Chapter 1
Cassandra
“I can’t believe you’re actually getting married and we’re standing here having shots at your bachelorette party!” I stood on the bench along with my shot glass to make a toast to my best friend, Avery. “Having been chosen to be your maid of honor, it is my right to embarrass you tonight, tomorrow and the day after,” I grinned as Avery glared at me from the middle of the club that we had hired for our private party tonight. “So,” I raised my glass in the air. “This is to all those drinks that we shared, all those hotties we eyed up, and all those drunk secrets we swapped! And we can’t forget about all those vibrators we gave you, just in case your Quinn fails to…” I left the sentence incomplete and gave a small booty shake and everybody laughed. Avery blushed. God she was so cute and Quinn was just her type. They fit so well together. As much as I was surprised at her decision to marry so soon, I was still happy for her. She deserved the best and Quinn was her definition of the best. “Everyone raise those glasses into the air for my smokin’ hot girl, Avery! Here’s to a long and happy life with your Prince Charming. Cheers!” I swallowed the sharp liquor in one swift gulp, letting it burn my throat. Oh yes!
We presented our gifts to Avery which she opened one after another and called us bitches for giving her such horrifying presents. Well, that’s what a bachelorette party is for, isn’t it? She placed all the sexy lingerie and other toys back into the boxes and turned to us. “Okay that’s enough. You girls made your point. Now can we head back, please?” she said to everyone but her eyes stopped at mine pointedly knowing that I was the one in charge here. But boy what fun would that be? “Not so quick, Avery baby, we have got something else for you,” I grinned at her mischievously and then called for the bartender who was on service tonight. He presented a set of shots at the bar.
“You’re not going to make me drink all these are you?” Avery asked me, already turning green. “Oh yes, I am,” I said and the girls cheered. “Cass,” she warned me. “Oh don’t Cass me right now. Because you are doing this or we’ll have strippers called,” I threatened her. On the mention of strippers, she glared at me and reached for the first glass and gulped it down. “Yes, that’s my girl!” Lily called from behind and I high fived her. If only Avery knew what we had planned next. “That’s it. I can’t drink anymore. I’ll be a dead beat tomorrow with this hangover,” Avery said on the third glass.
“That you will be, no matter what, so you better enjoy it while it lasts. And you won’t be able to do it again anyway, babe, because in two days you won’t be in the singles club and you won’t be doing all these shots and checking out the hot talent! You’ll have to sit prim and proper next to your hubby, looking at us and thinking why the hell you married so early,” Gina stated and the rest of the girls giggled. Avery frowned and then took the fourth glass and emptied it down. “That’s our Avery!”
Gina, Lily and all others went to the dance floor and I stayed back with Avery as she tried to get her head straight after all those shots. I asked Sandy, the bartender, for a pitcher of cold water and then poured Avery a large glass of it. “Drink it. You’ll feel better,” I slid it towards her. “I won’t regret this, Cass,” she said to me. “For once, for the first time in my life, I feel like I have made the right decision. For the first time I know what I am doing and this is what I truly want. There will never be anyone else for me, Cass. It will always be Quinn,” she confided to me and my heart warmed at her love. “Anyone can see how much you both love each other. I do agree that this is way too early to get married. I mean you haven’t even finished college yet. I don’t understand the rush, but I do understand how you feel and I will always be here to support and stand by you with every decision you make,” I said to her sincerely. “No matter how immature that might be,” I teased her and we both laughed.
“Thank you, Cass, for being here with me. You don’t know how important it is for me to have you here by my side,” she said. “I know how hard it was for you to take time off from work but you still did and came all the way out here.” Her voice cracked. If only she knew what happened. But I didn’t let my personal problems ruin her time, so I masked everything with a smile. “Oh nothing could keep me from my best friend’s wedding and honestly, who would want to turn down a trip to the Bahamas?” I said to her with a wink and she laughed. “You know Quinn is really glad you came all the way out here,” she added. “Of course he is. Or else he would have to handle you and your wedding tantrums all on his own which would be a nightmare for him.” Avery smacked my arm and I laughed.
