Chapter Text
Shauna had not kept in touch with most people after high school, though there were a few exceptions.
She’d remained close to Tai, and by extension, she’d remained somewhat aware of what Van was up to. She and Lottie still spoke all the time, and although they weren’t as close as they used to be, she still talked to Jackie a decent amount.
Things had never really been the same between them after she ended up going to Brown.
Outside of that, she hadn’t really bothered with the whole “keep in touch” thing everyone swears they’ll do after they graduate.
Shauna figured it was for the best. She sometimes wondered what some of them were up to, and social media helped with that a bit, but she tended to stay away from that sort of thing.
Then she got the wedding invitation.
Save the Date
July 25th, 2025
That in itself was expected at some point. Tai and Van had been together since high school, and with the two of them now both twenty-three, Shauna figured it was around the right time. She couldn’t imagine getting married at this age, but she was happy for them.
No, the big surprise was the second invitation she got. An all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas for some sort of joint bachelorette trip. A joint bachelorette trip where the only attendees would be the varsity team from their senior year of high school.
Talk about reliving the glory days. Shauna was sure it was Van’s doing, and from what she’d seen of their relationship, it was about time Tai also fed into the happy wife, happy life mindset the way Van did.
The all expenses paid part made Shauna do a double-take, which turned into a triple-take, which turned into a very long phone call with one of the hosts themselves.
“We’re not paying for it,” Tai had explained over the phone. “Van’s business partners are. You know, Nat and–”
“Okay,” Shauna had cut her off. “I know Van’s little t-shirt line is doing well or whatever, but how can they afford this?”
She’d caught the tail end of Tai saying Nat’s name, and that barely even registered. She had no idea Nat was even involved in Van’s clothing brand. Like she said, she barely kept up with Van. It was mainly by association.
“They’re doing well for themselves, Shauna,” Tai sighed. “And they insisted on paying for the entire team. Think of it as a reunion.”
Shauna bit back the urge to say that doing well for themselves seemed like an understatement.
“I thought I still had at least five more years before I had to worry about that,” Shauna sighed, staring out the window of her Brooklyn apartment. “But fine. You know I wouldn’t miss this. For you.”
“Thank god,” Tai seemed relieved. “I love the team, but Van’s always been the rowdier one of us. I wasn’t sure how I’d survive a trip to Vegas without you.”
That’s how Shauna found herself standing outside a random resort in Las Vegas, wheeling her suitcase up to the door where most of the team was already waiting for her. They’d flown in from all over the country to be there, and Shauna was almost shocked that they’d all managed to get their schedules free for this.
“I am so happy to see you!” Tai exclaimed as Shauna approached the group, immediately throwing her arms around Shauna’s shoulders. “Just wait until you see the rooms, Shauna! They are insane.”
“Nat spared no expense, huh?” Shauna marveled at the grand entrance in front of them.
“Well, Nat and–” Van started to say, but was cut off.
“Shipman!” Jackie was suddenly bursting through the group, bounding up to Shauna with a wide smile. “You ever think we’d end up in Vegas?”
Shauna laughed, shaking her head as Jackie happily threw her hand out, emphasizing the fact that they were in Vegas . “Definitely not, Jax!”
“And this place is crazy!” Jackie continued. “God, Tai showed me pics of the rooms and I almost couldn’t believe it. Seems like something Lottie would pay for, not—”
“Hey!” Lottie cut in, having heard Jackie’s comment. “I think this is even above my pay grade…”
Shauna tuned out after that, instead choosing to scan over the rest of the team. She hadn’t seen some of them in years, and it was crazy how little most of them had changed. Shauna’s eyes widened when she noticed Misty was in attendance, animatedly talking to Mari and Crystal about god knows what.
Laura Lee was hanging off Lottie’s arm, and although they never ended up together like Shauna had swore they would, she was glad to see how close they still were.
Akilah, Robin and Britt were off to the side, browsing through pamphlets and no doubt already planning all the things they wanted to do while here.
Shauna noticed a few people missing, and just as she was about to question who was left, a car was pulling up in front of the hotel, Nat bursting out of the passenger side door before it’d even come to a complete stop.
