by S. R. Grey
“That’s right.” Lainey turns to me. “See, Aubrey, not everything I do is perverted.”
We reach the bridal shop, and after I park, I remind my sister, “Uh, let’s not forget you first wanted to loan me your Area 51.”
Eliza coughs. “Ew, gross.”
Looking back at her in the rearview mirror, I nod. “I know, right?”
“Hey, I was only kidding about that,” Lainey retorts. “You know I’d never loan out my precious green buddy.”
“Hmm, that’s probably true. Though, if it were blue and not green, I might have tried to convince you.”
Lainey’s big turquoise eyes widen. “So who’s the perv now?”
I stick my tongue out at her.
“Just kidding,” I sing-song. “I don’t want your slimy used sex toy.”
Eliza rolls her eyes and mutters, “Sisters.”
I want to tell her that I have the very best one in the world, but she and Lainey are already out of the car.
Sighing, I slip out and follow them up to the bridal shop.
As we enter the store, I take note that Stuffy Sales Lady Who Clearly Needs Dick is nowhere to be found.
Aw, that’s kind of a shame. Lainey wrapped a brand-new Area 51 just for her. I was told she and Nolan packed an extra one in case hers malfunctioned.
My sister really, really loves her fake alien cock.
“Damn, who are we going to give this Area 51 to now?” Lainey says, pouting.
“We’ll think of someone,” I assure her. “Just put it back in your purse for now.”
Lainey places the gift—wrapped in neon green, our go-to wrapping—back into her bag with a huff. I don’t tell her that I have an idea on who the gift should go to. I’m saving that for later.
For now we have a dress to pick up!
To my delight, I try on my gown and it still fits perfectly. Plus, there’s no damage even though it was lost in shipping package hell.
Yay! I’m good to go.
Things really have turned around.
As the shop employees are zipping my gown into a garment bag, I notice Lainey is picking out a frilly blue garter from a box on the counter.
Aw, she’s the sweetest.
I know it’s for me so I’ll have my “something blue.”
After we leave the shop, we begin our quest to find a Victoria’s Secret or something similar so we can get in some lingerie shopping. But there are no such stores in sight, at least not anywhere on the main drag running through town.
“I guess we’ll have to drive over to Minneapolis,” I say, tapping the steering wheel in time to a song that’s playing softly in the background. “Maybe we should hit up the Mall of America?”
“No, wait.” Lainey points to a cross street at the light where we’re stopped. I see then that there’s a tiny shop about two doors down that looks like what we need.
“I think we just found ourselves a lingerie store, ladies,” I say.
I make the turn and pull up to the cute little boutique with a sign that lets us know it’s the Don’t Get Your Panties in a Bunch Store.
“This is perfect,” I say.
When we walk up to the entrance, Lainey remarks, “They come up with the cutest store names in this little town, don’t they?”
“Right?” I nod. “I was just thinking that.”
After a beat, I add, “I’m so happy I chose for my wedding to be here instead of out in Las Vegas.”
“It really is nice here,” Eliza remarks. “So quiet and picturesque everywhere you turn. I love that there are forests and lakes everywhere too.”
“Yeah, I agree. This really is a perfect locale.”
Inside the store, we find there’s everything from novelty wear, like edible panties, to La Perla merchandise.
I head over to La Perla land, while Lainey rushes to a rack of panties and bras that are about a hundred shades of blue.
She calls out over her shoulder, “Hey, I think I’ve finally found lingerie that’ll match my dress for the wedding. Look at all these shades of blue.”
The wedding colors Brent and I chose are ivory and blue. The bridesmaid dresses are a lovely shade of azure, kind of like how the sky is here every day. Lainey has been determined to find the exact shade for her strapless bra and panties so that they’ll match her dress.
No wonder she’s excited—she is sure to find what she needs here.
“Look how many there are,” she cries as she flips through the racks.