“So where is he puking his guts out?” I asked. “Cass!” “What? Oh come on, Av, it’s a well-known fact that Quinn is a light drinker,” I chortled. “He just doesn’t like to drink much,” she defended. “Yeah. Yeah. If you say so, Ms. I-Just-Had-Eight-Shots.” I rolled my eyes playfully. “So where is he?” I asked, taking a sip from my own martini. “Oh he is having his bachelor party with his friends. It’s just a couple of halls down. He was upset that Aaron couldn’t make it here tonight. He even planned the party for tomorrow, but it’s the rehearsal dinner so that couldn’t be arranged,” Avery revealed the whole story.
“Aaron?” “Yeah, he’s Quinn’s oldest friend and the best man for the wedding,” she said. “Oh I see,” I took another sip. “Yes, you’ll see. From what I have heard he is quite the catch.” She elbowed me. “And a man whore,” she winked at me. I twisted my mouth at her description. “And why are you keeping tabs on your fiancé’s best man?” I asked her with a quirked brow. “Oh haven’t you heard what they say about the maid of honor and the best man?” she asked playfully. I don’t think I want to know the answer to be honest. But she answered anyway. “They are meant to hook up after the wedding, Cass,” she was grinning at me. “So not happening.” “Oh it’s so happening. You need to get laid, Cass. And Aaron is just what you need. No strings,” my best friend was definitely up to no good. “Alright, I think you’ve had enough to drink. It’s time to do some dancing!” I said to her and then waved Gina over. We both took Avery to the dance floor where she finally gave into the beat and swayed her hips like Avery Bradford can. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Avery had said though, I mean the last thing I wanted was a man in my life right now, strings or no strings.
I left the dance floor and pulled out my phone from my back pocket as I felt it vibrating. It was a text from the hotel manager that said the stripper was on his way. A wide grin spread across my face as I pictured Avery’s reaction. She would be furious, but tonight she deserved some fun before she gave herself to Quinn. I stowed the phone away and gave Lily a signal that it was time. She gave me a thumbs up. Taking my martini, I walked towards the door. Let’s see what the hotel concierge has sent for us. As I inched closer towards the exit and reached for the door knob, the damn door came towards me with a hard push and hit me straight in the face. “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” I jumped around as the pain rose in my head. I raised my hand up to rub it. “Are you fucking blind?” I shouted above the music and yelped in pain again. There was no response from the attacker. “What? Don’t you know how to apologize…?” I looked up to set my eyes on the man before me.
Holy mother of wow! This man was ridiculously hot. Just the sight of him made my knees weak and my feminine parts jump to attention. Wow! He was some package! He was tall, like really tall with almost a foot towering over my five and a half frame. He wore a pinstriped jacket and black pants which gave away his muscular build. His long neck emerged out of his collar like a tower. Okay I might be exaggerating. His dark brown hair was tousled in a messy hairstyle. What made me breathless was his eyes, black as coal and sharp as an eagle. Boy! He was hotness on legs. A ten out of ten. I could see his lips pressed into a thin line that flexed his square jaw and his brows were pinched together in waves.
“Isn’t this the bachelor party?” his throaty voice hit my ears and I snapped out of the trance. I had already forgotten about the pain I was in. Wait, did he just ask about the party? Oh Gosh! He was the stripper. “You are here for the party?” I finally found my voice and asked. The sex god quirked his brows. Well, this will be interesting! A grin started to appear and I arched my back straight. It was play time! “Alright, Mr. Smoking Hot, let’s get the party on a roll!” I wiggled my hips and caught his tie in my hands. For a stripper, he did have a lot of clothing on him. I wondered how he would look with his clothes being pulled off. I flushed as the images began to appear in my head and I imagined him around a pole.
