Chapter 2
Vanessa
Guests gathered around the tables enjoying the cocktail hour. We spotted our friends at the bar, because where else would they be? When we approached them, Luca’s face lit up while Desiree and Cassie’s jaws dropped.
“What are we drinking?” I asked casually.
Desiree leaned forward and plucked something from my hair. She held it up and examined it. “What were you doing?”
“Mucking out stalls. What do you think we were doing?”
Two gasps from my friends preceded Luca’s snide remark. “You’re lucky your balls are still intact. If Mr. Daniels would have caught you messing around, they’d be picking more than hay out of you in the emergency room.”
Kyle and I stood there both smug and content not bothered by the way they continued to bust our chops. Before we could order another drink, the bandleader announced dinner would be served.
“Hmm… I wonder where the guests of honor are?” His voice boomed, and several people including the bride’s parents stared at him. Cassie’s head dropped in her hands. Kyle looked around in an over-exaggerated manner. He turned to the crowd, “Folks, have a seat and enjoy your meal. I’m sure the bride and groom will join us when they’re done consummating their union.”
Gasps filtered throughout the tent, yet one person laughed—me. All of a sudden a firm slap to the back of Kyle’s head forced him to snap his gaze to where the assailant stood.
“Jackass.”
Kyle rubbed his head. “Shit, what the hell?”
Jude pulled Brae to his side. “Maybe Luca should give the speech.”
“Calm your nuts, Soren. My speech is perfect.” On demand the band summoned the best man and maid of honor to the microphone. Brae’s face paled and Jude glared at Kyle. “Don’t worry, buddy, we’ve got this.” Kyle clapped him on the back, a bit harder than normal, and guided me toward the makeshift stage.
The waiters filled flutes with champagne and Kyle and I were each handed one. As soon as the guests’ glasses were in hand, we began. He leaned toward the mic and a high-pitched whistle rang through the tent. “Oops, sorry.” When I looked at the guests, Luca was giving Kyle two thumbs up with a mocking smile.
Kyle whispered in my ear, “Ladies first.” He grinned, reached over, and pulled a piece of straw out of my hair. “Looks like you were rolling in the hay. You should learn to control yourself.”
I laughed and took a turn at the mic. “Hi, I’m Vanessa, the maid of honor, and Brae’s voice of reason. When I first met Jude, I told her she needed to climb that man like a tree.” Gasps once again rang out. Kyle on the other hand laughed. Brae and Jude just stared at me, although Jude looked proud.
“They didn’t meet the conventional way. But, I knew from the start that he was Mr. Right, even though Brae was convinced he was Mr. Wrong.” Jude looked at his bride who smiled with a shrug. “All kidding aside, if there were two people meant to be together it would be Jude-alicious and Sparky.” I tossed an exaggerated wink their way announcing the nicknames they had for each other. “I wish you both a life filled with mind-blowing sex, love, and happiness.” I raised my glass. “To Jude and Brae.”
Kyle waited until the tinkling sound of glasses hitting each other subsided. I handed him the mic and smiled. I couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say. He lowered the mic away from his mouth. “That was very tame.”
“Make it fast. I have hay in places it shouldn’t be.”
“Picturing those places doesn’t do much for my concentration.” He raised the mic. “Hi, I’m Kyle, the reason these two lovebirds are together.” The crowd laughed and so did I, but Kyle leaned over to me and said, “I was being serious.” I couldn’t help but laugh harder.
When the chuckling wouldn’t subside, Kyle spoke over them. “Funny, but true. Anyway, I never thought the day would come that Jude Soren would settle down. When we first met at Yale, Luca, Jude, and myself took dating to a new level. We made it an art form.” Kyle laughed, although no one else did. “Tough crowd.” He cleared his throat. “Brae…” When he said her name, she looked up with narrowed eyes. “There isn’t anyone else I could see bringing this man to his knees like you have. In case he hasn’t told you, he admitted to Luca and I that you were the best thing that has ever happened to him.” The suspicion fell off her face as her eyes shimmered with emotion.
“He also said you were the best sex he’s ever had.” My solitary applause echoed in the quiet tent. Our eyes met and we both laughed, until Brae’s father cleared his throat. “Sorry, Mr. Daniels.”
I leaned into him. “Just wrap this up, will you? I’m starting to itch.”
