“You better be all right, I’ll need you later,” Soph shouts from the bathroom. Ugh, I hang my head and groan loudly. “I heard that!” she snaps.
“Is this what people talk about when they use the term bridezilla’s?” I ask.
“Shut up lady,” she tells me through what I assume is a mouth full of toothpaste. I hear her spit, “nice,” before she carries on talking at me. “Just because you have the hangover from hell, that’s on you. It’s my day, so you need to suck it up and kiss my arse. If I need you to listen, then you listen, if I need you to make me tea, you make me tea….and you know what? If I need you to go get a monkey costume, put it on and dance like a chicken in front of Elvis at the chapel…then you do it.” I stand to attention, which does nothing for my head and salute that bathroom door. “I see you!” Soph snaps and I can’t help but chuckle at her. There’s a knock at the door and I know this must be my breakfast. I use that term loosely as it’s now after two in the afternoon.
Once the food has been deposited on the table, I sit down and my stomach grumbles.
“Oh God, how can you eat all that?” Soph asks as she walks out of the bathroom and to me scrunching her nose at my table full of food.
“What? I’m hungry,” I answer through a mouth full of syrup covered pancakes.
Soph slides onto the seat opposite me. “Have you got any spare?” She winks and I laugh.
“You sure you should be eating this crap? I mean, you don’t want to ruin your perfect figure…especially on your wedding day,” I tease.
She smiles as her eyes move over the food on the table, alighting when they hit the bacon.
“Bacon…mmm.”
I laugh and pass a fork to her. “Have at it, like you said it’s your day.”
Between us, we demolish the food. “That was ‘lush,” she tells me wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and I smirk at her.
“So, Libby, I have something to ask you.” The words are muttered tentatively.
“Look Soph, I like you and I know gay marriage is legal in the US now, but I’m sorry, I just don’t feel that way about you,” I tell her bursting into laughter.
Smiling she picks up a pillow and throw’s it—right at my head.
“Listen, seriously, I want you to be a bridesmaid. Please?” She whispers the please, her eyes wide, and nervousness flits through her hands as she fiddles with her fingers.
“Of course, I will. I mean it’s an honour, Soph,” I answer, stunned that she wants me to be part of her day.
“That’s good, I was worried you’d say no.”
“Why would I? I actually can’t believe you’ve asked me. I know I’m not in the inner circle…although I hope to be one day,” I break off not really knowing where to go from here and already feeling like a dick.
“I think you are in the inner circle much more than you realise honey,” Soph murmurs while grabbing my hand in hers. Before the mood turns melancholy she continues, “Come on, let me show you the dress. I think I got your size. You’re a ten, right?”
“Yeah, I mean UK sizing is a ten,” I answer as she pulls me from the table. I try not to lose my balance, or my breakfast as she drags me through the vast hotel room. Once in the bedroom she pushes me onto the bed.
“Stay,” she orders.
“Yes, ma’am!” I wink and salute for the second time in the last thirty minutes. Soph doesn’t notice my sass and instead is focussed on getting the dress out of the closet. The door to the hotel suite opens which temporarily takes the attention of both of us until we hear.
“Only me…where are you?”
“In here, Pea,” Soph shouts.
“What you doing in here?” Pea asks as she tries to manoeuvre herself into the room with a huge white box in her hands.
“What’s that?” I ask nodding to the box.
“Oh, the flowers.” She pants dropping the box on the bed and sitting next to me. “So, I’ll ask again, what are we doing in here?”
“I asked her to be a bridesmaid finally,” Soph answers placing her hands on her hips and arching just one eyebrow at me.
“What?” I ask as Pea starts giggling.
“She wanted to ask you last night….” Pea stops talking instead dissolving into laughter.
“Oh my God! What’s so funny?” I’m so confused and feel a little embarrassed. I’m not sure why, but suddenly I have this feeling that I need to apologise for my behaviour last night…I just wish I knew what I’d done.
“You stood on the table and danced to Animals by Maroon 5,” Pea answers.
I look between the girls…my voice stuck in my throat.
