We picked up Caleb from my mom’s house after our appointment. It was finally the weekend that we were going away to Vegas and I didn’t have to kidnap Leah or drug her sexy ass, she was going along willingly.
“Hey Roy, how’s it going man? All ready for the wild child?” Roy grinned as I handed him Caleb’s bag and hugged Caleb with his other free arm. “I’m always ready for him. How’s Leah been doing?”
“She’s great; she’s actually in the truck. She was a little upset about leaving Caleb. She’s been doing a lot better and they’ve been spending just about every minute together.”
“Good to hear, well we have some stuff planned for this weekend, so I’m sure we’ll have fun. Tell Leah to call anytime she needs to, I’ll completely understand.”
“Ugh, is Shelia going to be here?” Caleb groaned out while glaring at his dad. I smirked down at Caleb, even though I know I shouldn’t have. Caleb wasn’t the biggest fan of his dad’s new girlfriend, Shelia.
I had met her a few times and she seemed like a nice enough lady. A little stuck up for my taste, but Roy seemed to like her, so I guess that was all that counted. I think Caleb was just a little upset he wasn’t getting one hundred percent of his dad’s attention when he came to visit, but I knew Roy couldn’t be single forever even if he was a dad.
“Yes, Caleb. Don’t worry we’ll have a ton of fun. Shelia wanted to take you to this new pizza place; they have an arcade. She planned it all out, especially for you. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
“Sure,” he grumbled out. I leaned down to give him a kiss on his forehead and whispered in his ear, “Be nice, little dude.”
I stood up and shook Roy’s hand. “Good luck, man.” I knew how Caleb could get and I was kind of glad I wasn’t the one having to deal with it. Now we were headed to the airport and hopefully, I would be able to have a relaxing weekend with my wife.
Chapter 20
Leah
“I can’t believe we’re finally here. I’ve traveled more with you than I ever have in my life.” I giggled as Chase scooped me off the plane and didn’t deposit me until we reached the baggage claim. People were giving us strange looks, but I didn’t care, I was just happy to be in his arms.
I was a little upset that I was away from Caleb though. I had wanted to bring him with us, but I knew Las Vegas wasn’t really a kid friendly place. Sure, he would have a ton of fun swimming in the hotel pool or seeing some of the attractions, but I was sure whatever Ally had in mind wouldn’t be good for a four year old.
We got a taxi as soon as we got our luggage and headed towards the hotel where everyone was staying. Ally had already booked us a room weeks ago, even though at the time I was convinced I wouldn’t be coming. Now, I was feeling good about being here and was excited to see our friends.
I texted Ally when we were on our way and leaned against Chase’s shoulder in the back seat of the taxi. I felt like this weekend was going to be good for us. “You doing all right with this, baby? You don’t want to go to home already, do you?” I looked up and caught his smirk before he placed his lips on my forehead. “I’m fine Chase, you need to stop asking me that, at least for this weekend. Please?”
“Alright, but I can only promise that for this weekend. When we get home, all bets are off; I’ll probably ask you a hundred times a day. You’ll probably want to kick my ass.”
I snorted and leaned in to the crook of his neck. “You’re probably right, but it is such a sexy ass, at least I’ll have fun doing it.”
The taxi came to a stop underneath the black and white checkered awning of the hotel. I knew I shouldn’t have been surprised since it was Ally, but there she was, along with everyone else waiting for us. She immediately pulled open my door and knocked me backwards, tackling me in a hug.
“You’re really here, I can’t believe it!” She squeezed me again, like she was trying to make sure this wasn’t a dream or something, and then pulled back to look down at me. “You’re really here. You have no idea how much it means to have my best friend here for this. This is crazy.” She righted herself and then reached a hand in to pull me out, along with Chase who gave me a push and an upside down smirk at Ally’s reaction.
“Yes, I’m here.” I smoothed out my hair and put an arm around her shoulder. “And I’m excited to see you too. But why exactly do you need your best friend here so badly? Is this performance different than the others or something?” Ally didn’t answer but instead shot me a bright smile and pulled me towards the rest of the group.
