by Claire Adams
I took a deep breath and nodded. I hadn’t gotten really wasted in some time. This was a party in my honor, and I needed to take the edge off from the bullshit with Rachel, the selling of my company, and the wicked images that crossed my mind every time I looked at Sienna in that dress.
Sienna leaned closer to me and her perfume filled my nose. “We have two special surprises for you. Well, Tony and I do. The rest of these heathens you call friends didn’t do shit.”
“I’m not surprised.” I eyed her subtly as Tony handed me a shot. Before I finished, he handed me another one, and I drank it down. “I hope I’m not the only one drinking tonight.”
“Hell, no,” Tony said and then took a swig of his own concoction.
The front door opened and two women walked in.
“Ohhh!” Sienna called. “Your surprises are here.”
I had a feeling she meant strippers. This was going to be some night.
Both women stripped off their long trenchcoats and my jaw dropped. The blonde wore a mini wedding dress, fishnet stockings, and massive heels. The other, the brunette, wore what looked like a very inappropriate bridesmaids dress. Her huge tits were almost spilling out of the fabric.
“Where is my groom-to-be?” the blonde asked in a sexy, husky voice.
“That would be him,” Tony pointed to me.
Sienna and Tony led me to the middle of the room and sat me down in one of the few chairs that were set up in a circle. How had I not noticed that when I came in?
The blonde straddled me and leaned close; her chest brushed against my chin. “I hear you have cold feet,” she said, pouting. “How about I warm them up for you?”
She rubbed herself against my crotch and my body nearly imploded. The abstinence with Rachel had affected me more than I realized. I closed my eyes and willed my body to not respond to the rubbing, but it seemed to be out of my control.
The “bridesmaid” came around the other side of me and started massaging my shoulders.
“My maid of honor and I love to share,” the bride said, taking her bridesmaid by the hand. They started touching each other, slowly removing their clothing.
“Sharing is good,” I said. I glanced over at Tony and Sienna who were in the kitchen.
Sienna had her back turned, but Tony gave me two thumbs up. I laughed and sat back, enjoying the show.
Tony had continued to feed me drinks while the girls got down to their G-strings. Sienna stayed away for that part, and I wasn’t sure if she was uncomfortable or planning something else. Everyone else was chill.
My head started to feel light by the time the girls had finished, and Sienna came out of the kitchen holding several trays of food. The rest of the guys sat down in chairs around me. Danny, one of the rowdier ones gave me a thumbs up.
“Good, buddy?” He wagged his thick eyebrows.
“Yeah, I guess. I’m starving,” I said and got up from my chair. I stumbled as my legs had gone numb from sitting, or possibly it was the alcohol. The room was fuzzy around the edges, but for the first time since Rachel left, I felt pretty damn relaxed.
“Hey,” I said to Sienna, slipping an arm around her shoulder. “This already the best bachelor party I’ve ever had. Thanks for rounding everyone up. Means a lot to me.”
She smirked and helped me sit down at the booth. “Well, I’m glad. Let’s get some food in your stomach before we start an IV of alcohol for you.”
I devoured most of the grilled cheese bites she made. They were like condensed versions of the ones I loved so much. Then I moved onto the sliders and topped it off with a pile of french fries. It reminded me of the meals we served to the kids when I worked here for that one day. A memory that I would cherish for a long time. I always appreciated Sienna, but now I was able to appreciate how hard of a worker she was.
“Hey, man. You sure about this?” Danny and Jacob stopped beside the booth I sat slumped over in, Jacob reaching out and stealing the last slider off my plate. I tried to swat at him, but it was useless. Fuck it. He could have the sandwich.
“Yep.” I licked my lips and wagged my hand around. “Go have some fun. You came here to act up. Go do it.” I smiled as they agreed, smacked their beer bottles together in a raucous toast, and walked off.
It was more entertaining to watch my friends from a distance, as most of them had little to no modesty.
