by K. T. Castle
“Thanks,” was Josh’s only verbal response. He stood beside me, unmoving as a statue. Even if his body displayed all the beauty and strength inside him, I couldn’t reach him. Josh had always made himself approachable to me, but now it felt different—he felt different. Guarded. Distant. I realized, sadly, that this must be how he perceived me all the time. I didn’t like this invisible distance between us, because as close as we were, it felt as if his heart was miles away from mine now.
After a few seconds of staring at each other in silence, he finally added, “You should give Ed a chance, too. He’s changed.”
I hadn’t expected that request, giving him a lopsided smile as I remembered the conversation they’d had about me.
“I know what you must be thinking, but he has changed,” Josh said, as any good best friend would. “He was a player. We both were. But now, he’s so in love with Laura, and I—”
I shook my head, saying “You heard what he said about me. It’s a little difficult for me to accept that Edward’s changed.”
“I know,” he accepted. “I also know him. He was being territorial.”
“I’m not his for him to be territorial over me.”
“No, you’re not,” Josh agreed.
We just stared at each other; neither one of us wanted to agree to disagree. Admittedly, I was most likely being the stubborn one. I was barely patching things up with him now; I wasn’t about to risk making him upset with me again. I could only feel my own breathing and hear his. Then, in the darkened background of the sky around us, fireworks splashed through the blackness, announcing the arrival of the New Year.
It was the last night of the year, and for the first time in my adult life, I wasn’t at some party having fun and kissing guys.
“It’s midnight,” I announced.
“Yeah, it is,” Josh agreed, turning around to see the colored sky before us.
I didn’t want him to look away. I wanted him to look at me. Only me.
“Happy New Year!” I said with little excitement in my voice, as I launched my body toward him in a big hug. I definitely acknowledged that all I’d been waiting for was an excuse to touch him.
For several seconds, I felt his warmth against mine. My traitorous body had given away the profound feelings I realized I had for him as it molded to Josh’s in our embrace. I looked up at him and the fireworks reflected in the silver of his eyes.
Our gazes locked before he closed his eyes and lowered his lips to mine. His kiss was sweet and full of emotion, stirring sensations in me I didn’t know I had.
My hands went to his shoulders. Moving up to the hair at the nape of his neck. His hands went inside my coat and around my waist to remain on my lower back, where his fingers tentatively massaged me there threatened and to move lower.
All good things came to an end. A loud horn, some laughter, and a, “Get a room,” scream awakened us from our short interlude.
Josh cleared his throat and I lowered my hands to place them at my sides.
“Probably not the best idea,” he said, hugging my waist with his left hand as his right tucked some of my curls behind my ear.
“Probably not,” I agreed. Even if I wasn’t sure. I knew perfectly well that I was the one keeping our relationship from going anywhere, but the idea of not having Josh in my life really upset me. “Friends?” I asked tentatively. Hoping for the best.
It took a minute for Josh to answer me. “Sure, friends.”
I thought I saw some brittle, broken look behind his eyes. I didn't understand.
He didn’t let me get a closer look before he quickly took my hand and said, “Let’s change this tire so you can get home safely.”
Chapter 13
The third Friday of February had arrived, and with it, Laura’s bachelorette party. As instructed, all the attendees showed up at the Beverly Hills Hotel at 10:00 am sharp, where Edward and therefore Laura were staying. Denise’s instructions had been to wear a colored tank top, a comfortable, short black skirt, and ‘fuck-me heels’.
That’s right, Denise was a little too excited for my taste—at certain moments, even more so than Laura, which could be a bit concerning in my opinion. Still, I was really glad she was enjoying herself. The party’s theme was ‘pink and black lace’. Absolutely everything about the party stuck to that theme.
