Chapter 1
Madden
“I’m looking at them right now, and they say, ‘Jane and Madden Forever’.”
“And that’s incorrect?” The woman on the other end of the phone asks in an infuriatingly calm voice.
“Yes, that is incorrect,” I snap. “I don’t know who the hell Jane is; I’m sure she’s a lovely woman, but I’m marrying a man named Th-ane. Say it with me sweetie...T.H.A.N.E.” I admit I might be bordering on hysterical, but it’s eight freaking days before my wedding, and the programs say Jane and Madden. Who the fuck is Jane?
“Okay sir, I understand. I’ll get the corrected programs shipped straight to you.”
“Thank you, but our wedding is in eight days. That’s one week from tomorrow. They’ll be here in time, won’t they?”
Before I can hear her reassurances, my phone is snagged out of my hand.
“Thank you very much; we appreciate it. You have a lovely day,” Thane says in a smooth voice before hanging up my phone and putting it in his own pocket. “You need to relax, sweetheart. I hate to say it, but you’ve turned into a bit of a groomzilla.”
“You don’t understand,” I say, trying not to slip into a full-on pout.
I just want to make our wedding perfect, so I can show Thane how much I love him and how deeply I appreciate his patience with me when I was struggling so hard to cope. I acted like a complete dick early on in our relationship, and maybe if I can give him the most perfect wedding in the history of human civilization it will make up for it. He deserves a perfect wedding and so much more.
“What I understand is there’s no reason for this much stress. All I care about is getting to call you mine for the rest of our lives. I already told you, I’d be more than happy to tie the knot in Vegas this weekend during our bachelor party.”
I gasp in indignation, even though this isn’t news to me.
“After all this planning, you’d better believe we are having a damn wedding next weekend, come hell or high water.”
“Whatever makes you happy,” Thane says before pulling me in for a slow, sweet kiss.
Most days I can’t believe this incredible man wants to spend the rest of his life with me. I’ve faced down my fair share of demons in my life, and even more so in the last year and a half, and now that I’m safely on the other side of those nightmares, my life doesn’t feel real, in the best possible way.
“You make me happy,” I tell him between kisses.
“I bet I can make you even happier,” Thane teases, fingers finding their way to my button fly.
As if on cue, there’s a loud knock on the front door, and we both groan in frustration.
“That must be Royal, Nash, and Zade. Guess this will have to wait,” I lament, stroking Thane through his jeans.
“Can’t we make them wait? If anyone would understand it’ll be those guys,” Thane argues.
I laugh and give Thane one more kiss before wiggling out of his arms and heading for the front door.
When I pull the door open, I’m not surprised to find Royal and Zade rough-housing while Nash stands between them looking thoroughly harassed.
“This is going to be such a long weekend,” he complains as Zade and Royal shout ‘Vegas Baby’ in concert.
“By the way, Dani’s running late. She texted to tell me she went to the store, ran into Beau, and lost track of time. She’ll meet us at the airport, though.”
“I thought she was over that crush after they finally hooked up,” I muse.
“Beau is definitely worthy of an encore. Trust me, you guys want to see him naked. So fucking hot,” Royal fans himself dramatically.
“Hey,” Nash complains.
“What can I say, I’m partial to long hair and tattoos,” Royal defends, looking Nash up and down pointedly.
“Hey,” Zade complains this time.
“Oh my god, you guys. I think you’re both sexy as hell, no one compares to either of you,” Royal amends in a put-upon tone.
“Too late to make it up to us now. To punish you, Nash and I will be joining the mile-high club without you,” Zade teases.
I laugh and shake my head at their antics. I’ve always been a little skeptical about how poly relationships work, but spending a few minutes with Nash, Royal, and Zade, it’s easy to see that they simply fit together. I’m sure any two of them could be happy as a couple, but the three of them complete each other.
“Are you guys ready to go, or did you need a few more minutes?” Nash asks.
“We’re ready,” Thane says, appearing behind me with our suitcases.
“Let’s do this!” Royal exclaims, throwing his hands in the air and dancing around excitedly.
