Chapter 44

forty-four

River

Weekend of May 5th

We're headed to Atlantic City as a group today and there are SUVs lining The Featherweight's parking lot as everyone brings their duffles and small suitcases to load into vehicles.

Nessa and Seth are both checking through a bunch of bags, which can only be trouble.

"River of Dreams," Mateo shouts as he heads over to give me a high five. "My man, what is up, co-best?"

"Have a moment to take me to see your latest improvements?" He nods towards the back, and we start to make our way around the building together.

"Okay, so what's the plan for the weekend? I swear I just saw Nessa and Seth with some body part-looking items and as much as I love to see some boobies," he snickers, "I really, really cannot go to a strip club with my baby sister. Please tell me you got Lily to make an agenda that splits us up a bit? I know it could be fun for you two to be someplace so horny together, but you've got my back, right?"

I give a nervous laugh and confirm, "No joint plans for strip clubs. First, we are supposed to get the suites set up. There are three, one for the guys and two for the girls. Nessa said she is decorating. She insisted guys do this wrong and purchased a bunch of stuff like ‘last fling before the ring' for us too. Tonight we're supposed to have a big group dinner at one of the best steakhouses in the area once Stef and Lee arrive. Then it's either poker, black jack, or dancing at the club."

So far Mateo is on board. Good, I don't need to deal with a late arriving family member stirring up trouble.

I continue, "Tomorrow, we have a Lee-focused morning: brunch in the two connecting suites with a bacon bar, followed by some sort of painting class the girls organized. I'm pretty sure anyone who doesn't want to join Lee for this will be welcome to head to the pool or nap or whatever."

"The second night will be more of the same: dinner out, gamble, dance, drink. Lee doesn't really want to do strippers so unless there's a big demand," I hedge.

Mateo interrupts sharply, "Oh good, I barely want to think about him with my baby sister." He makes one of those shuddering faces that imply he's reminded his "baby" sister is a full grown adult woman who lives with a man, is marrying him, and most certainly is not celibate.

Lightly punching at his bicep, I remind him, "Matty, come on. Stef's a grown ass woman. Lee is a good match for her and she's giving you a brother. Focus on him having fun."

"Cool, cool, cool. Then we head back?" Mateos face flashes a hint of embarrassment, like he didn't know who I expected him to be or which version of himself he wanted to be here.

"Yeah, sleep in, grab food, and head home. You going back to the city? Need us to drop you at a train?"

Spinning Tesla keys around his finger he says, "Nope, I'll be expected by Susan Santos Manolo to be present for Sunday dinner so I'm with the crew for the duration."

Giving a conspiratorial glance, he then leans in to ask, "What's everyone else's deal? Delia? Nessa? Seth? Who is seeing someone? Who is going to bed early and who is down to drink all night? Any good wing-men or wing-women other than you in this crowd?" He flashes me his winning grin, the one that allows him to be seen as charming when asking these sorts of questions.

"Umm," it takes a moment but I recover with, "well, we all know Nessa is always down for just about anything, so she'll probably wing-woman you no problem. Seth will likely dip out and read or he'll be super drunk and start to lecture us all. That one is a jump ball. Delia, I'm not sure what's going on with her, something has been a bit different since her time in London, so your guess is as good as mine. Then, the rest of the party are your cousins. So you tell me?"

With one of those airy grins that come with a laugh as though he understands and also knows nothing at the same time, he says, "Cooooool, good tips."

Nessa is covering the common spaces with boobs and dicks. I have never seen so many boob-related things: sparkling nipple tassles, pin the nipple on the tit, all in every color you can think of a human or alien skin being.

Delia and I were shoe-ins to run meals and in-room drinks. Harry, Mom's favorite distributor, even tossed in some extras for free. After the bars and decor are set up, we all lounge with sports and movies on and graze on snacks. Once the guests of honor arrive, dinner and gambling go smoothly. I wish I had bet Mateo on Seth's choice of activity, because he digs into his jeans pocket and produces a thin novel. We lose him, then find him again, sipping free beers while reading at a slot machine. To keep the free drinks coming, he'll drop in a coin every so often.

Lily went with Stef and the other women to dance nearby. As much as I want to go find her and be the one she's grinding against, I also am exhausted from trying to run point across all these moving parts.

My chip pile is shrinking as Mateo, Lee, and I continue to sit at this poker table. Looking down at my hand, I toss the cards down. "Folding, gotta cash out for tonight, boys." I clap Mateo on the shoulder and nod to Lee.

When I check on Seth, he's happy to dip out now. "It's probably good for the future-brothers to bond a little, you know?" Seth shrugs and follows me towards the room. I just hope Mateo remembers his sister and her fiancé are both public school employees. I grab my phone and shoot a quick text.

Groomsmen

River:

Mateo, cover some of Lee's bets. He's a middle school teacher

Mateo:

salute emoji

I make a mental note to check in with him tomorrow on that one as we head up and crash. A few hours later, I smell the faint waft of cigarettes and a pungent citrus and smoke aroma. Ugh, tequila drunk , and rolling over I can feel her cooled sweat on her back. I nudge Lily towards the glass of water on her nightstand and encourage her to drink it. Once I know she's sleeping safely, I drift in and out of restless sleep. I really hate bachelor parties. Also, I still haven't told her about the night of Grant's bachelor party. The thought haunts my dreams all night long.

"Rise and shine, sweetheart," I whisper as I hand an electrolyte drink, Advil, and prescription bottles to Lily. She groans, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and stares.

"I never drink like this, I didn't feel it… why?"