Kyle smirked and brought his attention back to the task at hand. “In closing, Jude Soren would give his left nut to help someone out. He’s my best friend and although he reverts back to his native tongue to curse at me in Swedish, I know deep down he loves me. Raise your glass and join me in congratulating the perfect match. Jude and Brae, may your spark continue to ignite into a roaring flame. Thanks and enjoy the rest of your evening.”
When Kyle and I stepped off the stage, the band started playing dinner music as white-gloved waiters began to deliver cloche-covered plates to the guests. It was evident Jude did his best to bring The Plaza to the farm.
After dinner and a few dances, it was time for the obligatory wedding stuff. Kyle and I tried to sneak back to the barn before the cake was served, but the bride and groom were on to us. They each kept delegating maid of honor and best man duties we were convinced they were making up as they went along. Of course, Jude wanted to leave the moment after they gingerly fed each other a piece of cake, but there were still more traditions to be had.
Brae grinned as she waved the small bouquet in her hand. “Ready, girls?” she asked, turning her back to all the single ladies. After a short countdown, she tossed it behind her. I wanted to lace my fingers behind my back, but when the flowers came careening into my chest, there was nothing I could do but catch them. I could feel all the blood drain from my face. Brae turned and winked at me–the bitch did it on purpose. I should have realized it when I saw Cassie and Des step away from either side of me. They’d pay for this.
Jude removed the garter with such reverence and ceremony. Once it was off Brae’s leg and in his hand, he kissed the bare skin where it was positioned and then the thin scrap of lace. I was sure that if he didn’t have an audience, he would have tossed her over his shoulder caveman style and left the reception. Instead, he turned his back to the available men.
Luca and Kyle stood like mannequins. Clearly, neither one wanted to be the bearer of the ideology that came with catching the garter. And with the flowers in my hand, I didn’t want Kyle to catch it or it would put Brae in full matchmaker mode.
In slow motion, the garter flew right toward Kyle. Out of nowhere, Luca’s hand snatched the garter from mid-air, causing him and Jude to burst out laughing. Meanwhile, I thought it was weird when Kyle glared at Luca.
Before I made my way to the chair in the middle of the dance floor, I heard Kyle say to Luca, “Don’t go too high, I know for a fact she isn’t wearing anything under that dress.”
Luca smirked. “Was that meant to deter me?”
Before Kyle could respond, they turned and caught me listening. Ignoring their surprised expressions, I took my obligatory position on the chair. On bent knee, Luca glanced up at me with soft eyes and a warm smile.
The feel of his long fingers sliding the garter up my leg at a snail’s pace should have turned me on. Although handsome, I felt no attraction toward Luca. Maybe because in my mind he was the romantic of the three, much like Romeo… and I wasn’t a fan of romance. Proving me right, Luca stood and kissed me on my cheek.
As the night wore on and guests left, Jude and Brae made their escape back to the island of St. John where their romance began.
It was time for us to head back to our motel in the middle of nowhere. Brae secured us each a room, but when we arrived there were only two available.
So, as I lay there in bed next to Cassie, with Desiree in the bed next to us, the inquisition began.
“You had sex in the barn?” Cassie prodded.
“You say that as if there was something wrong with it. I’ll have you know that Jude and Brae showed up to do the same.”
Desiree tsk’d. “They did just get married.”
I waved my hand back and forth. “Don’t guilt me. The sex was great aside from the straw.” An uncharacteristic giggle-snort escaped me. “You should have seen his face when I tied his bow tie around the base of his…”
Desiree thrusted her hand in the air. “TMI! We don’t need the details.”
Cassie smiled. “Speak for yourself!”
Kyle
Fucking Vanessa on that old dryer was a pretty fabulous way to start our day. Once again, an article of my wardrobe served a great purpose by protecting her gorgeous ass from the rusty metal she sat on. The machine rattled in time with our thrusts, and the coins we fed it were almost out.
“Come, already,” I demanded through gritted teeth. Her eyes locked with mine just as her ankles tightened around my back. Seconds later, she contracted around me causing an explosive release. “Goddamn,” I said as our bodies fed off each other’s, causing our orgasms to seem like they went on forever. “Shit, woman. I’m glad I texted you ‘good morning.’”
“I’m glad I sexted you back.” My text arrived when she was fresh out of the shower, and the visual of the boob shot she sent me set the chain of events in motion—a quick pack, stupid excuses to our friends, and hooking up in the laundry room.
“Me, too,” I said, pulling out before removing the condom. Deja’ Vu hit when a voice called out from a few feet away. My jeans were buttoned and zipped in an instant. In slow motion, Vanessa hopped off the dryer, slid on her thong and adjusted the skirt of her dress. “Seriously? Hurry the hell up.”
