Jessica^

Of the three other girls here, Jessica looks the most out of place. The way she is standing in the corner, avoiding eye contact with her arms wrapped around her as if to hide the plump curves her plus-size lingerie was exposing, tells you she is in need of a friend. She looks in your direction as you walk over to her, and in her eyes you see... fear? No, not exactly. Intimidation? That's it! She's intimidated by you and the other women here. Her whole body is tense as she watches you move closer, looking like she would rather be anywhere but here.

"Um.. hi?" she says cautiously.

"Hi... Jessica, is it?" you ask warmly, trying to ease her tension.

"Yes, that's right. And you're... Suzy," she responds.

"Mmm hmm," you nod.

She gives you a guarded smile. "You're very pretty."

"Well, thank you," you respond, a little taken aback by the compliment. "You're very pretty too, you know."

Her smile fades. "No, not really. Brittany is very pretty too, and so is Li-mei. But me? Well..." she lowers her arms exposing her belly and a few faded stretch marks on either side of it. "I'm a mom, and I have the mom bod to prove it."

"Don't worry about them. Brittany is an airhead, and Li-mei is a bookworm. I'll bet by the end of the night Brittany is going to try to pay Li-mei to do her community college homework for her," you say jokingly.

Jessica laughs, "I wouldn't be the least bit surprised."

You laugh with her for a few seconds before awkward silence creeps in again. An uncomfortable moment passes, and you decide to ask, "So, how many kids?"

"Excuse me?" she asks, not understanding the question.

You try to clarify, "You said you're a mom. How many kids do you have?"

"Oh. I have three, two girls and a boy. The oldest is twelve," she says, looking a little less tense.

"Twelve?" you say with surprise. "You must have been young."

"Yep, I got pregnant in high school. My homecoming date used an old condom he'd been carrying in his wallet since sophomore year and... well... you can guess what happened. By graduation, I looked like I was hiding a watermelon under my gown."

"Oh my goodness!" you react, genuinely interested in her story.

"He tried to stick around and do the right thing, but it didn't work out. For a few years it was just me and my baby girl. Then I finally met my husband." Her fingers start to absentmindedly fidget with the gold band on her left ring finger. Her lips purse together as she seems lost in thought for a minute.

"Hey, you okay?" you ask as you lean in closer, brushing your hand reassuringly against her arm.

"I'm sorry. It's just... he had an affair a few months ago. I was so mad, and every time he apologized it just made me feel worse. I almost divorced his ass right then and there. We talked through it though, and we're good now... except for one thing."

"What's that?" you ask with your undivided attention.

"I needed to have an affair too. He asked me if I wanted to, and I said yes. At first it was just to get even with him, but the more we talked about it, the more excited I got about the idea. That's why I'm here. When Derek called the other day about this bachelor party, I said there was no way. My husband told me to hear him out though. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to have one wild night with no strings attached. Then I can go home in the morning and things can get back to normal. But..."

"But what?"

She sighs. "What if I don't want things to go back to normal? What if I like it too much? What if I want more?"

Knock, knock.

The doorknob turns, and the door opens just a crack.

"Jessica?" you hear Derek's voice on the other side of the door. "Come on. It's time. The rest of you stay here. Brittany will be next."

Jessica looks back at you with nervous anticipation. You take her hands in yours and give them a squeeze. "Don't worry about tomorrow. Tonight is yours, so enjoy every goddamn second of it!"

Her face lights up with a genuine smile. "Thanks. I will," she says with a newfound confidence in her voice. You release her hands, and the strides to the door. Looking back, she gives you a wink before leaving with Derek.