Double Coverage

by Meghan Quinn

  Normally, his conscience would have kicked in and told him he was being an ass, but instead, he nestled himself into his very plush first class seat and smiled at his accomplishment. The bitch deserved it, he thought.

  He looked over at his flying companion and chuckled. She was slumped in her chair, legs spread and head bobbing to the side. Her sunglasses had fallen off and little sprigs of red hair poked out from under her hoodie. He scanned her face and noticed how creamy white her skin was; he was going to ignore that for now and, instead, focus on the pool of drool she’d started to acquire in the corner of her mouth that dripped down to her shoulder. He refrained from taking a picture and posting it on Facebook, even though he wanted to so badly it made his fingers itch. That would be a seriously dick move. Although, the more he thought about it, the more he itched to grab his phone.

  He quickly scanned the plane and noticed everyone was enamored with their own plane activities, so he grabbed his phone out of his pocket. Thankfully, it was on airplane mode, and he took a quick snapshot of the “sleeping beauty.” He would Instagram the shit out of that picture later.

  For the rest of the flight, he lay back in his chair, shut his eyes and enjoyed the ride to San Diego. It was going to be a very, very long weekend full of love, romance and marriage; something he really did not want to be a part of, but he would because he would pretty much do anything for his best friends, Jake and Lexi.

  Chapter 2

  Piper could not believe she was in the airplane bathroom with the jackass who was sitting next to her. What would possess her to follow him into the small confines of the lavatory? Oh, that’s right, he kept flashing her that devilish smile and she couldn’t resist.

  His strong hands lifted her sweater off of her body and that was when she realized she was wearing nothing underneath. Was she that hung over that she completely forgot to put on undergarments?

  When he slipped his hand down into her jeans, she realized she really was that hung over because she was wearing absolutely no underwear. At least it was easy access for him. She worked her jeans down so they were around her ankles and then he propped her up on the sink counter. She felt the faucet head dig into her backside, but she didn’t care. She was too excited that she was going to make it into the mile-high club, which had always been a secret fantasy of hers.

  She knew the moment she saw this man that he was an ass, but he would be a good lover because of it. He attacked her lips with need she had never felt before. She hoped to God he couldn’t taste the actions of her stomach from earlier in the flight. That would be humiliating, but he knew she threw up and he was the one with the idea of heading back to the bathroom, so he must not have a problem with it.

  He ran his hands down her back, across her thighs and teased her center. She felt herself throb and was just about to beg him to take her, to make her scream, when something knocked her in the shoulder. She looked to her side, but nothing was there. Then she was knocked in the head. That was when she startled and realized she was having a sex dream…on the airplane. Humiliation filled her face as she looked up at the man she was fantasizing about. He had a huge grin on his face and a rolled up magazine in his hand.

  She rubbed her head. “What the hell? Did you smack me with that thing?”

  Mason looked down at the rolled up magazine and shrugged. “Yeah, we landed and hell if I was going to touch you, not with that pool or saliva waiting to flow over on your shoulder.” He gestured to her side with the magazine.

  Piper quickly looked at her shoulder and gasped, while quickly wiping the side of her mouth. The only thing that would be worse than this would be if she made some kind of moaning noise while she was dreaming.

  “By the way,” he added “I didn’t know I made such an impression on you that you wanted me to start squeezing your nipples. I usually wait until we have dinner to do that.” The smile on his face could have stretched the length of the plane, if his face was any bigger.

  She did not remember anything about her nipples being touched. “Did I really tell you to touch my nipples? I don’t remember that.”

  Mason barked out in laughter. “Jesus, I was just pulling your leg. So those little noise you were making were part of a sex dream about me.” He laughed again. “Awesome.”

  Piper punched him as hard as she could in the arm. “You are a fucking asshole. You know that?”

  Mason rubbed his arm. “So I’ve heard. You know, you better watch yourself; I could charge you with assault.”