“To be fair, the group of guys on the next table dared you.” Soph joins in laughing now, her hands have disappeared from her hips and instead hold her stomach like the laughter coming from her mouth might burst through her abdomen at any point. “Then the security guy came over and you jumped on his back and told him to ‘giddy up’.”
“Not sure he was impressed with that sweets,” Pea tells me through the tears of laughter pooling at the corners of her eyelids. She frantically swipes her fingers underneath her eyes. “It was so funny, then you punched that woman.”
“What?” I almost shout and then flickers of last night start filtering into my conscious. “Oh God,” I groan burying my face in my hands. “Did I really punch a woman for wanting to sleep with Dane?” I ask.
“No,” Soph snaps. “You absolutely did not, that’s not how my girls roll.”
“How my girls roll? Very gangsta,” Pea tells Soph with a wink.
“Shut up twatflapper!” Soph answers Pea with a smirk and Pea frowns.
“Twatflapper? What the…What? I mean…what?” I ask now giggling myself.
“Oh well, I guess you really need to know how we roll.” Soph stops on that word and looks to Pea, her eyebrow once again dancing up near her hairline as she waits for a funny remark from her. When Pea says nothing, Soph sits on the chair opposite the bed and carries on.
“Seeing as you’re now part of the inner sanctum, whether you want to be or not.” I feel a warmth flow through me at her words, a kind of strength that seems to come easily from these women has been extended to me. “When we get drunk we do stupid shit…as do most people I guess. Like last night...but you should know what you’re getting yourself into, every time you choose to get drunk with us. Pea has the name twatflapper, which I call her rarely.”
“All the bloody time lately,” Pea injects with annoyance.
“When needed,” Soph says looking back to me with a wink. “She got it because we were out drinking one night after Eleanor had been born, and Pea kept moaning how since having the baby her vajayjay was huge and all flappy and loose.” She snorts and flaps her hands around trying to compose herself. “Oh my God, you had to be there, but seriously.” Soph is laughing through her words and Pea has folded her arms across her chest in mock annoyance, but I can see the corner of her mouth twitching and she’s fighting the grin. “She was so drunk, you have to understand, like completely off her face. She started telling these women sitting near us to never have kids, or if they did that they should adopt, or go for a caesarean. They looked at her like she was fresh out of a mental hospital and needed to be put back ASAP. Pea got so annoyed and decided she was going to try and show them her flaps...Seriously, Libby, it was fucking hilarious.” Soph pauses again and takes a couple of deep breaths, her laughter becoming intermittent giggles, that is until she continues trying to tell me the story. “Pea stood up and had one leg on the floor and her other on a chair and she was attempting to pull up her skirt to show them her flaps…these women shit themselves while I sat there laughing. I swear I thought I was gonna piss myself from laughing so much that night.”
“You could have stopped me,” Pea snaps.
“Nah, apart from it being funny, you were never going to show them anything babe…you had a pencil skirt on, I’m pretty sure you couldn’t get it much past your thighs at the time, let alone t
o your waist to show your twat to everyone. Anyway, the women quickly left. Seriously. Funniest. Night. Ever.”
“I don’t see how it’s relevant anyway,” Pea moans.
“Oh yeah, back to the point.” Soph smiles. I’m pretty sure I hear Pea say finally, but Soph either doesn’t hear or chooses to ignore her. “What happened last night just proves even more that you’re one of us. All the stupid shit you did just cemented your place with Pea and me forever,” She tells me and Pea looks to me nodding at Soph’s words.
“Thanks,” I answer then look between the two of them. “I did punch someone, right? I mean I’m not imagining it, am I?”
“Oh, you punched that bitch all right,” Soph answers smiling. “But not because she said she was going to sleep with Dane. No. You threatened to punch her at that statement, you actually punched her when she basically called you a whore.”
“Oh fuck!” I slam my hand over my mouth. “I remember now. Ugh, I so badly wanted to hit her again.” I can feel the anger swirling inside me. I’d forgotten how angry I can get. It’s like all my emotions have been switched off these last few years.