Eliza, though not as anal about a perfect match as Lainey, joins her in the perusal.
I run over quickly to remind them, “Pick out something for Chloe too. She and Dylan are flying in on Monday.”
Though Chloe is pregnant, she’s only about four months along. That means she’s not so big she can’t wear cute undergarments.
With my attendants occupied, I turn my attention back to La Perla.
I really do want to wear super-hot lingerie during our honeymoon. Every day Brent undresses me he should find himself a sexy surprise.
With that in mind, I proceed to pick out twenty hot-as-hell bra and panty sets.
My attendants find what they want, as well.
With everyone happy, we direct our attention to a fun little section of the store labeled “Knock His Socks Off.”
“Hmm, let’s see what we can find over there,” Eliza remarks.
“Maybe they’ll have something with donuts on it.” I smirk. “I bet Benny would love that.”
“No doubt,” she says.
“Oh my God, holy crap,” Lainey blurts out. She grabs something from a table display and holds it behind her back. “You are so going to want this,” she says to Eliza.
“What is it?” Eliza asks. “Show me.”
Lainey does and we all burst out laughing.
“You have to buy them,” I say to her.
Yep, Lainey found exactly what Eliza needs—donut-themed panties. But the best part is that they’re edible.
“Wonder what they taste like,” Eliza muses.
“Like donuts, I’m sure,” Lainey says.
“Probably,” I chime in, “but I’m sure Benny will think they’re great no matter what they taste like.”
Lainey then turns to me. “Okay, Aubs, now we need to find something fun for you and Brent, and also something for me and Nolan.”
Since we’re in Minnesota, tried and true hockey country, it doesn’t take long to come across the hockey-themed lingerie.
Lainey and I end up choosing the same bra and panty set. The bra has crossed hockey sticks on each cup and the panties have a puck on the front, along with the words Puck Me.
“Brent is going to die when he sees these,” I say.
“Nolan will too,” Lainey replies.
“Your guys will be scoring for sure when you wear that.” Eliza snickers.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure she’s right.
Here’s to Getting Lucky
By Monday, with only five days left till wedding day, more people begin to arrive.
Aubrey’s parents come into town, as do Coach Townsend and his wife.
A bunch of my teammates also fly in.
Everyone checks into various hotels, except for Aubrey’s parents, who opt to stay at a local bed-and-breakfast just down the road.
I offer the lake house as an option, as I have room for them, but they insist they don’t want to intrude on “you young people’s fun.”
Yeah, I like my new in-laws already. I knew they were chill, like their daughters, but they’re even more awesome than I realized.
I feel bad that I can’t offer up my home to all my incoming teammates, but it’s not that big.
Still, I make sure to leave a room free for Dylan and Chloe.
Dylan is a really good friend and a groomsman in the wedding and Chloe is a bridesmaid, so, yeah, no, I couldn’t leave those two hanging. They’re part of our core group of friends, along with Nolan and Lainey and Benny and Eliza.
And th
at’s the crew that is gathered right now in our big backyard surrounded by forest.
Because of the thick woods, it’s usually pretty damn dark out here, but tonight we’ve illuminated the grounds with blazing tiki torches and a big ole strategically placed bonfire.
Coach Townsend and his wife, and both sets of parents, were in attendance earlier, but they’ve since departed.
We’re down to eight—Aubrey and me, Nolan and Lainey, Eliza and Benny, and Dylan and Chloe.
The girls are kicking back on Adirondack chairs they’ve pulled close to the fire.
I shake my head. Can you believe they were cold?
Go figure.
“It’s summertime, you know,” I scoffed when they told me that. “It must be like seventy degrees out even though it’s evening.”
“Brrr…” Aubrey replied. “That’s chilly.”
Lainey jumped in. “Yeah, I may have to run in and grab a jacket.” She turned toward the house, contemplating. “In fact, I think I’m going to do exactly that.”
