“SHIT. SHIT. SHIT. Joey? I need you!” I’m flustered and running late as usual, frantically trying to zip up my new black strapless dress and failing miserably. “Damn it, Joey.”
Throwing my hands in the air in frustration, I step into my favorite black pumps and run downstairs into the bakery, my bare back completely exposed. Joey, my assistant and dear friend, is leaning his tall, perfectly tailored, suited frame against the doorway and watching me, clearly amused. A winning smile spreads across his face, and if I weren’t so rightly irritated, I would have stopped to appreciate just how handsome he looks.
“What the fuck? Can you zip me up, please, so we can go? The cake should have been delivered over an hour ago.”
He pushes off the wall and moves toward me, his expression softening. “No, dear, it’s already been delivered.”
My back straightens as the cold metal of the zipper slides up my spine. “What? No it hasn’t.”
“Yes, it has.” His hands grip my shoulders and spin me. “I dropped it off myself because I knew you would be freaking out up there getting ready and making us late.”
“Really?” I ask, staring up at him unconvinced.
He nods. “Really, cupcake.”
Smiling and reaching up, I kiss him quickly on his freshly shaven jaw. “You’re the best, you know that right?”
“I know.” His eyes run down my body and I feel my cheeks heat up. “You look amazing, Dylan. Seriously,” he wiggles his brows at me, “if tits did anything for me…”
I hold up my hand to stop him, but teasingly mold my breasts and plump them up. “Yeah? They do look fantastic right now, don’t they?” He smiles down at me, his one dimple sucked in tightly.
“You ready for this?” he asks as he brushes my hair off my shoulder. “We can still back out. I’m all for ditching this shit and going bar hopping instead.” His brow arches as he searches my face, waiting for my response.
I exhale forcefully and grab his arm, leading him toward the door. “No, we can’t ditch. Juls will be pissed if we don’t show up. Besides,” we halt at the door and I grip his massive shoulders, “I thought you wanted to do bad things with men we’ll never see again?” Slutty wedding sex awaits and I am more than ready to experience it.
His eyes quickly light up with mischief. There’s the naughty Joey I know and love. “Oh, fuck yes. Let’s do this, cupcake.”
Fayette Street is buzzing with people, all wandering in and out of shops on this beautiful June day. I lock up and spin around, seeing Joey stomping his foot irritatingly in the direction of our transportation.
“Seriously, Dylan? Do we have to take the van? This suit is way too nice for that thing, and you know what kind of cars those rich bitches will be rolling up in.” He motions to his outfit with a sweeping hand as I walk toward the driver’s side.
“I’m sorry, but do you have another suggestion? Your car is in the shop and this is my only mode of transportation at the moment.” I open the door and step in, standing on the ledge and looking over the roof at his scrunched up face. “And be nice to Sam. He’s been through a lot lately.”
He lets out an exhausted breath. “If I ruin this nice suit… and please explain to me why you named this stupid thing. Who names their delivery van?” I ignore his last comment and start it up, glaring at him as he climbs in to ward off any further insults.
“Don’t make me put you in the back,” I warn as I pull away from the curb toward an evening of inevitable awkwardness.
“Holy shit. This place is fantastic!” Joey shrieks as I pull onto the driveway leading up to Whitmore Mansion, following a long line of expensive vehicles. I wince and rub the steering wheel, preparing Sam for the looks he will undoubtedly receive. “Oh, for Christ’s sake. See. I fucking told you we would stand out like idiots. Do you realize we’re sandwiched between a Mercedes and Lamborghini. A fucking Lamborghini.”
I swallow loudly. Joey’s right. My delivery van, which is adorned with swirls of cupcakes and icing splashes on both sides, is completely out of place here. I’m fairly certain we will be the only non-luxury vehicle in the parking lot. My ringtone startles me and I quickly pull my phone out of my clutch, hitting the speaker phone button.
“Hey, Juls.”
“Are you here yet? I’m dying to introduce you to Ian and his entourage of insanely hot friends. HEY. What are you doing? You should be rounding up the groomsmen. Jesus, do I have to do everything around here?”
I giggle at my best friend as we slowly inch closer to the parking attendants. She’s usually very calm and collected, until it’s close to show time.
“Please, for the love of Christ, tell me one of Ian’s ridiculously hot friends prefers cock to pussy. I need to get laid, and I needed it to happen yesterday.” Joey is practically bouncing in his seat as I chuckle at him. There is nothing he likes more than a wild, no strings attached hook up, and weddings offer the best situation for such thing. Especially weddings where there is free booze.
“Actually, his friend Billy didn’t once glance at my boobs when I was leaning over Ian, so you might be good to go there, JoJo.” With that information, he pulls his visor down and begins fixing his already perfectly coifed blond hair.
