I noticed the baby bump on my stomach when the zipper of my wedding dress wouldn't close, I knew I could kiss my bright future goodbye.
I remember the words of my future father in law all too well, "Bachelor parties are supposed to be for men. The bride has her wedding."
I had shrugged it off but inside I was furious. The men could have their fun while the good girls waited at home? No way! We're in the twenty-first century and I was gonna have my bachelorette party, like it or not. Besides, I knew Simone well enough to know that she had had a whole party plan ready from the day Steve and I got engaged. Maybe even before than.
I knew Simone since middle school. She was the type of girl my parents had warned me NOT to hang out with. Luckily she hid it well. We always joked that we were the most unusual pair of friends. Simone, the party animal who had one boyfriend after another (and sometimes more than one at a time). And then there was me. Good little Kate, daddies sweet girl who'd made a purity pledge. Who would have thought I'd marry first? But there I was, only nineteen and about to marry in 4 months!
We had agreed to have our party early, for one, it was hard to find a date that worked for all the girls, and I was absolutely NOT going to show up tired or hungover to my wedding day. Simone had gathered all the girls and showed up in a limo at my parents villa. I wasn't going to live with Steve until after the wedding, as he was, much like my dad, traditional. My father was a preacher in a successful church. There he had met Steve, who he later introduced to me. Steve was a good man, that is, he met all of my father's criteria. He was religious, believed in purity until marriage, had a good paying job as a lawyer and... he was white.
Did I mention we live in the twenty-first century? Well, my dad doesn't.
"I'm no racist," he would say, "but if you come home with a black guy, don't bother coming home at all."
Then he would go on and on about it, saying, "It's just not right!" and "We're not supposed to mix." or "They should stay with their own."
I'd let him talk. Luckily Steve had pale skin, green eyes and light brown hair. He was not much taller than me. He had a short trimmed beard, glasses and always wore a button down shirt. Not the sexiest man alive, Simone would say he's a total nerd, but he was sweet and he would provide.
We had both agreed not to call or text each other for the day, so we wouldn't disturb each others bachelor party.
"Are you nervous?" Rachel asked when I entered the limo.
"Ofcourse not," I said, "I trust Steve fully."
"Oh no," she laughed, "I know you trust Steve, I was talking about Simon!"
The limo burst out into laughter and the ice was broken. We started the day with a cocktail workshop.
"I'm making mine virgin," squealed Simone, "in honor of Kate!" I saw her pour in a liberal amount of vodka anyway and soon after we were all too happy to have a limo with a driver.
"On to the next... activity..." Simon said, with a meaningful smirk.
Not much later we found ourselves in make-up chairs. Not quiet the "naughty" activity I expected from Simone, but pleasant none the less. I got heavier make-up than I would usually wear, with long dark lashes and a bold red lip. They had undone my ponytail so my blonde locks framed my face. I felt good about myself.
"On to clothes!" exclaimed Simone. The outfits picked out were really skimpy. Now everything became clear, we were doing a burlesque dancing workshop. We giggled among ourselves as we stumbled around on 9-inch heels. I wore a corset top that pushed up my D-cup breasts. It was black and red, with laces on the front and came down to my waist, leaving part of my stomach exposed. Under that I wore a tight red skirt that only just covered my ass. It had a zipper from the top of my hip, all the way down. Simone made all of us walk "on stilts" and I was no exception. I wore black lacquer stilettos and thigh high stockings. My outfit was accessorized with hoop earrings and a leather chocker. If Steve, or my dad, would ever see me like this they'd go mad. I'd never done any "sexy dancing" before, but I had done cheerleading in high school and it went surprisingly well.
We practiced a group dance and individual part. There was a lot of laughter but by the end I think we looked pretty good. We got a usb with a video of our performance, which I hid in the bottom of my purse. Just as I was about to get back to the dressing room, Simone stopped me.
"Hey party girl! You're not done yet!"
I raised an eyebrow, "I'm not?"
"No girl, it's time for your big finale!" she winked at our dance teacher, who opened the side door. A group of men walked in. I counted 14 of them... one for each lady.