by Claire Adams
“Fine, fine,” I said to Tony.
Parker came into the kitchen. “All right, what’s next?”
“Take a load off; you have a few minutes,” Tony said and handed him an empty cup.
Parker thanked him and poured himself a glass of water. “This is a hell of a workout. No wonder you stay so thin, Sienna.”
“Speaking of thin girls,” Tony said, “how are you and Rachel doing?”
I glared at Tony. That was an odd segue, but I suspected with his little interest in Parker’s personal life, he didn’t care how he got his part of the deal handled.
Parker sat down at one of the stools we had stashed in the corner. “We’re fine. Why?”
“Just being friendly,” Tony said. “All right, boss. I’m off for the day. See you tomorrow.”
I gaped at him as he picked up his keys and left. I couldn’t argue about him leaving in front of Parker.
“Wow, you’re a good boss for letting him off this early in the day.”
I gritted my teeth. “Parker, I’m going to need you to take some orders for me.”
There hadn’t been any more large clusters of patrons, but I was still going to slap Tony for leaving me alone for the rest of the day. Parker’s charm managed to get him through a few mishaps, and I seriously needed to work on his handwriting, but overall the rest of the day went off without a hitch.
I locked the front door and looked around at the mess in the dining room. Tony was always good at picking up after each customer left, but Parker hadn’t been. It wasn’t his fault, but this was going to take some time to clean up.
“You can head out,” I said to Parker, “I think you’ve been normal long enough.”
“Did you think I was going to let you do this by yourself? What kind of friend would I be?”
I smiled and tossed him a rag.
“Are you still happy with your business?” he asked.
“Of course I am. Even though the hours are hard and it's quite thankless. I enjoy being my own boss. You can understand that.”
“Oh, yes. I do.”
“And I love the people I meet. Especially the Lamontes. I look forward to seeing them each day.”
“Harriet mentioned she and Kenneth were good friends growing up.”
“I know. It’s like a love story from a movie.”
We met in the middle of the room and rinsed our rags in the bucket I’d placed on the center-most table.
“Do you ever wonder why we didn’t get together at any point?” he asked.
My entire body turned to ice. I had thought about it many times in my past. Had he? Why was he bringing this up now? Were things that bad with Rachel? Was he making sure he’d have someone to fall back on if they didn’t work out? That wouldn’t be fair to me and my feelings. I wasn’t going to be a rebound for anyone.
I glanced up at him. “Our friendship is too good to risk. And it doesn’t matter anyway; you have Rachel now and you’re getting married.”
“Right,” he said and dipped his rag in the water.
I sighed. Why did I come off so snippy? He was obviously asking me for a reason. If I was a good friend, I would try to help him. But when matters of the heart involved me, I tended to run away. This was for the best, though. It had to be. I hated how my feelings were all jumbled about him. The wedding couldn’t come fast enough. Once everything was all said and done, I’d have a reason to let all of those feelings for him go.
I slapped him in the arm, needing to lighten the mood. “Remember, tomorrow is your bachelor party.”
His brow wrinkled.
“Don’t be like that. This will be one night that you’ll never forget.”
Chapter Fifteen
Parker
The next morning, I woke early to Sienna knocking on my door. This was her idea of paying me back, so I took my time getting there, knowing it would piss her off.
When I opened the door, I got a face full of confetti. I spit out the few pieces that got into my mouth and glanced at the floor, which was covered in black and red confetti pieces.
“Nice,” I said.
Sienna laughed, hard enough to have to hold her sides. “You should have seen your face.”
I gestured for her to come in and closed the door. I knelt down, trying to scoop up as much of the confetti as I could. It was difficult, since the pieces were paper-thin and insisted on sticking to the tile.
“I thought the party wasn’t until tonight?” I asked.
From that angle, I noticed she was wearing a dress, but it wasn’t really a dress. One of those cover-up dresses the girls wore at the beach.
“Get your bathing suit on,” she said with a wide grin. “We’re going surfing.”
“Seriously?” I asked.
“Yup.”
