“I’m over this, boys. I’m going to spend the night with my woman,” I declared, and all of them looked at each other to see who was going to tell me it was a shit idea.
“Gotta get comfy with leaving her soon. Best do it now before you leave for the academy,” Jonas told me. My dad finally dragged his eyes from some boring shed fucker who was trying to build one that looked like a Hobbit house in The Shire.
“What academy?” he asked, pinning me with a glare.
There was nothing for it, I had to just say it. “Police academy, I start a few days after the wedding.”
I watched as he gulped heavily and then excused himself from the room, shouting, “No one go anywhere until I’m back. You leave, I’m coming with you or your mother will kill me.”
“What just happened?” I asked.
“That, sunshine, is one proud parent. You’ll see one day when you get kids of your own,” Tommy told me. “Although mine could be the death of me. Letting her go off to college is killing Lacey and I’m bearing the brunt of that. I only hope she behaves and keeps her head down.”
“With you and Lacey as role models she stands a good chance,” Jack told him and Tommy smiled.
Then Oli butted in and blew that to shit. “Yeah. Until she finds herself a manfriend and we’re all fucked.”
Tommy grizzled at that thought as much as Oli did. With Oli being like a dad to Lacey, he took the role of Carly’s granddad very seriously. There were going to be some tough times ahead in their odd family dynamic.
Dad came back into the room with his composure in one piece and declared he was ready to leave. I’d drunk too much to drive at this point so I piled into Jonas’s car. Our transport procession followed the route back to his house until he took a swerve at the last minute and we ended up outside Miss Bale’s dance studio. “What’re we doing here?”
“You said you wanted to see your woman. Well they’re all here.” We all left the vehicles and the other guys looked as surprised as me.
Tommy appeared at my side. “Lacey and the girls arranged for something a little different. Although I think this was more their idea of fun than Rebecca’s.”
My hearing pricked up as Rhianna and Drake’s ‘Work’, blared out around the studio. “Where’s dad gone?” I asked, noticing he hadn’t parked up with us.
“Gone to join Barb at mine. She’s got all the kids with Annie,” Oli replied.
“Do I want to know what’s going on in there?”
All the guys started to smile at me and I could see Chris practically bouncing up and down on the spot. “I do. Do we just bust right in?”
“I’m voting we peek through the windows. If there’s a guy removing clothes in there and Flo is cheering then I may not make the wedding. I could be your first practice arrest after I’ve beat up some twat with an oily body,” Sonny remarked.
Jonas wandered off. “Windows are this way,” he reminded us so we all skulked behind him, giggling like a group of high school boys about to get caught doing something naughty. The music got louder the closer we got to our sneaky vantage point. When we were all lined up by the wall, we tried to come up with a system of who was going to pop their head up first and see what was going on.
After much hushed arguing, I asked a relevant question. “Who organized the evening’s entertainment?”
“That would be Lacey,” Jonas volunteered, all too pleased to drop Tommy in the deep end should they be doing something I didn’t like. Tommy and Jonas had a long standing spat that was well and truly over, but it didn’t stop Jonas bringing it up every chance he got.
“You check it out then, Tommy. It’ll give you a chance to calm me down if I don’t like what I see.”
Tommy lolled his head from side to side and cracked his knuckles like he was warming up for a wrestling bout, and then peeked around the corner into the window. The music stopped and he jumped back. The girls could be heard squealing and I knew Sonny wasn’t the only one going to lose his shit if some oily, muscled twat was helicoptering his dick in front of my woman.
“You dickhead, what did you see?”
“Uh… not sure. Give me a minute to compose myself and I’ll go again,” he urged, while we all remained out of sight. The speakers kicked into action and this time I heard Rebecca shout, “Okay, girls, this should inspire you. Feel the music and let it flow through you.”
