by Lyssa Layne
I nod, knowing that Drunk Meg is about to lay it all on me.
“Good, then let me tell you what I really think. I know Jace is probably great in bed, I mean he’s been my inspiration a few times if you know what I mean.”
Oh, poor Meg, she’d die if she knew she just said that.
“But he’s an arrogant prick, Colie. He only uses you for arm candy. Grant on the other hand loves you, Colie. He loves you! He’s hot, he protects you, and he’ll support you no matter what you do.”
My heart skips when she says this. Has she talked to him or is this just the alcohol talking? “How do you know he loves me?”
She rolls her eyes as she takes a shot of what she thinks is vodka. I’ve asked the bartender to give her shots of water and she can’t tell the difference.
“Duh, Colie, it’s obvious.” She downs another ‘shot’ and looks at me as she adds, “And he told me.”
“He what?”
My pulse races but I shake my head. That doesn’t sound like Grant at all. He wouldn’t just call up my sister and tell her he loves me.
“Okay, not me, but Mark. He was over at the house the other weekend watching the game. I heard him say Mark was lucky to get an Adger woman, he wished he could get the other.”
My heart is pounding. He wished he could get the other? If Jace hadn’t come into the picture, would he have me or would we still be dancing around each other? Wait a minute, what the hell was he doing hanging out with my sister and her fiancé without me? I’m about to ask when I hear Meg start dry heaving. Pulling her off the barstool, we rush to the bathroom, making it just in time.
Thirty minutes later and Meg is all puked out—thank goodness. I throw her arm around my shoulder while I put the other around her waist. We walk back into the bar. I see Beth and Jess flirting with two businessmen and decide not to bother them. Instead, I send them a text letting them know we’re headed back to the room.
My sister and I stumble our way to the elevators. As I turn the corner, I stop as I see Jace and Michael laughing and talking. What the…My body goes cold wondering what he’s doing here, and with Michael of all people. When I told Jace I was switched back to pitchers, he seemed upset. When I told him about my boss being fired, he seemed even more upset, which struck me as odd since I didn’t think they even knew each other.
The elevator dings and the doors open. I see a pair of female hands reach out and pull the two men into the elevator. I look down at my sister, who is passed out against me. I watch the numbers on the elevator click away… thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight and it stops.
Punching the up button multiple times as though it’ll make it arrive faster, I load us into a car as my mind races and I try to figure out what to do. Normally, I would call Meg, but she’s obviously in no condition to help. I hesitate, wondering if I should go to the room or chase after Jace. Meg lets out a snore and I’m about to fall down trying to hold us both up. Sighing, I press the button for our floor and drag us down the hall. When we get to the room, I call Mark on speaker phone. Meg’s lying on the bed as I pull off her vomit-splattered dress.
“Cole, everything okay?” Mark answers, worry in his voice.
“Yes… well no, not really, but we’re fine…I think,” I ramble.
“Well which is it, Colie?”
“Your fiancée is passed out with a black eye and I just saw Jace get into an elevator with my ex-boss and two women,” I blurt out with the need to tell someone else what I just saw.
“What the fuck is going on there?” Mark yells into the phone.
Pulling Meg into a sitting position and leaning her against me, I put a t-shirt on her. She flutters her eyes open and smiles at me. “Colie, you’re my baby sister and I love you!”
She throws her arms around me and she’s nothing but dead weight. I’m kneeling on the floor with her on top of me and I can’t move. I pat her back and try to push her off me but she doesn’t budge. Finally, I take a handful of her hair and pull her head back. She’s passed out again.
“Mark! Chill out!” I yell into the phone as I move Meg’s legs under the sheets and cover her up. I put a trashcan by her bed and pick up the phone.
“Meg is fine. Well, she’s puking, but she’s passed out so she’ll just feel like shit tomorrow and we’ll explain the black eye later. As my brother-in-law, I need your advice! What do I do?”
He pauses and then says slowly, “You take care of your sister and you two get back in here in one piece. Then you dump that asshole Richards.”
