Getting Lucky (A Lucky Novella) by Karina Gioertz

sides hurt and our eyes were red from crying. It was the best kind of laughter, the uncontrollable kind that takes over from the inside out until everything else ceases to exist, including sound. Silent laughter…that’s the best.
    By the time we were done, the whole restaurant knew we had been there and why. Half of the patron’s had send over a mixture of shots and desserts to congratulate us and we in turn had invited each of them to join us, many of which had. To top things off, Gabe had even scored himself a date for the wedding when he asked out our server; a cute girl named Danica. I had liked her the second she had shown up to take our drink order. She had taken one look at Gabe and said, “What’s with the sneakers? You planning on making a run for it when you’re done eating?”
    Everyone at the table had erupted in laughter, but none more than Jason and I.
    After dinner, the next things on our list were the bachelor and bachelorette parties. For these, Tara had decided that the boys should head next door to the Resort’s nightclub, XS, while the girls took the limo to go see the Cirque du Soleil show LOVE at the Mirage. I wasn’t going to argue with that. I had seen one Cirque du Soleil show in my life and had been desperate to see more ever since. So, Tara, Lisa and I piled into the car and took off.
    Two hours later we were strolling through the grand canal shoppes of the Venetian. Tara had sent the limo back to the Wynn to pick up the boys while we wandered the stores in search of something fabulous to wear for my big day. We didn’t have much time since the stores would be closing soon, but naturally, Tara had done a little research and made prior arrangements with one of the smaller boutiques. When we walked in, the manager of the store greeted us just as the doors were being locked behind us.
    “What’s going on?” I hissed into Tara’s ear.
    She just smiled and said, “You’ll see.”
    We followed the manager to the dressing rooms where she directed each of us to a cubicle. When I went inside, I found three spectacular dresses waiting for me. The first was a strapless cocktail dress with a sweetheart neckline. It was a beautiful blush color with a corset top and full skirt layered in lace. The second was a one sleeve dress in a sleek champagne color with a fitted bodice and a skirt that flowed gracefully to the floor. The third and final choice was a white feather cocktail dress. The top was a sexy, strapless satin, covered in silver sequins. It was accentuated with a white satin band at the waist and a beautiful broach, matching the sequins, at the center. It was stunning and all I could do was to hope that it looked even half as spectacular on me as it did on the hanger.
    “So, what do you think?” I heard Tara’s voice from outside the small room.
    “They’re amazing!” I gushed, holding the white dress up in front of the mirror.
    “Yeah, I know. I have a fantastic taste,” Tara said in her usual humble way.
    “Now get your little butt out here so we can see you in them,” Lisa chimed in from out in the store.
    “Okay, okay. Hang on, I still gotta put it on,” I muttered as I began to take off my pants.
    “Wait, which dress are you going with first?” Tara asked.
    “The white one,” I replied. My voice was completely muffled by my shirt as I pulled it over my head.
    Tara didn’t reply, but a minute later she was handing me shoes and accessories over the top of the door. “Here, you’ll need these if we want to get the full effect.”
    The platform heels were peep toes in a sparkling white with a shiny metallic heel. Never in a million years would I have dared pull them off the shelf, but there they were on my feet as I looked down.
    Slowly, I opened the door and stepped outside. My eyes were immediately drawn to Lisa and Tara who were both wearing beautiful fuchsia colored dresses. Each dress was slightly different from the other, but the deep pink color matched perfectly.