Adam
“I locked up the shop, right?” I check with Nox, who’s standing by the front door with his suitcase in hand and a patient smile.
“Yes, you locked up the shop. And you put up the sign to let people know you’re closed for the weekend. And the alarm is set so no one can break in. And you double checked that no appointments were accidentally scheduled this weekend,” he assures me.
“I’m sorry, I know I’m going a bit overboard with worry, but I’ve never left the shop without at least Gage to look over her for the weekend.”
“I know, but everything will be fine.”
Nox steps close, and I open my arms to welcome him in, letting out a contented sigh as his smaller body melts against mine. I never thought I could have the kind of peace and happiness Nox has given me.
I bury my face in the crook of his neck and take a deep breath, pulling Nox’s essence into my lungs.
My mind travels to the ring I’ve been carrying around in my pocket for the past few weeks, waiting for the perfect moment to ask Nox the all-important question. I want everything to be exactly right, so it’s something Nox will remember forever.
“Thanks, Bird. I promise I’ll relax and enjoy our weekend. I have a feeling this is going to get wild.”
“I think there are too many recovering drug addicts in the group for us to get too wild.”
“Wait, who else is a recovering addict besides you and Madden?” I ask, wracking my brain to figure out who I’m forgetting about.
“Uh, no one,” Nox says quickly with a guilty expression.
“Oh, come on, you can’t drop that and then take it back.”
“Seriously, I didn’t mean to spill the beans. I’m sure you can narrow it down considering there are only a few of us you haven’t known for years, but I’m not going to put my foot in my mouth any more than I already have.”
I sigh and kiss Nox on the cheek to let him know I’m not mad and that I’ll drop it.
“We’ve gotta get going if we’re going to make it on time. Let’s go.”
I sling both our bags over one shoulder and then take Nox’s hand as we leave our apartment.
Gage
“Are you almost ready to go, babe?” I call from the living room, glancing at the clock to see we’re close to being late.
When I don’t hear a reply from Beck, I sigh and head down the hallway to our bedroom to see what the holdup is.
I open the door to our bedroom and lose my breath at the sight of my man on his hands and knees in nothing but a pink, lacy thong.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice pitched low as I watch, mesmerized by his gorgeous ass, begging for my tongue.
Beck looks at me over his shoulder with a cheeky grin. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me right now.
“I dropped my favorite lipstick, and it rolled under the dresser. I’m trying to reach it, but I can’t get it.”
I grunt in response and then stride over to the dresser.
“I’ll lift up one side, you grab your lipstick.”
“Oh my god, there are a ton of cat toys under here. Now I know where Frodo keeps losing them.”
“You want to hurry; this is kind of heavy,” I complain in a strained voice.
“Oh yeah, sorry. Okay, got it.”
I wait until I can see Beck is clear and then set the dresser back down.
Beck stands back up and the view is even better than before as he swipes the maroon lip color over his luscious lips, my eyes travel over his tight body and down to the front of his panties, where his half hard cock is making a mouthwatering bulge against the lace.
“I’ll be ready in five minutes, I just need to put my clothes on, and I’m good to go. I’m already packed and everything,” Beck assures me, forcing my mind out of the gutter and back to the fact that we need to leave like three minutes ago.
“I’ll put our bags in the car, you want to meet me down there?” I suggest.
Beck sticks out his bottom lip in a pout.
“You don’t want to wait for me.”
“I’m two seconds from tossing you on the bed and destroying our chances of catching the flight.”
Beck’s pout turns into a sultry smile.
“Maybe we can join the mile-high club.”
“Ugh, don’t tease. I’m already hard for you; you just might kill me,” I warn, and Beck laughs.
“All right, take our stuff out to the car, and I’ll meet you there in less than five minutes.”
I check to make sure Frodo’s food and water dish are full, and then I grab both our bags and head down to the car.
I’m surprised at the buzz of excitement in the pit of my stomach. If you’d have told me six months ago that I’d have helped to organize Madden and Thane’s bachelor weekend in Vegas, and be looking forward to the weekend, I would’ve called you a liar. But it’s amazing how much the love of the right person and, if I’m being honest, the right therapist, can help a person to let go of the past and look toward the future.