“Vegas, bitches!” She yelled, throwing an arm up as the rest of the team cheered at her arrival. Shauna wasn’t surprised by her grand entrance at all. However, the person popping out of the back seat was cause for an eyebrow raise.
“Nat, we’ve talked about jumping out of moving vehicles!” Gen seemed exasperated, running after Nat who was practically skipping toward the rest of the team.
“Sorry, babe,” Nat frowned, reaching out to grab Gen’s hand before turning back to the team. “And sorry to you guys for the wait, we had a nasty delay during the layover.”
Babe? When the fuck had that happened? Shauna thought she was a bit more in the loop than this, but finding out Nat was dating Gen? She missed more than she’d thought over the years.
“No worries,” Van waved a hand. “This wouldn’t be possible without you guys. We could wait a little bit to check in.”
“Nat and Gen are paying for this?” Shauna chimed in, confusion evident in her tone. “I didn’t know Gen was part of the business?”
Almost everyone turned to her with an incredulous look, and Shauna felt the tips of her ears heat up. It wasn’t that insane to assume Nat’s girlfriend was also part of it, right? That’d explain how they even started dating in the first place.
Plus, she remembered seeing Gen leaving the art room often in high school. She’d never seen the girl actually doing anything artistic, but why else would she constantly be eating lunch in there back then?
She looked around, willing someone to pull her out of her misery. To tell her why they were all looking at her like she was stupid.
“Shauna really does live under a rock,” A voice mumbled off to the side. Shauna whipped her head toward Mari, who quickly looked away.
Mari then began to whistle a dumb tune, pretending she’d never said anything, and Shauna couldn’t help but roll her eyes. What a moron.
“Wait,” Van spoke up, and Shauna looked toward her hopefully, thinking she was finally going to get an answer. “Where is my favorite co-owner?”
Oh for fucks sake–
“Lost a bet in Denver International,” Nat laughed. “She’s grabbing the bags right now.”
Who? Who could Shauna possibly be forgetting right now? It didn’t make sense. Her eyes went over the group again, attempting to account for everyone. Her mind ran through a mental list of every single person she’d ever played soccer with.
That’s when it hit her. Someone was missing. Or more like, something was missing. A stupid, faded, she swears it was probably fused to this girl’s head in high school, yet was somehow still kinda flattering—
“Hat?” Jackie’s head tilted slightly as she looked over at the person standing at the trunk of the vehicle Nat and Gen had just exited.
Shauna’s eyes moved quickly, taking in the girl that was currently lifting suitcases out of the back. The very first thing she noticed was the random tattoos littering her, admittedly, toned arms and legs. Those definitely weren’t there in high school.
The second thing Shauna noticed was how she was lifting the suitcases from the car with ease, like they weighed nothing. Their size begged to differ. Had Gen packed for an entire month?
Then, like a calling card, she saw it. The hat. Not the same one from high school, thank god, but a hat nonetheless. Perched upon her head, bill turned backwards, covering her long blonde hair.
It was, undeniably, Hat. Better known as Melissa. Jackie and Shauna had never been that creative with nicknames.
Melissa removed the last suitcase from the back, closing the trunk and tapping on the window as she did so. As the driver pulled off, she turned to give the group a goofy wave, still lanky as ever despite clearly having added some muscle to those long limbs over the years.
Shauna couldn’t tear her eyes away. This wasn’t the Melissa she remembered. Sweet, kind, extremely awkward but somehow still charming Melissa. The Melissa that once broke her nose on a goalpost because she got distracted by a bird flying overhead. This couldn’t possibly be the same girl who wore oversized hoodies year round, and always seemed to be sporting her brothers hand me down cargo pants, could it?
No, this girl clearly had an air of confidence over her. So clear, even from here, that she carried herself differently now. She looked the same, more or less, yet somehow so different. Her shirt was still baggy, but in a way that was obviously meant for fashion over being the only thing available. Her shorts fit just right, their placement above her knee making Shauna slightly dizzy.