I recognized Morcheeba’s ‘Gimme your love’, with that exciting electrobeat and sensual female singing and was itching to see what was going on. I could tell the others were desperate to check it out, too. Tommy bobbed up quickly and stood peering in, dumbstruck. “Fucking hell!”
“What? What the fuck is going on?” Sonny hissed.
Oli had had enough at this point and was also leering at something inside the dance studio. “That’s it. I’m taking Lottie home now.” He wasn’t bothered about interrupting and stormed off back round the front of the building.
Jonas and Chris looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders before quickly popping up, only for Sonny to moan about being left out of the loop. “Shit me,” I heard my brother say and then he was hot footing it behind Oli before the others could stop him.
There was nothing for it. With only me and Jack left, I had to brave what was going on. Praying that whatever was happening in that room wasn’t too bad, I was feeling a bit scared that this would set the mood for the actual ceremony and I might never be able to calm them down. That was if I made it there. If what they were doing was going to tip me over the edge then I knew I’d be joining Sonny in the jail cell. “Jack, promise me you’ll make me control my temper if I don’t like what I find in there.”
“Come on, you big pussy.” He laughed and we both stood up.
There was commotion. Most of the guys were grabbing coats and sports bags, demanding their women get dressed, hurry up and leave. I could barely see as the studio lights had been dimmed and there were flashing disco light units in each corner trying to coax me into having a seizure. The one thing I could see plain as day, the thing that had definitely tipped my brother and his friends over the edge, in amongst all the madness were poles. Big fucking shiny, ceiling high poles that immediately gave their game away.
Lacey, my quiet best friend, had arranged for them to have a pole dancing class.
The sneaky madam had secured temporary poles into the nasty old dance studio. Dolly would never see this place in the same light when she came with my nieces for their dance classes, especially with how Jonas was behaving. She was giggling incessantly over how wound up he was and doing her best to make it worse. Dolly and Jonas were in for one hell of a night.
My ex-stripper fiancée, who had been mentally abused at the hands of a strip club owner, the same places that contained lots of fucking poles, was giving my sister, her friends and my best friend a pole dancing lesson.
What the fuck?
I didn’t know who I was going to kill first, Rebecca for going through with it or Lacey for thinking that this was acceptable.
When I finally sought my girl out, she was stood in seriously high stilettos, wearing a pair of girlie boxer shorts and a cropped sports bra that showed way too much skin. If the rest were wearing similar stuff, I completely understood why the guys were hustling their women out of there. I didn’t want any of them seeing her like this. That amount of skin, mixed with a pole and sexy dance moves were for my eyes only. The twitching in my dick was hard to ignore. The thought of her doing this was a serious turn on and I knew that was definitely the main reason the women had all been hustled out of there.
Fucking hell. The majority of my wedding party were about to get laid and most of them needed to be up in the morning to help keep my wedding on track. I realized then that my brother was stood beside me, taking it all in. “Jack! Avert your fucking eyes,” I snarled and he just laughed.
“No problem.” As we were on our way into the studio, Tommy appeared with Lacey who seemed to be fighting with a rain coat he was insistent
she put on. The look on her face was priceless and very like Dolly’s. These women knew exactly what they were doing.
“Those fucking shoes,” he grumbled, before spotting Jack and asking him if he’d escort Carly back to spend the night with Annie and my parents. Lacey’s giggling was out of control then, like a naughty little school girl who was looking forward to being told off for what she’d done. Tommy was trying to get over the shock of seeing what she’d organized.
Within minutes, I was alone in the dance studio with Rebecca, terrified of how this could have unraveled her. “You okay?” I asked tentatively, worried that this was about to destroy my hopes of a happy bride and a happy wedding. After all, it wasn’t like Lacey knew why she wouldn’t want to pole dance on her bachelorette party.
“Oh yeah, I had a blast.” She was clapping her hands and grinning. “Teaching those crazy women that stuff was great fun. It’s like their Christmases have all come at once.”