Remy stepped forward first to wrap me in a tight hug. “I’m glad you’re here, Leah. I think Ally really needs you right now,” she whispered into my ear. I gave her a strange look and was about to ask her for an explanation, but instead I was passed along to the next set of arms, and then the next.
“So, I have something to tell you.” Ally stepped forward after Chase had his arm wrapped around my waist once again and we had all moved up to the suite of rooms that the guys had been put up in.
She wrung her hands nervously in front of herself and then finally held her left hand out to me. On her ring finger sat a giant pink stone set in a platinum band that was intricately woven with another band. It was so…Ally. But what in the hell? She and Tyler were far from serious when they had left. This seemed like something Ally would do, she was so impulsive sometimes. It was almost exhausting.
“Wow, Al. Congratulations?” It came out as more of a question as I grabbed her hand and looked closer to examine it. It was truly beautiful, even if I wasn’t so sure about it being on her finger.
“But that’s not all. Nope, we are just getting started with our fun- filled weekend, L. I’m getting married tomorrow! That’s why I needed you here so badly. I couldn’t do it without you.” She squealed and wrapped an arm around my neck. I patted her on the back awkwardly. I didn’t want to ruin the excitement, but seriously? I really needed to have a talk with her.
“Wow, I didn’t realize you and Ty-” My mouth froze when Teddy stepped forward and laced his fingers with Ally’s, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her palm. I looked back and forth between the two of them, both beaming like it was the best day of their lives. Or almost. Judging by the way they were tightly holding each other, tomorrow would be the best day of their lives.
Apparently, I had missed a lot since I had been avoiding Ally for the past month or so. But, she hadn’t breathed a word of this when she called and demanded I be here. That little sneaky slut. What was I going to do with her?
I looked over at my husband and was about to lay into him for not telling me about this pertinent piece of information, but he looked about as shocked as me. Apparently, his best friend had been keeping this big secret from him too.
And Tyler actually looked like he was smiling about this whole development. Clearly, these people were all on drugs or something. I must have been staring with my mouth wide open because Chase nudged me in the side and cleared his throat. “Dude, congrats. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I’m glad we’re here to witness Teddy Sampson being taken off the market. What are the fans gonna think?”
Teddy smirked and leaned forward to bump fists with Chase. “Well, I figured it was about time and I’m doing it with the perfect girl for me. Who could ask for anything more? The girls will probably want me even more now that I’ll be a taken man, but they’re not getting any of this.” He pointed to himself and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Of course Teddy would think getting married would make him even more attractive.
“So,” Ally clapped her hands and looped her arm through mine, interrupting the stare down I was giving Teddy. I was trying to use my Jedi mind tricks on him to see if he was actually serious about this whole thing or what. Or maybe just get rid of him for good, that would probably work too.
“Time for us girls to go get ready. We’ll see you guys in a bit.” She kissed Teddy on the mouth. Okay, not true. She attacked Teddy, tongues were everywhere, hands were groping, it was so gross
I had to look away.
Chase grinned and whispered in my ear, “You want me to do that to you too?” I shoved him in the chest and gave him a glare. I only liked to attack Chase in private. There was a time and place for everything.
Now was not the time for joking. I needed to have a serious talk with my best friend before she did something she regretted. Did she really want to end up as the next Kim Kardashian and be married for only seventy-two days? It would be something if they even made it that far.
“Okay, Leah. I’m ready, let me have it. You’ve looked like you wanted to explode the minute you saw the ring on my finger.” Ally pushed me down on to the bed once we got to the separate suite and stood in front of me in a defensive stance like I was going to fight her or something. Maybe she did need me to beat the shit out of her; it might knock some sense in to that little pretty head of hers.
“Before you start Leah, just let me say that they do seem good for each other.” Remy twirled a strand of her fire red around her finger, looking nervously between the two of us. It was like she was reading my mind, she knew what I wanted to do to Ally right now. Maybe I could get Remy to help.
