Chapter 23
Rhonan
Dick Piercings & Realizations
“Jesus, do you think the music could be any louder in here?”
Henley leans his mouth next to my ear. “Your old age is showing.”
I push his shoulder and follow him deeper into the club.
We just finished one of the best sushi dinners I’ve ever had, and now our group is walking through the main floor of Tonic, a nightclub in downtown Charlotte, to keep the bachelor party going.
The reviews for this place were insane, and Fletcher agreed it would be a great place to kick back with everyone, so I made the reservations months ago.
They’re also going to set up poker and blackjack tables for us to play in lieu of dancing.
Guys from Fletcher’s NFL team are flanking us as we walk through the crowd to the VIP area roped off for our party, and I’ve never felt so small.
I’m not a tiny man by any means, standing just over six foot and proud of the physique I’ve carved over the years. But being near a group of professional football players is making me feel like I would be the last guy in this crowd to be picked to play on the team.
Elliot comes up behind us, walking bow-legged still. I noticed something was off with him earlier, but I didn’t think too much of it. However, now that I have time to study him, I can definitely tell that his gait is not normal.
“Why are you walking like you have a fucking stick up your ass?” I ask as we pass through the ropes and everyone starts picking which booths they want to sit in.
Henley turns back to the two of us. “Well, according to my sister, Elliot does have a stick shoved up there, so...”
Elliot flips him off. “Fuck you and your sister.”
“I’m gonna tell her that you said that.”
“I don’t fucking care. Tell her I got the stick from her broom closet.” Elliot carefully slides into the booth in the corner before turning back to me. “For your information, it’s not my ass that’s making me uncomfortable right now, it’s my dick.”
Henley’s lips curl up in disgust. “Fucking gross. You have an STD or something?”
“No. I got my dick pierced.”
I freeze before taking my seat next to him. “Are you fucking serious?”
“I told you I was going to do it, and since none of you would go with me, I went by myself. One of the tattoo artists held my fucking hand.”
I wince. “You really let some dude stick a needle through your dick?”
“It was a chick who did the piercing, but yeah.”
Henley shakes his head, his mouth still turned up like he’s in pain for our friend as he slides in the booth next to me, our knees knocking since Elliot is spread out as much as he can. “I hope to God Elodie never leaves me if dick piercings are the new thing to do after a relationship ends.”
Elliot flips off Henley again just as Fletcher comes over and takes a seat next to Henley. “What’s going on? Why does Elliot look like he needs to take a shit?”
“I got my fucking dick pierced!” Elliot shouts loud enough for the entire room to hear. Some of the guys clap for him, others wince and ask him what the fuck he did that for.
Fletcher peers back at Elliot from across the table. “The consensus is that you’re nuts.”
“Did you get your nuts pierced too?” Henley asks through a laugh.
“No, just an apadravya piercing.”
“What the fuck is that?” Fletcher asks.
Elliot reaches for one of the glasses of water that had been placed on the table before we arrived. “Look it up.”
“Fuck no. I don’t need to see other guy’s dicks.”
“Did it hurt?” Henley adds.
Elliot shrugs. “Honestly, the healing is worse than the piercing. But I’ll be back up and running in a few weeks.”
“I thought your dick was broken,” I chime in.
Elliot glares at me. “My dick is not broken. And the next woman I take to bed is going to appreciate what I went through for her pleasure and mine.”
“I heard ribbed condoms are supposed to help with that,” Henley says, laughing still.
Fletcher high fives him but Elliot grows serious. “You just keep cracking your jokes, but once the girls find out what I did, don’t come crying to me when they start asking you to do the same.”
Fletcher and Henley’s smiles fall instantly. “Why would the girls find out?”
“Because you fuckers are gonna go home and tell them like you do everything else.” Elliot tosses his thumb in my direction. “You did it with Rhonan and Vienna’s situation.”
“Yeah, well I’m sure as fuck not going to tell Vienna about this because there will be no needles coming in contact with my penis. Ever,” I say.
Fletcher nods in agreement. “Same here.”
Henley contemplates his answer. “No, I’m good.”
“Speaking of Vienna, you never told us about your date,” Fletcher cuts in as Elliot and Henley turn their attention to me.
I bring my glass of water to my lips as I see the waitress headed in our direction for our drink order. “Was I supposed to?”