The strippers—I learned their stage names were Calista and Tammy—and Tony stopped over at our table to grab some food too. I stayed with Sienna in our little booth for most of the night while Tony never let me have an empty glass in front of me. Tony had his fair share of lap dances from both girls. Like every bachelor party I’d been to, I knew the strippers were more for the other guys than the groom. Which was fine with me. I wanted to be with Sienna and no one else. Why the hell had she invited so many people, again?
“Did you ever think you’d plan one of these parties?” I said, finishing off my sundae. Sienna had put extra hot fudge and whipped cream and I scooped up as much as I could.
“Not in a million years, and I probably won’t again. Unless you plan on getting married again.” She turned her nose up. “Besides, it’ll be time for you and these other bachelors to eventually grow up. It’s part of life, right?”
I snorted, but didn’t respond. Was it part of life? I wasn’t going to go there with her. We were having such a good time, any talk of Rachel would ruin that, and I knew that’s where she was headed with it.
“Will you let me come to your bachelorette party? It will only be fair.” I wanted to reach out and touch her, but it was dangerous. It always had been.
“As long as you wear a penis hat,” she said straight-faced.
I nodded, the room started to move with the motion of my head. “Well, that’s a given.”
Her mouth spread into a wide grin and she laughed. “Then you will be first on my list. If I ever decide to get married.”
I frowned. I wanted so much for Sienna to be happy. But the thought of her with anyone else made my blood boil. I was being selfish, but I’d also had a lot to drink. The myriad of emotions inside of me was escalating. And my eyelids were starting to get heavy.
Sienna slid out of her seat and came to my side. “I think it’s time I get you home, unless you want me to let someone else bring you?”
“No. I don’t trust anyone else in this room.” I leaned against her. She was so soft, so sexy. I trailed a finger down her arm. “Home sounds nice.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sienna
Parker’s fingers moving down my arm created a flurry of shivers to travel across my body. “Stay here,” I said, extracting myself from under him. His head lolled and I managed to get him sitting up straight. He was grinning like an idiot, and I couldn’t help smiling, too. He was adorable normally, and even more so when he was shit-faced.
I went over to Tony and the girls. “Tony, we gotta get everyone out of here.”
“Party pooper,” Tammy said and threw her napkin at me.
I clenched my jaw and started at the wadded up napkin on the floor. Did she seriously just do that?
Tony’s eyes went wide. “Okay, ladies, we’re moving the party elsewhere.”
I gave Tammy a death stare as she scooted out of the booth. She and Calista walked toward the front door and grabbed their coats, throwing them over their salacious outfits.
“Should I stay and clean?” Tony asked, glancing at the girls.
I knew he wanted to seal the deal with one of them and I wasn’t about to be a cock-block. “No, I’ll come in tomorrow and do it. Enjoy your night, and thanks for everything.”
Tony kissed me on the cheek and escorted the girls out of my diner.
I kicked the napkin that Tammy had thrown at me and turned back to Parker. His eyes were half closed, and his mouth slackened.
“Come on, Parker.”
“Whhhaaa—” he dragged on. His eyes fluttered open and then widened as if he’d forgotten where he was.
This was going to be fun.
He slid out of the booth and I had to grab onto him before he hit the floor. I should have asked Tony for help, even if he did have his hands full.
“Parker, help me out here,” I said, gently tapping his cheeks. “Wake up.”
His eyes sprung open. “Where’re we going?”
“I’m taking you home.”
“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” Parker slurred.
“I didn’t drink anything.”
“Really? I thought you did….” he trailed off.
The weight of him against me was almost too much. Why the hell did I wear a dress and heels to this thing?
We moved slow as hell across the diner; he was shuffling as if he were a drunk zombie, his back leg dragging behind him. I propped him against the wall and opened the front door, grabbing onto him again. He had the sense to grab onto the railing which helped us get down the front steps.
His feet kicked divots into the gravel parking lot.
