Feeling full and borderline-tipsy after my relaxing afternoon, I can barely keep my eyes open as we make our way to our next stop. Juls and Brooke are talking quietly as I lean my head on Joey’s shoulder.
“What do you think the boys are doing right now?”
He sighs. “Well, if it were a different bunch of men, I’d say they were getting panties thrown at them. But Reese only desires your panties, and Ian is so whipped it’s almost laughable.” Juls overhears this and flips Joey off as she continues to giggle with Brooke. “And Billy…” Joey’s voice trails off as he reaches up and fixes the collar of his shirt.
I lean up and kiss his stubbly jaw. “He loves you. You know that, right?”
He nods, dropping his worried façade. “I know. I’m just in a funk. Once you’re hitched, I’ll be the only single girl left at the party.” I swat at his leg and he laughs just as the limo comes to a stop. He peers down at me. “You ready to work that outfit at the hottest club in the Big Easy, cupcake?”
Dancing with my two best friends… and Brooke? I glance around at the three smiling faces. “Hell yes, I am. Let’s do this.”
Joey leads the way past the bouncer and into the Raging Rhino. The dance floor is packed with people, and the music is bumping through the speakers. This place is massive and a serious step up from the clubs we’ve been to in Chicago, and I always considered Clancy’s to be on the fancy side. It’s two floors, the bottom one containing a bar that stretches the length of the dance floor. The top level is roped off and a security guard is standing at the bottom of the stairs, granting access to certain individuals. Brooke squeals excitedly behind me as Juls turns her head and leans close to Joey and me.
“I say we dance first then hit up the bar,” she yells over the music. Joey and I both nod in agreement, making our way toward the middle of the dance floor.
By some miracle, I’m able to dance without any problem in my sky-high heels, and I do just that with Joey, Juls, and Brooke dancing next to me. Even though there are tons of people around us, the dance floor is so large we all have plenty of room to move. Joey uses that to his advantage and spins around in a way only he does. I hold my hair off my neck and move my body to some remixed version of “Sexy Back” by Justin Timberlake. It becomes a competition, the three of us all trying to out-dance the other for what feels like hours. My feet at one point become numb, and I don’t care in the least that I’ll probably have blisters; I’m having too much fun to care. As one song blends in to another, I glance around and realize Brooke is missing.
I wave my hands out in front of me, getting the attention of Juls and Joey. “Where’s Brooke?”
They both glance around, Juls spinning in a circle and looking over the heads of the other dancers. She shrugs when she turns back to both of us. “Bathroom, maybe?”
“Who cares where she is? Ooooo, this is my jam!” Joey squeals.
“Single Ladies” by Beyoncé comes on, and Joey begins to do the entire dance routine from memory, probably better than Mrs. Carter herself, and that’s saying a lot. Juls and I buckle over in laughter as he nails it, not caring what the hell anyone thinks of him. Because it’s Joey we’re talking about; the man has zero shame and I love him for it.
Not wanting to interrupt my best friend’s dance number, I wait ‘til after the song is over to demand a break. I grab his arm, motioning to Juls, and give them the universal hand gesture for ‘let’s go get a drink’. They both nod, Joey reaching up and wiping the sweat off his forehead and Juls resituating her dress, which shifted on her body.
We all walk up to the bar, and Joey motions for one of the four bartenders. “Helloooooo. Seriously? How can you ignore this?” Juls and I chuckle as he frantically waves his hand out, desperately trying to get someone’s attention. Just then, Brooke comes stumbling up to the group, rubbing her left eye.
“Does anyone have any Visine?” she asks, dropping her hand down and blinking rapidly.
“Where have you been?” Juls asks. “And why the hell do you need Visine?”
She rolls her one eye that isn’t being rubbed. “I got semen in my eye.”
I don’t know what the hell I was expecting her to say, but it definitely wasn’t that. And given Juls’ and Joey’s reaction, they weren’t expecting it either. I slap my hand over my mouth to contain my hysteria while Juls throws her head back, unashamedly laughing her ass off. Joey covers his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking with his laughter.
Brooke’s face turns bright red as she rubs her eye with the heel of her hand. “Oh, like none of you have ever had a face shot go wrong. This really fucking burns. I’ve been flushing it out for the past hour.”
“Oh, my God, Brooke,” I barely get out through my chuckles. “Why did you let him shoot it on your face?”
She stares at me like I’ve just asked her the most ridiculous question. “I’m not swallowing a stranger’s load. It was either that or on my dress, and this shit was expensive.” She takes note of the laughter around her and huffs loudly. “It was an executive decision I’m seriously regretting. Someone Google whether or not it’s possible to get permanent damage from this.” The three of us are too busy roaring with laughter to be able to Google anything. Brooke surveys us with annoyance. “Asses. Next time you get cum in your eye, you’re on your own.”