The girls arrived in Austin roughly an hour later. Elise parallel parked in front of a bank downtown, and everyone clambered out of the car.
“It’s so easy parking this tiny thing,” mused Elise, who was more accustomed to driving a pickup truck. As soon as she’d closed the door behind her, she was off like a shot, leading them deeper into downtown Austin.
“Okay, so we’re here. What’s next?” Maisie asked, rubbing her hands together as the group followed Elise down the sidewalk. Summer would have likely asked Maisie to be her maid of honor if Elise hadn’t claimed the role for herself. After all, it was Maisie who had first invited Summer into their circle. And while Summer admired Elise’s take-charge attitude, she preferred Maisie’s gentler approach to leadership. Then again, Elise’s brashness was also what made them all love her so much, and it also made her the perfect pairing with the milder-mannered Kristina Rose.
Elise continued forward without answering the question. She turned right at the intersection, and they all waddled after her like baby ducklings. Summer was thankful she’d worn flats with her rehearsal dress instead of heels like she’d originally planned.
“Where are we going?” Jennifer asked, quickening her stride to match Elise’s.
“Dunno,” Elise answered, continuing forward with determination.
“Excuse me?” Kristina Rose chimed in, easily keeping pace with them now that she had lost nearly one hundred pounds. “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I mean,” Elise said, drawing out that second syllable far too long. “That I don’t know where we’re going.”
“How could you not know?” Summer demanded. “You’re the one who planned this whole thing!”
Elise stopped suddenly and turned to face the others. They stood in a huddle blocking a large portion of the sidewalk. Luckily, downtown Austin wasn’t too busy at nine o’clock on a Tuesday night. Still, the few would-be passersby, who had to step out into the street to navigate around them, did not seem happy about it.
Elise grabbed Summer’s hand and clasped it in her own. “You have the whole rest of your life planned out, you know? Marriage, house, kids, PTA, all of it. So I thought it might be nice if we celebrate your last day as a single woman by not having a plan, by just going where the wind takes us and enjoying whatever happens next.”
“It’s not very windy,” Maisie said.
“Not the point, Mays. The point is things are going to change from here on out, for Summer, for all of us. They’ve already changed heaps for Jennifer. Everyone’s getting married. Next will be the babies, and soon karaoke night at the Rusty Nail will have to be put on permanent hold.”
“I’m not married,” Kristina Rose said with a sigh. “I’m not even engaged.”
“But you will be,” Elise said gently. “Then it will be Maisie, and where does that leave me? Alone, that’s where.”
“I had no idea you felt that way,” Kristina Rose said. “You’ve been my best friend forever. Nothing would ever change that.”
“I hope you’re right, but plans change, intentions fade away. That’s why tonight I just want to live for the moment. It’ll be good for all of us. Let’s go wild. Let’s get crazy. Let’s just focus on having a good time together, the way we always have.”
“So karaoke?” Jennifer giggled.
“Well, that’s up to Summer,” Elise said. “What’ll it be?”
“Karaoke sounds perfect,” Summer said, looping her arm through Elise’s and pulling her into her side. “Looks like there’s a bar up there. Let’s go!”
They all linked arms and ran down the street, eliciting curious glances from a line of cars as they idled at a red light.
“A round of whatever you’ve got on tap! My friend’s getting married, and we’re here to celebrate!” Elise, whose cheeriness had thankfully returned, shouted toward the bartender as they entered and took their seats. That was Elise; she owned every room, even those she’d never stepped into before. Whether or not she believed it, she’d make the right man very happy one day. Summer just hoped he’d be as good at taking orders as all their friends were.
“You know I can’t drink.” Kristina Rose, who was normally all smiles, scowled. The upset expression didn’t blend well with her dark features. “Not after my surgery.”
“I’ll happily drink yours once I finish mine,” Elise said with a laugh.
“Excuse me,” a pretty blonde woman around their age said as she squeezed in beside them in their booth. “Did you say you’re getting married?” She looked at Maisie, who shook her head vehemently, sending her bobbed haircut swishing back and forth.
