The Bachelor Party

John was able to get a few days off from work to go to the wedding. While many of the out-of-state chose to fly from whatever location, John decided he was going to drive from North Carolina to Florida. Sure, it was a relatively long drive and his car wasn't even remotely new, but he was looking forward to it. Especially since he'd just had some major work done on the car.

John arrived the afternoon of Mark's bachelor party. He pulled up in front of Mark's house, who came out to greet him.

Walking down the front walk, Mark exclaimed. "Hey man! Long time no see." They shook hands.

"I can't believe you drove down here in your car. You know flights are cheap." He said as he opened the door and lead John to the living room.

Taking a seat, John responded. "Yeah, I know their cheap. But you know I love my Integra. I just gave it a tune-up and had the shocks and struts replaced as well as new tires. Besides, it STILL has under 200,000 miles. Which isn't bad for a '97."

"That car HAS been through a lot. Didn't you have like six people in one night?" Mark asked, trying to remember the story that had been recanted to him.

Smiling, John said "Yep. With one of your brothers, I forget who now, voluntarily riding in the trunk. I can't remember who all was there, either. I just know I already had myself and two or three other people in the car. Then we stopped and picked up your brother and the girl he was walking with. She climbed into the backseat and sat on someone's lap and your brother nearly ripped my spoiler off until I popped the hatch."

"I really do wish you had gone back for grad school. They needed some better people in the frat." Mark responded. "Come on, I'll show you to your hotel and then we can get ready for my bachelor party.

"Okie dokie." John replied blandly. "Where's this amazing girl I've heard so much about?"

"She won't be in until the rehersal dinner tomorrow." Mark informed him.

They drove to the hotel where Sarah's parents had reserved a block of rooms. John checked in and dropped off his bags before he and Mark headed to the beginning of his bachelor party.

While much crazier things could have happened, Mark's bachelor party was relatively simple. They met up with the the rest of the groomsmen and the best man at a restaurant and had dinner, then hit up a local bar. John agreed to stay sober and drive, as did the best man.

Within a couple of hours, Mark and the other groomsmen were getting pretty drunk. John finally cut Mark off around 11:00 so he wouldn't spend the entire next day hungover and feel like shit at his wedding rehersal.

One of the other groomsmen had taken it upon himself to find some "lovely ladies" to take home that night. John sat and laughed as woman after woman rejected him.

"Ahhhh, the joys of not drinking." He said to himself with a chuckle.

Dejectedly, the other groomsman returned around midnight with nothing but fake phone numbers and a bruised ego. The men then decided to close up shop for the night and get some rest before the rehersal dinner the next night.

As John returned to his hotel room around 1:00, after dropping Mark off and helping two of the other groomsmen to their rooms, he began to picture the girl he was to be paired with for the wedding. He had nothing to go on but the description Mark gave him, but he grew ever more excited at the prospect of how he pictured her.

Finally, he climbed into bed. Still thinking of the girl he had yet to see.