by Tess Oliver
“Those are dessert.” I lifted my double cheeseburger from the wrapper. “This is dinner.”
Scotlyn stared at it. “You know that does look tasty. By the way, and don’t be mad.”
I looked past my burger at her. “Uh oh. What?”
She tapped the side of her head. “Let me restart. I should lead with some good news. I think it’s all good news, but you might not love the second part of what I’m going to tell you, especially with the way you’re looking at that burger.”
“My burger is getting cold, Scottie.”
“Right.” She looked at Taylor whose curiosity was also now piqued. “Cassie was having a problem getting someone to do the lighting since we’re having the wedding late to avoid the August heat. We were afraid we’d have to stick flashlights in the bouquets.”
“I think that would be cool,” Taylor said, “in a creepy, haunted wedding kind of way, I mean.”
“Well, we won’t need to. Nicky King wanted to thank Cassie for taking such great pictures of Finley’s barn. He is going to have his stage crew string up the lights for the wedding. And the best part is, he’s covering the cost.”
No longer able to wait, I’d taken a big bite of burger while she talked. “Free is good,” I said after swallowing.
“Really?” Scotlyn asked. “That’s the exciting part? Nicky King’s roadies are going to decorate our wedding set.”
“Yeah, that’s cool. I’m just saying free is good. But what about the part where I get mad?”
“About that—” She looked at my burger. “Since Finley got us the awesome location for our wedding, and I can soften this news again with the words ‘for free’, I told her we didn’t need any beef or pork for the wedding dinner. After all, Some Pig is on the invite list. In fact, we’re going Mediterranean vegetarian.”
My mouth dropped. “We’re eating lettuce and carrots for our wedding dinner?”
“Jeez, you are spending way too much time with Dray. It will be delicious, you’ll see.”
I took an extra large bite of my burger.
She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “To make up for it, I’ll let you call all the shots on our wedding night.” She winked at me.
“Hmm, well that does make up for the lack of meat. I’m just hoping a vegetarian wedding dinner will give me enough strength to last the wedding night.”
Taylor got up. “All righty, this conversation is starting to get awkward. I’m going to wander around.”
Scotlyn got up. “I’ll come with you.”
Taylor grinned at her. “Scottie, I’m not going to go throw myself at his feet and beg for forgiveness.”
“No, I wouldn’t expect that. It’s just he doesn’t know you’re here yet.”
I wadded up the greasy wrapper and got up from the bench. “Let’s all go surprise him. I’ll tell him about the vegetarian dinner for a double whammy.”
The three of us headed toward the corner where Clutch’s Nova was parked. Halfway there, Taylor stopped. “Nevermind. I don’t want to see him. It’s just going to make me upset again. He’ll probably be all grumpy and cold and I don’t think I can take that.” She looked at Scotlyn. “And then I always cry. Why do I have to always fucking cry, and he just stands there with this stony statue expression while my nose gets red and runny.”
Scotlyn glanced my way and took hold of her arm. “I know all about that, believe me. If you don’t want to see him, we can wander around and look at cars.”
I waved at them. “See you later then.” I kept going, but their small footsteps seemed to be following. I looked back over my shoulder. Scotlyn shrugged. Apparently, Taylor had decided to head toward Clutch after all.
I was fifty feet from his Nova. The girls had hung back a good ten feet. Stormy was pressed against Clutch, and he was leaning against his Nova, bracing his hands on the edge of the car. There was no smile on his face. In fact, he looked stiff and a little confused. I spun around and tried to turn the girls back, but it was too late. Taylor’s face paled as she shoved past me and stepped into a clearing. It took Clutch only a second to spot her standing there with her shoulders rigid and her bottom lip trembling. Scotlyn tried to take her hand, but she yanked it away.
Clutch slid out and away from Stormy. He looked as shocked as Taylor. Stormy sneered at me and marched away.
“Look, Taylor, that girl used to work for me. She’s really forward. I have had her come on to me like that, too.”