“I mean, it is a little fast, but when you see the way Teddy looks at her, you can just tell. He’s a completely different person.”
“Thanks Rem that all sounds good, but what happens when he goes back to his old ways. And what in the hell happened with you and Tyler? He actually seems okay with all of this. I just don’t get it. I don’t want you to make one of the biggest mistakes of your life by jumping into this.”
“Leah, I get it. Really, I do.” Ally crouched down in front of me and patted my knee. “Tyler and I just weren’t really clicking. I think we both knew it. We were at a club one night after one of the guys’ performances. Tyler was kissing me and I really wasn’t in to it, but I wasn’t struggling or anything.
“Next thing I knew, I was being ripped out of his arms and pulled into Teddy’s. He said he couldn’t do it anymore, he couldn’t watch me with some other guy. He could see I wasn’t happy and it was because I wasn’t with him. He was so sweet about it, Leah, I just couldn’t say no.”
Sweet, really, Al? Maybe she needed to spend a little bit more time around Chase to see what sweet really meant, because Teddy was certainly anything but sweet.
“I was still confused though, I didn’t want to hurt Tyler and end up tearing the band apart. When Tyler gave me a nod and shoved me back into Teddy’s direction, I knew we had his blessing. I think it hurt him a little, but he has such a big heart and he knew that we weren’t really working out. Can you please be happy for me, Leah? It would mean so much.” She looked at me pleadingly and I could tell my defenses were starting to waver.
“Al, I just don’t want him to hurt you. I know how he can be. I don’t understand the rush, why do you have to get married now? Can’t you have a long engagement or something?” Maybe then Teddy’s true self would start to creep through again and Ally could finally wash her hands clean of him.
“I don’t know, Leah. It just feels right. And what cheesier way to get married than in Vegas? I think it’s perfect for me and Teddy.”
I huffed out a breath and pulled her up, giving her a hug. “Okay, well if this is what you want, I’m all for it. What about your parents though, Al? They’ll be heartbroken if they miss this.” They probably wouldn’t be surprised that Ally was getting married. The James’s knew how impulsive their daughter could be and always stood behind her with whatever decisions she made, but I knew they would be disappointed if they didn’t get to see her get married.
“They know all about it actually. Really, you and Chase are the last to know about this. I wasn’t sure how you would react, so I figured I would just lay it all out there once you got here and I couldn’t tell Chase because I knew he would blab it to you. We figured we would do a big reception this summer after the guys are done with their tour.”
“Okay, well then, what’s first on the agenda? Do you need help with anything?” I plastered a smile onto my face. I was going to make sure this was a memorable weekend, just like Ally had done for me when I had gotten married. Even if I was totally against it.
“We have everything all set.” Remy stood up and pulled open the closet, tossing piles of dresses onto the bed, along with pink feather boas. “Now, we just need to get ready for the party tonight. Tomorrow will be the big day,” she added in a singsong voice. Reminding me all too soon of what was to come. Oy Vey. And Chase thought this was going to be a relaxing weekend?
Chapter 21
Chase
“Dude, why didn’t you tell me?” As soon as the girls left the room, I immediately cornered Teddy. He was my best friend after all. I knew we weren’t like girls, gossiping about every detail in our lives, but I thought this would have been sort of important.
Mark smirked and nudged me in the side with his elbow. “We were all sworn to secrecy. At first, he didn’t want to bother you with it since you and Leah had so much going on.”
“Exactly,” Teddy added. “And then Ally threatened to beat the shit out of me if I told you. She figured Leah wouldn’t come or would try to talk her out of it. That’s why I couldn’t say anything.”
“I get it, I guess.” I shrugged my shoulders and kicked off my shoes, looking around the swanky suite that they had been put up in. They looked to be doing pretty well for themselves. “Is this the kind of place you guys get put up at in every city?”
