by Sandi Lynn
Chapter 24
Grace
Jamieson and I stepped onto the elevator and headed back to our rooms to change.
“You up for getting rip-roaring drunk with me?” I grinned.
“Seriously? You’re going to get drunk?”
“You bet I am. You in?”
“Yeah. I’m in.” He smirked.
“Great. Give me about twenty-minutes and I’ll meet you at the pool. We can start there.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
While Jamieson and I were at the pool, we got to talking to Mandy and Greg, a couple who were from Los Angeles. They were both in their mid-twenties. Mandy worked at an art gallery and Greg worked as a systems tech for a high-end security company. They were beautiful together and were in Vegas to get married. Their wedding was already being planned back home by both families and they said it was getting to be too much, so they decided to take a trip to Vegas and elope. I thought it was romantic and Jamieson called them straight-up crazy.
“So what are your families going to say when you tell them you got married?” I asked Mandy.
“They won’t be happy, but we don’t care. They’re the reason we’ve decided to do this. They were making our wedding out to be about them and now both sides are arguing over the stupidest things. It’s as if our opinion didn’t matter. My father said as long as he was paying for it, they’d do what they wanted.”
“Sounds awful,” I spoke.
“So how long have the two of you been together?” Greg asked Jamieson.
“Oh, we’re not together.” He laughed. “We work together. We both were speakers at the medical conference here in the hotel.”
“So you’re both doctors?” Mandy asked.
“I’m a trauma surgeon and he’s a neurosurgeon,” I replied.
“Damn,” Greg spoke.
“We totally thought the two of you were a couple. You’re so cute together.” Mandy grinned.
“No. No couple for us,” Jamieson spoke as he finished off his drink. “Another round?” he asked.
We spent the day with them drinking by the pool. Then, we changed our clothes, met them at the bar, had more drinks and did a few shots, or maybe it was more than a few. All I knew was that I was wasted out of my mind and that I’d pay for it tomorrow. But I didn’t care. I was having fun and forgetting about what day it was. Speaking of being drunk, Jamieson was also wasted out of his mind and the two of us were having the time of our lives as the night started to become a big blur.
I slowly opened my eyes. My head throbbed with pain and my throat was dry. I could barely move as my stomach churned over and over again. I closed my eyes again, and when I rolled over, my arm wrapped around bare skin. Shit. Opening one eye, I saw Jamieson lying there. Looking down at myself, I lifted the sheet and saw I was naked. Great, we had sex again. The last thing I remembered about last night was Jamieson and I walking down the strip with drinks in our hand laughing. I couldn’t deal with today yet, so I went back to sleep.
Jamieson
“Fuck,” I moaned as placed my arm across my forehead.
My head was pounding, and my eyes were swollen. I hadn’t been this drunk or hungover in years. I slowly turned my head and saw Grace was still sound asleep. I wondered if she felt as bad as I did. Considering how much we drank all day, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had alcohol poisoning. I reached over and attempted to grab my phone from the nightstand, but it wasn’t there. Slowly lifting my aching head, I saw it was lying on the floor next to the bed. I reached down, picked it up, and dialed Stuart Collins.
“Dr. Collins,” he answered.
“Stuart, it’s Jamieson. I need you to bring me two banana bags to the Venetian Hotel, and quickly.”
I scanned the room and noticed I was in Grace’s suite.
“Room 3025. Stat!”
“Too much to drink last night?” He lightly laughed.
“You could say that.”
“I should be there in about fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks, Stuart. I owe you one.”
I set my phone down and slowly closed my eyes.
“Who were you talking to?” Grace mumbled.
“Stuart Collins. He’s going to bring us banana bags in about fifteen minutes. You need one, right?”
“Fuck yes. I feel like I’m dying,” she softly spoke.
“Yeah, me too.”
“I remember nothing about last night. And I’m sorry to say I don’t remember us having sex,” she whispered.
“I don’t either. So don’t feel bad.”
“You used a condom, right?” she grumbled.
“To be honest, I don’t know.”
She rolled over onto her back and placed her arm over her head.
“What time is it?”
I glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
“Eleven o’clock.” I reached over and grabbed a white robe that was lying on the floor and handed it to her. “You better put this on before he gets here.”
“Who is Stuart Collins and how does he have banana bags?” she asked as she struggled into her robe.
“He was one of my residents a couple of years ago. He works at the hospital not too far from here.”
There was a knock on the door and I struggled to get out of bed. Pulling on my pants from yesterday, I slowly stumbled to the door and opened it.
“Damn, Jamieson, you look like shit.” Stuart smiled.
“Thanks. Good to see you too. Come on in. Do Grace over there first.”
“Hi, I’m Doctor Collins. No worries, Grace. I’m going to pump you full of fluids to help speed up your recovery.”
“I know what a banana bag is, Dr. Collins. I’m a trauma surgeon.”
“Oh. Well, it’s nice to meet you.”
As soon as he was done inserting the IV into Grace, he walked over to my side of the bed and began mine.