  Piper tucked some loose strays of hair under her hood and put her sunglasses back on that must have fallen off during her sleep. “Go right on ahead. Tell the cops that little old me took you out. I would love to see their faces when a muscular guy like you runs to the cops.”

  “So, you think I’m muscular?”

  Piper rolled her eyes, even though she knew he couldn’t see her reaction. “Wow, they better put down the oxygen masks because your ego is making us lose cabin pressure.”

  “Clever.”

  Piper just shook her head and watched the crewmen out on the tarmac do their work so she could get off the airplane and away from Mason. Yes, he was extremely attractive, but his personality was less than pleasant. She didn’t really care anyway because this weekend wasn’t about her meeting new people; this was about her best friend and she was going to make sure she kept it that way.

  ***

  Lexi waited outside of security, nervous as hell, because she wasn’t quite sure whether Piper actually made her flight or not. Piper was notorious for being a free-spirit and doing things on her own time, so Lexi wouldn’t put it past her childhood friend to miss her flight. She had done it before.

  She couldn’t believe she was getting married tomorrow. It seemed like only yesterday when she first met Jake her senior year in college. Now, two years later, she was about to walk down the aisle and commit herself to the love of her life.

  Lexi had not seen Jake in a couple of days, since he was in New York City doing some kind of cologne promotion. Since he was the quarterback for the San Diego Thunder, he had many different deals, sponsorships, and promotions he always had to attend. Luckily, Lexi got to work right along with Jake during the season as the San Diego Thunder’s on-field correspondent, a job she never thought she would actually have. The last two years living with Jake, working near him, but also having a life of her own had been amazing, but now she was ready to settle down and maybe consider starting a family. They’d been talking about having children for a while and now Lexi was thinking she was ready.

  Lexi checked the time on her phone and realized that the plane had already arrived and Piper should have been trickling down to baggage claim with the other passengers. Jake told Lexi that Mason was on a flight today as well, but was meeting up with some other guys at the airport so they all could ride together. She wouldn’t be seeing any of the men until the rehearsal dinner, which gave her time to spend with her girls, Piper, Margo and Brooke.

  Lexi sighed, thinking about Brooke and Mason. She wasn’t sure if Mason knew about Brooke being in the wedding, since Jake was bad at relaying details. She hoped Mason didn’t throw a fit when he saw her. Lexi thought about taking Brooke out of the wedding since Mason and her broke up, but Brooke was her good friend and she couldn’t do that to her. Mason and Brooke were just going to have to be adults about the whole situation. Plus, it was just a weekend; they could get through a weekend, or so she hoped.

  Lexi was just about to go up to the ticketing counter to see if she could find out any information about Piper when she saw a figure that resembled Piper walking toward her. She was wearing gigantic sunglasses and a sweatshirt with the hood over her head, leaving little strands of her annoyingly gorgeous red hair poking out…and she was sporting her ratty jeans and Chuck Taylors. Lexi smiled, some people never change.

  “Piper!” Lexi grabbed her friend and gave her a hug around her waist. Since Lexi was pushing five foot four and Piper was around five ten, Lexi really onl
y reached around her friend’s waist. “Where the hell have you been?” she said, while smacking her friend’s shoulder.

  “Sorry Lex, I had to take care of some business in the bathroom.” Lexi was always jealous of Piper because she was every man’s fantasy. Long legs, gorgeous wavy hair, silver eyes and a seductive voice that could bring any man to his knees; Piper had it all.

  Lexi lifted off Piper’s glasses and looked into her red-rimmed eyes. “Pipe, did you stay out late drinking again?”

  Piper shrugged her shoulders, put her glasses back on, and led Lexi to baggage claim where her bag was the only one left going around on the carousel. Lexi thought again…some people never change.

  Piper grabbed her bag and turned to Lexi. “Where to L?”

  “I took a taxi here. I didn’t feel like dealing with parking, so we need to flag down a taxi and then we’re going straight to my place. That’s where the dress rehearsal dinner will be.”

  “Sounds good to me. Lead the way.”