Scotlyn’s eyes widened as she looked over Taylor’s head at me. “What? You never mentioned that.”
“Because there was no need to. I told her no and that was that. It’s one of the reasons I fired her. She’s— she’s too much.”
Clutch walked reluctantly toward us, but Taylor tore off through the crowd. Scotlyn huffed at both of us and then followed her.
Clutch reached me. “What the hell, friend? You could have let me know she was coming.”
“I tried to, but you were off on some test drive.”
He looked around to see where Stormy had slithered off to. She was gone. “Man, that chick comes on strong.”
“Yeah, she does.”
“Do you think Taylor was pissed?”
Sometimes his lack of judging emotions, especially when it came to Taylor, stunned me. “Hmm, let’s recap. You were leaning against your car, and a scantily dressed girl was pressed up against you.”
“I didn’t even touch her,” Clutch said in his defense.
“Don’t think that matters, do you?”
He combed his fingers through his hair and seemed to be considering the incident. “You know what? Fuck it. She just got a taste of her own medicine.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s one way to look at it. I’ll hang with you a little while and then head out. I’m pretty sure Scotlyn and Taylor aren’t going to want to hang around here long tonight.”
We went over to his fold-out chairs and sat down. I could tell the whole thing had him more shaken than he wanted to let on. We sat there for a long time just watching people pass. Then he looked over at me.
“It was a hell of a lot easier when it was just you, me and Dray, partying and picking up on girls for one nighters,” Clutch said.
“Easier, but not better, dude, and you know it as well as I do.”
He stretched out his massive legs and slumped back against the chair. “Shit, don’t know when we lost control of things, but we sure as hell did.”
I joined him in a slump. “I know exactly when it happened for you, my normally uber-confident friend.”
He dropped his face my direction. “You do?”
“Yep. We were sitting in these same damn chairs, which by the way it’s about time you replace them. This one is so frayed it is cutting into my ass. Anyhow, we were sitting in these chairs and a seventeen-year-old Taylor was sashaying through a maze of cars wearing just her bright smile and an extremely short sundress. You stiffened next to me as if you’d been turned to cement. And just seconds before she reached us you said—”
He finished for me. “—that sweet little piece of trouble drives me fucking nuts.”
“Yep, that’s when it happened for you.” I glanced over at him. “And for me, it was a picture getting stuck on my shoe.”
Chapter 28
Scotlyn
Thanks mostly to Cassie’s fortitude and slightly militant persistence, everything was in place for the wedding. I had no idea how I’d ever repay her for her help, and I was sure I wouldn’t be nearly as effective of a wedding planner for her, if she and Dray decided to marry. Taylor’s dresses were so beautiful that we all modeled them around Finley’s room for half an hour and then fell into a tearful huddle.
Taylor and Clutch still had not made up, but Nix assured me they would get back together. Occasionally, at work, Clutch would casually ask me if I’d talked to Taylor, and I was always happy to relay anything that was happening in her life. I told him that he would be blown away by the dresses she was designing and sewing. That
always produced a proud smile that he tried hard not to let me see.
At Nicky King’s invitation, we’d all arrived at the estate on the Thursday before the wedding. I could hardly believe that Nix and I would be married in two days. I couldn’t have been happier.
Finley had set Cassie and me up in a room. Taylor was bunking with her and Some Pig. The guys had their own rooms down the hall. It was sort of nice to have a little space between us and the men for a few days. They’d all spent the morning in the gym with Jude and Cole, Finley’s brothers. Eden, Finley’s best friend and Jude’s girlfriend and the sister to the two flower girls, was living in the pool house with Jude. Her family was driving down from up north where they lived and worked. The wedding rehearsal was planned for Friday, once everyone had arrived. Nicky King had a friend who had one of those online minister certificates, and he was all set to marry us.
