Cowboy, Stay with Me

Chapter Twenty-Six: Bachelorette Party

Cassie's bridal shower felt like a long, pink, glittery nightmare, and Lucy usually loved bridal showers.

The bachelorette party was hardly any better.

Lucy lifted her glass of water to her lips to shield her eyes as her sister received a lap dance from a half-naked cowboy stripper.

Make that, mostly naked cowboy stripper.

Heather was laughing and clapping beside her and Cassandra was having altogether too good a time. So was everybody else, it seemed. Even Amanda was several sheets plastered to the wind at this point.

They had come to Cowgirl Heaven, a great place for bachelorette parties because the club catered to ladies' nights specifically and had a whole fleet of hunky male strippers on employ.

They had driven all the way to Oklahoma City for this and were spending the night in a hotel there. Lucy was the designated driver that night, though, to save them cab fare and because she wanted an excuse not to drink.

"You've gotta admit, he's pretty hot." Heather said into Lucy's ear, then giggled and polished off her cosmopolitan.

Lucy arched an eyebrow as she watched the cowboy stripper in question grinding himself enthusiastically on Cassandra's lap. She grimaced to herself and drank more water, thinking that it was time to imbibe in maybe just one glass of champagne.

The cowboy was hot, she supposed; tan and muscly.

He certainly seemed to enjoy his job. He had a happy smile on his face as he held onto his leopard print cowboy hat, trimmed in pink fluff. He had matching shorts and boots, as well.

Some of them were a bit more authentically dressed, but Cassandra had, of course, chosen the cowboy with the most flash, the biggest pecs, and the biggest, ahem, saddle-horn.

Lucy snorted into her drink at this immature thought. Then she poured herself a flute of champagne from the bucket of ice that had been delivered to their little VIP bridal nook.

Lucy honestly wished that she was having a better time, or that she was more comfortable with male strippers humping the air around her in general, but her mind was simply elsewhere.

"You don't think so?" Heather prompted her, pouring herself another drink. The brunette swung back some of her long tresses and gave in to dancing with the nearest cowboy, dressed in black leather and faux fur.

Lucy cleared her throat, blushing still, but she was grinning despite herself. She was glad to see her friends having such a good time, she really was.

"Surely you think some of them are cute, at least?" Heather persisted, a bit too drunk at this point to be as sensitive to her friend as she normally was.

Lucy sighed and looked around the club.

She smiled when she spotted Amanda, shyly dancing with some of their other friends and a few of the cowboys.

Amanda was a bit body conscious since having three kids, but she had put on a form-fitting red dress that glittered with sequins, a pair of black stilettos, and had done her brown hair in a bob of fetching curls. Lucy could tell she was feeling good about herself tonight and it was good to see.

"Not really." Lucy confessed to Heather's question.

"Is it because you keep comparing them all to Sean? Your Mr. Perfect?" Heather suggested shrewdly.

Lucy had just taken a sip of the champagne when suddenly she felt a wave of nausea come rolling over her out of nowhere.

She set her glass down and ran to the Ladies' room.