I glanced back and forth between the two of them. “I think this one is lovely and will look perfect on the three of you. Plus, we can ask the seamstress to add a couple of small straps to Sarah’s dress.” A warm hand came to rest on my shoulder. Donna had stood up to come to my rescue. “How long will these take to come in?”

“These we can get in pretty quickly. Three weeks should be the longest you’ll have to wait.” The consultant replied.

“Are you good with that, Keegan?” Donna asked her.

“Yep! I think these will be perfect. Sarah, I want to try on the one that Annabelle has on to see what we need to do to make it work on you too, okay?”

As Keegan turned to talk to her mom and little sister, Macie leaned in to whisper, “We need to plan this bachelorette party now, or it’s never gonna happen.”

Donna grinned at us and took a step towards the other girls. “Y’all are on your own. My bachelorette days are over.”

Macie and I laughed, but I couldn’t help the blush that came to my cheeks. Donna turned and joined the other girls.

I raised my arm as the consultant placed a tape measure around me and wrote down some numbers. “Do people even have those anymore?”

She scoffed. “Bachelorette parties? Well, whether anybody else has them, I don’t care, we sure as hell are.”

I giggled. “Oh boy. What do you have in mind? And don’t tell me strippers. If there are strippers you can count me out.” The little blond girl coughed, and walked out of hearing distance.

“What? You’re kidding right? Strippers are a must at a bachelorette party.”

“Aren’t most of the strippers gay these days? Call me crazy, but I don’t want their junk swinging in my face pretending like they are attracted to me, just so I will slip them a dollar bill.”

She laughed. “You’re probably right. Damn, now I don’t know what to do.”

Keegan came over to listen in. “Don’t know what to do about what?”

“Nothing,” we both chimed.

“Huh uh, girls. I already told y’all, no parties. Camden isn’t having one, so I’m not having one.”

Macie rolled her eyes and put her hand on her hip. “Give me a break. One of his nosey brothers is going to drag his ass to a bar or club downtown. They aren’t going to let him get away with his last days of bachelorhood without going out with a bang. Don’t fight me on this. I’m throwing you a party.”

“You’re ridiculous.” She bit her lip. “What are you thinking about doing?”

Macie pointed at me with her thumb. “Well, this one over here doesn’t want any gay dicks slapping her cheeks so the strippers are out.” I busted out laughing. Keegan smiled but looked perplexed. “So, what if we just take you to the new bar downtown? It’s supposed to be an old warehouse they beefed up to look like some California club that Ashton Kutcher owns or something. How does that sound?”

“That would be fun. When I get home I’ll talk to Cam—”

“Err . . .” Macie made a car screeching sound. “Thems the brakes, missy. No asking Camden. I don’t need his permission to take you out for a night of girl time and drinking. Annabelle and I will work out the day, then I will call you to let you know when later this week. Capisce?”

She sighed. “Alright.”

“Don’t sound to disappointed, princess, it’ll be fun.” Macie slapped Keegan’s butt and she squealed.

“Good. Annabelle, I’ll give you a call later tonight and we can discuss the details and maybe round up a few of the girls from the hospital that would like to go. Anyway,” she said, effectively changing the subject. “Isn’t there a wedding dress that you should be putting on?”

Keegan grinned. “Yes! It just came in.” She clapped her hands. “Come on, I’m ready to try it on.”

The three of us went over to Rowan, Donna, and Sarah. The rest of the day was spent sipping champagne, talking about wedding decorations, venues, food, and the dress Keegan was wearing. All of the excitement for her big day was swirling around and it was easy to get caught up in everything. By the time she dropped me off back at home later that evening, I sat in my living room, mindlessly petting Chaz and wishing I could take back my agreement to be a part of the bachelorette party. I couldn’t very well call Macie and cancel, she’d never let me. But I also knew I was going to be a train wreck that whole evening. So instead of trying to shut off my overactive brain, I came up with a failsafe plan. I’d let the girls know that I was the designated driver. Limiting my alcohol would insure I was in control. At least I thought it would. With that crowd, you never know what you’re getting into for the night.

“HEY, ARE YOU ALMOST READY?” Macie hollered at me from the living room.

“Yeah. Give me a sec,” I yelled back.

It was two weeks later, and the girls were all in my living room. Sometime in the last couple of weeks, it had been decided that not only was this a bachelorette party, it was doubling as a slumber party. Because I was the driver for the evening, my house was the obvious choice. Now here I sat, alone in my bedroom, feeling overwhelmed. I’d been having small panic attacks throughout the day that I’ve had to trample back down. I didn’t exactly hate people being in my house, I just didn’t like it. I knew I was being ridiculous and letting my anxiety take control. I’d taken a Xanax about an hour ago and it was just what I needed to settle my frazzled nerves. I looked up in the mirror at my reflection and tried to conjure the girl that I once was—a carefree spirit that loved being spontaneous and wild. What stared back at me was a control freak with eyes too wide, dressed like a grandma going to church. Sighing, I stood up and went out to meet the girls.

There were five of us all together: Keegan, Macie, Jordan, Erin, and me. Jordan and Erin were girls from our L & D floor. They were a lot of fun and were the type to roll with the punches. Erin’s a stocky girl with chestnut brown hair and eyes. Her hair was cut into an adorable little bob and despite being slightly overweight, she had more self-confidence than all of us put together. Jordan was Erin’s polar opposite in looks. She was tall and lanky with long blond hair, similar to Keegan’s. Except where Keegan’s was wavy and thick, Jordan’s seemed thin and fine, and she was a bit more reserved. I, personally, liked both of them and was glad they were able to come. Several other girls had been invited as well, but the party either conflicted with their shifts, or they couldn’t find a sitter for their kids. That’s what I should have done. I should have offered to be the babysitter so I could have avoided tonight all together.

“Alright, hookers, time to make a toast,” Macie said, grabbing a couple of shot glasses and filling them up with grape flavored Vodka. I lifted my glass of water in the air. “To my bestie, Keegan. May she get completely wasted, lose her panties, and kiss a stranger tonight.” They all laughed and cheered, throwing back their drinks.

“Annabelle, is that what you’re wearing?” Erin asked, genuinely intrigued.

I glanced down at my floral print dress. “Yes. Why?”

Jordan and her snickered. “Honey, nobody is going to be looking at you when you have a dress on that goes to your knees, and a neckline that covers every inch of cleavage.”

“Good. I don’t plan on having anybody looking at my legs or cleavage.”

“Why?” Jordan chimed.

I sighed. “Girls, whatever little thoughts you have conjured up in your heads, stop it. I have no intention of finding a man tonight.”

“Such a waste,” Macie said as she tossed back another shot. I had no idea how many she’d had, but she appeared to be happy as a clam.

“Y’all, it’s not a waste. Tonight is about Keegan, not me. Besides, I’m comfortable. So can we get this ball rolling?” I argued.