by Parker, Ali
"No. The first part of the spa day is for each of you to get an hour and a half massage of choice. Then we'll put you in a private room in the back for lunch and send in our nail and hair specialists one at a time. Are you the bride?"
"I am." Bethany felt odd even saying it.
"Good. So it's up to you what you'd like to do." The lady smiled and glanced over toward Bethany's mother.
"I think we should go back. They'll put Erica in a room as soon as she gets here, and we'll go from there?" Bethany's mom wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We'll be good and relaxed before she even shows up."
"I like the sound of that." Bethany shrugged. "Okay, so let's get started then. Oh, wait. Is Aunt Patty not coming in today?"
"No, but she'll be here tomorrow for your bachelorette party. Who all did you invite?" Her mom turned to face her, reaching up to smooth down her hair.
"It's just a fun night out with dinner and drinks. I'm not interested in doing anything too adventurous."
"I understand that but who's coming? Is it all right if Patty and I come, or would you rather we just stay at the house? It won't hurt my feelings at all."
"It's me, Erica, you and Aunt Patty. There's no way I would ask you to stay at home. You guys will be the life of the party." Bethany smirked before turning to follow the attendant toward the back. "I wish Krista were with us, but that's not going to happen."
"No, baby. It's not. Don't even focus on it. We'll have a good time together tomorrow just like we will today. This is about you and Damon. No one else."
"You're right." Bethany let out a long sigh, releasing the tension in her shoulders and letting her mind wander through the events of the last year. Life had been a whirlwind of activity and not all of it good, but it ended up being incredible.
"Just get undressed and on the table and one of our masseuses will be with you shortly. We'll knock before we come in." The woman smiled and opened a door, moving back to let Bethany in.
"Great. Thank you." Beth walked into soft music and a barely lit room. Exhaustion tugged at her, and she happily stripped down and got on the bed. She couldn't remember having a massage before in her life, not one that wasn't followed up by someone's stiffy poking her in the back in expectation.
Memories of her and Damon’s first meeting rolled through her mind as her eyes grew heavy. She didn't even hear the door open and close before she slipped into the darkness and let sleep take her.
Bliss.
* * *
"You fell asleep?" Bethany's mom chuckled as they sat across a small table from each other, Erica sitting to Beth's left.
"I did too." Erica lifted her hand. Her thick blond hair was in a messy bun on top of her head, but she looked incredible regardless. Bethany wasn't sure the woman ever had a bad hair day in her life. It was part of her charm.
"See? Thank you, Erica." Bethany lifted her hand toward Erica before leaning back in her chair and studying her mom. She was aging some but still looked like a million bucks. "I'm glad you guys are here with me. It's been a weird year, losing my best friend to her being locked up for attempted murder and having to survive Kendal, Matt, and Damon."
"Yeah, one is bad enough, but all three?" Erica picked up a roll from the basket between them, her robe sleeve dipping into the olive oil. "Damn. It never fails. Matt and I have a joke about who's going to end up covered in the meal first. Him or me."
Bethany and her mother laughed. "Kent and I do the same thing."
After reaching for a roll, Beth shrugged. "Damon and I have our quirks too, but getting messy at dinner isn't one of them."
"So tell me what else we need to get done. Anything I need to do for tomorrow night? Is Dana, Kendal's girlfriend, coming with us? Or Sophia, Matt's best friend?" Erica asked.
"Shit. I didn't even think about them. I've been out of it." Bethany ran her fingers through her hair. "I need to invite them both."
"I'll invite them," Erica offered. "I've met them both and know Sophie thanks to Matt."
"I don't know her too well, but I've been around Dana quite a bit this year because of Kendal."
Erica took a big bite of her roll and tried to talk around it. Bethany was grateful that she wasn't the only one assured to get in trouble for talking with her mouth full. "It's been a rough year for everyone."
"No talking with your mouth full." Bethany's mom raised her eyebrow.
"Ha! I knew you were going to get busted." Bethany pointed to Erica. "I love it."
