious in her voice.

"We're all idiots, okay?" I say through a laugh, and they nod.

"Yeah, sure." Xiu says, rolling her eyes.

Besides Rian, my best friends always know how to make me smile. Our camaraderie is something special, and it plays an important role in my life.

The three of us all lock arms, and we all smile at each other before beginning to strut out of the mansion.

~~~

Savannah opens the door to her new apartment, and it's still kind of bare. Nothing hangs on the walls, and there's no pizzazz that makes her apartment distinctive and one of a kind.

There's a plain couch in the center of her living room, and a TV is mounted on the wall. There's a small coffee table with a few tabloid magazines on it. The window nearby has the blinds open, and the brightness nearly blinds me.

"Not bad." Xiu says, and Savannah shrugs.

"It'll come together sooner or later, I still need a lot before this place is complete." She says.

We all sit down on the couch, and I groan as I begin to lower myself while holding onto my stomach. Relief washes over me when I'm finally sitting, and it feels like every muscle in my body is at ease when I'm not standing. Yet another unwanted feature of this pregnancy.

Rian didn't even have to take me to the hospital, he just examined me on his own. Sciatica is what has been making my legs hurt so much, and that's why I cannot wait to sit down even if I haven't been standing up for too long.

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but so unpleasant at the same time. Once Rosie is born, I'll be more than glad to get rid of all of these symptoms. Everything is so overwhelming, and it's a huge pain in the ass at times.

I sigh, rubbing my stomach as all of the tension from my muscles are released. The couch feels like memory foam as my body sinks into it, and I moan out of satisfaction.

"Damn, this couch is comfortable."

"I know right? I got it for cheap, too!" Savannah exclaims.

She turns on the TV, quickly browsing through the channels before finally finding a movie that the three of us have seen so many times. A gasp comes from my throat when I notice a faint bruise on the side of Xiu's face.

What the hell happened to her?

"Xiu, where'd you get that bruise from?" I curiously ask, and she furrows her eyebrows.

"What bruise?" She asks, trying to sound nonchalant, and I'd believe her if her body didn't tense up.

"On your cheek."

Xiu takes out her phone, and she begins to exam herself on the front camera. Her cheeks redden, and I grow even more worried.

"Damn it," Xiu mutters. "I guess I didn't put enough makeup on."

Savannah pinches her lips together, and just when she's about to say something, she stops herself and just continues to gawk at the bruise. I'm glad that Savannah didn't blurt out anything that she would regret, because she has no filter.

"Dude, what happened?" Savannah asks.

"I fell down some stairs." Xiu replies too quickly, and I'm already suspicious.

Xiu's extremely smart, but she's an awful liar.

Her entire body is tense, and her arms are crossed so that we can't see them shake. Xiu's cheeks are transforming from a rosy pink to a cherry red, and she constantly bites her lip. With her upbringing, she's never really had any reason to lie to her parents, which is why she's so terrible at it.

"Okay, we all know that you can't lie for shit. So just tell us what really happened." Savannah remarks.

"I hate thinking about it! That's why I can't tell you guys." Xiu shouts, causing me to jump.

Xiu rarely shouts, but when she does, we know that it's serious.

As one of her best friends, I'll be picking up on clues until I know what's really bothering her.

"Look, we're your best friends! If you tell us, I'm sure we can help." Savannah implores.

"Is it something with your parents or something?" I ask, and she shakes her head.

"It happened in New York. You guys wouldn't be able to help me anyways, it's just too complicated." Xiu sighs, and she clutches onto a pillow.

Savannah and I look at each other, and we both have raised eyebrows, and we communicate through our eye contact and mouth words to each other as Xiu focuses on what we're watching.

"What's wrong with Xiu?" I mouth, and Savannah shrugs.

"I don't know!" She mouths back, and I sigh.

"It must be pretty bad if she can't even tell her two best friends." I mouth, and she furrows her eyebrows before nodding.

"Okay, we're sorry. It's just been so long since we've seen you and we just want to know how you've been." I apologize, out loud, and Savannah nods.

"I've been doing great. NYU is a really great school, and I'm glad that I chose to go there." Xiu says quietly, and a smile begins to creep on her face.