I sigh as I lean back against the bed. They’re both a bunch of Grant-lovers, so why did I call him? As I’m pondering the answer, my favorite big sister leans over the bed, missing the trashcan, and ralphs in my hair.
CHAPTER 19
After I shower and put my sister back to bed, I stare out the window over the lights of Vegas. I can’t just sit here, knowing my boyfriend is three floors above me, probably above another woman, maybe even Carmen. Not to mention, he’s with the man who almost got me fired. I chew my lip trying to decide what to do. Dialing a number, I hesitate to hit send. When I finally do, it only rings once.
“What up, my lady?”
I smile as I hear Benny’s voice. “Benny, quick question for you. You know anything about why they let Michael go?
“Apparently, he had some kind of gambling issue and was purposely throwing games as best he could by using hurt or tired players. That’s how your boy got in such bad condition. No one argues with the head trainer. You know that, Colie.”
I scowl but don’t bother to correct him for the millionth time that Grant is not my boy. “Any idea what he’s up to now?”
“No clue, baby girl. Why are you calling me at this hour asking about that?”
I glance at the clock. Crap, it’s one here which means it’s four in the morning in New York.
“Oh, Benny, I’m sorry! I’m in Vegas with my sister and I just thought I saw him.”
“No worries, Colie. Be careful if you see him and have fun. I’ll see you Monday.”
I drum my fingers against my phone after we hang up. I hear people yelling down below on the strip, and I wonder what each of their stories is, how our paths might all be tangled together. My phone beeps, startling me so bad that I drop it to the floor. Picking it up, I see it’s a text from Jace.
Hey babe, heard you had a run-in with big bad Carmen.
I bite my lip, not sure how to respond. I type a few different responses, erasing them all. As I finally think I have the perfect answer, there’s a knock on the door and I drop the phone again. Running over to it, I look through the peephole and my heart races. Flinging it open, I step into Jace’s arms.
His laughter fills my ears as he hugs me back. “I guess you’re happy to see me?”
We step inside but I don’t let go of his hand. We sit on the extra bed in our room as he looks around and sees my sister. I shake my head and mutter, “Don’t ask.”
His hands move to my shoulders and he squeezes them tightly as he starts to massage the tension out of them.
“What are you doing here?” I ask in a hushed tone, so as to not wake the puking dead.
Pushing my wet hair to the side, he kisses my neck. “I wanted to see you…”
“I could have sworn I just saw you with my ex-boss…” I trail off not sure what I’m going to say or accuse him of.
He nibbles on my ear and I let out a soft moan. “That Michael guy? You must’ve been seeing things. I knew it was your sister’s weekend, not ours. When Tosh told me she was puking at the bar, I figured it would be okay for me to sneak in and say hello.”
I turn around to look at him. “You came all the way here for me?”
He nods and kisses me softly, his fingers running through my hair. “I wanted some time with you, even if it was just a few minutes.”
I grin. He’s right, the guy he was with probably looked a lot like Michael, and they were just hanging out until he could come see me. I start to kiss him b
ut stop. “I have to stay with her. I can’t leave her like this.”
His finger trails down my cheek. “That’s why I love you, Nicole. Loyal to a fault.”
I frown, not sure what he means. He leans in and captures my lips with his. “It’s a good thing, babe. Mind if I sleep here with you? Then we can sneak off for a bit in the morning.”
Smiling, I stand up and pull the sheets back to my bed. He kicks off his shoes and clothes, crawling in beside me in just his boxer briefs. I rest my head on his chest as he pulls me close. I take a deep breath, taking in an unfamiliar floral scent. I look up at him and he pushes my hair back.
“Nikki, this is why I need you in D.C. with me. I can’t stand the distance between us. I hope you’ve been thinking about what I asked.”
My heart skips a beat. Honestly, I haven’t thought twice about his question. I was so thrilled to have my job, and then so buried with it that the postseason hadn’t even crossed my mind. He kisses my forehead and gives me a final squeeze before he drifts off to sleep.