  On their way to the curb, Lexi told Piper all about the wedding and the plans for the weekend. Even though Piper looked tough on the exterior, she was a real romantic at heart. She asked insightful questions about the wedding and talked about how happy she was that Lexi had found Jake. That was one of the main reasons Piper was her Maid of Honor. Lexi had a hard time deciding between her friend Margo from college and Piper, but in the end, the honor went to Piper. As little girls, they’d always promised each other they would be each other’s Maid of Honor, so Lexi made sure to keep her promise.

  Although, secretly, she did tell Margo she was the Secret Maid of Honor. Margo seemed to be fine with that and even delivered her SMOH speech to Lexi yesterday. It was quite good. Margo and Lexi played softball together throughout college and were inseparable those four grueling years. They still hung out at least once a week.

  They finally got in the cab and were on their way to Lexi’s beach-front house she shared with Jake.

  “So, how was the flight?” Lexi asked, while flipping through different apps on her phone.

  “Oh you know, it was a flight. Thanks for the first-class ticket, by the way. Those seats were perfect to catch up on my lack of sleep.”

  “Jake and I were happy to help you out. We knew it would be difficult, financially, to get you out here, so that’s why we insisted on paying for you.”

  Piper got quiet for a second and Lexi hoped she hadn’t make her friend feel bad. “I know, and I appreciate it. I’ll make it up to you this weekend. I promise.”

  Lexi smiled. “You don’t have to make anything up to me. I’m just glad you’re here. I feel like it’s been so long.”

  “I know, what has it been, like…?”

  Piper didn’t get to finish because Lexi let out a loud gasp. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing on her phone.

  “What is it?” Piper asked, while taking off her sunglasses.

  Lexi looked up at her friend. “Uh, how do you know Mason?”

  “Mason? Mason who?”

  “Mason Dashel.”

  Lexi watched as her friend thought about the name, but no recognition crossed her face. “I don’t know a Mason Dashel.”

  “Do you live in a cave? He’s the wide receiver for the Denver Stallions, also known as Jake’s best man, also known as the guy who took this picture of you.” Lexi turned the picture that was on her Instagram feed toward Piper.

  Piper instantly grabbed the phone and swore. “That stupid fuckhead!” She tore her hood off her head and Lexi watched the medium sized natural red curls flow out of their confines. Jealousy, once again, enveloped Lexi.

  “Uh, what’s going on Pipe?”

  Piper didn’t answer her question. “I can’t believe him. Ugh and look at what he wrote, “My flight companion #SirDroolsALot, #HotMessAward, and #SadLadiesClub.” Then, as if something just struck her, she looked up at Lexi and asked, “He’s Jake’s best man?”

  Lexi only nodded.

  “Oh, he is going to fucking get it.”

  Lexi, not wanting another possible scene at her wedding, decided it might be a good idea to try to calm her friend down. “Piper, let’s not get out of control. He is a jokester. He does stuff like this all the time.”

  “Well, he doesn’t do shit like this to me.” Realizing that Piper was planning revenge on her friend’s wedding weekend she said, “Don’t worry, I won’t cause a scene. I’ll seek revenge in a subtle way.”

  A little intrigued, Lexi asked, “Oh yeah? How?”

  Piper gave Lexi that glorious smile of hers. “By using my sexuality, of course.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Pipe. His ex, Brooke, is going to be there and I want to keep things as tame as possible.”

  Piper started laughing. “His ex is going to be there? Oh, my God. Even better!” Lexi started fidgeting her hands, but Piper placed her hands on top of Lexi’s to stop the nervous habit. “I promise you, I will not ruin your wedding. This weekend is going to be amazing.”

  With Piper’s reassurance, Lexi relaxed back in her seat and took in the view of the ocean. Even though her backyard was the sea, she never got sick of the sound of the waves or the smell and feel of the ocean breeze. She was one lucky girl.

  ***

  Mason sat on one of the seats in the airport waiting for his buddies and the rest of the groom’s party to arrive. Jake was going to pick them up from the airport. Well, more like meet up with them when his plane arrived and they were all going to go to a bar for a semi-bachelor party before the rehearsal.