“Did you two get married or something?” he asked.
“No. Why the hell would you ask that?”
“Because you’re both wearing the same gold bands on your left hand.”
Grace and I both looked at our hands at the same time and then at each other. My heart started racing and I felt like I was going to vomit. This was nothing but a joke. A joke we must have played on each other last night.
Grace
I could feel my airways starting to close and I couldn’t breathe. I was going into a panic attack.
“Grace, I need you to take deep breaths,” Stuart spoke as he ran over to my side of the bed. “Look at me.”
I began to sweat profusely, and I felt like I was going to pass out.
“Slow, deep breaths,” Stuart spoke. “There you go. Better now?” he asked.
I stared at him and slowly nodded my head.
“A drunk marriage. I see it all the time at the hospital. I better get going. I think the two of you need to talk.”
“Thanks, Stuart,” Jamieson spoke.
“No problem. I hope the two of you feel better.”
He left the room and Jamieson turned to me.
“Grace, this didn’t happen. It has to be a joke. I bet these aren’t even real.”
“Oh my God, what did we do?” My eyes widened at him.
“Nothing. We did nothing!” he loudly voiced. “Goddamn it, why can’t I fucking remember anything?”
“I need to go back to sleep,” I spoke. “Let’s just go to sleep and we’ll figure this out when we wake up.”
“Good idea,” Jamieson spoke. “Because, right now, I can’t deal with this.”
Chapter 25
Grace
I opened my eyes and noticed Jamieson wasn’t in the bedroom. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was four p.m. I felt a lot better, so I took out my IV, climbed out of bed, and walked into the living room, where I saw Jamieson sitting on the couch with his hands covering his face.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He picked up the white piece of paper sitting next to him and handed it
to me. It was our receipt for wedding services rendered with a note that said our proof of marriage would be ready for pick up today after noon. Placing my hand over my mouth, I ran to the powder room off the foyer and stuck my head in the toilet. This wasn’t happening.
Once I was finished, I wiped my mouth and walked back out to the living room.
“Are you okay?” Jamieson asked.
“No! I’m not okay! We fucking got married last night!” I shouted. “Are you okay?”
“Fuck no! This is bullshit and I know it’s some kind of joke. We both just need to calm down, get dressed, and head over to this Little Vegas Chapel and find out what the fuck happened.”
“We are both wearing gold wedding bands!” I yelled.
I grabbed the ring and removed it from my finger as quickly as I could. Jamieson stared at me and then removed his before getting up from the couch.
“Listen, Grace. Let’s not panic or lose our shit just yet until we find out exactly what happened last night.”
I took in a deep breath and went into the bedroom. I ended up losing my shit anyway as I went into the bathroom and checked the trash can. Then I scurried back into the bedroom and got down on the floor on my hands and knees, crawling around the bed like a lunatic.
“What the hell are you doing?” Jamieson asked.
“Looking for the condom. The wrapper. Anything!” I shouted. “There’s nothing. No sign of any condom being used!”
“Grace—”
“Don’t. Don’t say it!” I pointed at him. “Who knows how many times we had sex last night. Neither one of us even remembers doing it. In fact, I’m shocked you could even get it up with as much alcohol as you drank.”
“I can always get it up, no matter what.”
“Oh, I bet you can!”
“Are you on birth control?” he asked in a calm tone.
“Yes. Of course.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
“What am I worried about?” I cocked my head in disbelief as I stood up. “I’m worried about contracting an STD, you idiot! God knows you’ve slept with half the hospital and probably all of Los Angeles and New York!” I shouted.
“Okay. Just stop right there!” he yelled. “I do not have an STD. That I can guarantee. I’ve never in my life not used a condom with a woman. EVER!”
“Ha. I find that hard to believe.” I placed my hands on my hips.
He stood there and slowly shook his head.
“I don’t care if you believe me or not. I’m one hundred percent clean. Get dressed so we can go.” He grabbed his clothes and walked out of the bedroom.
I threw on a sundress and some sandals and we took the elevator to the lobby. When the doors opened, we saw Mandy and Greg walking out of the hotel.
“Mandy. Greg. Wait!” I shouted.
“Hey, you two! What a great day yesterday,” Mandy spoke. “How was Criss Angel?”
“We don’t remember. In fact, we were hoping you could tell us what we did,” Jamieson spoke.
“We don’t know, Jamieson. We parted ways after dinner because we had to be at the chapel and you guys were going to try and get tickets to see Criss Angel. That was the last we saw of you,” Greg spoke. “What’s going on?”
“We just woke up very hungover and can’t remember much about last night,” I spoke.
“Well, obviously, the three of you had a great time.” Mandy smiled.
“The three of us?” Jamieson spoke.
“You, Grace, and the alcohol.” Greg grinned. “Anyway, we have to head to the airport. Let’s meet up in Los Angeles for dinner one night.”