She’d never admitted it out loud back then, but she’d always found Melissa cute. In, like, a golden retriever kinda way. But now she was so very–
“Did Hat get hot?” Jackie’s voice broke through Shauna’s thoughts once more, and she turned to her friend like she’d somehow been reading her mind. Had she… ?
Shauna’s eyes narrowed anyway, the thought of Jackie also finding Melissa hot suddenly extremely upsetting for reasons she didn’t really want to get into at the moment.
“Mel was always hot,” Lottie shrugged from beside them, her eyes roaming Melissa’s figure as the girl approached them with all of the luggage in her arms. If possible, Shauna’s eyes narrowed even more. “What?” Lottie asked, turning to Shauna with a smug look. “Don’t get mad at me for missing out on your chance back then.”
“Did you two…” Shauna couldn’t even begin to fathom it. No, it couldn’t be. Lottie would have told her if she and Mel had done… that . Also, since when did Lottie call her Mel?
Lottie smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Yes. Yes, Shauna would like to know. For no particular reason. Genuine curiosity. And if Lottie didn’t tell her right this second she was going to literally lose her mind. Shauna opened her mouth, ready to say just that, when someone cut her off.
“Hey, guys!” Melissa exclaimed, setting the luggage down near where Shauna was standing as she looked around the group.
Her eyes lingered on Shauna for a second longer than anyone else. At least Shauna thought they did. She couldn’t be sure, not with the way Melissa’s eyes darted away once they made eye contact.
A chorus of greetings rang out, and Melissa smiled widely in response. She was bouncing on her feet, like she had far too much energy to contain. Shauna supposed some things never changed.
“I have the booking on my phone, so if everyone wants to head inside, I can handle getting us checked in,” Melissa was already moving to pull her phone from her pocket.
Shauna took in her arms now that they were closer. She tried to pick out as many tattoos as possible. There weren’t a lot, but they were scattered, and she was trying to not look like she was staring while she was, well, staring.
She caught sight of a shark on her bicep, which seemed fitting. There was a knife of some sort on her forearm, blade running down to her wrist bone. Some random words Shauna couldn’t make out from here.
Before she could catalog anymore, Melissa was moving out of her line of vision, waltzing toward the door as someone started to collect the group's luggage, loading it onto carts.
Only then did Melissa’s words register in her head. Booking? As in she helped pay for this? She was the other owner of Van and Nat’s little clothing brand? Shauna really had let a lot slip through the cracks since graduation.
“Are you just gonna stare at Melissa all day or are you gonna join the rest of us?” Lottie’s smug tone was back, and Shauna didn’t like it. She sent a glare for good measure. Lottie’s hands shot up in mock surrender.
She was not staring at Melissa! She just zoned out, in the general direction of Melissa, trying to figure out when the fuck she became part owner of Nat and Van’s brand. And when she’d gotten so… attractive . It was all very confusing for Shauna.
“I wasn’t staring,” Shauna mumbled out, feeling betrayed when even Laura Lee sent her a skeptical look. “Oh my god, let’s just go in!”
She heard Lottie laughing as she walked away and chose to ignore it, following the rest of the team into the lobby. They weren’t teenagers anymore, but it was still a bit rowdy as everyone stood around, waiting for Melissa to collect the roomkeys. The team mentality really never died.
Shauna glanced around the lobby, and upon noticing everyone else distracted by each other, she once again let her eyes drift over to Melissa. The girl was holding a card out, and even from here she could hear it hit the counter as the receptionist placed it down. A metal credit card? Showoff.
Melissa looked as if she was attempting to enthusiastically converse with the receptionist, who seemed to be paying her no mind. After a few more seconds she fizzled out, shoulders slumping though a smile remained on her face, fingers tapping the counter. Shauna eyed the receptionist in distaste. What a rude bitch.
It puzzled Shauna, watching Melissa take care of the reservation now. She was a good kid in high school, no doubt. But she’d never been the most responsible.
Shauna could recall at least three separate occasions where Melissa would forget her shin guards for an away game, and she’d catch the girl shoving random cardboard into her socks in an attempt to make it look like she was wearing a pair.