“Me? Heck no. These two are the wifeys. Well, she’s a wifey, and she’s an almost-wifey.” She pointed to Jennifer, who waved and offered a smile, and then to Summer, who nodded. Something about this stranger seemed mighty familiar, but Summer just couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Congratulations. You must be so excited!” their new friend said. “Do you mind if I treat you to this round?”
“If you want to buy us drinks, you can go right ahead, missy,” Elise shouted over the music that played in the background.
“It’s not missy,” she said. “It’s Jordan.”
That’s when Summer finally realized who this woman was. “Oh my gosh, you’re Jordan Tate!”
The pop star beamed at them and raised her hand. “Guilty as charged.”
“Do you know her from somewhere?” Kristina Rose asked.
“Yeah, the top-forty billboards. She’s Jordan Tate. She’s like the next Taylor Swift! Haven’t you heard that song ‘You’re My Kind of Guy’?”
“No way!” Jennifer and Maisie squealed together and then burst into the chorus of the song Summer had just referenced.
“You guys,” Summer hissed. “Be cool!”
Jordan laughed. “It’s okay! I always love meeting fans, but please don’t let Tay hear you call me the next anything, especially not the next her. She hates it when people say that.”
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” Jennifer sang. “She knows T-Swift, too!”
“Well, my break’s up,” Jordan said, rising back to her feet. “Thanks for coming out tonight. Enjoy the drinks, enjoy the show, and enjoy your wedding. Bye!”
The Sweet Grove girls stared slack-jawed after Jordan as she wove through the crowd, took up her mic, and sang her newest single, “Let’s Make a Night.”
“See,” Elise said proudly. Summer could practically see her chest puff up with pride. “When you don’t make a plan, anything can happen.”
They clinked their glasses together, and for now—just for the night—Summer was all too happy not to have a plan.
* * *
Ben hated leaving his mother alone with all the heightened emotions swirling around from his father’s return, but she insisted he head to Jeffrey’s as planned for his bachelor party—if you could even really call it that.
“I’ve got Doritos, pizza rolls, and Mountain Dew. Good?” Jeffrey said, greeting him at the door.
Ben eyed the array Jeffrey had laid out before them. He’d taken extra care to plate up the snacks nicely. “That’s different,” Ben said with a shrug.
Jeffrey shrugged back. “I thought about cooking, but that seems to go against the spirit of what tonight is.”
“Which is?”
“Just kicking back and bro-ing out, like we did in high school—eating junk food, laughing at stupid jokes, and playing video games until the sun comes up. You up for it?”
Ben sighed and sank onto the couch. “After the night I’ve had so far, that sounds perfect.”
Jeffrey grabbed two controllers and booted up his Xbox. “Grab a controller and pick your kit.”
Ben laughed. “It doesn’t matter what I choose; all the middle schoolers out there are going to tear us apart online.” It had been so long since he and Jeffrey had done this, he could scarcely remember how the controller worked. Good thing it was like riding a bike, a little pink one with streamers.
“Maybe so, but at least put up a fight!” Jeffrey stuck his tongue between his teeth as he expertly navigated the screen.
That was when the doorbell rang.
“Oh good, there’s the stripper I ordered,” Jeffrey said, popping to his feet.
Ben’s face must have shown his horror. Summer would not like this—not one bit. Ben wasn’t sure he’d care for it much, either. After all, Summer was the only girl for him, had always been the only girl for him.
“Relax, man,” Jeffrey said with a laugh. “Remember that part about stupid jokes? It’s just Beckett.”
That sudden feeling of horror did not fade with this news. “Beckett? You invited Beckett?”
“Well, kind of. He actually invited himself. And after Liam cancelled on us, I just couldn’t say no. I mean, we all used to be tight back in high school.”
“Yeah,” Ben grumbled. “But Beckett still acts like he’s in high school even now.”
