One Wild Night

The doctor appointment the next day yielded the dreaded results. Marissa was seven weeks along. Cecelia, Sabrina, Carmen, and Jess were all there, which was fortunate because Marissa had a minor breakdown when the doctor told her the news.

“Shh!” Sabrina soothed, hugging Marissa, who was shaking with sobs.

The doctor was wearing an expression of mild surprise and professional calm. He waited with the air of a man that had a solution to offer. “You could always abort the fetus.”

Marissa looked up, her sobs subsiding into little hiccups. None of the other girls reacted. The opinions on abortion varied among them. Marissa had never put much thought into the debate over whether abortion was right or wrong. She’d never considered that she might be in a position to have to make that choice.

“You don’t have to decide right this instant,” the doctor said. “It can be done at anytime during the first sixteen weeks."

Marissa nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Doctor.”

He left, and Marissa changed back into her jeans and tee-shirt. As soon as they were out of the building, the girls launched into a discussion (after first deciding to go to Dairy Queen for blizzards).

“You can not abort this baby!” Sabrina exclaimed. “This is Syn Gates’ baby!”

“Oh, yeah, because he cares so much,” Marissa drawled sarcastically.

“He might,” Carmen said.

“Let me call him and see. Oh, wait…” Marissa’s voice held an edge of bitterness.

Carmen swatted at her. “Smart ass!”

“He needs to know,” Cecelia said seriously.

“I could write him a letter,” Marissa remarked with mock thoughtfulness.

Cecelia rolled her eyes. “This is important. We’ll find a way to get him the news if we have to fly to California and find his house.”

“I’ve wanted to do that for four years now,” Marissa said.

“That’s called stalking,” Jess chimed in. “Do you want to go to jail?”

Marissa lifted a shoulder. “Syn’s worth it.”

"Then he’s worth devising a plan to meet him so you can tell him the news, too,” Cecelia said.

“I guess. But there’s no way we’ll ever get to him.” Marissa frowned.

“You did in Memphis,” Sabrina pointed out.

“That was pure luck. If he hadn’t been tipsy and I hadn’t been dressed like a hooker, no dice.”

“But you were,” Carmen said. “This time, it should be easier. You’re going to have your four best friends tweaking the circumstances for you.”

“And have we ever not gotten exactly what we wanted?” Jess said with a smirk.

Marissa shook her head. “No.”

“Okay then.” Sabrina dug out her cell and began looking up tour dates. “They’ll be in New York tomorrow, Pittsburgh the day after, then they get a day off before going to Las Vegas.”

“I vote for Vegas,” Carmen stated.

“Of course you do,” Cecelia returned.

“No, not for the reason you’re thinking. I vote for Vegas because it’ll be easier to get to them there.”

“How do you figure?” Marissa queried.

“Uh, look at us! We are hot-ass bitches. All we’ve got to do is dress up like showgirls or strippers and flirt our way backstage.”

"Can everybody do Vegas?" Jess asked.

"Hell yeah!" Sabrina enthused.

Cecelia nodded. "Yeah. My boss owes me a couple of days off anyway."

Jess, Sabrina, Carmen, and Cecelia all looked at Marissa expectantly. She bit her lip, hesitating. The very thought of being face-to-face with Brian again made her stomach twist with nerves; the idea that she was going to have to inform him he was going to be a father made her downright nauseous.

Carmen raised her eyebrows. "Well? C'mon, Vix. We all know you don't have an excuse not to go, so stop stalling and trying to think of one."

Marissa shot Carmen a look that was slightly annoyed and exhaled loudly. "Fine. Yeah. Let's go to Vegas."

****

Sabrina and Cecelia were put in charge of making arrangements for the trip. They ordered tickets for the show, booked a flight for the day before the show, and booked rooms at the least-expensive hotel they could find within walking distance of the venue.

"That gives us time to kinda familiarize ourselves with the arena," Cecelia explained.

"I feel like we're planning to rob a bank," Sabrina said with a giggle.