"I was kidding. Do what you want." Bethany's mom chuckled. "I just didn't want to let Bethany down. She thinks I'm so damn predictable."
"Well, let's just prove her wrong tomorrow night at the bar. It's bachelorette party time." Erica lifted her hands in the air and danced to the music which had to be playing in her head. Her moves didn't match the soft, serene music pumping out of the speakers above them.
"Oh Lord." Bethany rolled her eyes. "It's just dinner and some drinks."
"And strippers?" Erica cocked her head and smiled.
"Yes. We must have strippers." Bethany's mom clapped her hands and bounced in her chair.
"That's it. I'm dreaming. I'm still on the table lost in a dream." Bethany glanced between her mom and Erica. "I'm going to wake up any minute."
"Sure, it's a dream." Her mother laughed. "Seems like it might be more like a nightmare!"
Chapter 111
Damon
Damon waited until Bethany left to meet up with her mom and Erica to take a long hot shower. He'd been honest about her locking the door. Something about wanting more of her rode him the hardest after just having her. It was like an addiction. One he didn't mind at all. As long as his need to feel her against him didn't get out of control, he'd be good. She'd accused him in the past of using sex to settle hard emotions between them, and truth be told, he had. It was his love language and the deepest way he knew how to connect with her.
Maybe that would change over the future, but for the time being, he was happy with who he was and thrilled with the woman she was becoming.
He took his time in the shower and let his mind wander through his life, enjoying each and every part of it as he focused on his relationship with Beth, then with friends, then work and then family. Everything was in place. Now all he needed was to enjoy the next few days celebrating a new life with his almost-bride. Hanging out with Kendal and Matt would be a blast. The two of them apart were great, but together? He was in for a wild ride. They would egg each other on, and him as well, until they all ended up knee-deep in trouble. Maybe the three of them having women now would change things.
"Doubt it." Damon reached up and turned the knob on the shower, cutting off the water flow. He dried off and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt before dropping down in front of his computer. Matt and Kendal wouldn't be by to pick him up for another hour to play a round of golf. He'd use the time to get through a few more e-mails. Where he was trying like hell not to focus on the firm during their wedding week, he didn't have a choice on some matters. He'd hit those up and let the rest rot in his inbox until he could get to them.
The sound of someone beating on his front door had him groaning. Matt was early. "So much for getting anything done." Kendal would have plopped down on the couch with a magazine, or the TV for entertainment, but Matt would want attention, and rightly so. He wasn't living in Dallas anymore. His time with Damon was limited, and this week was promised to be focused on fun and family.
"I'm coming, you big oaf." Damon pulled the door open and moved back as Matt and Kendal walked in. "You guys are early."
"Yep. We figured it would be better to bring breakfast over and interrupt your work time than have you think you got away with something. Cause ya didn't." Matt poked him in the chest and carried a few boxes to the kitchen. "Come eat. We emptied out the Kolache shop down the road. Freaking Washington doesn't have Kolache. What the hell?"
Kendal smiled and followed after Matt. "Maybe that means you and Erica should get hitched and move back here.
We have art galleries in Texas, Matthew. Hello."
"Not like Seattle." Matt turned as Damon walked into the kitchen. "You ready to get your ass handed to you in golf today?"
"Not happening." Damon moved past his brother and opened one of the boxes, grabbing two large Kolache out and shoving half of one in his mouth. "And you and Erica belong in Seattle. In Texas, we're interested in business and making money."
"Oh yeah?" Matt snatched the extra Kolache from Damon's hand. "You're trying to tell me that you don't miss me?"
Damon popped him in the stomach and grabbed the Kolache as Matt let out a groan and bent over. "I miss you every day, but you moved up there for a reason. Your dreams are up there. Keep living them."
"Oh, brother." Kendal rolled his eyes. "Living your dreams is overrated. The minute you get it, you gotta come up with a new dream. With something bigger or better. It's exhausting."
"No, you don't." Damon turned to face his best friend. "And you're really one to fucking talk right now. You got the girl you wanted."
"Against all the odds." Matt threw in his two cents. "Pretty fucked up situation and shit."
