29. Dakota

"So, as she's lying there, the husband has the nerve to ask the doctor if he can put in a ‘husband stitch'." Liv was regaling us with some of the more outrageous stories from working as a labor and delivery nurse.

Every mother seated around the high-top table at the bar we'd found ourselves in after dinner groaned. I wasn't sure what a husband stitch was, but I was betting it wasn't good.

Liv continued, "No joke. The doctor—a male doctor, I might add—looks this joker dead in the eye and, with a straight face, gives him the recommendation for a surgeon who specializes in penile enlargements if he's concerned about the fit postpartum."

The laughs torn from our throats were so loud they rose over the music, and every person in the bar turned to stare at us. Tears sprang to my eyes, and I wiped them away furiously.

Wheezing, Liv slapped the table. "You have no idea how hard it was to keep a straight face when he said that, and the dad's jaw dropped. He really thought the doc was gonna do him a solid."

Natalie smirked, swaying to the music in her seat. "The first time I met this one"—she threw a thumb in my direction—"Jaxon made it crystal clear how unnecessary an extra stitch would be."

"Oh my God," I groaned, covering my flaming face. "I almost forgot about that." Nudging Braxton's sister-in-law with my shoulder, I teased her back. "As appalled as you were at Jaxon for sharing that info, you gave Braxton and me extremely graphic details about how wide everything was stretched out when you had Max." My nose wrinkled at the memory, and I wondered if maybe all doped up, she had exaggerated a touch.

Eyes flying wide, she gasped. "No, I didn't!"

"Oh, you so did." I nodded in confirmation.

Hugging me around the shoulders, she sighed. "Oh, poor Braxton."

Sliding out of her embrace, I widened my eyes. "Poor Braxton? Poor me!"

Hannah visibly shuddered on my other side. "Okay, that's enough. I cannot believe we are discussing my worst-nightmare scenarios during my bachelorette party. You guys used to be fun! What the hell happened?"

"We became moms." Lucy shrugged.

Gesturing wildly around the room, Hannah demanded, "Look around you! The kids aren't here! Forget about them for one freaking night! I'm begging you."

Natalie grumbled, "Not so easy to forget them when I'll be up half the night pumping and dumping after how much I've had to drink. Right, Amy?" She turned to the only redhead of the group.

Amy's eyes shifted, and she swallowed. "Uh, yeah. Right."

Hannah halted everything. "Wait a minute, what the hell was that?"

"Nothing?" Amy avoided her gaze.

Circling her finger in Amy's face, she challenged, "Oh, no. It was something, all right. I've known you more than half your life, and you're the worst liar I know. Which works out pretty well for you because I can count the number of times you've lied in all that time on one hand." Hannah went silent for a moment, studying Amy, then her eyes flew wide, and she gasped, mouth hanging open before she recovered enough to say, "No way!"

Liv seemed as lost as me, so I asked her, "What just happened?"

She shook her head. "No clue, but I have a feeling we're about to find out."

Hannah placed both hands on the table to steady herself. "Are you're telling me that strait-laced Liam is sucking the milk out of those titties tonight?"

Natalie's head whipped to the side as she gawked at Amy. "No. Tell me that's not true."

Amy simply hung her head, and the rest of the girls started squealing. This might be hands down the most ridiculous bachelorette party I would ever attend, and I was loving every second of it.

There were clearly no secrets between these women; if there were, it wasn't long before they were exposed. But at the same time, there was zero judgment. That was the best part about their dynamic.

Hannah slung an arm around my shoulder as she held a hand up, silencing the table. "Ladies, it's only fair we defer to the expert here."

"Who, me?" I pointed to my chest.

"Yes, you. I can only imagine in your research, you've uncovered all manner of fetishes and kinks that people enjoy. Does that"—she waved her hand in front of Amy's cleavage—"really get people off?"

Folding my lips, I tried so hard to bite back a smile. With every eye trained on me, I released a breath. "No comment."

The ladies went wild once more as Amy's cheeks turned so pink it was noticeable even in the dim lighting.

Hannah struggled to breathe, forcing out between gasps of air, "The only thing. That would make this better. Would be if. You've started. Calling him. Daddy!"