“Which is perfect for tonight,” Jeffrey pointed out. “He is the school gym teacher, and you and me need more friends anyway. The girls are all so tight, and we barely ever make time to hang out. We need more friends, Ben, and there’s no time like the present. Besides, we could use a ringer that thinks like those kids online.”
Ben decided not to mention how he’d been hoping to turn to Jeffrey for some advice about his upcoming marriage. Even though Jeffrey and Kristina Rose weren’t engaged yet, Ben knew his friend was just biding his time, waiting to afford a truly lavish affair for his princess. Luckily for Ben and Summer, her aunt Iris had insisted on footing the full bill for theirs.
“Ben, how’s it hanging?” Beckett returned with Jeffrey a moment later, clunking a giant box of Pabst Blue Ribbon on the coffee table.
“The usual,” Ben mumbled.
Beckett sank down onto the couch beside him and mussed up Ben’s hair in an overly familiar gesture that unsettled Ben. “I couldn’t believe it when Jeffrey told me there wouldn’t be any strippers at your bachelor party, so I figured we could at least make things interesting by turning this tired old video game into a drinking game.”
“I don’t really drink much,” Ben said. Did Beckett not know his mother was an alcoholic? That alcohol had nearly ruined Ben’s life many times over?
“Well, you do tonight!” Beckett crowed, tossing a can of the cheap beer over to Jeffrey and then handing one to Ben.
Jeffrey shot him an apologetic glance before opening the beer and chugging.
“No, thank you.” Ben put his unopened can on the coffee table and turned his attention back to the game screen.
Beckett shrugged. “More for us. Right, Jeff?”
Jeffrey grabbed another controller from the entertainment center and handed it to Beckett.
They sat in silence for a few short moments before Beckett decided that the silence needed to be filled. He’d always been like this, which is why Ben hadn’t been too interested in spending any time with him after high school despite being neighbors.
“So little Ben’s getting married?” Beckett said with a laugh. Ben gritted his teeth. Spending time with Beckett was only just barely better than having another confrontation with his dad. What had Jeffrey been thinking inviting him?
“I’m taller than you,” Ben said, refusing to make eye contact with his uninvited guest.
“Yeah, but it took you long enough. Remember how shrimpy you were freshman year? I never would have thought you’d land a woman like Summer Smith, let me tell you. Never would have guessed such a fox could have sprung from the same gene pool as old Iris, either.” He raised his beer and took a drink.
Ben didn’t know what to say, and apparently Jeffrey didn’t either.
“Let’s just play the game,” Ben said. He couldn’t wait to open fire on Beckett’s character or to make an excuse to bow out early and go home. Same team or not, Beckett just might wander into some friendly fire . . . or a grenade.
They played for about an hour, getting walloped by their online rivals every single time.
“Sorry,” Jeffrey said when Beckett stumbled toward the bathroom several beers later. “I didn’t realize he was still the exact same guy we knew in high school.”
“Seriously, exactly the same. I hated him then, you know.”
“Yeah, me too.” Jeffrey gave a resigned laugh. “I think we just hung out with him because he got all the girls.”
“Not anymore, though,” Ben said, lightening up a bit.
“That’s right. Now it’s all us, little Ben.” Jeffrey clinked his water glass to Ben’s. He’d had one beer to appease Beckett, who hadn’t noticed that he was the only one drinking.
“Don’t let Summer hear you call me that. I’m already not good enough for her.”
“No, man, you’re not. But I’m not good enough for Kristina Rose either. Still, whether or not we deserve them, they love us. For better or worse.”
“Maybe. I just hope that doesn’t change.”
“Why would it change?” Jeffrey asked with a look of pity.
“Forget it. It’s just pre-wedding jitters, I guess.” Ben stuffed his worries about his father back down and returned his attention to the game.
He’d take it one game at a time, one day, one minute. It wouldn’t be much longer until this was all over. This “party” would end, his father would go back home, and Summer would be his forever.
For better or worse.
Oh, how he hoped he could give her better every single day of the rest of their lives together.