Chapter 2 #2
“Okay, can I have Roman and the best man, and then we’ll have Roman, Paisley and the best man and then we’ll do another with the maid of honour.
” Some guy shouted his orders out. For the next half an hour, we were used like performing monkeys, pushed from here to there as three other photographers clicked away. I’d had enough already.
In the middle of all the male photographers, there was one female.
She was small, not as small as Nikki, but her innocent face stood out; she wasn’t as confident as the others.
I could tell that from here. I stared at her for a second as she fiddled with her camera, well, until the other guy started shouting his orders again.
Her eyes met mine as she looked up, but she instantly looked away.
I took no more notice and let the photographers do their job.
The quicker they did that, the faster I could get a drink. I really needed one now.
I wasn’t sure how much more lovey-dovey shit I could take. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was the best man, I’d have bailed a while ago. But this was Roman, and I owed him way more than just sticking around here.
With one elbow placed on top of the bar, I pressed my back into the corner and sighed as I looked over the calibre of guests.
This wasn’t your everyday friends and family having fun and enjoying themselves at a family wedding; no, this was a case of networking with the rich and famous of Hollywood Hills.
His career had really taken off and I was proud of him.
Lifting my hand to the barman, he came over, “Double vodka with two ice cubes, please.” It hadn’t taken him long to make, and place it on the makeshift bar, I picked it straight up and took a large gulp, the ice numbing my lips as I drank.
When we moved here permanently, Roman hired me as his security/driver.
I did the more personal outings. Kevin wasn’t here all the time since he had a family back home, but he made it back for the big events Roman needed him for.
Like today. You could say that I took Kevin’s role.
Rhys is his main guy. It wasn’t surprising; the guy looked the part.
Broad shoulders, six feet plus and built like a brick shithouse.
His shaved head even made him look like a thug; he wasn’t.
Rhys was a good guy; he always had been.
Loyal, and had everyone’s back. Even mine when I’d fucked up over and over again.
As my gaze fell back on Roman and Paisley, I lifted the glass back to my lips.
His arm had been fixed around her waist all evening; she’d barely moved from his side.
She smiled and laughed at something he’d said, and between them sat her small, perfectly rounded bump as they mingled.
She was around six months gone now with their first baby.
As I drank my alcohol of choice, I wondered where all the single females were.
Weddings were usually filled with single women.
I scanned the room, but every woman I saw was hanging off the arm of some douchebag model or rich older guy.
How the fuck was I supposed to compete? More to the point, what had I got to offer?
Fuck, why was I thinking about that? I didn’t need a girlfriend or partner, that wasn’t me.
With a heavy huff, I turned back to the bar and gulped down the contents of my glass.
I needed something stronger. “Yo!” I called out to the barman at the other end.
He nodded my way as he was finishing up serving some other guy, so patiently, I waited.
As my arms rested on the bar, someone barrelled into me.
“What’s up, fuckface?” Nikki asked, knocking her hip into me.
The barman came over and Nikki jumped in first. “Tequila, please.” the barman glanced at me, not in the least bit sorry that he just gave in to the pretty redhead at my side.
“Make that two.” I said, and the barman turned to grab the bottle.
“Why don’t we make that four?” Nikki stated as a grin pulled at her mouth. Her shoulder brushed my arm as she leaned in.
“Is everything a competition?” I asked, smirking.
“No but why have one when we can double up.” The barman waited for confirmation, so I nodded.
He lined all the shot glasses on the bar, tipped the bottle and poured the tequila, it ran from the first glass to the last and he stood the bottle back up.
He seemed quite amused as he looked between us and grinned, leant his hands on the edge of the bar and watched as we picked up the first glass.
“Let’s go then.” We clinked the glasses, then knocked the first one back simultaneously.
Then following straight after, we necked the other one.
Nikki’s lips shone as the alcohol stuck to her lipstick.
Her tongue darted out, and fuck if it didn’t do things to my dick.
“Another round,” I said to the barman, “but make it six.”
“Now who’s being competitive?” Nikki said as her tongue rolled over her lips.
With the tequila gone from her lips, she captured her bottom lip between her teeth and smiled around it.
While the barman poured more tequila, I stared at her, I couldn’t help it.
Her red hair framed her fair, porcelain skin, and her green eyes stood out, glinting as the coloured lights hit them.
The barman drew my attention back to him as he set the glasses down and poured more tequila into them.
I quickly nodded at him and picked up two glasses with a smirk, and handed one off to Nikki.
She took it, smiling as she lifted it in a toast. “To our best friends?”
“Our best friends.” I agreed, and we tipped them back. In quick succession, we drank the other two each. Nikki cringed and shook her head as the last one went down. “Do I win? Did that tip you over the edge?” I grinned. I just wanted her to say that I’d won. I needed to hear those words.
Her eyes narrowed as she swallowed the alcohol, “Not in hell’s chance,” Her head shook again, “I just need a minute.” Her finger went up in front of her holding me off. She could wait a while, but then we’d carry on this little battle of shots, and I’d win. I wasn’t far off already.
As the time passed and we’d had two more shots, I knew she was done.
Her eyes glazed and her cheeks flushed bright red, she laughed at the stupidest little things I said while her body rested against me, and my back pressed against the wall.
Usually, she’d call me a dick and screw her nose up at me, but right now, I was the funniest guy on earth.
I looked at her perplexed. How can anyone go from the fiery vixen she was, to someone who hung off my every word after a few drinks.
I often wondered that, the power of alcohol, that’s what, but we were both to blame.
Nikki and I were toxic together. I knew that, and she knew that.
We’d never work. It was why we always ended up having sex when she was drunk. No inhibitions.
As she leant into me, I worked my arm around her, stroking my fingers up and down the open back of her bridesmaid dress. Her drunken gaze met mine, full of unrivalled desire, as she rested her cheek on my shoulder. “Why do we argue so much?” she sighed.
“We don’t just argue,” I said as I returned her stare, “we fuck too.”
She bit down on her lip again before her tongue rolled over them.
With her body so close, I could feel the change in her breathing; it got faster with every heartbeat as she pushed up onto her toes, her gaze collided with mine, as the emerald of her eyes turned murky, a seductive dirtiness.
Then her lips pressed to mine. What was I supposed to do but return her kiss?
I wrapped my other arm around her neck, pulled her closer and murmured against her lips. “Wanna get out of here?”
She leant back slightly, gasping, “Fuck, yeah I do.” I smiled. There she was again, my submissive pixie.
With my hand firmly wrapped around hers, I led her out of the marquee, bypassed everyone I knew, either personally or through Roman, and took her back to my room.
We crossed the grass, and up the cobbled path as quickly as we could.
But in Nikki’s drunken state and her high heels, she couldn’t walk fast enough.
She stopped me, held onto my arm to toe her heels off and bent to pick them up.
A wicked grin made its way to my lips, and she swiftly towed behind me.
There was no time to go slow, we entered the house and took the stairs quickly.
As we reached the top, she hitched her dress up her thighs and I heaved her up against my body, keeping my hands on her hips as she wound her legs around my waist. I smashed my lips to hers in a searing kiss, I was so impatient to be inside her I almost jogged down the hallway.
I couldn’t wait to have her wrapped around my dick again.
It had been too long.