“Are we gonna dance or what?” Kerry interrupts.

I smile up at Jaxon. “My friends are heathens, as you can see.”

He laughs. “Dance with your friends. I’m not going anywhere.”

I arch an eyebrow. Why? I want to ask. Why waste your time on me when you can have any girl in this place eating out of the palm of your hand?

Kerry yanks me away from him before I can say anything, and I’m pulled into the middle of the dance floor.

“That man is fine,” Andrea shouts over the music.

Sammi nods eagerly. “He looks really into you.”

Becca nudges me with her elbow. “Did you get his number?”

“The only thing I got was whiplash. Why did you pull me over here like that? We were in the middle of a conversation.”

Kerry rolls her eyes. “You need to play hard to get. Make him work for it.”

“Work for what?”

“You know what.”

I shake my head. “I can’t go home with him.”

“Why not?” Mary asks. “No harm in it if you’re careful.”

“You wasted your twenties with ass face,” Andrea says. “You’re getting a second chance now. Have fun. Let loose.”

“Have sex.” Kerry wiggles her eyebrows.

Sex with a stranger? Can I do that? I’ve only had sex while in monogamous relationships. Would I be able to bare my body to someone I don’t know for one night?

I look to Sammi for backup, but she shrugs. “If you’re going to have sex with a random, do it with that guy.”

I scoff. “So much for being the goody-two-shoes of our group.”

“What? He’s gorgeous.”

I laugh. That he is. “Let’s just dance and enjoy your kid-free night out.”

“Say it louder for the mamas in the back!” Andrea raises her arms overhead and gyrates her hips.

We giggle and dance the night away in our impenetrable circle. I lose track of how many shots we down. It feels so good to enjoy myself without having to check the time. Andrew would get angry whenever I went out with the girls. Once nine o’clock hit, he’d send text after text, demanding I come home.

So I did.

Disgust racks through my body. God, when did I become this passive, meek woman? No wonder I gained weight. I stopped taking care of myself, too busy catering to Andrew’s wants and needs.

What about my needs?

Why did I allow them to take a back seat?

Why did I let someone else dictate how my life should go?

An explosion goes off within me.

It’s an awakening.

Or maybe it’s just the alcohol.

Whatever it is, I know one thing for certain: Never again will I be the person I was in that marriage.