by Parker, Ali
"Oh hush, Ben. It's going to be great. You can just stand guard and make sure no one walks up. Matt can take the girl's mouth, Kendal her ass, and we'll leave the good stuff to me." Damon wagged his eyebrows and hopped off his seat. "Fun times coming up. I gotta piss. Make sure they bring ketchup."
He walked off, and before he could get out of earshot, all three of them were losing their shit. Damon pressed his fist to his mouth as he walked toward the john. Just pulling the wool over his friends was enough to make the night a hit. As if he'd get anywhere near another woman when he had Beth. Fuck that. It was almost crazy that Kendal, or really Matt, would believe him. The fact that Matt hadn't blown up and acted like a complete psycho over Damon's suggestion told him that Matt was still chewing on the truth of Damon's words. He wasn't quite convinced yet.
"Hi there." A cute brunette with a nice body and very few clothes moved in front of Damon. "I'm Lyndsay."
"Hi, Lyndsay. I'm engaged." He smiled and pulled her hand from his chest.
"Oh shit. All the good ones are gone." She huffed and glanced around the bar.
"You assume I'm one of the good ones."
"This is true." She smirked. "I wasn't hitting on you to get anywhere. I locked my keys in my car, with my wallet, and was hoping to get close enough to pick your pocket." She gave him a grin as if she were proud of her nefarious ways.
"And you're telling me this why?" Damon patted his pockets just to make sure she wasn't the diversion, and four of her friends hadn't moved past him, draining him dry of his cash and cards.
She shrugged and laughed. "Not sure. Okay, well, have a great night, Mr. Engaged. If you see a single guy who needs a cute girl to flirt with him, just-"
"Wait. How much do you need to get into your car?"
"Around a hundred bucks. I swear the lock-pick guys are complete criminals." She rolled her eyes.
"How about this... I'll pay you a hundred bucks if you pretend to be the stripper for my bachelor party." Damon lifted his hand as she started to protest, her hand already on her hip. "Wait. You don't have to strip. Just let me run into the bathroom and grab a handful of condoms. We go to the table, and you just snuggle up to my side and play along. I'm just fucking with my friends who thought they were going to fuck with me. Yeah?"
She smiled. "I like it. I'll wait here. Hundred bucks, right? No stripping?"
"I would never ask that of you, and any man that did, you need to punch him in the dick and walk away." Damon left her and walked in the bathroom as excitement bubbled up inside of him. If only he could record the whole event. Beth was going to love it.
He grabbed a handful of condoms from a basket on the sink and tucked them in his pocket. He found the girl waiting patiently outside the john and reached for her hand.
"What's your name?"
"Let's go with Candy?" She snickered, and he did too.
"Awesome. Thanks again for doing this." He paused and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. "It's going to help me make some great memories. Just act oblivious and play along. These guys are going to shit themselves." He felt like a fifteen-year-old boy playing pranks on his little brother again. Nothing felt better, nothing but Beth.
"You bet." The girl shoved the money in her pocket and snuggled against his side as they walked back to the table.
Everyone's eyes grew wide as Damon moved up to the table with his arm wrapped around the girl. "Guys, not sure who you had stripping for us tonight, but Candy here found me near the bathroom and is totally game." Damon glanced down at her and licked his lips. "You're good taking on three of us?"
"Why not four?" Her lip turned down in a pout. "I can strip for all of you, but I really like a challenge."
"Oh no, Ben here isn't into women. No offense to you, angel cakes, but he's just not interested." Damon glanced up at Ben, who looked completely petrified.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Matt exploded. "We have women. There's no way in hell we're sharing anyone tonight. You've lost your fucking mind. I should beat your ass all over this bar for even thinking about doing that to-"
"Wait. This was your idea." Damon reached into his pocket and pulled out the condoms, tossing them onto the table and glancing over at Kendal, who was completely white, his eyes wide and mouth agape. "Come on, buddy. You wanted a stripper that would bend over for us. I got us one." Damon smiled wickedly and gave Kendal the nod he used to give him back in college when it was go time.