During Shauna’s free period, which she knew juniors didn’t have, she’d sometimes catch a distinct scent coming from behind the bleachers. A few minutes later, a familiar pink hat would casually stroll out from underneath.
The amount of times Shauna caught Melissa and Gen doing doughnuts in the parking lot after practice, rubber screaming as the two idiots blared some of the worst music she’d ever heard? Too many to count.
And then there was the fire extinguisher incident. Why Melissa thought it had enough power to lift her over the lockers? Shauna would never be sure. All she knew for certain was Melissa ended up sporting a black eye for weeks, and that they continued finding traces of foam hidden in corners of the locker room for the rest of that season.
Needless to say, Shauna was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Wrong number of rooms booked, credit card declining, the fact Melissa actually booked them a luxurious stay in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Something.
So when the receptionist handed over the room keys with a fake smile, something that had Shauna scowling, she also found herself slightly impressed.
Melissa spun around, and Shauna diverted her eyes as quickly as possible, suddenly finding the ugliest statue she’d ever seen rather fascinating.
Melissa returned to the group, and everyone quieted down as she began to announce the room situation to them.
“The honeymoon suite for the brides to be,” Melissa held the room keys out, Van giving her a fist bump as Tai sent her the sweetest of thank yous. “Everyone else is sharing suites. Except Nat and Gen, here’s your room,” She handed over their keys.
“Why do Nat and Gen get their own room?” Mari complained loudly.
“Do you really want to share a common area with us?” Nat raised an eyebrow. “Plus, I’m also paying, so butt out.”
Mari backed down after that, and everyone else was too grateful to be in Vegas for free to complain.
In the end Shauna, Jackie, Lottie, and Laura Lee had one suite. It was two bedrooms, each with two beds, and a common area in between. Robin, Britt, Misty, and Crystal got the same set up. Shauna thought Misty was literally about to drop to her knees and kiss Melissa’s feet as she handed out the cards.
Mari, Akilah, and Melissa ended up with the last suite. Mari attempted to claim the single room, but a shockingly icy stare from Melissa had her exclaiming how excited she was to room with Akilah just like old times.
Shauna had to stifle a laugh as Akilah side-eyed her.
All the suites ended up being side by side, with Tai and Van a floor above them, and Gen and Nat staying a floor below. After discovering Tai and Van had a full bar and a private swimming pool in their room, it was decided all the girls would meet up there in an hour.
“Okay,” Jackie was marching around the common room in their suite, nearly digging a hole in the floor as she paced back and forth in front of the rest of her suitemates. “Just how much money is their little t-shirt business making?”
Shauna nodded in agreement, thankful someone was asking the right questions. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how much this entire weekend was costing them. Their hotel room alone was double the size of her apartment.
“Little?” Lottie laughed. “God, did none of you bother to keep up with them after high school?”
“They might have…slipped under my radar a little,” Jackie grimaced.
“I talk to Tai all the time, she never mentioned they were this successful,” Shauna gestured around the room, trying to emphasize just how insane this all was.
Lottie rolled her eyes, pulling out her phone and typing something into the google search bar. After scrolling for only a few seconds, she clicked on an article. Jackie walked to stand by where Shauna was sitting, and Lottie flipped the phone toward them.
“Why The Wilderness Co. is taking streetwear by storm,” Jackie mumbled out the title of the article.
At the top of the page was a picture of Nat, Van, and Melissa all wearing their own clothing line. They were all posed on a couch, laughing in the photo while sporting shirts Shauna had definitely seen on the streets of New York City. She had no idea that it was theirs .
The article went on to explain how while Melissa was a senior in high school they’d started the company, and by the time she was nineteen they were in nearly every mall in America.
Shauna could vaguely remember Melissa being artistic in high school. Where Shauna had her journal, Melissa had her sketchbook. Looking back, Nat and Van were the same way.
(It also just so happened to click as to why she always saw Gen in the art room. And how two people she’d never seen interact once in high school were now getting a room to themselves a floor below. The hat connected them.)