That's when I lost it, placing my forehead on the sticky table as I laughed until my sides were sore.

Lucy recovered enough to muse, "This would be so much better if you weren't married to my brother."

"Cheers." Natalie's voice reached my ears, accompanied by the sound of glasses being slammed together.

Sucking in deep breaths of air, I finally raised my head. Feeling bad for Amy, I changed the subject, raising my drink. "To Hannah! She's getting married!"

"Hells yes!" She jumped up and down in her seat. The silver lettering of the sash she wore, reading, I'm the Bride, Bitch, caught in the overhead lighting with her movement.

All six of our glasses connected over the middle of the table as we toasted the bride-to-be.

Natalie peered at me over the edge of her cocktail. "And then there was one."

Uh oh. Somehow, I'd found my way onto the hot seat.

She declared, "Those Slate boys know what they want. Won't be long before it's your turn."

"Oh, I don't know." I busied myself playing with a napkin.

"We all fought it. Some more than others." She nudged Lucy, who smiled. "But it feels sooooo good when you finally give in."

Lucy confirmed, "It's true."

I sighed. "It just seems . . . a little fast, don't you think? We've only been dating for a little over three months. And we're still so young." I was throwing out excuses, not ready to share that Braxton already had our entire future planned out in his head.

A determined gleam entered Natalie's chocolate brown eyes, and she glanced at her ladies. "We're going to go around the table, and everyone will share how long it was between when they started dating their spouse and when they married them. It's time to prove to Dakota that the timing doesn't matter. When you find the one, you know, and there's no point in wasting any more time." She placed a hand on her chest. "I'll go first." But when she opened her mouth to speak again, she paused. "Hmm. This could be tricky."

Hannah showed her best friend no mercy. "Why? Because he knocked you up before you dated him?"

Natalie cringed. "A little bit." She blew out a breath so heavy it lifted her blonde bangs. "Okay, well, we can play this both ways, then. Either will work for our purposes. If we are going from when we conceived Charlie to when we were married, it was just shy of a year. If we are going from when we mutually decided to embark on a relationship, it was six months."

Amy went next. "Not sure mine technically counts since it wasn't real at the start, but from the time between Liam proposing and us getting married, it was two weeks? Give or take." She held up a finger. "Now, he did propose a second time, and we got formally remarried, and that time gap was eleven months, I think?"

"Mine was strange too," Lucy remarked. "Considering we were forced into a courtship and engagement. But from when we developed feelings? Less than eight months."

"It would seem we are all a little unorthodox." Liv chuckled. "Can't really count our first go around since we spent so much time apart. And having no intention of getting married, I will count what he did the other night as a public declaration of our commitment to each other."

She was referring to the game a few nights before our trip, where Benji had surprised her by changing his last name to hers, which their son also shared. It was a super sweet moment, and the crowd had eaten it up.

"That makes it seven months for us, then," Liv said.

Hannah's laughter rose over the music. "You know what they say, saving the best for last! Cal and I went exclusive last December, but it wasn't until this trip last year that we defined our relationship. So, a year. The longest of anyone yet. However, I do win shortest engagement." She pointed at Amy. "Didn't think anyone would beat you on that one, did you?"

Amy's brilliant green eyes sparkled with love for her best friend. "If there's anyone I have to hand that crown over to, I'm glad it's you."

Smirking, Hannah shot back, "I see what you did there with the crown reference. Very clever, Ames."

"So," Natalie interjected. "As you can see, everyone at this table is either happily married or firmly committed to their partner. Sure, we all got there in different ways, but the point is that when you find that person, the one that completes you in ways you didn't even know you needed, the timeline doesn't matter. Do what makes you both happy. And I've never seen Braxton so relaxed and carefree. You light up his world and ease the burdens that weigh on him."

Blushing, I ducked my head. "He makes me pretty happy too."

Grabbing my hand, she squeezed. "Then focus on that and trust everything will happen when it's meant to. Took me too long to realize that myself."

Hannah was restless, shifting in her seat and whining, "Can we be done with the mushy stuff for a while? Please? This is my last night as a single woman, and I fully intend to enjoy it!" She glared at her companions. "I'm still upset we couldn't find a male strip club on this island!"