“I hope you are good at what you do,” I said to him in a loud voice and tugged at his tie. His eyes widened in surprise, I wondered if that was because of what I said to him. But hey, I had a right to know if he knew what he was doing, didn’t I? “Ladies!” I called at the top of my lungs and everyone turned to face me. “Look who we have here. Our Stripper for the night!” I announced as I slipped his jacket off in one quick move. The girls applauded and cheered, oohs and aahs rose in the air. “What the fuck?” I heard a sharp growl behind me and I turned to see the sex god glaring at me. “Maybe our stripper is a little shy,” it was Avery’s cousin, Jenny who advanced to where we were standing and gave his butt a good squeeze. I couldn’t hold back the laughter that rolled out of me, though deep inside I wanted to touch this man in all the right places.
“Everybody cheer for him. He needs some encouragement,” Gina yelled. “Where’s the bride? Call her so that we can show her our lovely gift,” Lily exclaimed and rushed to wrap a fur scarf around him. “Stop this right now,” a low thunder roared out of Mr. Hot Stripper Pants. “Hey, we paid you to entertain us, not growl at us,” Sandra, one of the other bridesmaids said in a slurry voice. It was clear that most of the girls were drunk now. Just then Avery emerged, stowing away her phone. “Girls, we need to …” she began to speak as we all spurred at the same time, “Surprise, surprise!” and gestured at the sexy stripper who was now wearing a load of fur shit and ribbons.
Avery’s face turned pale and both her hands went to her mouth. “Come on, Avery!” Sandra encouraged her. “Oh my God! Aaron?” Avery said in a small voice. I looked to and fro between my best friend and the sexy as fuck man who struggled with all the ribbons around him. “Aaron, you are here,” Avery rushed to him. “Girls he is not a stripper. Step back,” she cried and then was next to me, helping him out. I signaled the bartender to turn down the music volume.
“I am so sorry, Aaron. These girls thought you were the stripper,” Avery said to Mr. Hot Pants as he was back to himself with all the furs and ribbons and other stuff gone from him. “I figured that much out,” he said and his eyes stopped directly at me. “Girls, this is Aaron Maxfield, Quinn’s best friend and his best man for the wedding,” Avery made the introduction and my heart almost stopped beating. Oh holy shit, Aaron Maxfield, manwhore, best man, stripper, what have I done? “This is Cassandra Levant, my best friend and maid of honor,” Avery introduced me and he gazed at me with an unidentified expression.
Why the hell was I feeling embarrassed? It was just a mere misunderstanding. I was expecting a stripper for the bachelorette party and if any other man would have entered the hall, I would have thought he was a stripper. “That was really embarrassing. I hope you don’t mind,” I placed my fake smile back and extended my hand for a shake. He peered at me intently and I began to feel like an idiot. Before I could pull my hand back, he took it in his larger one and squeezed it in a gentle shake. That famous jolt of current that I read in every damned book, ran through my own veins at his touch. Holy Smokes! They wrote it right. I pulled my hand away and ran it in my shoulder length hair, smoothing the knots. I guess that’s my nervous habit.
“Does Quinn know that you are here?” Avery asked. Aaron finally took his fierce gaze off me and turned to Avery to answer, “No, I was planning to surprise him.” He gave me another quick look. Yeah, that turned out to be some surprise. I thought. “Oh he will be so thrilled. He was really upset that you couldn’t make it here. He is just three doors down in the hall with all the others. Cass can show you,” Avery gestured at me and I gaped at her with wide eyes. She fluttered her eyes innocently. What was she thinking? He could strangle me in the middle of the corridor for all I know. “That will not be necessary. I’ll find it on my own,” he said in a curt tone. Giving Avery a small nod, he turned and left the room. What a first impression I gave to the man whom I was supposed to sit next to for the next two days. Holy cow! How will I last until the end of the wedding? And how was I supposed to keep my composure?