He sets his drink on the table next to him and stretches out in the lounge chair. “I don’t see the problem. I’m just catching a few rays with my girl here,” he says innocently. I look to the chair next to him, and how it escaped my attention before can only be attributed to his gorgeous appearance, because he is pointing to a blow up doll lying beside him. The plastic doll is dressed in a string bikini and is wearing a blonde wig. I laugh at the pure silliness of it, but I immediately stifle it when Jen shoots me a glare that could freeze every pool within a ten mile radius.

“Are you fucking with me?” Jen spouts off. “You brought that thing?”

“Sally was a gift, remember? It was only fitting that she come with me and ward off all the unwanted girl attention I might have to dodge.” He defends himself in a serious tone, but I can see the humor in his eyes.

I push my sunglasses onto my head to get a better look. This is a guy who enjoys having fun, even if it’s at his own expense. I’ve heard Jen talk about Royce before, and I remember briefly seeing him at a few of their concerts with the girls, but I couldn’t place him out of that context. Jen never had anything nice to say about Royce, and Campbell never stuck up for him, so he became forgettable to me.

Seeing him laid out before me, Royce represents a whole new level of enticement, and there is nothing about him I will forget this time. He notices my wondering eyes and shoots me a mischievous smile. My eyes evade his as quickly as I can. I feel like a high school kid who just got caught staring at her crush from across homeroom. Royce catching me is no less embarrassing than those torturous teenage moments.

Jen’s eyes follow his line of sight in my direction and I may have felt the world erupt around us. She spins around and grabs his Sally doll. He hops up to save her before Jen throws her into the pool. “You seriously have to leave. Stay away, Royce…from all of us.” She enunciates the end of her sentence, hinting that whatever that smile meant, he can just forget about it.

Her friends are off limits.

He follows Jen to the edge of the pool to retrieve his doll. All humor and fun has evaporated and anger is now rolling off of him.

“I’ll fuck who I want, princess,” he clips at her. “This town is full of easy pussy; I don’t need to go fishing in a small pond for someone who will follow me home. The beauty of Vegas is that it’s an ocean full of fish I’ll never have to see again.”

“You’re gross, you know that, right?” Jen answers back.

He tucks the Sally doll under his arm and bows to us, before offering me another beaming smile. “I’m sorry to have interrupted your gorgeous day, ladies,” he says politely. He then turns back to Jen and frowns. “And by the way, you’re just jealous I would never offer you this flesh rocket for your hot pocket.”

He turns on his heel and leaves our little group. Jen is left speechless-- for once. The three of us, however, can no longer hold it in. Together we burst into laughter, which only garners death glares from Jen.

“You guys suck,” she pouts as she passes by us to get to the tent. Her childish response only makes us laugh harder.

“He had a flippin’ blow up doll,” Vivian chuckles as she wipes the tears from her eyes.

“I can’t even explain why Jen hates him so much. I just let it go, but man that guy is funny,” Campbell adds.

“And pretty hot,” I add, pretending to fan myself.

“You guys still suck,” Jen shouts from inside the tent.

“Oh, simmer down,” I say, throwing her own words back at her. “We are here to have a good time.”

We walk toward the cabana and are met by a waitress ready to bring us whatever frilly drink we need, and from the look on Jen’s face, we may need several. Their service is included in the price of the cabana, and we will absolutely put this poor girl to work today.

Vivian orders margaritas for the group as we unpack our pool bags and head back out of the cabana. Throwing our towels across lounge chairs, we each take a place in the sun. We relax into the warmth of the rays, and let the sun pound down on our bodies. Well, except Vivian who puts a fashionable straw hat on her head and smothers herself in sunblock. She always says her red hair attracts the sun and she doesn’t need any more freckles than she already has.

A comfortable silence settles amongst us, and we enjoy the quietness of the moment. Jen was right; kids, jobs, divorces, all the stresses from back home fade away with each tranquil breath. Our server brings us our drinks and the refreshing coolness of the sweet and sour tang are a welcome relief from the heat.

“So, I think Royce is hilarious. Why do you hate him so bad?” Campbell asks. “Aaaannd Carly practically drooled all over him and his doll, so you better have a good reason to hold up her much needed cougar prowl.”

I choke and spit alcohol out all over myself and my towel. “I did no such thing,” I say through coughing fits.

“There will be no naked time happening on this trip with that man. Royce is an irresponsible asshole, who cares only about himself and what he can get from someone. You just stay far away, Carly. We will find you a scrumptious man, just not that one.”

I wiggle in my chair, uncomfortable with the topic of conversation. I feel like I’m on display and everyone is trying to fix me, the poor divorced woman, up. The last thing I need is a man to complicate my life even more. A one-night stand is nowhere near my radar. I never had one before I was married and there is no reason why I should start now that I’m newly single.

“There’s no need to worry about me. I’m good with actual alone time,” I explain. “I’m in no need of a male attention.”

“Bullshit,” Vivian says. “Even the best LELO in the world isn’t going to replace some good old fashion lovin’.”

Jen giggles. “There’s no need to leave the LELO out of the mix just because a friend arrives. Broaden those horizons, ladies.”

We all laugh and ease back down into our chairs. “I appreciate the thought, but I think I’ll pass either way,” I tell them all. “There is just too much going in my life to complicate it even more with a man.” I look to Campbell, hoping she gets the hint as well, but she diverts her eyes away from me and changes the subject.

“What is the plan for tonight anyways?” Campbell asks. “I know tomorrow is the actual bachelorette party, so what is in store for this evening?”

Jen and Vivian both look to each other, and when Vivian cringes, I know our foursome is going to shrink by two. “It’s so rare that we have our husbands alone, we thought that tonight we could have a date night,” Vivian attempts to explain as compassionately as possible; you know, you’re getting ditched and this is why.

“It’s not like it’s a complete waste. I thought you girls could go to a show or something,” Jen chimes in.

I’m not exactly thrilled with being brought to Vegas to then be dropped like a hot potato, but I do understand. Jack and I never got to have time for just the two of us once Olivia came along. Maybe that’s where the problem lied with us, not devoting enough time together for our relationship. We co-existed, but we didn’t really exist together as a team.

How can I fault my friends for doing something I should have also taken time to do?

I look to Campbell, who looks equally thrilled, so I take the lead on smoothing the awkward moment out.

“There are some shows I would love to see. We’ll have tons of fun, Campbell.”

She smiles and steals Vivian’s hat. “When you guys hear how cool our night ends up, you’re going to wish you hadn’t ditched us.”

“Nothing you can say will tempt me away from a night alone with my fiancé,” Jen says with all seriousness. “That man will be wearing my ass as a hat tonight,” she adds, tapping Viv’s floppy hat on Campbell’s head.