Something Forever
Page 11

“Love you, too, Nicole,” Kate said. “May you and Keith forever hold on to the happiness you both deserve.”
“Ditto,” I bellowed. Kate had taken the words out of my mouth.
“I can’t wait for you and Keith to finally get married,” Jenna said. “Only a month away.”
After we toasted, our limo driver blasted the music for us. We were headed to dinner to meet Nicole’s friends. “Whoo hoo!” Nicole shouted. “I’m going to get blasted tonight.” She gulped down her drink and asked for another. Nicole was good at holding her liquor, so I didn’t worry.
Jenna looked a little spacy, so I nudged her. “You okay?”
“Just a little nauseous. I hope it doesn’t get worse.” She took a few more sips of her drink. Poor Jenna, she’d hardly eaten during brunch. I knew it was worse than she was letting on; it was the way she was. She was worried that she would ruin the fun, so she was trying her best to hide how miserable she felt. I knew her best...Nicole and Kate had no clue.
“Look.” Jenna showed me her phone. It was a picture of Max with a frown face. He had sent her a picture of himself just like Matthew had done. I laughed out loud and showed Jenna the picture I’d gotten from Matthew.
“They’re having dinner together,” I told her, but she already knew that. “If you need to leave early, don’t be afraid to let me know. I can tell you’re not feeling well.”
Jenna took another sip and gave me a sideways hug. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll let you know if I can’t handle it. I could use a little distraction.” Jenna started laughing, shifting her eyes to Nicole and Kate. They were singing, moving to the beat of the music, and laughing like crazy. I couldn’t help but laugh, too.
“And people think I’m the loud one,” I said to Jenna.
“They just don’t know you like I do,” she replied.
Jenna was right. Not only did I get lucky in the “finding the right guy” department, I was lucky in the “finding a best friend” department. No one knew me the way Jenna did. I hoped I was just as good a friend to her.
Getting out of the limo was a trip. Nicole and Kate gave us a show, giggling and saying funny things that made no sense whatsoever. Jenna held onto Kate, while I held onto Nicole. Thank God I didn’t drink—I had my own reasons not to—because I couldn’t imagine Jenna taking care of the three of us.
Nicole’s friends were already waiting for us at Taos. I had heard of this place before. The ambiance was amazing, decorated with Asian culture items and fixtures. I felt like I was actually dining in one of the finest restaurants in China. Being that we were a large group, we were seated in the corner. Luckily, the space allowed us to have some privacy.
After the introduction and greetings, we ordered our food and held small conversations. Looking at Nicole, I saw that she was smiling and having a great time. I was so happy that everything was going as smoothly as planned. I was worried about how we would fit in with her other group of friends, but they were nice and friendly. It made the gathering that much more pleasant. Kate checked her phone now and then, most likely checking on Kristen.
After dinner, we all hopped back in our limo, including Nicole’s friends. I took a bunch of pictures with my cell phone. When one of Nicole’s friends took out stacks of dollar bills, we started laughing like crazy.
“I’m ready for tonight,” she said, fanning them in front of her.
Shoot! Bringing dollar bills hadn’t even crossed my mind. I knew Jenna didn’t bother to bring any, so I didn’t even ask. However, I was surprisingly wrong. Looking at me with the most innocent smile, she handed some to me. With my eyes practically popping out, my jaw on the floor, I couldn’t help myself...I laughed out loud.
Jenna shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t know if you’d brought any.”
“It didn’t cross my mind. I heard about it, but I figured tonight was for Nicole, not me. I can’t believe you went out of your way to get all of these dollar bills.”
“Actually, Max gave them to me.”
Unbelievable! “What? Seriously?”
Jenna let out a small chuckle. “He wanted me to think of him every time I used one.”
“Max, Max, Max.” I shook my head, but I loved it. He was possessive in ways you couldn’t get mad at him for. I was surprised Matthew hadn’t done the same thing.
By the time we passed through traffic, everyone except for Jenna and I were tipsy. Our group was loud as we stood in line, and we were even louder when we got inside.
It was crowded. I had never seen so many women in the same room all at once. When the show started, not only did loud music fill the air, but women’s screams and shouts for the men strutting along the stage echoed all around us.
It was hard not to stare at the muscular men with nicely defined pecs, grinding their hips and posing to the music. Women ran to the stage and looped their dollar bills around their G-string thongs. Some men came out as doctors, firemen, or businessmen, but fully clothed. They would slowly strip their way down to their very toned asses.
One of the strippers went directly to Nicole and tossed her plastic wedding veil off her head. Laying her down on the table, he pretended to be f**king her. It happened so fast, but we were spellbound by him...we didn’t know what the heck was going on. Oh my God! He seemed to make women around him want to drop their panties.
I had to admit, he was beautiful. With a toned body and ripped muscles that would be found on a perfect man, he was the complete package. Lifting Nicole’s hand, he placed it on his chest and ran her hand down to his thigh. I swear I thought I heard Nicole whimper and gasp hard. She was going to dream of this tonight...if she was sober enough.