They’d started out printing shirts in Melissa’s garage, and Van had been the brains of the operation apparently. Shauna continued reading, finding herself smiling at a quote from Melissa in the article.
“ I just wanted to hang out and make shirts with my friends. I didn’t realize people would, like, actually want to wear them, too. ”
Aw. That quote was so Melissa.
“What are you smiling at?” Lottie smirked from over her phone, and Shauna shot her a glare before continuing to read.
From behind her she heard Jackie gasp, and it only took Shauna a few more seconds to figure out why. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she read one of the final sentences.
“They made five million in the first year?” Shauna exclaimed, shooting out of her seat in disbelief. Oh, Tai would never be hearing the end of this! She was marrying a fucking millionaire and didn’t even tell Shauna? The betrayal.
“Mhm,” Lottie hummed, tucking her phone away. “Mel never gets into specifics, but I know they made a lot more than that last year alone. Like, a lot.”
Again with the Mel ?
“I’m sorry,” Shauna sent her a look of disbelief. “You talk to Melissa about this sort of thing? You weren’t even friends in high school!”
“What makes you say that?” Lottie tilted her head slightly, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips.
Shauna felt like she was going crazy. She racked her mind, trying to think of one singular instance where Melissa and Lottie actually interacted off the field, and her mind continued to come up blank.
Even Jackie looked confused, like she wasn’t sure if Lottie was fucking with them or not. But she’d made the comment about Melissa being hot in high school, and now she was bringing up her financial discussions with the girl? Lottie must have let that pink hat hit.
Inconceivable.
Shauna had no rational explanation for the rage overtaking her body. She’d been so consumed by her friendship with Jackie in high school that she’d barely even thought about Melissa back then.
But now, the thought of Lottie Matthews and Melissa…whatever the fuck her last name was? It was enough to have Shauna seething. Not because she was jealous (she wasn’t), but because Lottie never told her (that’s obviously why).
Laura Lee, having picked up on the growing tension, cut in with a soft smile. “It’s been an hour, we should head to the pool!”
Jackie agreed, and Shauna relented. She and Lottie could talk about this later. Right now Shauna really needed a strong drink to distract her.
They were the last ones to arrive at Tai and Van’s room, and most of the girls were already in the pool by the time Shauna had poured herself a drink and made herself comfortable in the shallow end of the water.
There was, notably, one girl missing as Shauna looked around. It wasn’t like Shauna cared, but she was curious where Melissa could possibly be.
They were all supposed to be reconnecting by the pool, it wasn’t fair for Melissa to be skipping out on group bonding time.
“Shipman,” An annoying voice floated up beside her, and Shauna barely spared Mari a glance as the other girl settled in beside her.
Mainly because she didn’t want to even be in the girl’s presence, but also because it was at that moment Melissa finally made her way out onto the pool deck. She was wearing a yellow bikini top, and blue swim trunks with annoyingly yellow bananas plastered all over them.
Shauna noticed a black ink banana tattoo right above her knee and resisted the urge to eyeroll. Of course she’d wear swim trunks that matched her tattoo. Or did she get the tattoo to match her swim trunks? Either way, it was annoying. And Shauna was furious at herself for finding it endearing.
“Man,” Mari spoke wistfully, and Shauna glanced over to see her glossy eyes staring at Melissa. “I really should have tapped that in high school. I would have been set for life!”
“You’re insufferable," Shauna groaned.
“What!” Mari exclaimed with a shrug. “How was I supposed to know Melissa would end up being hot and rich?” Mari tilted her head in contemplation. “I mean, I guess she was always kinda hot…”
Yeah, that seemed to be the general consensus of the weekend.
“Float away Mari,” Shauna grumbled, and Mari opened her mouth like she wanted to rebuttal. “Float!”
“Buzzkill,” Mari mumbled under her breath, though she floated away as requested.
Shauna felt a bit of relief. She pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes, angling her head just right of where Melissa was standing. However, her eyes remained trained on the girl as she stood by the outdoor bar, rummaging through the various mixers and liquors.