The future is undoubtedly on my mind when it comes to Beck. Our apartment is nice, but a house would be even nicer. I’d love to have something permanent together, and maybe a fenced in yard for a dog like Beck has always wanted. And who knows, maybe one day a swing set…
But all that is for later consideration. This weekend is for drunken debauchery and hopefully some filthy vacation sex.
Owen
I let out a long breath as I slouch over my bathroom sink, trying to work up the courage to look myself in the face.
One. Two. Three.
I try to psyche myself up, but chicken out at the last second.
I take another deep breath and then shake my head in defeat.
I don’t want to deal with this bullshit this weekend. I don’t need the nightmares and the guilt during Madden and Thane’s bachelor weekend.
I close my eyes and turn on the faucet. I splash ice cold water on my face and then pull up my shirt to dry my face, effectively avoiding looking at my reflection.
This is just like me. I finally start to get my life together, I have friends, a good job, my own place, and then the nightmares start again. I’m happy, and a big part of me knows I deserve to be happy, but my subconscious just won’t let it rest.
I clench my fists as a familiar craving rushes over me. I was doing so well putting the popping pills bullshit behind me until the nightmares started again. Not that I’ve touched the stuff recently, but fuck if I don’t want to. Great time to go to Las Vegas, right?
“Are you sure you’re okay with me crashing here while you’re away for the weekend?” Finn calls, yanking me out of my spiraling thoughts.
“I already told you it’s fine,” I assure him.
“Not many people would let a convict into their home, let alone let one stay while they’re not around.”
“Did you happen to forget I’m a convict, too?” I joke. “As long as you don’t turn my place into a crack house, we’re good.”
“You know I stay far away from that shit now.”
“Then we’ve got no problems.”
There’s a knock at my front door, and I toss my damp shirt into my hamper and go to see who’s here. As far as I know, everyone I talk to is currently on their way to the airport.
I’m startled to see Dani standing on my doorstep. Her hair is freshly dyed a teal green and she’s got a new Monroe piercing over the left side of her lips. She’s a beautiful girl, and I’ll admit I may have had a small crush on her when I first started at Heathens. But, as awesome as she is, she’s not the one. I believe in gut feelings, and mine tells me the right person for me is still out there. Man, woman, or anything in between, I don’t care, I’ll know it when I find whoever it is.
“I thought you were catching a ride with Royal, Nash, and Zade?”
I live about a mile from the guys, and Dani lives somewhere in between us, so it’s not uncommon for her to walk to either house for a ride somewhere. She always says she’s not going to throw money away on car payments or Ubers when she has men willing to do her bidding.
“I had to run to the store to get some little travel toothpaste. I ran into Beau and lost track of time. I didn’t want them running late, and I knew you’d be a little behind. So now you get the pleasure of my company on the way to the airport.”
“Cool, come on in. I’m about ready to go, I just need to put on a fresh shirt and some shoes.”
Dani greets Finn and then drops down on the couch beside him.
“Oh, hey, I wanted to find out what you got Madden and Thane for a wedding present. I have no clue what you’re supposed to get for people who already live together and have all the basic stuff,” I ask as I head into my room to grab a shirt.
There’s a long pause before she answers, and I start to wonder if I said something wrong.
“Well, it’s not something you’ll be able to emulate,” she finally answers with a hint of laughter in her voice.
“What is it?”
“My uterus.”
“What?” I pop my head out of my room, certain I misheard.
Dani is doubled over giggling.
“I’m offering to be a surrogate for them,” she clarifies. “They want a baby, and I want to help.”
“Oh, wow. Did they flip when you told them?” I ask, half wishing I’d been there to see the joy on their faces when she made the offer.
“I haven’t told them yet. I’ll probably tell them after this weekend.”
“Well that’s a damn impossible gift to top. Now I really can’t get them a toaster.”
“Whatever you get them will be fine. Now hurry up and get dressed, we’re going to be late.”
“Excuse the hell out of me, I’d be out the door by now if someone hadn’t shown up unannounced.”
Dani sticks her tongue out at me, and I give her the finger before heading back to my room to grab a shirt.