READY OR NOT (CAMREN)

ELEVEN

Lauren turned the page of the book she was reading and realized absently that she'd never actually eaten dinner that night. Her thoughts shifted to her grumbling stomach and whether she should head to her pantry in favor of her standard salt-and-vinegar potato chips or branch out and go for BBQ. Tucked in for the evening on her couch, underneath her favorite green cashmere blanket, Lauren's wild Saturday night had consisted of a glass of merlot and her old buddy, John Grisham. Before she'd made any firm potato-chip decision, her phone buzzed from its spot on her coffee table, and she glanced at the readout, a text from Ally in all caps.

MIDNIGHT CHOCOLATE. MIDNIGHT CHOCOLATE. MIDNIGHT CHOCOLATE.

She pushed herself into a seated position and considered the text. Okay, so something was definitely up. The question was what. She slipped from underneath the warmth of the blanket and set the book aside. MCs were called only in the event of something major happening to one of the four of them. Something that simply could not wait and required urgent friend attention or counsel.

And they always figured it out.

It's what made Midnight Chocolate the foolproof go-to that it was, dating back to the night they first came together and had chocolate waffles in the Village. She fired off a response.

"I'm in. See you there."

"There" was Normani and Dinah's loft apartment, formerly Dinah and Ally's apartment. Either way, it was only four floors down from her own and the most convenient place for them all to meet. When she saw texts fly in from Normani and Dinah, both confirming for tonight, she checked her watch. God, it was literally eight minutes to midnight. Talk about last minute. She changed into her red plaid pajama pants and soft white T-shirt, grabbed an unopened bottle of Red Zin and some gourmet double-chocolate cookies from the deli on the corner, and was out the door.

She slid open the door to Dinah and Normani's place with ninety seconds left to spare, which was good because she refused to be late to anything. Not in her DNA. Now Ally was another story. "She's not here yet, is she?" Lauren asked Dinah, who stood behind the island uncorking a bottle of white.

"What do you think?"

"I think that Ally, who called this MC, is not here, but that you have a chocolate spread on your counter sent from Baby Jesus above. Is that an Oreo cream-cheese ball? I will tackle you right now if that is an Oreo cream-cheese ball."

"Aww, you noticed," Dinah said, swiping the dish in sidestep of the tackle and carrying it to the coffee table. Lauren pitched in as they transported malted-milk balls, four dishes of chocolate ice cream, hot fudge, sprinkles, a basket of miniature Snickers, the cookies she'd brought from upstairs, and of course a tin of MollyDolly truffles, a new staple.

Normani emerged from the bedroom and lifted the wine Lauren brought from the counter and turned it around to face them. "This looks like the good stuff. Is this the good stuff?"

"It is, in fact, quite good," Lauren assured her. "A ninety-two from Wine Spectator."

"You really love us," Dinah said to Lauren, her hand placed over her heart. Her curly long blonde hair was pulled into a loose ponytail that had her looking relaxed and happy in her PJs. But then again, maybe that was all Normani's doing, she thought as her two friends exchanged a rather heated glance. Okay, yep, there'd be some definite action at this place later. Note to self: do not linger.

As Normani opened the Zin, the door slid open and a rather tentative-looking Ally made her way into the room clad in blue-and-white striped pajamas covered by a short trench coat. "Hi, everybody," she said rather meekly.