“Chill honey, it’s done. Anyway, this is my day don’t forget,” Soph says with a wink and stands up again. “I want to show you both your bridesmaids’ dresses.
“Both?” I question looking at Pea and bringing the annoyance I felt prickling my skin under control.
“Yeah.” Pea nods. “She wouldn’t let me see my dress until today either. It’s not like it’s my day, so I don’t get what the big deal is.” She shrugs.
After a couple of minutes, Soph pulls out two identical dresses. I feel my jaw drop and slowly look to Pea, who has the same look on her face.
“Seriously?” Pea whispers.
“Look, it’s not like I’ve pulled something from My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding,” Soph answers.
“What’s that?” I ask confused.
“Oh, it’s a television programme in the UK, next time you’re over I’ll show you,” Soph answers and I still have no clue what she’s talking about.
“Maybe not,” Pea tells her, not pulling her eyes from the dress. “But it could be from The Only Way Is Essex.” Before I have a chance to comment Pea looks at me and says, “Another TV programme.”
I look back to the dress in question. It’s black. Not traditional for a bridesmaid dress, but then nothing Soph does strikes me as by the book. The thing I think Pea is focussed on is the fact that it’s a dress you’d wear to a club, or party. I wouldn’t even wear this dress to a wedding, let alone as part of the wedding party. It’s fitted. Tight. It must be lycra or something similar. Sleeveless with a choker halter neck. There is no back, well, the back is fairly low. Above the breasts the dress has a kind of crochet detailing. It’s beautiful and supremely sexy, but absolutely not for a wedding. Still, as Soph keeps saying, this is her day and I’ll wear whatever she wants me to. Even if it is thigh length and there’s a good chance if I sit down it's going to travel up to pussy length, then I’ll start being known as twatflapper.
“Okay hun,” I answer and Pea turns to me her eyes wide.
“No! Don’t go along with this, it means I’ll have to as well then!” Her voice wobbles.
“Sorry Pea, it’s Soph’s day and if this is what she wants…” I shrug my shoulders and trail off.
“Ugh.” Pea shakes her head. “It’s all right for you two, with your perfect figures…I’ve had a baby and now I have flabby bits.” And this is when I realise what Pea’s real problem is.
“I have little black Spanx shorts with me if you want them?” I wink at her and she quickly wraps her arms around me pecking my face with kisses.
“I love you! More than Con. Seriously, you are my queen!” Pea says.
I laugh and so does Soph.
“Okay, now I want to see your dress,” I tell Soph. “I know Dane brought it over yesterday before we went for dinner, I’m dying to see it.” I rub my hands together excitedly.
Soph smiles. “Not until it’s time for me to put it on and meet my man. I want everyone to see it in all its glory, and I can only do it justice when the rest of me is ready.”
“Spoilsport,” Pea teases and we giggle.
“What time are the make-up and hair people coming?” I ask her.
“Four-thirty.”
“So we have just over two hours. Want to watch a film?” I ask the two of them.
“Yeah, sounds good,” Soph answers and Pea nods.
“Okay, let’s pull up the television movie listings, see what we can watch…Oh look, The Last Boy Scout! I love that film!” I say, excitement dripping from my words. They both look at me like I’m crazy. “You know…The sky is blue, water is wet…” My voice dries up as it’s clear that they haven’t seen it. “How about The Long Kiss Goodnight?” Still they have a matching pair of ‘what the fuck?’ faces. “Oh, forget it! What do you want to watch?”
“Ooo look, they have Flashdance on here!” Pea almost screams.
Soph smiles at her. “Cool, pop it on.”
“Fuck…are we back in the eighties?” I groan. Neither of them notices my complaint or they ignore me if they do. As we walk to the sofa, I grab my phone. The music starts and both Soph and Pea start singing while the lead actress rides her bike into the sunset.
Ugh. Kill me now.
Me: Can you do me a favour. I’ll give you whatever you want in the bedroom tonight.
I wait a few moments and my phone vibrates in my hand.
Dane: You’ll do what I want in the bedroom, or any other room that I decide upon, tonight or any other night. Just because I tell you to.