“Pretty sick, huh? It just depends, if we’re in the sticks we just stay on the tour bus, because it’s nicer than the shitholes they have in the town. If we’re in a big city, we get a place like this. It’s nice to get off the bus every once in a while.”
“That’s cool, Ted. So, I guess we can say that you finally took my advice with Ally, huh? It feels pretty good to be right.” I leaned back against the headboard with a cocky smirk.
I had been telling Teddy for months to start something up with Ally, besides just a sexual relationship. The two of them were so much alike, I think they were too stubborn to admit their true feelings for each other. It kind of reminded me of two other people that were now getting to a happy place in their marriage.
It was still a little baffling though to think that they had just gotten together officially and were now getting married, but Teddy liked things to move fast, even faster than me. I had known him since elementary school and knew pretty much everything about the guy.
“Alright, Chase. I know you’re waiting for it, so I’ll just come out and say it. You were right all along. Ally was made for me. She’s just about as crazy as me and we mesh perfectly. I should have listened to you sooner.”
“Glad to hear I was right. And you and Tyler are okay? I mean, the bands not going to break up over this or something, right?” Tyler had disappeared after greeting us in the lobby. I think he might have felt like the odd man out since most of us had known each other for so long.
“No, everything’s cool,” Mark chimed in. “The two of them get along so well, it’s almost eerie. I think Tyler just realized that he and Al weren’t working out, he just wanted her to be happy and he saw that’s how she was with Teddy.”
“Yeah, if he wouldn’t have been cool with it, I still would have taken her away whether he liked it or not. I couldn’t stand seeing some other guy with my girl, you know what I mean?” I winced when he said it.
Of course, no one knew about some of the issues Leah and I had been working out, so they didn’t know any better. All I could picture when he said that was Leah’s lips on some faceless guy. I hoped I never met that Grant douche.
Hearing Leah’s admission at the doctor’s office about contemplating killing herself had really put things in check for me though. I needed to move past it and be happy I had my wife back for the most part. Her head hadn’t been in the right place when it had happened.
I hadn’t seen her as happy as she was when she saw Ally for a long time and I was glad we had come along. I would’ve
been pissed if I had missed my best friend getting married. It was kind of fitting that our two best friends were marrying each other. I could just picture the four of us old and gray, maybe Mark and Remy right beside us if they ended up working out, reliving the stories of our glory days to our grandkids.
“Okay guys, we’re meeting the girls right about now, so let’s get our asses moving.” Teddy never the one to be on time, pointed at his watch and Mark and I gave each other a look, like ‘what in the hell is going on here’?
Teddy swung the door open and we followed him out to the next suite over. Teddy and Ally had planned a joint bachelor/ bachelorette party for the night and the wedding would be tomorrow, it was hard to believe.
I actually felt like someone had hit me full blown in the chest when I saw Leah. I mean, my wife was always beautiful, even when she had been mopey and depressed, but she cleaned up even better and this had Ally’s handiwork all over it.
I gave her a big wink as I scanned her entire body very slowly and she rolled her eyes at me, her lips curving into a smile at the same time. She had probably one of the tightest dresses I had ever seen on, it just made me picture everything underneath the thin material was clinging to.
Her hair was surprisingly pulled up, showing off her bare neck and I had to do everything in me not to go over there and lick it. I could tell by the way she was looking at me with those gray eyes that she probably wouldn’t mind one bit, but I would save that for later.
Chapter 22
Leah
The night out was something that I definitely needed. A night with my friends and sexy husband was refreshing, even though I wasn’t much of a partier. Ally and Teddy took us all to a club that they had checked out before hand and we danced the night away. I avoided alcohol like I normally did. That one slip up was all I needed for a real reality check.
“They really are cute together, huh?” I nudged Remy with my elbow, who was sitting next to me where we were both taking a breather at the table. We were watching Teddy and Ally together, their bodies wrapped around each other, you could barely tell whose body parts were whose. I had noticed a change in Teddy in the little time that we had spent together. He had only had eyes for his wife to be.
Limitless (Journey Series) Page 11