She received us with pink Piper-Heidsieck Bodyguard Rose Sauvage Champagne, courtesy of the groom, followed by a ‘sexy bitch bag’ containing a red-pecker lipstick, strawberry lube, several colored condoms, a candy g-string, and, most importantly, a customized rhinestone t-shirt. All ten ladies going to Las Vegas to celebrate Laura’s last night out with the girls received theirs. The other five celebrating with us were Laura’s ex-sorority friends, and their shirts read ‘Bride’s Entourage’. Ours read ‘Bridesmaids’, and Laura’s said ‘Bride.’
Certainly, the most interesting writing on our clothes wasn’t what it said in the front, but on the back. Laura’s said: DIVA—likes to take if from behind; Natalie’s: PRUDE—likes to get loud; Marisol’s: BITCH—likes to get drunk; Denise’s: SLUT—likes to swallow; and, well, mine read: WHORE—likes it hard and fun.
It was difficult not to get offended, but I knew the idea was to play the game. I was totally on board for a little distraction. Laura seemed to be the one enjoying it the most, which was basically the main idea. To be honest, Natalie looked hilarious; not only was her face completely red, but her baby bump made a statement of its own under her shirt. She was seven months pregnant and had gained ten pounds. Completely not fair. If I ever got pregnant, my butt would most likely get so big that it’d need a bed of its own. And, why would I suddenly be thinking about babies?
After finishing a couple of bottles of champagne, we were ready to have some fun. Denise arranged transportation to and from the airport. We left for the airport to take our flight.
An extremely ostentatious pink limo hummer with a banner that read ‘Bachelorette on board’ was there to pick us up from our terminal. The interior of the vehicle was equally ridiculous. It had black and pink leather interiors, a karaoke and a wide-screen, a mini bar with multiple beverages (including more Piper-Heidsieck), some bread, fruit, and Denise’s naughty touch—penis-shaped cupcakes and cookies.
The trip to our hotel felt short and certainly entertaining. I didn’t know much about the women coming with us, certainly not as much as I did my girls, but I soon learned they all were married. Laura and I were the only ‘single’ ladies of the bunch.
The objective of a Bachelorette party was for the bride-to-be to have one more night with the girls before tying the knot. Its concept had changed over the years, but whatever the decade, it was all about girl talk, getting drunk, and maybe getting jiggy with the stripper.
Nowadays, the most trendy bride-to-be celebrations were:
And, well, we might have done a little of all of them.
I was pretty proud of Denise, to say the least. She had mainly planned everything on her own. She came to me when she needed some advice and talked to Laura to see if she was on board with her ideas. It had been really nice and it gave us all time to get together and bond in a very different way. I was also thankful for the brief respite. It had given me time to talk more to the wedding planner in Bora Bora about what Laura was expecting during the rehearsal and wedding reception. The beginning of the year was incredibly busy in my line of work, especially if I wanted to leave the month of June free for vacations.
Laura inconsistently attended our gatherings, like Marisol. Although I understand that with her toddler it was difficult for Marisol to stay tranquil for more than an hour. We shared several meals together as in old times. Sometimes, Edward showed himself briefly, nodding a greeting at me before picking up Laura. I had to get over the image I’d concocted of Edward in my head and give him a little break. So I greeted him verbally and was courteous, as much as I could be. I wanted to show Josh that I’d grown, too.
Josh.
After our
New Year's encounter, he had brought us lunch every Saturday. I had a feeling that Natalie was behind it somehow, because everything he brought was exactly what she craved at that moment. Only once, I convinced him to stay. It had been so nice to have him close. He even saw a movie with us that day, My Best Friend’s Wedding, a chick flick, no less. He’d sat next to me and allowed Natalie and I to snuggle next to him as Julia Roberts made a mess of Cameron Diaz’s nuptial plans. Funny how much Cameron reminded me of Natalie.
Natalie made faces at me the few times Josh was near. I wish I could explain to her just how badly I’d messed things up with him. She knew the whole story, of course, but she disagreed with me completely. Still, she hadn’t been there and she couldn’t understand everything that happened between us from October to December.