Me: Whatever. Can you do me a favour then?
Dane: Name it.
Me: Go into the hotel hallway and smash the ‘in case of fire’ thing.
Dane: What? Why? What’s happened?
Me: Soph and Pea are making me watch Flashdance.
Dane: You never did like that girly shit. Glad to see that hasn’t changed.
I think on his words for a moment. There’s something comforting about knowing that I’m still, in some ways, the same person I was before I forgot me.
Me: I tried to convince them of The Last Boy Scout. They didn’t listen. Now I’m trapped here for two hours.
Dane: Not sure what I can do baby. It’s Soph’s day remember.
Me: Well, when it’s my day I’m going to make her watch every single damn Die Hard film!
Dane: Your day?
Shit. He probably thinks I am going to get all wedding soppy. No. Not gonna happen.
Me: Well, yeah, you know if I ever get married.
Dane: You will.
Me: So sure aren’t you.
Dane: Only about things I know.
Me: Whatever. What are you doing anyway?
Dane: Just coming back to the hotel, we went for lunch. How are you feeling now?
Me: I was feeling much better. Now though, with this film, I’m wondering if I should go back to bed as I’m suddenly feeling sick.
Dane: Ha. Don’t think that will fly with Soph. Try to think about something else.
Me: Like what?
Dane: Don’t know. When I need to think about something good I imagine your mouth wrapped around my dick while you kneel in front of me.
Me: That can be arranged.
Dane: Oh, it will be.
I feel my pussy pulse at his words and bite my bottom lip to stop the groan that wants to erupt.
“Are you going to be on your phone for the next two hours?” Soph asks.
“I’m getting off, so you can torture me with this shit,” I moan.
“She’s a dancing welder, who’s hot. And it has a kick arse soundtrack,” Pea mutters without moving her eyes from the screen.
“Whatever,” I mutter and roll my eyes.
Me: Right, I have to go. I’ve been told to get off the phone. Sex talk later.
Dane: Fuck talking baby. You’ll be lucky if you can breathe later.
I close my eye
s and put my phone to one side before something really inappropriate happens on my friend’s wedding day while I sit on the sofa with them watching Flashdance. I still love these ladies. Even if they do make me watch shit.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Con says walking toward his suite. Having left Pea with Eleanor when he came to have lunch with Saul and me. Eric and Rich took over from her when she needed to collect the wedding flowers. Now it’s Cons turn to go back and spend some time with his daughter while her uncles go for a swim.
I follow Saul into his suite. “Beer?” he asks walking to the mini fridge.
“Yeah,” I answer and move through the living area, stopping at the wall of windows that look out over the Las Vegas late afternoon bustle.
I hear Saul stop beside me, he hands my beer over and then questions, “Dane?” He knows something’s on my mind. What he doesn’t realise is that there are a fuck of a lot of things on my mind. Some of those things I need to talk to him about, but part of that is not for today. It’s not for prior to his wedding day, one of the happiest days of his life. Some of this shit is best kept for now. No. What I need to tell him today is different. It’s something I want him to know before he goes to get married. Soph laid some heavy emotions on me earlier, and now it’s time to lay the same on my little brother.
I turn my body slightly so I’m facing him. I take a moment to stare into his bright blue eyes. Usually, I close myself off. I always have. Learnt it from a young age. In the business I function daily within, the grime I associate with, I need to cut my emotions off. I never let people see. Never.
My family has been getting glimpses of me lately. It’s been harder to hold them back. Nova is my exception and always has been. I’ve never been able to hide myself from her, even when I’ve tried it’s always been impossible, she breaks down every barrier I build. She managed to creep inside me when we were kids and I was never able to expel her. I think that’s why it’s only ever been her…it would only ever be her. There’s nobody else that I could ever open myself up to so easily, without stipulations. I’ve never really stopped loving her. Never allowed my heart to heal. Now I want my family to see me how she sees does, how Soph said she sees me sometimes. I want to be that man for them. I want to be that man for Nova. I want to be that man for me. Finally.
Love Renewed (Entwined Hearts #3) Page 10