  Being the best man, Mason was pissed that he was unable to throw his best friend a proper bachelor party, but Jake, being the pussy-whipped man he was now and with his busy schedule, he wouldn’t allow for a bachelor party. Mason struggled while talking Jake into a couple drinks at a local bar before the rehearsal dinner, but he managed to get his way. Jake complained about how he hadn’t seen Lexi in a couple of days, so he wanted to go home and get ready for the party with her, but Mason put the kibosh on that, explaining that Jake would have the rest of his life to spend time with Lexi. He was getting drinks with his buddies.

  Mason was playing Candy Crush Saga on his iPhone when a soft lump hit him in the face. He looked down at his lap and saw a rolled up pair of boxer briefs.

  “What the fuck?” Mason looked up and saw Jake’s teammate and good friend Ryker grinning down at him.

  “Dash, my boy!” Ryker said, using the nickname Mason received from one of the sports announcers in college.

  “Please don’t tell me these are used,” Mason said, while flinging the boxers to the side with his phone.

  Ryker picked them up and shoved them in his back pocket. “You wish! What’s going on?” Ryker asked. “Damn, you look a little pudgy these days.”

  Ryker and Mason were notorious for picking on each other’s weight. Since they were both wide receivers, the only weight they wanted to gain was muscle, unlike their fellow linebackers.

  “Fuck you,” Mason said, while smiling. “You finally get that dick enlargement you’ve been saving up for?”

  “Yeah, and if I bring in a friend smaller than me, then I get fifty percent off. So I gave them your name.”

  Mason chuckled. “Dude, if I get any bigger, I won’t be able to fit in my briefs anymore.”

  Ryker shook his head. “How many times have I told you, they make boxers with superman on them in the men’s section? You don’t have to keep shopping in the little boys department.”

  Mason blew out a frustrated growl. “Can I ever have the last word?”

  Ryker barked out in laughter. “Not while I’m around.” He looked around. “So where is everybody?”

  Mason looked at the time on his phone. “Parker and Jake should be here soon. They’re both coming from the city.” Parker was Lexi’s best friend in college and slowly, over time, became a great friend to Jake, as well…after all of Jake’s jealousy wore off from Parker’s friendship with Lexi. Parker played shortstop for their ba
seball team in college and now was playing for the Atlanta Braves. He was recently called up to the majors and kicking ass. He was able to come into town for a couple of days, thanks to the all-star break, perfect timing by the engaged couple.

  “Speak of the two douchebags now,” Ryker said, while looking to his side.

  Jake and Parker walked up to the other two men together wearing sunglasses and plain ball caps, most likely to avoid any kind of recognition by fans. Jake was good with his fans, but when he was a man on a mission, he didn’t want to stop and Mason knew Jake was thinking the quicker he got the bar scene over with, the quicker he could get to Lexi. Poor sap.

  Mason stood up and gave Jake an inappropriately large hug spinning Jake around and kissing him on the cheek. Mason put Jake down, while Jake wiped his face. Mason went after Parker, but he held his hands out in defense.

  “Keep those lips to yourself, man. I know it’s been a while, but I don’t need disease-ridden lips anywhere near my face.”

  “I take offense to that. They are not disease-ridden.”

  The guys all looked at each other and then Jake said, “Uh, with the ladies you’ve been spotted with lately, I’d say you might want to see a doctor.”

  “Hey, I don’t ever really let a lady touch my lips. The only thing their lips are touching is my cock.”

  “Well then, you might want to get your cock looked at,” Ryker said, as all three of the guys stared down at Mason’s jean-clad crotch, forcing Mason to block their pestering stares with his hands.

  “Stop looking at my dick, you idiots. If you’re that interested, I can show you later…while we’re sharing a hotel room,” Mason said, while wiggling his eyebrows. All three men took their turn punching him in the arm and walking away. Mason rubbed his arm and chased after them.