Riley and Brynn were in the backseat of Aiden's car, whispering back and forth to each other as we drove back to the house.  I couldn't hear anything they were saying, but from the looks I kept getting from both girls, I had a suspicion that my name was mentioned a few times during their conversation.

Riley had decided to sit in the backseat behind Aiden, which gave me the opportunity to catch little glimpses of her during the secretive chit-chat. There was a concerned expression cemented on her face as her mouth moved next to Brynn's ear.

She was changing her mind about tonight.  I could see the wheels turning and the doubt creeping in. I would have to do everything I could to set her at ease once we got inside the house. I couldn't let her get in her own head about us and talk herself out of it.

Aiden pulled up to the driveway and killed the car engine.  We all unbuckled our seatbelts and ceremoniously climbed out of the car to head inside. 

"Hey, guys Brynn and I need to talk a minute. We'll catch up." Riley said as she slammed the door shut.

I stood next to the car, anxiously waiting on her to do whatever she needed to do with Brynn.  I wasn't going to leave her outside without me.  It was absolutely necessary for her to stay by my side the rest of the night. Any second she had on her own would give her another opportunity to find a way to back out on me.

Riley's gorgeous eyes were pleading with me for some reason. I didn't understand why.

"Come on. They want to talk. Don't be a creep and give them some space." Aiden whispered to me as he grabbed my arm when I didn't follow behind him. I dug my heels into the ground when he attempted to drag me into the house forcibly.  I ripped my arm away from his grasp and stomped inside to go grab a drink. 

I was going to go inside for her and only because she wanted me to. It wasn't because of him.

I was keyed up about tonight and getting a jump on the fun would help me get over my nerves. 

I was already three large gulps into a bottle when I heard the front door open again.  Another few seconds later, Brynn was walking into the room with Mark and Aiden tailing her.

"Where's the shots, boys?" Brynn said, practically frothing at the mouth to get the party started.

Aiden went to the freezer and opened it to study some of the liquor choices we had stashed in there. Most of the stuff we kept cold was for when we were entertaining. It wasn't the kind of stuff we drank regularly. Most of our standard everyday supply was still out on the kitchen counter.  It never really got put away because someone was always drinking at some point. 

Most nights, that person was me. The next closest person was Mark, but he was still a distant second.

Brynn wrapped herself around Aiden's back and leaned around him to look at the different chilled alcohol options. She whispered in his ear and pointed to a bottle of something clear with a picture of an orange on it. He grabbed it and another half-empty bottle that matched it. That one had something that looked like a cartoon raspberry.

I had no idea what it was, I didn't drink that flavored shit.

Anna and JD appeared in the kitchen a few seconds later. Riley was the last person to walk in. She was staring at me again the second she came into the kitchen.  I smiled at her and made my way around the table to the spot where I first stood next to the feisty girl the night of her graduation. Hopefully, it would give me a little luck.

Riley walked up behind me and brushed up against me as she passed.  I felt at ease the second she was by my side.

JD and Anna began pouring and lining the table with various shots for the group.  There were enough poured for everyone to have at least two, possibly three, without stopping. The girls all gravitated towards the clear stuff that Aiden took from the freezer while the guys grabbed the darker options.

Brynn counted down and we all grabbed our chosen doom in front of us. Every head bent back at the same time, commencing the beginning of our end. 

Since the second round was already poured, we all went for another one within a few seconds of the first bottoming out in our stomachs. 

Brynn counted again and we slammed the glasses back.

It didn't take much more than ten minutes for Riley to start fumbling around and grinning like everything about the room was hilarious. Riley was such a lightweight.  She managed to hang around with us for three more shots before I stopped letting Brynn fill her glass.  I wanted her to loosen up and have fun tonight, but I didn't want her to get so drunk that she didn't remember what happened.

"Hey...hey. I love you so much." Anna sloppily planted loud kisses all over JD's face. 

