I smiled. Asher and I had always gotten along. I took a minute to walk around the bar and give him a hug. As I he hugged me, I glanced over his shoulder in time to see Jackson glance my way and quickly avert his eyes. I caught a flash of annoyance in his eyes, his jaw tight. "Can we get three beers, please, Bailey," he whispered into my ear as he returned the hug.
"Sure thing." I quickly poured the three beers. "Ready for food yet?"
"We are still deciding." He smiled.
"All right, let me know." I smiled as I placed the three beers down in front of him. He picked up the glasses and carried them over to the guys.
"So I also wanted to know what you had planned for my bachelorette party?" Cara asked, grinning at me.
That was one thing I hadn't planned. I actually hadn't even thought of it yet. I ran a few ideas through my mind, quickly deciding that we would have it right here.
"I just thought we could come here, you know hang out, have some food and couple of drinks," I said, shrugging. "Maybe retire back to your place and watch some movies. Just keep it simple."
"Well it’s a start. You will have to talk with the other girls and get started. One thing, though. I asked Ryan not to have strippers, and I want the same, okay?"
I glanced over to where the guys were sitting. Jackson sat there talking and laughing. "No strippers?" I exclaimed. "No problem." I giggled.
I went back to loading glasses onto the clean trays and saw Cara looking up at me with a grin on her face.
"What?"
"Why don't you just go over there and talk to him?"
"I'm not interested," I answered matter of fact.
"Bullshit, you haven't taken your eyes off that table since they walked in here."
I always had to leave it to Cara to call me on my bullshit.
I shrugged. "Because I wouldn't even know what to say to him if I did."
Cara shook her head in disbelief. "Well, you better figure it out and soon. I can't have you two pouring off all this tension during the wedding."
I rolled my eyes as Asher's waving hand caught my attention. "There won't be any tension, I promise."
8
Jackson
I had been looking forwardto this night for an entire month. I'd figured we'd hit a strip joint, have some food and beer, perhaps play a few games of pool, but instead here we all sat in Ryan's living room playing games on the PlayStation.
As much as I really wanted this night to be about stress relief, I ended up getting roped into picking up the girls from the bachelorette party and getting them home safely if they needed a ride, which meant I had to stay sober. I looked around the kitchen. The table was littered with pizza boxes, crumpled napkins, and empty beer and pop cans.
A loud roar of laughter came from the living room as the guys completed another round of some racing game they'd been playing. Ryan stood in the corner of the kitchen loading up a plate of cold wings as I started collecting some of the empty cans.
"Really, this is all you wanted to do tonight?" I questioned.
Ryan chuckled. "Listen, I'm not putting myself into any type of situation that might mess up this wedding. Cara means the world to me."
"I never said you had to do anything to mess it up, but really, what is a bachelor party without some tits."
Ryan laughed at my comment. "Look, I'd die without Cara, and to be honest, with you, she asked me not to have strippers. I am just respecting her wishes."
"Always Mr. Respectful, huh. I call it pussy whipped." I coughed.
"Call it what you want. However, you are the one who isn't drinking tonight because a certain someone is out with the girls and may need a ride home. You're also standing there cleaning up the kitchen because you know Cara would flip a bird seeing this place like this."
I'd been burned by my best friend. I could play it up all I wanted that I was just doing my duty as the best man when Cara asked that I stay sober to make sure the girls got home okay, but I already knew the truth. The girls barely drank. Cara herself had already stated that she would probably remain sober the entire night. The truth was I was worried that Bailey may not. She'd always been a bit of a party animal.