“Relax,” was her last word when Cassie came barreling into the laundry room.
Her eyes raked over first Vanessa, and then me. “What the hell, V? We’ve been looking for you. It’s time to leave.” She then pointed a manicured finger at me and added, “Your buddy is ready to kick your ass or I assume he is, since he’s muttering in Italian.”
“Calm your titties,” Vanessa said with attitude. “We’re ready.”
With that, Luca plowed through the door and his already livid expression worsened when he saw the condom in my hand. “Are you fucking kidding me, Cleary? Get your ass in the car!”
“Why is everyone in a rush?” I made the mistake of asking. Cassie and Luca both began rambling off a long list of shit that they needed to get done, and three seconds in I was bored. “Shut it, I’m sorry I asked.”
Vanessa seemed completely unaffected, not only by what just had occurred between us, but by the pissed off twins glaring at us. “I just need to grab my bag,” left her mouth nonchalantly. Meanwhile, every cell in my body was still pulsing as an effect of the orgasm I just had. I couldn’t understand if it was the fact we had to go that irked me, or the fact I wanted more and she had moved on.
“I’m leaving in sixty seconds, with or without you,” Luca said over his shoulder.
Cassie quipped, “Ditto,” following after the asshole who clearly needed his own good fuck.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not walking home.” Vanessa leaned up and kissed my cheek. “It’s been a blast, Kyle. See you around.”
A blast? This woman rocked my world in a coatroom, a barn, and a laundry room and that’s what she considered it… a blast? It wasn’t that I disagreed with her, because she was every bit of the hot fuck I thought she’d be… and yes, my body blasted into her a few times, but it wanted more.
“Yeah, you’ll see me.” My dick wouldn’t forgive me if we didn’t indulge in her again.
Out in front of the motel, her friends started their car, and Luca’s brake lights lit. That was our cue to run. Luca shifted into drive at the exact moment my ass hit the front seat. A flippant wave through the window was all I saw as the girls’ car drove past ours in the parking lot.
“You’re an asshole.”
He glanced my way with a smirk. “You’re funny. I hauled your suitcase down to the car for you, and I was nice enough to wait for your dick to deflate, all without a thank you. But I’m the asshole?” My lack of a response had him adding, “You have nerve, Cleary. It’s not always about you getting laid, you know.”
“Maybe you need to get laid yourself, eh?” I voiced my thoughts.
“Or you need to keep it in your pants once in your life… eh?” He shook his head, and I failed to see why he was so aggravated. “You fucked her what, two times in two days?”
“Technically, three if you count her mouth as one.”
“Nice.” A heavy sigh came right as he released a sarcastic laugh. “Kyle, do you know anything about this chick, besides her being Brae’s best friend? Which in itself should have deterred you.”
“Why?”
“Let me fast forward. You fuck her over, Jude kicks your ass for hurting his wife’s best friend.”
“Pfft, I’ll be the one she hurts,” came out of my mouth before I could stop it. The quick surprised expression he threw at me forced me to add, “Forget I said that.”
“Oh, no way. She will hurt you how?”
“Like I said, forget it. My brain is still trying to recover from the lack of oxygen due to the many orgasms I had.” Luca rolled his eyes. “What? It’s true.”
“Are you going to see her again? Or was this just a weekend fling?”
“Of course, I’m going to see her again, dumbass, since as you said, she’s Brae’s best friend.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“My cock wants to, is that what you meant?” Just picturing her on her knees in the coatroom, on that pile of hay in the barn, and on the rusty dryer at the motel, created a surge of energy in my pants. My cock was as hard as it was when it pounded into her.
“I really don’t want to talk about your cock. All I want is to get back to the city where life is normal. I’m exhausted.”
“Dude, seriously.” I waved my hand over my crotch. “Just thinking about her makes my cock hard.”
The car swerved toward the open land on my right just before it stopped. “Get out. I swear to God, you say the word cock once more and you’re walking back.”
“What if you’re about to hit a rooster in the road? I can’t yell, ‘look out for that cock!’ so you don’t run it over?”
“Rooster. Just call it a rooster.”
“Fine and when did you become such an altar boy?” Luca pulled back onto the road.
“You want to tell me about tits and ass, I’ll listen. Cock talk you can keep to yourself.”
“Can I talk about her magical pussy? She does this thing where…”
“Do I need to pull over again?”