They had somehow managed to fall down in unison on the floor next to each other after taking the last shot. My tolerance was a lot higher than everyone else's and even I was starting to go a bit hazy right along with them. My insides felt like they were bouncing up and down with excitement over the girl standing next to me.

"Let's get married." JD started pulling out his wallet and throwing his credit cards and money on the kitchen floor.

"What are you doing?" Riley asked as she leaned over the table. My girl was holding on for dear life to keep herself standing. I stood behind her and wrapped my arm up under her so she wouldn't end up on the floor too. 

Maybe four shots was closer to her limit than five.

"Getting money so we can fly to Vegas. You all are coming too. Anna and I are getting married tonight." JD fell sideways on the floor.

Anna flopped her weight down on top of him.  They were curled up in a little ball on the floor, pecking each other with little kisses on every inch of each other's face. 

"How about one more shot to celebrate before we go?" Brynn leaned over in front of them and waved two shot glasses in their faces.

"Is it tequila?" Anna hiccupped and blinked at her.

"If you want it to be." Brynn pulled Anna up to a seated position and held the shot glass up to her mouth.

Brynn repeated the motion and held another glass up to JD next. His drunken eyes stared down her top as she bent over too far in front of him.  He had a slight smirk on his face as he stared at her bare chest. It was a good thing for Brynn that Anna was so trashed that she didn't notice or she would have boxed Brynn's ears off her head.

"You guys should go upstairs to plan the wedding. We will all hang out down here and wait until you are ready." Riley suggested as she ripped my arm from around her. She stumbled around the table to help Anna up off the floor.

"You are the best little sister ever. I always wanted a sister and now I have you.  You have to be my Maid of honor?" Anna beamed as Riley unsuccessfully attempted to pull her up. 

Mark and I were behind Riley, helping get Anna up before she pulled Riley down on the floor.  She refused to let Riley's arm go.

"Riley, you didn't answer me. I said that I want you to be my Maid of honor. You can't say no or that means you hate me." Anna looked like she was about to go ballistic.

"Yes. Of course, I will be your Maid of honor. Now go upstairs." Riley nodded, encouraging her.

"For the bachelorette party, I want a glittery pink sash, a princess tiara, and one of those giant inflatable weiners to ride on. It has to be huge, Riley. As my Maid of honor, you have to buy me everything I want. Oh, and I want to drink out of a penis straw too."  Anna kept grabbing at Riley's clothes as I started walking her out of the kitchen.

Behind me, JD had his arm wrapped tightly around Mark's neck. 

"Careful, dude. That is my drunk wife. You break her. You buy her." JD yelled at me when Anna started slumping out of my grasp and back down to the floor. 

I stuck my hands under Anna's armpits and lifted her body back up. Anna couldn't walk on her own or put any pressure on her legs. She was so sloppy that her body stopped functioning. I ended up having to carry most of her weight as she dragged her feet up the stairs.

JD started stripping down to his boxers in the hallway the second we got on the top step. It was the third thing on my list that he and his sister had in common.  Neither one of them liked to keep their clothes on when they were drunk.

Riley could get naked for me anytime she was ready to tonight. I would help her take it all off if she wanted me to.

When we got inside JD's room, Mark lifted the sheet back as I laid Anna down on the bed. She was snoring the second her head hit the pillow.

Mark pushed JD over to the bed to join her. He collapsed down almost immediately on top of the jumbled blanket.  His eyes were tiny slits and barely open.  He was looking up at me like he expected me to read him a bedtime story.

"Ezra," JD slurred at me before I could walk out the door.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Keep an eye on Riley for me. Make sure she stays out of trouble." He mumbled and turned over in bed to face Anna.

He had joined Anna with an alternating chaotic rhythm of snores.

A wicked grin covered my face and there was nothing I could do to stop it from forming.

He had absolutely nothing to worry about. I would make sure Riley behaved tonight.

"Goodnight JD."