“We’re at the valet guys now, so we’ll be right up.” I hit end and stop in front of three young boys who eye up Sam questionably and glance between the three of them, silently asking who wants to drive it. I step out with my purse and walk toward them. “Here, the clutch sticks, so don’t be afraid to be rough with him.” Tossing the keys to the one closest to me, I loop my arm through Joey’s and watch as the two boys who don’t have to drive Sam snicker at the one with the keys.
“It smells like cupcakes in here.”
My head falls back and I laugh with Joey at the valet attendant as we follow the crowd into the venue.
To describe this place as beautiful is an extreme understatement. Entering through rustic doors, the floor plan opens up to a massive foyer with dim lighting given off by Tiffany-inspired glass chandeliers. Stained glass windows surround both doors, and antique furnishings and artwork fill the room. Guests are making their way down the hallway, which leads into another large room, most likely where the ceremony will be taking place. A grand staircase, wide enough for ten people to walk side by side, leads up to a second level, and as I inhale, the scent of old wood and calla lilies fill my lungs. Damn it. This wedding is going to be beyond chic.
“There you are. Holy shit, Dyl, you look incredible. Is that dress new and when can I borrow it?” My beautiful best friend is adorned in a navy dress with an empire waist, her dark chocolate brown hair pulled back into a chic bun. “Justin is going to shit a brick when he sees you,” she whispers against my ear as she ends our hug. I’d prefer it if he just dropped dead at the sight of me, but I’m not that lucky.
“Thanks. You look amazing as usual. How’s the bride?” Her fingers fluff my blonde waves that fall past my shoulders, and she leans in and gives Joey a kiss on each cheek.
“Annoying. Come on, you both need to find seats and quickly. We’re about to start.” She grasps my hand in hers and I pull Joey behind me as we walk straight back and into the room labeled The Great Hall.
“Okay, where are all the hot boys at?” Joey searches the room, practically bouncing on his feet. The boy is on the hunt and has a predictable, one-track mind.
I shake my head at him. “Could you please try and keep it in your pants during the ceremony? You are technically my plus one, and can wait to get all freaky with some lucky man at the reception.”
“I make no promises, cupcake.” He smoothes his suit and wiggles his brows at me as Juls extends her hand, pointing toward the left side of the room.
“See the man sitting five rows back on the end, with the ponytail?”
I laugh and her eyes widen. “Ponytail? You didn’t say Ian had a ponytail.”
“Well, he does. And he lets me tug it when I’m coming.”
“Hot damn. Get it, Juls!” Joey begins fanning his face and I know I need to do the same. My cheeks suddenly feel like they’re on fire. Although, I shouldn’t be that surprised at my best friend’s comment. Between the three of us, we’re all entirely too obsessed with the male appendage.
“Anyways,” she continues with a tone, “the three equally delicious looking men next to him are all his colleagues. And Billy,” she meets Joey’s anxious eyes, “is the one next to the two empty seats. You guys better hurry up and grab them before someone else does. Oh, shit.” She glances down at her watch and pushes us forward into the room. “Sit. Hurry.” She clicks away on her heels as I stare down the center aisle where the bride will be walking down any minute. Shit. I can’t walk down that aisle to my seat. That has to be some kind of weird karma to walk where the bride of your ex-boyfriend is about to walk. No, thank you. I do not need that kind of bad luck.
“Come on.” I grab Joey’s sleeve and pull him with me toward the left side of the room, walking quickly up the rows of chairs until we stop at the fifth row. Ian, Mr. Ponytail, glances up and smiles at me. Ooohhh, he is cute. “Excuse me,” I say softly. I step between his long legs and the chair in front of him, trying to quickly make my way to the two empty seats. There isn’t much space to wiggle through, and I inwardly laugh at the thought of my six foot two, muscly assistant doing the same shimmy right behind me. The lights start to dim, indicating the ceremony is about to start, so I move faster, Joey pushing up against my back.
“Oh, shit.” My heel slips on the arm of a suit jacket that is hanging on the back of a chair and I fall backward, crashing straight into the lap of the man sitting two seats down from Ian. His hands quickly grab my waist and I gasp at the contact. Oh, great. Good job, Dylan. Glancing down slowly, I see the sexiest pair of hands I’ve ever laid eyes on. They’re big, and his long fingers tightly grip my hips. Slightly tanned skin contrasts beautifully with my black dress, and I hear a few muffled laughs coming from behind and both sides of me. My eyes flick up to meet Joey, who is grinning widely and glancing behind me amusingly at whoever’s lap I am sitting in. I stand up quickly and spin, getting the first real look at the man my ass is now acquainted with. “Oh, shit,” I gasp, seeing a small smile form at the corner of his perfect mouth. Oh, God, I want those lips on me. Full and pink with a predominant slit running down the middle of the bottom one. His tongue darts out and slowly licks it. Whoa.
