I took a shaky breath, trying to stop the drunk verbal diarrhea from happening all over my ex-boyfriend’s sister. “Yeah, well. It was sort of at the assistance of my boss and doctor.”
“Ouch,” Becky whistled, compassion softening her features. She was quiet for a moment, watching the stage and Tessa. “I know how hard it can be…if you ever need to talk, you know—when we’re both sober, I’m around. Seriously Elle.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” I told her, knowing I likely wouldn’t take her up on that offer—at least not while I was stone cold sober. I hadn’t even told my mom yet, although I knew I needed to soon…she was already suspicious that something deeper was going on than my evasive answers about my vacation time and life in Barrie. I turned to look at Becky again. “Same goes for you. If you ever want to talk about whatever happened at O’Riley’s, I’m around.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Becky hiccupped, trying to rearrange her features. I gave her a small, knowing smile, recalling the heartbreak on her face that night when Travis sauntered into the bar with the porno twins, and the way she’d quickly disappeared.
“You and Travis. I saw how you guys looked at each other at your mom’s wake. I figured something happened between you,” I said, my voice as close to a whisper as I could get it in the loud club.
Becky crossed her arms, as if suddenly cold in the sticky, sweaty club. She opened and closed her mouth, as if catching herself. “Thanks, but nothing’s up with us—or me. Same old single Becky, same old life.”
There was something sad about her statement, but before I could call her out on it, the club exploded into applause. The cowboy was done stripping for Tessa and she started to make her way off the stage. I raised my phone again, snapping a few more pictures of her as her shoulders shook with laughter and embarrassment.
She came up to us and jumped on me, wrapping her arms around me. “Thank you, Elle,” she said into my ear.
“Oh, did you like that cowboy? If you prefer him to the hick you have back home, then that's alright by me. He could be Channing Tatum's twin,” I joked. Tessa laughed and shoved away from me, her amber eyes dancing with amusement.
“The hick back home is all I want,” she assured me. “But thank you for an amazing night, Elle. Seriously, you’ve exceeded all my expectations and then some.” She gave me a big, sloppy kiss on the lips, her eyes shining. “I have the bestest best friend ever!”
* * *
The next morning, I awoke with one hell of a hangover. Everyone in the hotel room felt the same.
“Ugh my head,” Katie moaned from the bed beside us. “What did I drink last night?” she wondered aloud.
“Just your weight in alcohol,” Becky answered, her voice equally pained. “Water and aspirin, followed by a greasy breakfast and coffee should cure it.”
“I can’t even think about food right now,” Cheyenne whimpered from beside Tessa. “I think I’m going to be sick!” She tried to get up quickly, but she got tangled up in our blankets. She landed on the floor with a loudthumpand an equally loud squeal. She hopped up a beat later, her hand over her mouth as she hurried to the bathroom.
“Pretty sure that wasthe bestnight ever,” Krista remarked. “I metthe hottestguy ever!”
“If by that you mean your tongue and his tonsils met, and if by “hottest”, you mean your beer googles were in full affect than yes—you met the hottest guy ever,” I said, smirking. I couldn’t wait until Krista saw the pictures of her so called “hottest guy ever”.
“You’re just jealous,” she huffed.
“Ladies, no arguing,” Tessa yawned. “More sleep.”
“No more sleep I’m afraid,” Becky sighed, sitting up and checking the alarm clock. “We have twenty minutes to check out.”
The room exploded into chaos as seven severely hungover girls attempted to get organized, packing up makeup, clothing, and hair supplies. We made it to the front desk to hand in our room key cards with minutes to spare.
After checking out, Olivia and Laura wanted to get an early start on their trip back to Barrie. The rest of us headed to a restaurant a few blocks away to grab breakfast and coffee. The grease and caffeine helped wake me up and ease the annoying hangover. It was a good thing too—since our day was far from over. Tessa wanted to do some shopping for her honeymoon at the Yorkdale mall.
“Oh my God,” Krista said, her eyes wide with horror. “Who the hell is Ransom Cauz and why is he friending me on Facebook?”
“That’s the “hottest guy ever” that you spent most of last night making out with,” I smirked into my coffee mug.
“No fucking way,” Krista shook her head. “RansomCauz? What the hell was I thinking? He’s not even a solid three.”
“Beer googles,” I raised my mug in solidarity while everyone else chuckled. “I bet he’s some wannabe rapper or something.”
Krista shot me a dirty look and dropped her phone to the table as if it was poisonous. “Whatever, add him to the pile of horrible mistakes I’ve made.”
“What happens in Toronto, stays in Toronto,” Tessa amended, massaging her temples.
“Unless it’s posted all over Instagram,” Cheyenne laughed, her green eyes twinkling as she shoved her phone at Tessa. “Look! Pete the Penis is trending!”
“Oh God.” Tessa’s eyes went wide, she was mortified. I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction. “This is all your fault, Elle. Now my future employers will be able to find photos of me with a giant dick.”