"Yeah. That." Damon nodded toward Matt. "And you're teaching at the college that you wanted to teach at. Tell me you're not living your dreams."
"I am, but I can't help but think I need to start looking for a new dream." Kendal shrugged and took a bite of his breakfast. "Not another woman or career, but something more. Something bigger."
"Not this shit again." Damon walked toward the living room. "You talked yourself out of being content in college too, bro. That's why every relationship before Ana was a struggle."
"And after her?" Matt followed Damon, Kendal taking up the rear.
"I didn't date after her." Kendal leaned against the door frame at the entrance of the living room. "Enough of this girlie bullshit. Get your shoes on and let's go play golf. I need to get some aggression out."
"Aggression out?" Damon snorted and dropped down on the couch, enjoying his breakfast. He lifted one of the half-eaten Kolache in the air. "Thanks for breakfast. I love these things."
"I'm not sure golf is the right sport for you if you're looking to let off some steam. Maybe boxing?" Matt offered and sat down beside Damon, leaning back and putting his feet on the coffee table.
"Or fucking more often?" Damon shoved the rest of his meal in his mouth and worked on his shoes.
"We fuck all the time. She's far more woman than I deserve, but she's giving, and I'm not. Maybe I should find a charity to get involved with, you know?" Kendal finished his breakfast too and wrapped his arms around himself. "Do you guys do charity work?"
"No. I hang out with the two of you. That's charity enough." Damon stood up. "Let's go. Ben's meeting us out there, or that's the last thing I heard from him last week."
"He's coming. I texted him this morning." Matt stood up and walked to the kitchen, grabbing the boxes. "We taking these in the car?"
"As long as we're riding in something besides my Mercedes. You both eat like ten-year-old boys. I don't want greasy fingerprints on my shit." Damon gave them a look.
"Yes, your highness." Matt popped Damon in the chest and walked to the front door.
Damon got a running start and jumped on his brother’s back, wrapping his arms around Matt's neck. "Watch it, or I'll make sure Erica catches the flower thing this weekend."
"She already did at Dad and Karen's wedding. You don't remember?" Matt opened the door and walked out. He was struggling, but Damon wasn't relenting. Not yet.
"I got it. Just tote his childish ass to the car." Kendal smiled at both of them and took Matt's keys. "We can take my truck. I grew out of the need to be fancy a long time ago."
Damon snorted and slid off Matt's back as they reached the car. "Speaking of fancy," Damon started, "did you guys get your shoes polished and your suits fitted for Saturday?"
"Yep. All done." Kendal nodded and got in the driver’s seat.
"Yeah, about that," Matt mumbled and jumped back as Damon grabbed for him.
"Matt. You know Bethany wants everything perfect for this wedding. You dick it up and-"
"I got it done. Jeez. She's my sister too." Matt smirked and got in the back of the truck as Damon walked to the other side.
"Oh fuck." Kendal glanced Damon's way as he got into the truck. "What's the deal with telling the office that your sister is now your wife? So risqué."
"That is a great tagline for your Time Magazine feature." Matt snorted.
"Keep it up, and you two will find yourselves tied to some random girl's bed with your own underwear in your mouth as a gag tomorrow night. I'm not beyond roofieing you and paying someone to play along... or are they playing?" Damon glanced back at his brother.
Kendal lifted his hand in the air and flipped Damon off. "Promises, promises."
"Naw, I'm good. I'll shut up." Matt lifted his hands in the air. "I wouldn't put anything past you. Sick bastard."
"Just don't tell Bethany he's one." Kendal chuckled.
"She already knows." Damon shrugged. "It's one of the things she likes most about me."
Damon couldn't help but laugh as both Matt and Kendal gave him shit for the next twenty minutes on the drive to the golf range. Beth might know his secrets, but she certainly didn't like them. No woman in her right mind would. Beth wasn't just any woman.
* * *
"So, James Talling got back with his family? That's crazy." Matt walked beside Damon down the fairway as Kendal stopped to pick up his ball.
