Jensen
Ready in a flash after a nice hot shower, I put on a dark suit, white dress shirt, and skipped a tie. A tie—something I only wore when absolutely required—might’ve sent up a signal or reminder to Novak that I truly planned to follow through with my wedding plans. I thought it was best to drop the subject for the time being. True, I had told him that I planned to marry her but I was sure he didn’t believe it. He had known me to say some pretty crazy shit to women over the years to get them into bed…or at least naked and in a compromising position.
Ireland was different. Of course I wanted to sample her goods, but for more than a few hours, more than a night…for as long as we both shall live. I silently laughed to myself…at myself and my corny words. On a more serious note, she had the looks of what I pictured as my dream girl and she was smart to boot. Fun. Funny. Fantastic… My list could continue on and on and for the first time ever, I wanted to try…to establish a real relationship with a woman. That had to be a positive sign that I wasn’t utterly out of my mind for proposing marriage to a gorgeous stranger.
A complete stranger. Ha! I had to laugh. How was what I was plotting to do any different than marrying some foreign woman that I had never seen before? At least I knew what Ireland looked like. I knew what her life goals were and we were doing things on our own accord. Our free will. No one was scamming and drawing up legal contracts. Shit! I had signed some documents. Surely they couldn’t be legally binding without the pending marriage being executed. I couldn’t be liable for anything, could I?
“Let’s go get a drink,” Novak said, gripping my shoulder. “Looks like you need to get your buzz going again.”
He might have been right, I was coming down off a high. “I think a bite of food might be in order too.” The last of my thoughts had my stomach churning a bit. I didn’t want my choice to do any financial or legal damage to my parents…or the company.
“Exactly.” Novak agreed, heading for the double doors of our penthouse suite after looking at his trusty wrist watch. “We’ll grab a drink at the casino bar while we wait for the girls who should meet us in about an hour. I’m sure they can rustle up an appetizer or two. Soak up the old alcohol and get us ready for the new.” I shook my head—he sounded like me. “I might need it if you’re serious about tonight.”
“I am,” were the only words I uttered as we were joined by other hotel guests on our way down to the lobby bar close to the bistro where Novak called in a special reservation for four. It was a favorite of ours when we came to Vegas for business and the chef was pleased with our request to eat off the menu, allowing him to be creative. We paid a pretty penny for it, but it was totally worth it. One of the perks too, we were able to eat at an exclusive table in an area of the kitchen. We loved it. I just hoped Ireland would feel the same way…something told me she would.
Seated at the bar just footsteps away from the sound of slot machines, we ordered a couple of beers and a mixed platter of mini sliders to share. Novak narrowed his eyes at me before speaking. “I have to ask. How do we know that they don’t know who you are?”
“First of all, we are in Vegas. Not many people have recognized me…except at the conference. Secondly, Ireland doesn’t strike me as the socialite type and Montana…definitely not!” I lifted my bottle and nearly downed half of it—it was frosty cold and tasted amazing.
“Montana is in the fashion business. Probably caters to some of the fake women you’ve dated…wrong word there…used.” I didn’t even have time to tell him to fuck off as he came up with another concern. “They might be giving us fake names and stories. A city and a country? Not very original.”
“That’s true they are not common…the polar opposite of ours.” I had to laugh. “Hello, do you hear yourself? Jensen and Novak. They probably think ours are fake too.”
Sitting up taller on his stool, he proudly announced, “Novak is common in my native land.”
“You are in your native land. You were born here, in America.” I took my first bite of a pulled pork slider.
“I’m going to put them both to the test,” Novak said, before shoving a buffalo wing slider in his mouth, followed by a few fries that were on the side.
“Whatever…but do it nice and not obvious, like mentioning my name and past stories. Let’s make this night fun. They’re here for a bachelorette weekend. I say we provide them with the works right after dinner. Which reminds me to stop eating all of these.” I looked down to a nearly full plate as I hadn’t realized that it mentioned that it was a party platter for five. Luckily, some young guys—probably college kids—at a table were happy to take the rest. They also didn’t mind that we sent along a bucket of beers.
I remembered those days of being young and dumb without a care in the world. I nearly said those words out loud to Novak but I was sure he would still call me dumb for a multitude of reasons. And the latest reason was heading our way looking even more stunning than by the pool.
Holy shit! Her body looked just as perfect in clothing, the way her white dress hugged every curve of her figure…and sexy long legs lengthened by red heels. She stood out and I wasn’t the only one gawking at her, our college friends were nudging each other and practically drooling all over each other. I loved how she didn’t seem to notice anyone but me as she walked right into my personal space—we were the only two people that existed.
It was Novak that pulled us apart again and brought us back to reality. “Time to go.” I noticed him looking at his watch before he stood and started waving his hand. “Right this way, ladies…and Jensen.” And the three of us followed my good friend out of the bar area and right next door into the bistro.
“Oh, a swanky steakhouse. Typical meat and potato men,” Montana laughed, linking her arm with Novak’s as we stood in front of the maître d’.
“Not exactly.” I spoke up. “There’s a bit of a surprise coming your way.” I smiled as we were led to the swinging kitchen door, through the chaos of clanging pots and pans, and to a linen draped table set for four.
“Oh my God, this is so exciting,” Ireland clapped her hands together. “I have been telling one of my clients to do something like this.” She was smiling and looking around at the whole setup. “He’s a brilliant French chef in New York. I look forward to meeting him and checking out his restaurant in person…I’ve only seen it online…I’m so sorry…I tend to rattle on when I’m overly excited.”
Her enthusiasm was wonderful. I could listen to her ramble for hours, but not about another man. Thankfully, she had only been communicating with him through her computer. What a stupid thought! How many women were still in my life after I had fucked them? I hated jealousy! Strange how it felt when it was the other way around. I’d never cared what any woman ever did in their pasts or with others, present or future. With Ireland, everything was new.
“I hope you won’t be stealing my food secrets,” Chef Amaury said with a light laugh, smiling at Ireland whose face turned a shade of red as he set plates down in front of us. “Good to have you back, Jensen…Novak.” He reached out and shook our hands. “Better to see you with two beautiful women.”
His handshake to each of them included his lips to the top of their hands. The charming chef continued to wow all of us through each course with just the right amount on each plate so that we weren’t stuffed to the gills without room for dessert.
Satisfied with the dining experience, we thanked Amaury, settled the bill, tipped his staff, and wandered through the main dining room out to wild crowds of people. I was ready to join the excitement that appeared all over the city known for partying, gambling, and pure sinfulness. However, we had to make one important stop before we could completely lose ourselves to Vegas since the marriage license office only stayed open until midnight. I was determined to make Ireland officially mine within the next twenty-four hours. Thanks to an online pre-application, we were able to breeze right through, obtain what we needed to make it legal, and were on our way to fulfill certain steps before the big event.
Thankfully, we received no protests from either of our friends who, reluctantly, agreed to serve as witnesses to our elopement.