21-1

Chapter Twenty One - More than One Return "Zoe!" I call with an excited wave. The redhead whips her head in my direction and a wide smile blooms across her lips. She squeals as she runs towards me and we meet halfway in a tight hug. Hunter follows behind with an amused smile on his lips but his bright blues are filled with adoration like always as he stares at his wife. "It's so good to see you again! Ugh, I missed you!" "Me too! How's Ariel?" I ask as we pull away and I give Hunter a hug. "Hi Hunter." "Hey Charlie, good to see you." He grins as he pats my back. "Ariel's great...growing up way too fast but she's good." Zoe sighs with a playful pout. "Hi Aria! How are you?" "I'm good, how are you?" Aria grins as they hug each other before she moves onto Hunter. "I'm fine, excited to show you guys around!" She replies with a wink before I introduce her and Hunter to my friends. "Lovely to meet you all!" "Likewise." Jacob smiles as they shake hands. "Hi, I'm Hunter. Zoe's husband." He smiles charmingly and it only takes him seconds to put them at ease and have them all talking like they've known each other for years. When nobody's looking though Jessica fans herself and pretends to faint which makes me bite my lip to stifle my laughter. Zoe claps her hands together as she grabs our attention with an excited grin. "So, I'll show you guys one of our famous flea markets and then we'll head to Dumbo since it's close by. That okay?" She asks as we start following her. "Sure, sounds great." Jessica replies and shares an urgent look with me and Jacob when Poppy's not looking. Hunter and Zoe talk about the different sights we stumble across on as we make our way to our destination. I signal to Jess and Jacob to go ahead before gently pulling Zoe back. Her eyes widen in confusion before she catches on and loops her arm around mine. "What's up?" She whispers with a slight frown. "Jacob is actually planning to propose to Poppy in front of the bridge at Dumbo. Would you and Hunter mind if we stopped there for a bit. Me and Jess promised to get some pictures of them." I explain quietly and watch her eyes light up in delight. "Oh my god! I'll take some pictures too and get different angles, this'll be amazing!" She whisper-shouts excitedly and I chuckle. "Thank you, you're so sweet!" I giggle and she joins in as we talk about where we can hide ourselves when the time comes. We spend some time at the impressive flea market and get some great things before heading to Dumbo. I rub Jacob's back with a low chuckle when I notice him fidgeting nervously. Jessica grins back at us before distracting Poppy as we reach the place. We stare up at the glimpse of the bridge between two buildings before getting some pictures. I see Jacob nod at us and we hide ourselves in the spots Zoe and Hunter showed us. A quiet chuckle escapes my lips when Poppy turns around only to frown in confusion when she realizes we're not there. She asks Jacob something but we're too far away to hear. He smiles down at her lovingly and holds her hands in his as he speaks. Jessica squeals softly and we start taking pictures as Jacob gets down on one knee. I watch Poppy's expression switch from confusion to shock to happiness and lastly to emotional as tears brim her eyes. She smiles shakily and nods which makes my heart almost burst in happiness for them. After putting the ring on her finger Jacob picks her up and twirls her around before they kiss. "Let's go!" Hunter grins as we race over to them with excited shrieks. "Oh my god! I was wondering where you guys went!" Poppy laughs tearfully with a shake of her head. "I'm so happy for you!" I smile as I hug her tightly. We shower them in congratulations before us girls fawn over the ring. Hunter pats Jacob on the back before they exchange a hug. He turns to me and Jess with a relieved grin before we throw ourselves at him. "Thank you." He whispers before pecking our foreheads as we let go. After that pleasant high is over we grab lunch at a great spot Hunter picks before taking a car to Coney Island. I watch as Aria perks up in interest and her eyes widen in excitement when she realizes it's an amusement park. She cheers loudly which makes us laugh before we head inside. Much of our day is spent at Coney Island going on almost every ride, winning more prizes than we can carry and eating our weight in junk food. Every time I look at Aria I feel happy that she's having so much fun here. When we head into Dyker Heights to check out the neighborhood with the most over the top Christmas decorations Hunter and Zoe convince me to leave Aria with their babysitter and Ariel at their house so we can all go out to a bar tonight. I make sure Aria is fine with it and she agrees since she's become tired by now. After marveling over the extravagant displays, we head back to our hotel while Hunter and Zoe go back to theirs to check on Ariel. As I'm changing I make sure Aria has eaten dinner before we drop her off at their house. My worry reduces considerably when Zoe shows me a text from their babysitter that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. "Relax now. I promise she's in good hands. Time to have some fun!" She winks and I laugh as we reach a lounge bar called The Mad Twist. Hunter and Zoe introduce us to their friends who have joined. There's three couples and I learn that Cory is one of Hunter's best friends who sits with his wife Jordan. Blade, Lia, and AJ are Zoe's friends but Blade and Lia are married whereas AJ is engaged to his fiancée Gabriella. Everyone's incredibly lovely and welcoming so it doesn't take long for us to feel like we've known them since forever. "I haven't seen Theo in ages! How's he doing? I heard he started his own company?" Jordan asks Hunter curiously. "Yeah he's good, needs a well-deserved break but he's good." Hunter laughs before glancing at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "But I'm sure you can convince him Charlie." I blush fiercely as all eyes turn to me and they tease the hell out of me. Speaking of the devil my phone vibrates with a text from Theo himself. I sent him a picture of my outfit a while ago and now that everyone's attention is off me I open it.