"Any cute boys there that you could hook me up with?" Savannah playfully asks, and Xiu rolls her eyes before giggling.

"Plenty, but you should be focused on other things besides a guy." Xiu replies.

"Sorry! I can't help that I'm getting lonely! Alex is about to get married and have a baby, and you might've already shacked up with that Levi dude." Savannah exclaims, and Xiu's cheeks redden again.

"Levi and I aren't in a relationship. We're friends, and that's all."

I bite back a laugh, but it doesn't work, so I just cover my mouth. Savannah's jaw drops and her eyes widen as she begins to realize something.

"Friends with benefits?" Savannah asks, and Xiu gasps at the thought.

"No! We really are just friends, Vannah. Gosh, you're such a perv."

"Hey, being a perv is my job!" Savannah chuckles, and Xiu shakes her head at her somewhat nonsensical answer.

I love my crazy friends.

"So you guys are in the friend zone?" I ask, and Xiu groans.

"Do you guys not know the definition of the word friend? I'm being serious when I say that, and it's kind of annoying that a guy and a girl can't be just friends without people thinking that they're together or something." Xiu rambles.

"Oh come on, Xiu. He's a total stud muffin, why wouldn't you want to claim him as yours?" Savannah asks, and Xiu stays silent.

"Wait, you know what he looks like?" I ask, and Savannah nods with a naughty grin on her face.

"Show her the picture."

"Vannah and I were texting because you were extremely busy because you told me that you and Rian were decorating Rosie's room, and then you had some wedding planning to do and then—" Xiu rambles.

"Show her the picture." Savannah reiterates.

Xiu takes her phone out of her back pocket, and my eyes widen when I see the picture.

Not going to lie, he's not bad looking.

Levi is only a couple of inches taller than Xiu, and he wears the typical bad boy clothes. He wears a red plaid shirt, and the top buttons are open to expose his chest. His jeans are distressed, and he wears a pair of black and white sneakers. I notice in his left hand, he holds a cigarette, and the smoke is coming from it.

Levi has light brown hair, and the same complexion that I do. His eyes are hazel, and he has a wide smile spread across his face in the photo.

"Okay, I see why Savannah asked if you guys are friends with benefits. I don't see how you haven't hooked up with him." I reply, and Savannah smiles.

"Thank you! He's like, drop dead gorgeous, isn't he?"

"Not more gorgeous than Rian, but I will admit that he is handsome." I say.

"Look, I'm preserving my virginity. I want to make sure that my first time is with the right person, not some bad boy who has a bunch of idiots for friends." Xiu explains, but Savannah and I begin to guffaw.

"Preserve? What, are you keeping your virginity in some plastic Dixie cup or Petri dish in a lab?" Savannah asks, and she snorts.

"Yeah, she's gonna look through a microscope and check on it every few hours!" I exclaim, and more laughter comes from the both of us.

Xiu looks embarrassed, and she stares into her lap, trying to fight her smirk.

"You know what I mean." She says, and begins to quietly laugh.

Once our hysterics begin to die down, Savannah and I both wipe tears from our eyes and sigh. God, that was a good laugh.

"You crack me up, Xiu." I say, and she smiles.

"I'm glad that you find my virginity funny." Xiu says sarcastically, and I sigh.

"Look, we get it. I wish I would've saved my virginity instead of sleeping with Austin so willingly. Rian should've been my first time, and I think it's smart that you're doing this." I reassuringly say, and she nods.

"I'll take what I can get at this point, shit. It's a cold dusty cellar down there." Savannah says.

The three of us all burst out into uncontrollable laughter, and our heads thrown back and soon I'm wheezing. We're all laughing like maniacs, and tears form in my eyes again. My cheeks are numb, and my stomach begins to hurt, and Rosie kicks again.

I stop laughing momentarily so that I can enjoy the sensation of Rosie kicking me. The kicks reassure me that she's there, and the feeling reminds me that soon she'll be in my arms.

"Aww, did she kick again?" Xiu asks, and I nod.

"I really can't wait until she arrives. You guys will definitely be her honorary aunts." I say, and they both smile.

"Aww!" Savannah squeaks, and I chuckle.

"Just don't cuss in front of her or make her think that you're a bad influence." I say.

"Why would she think that we're bad influences?" Savannah asks.

We all give each other that look, and laugh again. It feels so good to just sit with my best friends and just gossip and laugh like before and know that we didn't drift apart while Xiu was in New York.

Everything's still the same, and I don't have a problem with that.