By some miracle, I got Parker into the passenger seat of my car without injuring either of us.
He flopped over and I had to reach around him to connect his seatbelt.
“I’m going to be right back,” I said to Parker, handing him a water bottle. “Drink this.”
He held the bottle in his hands and didn’t bother to take a sip. I’d have to work on that once we got to his house, or he was going to have a massive hangover.
I tossed my heels into the back seat and jogged over to the building, the gravel digging into my feet. It was better than breaking my ankle. I locked the front door. I’d already secured the back door earlier, so everything was buttoned up for the night.
I turned around and took a breath. Okay, now I needed to button up Parker after getting him safely home.
While driving, Parker didn’t have any of his usual complaints about the way I drove. It was actually nice to have silence from him. Halfway home, his head dropped and leaned on my arm. I’d let him rest the remainder of the way. Maybe when we got to his house, he’d have a burst of strength so I wouldn’t have to drag his ass inside.
Parker had enough strength to get in the front door, but he started to lean heavily on me again as we crossed the foyer.
“This wedding is going to be great,” he muttered. “If it's anything like that party, whoop, it’s going to be a doozy.”
“I’m sure it will be fun,” I said, trying to be encouraging. I didn’t want to risk saying anything about his bride-to-be. Parker could be two types of drunk: really happy or really depressed. I feared if I said something about Rachel that rubbed him the wrong way, then I would lose this happy drunk.
“I’m most excited for the wedding night,” he tried to waggle his eyebrows but he ended up holding them both up as he stared at me with wide eyes.
I let out a laugh and quickly recovered. “I’m sure you are.”
“Yep. Me and Rachel are going to do it for the first time.”
I helped him sit down on his bed and took a step back. “Wait, for the first time? Haven't you had sex yet? I thought that’s what the whole ‘put a ring on it’ proposal was for?” How could he marry someone he never had sex with? What if they weren’t compatible in that way? Then they would be stuck in a sexless marriage.
He kicked off his shoes and tried to get his shirt off, but his fingers fumbled over the buttons. “She said she wanted to wait after I proposed.”
“Let me help you,” I said, not wanting to ruin his shirt.
He dropped his hands to the side. “She’s so classy. Not like other girls.”
I held my tongue. Nothing good was going to come out of my mouth. This nearly confirmed her gold-digger status. How could Parker be that blind? She was clearly using him. I had to admit that it felt good to know that they hadn’t been intimate yet. But it would come soon enough. I wondered how long she could hold him off after they were married.
And I hoped to god that he signed a prenup! I made a mental note to slide that into the conversation before their marriage. It was the only way to protect what he worked so hard to build.
I helped him with his shirt. After opening the buttons, I slid the shirt back and he pulled his arms through the sleeves. I gently folded it and placed it on one of the chairs next to the bed. I tried to focus on anything but his amazingly sculpted chest.
I moved him to a lying-down position and he managed to get his own pants off. He wore boxer briefs, but I covered him quickly, already feeling strange stripping him down while he was so intoxicated. I didn’t bother with his socks.
“I’m going to—” I said at the same time as he said, “Lay with me.”
I stared at him. His eyes were open and they were clear. “Just for a minute.”
“Okay,” I said and sat down next to him. I cleared my throat and laid down with enough distance to not make this weird.
Within seconds, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him. His body was warm against mine and I closed my eyes, taking it all in. I knew he was only being this way because he’d been drinking, but it felt incredible to have him hold me.
“I’m so lucky to have you,” he said, his hot breath tickled my ear.
“We’re both lucky. Not a lot of people can say they’ve had a friend as long as we have.”
He sighed. “I wished things could have been different between us.”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “How do you mean?”
He moved a chunk of hair off of my face. He traced that line again and his finger left a trail of warmth across my face. “I love our friendship, but I want to be a risk-taker like Kenneth and go after my best friend.”