***
“Oh God, I feel like death,” Meg mumbles in the bed next to me.
I’m still half-asleep, cuddled up next to Jace. I open my eyes to see her trying to sit up. Her hair is in all different directions with puke dried in it. Her mascara is smeared down her cheeks and I can smell the alcohol on her breath from where I lie.
“I’m not surprised,” I respond in a low voice, trying not to wake up Jace.
Meg’s eyes focus on me and open wide when she sees a male arm draped over my waist. “Colie! Did you sleep with a stranger?”
Jace’s nose nuzzles my neck and he leans up. “She better not have,” he says with a sly smile and kisses my neck.
Meg quickly crosses her arms trying to cover herself. She jumps up, grabbing my arm and pulls us to the bathroom. In a rush of words, she demands to know what happened last night. I keep her attention on me and away from the mirror as I fill her in on the details of the evening.
Leaning against the counter, she steps forward and gives me a hug. “Oh Colie, I’m so sorry. I love you,” she stammers.
“I know, you told me that last night…more than once.”
We both laugh until we are interrupted by a knock on the door. Meg opens it and I smile as I watch her eyes slide up and down Jace’s body.
“Sorry to interrupt you, ladies, but nature calls,” he says in a sweet voice as Meg moves to the side to step around him. He gives me a quick kiss as we walk back to the bedroom.
Meg pushes me onto the bed. In a loud whisper, she asks, “Oh my gosh, does he have any hair on his body?”
I grin and shake my head.
“Are those nipple rings?”
I nod, my grin getting bigger just like her eyes.
“Is he pierced anywhere else?”
I laugh and nod again. She falls onto the bed beside me, acting like she’s fainting. She looks over at me with a smirk as she says, “From now on, I need better details.”
***
Jace holds my hand as we stroll into the airport behind Meg and her friends. Not surprisingly, the three hungover women want nothing to do with the press today. As we walk through security, I realize I’m getting used to the circus that follows Jace. It doesn’t mean I like it, but it doesn’t scare me like it used to.
We get to our gate and he leans down giving me a deep kiss. I wrap my arms around him, pulling him closer, knowing the photographers are safely on the other side of the security line. I feel his manhood against my stomach, begging to get out, and I grin.
He raises an eyebrow and asks, “Time for a quickie?”
I laugh and playfully hit him. “We are not having a quickie in an airport bathroom.”
He pulls me tighter against him, making sure I feel his whole length at attention. “Who said bathroom? I’m a member of the Sky Club.”
It’s tempting, but I glance over at my sister and know I can’t leave her.
He kisses my cheek as I look at her. “Loyal, I love it,” he whispers in my ear.
A voice comes over the speaker and calls for first class to board. I give him a long kiss, licking his lips and hoping it’ll tide him over until next week. When I finish, I step back to get on the plane, but he pulls me to him.
“Nikki, about next weekend…I’m not going to make it.”
My heart drops. It’s my only sister’s wedding. Jace and I have talked about this for months. I wanted him to meet our family, since he’s indirectly asked me to consider being a part of his. I bite down on the inside of my cheek, trying to keep the tears at bay.
He lifts my chin up. “Babe, don’t be upset. Something came up and I can’t get out of it. You know I would if I could.”
I nod, still clenching down on my cheek, refusing to cry and unable to ask what’s so important that he had to break our plans. I never ask him for much, but this is the one thing that’s important to me, and he knows it.
He sighs and looks out the window. “Fine, Nicole. I’ll cancel it, figure out another date that works for everyone, adjust their schedules—”
I put my hand on his chest and shake my head. “No, no…it’s fine, really.”
I give him another light kiss, letting him know I understand. It’s really selfish of me to ask him to rearrange everyone’s schedule for me. Besides, I’ll be too busy helping with the wedding to even pay him any attention. It’ll be fine, I’ll just keep telling myself it’ll be fine.