Henley slaps the table in front of him. “Hell yeah, you were. Come on, you finally made a move and we wanna know how it went. Your little display at yoga night was top notch, my friend, so I’m sure the date went well.”
Narrowing my eyes at him, I debate how much I want to share with these guys. But at the same time, for once, I’m really fucking happy and, even though I don’t want to admit it, it’s in large part due to their encouragement.
“It was perfect,” I start just as the waitress arrives at our table. We place our drink orders, then Fletcher nods for me to continue. “I took her to Pete’s. The food was incredible and…” I push a hand through my hair. “I told her everything about my past—my mom, Sarah, the Marines…”
Henley grows serious. “Shit, Rhonan.”
“I know.” Blowing out a breath, I continue. “Then we went back to my place and watched a movie.”
Elliot’s brows draw together. “A movie? Is your dick broken?”
It’s my turn to flip him off. “Not even a little. But it was important to her, and fuck. I forgot how much I’ve missed having someone to do something so trivial with, you know?”
Fletcher nods. “I get it. The nights when Laney and I hang out at home and watch tv, or cook dinner together are the best moments, in my opinion.”
“After dinner when Elodie and I play with Remy in her room is my favorite part of the fucking day,” Henley interjects, followed by a groan. “Fuck, I miss my girls.”
I lock eyes with Fletcher. “I know this is your bachelor party and all, but I really wish I was back at home with Ellis and Vienna right now, man. I really fucking do.”
Our drinks arrive and Elliot takes his from the waitress before she can even place it on the table. “Apparently, I didn’t start drinking early enough in the evening for all of the lovesick puppy talk. I thought this was supposed to be a bachelor party?”
Fletcher kicks Elliot under the table. “Look, I’m sorry.
I know you wish things had worked out differently for you, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t get a second chance at happiness.
” He flicks his chin in my direction. “I mean, hell. Look at Rhonan. He never thought he’d want to build a life with someone else after Sarah, and then he met Vienna. ”
I smile at the mention of her name again, but the ache in my chest intensifies because I meant what I said. I wish I were back at home with her and my daughter.
My girls.
Elliot snorts. “So you’re telling me I have another five years of listening to you three drone on about how happy you are?” He shakes his head and drains half of his whiskey. “No thank you.”
I slap him on the shoulder. “Don’t shut yourself off to it, man. Trust me. It took me far too long to see what was in front of me the second I met her.”
He eyes me curiously from the side. “So you told her about your past, but did she tell you about hers?”
“Yeah.”
“Everything?” he presses.
“What do you mean, everything?”
Elliot shakes his head and brings his glass back to his lips. “Never mind.”
I pull his glass down before he can drink. “Look, I know you were fucked over, but that doesn’t mean everyone will be. Vienna is incredible. She’s fucking made my whole life feel lighter, man.”
Elliot sighs. “Trust me. I know you’re happy. I’m just trying to look out for you. Pretty sure you’re the one who wanted to do a background check on Tori, and I told you not to. If I would have listened to you, I probably could have spared myself some bullshit and embarrassment.”
“Vienna hasn’t given me a reason not to trust her, though.”
“Wait. Are you telling me that you haven’t done a background check on her?” Henley asks.
And that’s when it hits me.
I haven’t.
It honestly didn’t even cross my mind because our connection from the beginning hasn’t made me think straight exactly. I’m usually the first to suggest such a thing, given that I work in law enforcement.
“No,” I answer honestly, but now that Henley is bringing this up, perhaps I’ve been letting my dick lead the show with rose-colored glasses. I turn my attention back to Elliot. “But now you’re making me wonder if I should.”
He puts his hands up. “I shouldn’t have even fucking said anything. I just want to make sure that you’re getting the whole story from her. That’s all.”
My pulse is pounding in my ears, fueling this desire to go home even more now to see her.
Fuck. Have I been blinded by this woman?
Am I missing something?
My gut is telling me no, but my head?
That fucker likes to stir shit up, and apparently, so do my friends.
***
“What’s with the look?” Daniel asks Chief Banks as we sit in the debriefing room before shift changes. And even though our boss always has a crinkle in his brow, this one’s a little deeper than normal.
The chief hoists his pants up on his waist, surveying the room. I’m at my usual seat in the back, waiting to hear what he has to say.
“I’ve been getting a few calls from people around town—Mrs. Higgins, Ned down at the hardware store, and even Carolina at the bakery has mentioned this.”
Jake sits up taller in his chair. “What’s going on?”