Her eyebrows were furrowed as she read over one of the bottles, and she seemed to be talking to herself under her breath as she read the label. Melissa shook her head, placing the bottle down with a huff. Shauna had to bite back a laugh at the reaction.
Melissa’s eyes seemed to light up when she caught sight of something familiar— Jack Daniels. Of course. Shauna shouldn’t be surprised. That girl screamed Jack and Coke. Lo and behold, only a few seconds later Melissa was producing a can of Coke from the mini fridge.
Shauna had to admit her mannerisms still seemed the same. It shouldn’t be surprising, considering she’d seen Van multiple times over the past few years, yet had no idea just how much money was sitting in her bank account. She’d still been the same ‘ole Van.
Shauna had run into her own fair share of pretentious snobs on the West End, all with too much money to blow. They seemed to always carry themselves with the sort of ego that made her want to barf.
But Melissa was different from them. In all honesty, outside of the slight fashion choice changes and the increased amount of ink on her skin, she seemed to be the same loser Shauna went to high school with.
Shauna used the term affectionately.
And it wasn’t even like these slight changes might allude to the fact she had money. Shauna knew far too many shoddy tattoo artists in Wiskayok that would have given Melissa a great discount, and in all honesty the girl kinda dressed like Adam Sandler— though it was working for her.
And sure, she didn’t seem as awkward as she was in high school. Her confidence when she approached the group earlier alone was enough to make Shauna see how she truly grew into herself. But then there was that moment at the front desk, where the receptionist totally blew her off, and Melissa fought the urge to shrink in on herself.
Shauna was still planning on how to verbally spar that woman at some point. No one is rude to the girl paying for her entire weekend and gets away with it.
Shauna continued eying Melissa discreetly as she poured her drink into a glass, pondering these very things, when a voice called out from the far end of the pool.
“Hey, Mel!” Oh, that better not be who she thinks it is. “Can you grab me a drink?”
“Sure, Lot!” Melissa exclaimed happily, nodding with all the enthusiasm of an overeager golden retriever. “The usual?”
The usual? The usual? How the fuck did Melissa know what Lottie’s drink of choice was? And when Lottie responded with a simple yes, Shauna thought she might implode.
Shauna downed the rest of her drink in fury, watching as Melissa made Lottie an Aperol Spritz like it was second nature. Shauna’s usual bartender didn’t even know those exact measurements by heart!
Her gaze remained fixated on the way Melissa poured the drink, and her jaw nearly dropped when the girl went as far as freshly slicing an orange for Lottie.
“Oh, Shauna!” Melissa exclaimed, and Shauna nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of her own name leaving her mouth. “Did you want a drink?”
Shauna’s brows furrowed in confusion for a moment. That was until she realized, in her own haze of blind rage, she’d completely blown her cover. Her head was fully turned toward Melissa, sunglasses slipping down her nose as her eyes remained trained on where she stood behind the bar.
Shauna panicked for no good reason, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as Melissa stared at her with a wide smile. In a moment she’d deny ever happened, Shauna began to stutter out a response. “Oh, uh–I-I don’t–”
“Still drinking Malibu and milk?” Melissa saved her from herself, already reaching for the bottle of Malibu resting on the counter.
“Coke!” Shauna nearly yelped, cringing at herself. Off to the side she could see Van hiding a laugh behind her hand, and had to remind herself it was the girl’s weekend. Tai would never forgive her. “Malibu and Coke now…”
In the back of her mind, where Shauna wasn’t currently berating herself for allowing Melissa to turn her into an awkward stuttering mess, Shauna found herself puzzled. It’d been years, but Melissa still remembered her drink of choice from back then? Shauna barely even remembered Melissa being at those parties.
“Sounds pretty good,” Melissa nodded to herself, pouring a generous shot into a cup full of ice before topping it off with the rest of her Coke can.
Shauna watched as she grabbed the Aperol Spritz, making her way around the pool and dropping it off to Lottie. She scowled at the smug eyebrow raise Lottie shot her once Melissa started making her way back to the bar.