Kendal lifted his hands as he swallowed hard. "You've lost your mind, dude. We were kidding. I ain't touching anyone."
"You aren't either." Matt got up, his face completely red.
Damon lifted his phone and took a picture of each of them, the one of Matt a close-up thanks to him getting in Damon's face. "And this is what a chump looks like." Damon chuckled and glanced down at the girl. "Thanks a million, Candy. Good luck getting home, sweetheart. Need one of us to walk you out?"
She laughed. "No, but thanks for the help. Good luck with your party."
"Oh, it's all downhill from here." Damon released her and turned toward his brother. "Not interested in a lap dance?" he mocked Matt and then Kendal. Everyone deflated.
"No fucking way you just turned that on us." Kendal pressed his fingers to his forehead. "I seriously thought you'd gone off the deep end."
"Hell yeah I did, and you bitches fell for it. Trying to pull one on me. That shit isn't ever going to fly." Damon took his seat and reached back to push on Matt's chest. "Where's your t-shirt, bro?"
"Fuck you. That wasn't funny." Matt walked around to the other side of the table and gave Damon the death stare.
"Damn, man," Kendal started, "when you gave me the look, you know the look, I knew we were in trouble. I haven't felt that sick since finding out Dana and Ana were sisters. Shit. I think I need to go home and lie down. Fuck me."
Damon laughed low in his chest and glanced over toward Ben, who was nursing his beer. "And you, buddy? You okay?"
"Yep. You gave me the out. I owe you one." Ben lifted his beer toward the center of the table. "To Damon Bryant. There's no one quite like him, and though he's a complete bastard, he's our bastard. Here. Here."
They all lifted their beers and smacked the bottles against each other.
Some random dude jacked the moment by leaning in between Damon and Kendal. The poor guy couldn't have been over twenty. "Dude! Are there really condoms on the table? Fuck-freaking-tabular!"
Damon reached over and grabbed all of them, handing them to the kid. "Knock yourself out, man."
"Awesome!" The guy took them and turned, running through the bar, yelling something incoherent.
"Ahhh to be young and dumb again." Kendal smiled over at Damon. "You almost had me a few minutes ago."
"I was ready to beat your ass." Matt was still in a mood.
"You were ready to try. There hasn't been a day in twenty-eight years where you've beaten my ass."
"Yeah, but you're getting old." Matt tilted his beer toward Damon, who reached out and snatched it from him.
"Just means I'm more wise with my moves." Damon finished Matt's beer and set the empty bottle in front of him. "I'll always win."
"I believe that shit," Ben muttered.
"Yep. Nothing has changed. Not even the girl’s name." Kendal snorted and moved back as the food was delivered.
"Please tell me you guys boned some poor girl named Candy back in college." Matt leaned back in his chair, amusement on his face.
"Several," Damon and Kendal said at the same time.
The table erupted in laughter. There was no need for strippers, loose women or condoms. They had good women, and nothing was going to fuck that up. Not ever.
Chapter 114
Bethany
"Get everyone up front please." The wedding coordinator wasn't exactly the type of person Bethany was excited to work with, but Kent's sister, Allison, had been adamant about hiring the chick. They weren't doing a rehearsal dinner because the world was starving for authenticity, so th
e ceremony should be done from scratch.
Damon, Bethany and the rest of their wedding party were walked through the details of what would happen at ten that next morning, the day of the wedding. It was fast and furious, but that was usually the way they did things. Why change now?
"You all right?" Damon turned and ran his hands down Beth's shoulders.
"I'm ready." She smiled up at him and moved in to kiss him.
"No kissing! Save that for tonight. It's bad luck." The wedding coordinator pulled Bethany back.
Damon growled before pursing his lips.
It was going to be a long day of dealing with her. Bethany couldn't even remember the lady's name, but maybe it was for the best. Damon's Aunt Allison walked into the church and glanced around.
