Chapter 14 #2
“Since she doesn’t drink, she can make sure we control ourselves. If she thinks someone’s getting too drunk, she’ll hand you a water. And we all have to agree to drink it no matter what. Okay?”
Monica wanted to protest. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be the alcohol police, but when everyone immediately agreed, she supposed she didn’t have a choice.
“Don’t use all the margarita mix, Elodie,” Kenna added. “Make sure there’s enough so we can make Monica some virgin drinks.”
Once again, Monica was surprised. She assumed she’d just be drinking water all night. If anything, she figured the others might be a little annoyed that she wasn’t drinking with them. Instead, they were taking care to include her as much as possible. It felt good.
An hour later, there was a knock at the door. Kenna leaped up and shouted, “Food’s here!” before heading for the front foyer.
She returned to the room followed by four men, all carrying bags that looked like they were stuffed to the gills.
Robert had arranged to have anything and everything a group of women might want to eat sent up.
It was a smorgasbord of appetizers. Things they could snack on all evening whenever they got hungry.
There were eggrolls, wings, hummus and veggies, potato chips, deviled eggs, Hawaiian meatballs, pineapple salsa, fruit kabobs, luau Thai chicken, Japanese beef rolls, and, of course, malasadas for dessert.
After everyone had loaded up a plate, they all gathered on the balcony to watch the sun set and talk.
Monica had mostly been listening to the chatter between the women, but no one seemed to mind that she hadn’t joined in. And somehow her silence felt more comfortable now than it had at Duke’s.
Eventually, Elodie turned to her and asked, “So, were we right about Baker?”
Monica carefully chewed the bite she’d just taken, then swallowed before asking, “What about him?”
“About how hot he is.”
Everyone laughed, looking at Monica expectantly.
“Um…yes?”
“More, girl. We need more details,” Lexie cajoled.
“Wait. First…are you okay talking about him?” Kenna asked. “I mean, Aleck told me how you reacted when you saw his tattoo. The one that made you remember the guy you saw, who tried to hurt you.”
It was actually very kind of her to want to make sure she was okay talking about what had happened.
Once again, that warm feeling came over Monica.
“I’m okay. And yeah, I kind of had a panic attack when I realized the tattoo on his forearm was the same as the other guy’s.
If Stuart hadn’t been there, I probably would’ve run right into the ocean or something.
I wasn’t thinking about anything but getting away. ”
“I love how you call him Stuart,” Elodie sighed.
Ashlyn rolled her eyes. “That’s just because you call Mustang by his given name.”
Elodie shrugged. “Probably.”
“Hush, let Monica talk,” Kenna said.
Everyone turned to her once more, and Monica did her best not to feel uncomfortable about being in the spotlight. “I did trip over myself and fall on my ass before I tried to run,” she joked.
“I bet Pid was pissed,” Lexie said. “Not at you, but that you might have been hurt.”
Monica realized that while he’d been concerned, he had also been kind of mad too. She hadn’t realized it at the time, since she was focused on Baker’s tattoo…but Lexie was right. “He wasn’t happy,” she said after a moment.
“With our guys, that’s the understatement of the century,” Kenna said.
“So? Baker? He’s amazingly good-looking, right? And super intense at the same time?” Elodie asked.
Monica felt the urge to tease the woman, which wasn’t like her at all. “He was okay,” she said, as nonchalantly as she could.
“Are you kidding me? Only okay?” Lexie asked in disbelief. “With that silver in his hair? And that beard?”
“That was all right,” Monica said. “I was surprised to see he had some gray mixed in with his chest hair too.”
Four pairs of eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as the women stared at her.
Elodie found her voice first. “You saw his naked chest?” she asked.
“Yeah, he was surfing when we got there. He strode out of the water with his board under his arm and wearing nothing but a wet suit. Long sleeves, skin-tight, came down to right above his knees…” Monica drawled.
“Sweet Jesus,” Elodie breathed.
“Seriously?” Kenna asked.
“I really want to meet this man,” Ashlyn grumbled.
“Seriously,” Monica said. “Then he ever so slowly stripped it off. Peeling it down his arms and chest…which is when I got a good look at his tattoo.”
“He’s coming to your wedding, right?” Ashlyn asked Kenna.
She shrugged absently. “I hope so. He was invited.”
“Wow, so you almost saw him naked,” Lexie said.
Monica laughed and rolled her eyes. “Not really. I wasn’t actually paying attention after seeing that tattoo. Besides, I think Jody would’ve had something to say about it if I’d ogled him too much.”
“Who’s Jody?” Ashlyn asked.
“Her name is actually Jodelle, which is what Baker calls her. It’s almost swoon-worthy if you ask me, because she said everyone else calls her Jody.
