the usual bottle service requirement. Five hundred a bottle was too rich for my blood—and my bank account. In exchange for the table, I’d committed the ultimate sin and agreed to sell his oceanfront home at a reduced commission when the time came. Tit for tat, that was always the way. But a maid of honor couldn’t put a price on keeping her nearest and dearest friend happy, now could she?
“Bottoms up,” Jackie said, picking her shot up off the table.
I fidgeted in my seat, pulling down the too-short hem of my dress. How I’d let Jackie talk me into wearing this thing I’d never know. “I think I’ve had enough for now,” I said and looked over at my friend.
“Come on,” Jackie whined and placed the shot back on the table. “You’ve finally let loose. It’s my bachelorette party…please?”
“Don’t bat those eyes at me.”
Jackie continued to give me her best version of a puppy-dog face, which in her inebriated state more closely resembled a botched Botox job.
I laughed. “You were always the noceur not me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Alright word nerd, none of that tonight. I plan to have way too many drinks in me to try and figure out what the hell you’re saying.”
I shook my head and gave her a cheeky grin, knowing I’d used the word purposely just to bait her. I’d had a thing for words as long as I could remember. I loved discovering rarely used words, but my absolute favorite was finding words in other languages that had no English equivalent.
Jackie didn’t share my love for all things literary. But it was just like my free-spirited friend to want to crank the party up a notch. We’d met twenty-eight years earlier when we were babies and both our moms had sent us to the same babysitter. I couldn’t remember a time in our lives when we hadn’t been there for each other.
“Fine, pass it over.” I reached for the shot, sure it would be my undoing. “But I can’t be held responsible for my actions.” I laughed. Jackie always did have a way of talking me into things.
I sprinkled some salt on my wrist, licked it off, and tossed back the tequila. Grimacing, I grabbed a lime off the table, put it in my mouth, and sucked. The tequila burned my throat all the way down to my stomach. It was awful stuff, but a welcome distraction from the feeling of loneliness that seemed to have taken permanent residence inside me.
The idea of Jackie settling down still seemed so strange to me. “How is it that after all the sleeping around you did, you ended up being the one to find Prince Charming?” I asked.
Jackie laughed. “I keep telling you, Chloe, all work and no play won’t make you happy. And it definitely won’t get you laid.” Her face turned serious and she bumped my shoulder with her own. “Come on, what gives? You haven’t seemed yourself the past few weeks. It’s almost been radio silence unless I call you. I love that you’re having fun tonight, but I can tell something’s been on your mind. Is it because you haven’t been out with anyone in a while?”
I looked across the room and saw the rest of the girls were now sidled up to some guy at the bar who looked to be buying them a round of drinks. “God, no,” I muttered. “I haven’t been out with anyone because there’s no one worth going out with. We can’t all be as lucky as you and have Prince Charming rescue us from the side of the road when we get a flat tire.”
Jackie’s eyes narrowed. “And you don’t stand a chance of meeting Prince Charming unless he up and falls on your windshield while you’re driving around town showing houses,” Jackie countered. “I think you deliberately avoid situations where you might meet him.”
“I don’t need to meet Prince Charming…I’m perfectly fine with the way my life is now.” The conviction in my voice almost made me believe it myself—almost. Attempting to lighten the mood, I added, “Maybe I’ll become a nun, be celibate, and live happily ever
“Bottoms up,” Jackie said, picking her shot up off the table.
I fidgeted in my seat, pulling down the too-short hem of my dress. How I’d let Jackie talk me into wearing this thing I’d never know. “I think I’ve had enough for now,” I said and looked over at my friend.
“Come on,” Jackie whined and placed the shot back on the table. “You’ve finally let loose. It’s my bachelorette party…please?”
“Don’t bat those eyes at me.”
Jackie continued to give me her best version of a puppy-dog face, which in her inebriated state more closely resembled a botched Botox job.
I laughed. “You were always the noceur not me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Alright word nerd, none of that tonight. I plan to have way too many drinks in me to try and figure out what the hell you’re saying.”
I shook my head and gave her a cheeky grin, knowing I’d used the word purposely just to bait her. I’d had a thing for words as long as I could remember. I loved discovering rarely used words, but my absolute favorite was finding words in other languages that had no English equivalent.
Jackie didn’t share my love for all things literary. But it was just like my free-spirited friend to want to crank the party up a notch. We’d met twenty-eight years earlier when we were babies and both our moms had sent us to the same babysitter. I couldn’t remember a time in our lives when we hadn’t been there for each other.
“Fine, pass it over.” I reached for the shot, sure it would be my undoing. “But I can’t be held responsible for my actions.” I laughed. Jackie always did have a way of talking me into things.
I sprinkled some salt on my wrist, licked it off, and tossed back the tequila. Grimacing, I grabbed a lime off the table, put it in my mouth, and sucked. The tequila burned my throat all the way down to my stomach. It was awful stuff, but a welcome distraction from the feeling of loneliness that seemed to have taken permanent residence inside me.
The idea of Jackie settling down still seemed so strange to me. “How is it that after all the sleeping around you did, you ended up being the one to find Prince Charming?” I asked.
Jackie laughed. “I keep telling you, Chloe, all work and no play won’t make you happy. And it definitely won’t get you laid.” Her face turned serious and she bumped my shoulder with her own. “Come on, what gives? You haven’t seemed yourself the past few weeks. It’s almost been radio silence unless I call you. I love that you’re having fun tonight, but I can tell something’s been on your mind. Is it because you haven’t been out with anyone in a while?”
I looked across the room and saw the rest of the girls were now sidled up to some guy at the bar who looked to be buying them a round of drinks. “God, no,” I muttered. “I haven’t been out with anyone because there’s no one worth going out with. We can’t all be as lucky as you and have Prince Charming rescue us from the side of the road when we get a flat tire.”
Jackie’s eyes narrowed. “And you don’t stand a chance of meeting Prince Charming unless he up and falls on your windshield while you’re driving around town showing houses,” Jackie countered. “I think you deliberately avoid situations where you might meet him.”
“I don’t need to meet Prince Charming…I’m perfectly fine with the way my life is now.” The conviction in my voice almost made me believe it myself—almost. Attempting to lighten the mood, I added, “Maybe I’ll become a nun, be celibate, and live happily ever
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