"Side effects," I shrug. She's looking at me slack jawed, I think it's just the hangover, but I press on, "Your medicine, it makes it harder to feel drunk, and it'll make you feel a bit better this morning. Drink the full glass too, darling." I give her a kiss and a wink. "I'm goin' to handle the food. Come get something to eat soon, okay?"

Slowly, folks trickle into the open common spaces where we opened the adjoining doors to make it easy to go between the spaces. There's coffee, mimosas, and a few random extras scattered on my counter, while Delia has really outdone herself next door. Pancake trays, plural. Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese and other toppings lining the front of the sterno tray. There are crackling sounds, and the distinct scent of bacon and Taylor Ham waft through the air. Some sit ready to serve, on layers of paper towels, and even more wait for its turn on the electric skillet she's using.

How did these girls drink that much and still put out a full spread? There are berries and mint and yogurts too, all inside a tray of ice!

My eyes are bulging. I'm salivating when Delia says, "Boss, you act like you haven't seen catering pre-work done before, what is going on with you?"

Taking a long, hearty sip from my mug, I scoff at Delia. "I think it's called a hangover, Shane. You heard of it? But, seriously, nice prep work here. I'm thoroughly impressed."

One look around the room and it's clear: Nessa has mirrored the rainbow tits with rainbow sparkly dick items. There is even a large glittery banner reading ‘Same Penis Forever' hanging up. On my second pass, I realize hangover wise we're all in a similar boat, except for Nessa. I need to keep an eye out tonight. What is her deal?

Nessa lets out a clap and shriek that is way too loud and energetic for how we're all looking, then hurries Lee and Stef into chairs facing back to back.

"Welcome to our first game of the weekend. I've handed our lovely couple each a pair of boxers and a piece of lingerie." She gestures wildly towards them as if we can't tell.

"I'll ask a question like, who is better at school? Then they'd both raise up Stef's panties, since we know it's her. Since they are back to back, we can see how they answer but they can't!" She lets out a laugh that teeters between evil and self-entertaining.

Affecting a gameshow host voice extra thick she wraps up with, "Now, let's see if they're truly on the same page. Our perfect couple, Stef and Lee."

There are groans and half-hearted yay's coming from around the room. Still, everyone fills plates and circles the couple.

Lily drops between my feet on the floor with her back against the firm base of the couch. She leans her head on my knee and downs her first cup of coffee then quickly starts on a second mug. Spearing some strawberries and pancakes onto her fork, she eats the giant bite and turns towards me with a toothless grin before resting her head again.

"Okay, people, people," our master of ceremonies commands.

Mateo enters, sees his sister holding a lace bodysuit, and groans into his coffee asking, "Isn't this supposed to be done with, like, shoes or signs? Do I have to look at her holding that?"

At which point, Lee swings the tiny black leather thong Nessa handed him overhead like a lasso.

Mateo chokes on his coffee. "I'll be right back," he grumbles before returning with a coffee that I'm betting is way more Irish than coffee.

"I didn't take you for one to care about your sister's relationships like this, Mateo. You know all those chicks you pick up in the city have their own big brothers, uncles, and dads who feel like that about you too," Delia taunts him.

He just shakes his head again, swallows another swig of his whiskey coffee mix, and then tosses blueberries in the air before catching them with his mouth. "Whatever," is all he replies back, softly and with a little less feeling than expected for the brother bear act he just had going.

"Alright! I'm going to keep this one simple to start. Who has the bigger family?" Emcee Nessa begins and both raise the lingerie, and Mateo raises his glass in cheers to Stef.

"That was too easy, okay, then who studied harder in school?"

Again, the lingerie is twirling in the air from both of them, before Lee interjects, "To be fair, more of my classes involved creating something than studying, so she was going to win. I think I worked a lot more. Painting on a time crunch is not easy."

"Great advice for later, Lee. Back to our questions," Nessa dismisses his caveats, and now she adds a suggestive tone to her voice, "Who is more adventurous?"

At this question, Mateo puts a hand on my shoulder and lets me know he's going to power nap. I watch him roll the pancake into a tiny spiral and eat it in one giant bite before slinking back to our side and hearing the door click shut. Nessa is laughing as she looks at the couple who each selected the other for this one.

"Okay, lightning round! Going to go faster now!" She's clearly having the time of her life, and continues to push the game forward: who kissed who first? Who is the better kisser? Who made the first move past kissing? Who is kinkier? Who is usually on..." her question, which I assume ended in on top, is interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Ohhh, they're here, yay!"

In walks three people from the painting class she told us we'd be doing for Lee.

"Amazing, welcome, welcome, you must be Seraphine," Nessa says to the blue-and-pink tipped haired woman.

"I am, you must be Nessa, is there a dedicated space for us?" As Nessa leads them through the double doors over to our suite, Stef giggles and blushes a little. Lee collects all of the garments from them both and moves to bring them to the king room they're sharing. The group spends the next half hour just lounging as different people meander through finishing the different trays of food, cleaning as we go.

Seth has gone back to his book, the cousins went to nap, and Delia is wiping down counters in the kitchenette.

Lily fell asleep sitting up, her head on my thigh and her jaw slack, it's hard to not find her both adorable and incredibly sexy right now. I reach down, scooping my arms through her armpits and pull her close. With one hand smoothing her hair back towards her messy bun, I settle her onto my lap with her head on my chest. I would hold her like this, surrounded by all our favorite people, forever.

There is a nagging voice in the back of my head; the reminder that I owe her the truth about that other bachelor party. Then she nuzzles her cheek further into my chest, listening closely to my heart beat and I think when we get home from this trip.