“Nanana da daa daa … still love you like that!”
Clearly, he can’t remember the words. Does anyone really know the words?
“Jesus, sounds like you guys started without me,” I’m shaking my head at their antics.
“They certainly did,” Adam says and groans as they start bickering.
“That’s not how the song goes, and that’s not what we practiced, you idiot!” Billy yells at Bobby.
“Come on, brother, don’t be the babysitter tonight. Join in on the fun,” I nudge Adam as they walk me throughthe door.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got an uber, I won’t leave you to drink alone with these fools.” He rolls his eyes and I laugh as Bobby breaks out in a new song.
“Roll out!”
Billy answers with, “We rollin’ on twenties with the top back!”
“You's a superstar boy, why you still up in the hood? What in the world is in that BAG, what you got in that BAG?” And that’s Bobby again, bending at the knees, with his hands over his eyes like he’s searching for something in the distance. This guy is a lunatic, just as bad as my sister, two peas in a pod for sure! Singing with some kind of weird accent trying to sound like Luda, he’s shaking a bag that’s making me a little nervous.
“Oh boy. We breaking out in rap. Looks like we’re all in for a long night.”
“You’ve no idea, Jackson. Things are about to get weird! Welcome to your bachelor party, brother!”
three
FRANCESCA
After a semi chaotic whirlwind of clothing being dragged on and off, no time to be shy in front of your besties, makeup done, hair sprayed and shoes being tossed around, we are ready to hit the town. We drove through the town of Christmas, which is lit from top to bottom with white, red and green lights and ended up at a nice Italian restaurant where we indulged in appetizers, dinner, as well as dessert, family style. We topped it off with a few bottles of wine and a lot of laughs. We probably won’t be asked to come back, since we all entered the restaurant in a roar of girl power and left a tipsy shade of borderline pornography. Plus, I was draped in a sash saying, “One penis for life”. There were also penis straws and penis shaped confetti cutouts thrown onto the table.
I feel bad for the bus boy who had to clean up our mess.
Now we are onto our second stop of the night and hopefully last because I’m already quite tipsy, these girls go hard. Anything Britt does, she does full stop. She’s in charge of tonight, which means it’s a very good possibility the night could end with a stint in the local jail cell. Thankfully my brother is a cop, maybe Tom can pull some strings if things get bad.
We just walked into a new nightclub that opened up a few months ago, Fashions. It plays a mix of hip-hop and dance music and has a good size crowd already fillingits space. The DJ is working the crowd and everybody’s having a great time. The place is dimly lit but the strobe lights are flashing all over the dance floor. There are high top tables lining the walls and a bar with a long mirror that is lit up with tiny LED lights, on the opposite side.
There are booths along the back side of the wall which sit underneath the DJ. You would think this would be a terrible spot, but the speakers are all mounted onto the side walls so the music bounces off, yet you can still hear yourself talk. The girls have reserved a booth right under the DJ turntable and have decorated it with bachelorette gear also known as more plastic penises. There is bottle service coming to the table and we are now well on our way from quite inebriated to getting shitty.
“Please tell me the guys did not take Jackson to a stripper bar. That’s the one thing he promised me he would not do.” I whine and pout just thinking about it.
“Don’t worry about that. The guys have him under control and will take good care of him.”
“But who’s got Billy under control?” I exclaim.
I always feel uneasy when Jackson is not with me in a public setting such as a bar or club. I trust Jackson to the fullest, but I do not trust the outside world. After being signed as a first-round draft pick for the Carolina Warriors, the press took full advantage of exploiting him. Yes, he partied, yes, he caused a lot of damage to himself, but when you dangle booze and women, padded with a shit ton of money, what 19-year-old kid could resist that temptation? Years later, while we were trying to get him back on the map, improve his image, the press was still after him. His own manager, and my ex-boyfriend, teamed up to exploit Jackson for their benefit. They even sent a woman in, to get pictures to try to slander his name once again.
This time we were ahead of it, plus he had me standing next to him to clear the name. The town of Christmas, and his high school football team also stood by him, and we became stronger than before.
Now here we are just a few short weeks shy of our wedding day, and instead of being home with my man, I am out with these animals.
But these animals are my ride or die bitches and I wouldn’t be able to get through life without them.
“Francesca, come on, you know the principal is with them and if they all get to a point where they are having too much fun, I’m sure he will throw a damper on them. Besides, Bobby promised no strip clubs, babe. Trust me, Jackson’s going to come home to fuck you tonight.” Britt gives a smug grin. “Just as Bobby will come home to me.” She swings her gaze around to Farrah. “And Tom, to you.”
Farrah starts to interrupt but Britt keeps going. “And if you play your cards right, CJ, I bet Adam may even break for you tonight.”
Shaking my head at her, “I’m not concerned he’s going to do anything; I’m just concerned of where they are and what might end up in the paper tomorrow. Principal or not,” I laugh at yet another name for my eldest brother - are you sensing the theme yet? “There’s no stopping those guys, once they get going, especially when they’re together! And you know the world has taken a fresh new hold of him now that he is getting married. It’s like no one has ever seen a football coach tie the knot.”
The press has always been obsessed with celebrity weddings, always trying to take what little privacy people have and make a buck. I am trying to stay calm, not get overly mad or anxious about all the questions surrounding our day. We’ve been engaged for over a year and people know our date is soon. I know the town is excited, it’s big news in little Christmas and I’m more than happy to share it with them but it’s the world outside of Christmas that is making me reluctant to spill all the details. It’s also why I pushed for a quick wedding. I don’t want the lingering activities to disrupt our planning or put a shadow over what should be the best time of our lives.