“Ooh, grab Brent’s Wolves hoodie for me,” Aubrey called out to her.
Women!
I swear it can be perfect out, like tonight, but if one tiny breeze blows, forget it. It’s like an arctic blast to them.
“Good thing we all live out in the desert,” I say when I’m back over by the guys at the tree line near the edge of the forest.
Nolan chuckles. “Let me guess. The girls are cold, right?”
“You know it.”
He laughs. “I’m not surprised. You should’ve seen Lainey when we flew up to Toronto for a weekend last March. It snowed maybe two inches, but you would’ve thought we were having a goddamn blizzard with the way Lainey kept shivering and complaining.”
“Aubrey’s the same way,” I say. “And to think those two were born and raised in Pennsylvania. Not exactly a tropical paradise.”
“They’re just spoiled these days,” Nolan says. “In every freaking way.”
You can tell with the loving way he says it, though, that he doesn’t really mind.
And neither do I.
It’s actually kind of cute.
Dylan and Benny chime in that since their women are from Arizona and Nevada respectively, Chloe and Eliza think almost everywhere else in the country is cold.
“Except for maybe the southern states,” Dylan clarifies.
I glance over and notice then that both Eliza and Chloe have on big, thick hooded sweatshirts. No wonder they weren’t bitching; they’re fucking dressed for autumn.
“Eliza thinks it’s freezing here,” Benny says.
“Chloe does too,” Dylan adds. “She brought sweaters and hoodies specifically for this trip.”
“I can see that,” I murmur, nodding over to their hoodie-clad women.
With a roll of my eyes, I take a sip of the beer I’ve been nursing. I’m fine with making one or two beers last these days. I used to drink to excess, but haven’t in ages, thanks to Aubrey.
She really straightened me out two years ago. And she’s kept me on the right path with her unconditional love.
I feel like all of us have that now, which prompts me to hold up my cup and make a toast.
“Hey, here’s to finding love,” I say.
The guys all razz me at first.
“Dude, are you going soft on us?”
“Brent, where’s this coming from? What’s in that beer, anyway?”
And my personal favorite, courtesy of Nolan: “I think all this fresh, clean lakeside air has made you high.”
“Yeah.” I laugh. “Guess I need to get back to arid Las Vegas. No, seriously, you have to admit that we’re all pretty lucky.”
Nolan and Dylan raise their cups in solidarity, as does Benny, though his contains something nonalcoholic, of course.
In the next ten seconds, all you can hear is a resounding chorus of, “Here, here.”
A Revelation
Noticing that our guys are having a grand ole time over at the edge of the forest, I jerk my chin in that direction and murmur to the girls, “I wonder what the boys are talking about over there.”
“Probably sex,” Lainey replies.
I snort. “No, that’s your purview. You’re obsessed, I swear.”
“Like you’re not?” She gives me a bitch-please look. “Ms. I-Pass-Out-Area-51s-to-all-my-Friends.”
“Hey!”
“I’m surprised you haven’t given one to Mom yet.”
“That’s disgusting, Lainey.”
She rolls her eyes. “They have sex, Aubrey. How do you think we got here?”
“I don’t think about it,” I volley back. “And if you keep this up, I’m totally taking away your Area 51, you brat.”
“Pfft, over my dead body.”
“Mmm,” Chloe says, joining in. “That thing is worth a fight to the death over. Dylan and I like our Area 51 so much that we brought it along with us.”
“No way! Nolan and I brought ours too,” Lainey exclaims.
Chloe and Lainey fist-bump, and Eliza asks, “You brought it even though you’re pregnant, Chloe?”
Chloe turns to her. “I brought it because I’m pregnant. I swear I’m hornier now than I was before. Besides, how do you think I got knocked up in the first place? After Aubrey gifted me one of those damn things, Dylan and I used it almost constantly. And, well”—she gestures to her baby bump—“that led to other things, and here we are.”