He grins down at me and rubs my back, venturing over my backside. “I knew you’d understand, babe. You’re the best.”
Another quick kiss and I turn to leave. Halfway to the ticket agent, I turn around and walk back to him. He looks down at me puzzled.
“What’s your thing next weekend?”
He grins as he answers, “Making millions, baby, making millions.”
With a tight squeeze on my ass and a fondle of my breast, he gives me one more kiss, then pats my butt sending me on my way.
CHAPTER 20
“Oh Meg… you look gorgeous!”
My sister spins around in the room, giving me the full effect of her wedding gown. The beading on the dress sparkles in the light, her hair is sprayed perfectly in place, and her make-up, while thick enough to cover the fading bruise on her eye, is picture perfect. She holds out her wrist and I fasten her charm bracelet. She frowns as she watches me.
“Hey, no frowns on your wedding day,” I say with a smile, although I feel the same way. While we’ve both always looked forward to our weddings since we were little girls, we knew it wouldn’t be quite right without our father to walk us down the aisle.
My big sister forces a smile across her face and nods. “You’re right. No frowns.” She turns and looks in the mirror then back to me as she squeals, “I’m about to become Mrs. Mark Hall!”
I join in her excitement and shriek with her. When we both stop, she pulls me into a bear hug and whispers, “Thank you.” We pull away from each other as the doors open and our moment alone is over.
The other bridesmaids, our mom, Mark’s mom, grandmas, sisters and aunts we barely know, all rush in the room. They exclaim how beautiful she is, ask where she got her dress, who did her hair, and Meg eats up all the attention. Smiling, I step back, letting everyone else get their time with her.
Checking my phone, I see a message from Jace telling me to have a good day and send him a picture. While I’m texting him back telling him I’ll send a pic later, Meg’s phone beeps. It’s a text from the wedding coordinator saying the flowers haven’t been delivered yet.
Maid of honor duty calls! I quickly delete the text and run upstairs to find her. I’m not about to let my sister’s day be ruined over flowers.
***
The church bells ring and I sprint into the bridal room with my heels in hand. Meg turns around to see me a hot, sweaty mess. Thank goodness the dress isn’t strapless or I would’ve lost it a long time ago as I was unloading flowers. Turns out the florist delivered them to the wrong wedding
and was unable to get them back in time for the start of the ceremony. The wedding coordinator and I spent the last two hours hustling around town to find something that worked.
Meg frowns when she sees me. “What’s wrong?”
I shrug as I lean over and pull on my shoes. Grabbing her perfume and spritzing it in the air, I walk through it and wave my arms around me. “Small snafu, but no worries, it’s all taken care of.”
I see her stiffen and I grab her shoulders. With a big smile, I say, “You’re about to become Mrs. Mark Hall! That’s all that matters today.”
She nods and fluffs my hair. “You’re right, Colie. That’s all that matters.” She pauses then says, “Your hair is flat.”
I laugh at her as she relaxes and the doors open for us to enter the sanctuary. I give her one last kiss on the cheek and head down the aisle. Standing at the front of the church, the congregation rises and I hear a collective gasp as my sister comes into view of each guest. When she reaches Mark, I tear up and can’t help but wonder if I’ll ever make the same march. And if I do, with whom?
***
“…so I ask you all to raise a toast to the best big sister in the world and her husband… who now has his hands full with her!”
Everyone clinks their glasses and lets out a cheer as I finish my speech. Meg and I hug while Mark and I exchange a wink. The wedding was beautiful and despite Mark flubbing his vows, the two are officially married. Dinner’s been served, my toast has been made, and now I can relax. Waiting for a glass of wine, I lean forward on the bar in my sequined, watermelon-colored backless dress. With the empire waist and cut-out circles in the back, it’s definitely not my taste, but as a bridesmaid you wear what the bride tells you, no questions asked.
The bartender hands me my wine with a wink. I stick a bill in his tip jar and turn to head back to my seat. He says thanks and nods behind him as he adds, “I think your date is waiting.”
