Sealed With A Vow

Chapter 35- The Greatest News

"Male strippers."

"Oh yes. We definitely need those," Stacy said with a smirk.

"Claire, do you agree?", Lexi asked me.

"Of course. You know Charlotte and her love for the hot male species."

Hannah stifled a laugh and added "male strippers" to our ongoing list of ideas for Charlotte's bachelorette party. She had decided to leave most of the planning to us since she'd wanted everything to be a huge surprise at the end. The wedding wouldn't be until April though, so we had plenty of time.

It was a Saturday evening in February, and the girls had been at my house for the past three hours. We were all sprawled on the couch, getting fat off of the red velvet cupcakes we'd baked earlier. Charlotte was out of town visiting her fiancé's parents, but she was coming back tomorrow.

"Seriously, Claire, how can you eat so much and not gain a single pound?", Hannah asked, licking the frosting from her fingers.

"Well, unlike you who just sits around watching Netflix all day, she actually exercises," Stacy said matter-of-factly.

Hannah tossed a pillow at her, and I laughed. It ended up landing on Buttercup, who was peacefully napping on the floor along with Buster. Luckily, she didn't wake up.

"Actually, I haven't been able to exercise as much as I used to. Normally, I try to go for a run every day, but my extended hours at the office make it hard to do that," I stated.

"Aww, that sucks," Lexi remarked.

"It does. I usually go to the gym with Derek on the weekends, though, if I'm not too busy."

"Where is Derek, anyways?", Stacy asked.

"Of course you'd ask about him," Lexi rolled her eyes.

"It's not my fault he's a freaking sex god."

I choked on my water, laughing hysterically, and Lexi slapped my back. We all knew Stacy was horrible at hiding her crush on Derek from us. If Charlotte were here, she would've scolded her, but I thought the whole thing was innocent. Stacy was the last girl I could imagine to be a home wrecker. She was just too harmless and sweet.

Unlike that vindictive skank, Ashley.

"He had to work today, but he should be home very soon," I said.

"I see." Stacy reached for her sixth cupcake.

How did she not have diabetes...

"So, back to those male strippers we mentioned earlier," Hannah spoke, sounding professional.

"Can you just imagine Derek as a male stripper? I'd pay a million bucks to see that," Stacy quipped.

"Stace, you seriously need-,"

"Sorry ladies, but the only woman I strip for is my wife," a deep, all-too familiar voice spoke, interrupting Hannah.

We all turned around and there stood Derek by the front door with his arms crossed, looking utterly amused. He gave me a wink, and my cheeks grew redder than a tomato as I got up to go greet him.

"Hey, babe." He smiled, swooping me into his arms for a kiss.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Stacy sigh dreamily, and I hoped that one day, she'd find a Prince Charming of her own to fall head over heels in love with.

"So, what's all this talk about male strippers?", Derek asked, resting his chin on my shoulder from behind as his arms wrapped around my waist. 

"We're planning Charlotte's bachelorette party."