A New Allison

This story is a spin-off featuring characters that were introduced in my five-part series The Pleasure Cruise, and it takes place immediately after the conclusion of that series. This story is intended to stand on its own, and it is not necessary to have read The Pleasure Cruise to understand what follows. However, given that the characters in this story first appeared in that series, reading it will lend background to those who are interested.

Writing a first-person story as a woman was a challenge as a male author, and I owe tremendous thanks to three women in particular for helping develop what you're about to read. Dustygirl provided a lot of the initial inspiration and encouragement to turn the idea for this story into a reality, as well as helping me with some of the plot in the second half. RawSilhouette provided support, inspiration, and a keen eye for detail and realism. Ravenna933 has edited my work for years and did just as great a job as principal editor as she always does. All three provided much-appreciated female perspective on Allison's character and emotions throughout, and this story is dedicated to them.

This story is set in the United States and written about American characters, but I'm Canadian and I can only write in Canadian English. Don't be put off by all the words ending in -our.

I don't want to say that I'm happy that my sister Andie's wedding was such a disaster. That would be unkind. Uncharitable. Unsisterly. So, I won't say it. What I will say is that I saw it coming.

Our flight got back to Baltimore from our Eastern Caribbean bachelorette party cruise late on Thursday night, and by that point one group of bridesmaids was barely speaking to the other. I'll back up a little. I'd spent the last day at sea in bed with a gorgeous lacrosse player called Oliver, and I missed all the drama where this guy Sean we'd met on board told Andie off for being such a bitch. But when I met up with them all that night at dinner, it was clear that Lena and Brianna were feuding openly with Andie and Olivia, with Hannah trying to act as peacemaker between the two. I'd been so caught up in my own issues with Andie that I hadn't noticed Lena and Brianna, whom I didn't really know, had had just about enough of her bullshit, too.

I hadn't had the chance to get to know any of them on a deeper level, and if I'm being honest I had resisted letting any of my sister's friends get to know me while at sea, but Lena and I wound up sitting together on the flight home and we bonded a little. Apparently, my sister's friends aren't all brain-dead skanks! They may have been sorority sisters once, but Lena told me that she'd realized on the cruise that she no longer had anything in common with any of these other girls other than her best friend Brianna. We all decided to just get through the wedding without letting Andie walk over us anymore, and I got off the plane feeling empowered and ready to take on the worst of what she might throw at me.

The Friday before the wedding was a lot of last-minute work. We had to get the venue decorated, dresses fitted, and so on. Andie continued to treat us like servants, but whatever, I could deal with that. That night, we had the rehearsal dinner, where I got to meet her fiancé Connor's friends and family for the first time, and... well, let's just say that while Andie and Connor are each horrible enough to be perfect for each other, Connor wasn't blessed with cool friends the way Andie is. Connor is a finance bro working on Wall Street, and his friends were all fellow arrogant bros that I couldn't stand being around. His Dad was a chip off the old block -- full of himself and domineering -- while his Mom barely said two words the entire dinner. I got paired with an obnoxious prick called Clayton for the walk down the aisle, and I overheard him at one point telling another one of the guys he was going to get me to suck his dick by the time the wedding was over. Fat chance, Clayton.

So that catches us up to today. The alarm woke me at 5:30 AM, and I groaned in annoyance before silencing it. It was a little weird sleeping in my childhood bed again back at my parents' house in the suburbs, but Andie had wanted us all close by, and I didn't want to have to commute in from my place downtown. The four of us -- Andie, myself, and our parents -- were sleeping under the same roof again for the first time in years, at least for today. Andie and Connor would have their wedding night in a hotel, then tomorrow they'd be off on their honeymoon to Mexico. As if she needed another holiday! After that, they'd move back to their home in the Long Island suburbs, and I hopefully wouldn't have to see her again for months.

I checked my phone, seeing a text from Oliver that he sent late the night before from back in Oregon, and I smiled. Oliver. I shivered at the memory of all the sex we'd had on the cruise, involuntarily squeezing my legs together beneath the covers as erotic energy pulsed through me. I've never spent two days that hot before.