"Where are the flowers? Have the bows been fluffed? Is your dress here?" She turned and pinned Bethany with a death stare before walking into the sanctuary. "Why isn't the unity candle centered on the table? Good grief."
Damon rolled his eyes and turned to walk out the other side of the church. He paused and glanced back. "Just a few more hours and you're mine."
"I've been yours since the moment I first saw you." Beth wrapped her arms around herself and tilted her head to the side. "It was just a hard road getting you to see that."
He walked across the foyer and pulled Beth into his arms, leaning down and brushing his nose by hers. "I wrote vows for you today. You just do the ones the preacher gives you and I'll say mine. I had a few things I needed you to know."
"What?" She stiffened as he kissed her, softly at first, and then with a bit more hunger. It was a good thing everyone was rushing around trying to get things ready. For an engagement that happened seven months before, everything seemed last freaking minute.
Bethany melted against him and opened her mouth, welcoming him inside of her, where he belonged. She ran her fingers up the side of his smooth face and tucked herself against him, prolonging the kiss.
He finally broke it, his eyes glossy, lips a little red. "God, I love you. Tonight I'm going to worship every inch of you. Let's just get through the formalities."
She smiled. "Let's enjoy them. We're only going to get to do this once in our lifetimes. Let's savor the moment."
"How about you do that, and I savor you?" He nipped at her lips. "Don't overdo yourself for the ceremony. You, first thing in the morning, is enough to stop my heart. I'd hate to keel over up there at the front of the church."
"You're not allowed to die until we're old and can look back on a full life together." She leaned in for another kiss as a lump formed in her throat.
"Thank you, baby. For giving me this." He reached up and pressed his palm to her chest above her heart.
"My breast?" She snorted, and he laughed as his eyes filled with tears.
"Your heart. It's healed mine." He leaned down and kissed her again, jerking back as the wedding coordinator's shrill voice filled the foyer.
"No kissing! It's bad luck!"
Damon smiled at Bethany. "We make our own luck. See you tonight."
"I love you," she called after him.
"Not as much, but that's all right. You can make it up to me in other ways." He shook his ass before walking out of the church.
Bethany laughed and glanced over at Damon's Aunt Allison and the coordinator. "What? He loves sex." She shrugged and turned, enjoying the gasps behind her. How in the world Kent had an eccentric sister like Allison when he was so low-key and laid back was beyond Bethany. It was only a day they had to get through with the whole family and then her and Damon would be on a beach, just the two of them.
"There you are." Erica walked out into the hall from one of the little Sunday school rooms. "The make-up lady will be here at four, but the stylist needs us to come down to her salon. It's just five minutes down the road. You ready?"
"Yes." Bethany stuck her head into the bride's dressing room they fixed up to find her mom and Aunt Patty laughing about something. They already looked like a million bucks.
"You guys ready to get our hair done?" Bethany lifted her eyebrow as her mom bent over, laughing harder.
"We're good. We've already got ourselves ready. We're just laughing about some of the times we had when we were your age." Patty lifted her hand and wiped a few tears from her face. "Life has been good."
"And it's only going to get better." Bethany's mom stood up and walked toward her. "You and Erica go. We'll stay here and make sure Allison and her pet don't change all of the colors or throw out the flowers before you get back."
Patty laughed loudly in the background.
Bethany smirked. "Right? I swear I don't know what gets into her."
"Control, baby doll." Patty got up and walked toward the door, moving up beside Bethany's mom. "It's all about control. Some people need it to feel important, but the rest of us know that we're already queen of the world, in some part of the world."
"Hell yeah to that." Bethany's mom lifted her hand, surprising her a little.
Patty hit it, and Bethany moved back. "Okay, you two weirdos. Erica and I are going to get our hair done. The make-up chick is supposed to be here in a couple of hours, so make sure you help her find her way back here if you see her."
"Will do. Have fun, baby." Bethany's mom moved up and pulled her into a warm hug. "I love you. I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks, Mom." Bethany glanced back at Erica. "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." She lifted her hand and dangled a set of keys. "Damon's going to be looking for these, but we should totally use that to our advantage."
