Where She Least Expects It

Chapter 2

Becky was sitting at Brandon and Alli's house talking about her bachelorette party next weekend. They were going to Austin to go bar hopping. She had insisted on keeping it fairly low key.  They were chatting about what to wear while they waited for Claire to get there.  They were going to Austin to shop for new outfits.

"Alli, you know it's highly irregular to go to the same place as your fiancé for your bachelorette party right?"

She laughed a little, "I know, but Brandon swears he will leave us alone."

"Ya right."

"It's ok if he doesn't too,"she said with a wink. 

"Alli!  He's my brother and you're practically my sister, I would rather not hear about your sex life anymore," Becky tried to give her an annoyed look but didn't think she was very believable. 

"Still not getting any huh?"

"Aaaand I'm just gonna call Claire."  She turned to grab her phone but felt Alli take her hand.

"Hey, I was just joking.  It's ok, you know?"

"I'm twenty four...it's not like I'm saving it for marriage or anything.  It would just be nice if someone actually wanted to."

Just then, the door opened and in came Claire.  Alli looked at Becky and squeezed her hand then whispered, "we'll talk later."

They got up and headed out the door.  Claire was a year older than Becky, but they went to high school and college together.  Claire managed the hotel in town.

They talked about wedding plans the whole way there.  Alli and Brandon were having a beautiful spring wedding.  It was in two weeks.  Becky couldn't be happier to be gaining Alli as her sister-in-law, but sometimes it just reminded her of how lonely she was.

They began shopping and Alli found her dress quickly. It was turquoise, mid-thigh length, body hugging, sleeveless, and v-necked. She looked beautiful in it, not too much, not too little, just right.

Claire found hers next. It was red and strapless, flaring out at the waist and ending mid thigh. The red was absolutely beautiful with her blonde hair.

Becky was standing in the dressing room at about the tenth store they went to. She hadn't found the right dress yet. She was staring at two different options. One was a cream colored dress that had spaghetti straps and gold glitter all over it. It would hug her figure just right and be very pretty. Option number two was a very short black romper. It was basically backless with a halter neckline that plunged in front and left nothing to the imagination. It was something that she had never even thought about wearing before, but she was tired of making the safe choice every time.

Deciding to be bold, she put on the romper that the girls hadn't even seen her grab off the rack. She talked over the door, "Alright, be honest."

She walked out and Alli and Claire turned towards her and their jaws dropped. "Hot damn girl!" Claire said.

"You look incredibly sexy Beck," Alli said with smile.

"It's not too much?"

"Are you kidding me? Get some killer heels and no one will be able to take their eyes off of you!" Claire suggested.

"Well...find me some eights?" Becky asked with a smile and Claire went in search of the perfect shoes.

"Are you sure Becky?" Alli asked her.

She nodded, "ya, I'm tired of the safe choice. I want to be noticed damnit."

Alli smiled and nodded. Claire came back with several choices. Eventually they agreed on a pair of high stilettos that were silver and strappy. They complimented it just right and raised the level of sexy even higher.

They grabbed their stuff and then went for coffee at a small shop where they could hang out and catch up. Becky had always taken friendships for granted in high school. She wasn't the 'it' girl, but she had plenty of friends.

When she went to college, most of her friends went elsewhere and didn't stay in touch. Becky focused on schoolwork instead of partying and that made it hard to make friends. Claire also went to Austin, and they remained close. When she moved home, Claire did too to manage the hotel in town, they spent more and more time together.

When Alli moved to town, it didn't take any time at all for them to become close and, before long, the three of them formed a tight-knit friendship. There weren't that many women in town that were around their age either. They made it a point of getting together at least once a week, which went a long way in keeping Becky from being even more lonely.

They enjoyed their coffee together and, at some point, Lisa showed up too. When Brandon, Becky's oldest brother, was in college, he dated Lisa seriously off and on for years. He had even proposed, but Lisa said no. None of the Stones had disliked Lisa, but they didn't like her for Brandon. Last year, Brandon's best friend, Dino, and Lisa ran into each other and started talking. Before long, they fell in love and got married last fall. Lisa would join the girls from time to time. She always fit well with them.

After several hours, coffees, and sandwiches later, they headed home.  Becky hung up the romper and put the shoes away, looking forward to next weekend.  She wanted to feel wanted...even if it was just for a night.

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Tom was sitting at the bar with Brandon, Dino, Tripp, and Sean. They were discussing Brandon's bachelor party the following weekend. Brandon's parents and Brock would get in the morning before so they could go to the prospective parties too.

Tripp was arguing with Brandon about the plans for it, "man this is your bachelor party...hopefully the only one you'll ever have. Don't you want to get wild and crazy?"

"No, I promised Alli there wouldn't be any black eyes or anything in the wedding pictures."

"Ok, but why would you want to go to the same place she is?"

"Because the only woman I want to watch is my fiancé, and this way I can sit and drink and watch her party with her friends, Tripp. You just don't get it, you're not there yet."

Tripp just snorted, "ya right. I'll never get there."

Dino stepped in before they could argue any more, "Brandon, I understand where you're coming from, and, Tripp, don't be surprised when you do get there and it knocks you on your ass."

Tom and Sean just sat watching in amusement as Brandon grinned and Tripp downed his beer and grabbed another. "Whatever, I just don't need mom disapproving of us."

Sean laughed, "I don't think mom and dad care anymore man. As long as we survive, they know we're gonna do whatever the hell we want and won't interfere."

Tom had always felt like he was a part of the Stone family too. They had a way of taking people in. He first realized it in college when Dino started going home with Brandon. His parents died when he was a teenager, and he was an only child. He went home with Brandon once and immediately continued, going home almost every time that Brandon did.

The next time he noticed it was when Brandon started dating Alli. She moved to town after his parents left, but all of the kids became close to her and so did his parents when they were back. It was seamless how they accepted someone.

Those two were the most noticeable times, but when you looked back over the past years, you could see all of the people they had treated as family. Tom was just another one in a long line. All of the kids brought friends home, and Janie and Mike took them in and made sure the house felt like their home away from home.

He finally joined in, "come on, let the man do what he wants. You can still get drunk and hit on women. I'm sure you're parents know about the many women that you spend your time with."

Tripp looked horrified while the other men chuckled and nodded in agreement.

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