I allowed myself to drift on pleasant memories for a moment, and before long, my hand inadvertently made its way down between my legs. I wouldn't have thought I'd have any libido left with how much sex Oliver and I had had on the cruise, but my body was now apparently going through sexual withdrawal.

I was suddenly jolted from my fantasies by a banging at my door.

"Allison! Are you up?" It was Andie.

"Give me two minutes!"

At least she hadn't barged in on me. I pulled my hand out of my underwear and forced myself out of bed, quickly washing my hands before heading down to the kitchen. Andie was sitting at the table with her phone and a glass of orange juice, wearing a robe and a towel wrapped around her head. A pack of cigarettes sat on the table with her -- I knew my parents wouldn't let her smoke in the house, and I was happy she wasn't doing it anyway.

"Big day," I tried to be friendly. "Happy wedding day."

She nodded without looking up. "Thanks."

"Are you nervous?"

"No."

Clearly small talk wasn't on, but at least she was speaking to me. We had to get up early to get to the salon to get our hair and makeup done, so I quickly showered and headed out to grab six coffees from Dunkin' Donuts. We had a long day ahead.

When Andie and I got to the salon, Lena was already there, wearing an oversize hoodie and leggings. She looked exhausted at being up at such an ungodly hour, but she still had a natural Pinay beauty that shone through her tired eyes and makeup-free face. I thought she looked beautiful, and I was momentarily jealous of how good she could look having just rolled out of bed.

She smiled seeing me walk in with coffee. "Oh, Allison. Bless your heart." She tested how hot it was, then quickly gulped down a quarter of it at once. "Thank you. It's inhumane to make a girl get up this early."

Andie headed around the corner to speak to the salon owner as I leaned into Lena.

"You're welcome for the coffee. We've got to stick together to get through this, right?" I asked quietly.

Lena rolled her eyes. "Today will pass, tomorrow will pass, Monday I'll be back in California and I never have to see her again."

I raised my eyebrows. "That's harsh, isn't it?"

"Isn't it?" Lena looked me in the eye. "I thought you hated her."

"I do, and she's been horrible to me since we were little. But I never liked her. You were her friend."

"She was always a bitch. It just never bothered me when we were sorority sisters, because I was never her target."

Just then, the maid of honour Olivia walked in, and we instinctively shut up.

"Coffee?" I offered, gesturing to the table.

"Thanks." She had bags under her eyes and looked like she'd been hit by a truck. "I'm so hung over. Hope this makeup girl has some talent."

The makeup girl shot her a dirty look, but she said nothing.

"Lightweight," Lena giggled.

"No Alpha Delta Pi girl is going to turn down an open bar at a rehearsal dinner," Olivia retorted.

She's 27 and still acts like she's still in that sorority, I thought. Sad.

Ninety minutes later, Lena, Andie and I were done in the three salon chairs, and Hannah, Olivia and Brianna had taken our places. I couldn't help but admire myself in the mirror -- I've always been more on the tomboy side, but my light brown hair had been teased and elevated into a spectacular prom-night style, full of body and curls, and the makeup girl had done a spectacular job at bringing out my cheekbones and using colours that highlighted my green eyes. It wasn't often that I thought I looked pretty, but I looked pretty now.

My phone went off in my purse, and I quickly pulled it out. It was Lauren Kovalenko, the girl I'd met on the cruise who had forced me out of my funk.

It's the big wedding! You've gotta update us throughout the day! she wrote. Sean and I can't wait to hear how big of a disaster it's going to be.

You're with Sean? I asked, surprised. I thought you were going back to Vancouver.

I thought I was, too, she wrote back. But he invited me to stay with him in Toronto, and... I'm staying. We're going to try living together again and see what happens. We're taking it one day at a time, and it's only been one day. But this already feels right.

That's awesome, I responded. I hope it works out.

Me too. The only thing I'd been worried about was that all I was feeling was just sexual frustration. But I got laid yesterday, and I still feel the same way about Sean today.

You and Sean had sex? I wrote as I blushed at Lauren's forwardness. Lauren had told me about how long they'd been platonic friends, and I was a little confused as well as embarrassed. I wasn't used to talking so openly about sex with people I'd just met, but something about her had made me trust her early in the cruise when we'd met.