I guess she hangs out at the beach and brings sandwiches and stuff to the younger surfers.
She kind of looks after them. And it was pretty obvious she and Baker like each other. ”
“Wait, is she super petite, in her forties or fifties, dark hair, and drives a brightly colored VW van?” Lexie asked.
Monica shrugged. “I didn’t see what kind of car she had, but yeah, the other stuff fits.”
“I saw her when we went up there,” Lexie explained. “I didn’t meet her, but Baker definitely made a beeline for her van when he saw her pull in.”
“So he’s into her?” Elodie asked.
“I would say so,” Monica confirmed.
“That’s so cool. I mean, he kinda strikes me as a loner,” Kenna said. “I can’t imagine him actually being in a relationship.”
“Yeah, he was an asshole to me at first,” Lexie said. “But he was looking out for Midas, so I understood after a while. But still.”
“But he’s nice to look at,” Elodie said. “Did you get a picture?”
Monica couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry, no. I was too busy having a panic attack to try to snap a pic without him knowing.”
Elodie sighed. “That’s okay. But I bet he was pretty amazing in that wet suit.”
“He might be in his fifties, but he definitely takes care of himself,” Monica agreed.
“I’m guessing all of the guys will probably look like that in twenty years,” Kenna said. “I can’t imagine any of them will just stop working out when they retire from the Navy.”
As talk turned to their men and what they might look like when they were in their fifties, and how it wasn’t fair that some men aged so much better than women, Monica stood and gathered up the plates.
She headed inside to the kitchen and decided, with the food everyone had eaten, it was safe to pour another round of drinks.
She brought the pitcher out to the balcony and was greeted by loud, happy whoops from the others.
Hours later, long after the sun had set, and after two more rounds of drinks, they were all inside sitting on the floor in the living room, playing Truth or Dare. Monica forgot who’d first suggested it, but she felt awkward not participating, so she’d joined in.
Elodie, Lexie, Kenna, and Ashlyn were definitely feeling no pain from the margaritas they’d been consuming all night.
They were giggly and in happy moods. Monica didn’t add to their talk about past boyfriends, and she listened with interest as Kenna babbled on about the plans that had been made for her wedding.
“Truth or dare?” Kenna asked Elodie.
“Truth,” she responded.
“How many orgasms did you have on your wedding night?” Kenna asked.
“You going to try to beat me?” Elodie asked.
“Maybe,” Kenna said with a smirk.
“Three,” Elodie said.
“Three?” Ashlyn said in obvious disbelief. “I call bullshit.”
“I’m serious,” Elodie said. “And that was only because we were tired.”
Everyone laughed.
“Your turn,” Kenna told Lexie.
Lexie looked around the room and finally pinned her gaze on Ashlyn. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” Ashlyn said firmly. “I have an idea what you guys will ask if I say truth.”
“You mean like what the hell is going on with you and Slate?” Elodie blurted.
Ashlyn blushed. “Yup. But since I picked dare, you can’t ask that.”
Monica wanted to laugh, but instead merely smiled.
“Fine. Dare, dare, dare…” Lexie muttered. “I dare you to send a picture of yourself to Slate right this second.”
“Juvenile,” Ashlyn said, but her cheeks got even more rosy than they’d been before.
“So you’re refusing?” Lexie asked. “You’ll lose.”
“Lose what?” Ashlyn asked.
“I don’t know. The game?” Lexie said.
“Oooh, that would be a tragedy,” Ashlyn said sarcastically.
“Come on,” Lexie whined.
“Fine. I’ll do it. Monica, you take the picture though since you’re the only one not drunk. And make me look good,” Ashlyn ordered.
Monica took her phone and nodded to say she was ready.
Ashlyn tilted her head, stuck her tongue out, rolled her eyes, and held up her hands in peace signs next to her face. Monica clicked the button, even though she was laughing so hard she could barely see. Everyone else had joined in as well.
“Oh, that’ll reel him in for sure,” Kenna joked.
Ashlyn merely smiled and took her phone back from Monica. She hit a few buttons and said, “There. Done.”
“Wait, I want to see what he says when he gets that,” Elodie said.
Everyone waited around in anticipation to see what Slate would send in response. Looking at her watch, Monica was surprised to see it was almost one in the morning. “Um, guys, he might not be awake. It’s late.”
“Holy crap, I had no idea it was past midnight,” Elodie said.
“What, do you usually turn into a pumpkin or something at twelve?” Kenna asked.
“No, I’m usually asleep by nine,” Elodie returned.
“You’re so lame,” Lexie teased.
“You aren’t any better, and you know it,” Elodie told her friend.