"Yeah. He cut back on everything at the office and made sure his wife and kids knew they were first." Damon shrugged. "As much as I enjoy my work, I'm going to have to do the same. Dad's looking at bringing in a few more executives this year to help balance things out. I think he and Karen realize how much I'm working, and where it wasn't that big of a deal in the past, it is now."
Ben moved up on Damon's other side. "You're there all the time, but a lot of that is your own doing. You have control issues, dude."
"Nooooo..." Kendal jogged to catch up, finding his place on the far side of Ben. "Not Damon Bryant. Head of everything and follower of no one."
"Keep it up." Damon glanced over at his best friend, enjoying the teasing more than he'd ever admit.
"I think maybe this time you should interview the candidates first. Dad hired some idiots that almost fucked up my relationship and yours this last year." Matt gave Damon a hard stare. "I'd still love to wrap my hands around Mitch's throat for jacking with Erica."
"Me too," Damon admitted. "Dad's been off a little lately, but he's still got a good eye for people. I just need to be his second on the review chain."
"Mitch, the guy that propositioned Erica for sex?" Kendal asked, his voice innocent.
"We don't talk about that." Damon smirked as Matt growled low in his chest.
"New subject?" Kendal asked before turning his attention to Ben. "What about you, man? You finally found a woman?"
"Or a man?" Damon stopped as Ben whipped around.
"Bethany said something, didn't she?" His eyes went wide, and Damon almost felt bad about springing it on him, but someone needed to rip the fucking band-aid off. They'd been friends too long for Ben to walk around with a big secret that Damon wasn't privy to.
"That you're gay?" Kendal asked and moved around to stand beside Damon.
"I knew that too. Wait... were you not gay last year?" Matt crossed his arms over his chest and gave Ben an apologetic look.
"Really? It's that obvious?" Ben ran his fingers through his hair and groaned before turning his back to them.
"Yeah. We're dudes, Ben." Damon reached out and squeezed his old friend's shoulder. "And it's fine. Honestly. You are who you are. It's not for me."
"Or me." Matt patted his own chest as if reminding himself that he was a lady’s man.
"Or me." Kendal raised his hand. "But if it's for you... whatever."
"Agreed. Stop holding that news to yourself, acting like we're going to disow
n you. You're stupid, and we've known forever." Damon tugged on Ben's arm. "Let's go. You're my partner for the day. We gotta whoop Matt and Kendal's ass good. They were bragging in the car."
"Bragging is what you do... when you're the best in the world!" Matt's voice boomed across the quietness of the day.
"Shhhhhhhhh," resounded all around them.
They cracked up and walked to the next hole, talking about the bachelor party and how it was not going to get out of control. They were all taken men, well, all of them besides Ben. Their women would have a meltdown if they did anything stupid.
"Wait." Kendal pulled Damon to a stop. "What are the girls doing for their party tomorrow night?"
"Dinner and drinks, I believe." Damon shrugged. Bethany wasn't a party animal, and her mom and aunt were going with them for shit's sake.
"No, I heard they were going to a male strip club and then bobbing for cocks." Matt rolled his shoulders. "I told Erica that was fine, but only for this night because it was for Bethany. I didn't want her-" He didn't get another word out before Damon tackled him.
"Oh shit." Kendal reached down and tried to pull Damon off him, but he was on a mission - to make Matt squeal like a pig. "Ben... a little help."
"Don't you dare." Damon glanced back and gave his co-worker a wicked smile. "He's going to scream like a girl before I let him up, and anyone else that wants to talk about my girl bobbing for cocks with some other guy."
"Guys, not guy." Kendal backed up and shrugged as Damon growled at him. "What? It's just a friendly blowjob. Shit."
"Oh hell no." Damon scrambled up and turned as Kendal laughed and turned toward the lake nearby.
He ran hard, and Damon barely reached him before he took off into the lake. The sound of him yelling had Damon laughing so hard his sides hurt.
"You think this lake is going to stop me?" Damon put his hands on his hips and gave his best friend the death stare. "Your ass is mine."