No. I called an old fuck-buddy, and I spent yesterday afternoon getting six months of sexual frustration professionally removed. It was awesome. But afterwards, last night and this morning, all I wanted was to spend time with Sean.

You guys obviously have a lot of love for each other, I wrote. I hope it works out for you both. I'll keep you posted on the wedding. I just got my hair and makeup done. Here's a selfie.

Girl, you look gorgeous! Lauren wrote enthusiastically. Send me another one once you get the dress on.

Will do. I smiled at the compliment, then I looked up from my phone to see Lena and Olivia chatting.

"Someone has to go get the flowers from the florist," Olivia remarked. "Any volunteers?"

"Allison will go," Andie ordered.

"I'll go with her," Lena volunteered quickly. "It's probably too much for one person to carry."

I decided not to argue. "Sounds good."

I jotted down the address, then the two of us headed out to the parking lot where my old Volkswagen Jetta was waiting. I climbed in and started the engine, putting it in gear and heading out for the flower shop. It wasn't far, and it was on the way to the church anyway, so I didn't really mind running the errand to get away from Andie for a bit.

"This is your car?" Lena asked as we pulled onto the deserted streets.

I nodded.

"I've never seen a girl driving a stick-shift before."

"I like having control over the gears, and it's more fuel-efficient. Plus, it's more fun." I smiled at her.

"I can really see how you and Andie don't have anything in common. She's the kind of girl who probably would be put out by the idea of having to push the pedals and turn the steering wheel."

I laughed. "I think Connor is going to be doing all the driving in their relationship. That is, when he's not too drunk to drive."

There was a short pause in the conversation.

"So, I came with you to help with the flowers, but I also have a question that I needed to make sure wouldn't be overheard," Lena blurted, suddenly nervous.

"Oh?"

"The more I've gotten to know you, the harder it's been to figure out why Andie treats you so badly. Do you know why she doesn't like you?"

I sighed. "The short answer is no."

"And the long answer?"

"I really don't know." I thought back to my childhood. "She's four years older than me. One of my earliest memories is playing dolls with her when we were little, and then suddenly her shoving me to the ground and taking my doll. As long as I can remember, that was my sister. She was mean, bullying, bossy, entitled, you name it. I used to take it personally. I thought it was something about me, or something I did wrong. But as I've gotten older and seen how she interacts with other people, I've realized it's just her. She's naturally narcissistic and self-obsessed. She thinks the rest of the world is beneath her, and she treats them like that."

"I've definitely been embarrassed by the way she treats service workers," Lena interrupted. "I've apologized on her behalf before."

"We all have," I agreed. "As long as I can remember, she's been awful to me. She was always trying to turn my parents against me too."

"That must really suck," Lena said empathetically.

"My parents at least managed to treat us evenly throughout our lives," I continued. "It's not like they ever played favourites, and she got in trouble loads of times for tormenting me. I have a great relationship with my Dad in particular, and he mostly protects me from the worst of what she's capable of. But that never stopped her trying."

"That's good. How about your Mom?"

"I'm not as close with my Mom," I responded. "Mom always treated Andie with a light touch. Dad was the disciplinarian. Mom hates conflict, so Andie walks all over her."

Lena shook her head. "I can't imagine what that must be like. I've got great relationships with both of my little brothers, and with my parents."

"That must be nice," I said wistfully. "I always wanted a sister who was my best friend. Instead, I got Queen Andie Bartok of Bitchistan."

"I..." Lena trailed off, thinking. "I regret agreeing to be Andie's bridesmaid. I wish I'd never said yes. We got along fine when we were pledges together, but we were never besties. She was always bitchy and narcissistic, but I can deal with that as long as there's other good qualities. Your sister was a total party girl in freshman year, and she was as wild as I was, so we bonded over that. I liked that she knew how to have fun, and any night out with her would wind up memorable. She introduced me to some wild party friends and a great weed guy. And she never bitched at me. I wouldn't say I ever really liked her, but when your whole life is partying, anyone who's good for a party is your friend."