No one did. Not even me.
When we finally arrived to Vegas, our rose extravagant ride left us in our hotel at The Palms. We had reserved a two-bedroom suite for us, counting on Laura sleeping in Edward’s suite once he arrived. Apparently, he’d have his bachelor party the next day in Vegas, too. We also counted on her sorority friends riding back in the limo later that evening.
As soon as we arrived, a lady from the hotel’s personnel greeted us and took care of our luggage. Denise placed a tiara with a white veil attached to Laura’s hair, complemented by a pink sequin bachelorette sash that read, ‘Last fling before the ring.’
Thankfully, we were immediately guided to the best of the hotel’s restaurants. I was starving, and if we continued drinking as much as we were, it wouldn’t take long for us to get trashed before the party really started.
After our brief meal, Denise gave us the details of our getaway. There was going to be a scavenger hunt. The idea was for us to wander around the hotel to get as many of the objectives listed in the hunt throughout the day to win a prize. A private room near the bar would be our base. There, we’d have karaoke and a DJ for added fun and to burn some calories dancing. Later in the early evening, a ‘passion consultant’ would join our party to give us applicable sex advice. We were going to play some party games like ‘quiz the bride’, ‘drink if…’ and a few others I’d never heard of before. And, of course, there was a special surprise before the gathering ended.
I could only imagine what Denise had in mind—stripper for sure.
And so the party started.
Chapter 14
Everything felt so soft around me. It was so nice and quiet that I didn’t want anything to disturb the delightful feeling. I hadn’t felt so warm and relaxed in a long time.
I felt movement next to me and realized I needed to move my own body. Where was I?
Oh, right—Laura’s bachelorette party.
They were all a little foggy, my memories of the night.
I knew we’d played games—lots of games. I also remembered the ‘passion consultant’. When one found out they already practiced most of the tips a ‘passion consultant’ gave in Vegas, one tended to discover they must be amazing in bed. Had there been a stripper? I remembered dancing with someone, and shots—lots of shots. In a neon pink, penis-shaped glass.
That I clearly remembered. All the drinking. Oh, God, I’d had a lot to drink.
Surprisingly, I didn’t have the hangover which usually followed. Unusual, but welcome.
The body next to me stood and moved around the room. I wasn’t scared this time, because I knew it was Natalie. We’d rented a premier guest room with two queen beds. Then again, why had Natalie slept in my bed? Had the hotel messed up and given us one king bed?
I opened my eyes to the very dark room. It wasn’t easy, but I knew there was a lamp beside me, so I turned it on.
“Oh, thanks. I couldn’t see a thing,” a husky, male voice said pleasantly.
Shit. That wasn’t Natalie. When I turned toward the voice, I found a very naked Josh standing at the foot of the bed.
Oh my God.
I wasn’t sure if I was more surprised by what had apparently happened between us or by the proof that he had the most gorgeous body I’d ever seen. With a full hard-on on display. Wow!
After looking at him for several moments, assessing every ripped muscle, my hands automatically lifted the white comforter covering my body.
Naked. I was naked, too. Double shit.
I covered my nakedness and sat as best I could, covering my face with my hands.
“Are you feeling sick?” he asked. “I gave you some Motrin before we went to bed last night.” He came back toward my side of the bed. “I have some more, in case you need it. I left it on your nightstand with a glass of water.” He lifted a big crystal glass of cold water. “You should probably have some.”
I stopped looking at the white comforter; it wasn’t giving me any answers. I would probably get more insight from the naked divinity standing next to me and who offered me something to quench my thirst.
Josh was close. Too close. Man, his body was so tempting. I took the water he held out for me and drank it all. He patiently waited, then offered me another Motrin.
Since I didn’t know what to do, I took it and asked, “What happened last night?”
“You don’t remember?” I shook my head as I swallowed the pill. “Figures. You got completely trashed.”