Melissa grabbed her own drink, as well as Shauna’s, before walking over to where Shauna was perched in the shallow end. She handed the drink over with a smile, and Shauna was fully expecting her to walk away after that.
Instead, Melissa slowly knelt down, moving to sit at the edge of the pool right by where Shauna was standing. Shauna had to fight every urge in her body to send Lottie a smug look of her own as Melissa made herself comfortable.
Her feet rested in the water, swinging back and forth gently. Shauna couldn’t help herself, letting her eyes drift to take in the tattoos littering Melissa’s legs.
“It’s a lot, I know,” Melissa commented, having caught Shauna staring.
“It’s really not,” Shauna shrugged. Melissa scoffed playfully, so she continued. “No, really. It’s a…tasteful amount.”
Melissa raised an eyebrow over the rim of her glass, pulling her drink away. “I have a tasteful amount of leg tattoos?”
“Mhm,” Shauna hummed, and suddenly her hand was moving faster than her mind. Her index finger landed on Melissa’s thigh, tracing the banana tattoo that rested just below where Melissa’s swim trunks had ridden up.
She could feel muscle tensing beneath her touch, and Shauna smirked slightly. She hadn’t planned on doing anything like this, but the reaction it seemed to elicit out of Melissa had her glad she was moving without thinking.
She knew at least someone out there would notice how she was leaning closer to Melissa now, but she didn’t care as her bright blue eyes stared down at where Shauna’s finger moved to trace over another tattoo.
“Fish in a bag?” Shauna laughed. Melissa’s cheeks heated up for reasons other than the way Shauna was currently touching her.
“Uh– I was drunk when I got it?” Melissa sounded like she wasn’t even sure, her leg flinching as Shauna dialed in on another tattoo. This one was of a raccoon skateboarding, small and off to the side of where the banana tattoo was placed. “Definitely drunk when I got that one.”
“They’re cute,” Shauna pulled her hand away, holding back the urge to laugh when disappointment showed clear on Melissa’s face.
“Thanks,” Melissa looked away for a moment, head tilting like she was unsure if she should attempt to continue the conversation. Shauna was ready to start it back up herself, when Melissa seemed to come to a conclusion. “When we, uh, got our first sales the first thing I bought was a tattoo gun…”
“You did these?” Shauna was surprised. After getting a closer look, they honestly weren’t bad. Not what Shauna would pick, but still not bad.
Melissa nodded with a laugh, her own finger moving to trace a little ghost beneath her knee absentmindedly. “Nat and I both. Sometimes we give them to ourselves, sometimes to each other…they weren’t always this good.”
“Oh?” Shauna couldn’t help herself, looking around Melissa’s body in search of the tattoos she might have been referring to.
Melissa watched in amusement, holding her arms out slightly like she was trying to help Shauna in her search. It was coming up empty, though. All in all, the tattoos looked nice. Like they’d been done with a steady hand and a watchful eye.
She found herself looking back up toward Melissa’s face, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t find what you’re looking for,” Melissa dropped her arms back down, her free hand landing dangerously close to where Shauna’s was perched on the edge of the pool. “They’re a bit more…hidden.”
Shauna’s face flushed before she could stop it, mind reeling. Melissa was already in a swim suit, Shauna could see what few tattoos she had on her stomach and chest, as well as each spot of ink lining her arms and legs. It left little to the imagination.
There wasn’t much being hidden.
“Perv,” Melissa teased, breaking Shauna out of her what were beginning to border on inappropriate thoughts. “They’re just higher up on my thighs. And it’s only, like, two.”
Right. She was wearing swim trunks. In Shauna’s lustful haze— something she did not have the brain capacity to unpack right now— she’d forgotten the girl had nearly half of her legs hidden.
“I don’t know what you were thinking, but I was just trying to remember if Van had any tattoos,” Shauna’s tone was playful, feigning a defensive act. “Figured you and Nat bribed her with Playboy magazines and Monster energy drinks.”
“It was Penthouse and Redbulls,” Melissa quipped, a dorky grin on her face.
“Let me guess— you guys just wrote ‘I heart Tai’ over and over again?”