Sunset at the estate was beautiful, and we women, including Cole’s new girlfriend, Veronica, a kindergarten teacher and super sweet person, had decided to make frothy, fruity drinks and sit out by the pool. The men had decided some of Nicky’s quality porn in the estate’s private theater was more to their liking. I put the finishing touches on my wedding vows and slid on my sandals. Nix was just coming out of their bedroom as I stepped into the hallway. We’d hardly seen each other all day.
He smiled and made a point of looking down the length of me. He trapped me between him and the hallway wall by bracing a hand on each side of my head. “You are wearing my favorite sundress, and I’m not even going to be there. Maybe I should join you girls instead.”
“Nope, girls only. Like the ice chest.”
“Nicky King is hanging out with you.”
“Well, yeah, he’s Nicky King.” I hopped on my tiptoes and kissed him.
One of his hands dropped down to my leg, and he slid it up along my thigh and beneath my dress. “So, my angel dropped from heaven, are you ready for this?”
I fingered the black stubble on his chin. “I am.” I chuckled. “Cassie might need a Valium, but I’m ready.”
He smiled, it was a smile I knew in my sleep, in my dreams. It was a smile that still made my knees weak. “Dray is pretty amped up too. Wonder how they’ll be on their wedding day.”
“How’s Clutch doing?”
“Being in the same house, even a house the size of a small city, with Taylor has him a little on edge. But something tells me the wedding is going to bring them back together. I hope. He’s kind of bumbling around like a giant airhead, which is not like him.”
“Poor guy. When he sees the dresses Taylor made, he’ll be so impressed.”
Footsteps and tiny hooves sounded on the stairs. Finley and Some Pig appeared on the top step, both breathing hard as if they’d just run a race.
“Some Pig, dude,” Nix laughed, “you need to lay off those nachos.”
“We just came from where they are setting up for the wedding. The lights are done. It’s still not dark out but come see.”
Nix and I followed her through the house. It was easy to get lost in it. Cassie and Taylor stopped what they were doing in the kitchen to go with us. A crew of four guys were just folding up ladders and putting away tools. There were dozens of light strings stretching from gleaming white posts to the massive, ornate gazebo in the center of the lush lawn area. A temporary stage had been constructed near the gazebo. Nicky waved to us as we reached the wedding area. He was holding a remote.
“Ready?” he called.
Finley gave him a thumbs up and he pressed his finger down on the remote. Thousands of tiny gold lights flickered on, creating a carpet of twinkling stars across the yard. My hand flew to my mouth. I raced over to Nicky and gave him a hug. “It’s like a fairytale,” I cried. “How can I ever thank you?”
“My pleasure, love,” he said.
The others had gathered now under the lights. Cassie stared up and turned around as if she was star gazing. “It’s perfect.” She stopped spinning and smiled at me. “This is going to be awesome.”
I ran over to her and threw my arms around her. “I can’t even believe this is happening. But none of it would have come together without you, Cass.”
Chapter 29
Nix
Nicky King’s porn selection had been organized alphabetically, but like little kids in a candy shop, we couldn’t decide. Since I was the groom to be, the task fell to me. I picked one that looked interesting. Rett and Cole poured beers at the small bar at the back of the theater. Jude took care of the technical stuff. The King theater had soft leather chairs, an incredible sound system and a screen that rivaled a real movie theater in size.
Clutch stood up front with his beer mug. “To my best friend, Nix. May your marriage be filled with happiness, good fortune and lots of smokin’ hot sex.”
“Here, here.” Everyone raised their mugs.
Clutch paused. “But, in all seriousness, buddy, I wish you the best. I love you, bro.”
I raised my beer to him again. “Love you too.”
Dray got up from his seat. “All right, now it’s time for a toast from his real best friend, not his alternative best bud.”
Clutch laughed and came to sit next to me. “This should give you a preview of what the best man’s toast is going to be like.” Having two best friends made the best man thing a sticky subject, but Clutch had told me more than once that he was glad to be walking Scotlyn down the aisle. It had been a hard choice. I loved them both. But I knew Dray would have been hurt the most if I hadn’t picked him.
