Chapter 40
Reese
Just stepping into the room makes my stomach churn.
Every single Las Vegas bachelor party stereotype exists within the walls of this 2000 square-foot penthouse suite. From the tacky condom-balloons taped to the walls to the multi-colored bras hanging like streamers from the ceiling to the loud rock and roll music blaring through the room. Of course, let’s not forget the drunken adult males who mysteriously morphed into douchey fratboys the minute they rolled unto the Vegas Strip and the shameless ‘dancers’ who apparently bought their outfits on sale in the toy department at JC Penney’s.
I get a sinking feeling in my stomach as Nova drags me through the room, elbowing idiots out of the way. From what Sophia has told us, the invitees of this rather classy event are mainly guys that Josh went to college with. The rest are fellows from around Copper Heights.
My disgust swells further when I spot my brother in the middle of it all, slouching in a chair with his head back while a nearly naked stripper does the bunny wiggle in his lap.
I barely avoid getting my eye jabbed out when a huge silicone dildo goes flying past my head. Thankfully, I was shielded when the identified flying object got stuck in Nova’s bushy hair instead. And I’ll tell you, she’s not happy. She gives the offender a piece of her mind, flipping him off as we march over to Charlie and his companion. Nova gives him a hard poke in the shoulder. “Hey, you!” she shouts roughly, her voice clashing with the noise of the music. “We need a word with you!”
The purple-haired girl humping my brother’s leg squints up at us and giggles. “Is this your bride-to-be?” She grinds harder, obviously taking joy in the idea of being a homewrecker.
My best friend glares. “No, you vile bitch—I’m not this degenerate’s bride-to-be!”
“Hey!” the stripper shouts, jumping to her feet so fast that the contents of her plastic champagne glass slosh over the side, covering the toe of Nova’s shoe.
Charlie cranes his neck in Nova’s direction but his body stays stiff in place. “Hey, watch your mouth there, firecracker. I’m not exactly in a position to protect your ass tonight.” He wiggles his arms and that’s when I notice that they’re handcuffed to his chair.
I throw my head back and groan. “You are such an idiot, Charles!”
His attention snaps in my direction and he’s only now realizing that I’m standing here. “What the hell, Reese? Why are you two crashing our party?”
I ignore his line of questioning smack him in the back of the head. This is my one shot at revenge against him for all the times he’s poked fun at me—he’s half-drunk and chained to a chair—and by god, I’m going to take advantage.
He’s even more pissed now. “What the ever-living-fuck are you two doing here?!” he shrieks, fighting against his restraints.
Nova stomps her cocktail-covered foot. “We’re here to speak to Joshua,” she announces.
“Yeah,” I pipe in. “Sophia’s our best friend and Josh is a shifty asshole. We’re here to give him a warning.”
Nova’s head bobs in agreement. “We absolutely, positively would cut a bitch if he did anything out of line tonight. He’s marrying our friend tomorrow so he needs to know that his bachelor party does not give him license to act like a fuck-boy ass-hat tonight.”
I lean close and speak menacingly. “Yeh! What she said!”
Coming here tonight was my idea. I’ll own it. After the way Leo flipped into emotional withdrawal mode, leaving me sad and shattered, I’m rightly distrustful of the male faction of our populus. All men are looking a little snakish to me these days and I just want to guard my friend against the heartache that I’m living.
“Look—you two have nothing to worry about,” Charlie assures us. “I saw him a few minutes ago and he was fine. A little jittery but nothing out of the ordinary. The ceremony will go off without a hitch tomorrow and Sophia will get her fairytale ending.”
“I need to hear him say it,” Nova insists.
He sighs in frustration. “I’ll pass the message along,” he promises us. “Now, will you two please get the hell out of here? Before you see things you can’t un-see.”
Nova and I exchange a look. We hadn’t foreseen this level of debauchery when we came in here to speak to Josh. I mean, there’s a guy in a speedo tied to a mechanical bull while different women take turns riding him. That can’t possibly end well.
Charlie speaks up again. “I’ll make sure that Joshie Bear is a good boy tonight. I swear.”
“Fine,” I say. I loop my arm through Nova’s.
She gives Charlie one last glare. “When the hell will you grow up, you scoundrel? I can’t believe you’re 28.”
A strange look passes over her face. True disappointment, not just that playful mutual taunting that they’re always up to. As she spins on her heel, embarrassment flickers over my brother’s features for just a moment. Weird. It vanishes when the stripper plops back into his lap.
"You look so young for 28,” the airhead muses. “Look at your skin! You're gonna age well!" She gives him a reassuring wink.
"Thanks," he mumbles, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Now, take off your bra."
I hear Nova growl behind me, disgust lacing her tone. “Are you coming or what?” she barks at me.
The room roars as a Kid Rock song comes on. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”