Page 53 of Rule Number One
Jo’s mouth dropped, and she flicked her sister in the head. “Eew! No! I amnotin love with Matt. We’re just friends.”
Jenna pursed her lips, raising her perfectly manicured dark eyebrows. “Mmmhmm.”
Jo rolled her eyes. “So,anyway,Ivy. Tell us how you two met.”
I exhaled a deep breath and started from the beginning back in Paradise Isles. They were glued to their seats as I told them about Jimmy, about getting wasted and attempting a one-night stand, the plane almost crashing, the road trip, the rollercoaster, and the train ... though I left out the fact I’d shoved my tongue in his mouth. Then finally, how I’d agreed to be his date since I still had some vacation left and he wanted to get his mom off his back. When I got done, they stared at me, blinking.
“Okay.” Nancy closed her eyes and lifted her hands up. “That is one hell of a meet-cute. Please tell me you two are gonna take things to the next level. Youhaveto!”
“No. We can’t,” I said as the trolley pulled into a parking lot. “I live in Chicago, he lives here and in Paradise Isles, and most importantly, when he explained to me why he’s been single for so long, it made me realize that I need to be single for a while too. I’ve just gone from one relationship to the next my whole adult life, and I honestly have no idea what I’d choose to do with my life if I didn’t have anyone else in it. It’s time for me to embrace being single and figure out who I am and what I want out of this life.”
Jenna exhaled a sigh. “That’s valid. I’m single for that reason too. I don’t want anyone else dictating what I do with my life. I built the exact life I want, and I wouldn’t give it up for any guy.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Tami said. “I was single throughout college and met Tim after I graduated. By then, I already knew exactly who I was and what I wanted out of life, and I’m glad I had sorted myself out before I let him in.”
“Exactly,” I said. “That’s what I want too. Just to spend a little time with myself to figure out what I want out of life.”
“You gotta date yourself before you date anyone else,” Jo added.
“Yes!” Allison cheered. “I’m single, and I’m dating myself right now. I love it!”
“Same!” Jenna raised a plastic champagne flute. “I’m the best date ever!”
“Ditto!” Trisha placed a hand on her hip. “I love dating myself!”
They shoved a plastic glass filled with champagne in my hand, and we all lifted them in a cheers. “To dating ourselves!”
Everyone but Tami clinked them together, and when we got done, we all turned to her.
“Oh, yeah. You’re not single. You’re getting married!” Nancy laughed. “Um ... and to marriage! Yay! You’re getting married!”
Tami broke down laughing and lifted her glass to ours. “I’m getting married!”
We all cheered and then piled off the trolley to our first stop, a bar. Before we went inside, Allison pulled out a bag filled with bachelorette party decorations and handed us each sparkly tiaras with penises towering off the top like we were dirty unicorns.
“Perfect!” Nancy clapped, then shook her head and made the little penis dance. “Now, let’s go celebrate our girl. She’s getting married!”
Everyone squealed, then Jenna grabbed me by the hand and towed me into the bar after them. As expected, it was like a record screeching everything to a stop when we came hollering inside. Then the men in the bar went wild, cheering as Allison let out the bachelorette battle cry.
“Oh, hell yeah!” one guy at the bar shouted. “Bachelorette party!”
The music turned up, and I followed along with the dancing girls as they made their way to the bar. Drinks and shots came our way, but this time, I kept my shot-taking to a minimum so I wouldn’t get wasted and have a repeat of that night in Paradise Isles with Ethan. The memory of saying “do me” still made me cringe. Knowing I was going to have to share a room with him later, I needed to keep at least most of my senses intact so I could use them to keep a lid on the lust he inspired in me.
“You want?” Jenna pointed to the tray of shots coming our way.
“I’m good, but thanks. I’ll stick to beer tonight.”
“No problem. I’ll do yours.” She winked and took two shots, then slammed them both down, finishing with a cheer.
“Alright, ladies,” Nancy said. “Let’s get our games on! First up, suck for a buck!” She pulled out a bunch of candy necklaces from the oversized bachelorette bag slung over her shoulder. We each grabbed some and went out on our mission to get guys to give us a dollar for the chance to bite a candy off from around our necks.
It felt naughty and wild, running up to random strangers and having them practically gnawing on my neck, but it was just one more thing to add to the list of growing stories I’d be telling my grandkids someday. Okay, maybe I’d skip the suck for a buck when talking to my grandkids, but it would still be one to make me smile well into my old age.
After we got done with some dancing and socializing, we all piled into a booth.
“Next game.” Trisha pulled out a stack of cards. “Truth or dare.”
“Eeek!” the girls squealed, all wiggling in their seats. “Tami is first.”