The two of them climbed into a cab and Jamieson and I walked down to the Little Vegas Chapel. When we walked in, we were greeted by an oversized man with a jolly smile on his face.
“Hello again. How’s the happy couple? I’m assuming you’re here to pick up your proof of marriage?”
“We need to talk to you,” I spoke in a stern voice.
“Sure. Come with me.” His jolly smile dissipated.
He took us back into his office and took a seat behind his desk.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“That’s what we need you to tell us,” Jamieson spoke.
“Somehow I knew this was going to happen.” He sighed. “Let me guess, you have no recollection of getting hitched last night?”
“No, we don’t!” Jamieson spoke in a firm voice.
“You both came in here last night, drunk off your asses. At first, I refused to marry you. I even told you to come back today if you still wanted to get married, when you were sober, and I’d marry you. But you insisted. You both said you were sure you wanted it and you even signed a liability contract stating that the Little Vegas Chapel would not be held responsible because you both were intoxicated. It is a legally binding contract. In fact, your wedding photos are ready.”
He got up from his chair and walked over to the long table that sat up against the wall near the door. After picking up a large white envelope, he walked over and handed it to me. I swallowed hard as I opened it and removed the pictures.
“Oh my God,” I spoke.
“Fuck me,” Jamieson said as he rubbed his forehead.
The pictures were of us posing in the most God awful drunk-off-our-asses poses there ever could be.
“Where did I get that veil?”
“You rented it from us.”
“And the flowers?”
“From us.”
“Oh my God.” I covered my face with my hands.
“What about the gold bands we were both wearing?” Jamieson asked.
“We sell rings here as well.”
“So you’re telling us that this is all real? We came to this place last night and got married?” Jamieson sighed.
“Yes. Clearly, the two of you are regretting it now. Good thing I had you sign that contract.”
“This is absolutely ridiculous!” Jamieson shouted. “There should be laws about marrying people who are inebriated.”
“Listen, you two. You made a mistake. It happens. But there’s nothing to worry about. As soon as you get home, you go to the courthouse and have the marriage annulled. It’ll be as if it never happened and the two of you can go your separate ways. I’m sorry about this, but I tried to discourage you last night, considering the state you were in.”
“Thank you,” Jamieson spoke as he got up from his seat. “I apologize if we were any trouble.”
“Nah. You two were cute and very persistent. Sometimes the subconscious mind has a way of telling you things that your conscious mind doesn’t want to know.” He smiled.
“Trust us. This is something neither of us wanted,” Jamieson spoke.
We walked out of the chapel and headed back to the hotel.
“This is just great. Just fucking great.” He shook his head.
I didn’t say a word. I just walked alongside him staring straight ahead in disbelief.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“What do you want me say, Jamieson? We got married, woohoo!” I threw my hands up in the air. “I’m just as sick about it as you are, but we can fix this. You heard what he said.”
“Damn right we’re going to fix it. I’m calling my attorney the second we get back to the hotel.”
We stepped onto the elevator and Jamieson pushed the button to his floor.
“Come back to the room with me and I’ll call my attorney. We’ll talk to him and see how quickly we can get this marriage annulled.”
Chapter 26
Jamieson
We stepped inside my room and I pulled my phone from my pocket.
“Jamieson. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Tony, I need your help. I’m going to put you on speaker because Dr. Grace Harper is with me and this involves her as well.”
“Okay. What’s going on?”
I took in a long deep breath. To even say the words made me sick to my stomach.
“Grace and I are in Vegas for a medical conference. We both partied a little too much yesterday and ended up at a wedding chapel. When we woke up this morning, we discovered that we involuntarily got married. We need this marriage annulled as soon as possible.”
“Oh. I see. So, just to be clear, neither party wanted this marriage?”
“No,” we both spoke at the same time.
“I’ll get the paperwork started, but I can’t turn it in until Monday morning. I’ll put a rush on it and I’ll call you as soon as I hear something.”
“Thanks, Tony.”
“No problem, Jamieson. I have to be honest, I’m a little shocked right now. Of all people calling me with this news.”
“I know. Just call me Monday with an update.”
“I will. Don’t worry. We’ll get this taken care of quickly.”
I ended the call and looked at Grace, who had tears in her eyes.
“Don’t you dare start crying,” I spoke in a harsh voice. “You don’t get to cry. This was as much your fault.”
“My fault? Who paid for the wedding?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you did,” I shouted. “Neither one of us remembers jack shit from last night.”
“Well, if you were any kind of man, you wouldn’t have let me pay for it,” she spoke in a snooty voice.
“Why not? Don’t women have equal rights? Why the hell does the man have to pay for everything?”
“Oh my God, are you serious right now?”
“Yeah. I am!” I shouted. “You have no idea how I feel about this. It makes me sick to my stomach.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry that being married to me makes you so sick.”
“Grace, you know what I mean. You feel it too. Don’t deny it. This wasn’t supposed to be a part of my life. I was never getting married to anyone! I don’t do marriage and I certainly don’t do family.”