I hadn’t been surfing with Sienna in forever. We used to go all the time until I started dating Rachel, so it had to have been at least a year. I knew she still kept up with it, so I had a feeling I was going to have a lot of wipeouts.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t have a big breakfast,” I said and headed into my bedroom to change.
Sienna had picked the perfect day to take me out surfing. It was one of the hottest we’d had lately, which made getting into the water a little easier. It wasn’t cold, but it definitely wasn’t warm. After a few runs, my muscles warmed up and I started to feel myself relax and have fun. Sienna had definitely been practicing. She’d complete a run from the wave to the shore without a wobble in her board.
I was quite the opposite. I managed to fall into the water nearly every time before I got to shore. And of course, Sienna didn’t let me live any of those moments down.
Sienna looked amazing out there, and I couldn’t keep myself from staring at her tattoo. She wore a one-piece bathing suit, a good rule for surfing in case you took a tumble and lost the top or bottom. I’d seen many amateur girls do that in the past. I didn’t mind getting a flash of anyone’s chest, but I knew the girls were mortified each time it happened. The top half of the intricate tattoo disappeared under her suit and I had the dangerous urge to want to see the rest of it for myself.
It was nearly noon before we decided to take a break. We floated on our boards, sitting there, watching the rest of the surfers and other beach-goers.
“You’re too good to me; you know that?” I said.
“Well, I just want to make sure you don’t forget me when you become a husband.”
“Sienna, nothing is going to change with us.”
She shrugged. “We’ll see.”
I reached my hands over my head and stretched. Something popped in my back and I groaned. “Man, I’m not getting any younger. I have a feeling I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”
“You should come out here more. I make it a habit of coming at least once a week. Unless you think Rachel would have a problem with that.”
I ignored the dig at Rachel. If things continued the way they did, I doubted Rachel would even know if I took up a new hobby. Plus, if I sold the company, I’d have a lot more free time. And with Rachel not working, I wondered if she would notice.
“I’d like to do that,” I said.
“It’s a date, then,” she said.
I liked the sound of that.
We waded in the water for a little while longer, just listening to the sounds of the beach; the seagulls overhead and the distant crashing of waves against the shore. It was peaceful and a nice place to think about everything. I made a mental note to come out here more often, especially when I had several big decisions to make in the near future.
“We should head out soon,” Sienna said a little while later. “I think we both need to get cleaned up before your party.”
I grimaced. “You know you don’t have to do this.”
“Of course I do. You wanted me to be your best man, right?”
“I’m starting to regret that decision.”
Sienna stuck her tongue out at me and jumped up on her board. “No take-backs!�
��
I moved into a kneeling position as we waited for the next swell to come. Sienna was looking behind her, her smile as carefree as the seagulls above us. She bit her lip, anticipating the wave, and as it peaked behind us, we started to paddle and then let go, chasing the water to shore.
A couple of hours later, Sienna drove us to the diner. She wore a sexy red dress with lace that stirred up more confusing thoughts in my mind. The muscles in her legs moved with each step. When had she become so hot?
The front windows were blacked out, and I started to feel a little nervous about what was about to happen. Sienna put a lot of work into the party, and I didn’t want to seem ungrateful. I buttoned up my apprehension and walked with my best friend inside, the rest of our motley crew following behind us.
Loud, thumping bass blasted us as we entered. A strobe light set up in the middle of the room threw brightly colored lights all over the place. There were silver streamers reflecting the light, making the diner look completely transformed. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was a nightclub, albeit a dingy one.
Tony had his back to us and was setting up various liquor bottles on one of the back tables with some of the other guys pretending to help. No one did shit unless they were forced to. My buddies had always been that way and wouldn’t be changing any time soon.
Sienna skipped over to Tony and kissed him on the cheek. I followed closely behind.
He turned around and said something, but I couldn’t quite hear him over the music. He shook my hand, hard and pulled me to him, clapping his other hand on my back.
“Are you ready for a night you will hopefully forget?” he said with a big smile, indicating all of the liquor bottles.
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 s
omeone 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.”