I knew that. I didn’t need him to clarify that bit. “How did we end up together last night?” That was what I really wanted to know.
“Well, babe, I really don’t know much of what happened at that bachelorette party, but at some point, you and Laura had some sort of argument.”
With his words, a few images came to mind. I remembered Laura getting upset because I’d won all those games Denise had made us play. However, none of that explained how I’d ended up with Josh.
“Apparently,” he continued, “you left the party and went to the bar next door. Natalie tried to convince you to come back, but you didn’t want to know anything about Laura or her party….”
As I listened to his explanation, my eyes wandered around the room, scanning its contents. The room looked beautiful enough—elegant, modern furniture, posh chairs in rich colors, and a vast window stretching from floor to ceiling and wall-to-wall, covered by an affluent drape. It was impressive, but what impressed me the most was how it was peppered with our clothing.
Everything I assumed we’d worn yesterday now lay scattered across the room. To add to all the information I currently digested was the fact that we were both naked. I could only assume we’d had sex before passing out, but I had no other indication, and Josh wasn’t giving any away. In all honestly, I had a hard time concentrating in anything besides his body. His perfect, sculpted body, and that massive stiffy he didn’t seem to notice.
Josh didn’t mention anything about how we ended up naked—not even anything close to having sex. Maybe we hadn’t done anything. Yeah, sure. As if I was going to resist him under yesterday’s conditions—drunk, horny, and alone with him—everything I needed to make my nightly fantasies of him a reality.
“Anyway, I’ll get ready in this giant walk-in closet,” Josh informed me. “Your friends should be here soon for breakfast.”
~*~
Apparently, Josh had gotten my suitcase from Natalie’s room at some point during the night. I was really thankful for that. After getting ready, he gave me some privacy to compose myself and prepare for my friends’ arrival.
He informed me that Edward and Laura had a room in the villa which he’d rented to celebrate Eddie’s bachelor party, so they were close by and they knew I was staying here with them. Natalie knew it, too. I wondered if Marisol and Denise knew about it, but it didn’t really matter at this point. They all probably thought that I was extremely attracted to Josh and had just chosen to deny it.
After I inquired about why they were coming to have breakfast at his suite instead of going to a restaurant, he told me that the room came with a chef, a butler service, and a full bar. It was easy guessing that Laura wanted to take full advantage of all those amenities. Lat
er, I learned that this suite of his was the One Story Sky Villa at The Palms—probably the best luxe room the hotel had to offer.
It didn’t take long for the girls to arrive. Natalie, as sweet as always, had prepared some bachelorette hangover kits, which she passed to all of us. I had to admit, the girls all looked pretty good; I was probably the only one who’s gotten that trashed.
Laura and Edward enjoyed the cantilevered pool which extended from the balcony while the rest of us had breakfast at the table nearby, enjoying not only the wonderful food but the impressive view of The Strip.
Josh was a wonderful host, offering us beverages, fruit, and a tour of the villa. My friends and I definitely appreciated his charisma and good nature. He was a complete charmer, and I still couldn’t believe that I didn’t remember the night I’d spent with him. He even called reception so my friends could check out from their own rooms without leaving. They’d brought their luggage and were ready to leave whenever our ride arrived.
In a few hours, we were about to leave Las Vegas and go back home to L.A.. Before we left, I reserved a pamper day at the spa for all our friends in Laura’s name. We were going to indulge in manicures, pedicures, massages, and the like. I believed we all deserved it. Drift Spa and Hammam waited for us with champagne and raspberries.
It was definitely the girl-bonding time we all needed.
They were probably going to drive me crazy with all the questions they had about my night with Josh, but I didn’t mind. We needed the chat.
That reminded me I needed to get my things ready to go back home before we left. I went back to Josh’s room—he’d turned the main room of the villa over to the future groom and bride—to get my things together without noticing he’d followed me.