“Close. She still doesn’t know about the ‘I heart Melissa’ on her ass.”
Shauna let out a full bellied laugh at that, something genuine that had her eyes closing for a moment. When she reopened them Melissa was staring down at her, eyes soft in a way that had Shauna shuffling nervously.
Had Melissa’s eyes always been so blue? It was unnerving. Someone should tell her to get contacts.
“Melissa, I have to ask,” Van suddenly appeared out of what seemed like thin air, throwing her hands on Melissa’s shoulders and making the girl nearly jump three feet in the air. How that was possible while she was sitting down? Shauna wondered if the girl was spring loaded.
“I’m not telling you if we got strippers, Van,” Melissa deadpanned once her ass had returned to the ground.
“Ugh, you’re no fun,” Van groaned.
Tai walked up to them, hand on her hip as she stared over at Van. Van immediately looked up to her Fiancé with a sheepish grin.
“Are you harassing Mel about strippers again?”
“They’d be for both of us, babe!” Van exclaimed, groaning once more when Tai rolled her eyes and stalked off. She looked back at Melissa, sheepish face turning into a wolfish grin for a split second. “I know you want someone to give you a lapdance, think about it as an investment in your future!”
Melissa’s face turned as red as the pool noodle Mari was currently straddling in the deep end, mouth opening like she wanted to rebuttal but ultimately closing as she shyly looked away.
“Strippers, huh?” Shauna couldn’t help herself, enjoying the way Melissa ran a hand down her face like she wanted to disappear.
Her embarrassment was cute. It reminded Shauna of a faint memory. The slightly faded vision of the time she’d come up to Shauna the week before prom, determination on her face.
Then Randy Walsh and his idiotic ogre hands opened his locker, and suddenly Melissa had been on the ground, asking why there were glowing birds in the senior hallway.
She’d been escorted to the nurses’ office with a mild concussion and broken nose number four of that year. The next time Shauna saw her, she was wearing the face she had now. Shauna hadn’t thought much of it back then, but looking back, she wondered what Melissa had come marching toward her for.
The realization of why struck Shauna suddenly, but she pushed it away. No time thinking of what could have been when she was here now, looking at that exact girl with that exact expression. Serendipity and whatnot.
“To be fair,” Melissa broke Shauna from her light reminiscing. “They both want strippers.”
“Really?” Shauna couldn’t mask her shocked tone. Taissa did not seem like the type to want to watch her future wife get grinded on by random women with triple Ds.
“I think Tai wants to test Van,” Melissa shrugged. Then she leaned closer, lowering her voice. “I think Van’s gonna fail.”
Shauna tried to pretend the sudden close proximity of Melissa’s face had no effect on her. She figured she was doing a good job until she caught Nat side-eying them with a smirk.
She ignored it, eyes fluttering up as Melissa’s face remained close. She could physically see the way Melissa gulped, and it only encouraged her.
“And what about you? Gonna get that lapdance?”
“Oh, I-I,” Melissa pulled back slightly, laughing awkwardly with a shake of her head. “No lapdance for me! Uhm, I don’t think–well, it would be unbecoming of me to-to have a random woman in my l-lap.”
“Relax, Mel,” Shauna tested the nickname on her lips, deciding she quite liked the way it felt, and the way it made the corner of Melissa’s lips upturn. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?”
Melissa sent her a look, one she couldn’t quite decipher. She looked out over the pool, long fingers flexing around the cup in her hand. Her other hand, the one still resting by Shauna’s, grazed hers for a brief second. Not long, but there. Like she was trying to say something without speaking at all.
Shauna hadn’t put too much thought into her sudden interest in the girl sitting before her, but at that moment, it almost seemed like they were on the same page. Something unspoken, but undeniably there.
Something Shauna was too afraid to put a name to yet.
Then Melissa was looking at her again, those soft eyes suddenly riddled with mischief, like she’d found what she was looking for on her brief scan of the overpriced pool they were currently sitting at. What she’d found, Shauna couldn’t be sure.
“Yeah,” Melissa nodded, determination not unlike what Shauna had seen all those years ago on her face. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”