The night preceding their flight, the girls went shopping for outfits that would make them believable in their roles as strippers/showgirls. Carmen had the brilliant idea to go to a costume shop.

"For some reason, I think you've done this before," Jess said as the girls climbed from Sabrina's car.

Carmen grinned. "I was a Vegas showgirl for Halloween one year."

Marissa trailed into the shop behind the others. Her mind was on the task ahead and she couldn't focus on anything going on around her. She didn't even remember what she'd eaten for breakfast that morning.

"Rissa."

Marissa blinked and gradually became aware of Cecelia and Sabrina standing in front of her.

"Sweetie, you've gotta relax," Cecelia said.

Marissa snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Stress is bad for your health," Sabrina said. "Not to mention the baby's."

Marissa covered her ears. "Ugh! Don't even mention babies around me."

"Rissa." Sabrina smoothed Marissa's hair back from her face. "It's gonna be fine."

"Sabrina, I'm about to go to Las Vegas and tell Synyster Gates that I'm carrying his child! How in the hell is that fine!?"

The proprietor of the shop glanced at them curiously. Cecelia and Sabrina moved Marissa farther into the depths of the store.

"Riss, you have to calm down," Cecelia insisted. "You're going to have all the help and support you need. And if Syn doesn't believe you," she cut in quickly when Marissa opened her mouth, "then fuck him. You can make the decision about whether or not to keep the baby without having to worry about his input."

"Marissa. Breathe." Sabrina commanded.

Marissa inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, exhaling slowly and trying desperately to get her stomach to stop playing roller coaster.

"Hey! Bat Bitches! Come here!" Carmen called from the left side of the store.

Sabrina grabbed Marissa's hand and dragged her in the direction of Carmen's voice. They found her in front of a display of outfits that didn't consist of much material. The little bit of fabric that composed the outfits was coated in glitter and/or sequins.

Jess smiled. "Jackpot!"

"Okay, Vix has to have purple since she's the one..." Carmen paused for a split second. "...giving the news."

"Serving the life sentence, you mean?" Marissa said, and Sabrina elbowed her in the ribs. "Ow!" Marissa glared at Sabrina.

Carmen pulled an outfit from the rack. It consisted of what was basically a bikini top made of purple sequins and matching boyshorts. "This is perfect! Just add your purple fedora and those totally slutty purple shoes you bought last year and voila! Stripper."

Marissa accepted the outfit from Carmen and went back to where the dressing rooms were located to try it on. Once she had it on, she looked at herself in the full-length mirror. But her attention wasn't on how great she looked in the barely-there outfit. She stared at her stomach, reaching up unconsciously to place a hand against her flat, firm abs. She gently caressed the skin. She knew she wouldn't really accept that she was pregnant until her body began to change. Right now...

How can I look the same when I feel so different?

There was a light tap on the dressing room door. "Vix, come out and show us!"

Marissa adjusted the top and walked out of the room. Her friends whistled and catcalled.

"When Syn sees you in that, he's going to want to make more..." Sabrina trailed off.

"Well, Marissa's got the perfect outfit," Carmen said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Now for the rest of us to get in costume."

It took another two hours for Jess, Carmen, Cecelia, and Sabrina to find outfits they were completely satisfied with. Jess and Carmen ended up in matching leather dominatrix outfits. Sabrina selected a red leather tube top and a black leather miniskirt. Cecelia chose a silver wrap-around, strapless dress with an extremely low neckline and an extremely high hemline.

"We're going to look just like everybody else in Vegas," Marissa commented, swiping her credit card at the register. "There's no guarantee they'll let us in thinking we're presents for the boys or whatever."

Carmen arched an eyebrow. "Bitch, please! All it's going to take is a little show from me and Jess and we will fucking waltz in like we own the place."

Cecelia and Sabrina laughed. Marissa cracked a reluctant smile.

"That's my girl!" Carmen hugged Marissa tightly. "Don't worry, babe. We've got this."