“I think their Christmases are all coming shortly,” I said, waggling my eyebrows. “Like as soon as those guys get them behind closed doors.”
Rebecca burst out laughing again. She was so fucking pretty when she was this carefree. “Wanna see, baby?”
I exhaled in relief and bent double. “Fuck, I thought you’d never offer.”
The smile on her face was gorgeous. This was part of her old world, but it wasn’t something seedy or embarrassing. It was still just dance to her. I was thankful she got to exorcise her pole dancing demons with my sister and her friends. I was sure if it had gone wrong they would have sorted her out and helped her work through it.
Rebecca hustled to the iPod docking station as fast as her sky high shoes would allow and searched for a song. She was already in place with her hands up high on the pole as the music started. The soft beat of drums mixed in with a string instrument made the hairs on my arms stand up. Portishead’s ‘Glory Box’ was sexy, slow and perfect for the winding she began to do around the pole, always returning her eyes to mine. When the guitar riff kicked in, she wrapped a leg round the pole and spun, holding an arm bolt upright, making her look nearly as tall as the pole itself.
Watching her clasp the pole between her thighs and arch back so her hair and arms were touching the floor was something else, and when I expected her to right herself, she didn’t. She took her hands and ran them up the front of her body. Her hair was following her like a wave and I could see the flashing lights bouncing off her skin.
Rebecca continued to spin round and round, and I should have been concerned about whether she was getting dizzy, but I wasn’t. I was completely mesmerized, praying that this would be the longest song in history and never end.
I was riveted to the spot, wondering whether the door was locked. I had this burning desire to take out my cock and stroke it. I just needed something to take the edge off what she was causing in my body.
When she finally came upright again, she grabbed the pole up high with both hands and slowly slid down it, spreading her legs open wide. As the tips of her toes met with the floor, she continued to spread her legs sideways until she came to an end at the same time as the song, doing the splits completely. She was spread wide open for me and with her hands still grasping the pole, she looked tied up. Her heavy breathing pushed her tits out from her body and I thought I might explode. It was easily the most erotic sight my eyes had ever come across.
With no restraint left, I unglued my feet from their stationery point and had my zipper open and cock out before she could get up. “Fucking amazing, baby. You need to let me fuck you and show you a dance of my own,” I begged, shafting myself to show her what she’d done to me.
Rebecca was breathless, and as turned on as I was, she was more than happy to oblige.
On our last night of supposed freedom as single people, we ended it by fucking each other senseless on the wooden floor of an old lady’s dance studio.
It was so fucking amazing it was beyond words.
Rebecca
I woke up with a spiky nervousness, the words ‘I am getting married today’ rotating round my head, causing the happy mood I was in to grow, if that was even possible.
As the countdown continued, the butterflies in my belly were spinning round as crazily as the disco lights from last night. Occasionally, a fearful thought would slip in, like, what if someone convinced him that this was just plain stupid? But then the butterflies would start again, letting their joy and excitement quash them with ease.
We’d spent our last night in the cabin and Jake was supposed to leave hours earlier to have breakfast with his dad and brother. He couldn’t seem to drag himself out of bed, and every time he looked at me I could tell he wanted to say something but he stopped. Another half an hour of playing this game and I’d be in pieces and feeling more stressed. In the end, I couldn’t help it and ended up blurting out, “For the love of God, Jake, just say it. If you’ve changed your mind, just tell me.”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t changed my mind. I was thinking I’d pressured you into it.”
That was what was causing him so much mental torture? He was trying to second-guess me. “Shit! I thought you were backing out.”
“Me?” He looked at me like I’d gone out looking for rainbows and unicorns. “I’ve been kicking myself for waiting this long. Two days until you are Mrs. Griggs has seemed unnecessarily excessive.”
I swung my arms around him and hugged him to within an inch of his life. “You should be eating breakfast with your dad and brother.”
“I’ve been too afraid to leave you. I thought you might run.”