“You already said that, love.” Holy fucking shit, that voice. Are you kidding me with that voice? Low and sweet, I can almost taste it. My eyes quickly scan the rest of his face as Joey nudges me in the back, urging me to move forward. Fuck him. He can wait a second and allow me to marvel at this spectacle in front of me. His body is fit, built, and definitely makes good use of a gym membership. Perfectly disheveled, dark brown hair that is slightly grown out, striking green eyes that are glued to mine and a strong jaw. Jesus, is this guy for real? He could be a fucking model with these looks.
“I… uh… I… sorry.” Swallowing loudly after my poor attempt at a sentence, I move quickly and fall back into the chair closest to the aisle, my chest heaving rapidly in my dress.
“What the fuck was that?” Joey whispers as he sits down next to me, blocking my view of the hottest guy I have ever seen in person.
“I don’t know. I fell.”
“You are such a whore; you did that on purpose. Christ on a cracker, he’s hot.” Joey leans back a bit and I meet the man’s eyes briefly before I drop my head, my cheeks instantly flushing. “Did he get hard? Is he huge? He looks huge.”
I cover my mouth after a loud gasp escapes. “Jesus, you have zero filter. Thank God, we aren’t in a church. He does look huge though, right?” We giggle and make crude gestures at each other as the wedding party music begins to play.
“I bet he’s bigger than Justin,” he teases and my eyes widen.
“Are you serious? The ring bearer is probably bigger than Justin.”
His mouth falls open. “I fucking knew he had a little dick. You never admitted it.”
“Yup.” I wiggle my pinky finger at him and he cracks. “We should have gotten Sara a dildo as her wedding gift. She’s gonna need it.”
Oh, my God, Joey mouths as I glance up to the front of the room. My eyes instantly fall on Justin, who is now standing next to his groomsmen. Fucking hell, he looks good. I was hoping he got fat.
“You okay?” Joey whispers and I nod, slowly turning in my seat so I can see the bridesmaids walk down the aisle. They’re all wearing peach-colored dresses that sweep along the floor with each step they take. I smile at the flower girl as she sprinkles petals along the path and settles up front with the rest of the party. The room is beautiful, everything in white and coral. Tall crystal cylinders line each row of chairs and small, lit votive candles float in the water they hold. Calla lilies are spread throughout the room in vases, on tables, and each bridesmaid clutches one. With the change of the music, the guests all rise to their feet and turn their heads toward the back of the room. My eyes meet Juls’ immediately as she stands by the door.
“You okay?” she mouths.
“Whatever,” I reply. She steps up and opens the double doors, allowing Sara to walk through with her father.
I spend the rest of the ceremony staring down into my lap at my fingers. They are freshly painted a deep plum color and I smile at the sight of frosting, which is smudged on my left ring finger knuckle. Popping it into my mouth and sucking, I moan softly at the sweet taste of sugar as Joey weeps like a baby next to me. To my surprise, I’m not emotional at all. Weddings usually turned me into a blubbering idiot, but today, at this particular wedding, I’m emotionless. I guess a part of me should feel a bit sad. Not because my ex-boyfriend is getting married to someone other than myself, but because I wasted two years of my life on a relationship that almost broke me, and seeing him again is a reminder of all that time wasted. An annoying reminder. Why the hell did I even stay with him for that long? It definitely wasn’t because of the sex. Sex with Justin was bland and boring. He never once brought me to orgasm. Not once. I would have to finish myself off after he rolled out of bed and stalked into the bathroom. Of course, I always let him believe he got me off. I had to give the guy something. Raising my head, I glare at his profile. You’re welcome, dick.
“And now it is with honor that I present to you, for the first time ever, Mr. and Mrs. Banks. You may now kiss the bride.” Everyone stands up and cheers and, of course, I follow suit. It would be rude not to, and I’m not bitter, so, whatever, I cheer. Justin and Sara share a lingering kiss and earn a few whistles from the audience. I feel Joey’s hand squeeze mine and I glance up into his big, blue eyes.
“I cannot wait to go drink my weight in booze,” I whisper to him.
He bends and presses his lips to my ear. “And I can’t wait to get my hands down the pants of this playa next to me. Maybe play a little just the tip.”
“Jesus. You would.” Everyone is watching the bride and groom walk down the aisle, but I’m lost in silly conversation with one of my closest friends. I’m giggling so hard that tears are starting to fill my eyes. And these will be the only tears shed from me today.
“Come on, Dylan, you know you want to slip off into a dark corner with your mystery man whose lap you accidently fell into. Maybe do a little something else in that lap of his.”
I raise my eyebrow and lean back, seeing piercing, green eyes flick to mine instantly. A small smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. Sweet Mother, he is gorgeous. I quickly lean forward and try to play it off, but fail miserably as a wicked grin smears across my face. “Hell yes, I do. I fucking love weddings.”