When I left Teagan's place, I headed straight back to Jordan's to shower and change my clothes. We'd made plans to meet at Darby's, a local restaurant/bar we all liked in downtown Boulder, at six-thirty.

The house was empty when I let myself inside, so I went up to the room I shared with my husband and began the task of getting ready for a night out on the tiles with my friends.

I knew I was cutting it tight when I climbed out of the shower at 4:25pm and threw on my favorite black skinny jeans and the lemon peplum top I bought last week. The fabric of my jeans was incredibly forgiving and flattered my curves.

Happy that the cut of my top seemed to downsize my breasts into a somewhat normal size while still flattering my shape, I toed on a pair of black pumps before doing something I rarely bothered doing; straightening my curls. It was crazy how long my brown hair was when it wasn’t blown up in ringlets, and reached the middle of my back when I was done. I applied a full face of makeup, choosing to give my eyes a smoky effect tonight before adding the finishing touch of red lipstick to my always swollen lips.

By the time I was ready, it was 5:15pm and the cab I had booked earlier was waiting for me outside. Even though I knew it was pointless inviting him, I still tapped out a quick text to Jordan, letting him know where we were going and inviting him along before shoving my phone into my purse and rushing out to my cab.

* * *

Jordan

"We are going!" were the first words Annabelle said when she read the text message Hope had sent to my phone. "Go and get changed," she added, handing my phone back to me before returning to the task of changing Ryder's dirty diaper.

"I'm tired," I admitted, sinking down on the edge of her bed beside them. Leaning on my side, I tickled Ryder's chubby little face, distracting him so his mother could get the job of cleaning him done without protest.

"Da-dad," Ryder babbled, grinning up at me. "Da-da-da-da."

"Hey buddy," I cooed, smiling down at his beautiful face. I'd long given up on trying to teach him to call me Jordan. I figured it would come with time. "Good boy – stay still for Mommy to clean you up."

"Da-da-da-da," he squalled, blowing raspberries with excitement. "Up. Da-da…up!"

"Soon, buddy." I stroked his curls and smiled. "But you've gotta let Mommy clean that stinky butt first."

"You're always tired," Annabelle reprimanded as she handed me the dirty diaper.

I took the diaper down to the trash for her before returning to argue my point. "I'm not comfortable going there."

"And I get it," she agreed, as she cleaned her son up and redressed him. "I do. But we're still going."

If this was any other person trying to force my hand, I'd probably lose my shit. But this was Annabelle. I knew her history, had seen first-hand the horror she had lived through, and it humbled me. The respect I had for this woman was unmeasurable. I also respected the hell out of her opinions and advice. I might not always agree, but that was a different story.

"We don’t have a sitter," I pointed out, clutching at straws.

"I'll call Sally," Annabelle offered, cutting me a 'we're going, stop trying to stall' look.

"No." I shook my head. "No way. You know happened last time we hired her. The minute we were out the door, she had her boyfriend over." I grimaced at the memory. "I don't want strangers around him."

"Fine," Annabelle countered with a determined look in her eyes. "Then we'll take him with us."

"To a bar?" I gaped at her. "He's thirteen months old. He's not going to a bar."

"It's a restaurant."

"It's too late for him to be out."

"We're going."

"But –"

"We are going," she cut me off by saying, finality in her tone.

"So, now that we've established our plans for the night." She stood up and blew out a breath before handing me the baby and saying, "Any ideas on what I should wear?"

I shook my head and laughed. "You're unbelievable."

"Hey, it's not often I get a night out," she shot back, grinning. "And who knows, I might meet the man of my dreams tonight." She sighed dramatically before adding, "I hope he likes buying in bulk."

I cocked a brow. "Buying in bulk?"

"Yeah," she replied with a wink. "You know if he buys me, he gets two men free."

"He couldn’t afford you," I shot back, laughing. "You're too fucking expensive."

"I'm just priceless," she tossed out airily before walking over to her closet door and yanking it open. "Now, the red dress or the black one?"

"Really?" I moaned, flopping back on the bed with Ryder. "Are we really going to go through this every single time we go out?"

"Yes," she shot back sweetly. "Consider this the downside of having a female best friend."

"Mommy's crazy, Ryder," I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

"The red one," I said with sigh and waited for her to choose the opposite of what I said – like always.

"Really?" she frowned. "Don’t you think the black one looks, I don’t know, nicer on me?" She held the dress in front of herself and sighed. "You can see my baby belly in the red."

"See," I cooed, resuming my tickling attack on Ryder. "I told you Mommy's crazy. She thinks she has a baby belly."

"I do have a baby belly."

"No, you don’t."

"Yes, I do."

"No… you really don’t."

"Jord, don’t lie to me…"

Christ. "Fine, wear the black dress."

"So, you agree? The red one does show my baby belly."

"What?" I gaped at her. "How did you just turn this entire conversation around on me?"

She stared at me for the longest moment before shaking her head and saying, "Screw it. I'll wear the red dress."

Dear Jesus.