I was about to answer him when his mother crashed through the cabin door, screeching, “Jake Griggs, get home now. Rebecca and I have things to do.” My husband-to-be started fumbling round for clothes in a panic. “Oh stop covering that up. I put cream around it when you were baby and your father still has one. Oh dear God, on second thoughts, yes, I’ll turn and let you put some pants on.”
“Mom, what gives?” he asked her, confused.
“Rebecca and I have beautifying to do. Now skedaddle. We’ll see you at the town hall.”
Jake beamed at me. “Now I know you can’t run. That woman would never let you.”
“Idiot.” I laughed, fake slapping him and then watched him head for the door before rushing back in and kissing me.
“Why are you still here, son?” his mom scolded, but I can see she was holding back her emotions.
“Sorry, Mom, can’t leave here without kissing my two favorite ladies.” He rushed to her and grabbed her in an excited hug as she blushed and tried to fake shoo him away.
In her haste to play-fight her son, she dropped what looked like two huge garment bags. They were now sitting like that in the middle of the floor, waiting for one of us to mention them. I had my dress, a simple white maxi dress that Flo had helped me choose from the vintage shop at the far end of Main Street. “Do you need help choosing an outfit, Barbara?”
“I do. Before we do that, though, let’s talk.”
Oh God, never good words on the morning of your wedding. From your mother-in-law to be, they are positively horrific.
“My boys have lived a good life and I can honestly say that is down to Harrison and me. They came from a not so good place to live with us and I’ve adored those boys like I popped ‘em out myself. It’s lovely to see my Jake so happy and excited for the future. Listen to me, my Jake… He’s going to be yours soon. A lot of the people in town will be whispering, you know, saying it’s all a bit sudden, but I can tell you two belong together. When you’re in the same room it’s like no one else exists and when you’re apart, you both fidget until you’re back together. So I know it will be hard while he’s in the academy and I want you to remember that it won’t be forever. Harrison and I think the world of you. We see the way you’ve inspired Jake to become a better boy and I’m hoping you’ll be able to rely on us, think of us like parents.”
I was starting to sniffle. Barb
ara’s words were so kind, punching me in a place I’d tried so hard to keep closed off, until Jake had started to peel it open, layer by layer.
“Anywhoooo,” she chirped, “I know you have a pretty dress. Dolly told me. I was wondering if you fancied ticking off the ‘something borrowed, old and kind of new’ in one go.”
I watched as Barbara got up and wandered to one of the garment bags on the floor. “I won’t be offended if you decide not to, but this dress was my mother’s. I’ve kept it in pristine condition and had it dry cleaned in a hurry. I didn’t wear it when I married Harrison. It wouldn’t fit me. But I couldn’t bear to part with it. Dolly had her own style, but you, I think you’d appreciate it.” She slowly peeled down the zip and I could see the creamiest, softest looking fabric being revealed, inch by inch. Every now and then there was a sparkle from some embellishment that I was itching to see. “I won’t be offended if you say no. After all, I’ve two grandbaby girls and one of them may wear it. The other will probably get married in cargo pants and steel toe capped boots the way she’s going.”
When she finally got the dress out, I swear my mouth was agape. It was stunning. The fabric had tiny embroidered crystals and beads all over it. The dress covered the shoulders gently and had a round neckline, giving a hint of cleavage, but had a peep hole in the back that in those days must have been daring. It was floor length and elegant. “Would you like to try it on?” she asked nervously.
I was out of that bed so quick, desperate just to touch it and feel the silkiness for myself. “I don’t know what to say,” I whispered.
“How about you put some underwear on and we’ll go from there?” She giggled. In my haste to get to the dress I had forgotten I was still naked, just as Jake had been when she arrived.
In seconds, I had on a bra and some panties and as I was running tentative fingers over the beads, a woman popped her head round the door. She was an older lady with long flowing hair the color of petrol and skin that looked like she’d just come off a Caribbean cruise.
Alive Page 20