Beth snorted and put her hand out. "Are these to his Mercedes?"
"Yep. I know it's his baby, but the thing rides like sex on wheels. He's going to be here for the next four hours. Let's take it?" She smiled nefariously.
“It has shoe polish all over it.” Beth rolled her eyes. “You sure we wanna-”
“Drive Damon’s car? Are you kidding me…” Erica laughed.
"Alright. You’re right." Beth pulled out her phone and texted him, asking if they could. He responded back right away that anything that was his was hers. She handed the phone to Erica and wagged her eyebrows as Erica glanced up with surprise on her face.
"You're a magic woman. A regular witch from the days of old." She smiled and handed the phone back. "I never in a million years expected someone to tame Damon Bryant."
"I'm not quite sure tame is the right word. He's still his own man and does whatever the hell he wants. It's part of his charm."
"And you're good with that?" She smiled and walked around to the other side of the car.
Beth nodded. "It's one of the many things I love about him."
* * *
"You know, this is honestly unfair," Bethany grumbled as she turned her head to look at Sophia who sat beside her in the bride's room later that afternoon. Hair and make-up were done, and her toes and fingernails looked like a million bucks. She felt like a princess, a grumpy one at present.
"I agree, but let's do the best we can. Here, let me see what you have." Sophia snatched the paper in front of Bethany and gave her a look. They were becoming fast friends. Too bad the woman was working in Saudi for the next year. "You don't even have anything down. It's just a bunch of doodles."
"How am I supposed to write my vows? I just keep hearing the words from the traditional vows in my mind playing over and over again. It's useless."
"What are we getting upset about?" Erica walked into the room and sat down across from Bethany at the table.
"Damon just sprung on me a few hours ago that he's written his vows, but it's okay... I can just use the old, crusty, traditional ones." Bethany huffed. "I'm being dramatic."
"Very." Sophia laughed and stood up. "We're going to leave you alone and we'll close the door behind us. Just text me or Erica if you need anything. Get your vows done. Just think about how you really feel about Damon. Concentrate on him, not the task."
"You're right." Bethany took the paper back and wait
ed until the two of them were out of the room. She sat back and closed her eyes, letting her mind wander through their last year together. From the first day of meeting him at the office to that evening at home for their first family dinner. Desire raced through her as she envisioned him pressing her to the brick wall of the house on the outside patio, and Matt interrupting them.
Sex in his bed, on a plane, in his office, in the pool.
She whimpered and set her pen down as her skin felt prickly. "Stop it. Think of the other stuff. The fights and road blocks and people who tried to tear us apart." She let out a short breath and let her head hang, her chin touching her chest.
They'd been through so much.
And every turn in the road was another moment of validation that things shouldn't have worked out, but they did. Every obstacle only made them stronger. His obsession that she would cheat and lie like his mother did with his father.
Her worry that his money made him different and no man as wealthy and accomplished as him would ever really want a poor girl like her.
She pressed her fingers to her eyes and tried not to let her make-up run.
"Shit." Getting up, she walked to the mirror and snatched a Kleenex from a box of them, being careful to wipe up the tears, but not the two hundred dollars of make-up.
Ridiculous.
A soft knock resounded at the door behind her, and she half-hoped that it was Damon.
"Come in." She turned as her mother slipped into the room.
"Don't tell Erica and Sophia that I bothered you. They're standing guard, but they aren't very good at it." Her mother laughed and closed the door behind her before walking across the room. "You look incredible. Like a princess from a storybook."
"Thanks, Mom." Beth moved toward her mom, letting the older woman pull her into a long hug. It was a place she'd gone many times in her life. It was home when no other place was. "I love you."
"Me too. Nothing sad or I'll cry and mess up my ten dollar make-up. Shit's expensive." Her mom moved back, and they shared a laugh. "I got a call from your dad while you were getting your hair done."