“I was just kidding,” Eliza says. “I was actually the same way. I wanted sex all the time too when I was pregnant. But sadly, there was no one around at the time. I only wish I’d had an Area 51 back then.”
“Or a Benny,” Lainey says.
“For real,” Eliza sighs.
Eliza’s baby daddy is Drew Chidders, who’s on the Wolves roster. Well, for now he is. There are rumors he may be traded soon.
I kind of hope he is. Drew’s in Ava’s life now, but he was absent for a very long time.
Plus, he’s kind of a jerk.
“Area 51 would’ve been better even if Drew had been around,” I remark.
Eliza chuckles. “You’re right about that, Aubrey. But really, I wish I’d known Benny at the time. Not just for sex, he just would’ve been so sweet and helpful.”
Chloe nudges her arm. “Guess you’ll have to have one with him and find out.”
“Hmm,” Eliza mutters slyly. “I guess I will.”
I’ve noticed that Eliza’s not drinking tonight, and though I know for a fact she’s not pregnant right now—she asked me earlier if I had extra tampons since she’d forgotten to pack some—I can’t help but wonder if she and Benny are planning on trying soon.
I suppose we’ll find out in a couple more months.
That’d be cool—Chloe with a baby and Eliza pregnant.
That’d leave me and Lainey, out of our whole close-knit group, as the only ones without kids.
Hmm…
I know Lainey and Nolan want to wait a little longer before they start a family, but Brent and I have talked about it and we want to start our family sooner rather than later.
That makes me think—why not start now?
Baby Fever
After the outdoor bonfire gathering ends, Aubrey and I go up to our bedroom. I can tell she has something on her mind. Why else would she be sitting cross-legged on our bed, chewing her lip?
I’m wearing only my boxer briefs and nothing else as I take a seat next to her.
“Okay, Aubs, I know that look. You have something you want to talk about, right?”
“I do,” she says quietly. Reaching out and touching my arm, she murmurs, “But first, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, sweetheart.”
“Do you love me, Brent?”
“Hey, hey…” I scoot a little closer to her. “Where’s this coming from?”
She shrugs and I take her in my arms. I know she feels safest there, and I think she needs a little reassuring right now.
“Aubrey,”
I say softly, “I love you. In fact, I love you so much that I’m marrying you, babe.”
“Yes, yes, I know.” She sighs and sits back, but our hands remain joined. “But do you love me enough to have a baby with me?”
Is she kidding?
“Are you kidding?” I reply, echoing my thoughts. “We’ve already discussed this. You know I can’t wait to have children with you.”
We have talked about this before, so I’m not sure why this is coming up.
But then she murmurs, “When?” and I think I know what’s up.
“Babe…” I let go of her hands so I can reach up and cup her beautiful face. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
Biting her lip, she quietly asks, “Would you want to start trying now?”
“What? You mean like tonight?”
She nods.
“But aren’t you still on the pill?”
Sighing, she says, “I’m supposed to start a new cycle today. But I haven’t taken one yet.”
Excited now, I blurt out, “Well, hell, I know it can’t happen right away, but let’s go throw them out—today’s pill, tomorrow’s pill, and all the rest.”
She starts smiling like crazy. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes.”
Damn, I can’t wait for her to ditch those things. I want Aubrey swollen with my baby as soon as possible. And in return I want to be there for her through everything. We can raise our child with all the love and caring we feel for one another.
And hopefully there will be more than just one. That’s right—I want a really big family.
In the en suite bathroom, Aubrey removes her fresh pack of pills from her cosmetics bag.
“Well,” she says, holding them aloft, “here they are. Do you want to do the ditching honors or shall I?”
“Babe, let’s do this the way we do everything.”
“And how’s that, Brent?”
I grasp the side of the pill packet and say, “Together.”
And that, my friends, is how we check off step one of making a baby.
Step Two
Brent tells me in the bathroom about the steps he’s coming up with for making a baby.