"What changed?" I was curious now.

"I did. I grew up. By the time we graduated, partying wasn't my life anymore. I stopped getting drunk and getting high and focused on getting into law school, and she was still trying to act like we were 19."

"Do you know why she asked you to be part of this?"

"I think she wanted to go back to living the way we were when we all lived in the sorority house together. The five of us were always part of a friend group, but Andie and I never hung out one on one. Brianna was always my best friend, and I had a good relationship with Hannah. I liked Olivia just fine too back then. But it was still always a group thing.

"Andie hadn't seen Brianna or I since graduation, and she wanted the old gang to hang out again. I get that, I was looking forward to it too. But we were already drifting apart at that point in our lives, and I haven't even really thought about them since moving to California. We like each other's posts on Instagram, but that's not really a friendship."

"And why did you say yes?" I pressed. "I'm the sister, so I had to say yes, even though neither of us wanted it."

"I wanted to see Brianna again," Lena smiled, "plus my whole family lives in Baltimore, and I hadn't seen them in ages either. It was a good opportunity to come home. You don't get a lot of them when you're in law school on the opposite coast. I didn't even come home for Christmas this past year."

"That must be really hard," I empathized. "I've never lived anywhere except Baltimore."

"You didn't go away for school, right?"

"Nope. I went to Towson. It was such a relief when Andie moved away that I didn't want to go to any school that she had even the slightest association with."

Lena laughed. "Maryland is a good school, but I get that. And you're 23, right?"

"Yeah. I graduated last year with a history degree. I'm not doing much with it. I've been working in a library, but it's not a career. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life."

"You'll get there." Lena stared out the window, watching the familiar suburban landscape whizzing by. It was still early enough that there was little traffic. We got to the florist's shortly afterwards and picked up all the flowers, loading them into the car.

I headed back out onto the road and pointed the car in the direction of the church. We weren't a religious family, but Connor's was, and the wedding was taking place in his church.

"So..." Lena began again once we were underway.

"Yes?"

"I know you know Hannah from childhood, and I know that you and her sister are friends."

"Yeah," I said. "Kara and I were friends when we were little. We don't have much in common now, but we still go for coffee once a year or so. Our moms still are best friends, so we grew up together. It's a shame she can't make it for the wedding, but she's doing a year abroad in grad school. She's living in Denmark right now."

"Right. And you didn't meet Brianna and I until the first day of the vacation," Lena continued.

I nodded.

"So, what's the deal with you and Olivia?" Lena's eyes were sizing me up. "She seems to hate you just as much as your sister does."

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "Her and Andie met in high school, and I don't think she ever had a reason not to like me. But it was like that from day one. When she was visiting, it was like having two Andies instead of one."

"Huh."

"Why, what's your take on Olivia? How do you feel about her?"

"Now you're asking me to be the bitch." Lena smiled.

"You don't have to say anything," I reassured.

"Nah, I'll never see her again after tomorrow. I don't mind being honest."

I cocked my head at her, listening.

"Olivia is the most insecure person I know. She's a bit of a chameleon, changing her personality to match the people she's hanging around with. When I used to hang out with her and Brianna, she was kind, generous, fun, caring. But when she'd hang around Andie, she'd be an angry bitch. When she was with boyfriends, she'd act just like them, whether they were into football, video games, whatever. I never saw any signs of who she was independently of any outside influences."

"I guess that makes sense why she was so mean to me right from the beginning," I mused.

"Probably. If she saw Andie treating you like that, she'd have done the same." Lena paused, thinking. "I liked her a lot when we were sorority sisters. She was the only one in the house who could talk your sister down when she got in a snit. She defused a lot of catfights. If she still had that power, then this past week would have gone better. But Andie's not even listening to Olivia anymore."

Just then Lena's phone went off, and she quickly typed a response. "It's Sean," she said apologetically. "I'm texting him about today. He's convinced it's going to be a nightmare."

"I've been texting Lauren," I answered, "and I'm convinced it's going to be a nightmare."

Lena laughed. "Me too. But they were good people. I'm glad I met Sean. He made my whole cruise worthwhile."