Ireland
“You are fucking crazy!” Montana exclaimed after nearly spraying me with champagne from her almost empty glass which she had just clicked to mine.
“It’s the perfect solution. His father wants him married to take over some new division of their family business and my parents want me married before I turn thirty. They get their wish, but just not with the arranged spouse they selected for me. The arrangement suits both of us and remember I will still be near you since his company is in New York.” She was still staring at me with disbelief in her eyes. “I won’t be stealing your clothes and sleeping on your couch—that’s a plus.” I knocked my hip into hers.
“I was going to have a lock put on my closet,” she announced with a smirk and I knew she wasn’t kidding. She was fine when she dressed me, but having me sorting through her high fashion couture in a closet the size of a small bedroom, she would probably cringe at the thought.
“Cheers to being neighbors!” I grabbed a bottle and poured her a bit more.
“He better have a place for you in Brooklyn then.” I had no idea, but I agreed with her, I had no desire to be housed in a stuffy, closed up building with barely openable windows and a doorman.
I really knew nothing about him. But then again, I was going to marry another guy that I knew even less about. Jensen was pleasant to look at and his amazing kisses were off the chart, incredible. I bet he was very skilled in the bedroom… Oh…I hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed in my lacking…or would he be opposed to taking my virginity? I had read in a magazine that some men wanted nothing to do with virgins. The flipside was that there were some men willing to pay for them.
“What are you worrying about?” I heard Montana say in my ear as she watched me staring at Jensen who was obviously telling his friend about our plan. Or at least that was what I imagined as I watched Novak throw up his arms and shake his head a few times after looking in my direction. I hoped that our arrangement wasn’t going to cause trouble between them. I knew that Montana would have my back no matter what I did.
“My virginity. I hadn’t planned on dealing with it…” Shit! I almost revealed my earlier thoughts of giving it up to a stranger…someone that I would never see again. Luckily, I recovered, “…so soon…and Jensen looks like the kind of guy that would know what to do and be great at it. Oh my God, his kisses are incredibly delicious and…”
Suddenly, my words halted as I burst out laughing and started dancing, Montana couldn’t help but join in as a certain “Virgin” song played on a video in our cabana.
Forgetting about every care in the world, we continued to dance around until it was time to close our tab and leave the pool area to get ready for the night’s festivities. Plans for the night were already in motion according to Jensen as we went our separate ways and were given one hour to get ready. Montana bargained for an extra half hour and I laughed as we stumbled out of the elevator to our two-bedroom suite.
Showered, dressed, and styled by Montana, I looked like I should be walking down a runway during fashion week…the grand finale, the bride. “You know that this is ridiculous, right?” She had to play devil’s advocate which I appreciated and, yet, I was a little bit surprised.
“Coming from you who tells me to live a little and be spontaneous.” I laughed. “You should be cheering me on and maybe giving me pointers in case he wants to go all the way.”
We both laughed.
“You know that you don’t have to do it. You just met him and I’m sure he would understand. You could tell him—”
I cut her off. “—I don’t want to do that. It could be a deal breaker.”
“Keep the lights off and if he asks about the mess…” I wrinkled my nose and prayed that it wouldn’t look like someone was murdered. “…you can say you started your period…or you can come clean…hmmm…not the right word there.” She snickered. “You can then tell him the truth. My best advice to you is, play everything by ear and that includes changing your mind about getting married.”
“I’m not going to change my mind. He’s the perfect guy for me. Not only does he have the looks of my dream guy, but we have so much in common.”
At the pool, we couldn’t stop talking—which was a great sign. How many times had I met someone or gone on a setup date and struggled to think of things to say or to keep the conversation going. So many had bored me; talking about themselves non-stop with no interest in me at all and then they hoped that I would ask them in to fuck me. That may have been the best reason for keeping my virginity intact as I had never met anyone that I was willing to give it up to…until Pool-boy. I nearly laughed out loud at the words pool boy. He was definitely all man. Nothing boyish on him except for his playful laughter and animation while telling childhood stories about getting Novak in trouble. They reminded me of Montana and me in so many ways.
Jensen told me how he was a bit on the wild side and always getting Novak in trouble. I could relate to that, but it was Montana that was instigating the trouble. Like when she talked me into going bar hopping on spring break with fake IDs. I was perfectly happy to stay at the hotel and drink whatever the other girls talked different guys into buying for us. No, not good enough for Montana. “We are college girls, we need to be out partying in clubs.” For her, the days of parties at home were a thing of the past. The only thing was, she forgot to act more grown up by not climbing up on tables or bars to dance. Not to mention, she needed to keep her clothes on too. Needless to say, we were kicked out and our doctored IDs were confiscated. At least we didn’t have to worry about not being old enough on our Vegas trip. But I thought I might have to worry about her getting Jensen to climb up on tables with her. A plus was that I knew Novak was good at keeping him in line thanks to listening to a few of their stories.
“Do you think they are telling us their true names?” I hadn’t thought about that. When we waded over to them in the pool, they were quick to give us their names and there was no hesitation. “They’re kind of odd names…different.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from my best friend in the whole world as she put the finishing touches to her hair and makeup. I was sure she was going to laugh hysterically at any given moment…but to my surprise she didn’t.
“Are you serious?” I looked at her reflection in the mirror. “Ireland and Montana…I’m named after a country and you’re a state. Our names probably sound made up to them.”
I moved away from her to grab two bottles of water from the mini fridge. We didn’t need to get dehydrated after all of the booze at the pool and more which we would surely consume throughout the evening.
Back to where Montana sat, I placed an open bottle in front of her. “Besides, we will both need to be truthful when filling out the marriage license…otherwise it won’t be valid.”
“I still can’t believe that you, my logical friend, agreed to marry a complete stranger in one afternoon.” Montana arched a perfectly penciled eyebrow at me as she stood. Then she smoothed down the sides of her bodycon turquoise dress that highlighted her blue eyes, shook her blonde waved hair, and stood tall wearing some sexy, killer-high, silver strappy sandals. Mine were a reasonable four inches while hers were definitely six.
“You know…he doesn’t feel like a stranger.” I moved to a full-length mirror for a final evaluation. Montana joined me and we stood side by side as we had on so many occasions, but never for one of our weddings. “You know, if you think about it, at least I know Jensen somewhat. My parents want me to marry a man that I have never seen nor spoken to… that sounds a whole lot worse.”
Montana smiled at me in the mirror, bumping my hip with hers. “Do I look like a maid of honor?”
“A sexy as hell one!” I bumped her back with my hip, standing next to her wearing a pretty white sheath dress Montana had brought for herself that I snagged and paired with my red pumps. “What about me, do I look like a bride-to-be?”
“Yes, and the sassy red shoes will keep him from thinking you’re a virgin.”
Her remark had us both roaring with laughter. I hadn’t worn them for that reason. I just didn’t want to stand out as the girl that was about to get married. Instead, they just screamed “fun night out” and, suddenly, I couldn’t wait to see Jensen.