My mouth went dry. Was my engaged best friend telling me that he’d thought of us in a relationship? Just as I had so many times before? “Parker, I don’t think you mean that.”
“Oh, I do, I wonder about it a lot. Especially recently.”
“Why recently?”
“Because of the wedding. Seeing you at the overlook made me want to see you there in a white wedding dress, coming down the aisle toward me.”
I let out a slow breath. This was getting serious very quickly. I wasn’t sure what to say. Should I open up about my feelings too? If there was any moment to do it, this was it.
“Parker, I feel the same way.”
“You do?”
“I think I do.”
He sighed heavily.
I was losing him. If I was going to get this off my chest, then I had to do it soon.
“I think I love you as more than a friend.” I laughed against his arm. “That’s crazy, right? I mean, gosh, I really don’t know what I mean.”
He snuggled closer to me and whispered in my ear, “I love you….”
I pulled my arms up and held him closer to me. I closed my eyes and tried to take a mental picture of all of this. Could we really be like Harriet and Kenneth? The perfect couple that I admired and loved?
“Rachel,” he said, and then his breathing slowed.
Wait, what? Did he say I love you, Rachel? My lower lip trembled. Embarrassment crashed over me. How could I have been so stupid? I actually believed what he said to be true. He was shit-faced and muttering about things that weren’t true. He probably was mixing up me and Rachel in his little speech.
“Parker?” I said.
He started to snore softly, and heat flashed behind my eyes. He was asleep. Right after he called me Rachel.
I waited a few more minutes until I knew he was completely passed out. It was torture just sitting there, stewing over how he just crushed my heart with one stupid word. I didn’t want to risk waking him up and him telling me all of these lies again. It hurt too much. I had allowed myself to get built up by his speech. And for one moment, I’d had a glimmer of hope for us. I wasn’t this girl. When did I become this girl? The one who pined for her best friend after he was engaged. It was ludicrous.
Once his breathing steadied, I moved his arm off of me and
slid out from under him. I made sure he was positioned on his side before I left the room. As much as I was pissed at him for getting my hopes up, I wanted him to be safe and taken care of. I’d thrown the party and taken him home; he was my responsibility.
I poured a glass of water from the kitchen tap and found a bottle of aspirin in the bathroom. I put the glass and bottle on the side table and made sure he was comfortable before turning off the lights and leaving the bedroom.
I couldn’t believe I’d led myself on and started to fall for him when he didn’t even know who he was holding. I knew he was drunk, but how could he not know it was me? I felt like absolute shit. I closed and locked his front door and walked dejectedly toward my car. Once I got in there, I gave myself a moment to collect myself. I wiped my tear-streaked cheeks and turned the engine. I took one more look at his house and tried to hold onto those last moments before my best friend broke my heart.
Chapter Seventeen
Parker
I woke the next morning with a blasting headache. I kept my eyes closed, unsure how much worse it was going to get if I tried to open them. I groaned and reached out next to me. The other side of the bed was empty.
Good, I didn’t go home with some stripper. The rest of the night came back to me in bits and fragments, but it turned blank right around the time Sienna and I sat down at the booth. How the hell did I get home? I cracked open one eye and realized the room was still shrouded in darkness. I blinked a few times, even though each time I did, the movement radiated in my brain.
There was something on the side table. I scooted over and the sheets against my skin were like sandpaper. It was going to be one of those hangovers.
I grabbed the glass of water and chugged it. I opened the pill bottle and took two aspirin and swallowed them dry. The chalky taste mixed with the aftertaste of the alcohol was a disgusting combination. I really needed to brush my teeth.
It took me a while to get into a seated position. The right side of my body ached, and I promise myself I wouldn’t drink again for a while. I rested my head in my hands and tried to recall more of the night before. I worked my way through from start to finish. I remembered the strippers. Then I ate with Sienna and had a good conversation with her. Tony had his own lap dance and then was talking to the strippers across the dining room. Sienna had come to my side of the booth to sit with me and then…nothing.