Dray was already done with his first beer. He lifted his glass and stared at it. “Wait, bartenders, can I get another?”
Rett came up front with another beer.
Dray poured it into his glass. “To my best friend, Nix. Don’t know why you thought this was wise, and now, of course, you’ve got Cassie thinking about weddings and I may never forgive you for that, but—” He raised his glass. “I wish you happiness, bro, you deserve it. And Scotlyn is amazing.”
Jude got the movie up and running and we settled in to watch.
The actors got right to action. “Boy, this one has an intriguing plot,” Dray said. “Good choice.”
“Thank you, the cover looked thought provoking,” I said. “And I must say this one is making my manhood throb and glisten.” All heads turned toward me.
“Trying out some new vocabulary?” Clutch asked.
“Thought I’d give it a whirl. Do you like it?”
“No. Now shut up. We’re missing the dialogue.”
He knuckled me on the shoulder. “Dude, can’t believe you’re getting hitched.”
“Yeah, me neither. You know, for the first few years after high school, it seemed like all three of us were in a freefall. But you know what they say?”
“What’s that?” Clutch asked.
“The best way to stop a freefall is by landing on your feet.”
Dray leaned over. “Who says that?”
“Don’t know,” I said. “Me, I guess. But we all landed on our feet, and I think that’s pretty cool.”
“Here, here.” Dray and Clutch lifted their beers with mine.
The theater doors opened and Nicky King walked down the aisle. He stood in the front and stared up at the screen. “I dated the blonde in this movie for a few weeks.”
“You make a son proud, Dad,” Cole called to him.
Nicky looked around. “Just thought I’d let all you blokes know that the girls finished their fruity drinks and stripped down to their bras and panties to jump in the pool. I came in here because Finley made me leave.”
Rett was the first one up. “I already know how this ends, so I think I’ll head out to the pool.”
The rest of us left a trail of flames behind us in our rush to get out to the pool. We all crammed into the elevator that would take us to the main floor. “Do you think they’ll be pissed if we join them?” Dray asked.
“Probably,” Clutch said.
“Yeah, probably,�
� Jude said.
The elevator door opened and a comedy scene followed with six big shouldered guys trying to squeeze out all at once. Jude led the way, and we thundered through the house and out to the pool area.
The girls shrieked and put on a good show of shock as we stripped down to our underwear and jumped into the water.
Scotlyn was sitting on the small island in the center of the lake-sized pool. I gripped the edge of the island as she smiled down at me. “What happened to porn night in the theater?”
“There was better stuff happening out here.” I looked over to the deep end. Clutch was sitting on the edge of the pool next to Taylor. “Hey, looks like this might be it.”
Scotlyn glanced over her shoulder. “I hope so. Poor Taylor is just not herself without him.” She took my hand. “I get kind of lost without my soul mate too.” She slid into the water and snuggled against me.
“Who is up for some volleyball in the pool?” Cole called.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“Sure. I just hope my panties stay on when I’m jumping up and down.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping too.”
Taylor’s wild laugh echoed through the pool area. Clutch had her up and over his shoulder. Water dripped off both of them as he passed us by. Taylor lifted her head and smiled our direction. “Make-up sex,” she giggled.
I looked at Scotlyn. “See, that is the part I just love about her,” she said.
“Hey, leave a fucking necktie on the door,” Dray called to him. “Otherwise, I can’t promise that I won’t be barging in on you.”
Clutch didn’t respond, but picked up a towel on his way past the lounges. Taylor laughed all the way to the house.
Chapter 30
Scotlyn
Lennon Marley, the man who was going to marry us, had long dreadlocks, a Hawaiian shirt, sandals and either he was wearing aftershave that smelled like weed or he’d smoked a lot of joints on the way to the wedding. My parents would have loved him. After meeting him, Nix whispered in my ear, “Not sure if we’ll be legally married, but this should be fun”.