Lucy smirked. "Who needs a strip club? We've got six guys wrapped around our fingers. Guaranteed, each of us will get a private strip show tonight."

Hannah chewed on her lip, considering that fact, and nodded sharply. "You know what? You're right." Pushing off her chair, a wicked grin curved on her face. "I'm off to find a random to dance with. Cal catches a glimpse of that, and he'll fuck me into next week. Shit, maybe if I'm lucky, I'll have a limp when I walk down the aisle tomorrow."

Liv called out to her back, "How do you know he's coming?"

Peeking over her shoulder, she winked. "Oh, he'll be here. Just a matter of when."

Spinning around, Liv mused, "She's awfully confident."

Amy tilted her head toward the door. "Yeah, but she's not wrong."

We all turned to look. Sure enough, our six guys had just stepped inside.

Lucy stood. "Well, it's not as fun when they don't have to work for it. I'm off to dance, ladies. See you out there."

We slipped into the crowd one by one, weaving between bodies, creating a scavenger hunt for our men.

Throwing my head back, I let the music wash over me, the heavy beats heating my blood in anticipation of the moment Braxton found me. Hips swaying, I trailed my fingers over my torso, letting the rhythm carry me away.

Strong hands clasped over mine, pulling me back into a hard chest. I knew without looking it was Braxton. His woodsy scent cut through the stench of sweaty bodies surrounding us.

"You owe me a dance," he whispered darkly in my ear.

When I turned in his arms, his hands slid to my ass, hauling me against his erection.

"Is that so?" I arched an eyebrow, rubbing against him.

Dropping his forehead to mine, we breathed the same air as he said, "I asked you for one the night we met after you refused to tell me your name. Turned me down flat."

"Hmm." I hummed against his lips. "Don't know what I was thinking. Severe lapse in judgment."

"So." Braxton smiled as I looped my arms around his neck. "Does that mean I can have this dance?"

Tugging his lower lip with my teeth until he hissed, I released it. "Make it worth my while," I teased, shimmying my hips.

A rumble vibrated through his chest, and I was spun around in a flash. Surprised, I dropped my hold on him, but Braxton was quick to slide my arms up and over my head to lock around his neck as he pressed into me from behind. His fingers sparked fire over my skin on the way back down, pausing to tease the outside curve of my breasts before gripping my hips tightly and grinding his hard-on into my ass.

My moan was lost in the crowded space, full of other couples dancing just as provocatively. Everyone was in their own little world. No one paid any attention to us.

I almost wished they would.

I shifted restlessly in Braxton's grasp, my body heating, seeking relief. Arousal burned beneath my skin, and I became desperate, taking Braxton's right hand and sliding it between my thighs. In the mini-dress Lucy loaned me, it was a miracle I hadn't flashed someone yet. The material was barely long enough to cover my ass.

Braxton's lips latched onto my neck, skimming softly, driving me insane as a single finger dipped beneath the hem of my dress. My panties were soaked, and I gasped when he rubbed my clit over them, the friction almost unbearable. I was wound so tight that it wouldn't take more than a few touches before I combusted in front of all these people.

My eyes caught on a sight across the room. Hannah straddled Cal as he sat on a bench facing the dance floor. She was riding him hard as his fingers dug into the vinyl seat beside his thighs. They were both still fully clothed, at least from what I could tell from this angle. Hannah's dress was as short as mine, and we all knew men didn't need to remove their pants to release their cocks. It was possible that I was watching them have very public sex, and damn if the thought didn't have my blood boiling.

Teeth tugged on my earlobe. "It would seem my Firefly likes to watch as much as she likes the idea of being watched."

Dropping my head against his chest, I moaned, never taking my eyes off Cal and Hannah.

"What do you say, baby?" Braxton's breathing grew labored in my ear. "I get you off while you watch them get off?"

It was a filthy proposition, but I couldn't deny how turned on I was watching the other couple. They weren't strangers on a computer screen. They were our friends. It was wrong to spy on their intimate moment, using it to heighten our own.

Then why does it feel so good?

Braxton took my silence as confirmation, circling over my clit with his fingers. Voice rough, he whispered, "Tell me if you want to stop at any point."

There it was. Even in our reckless abandon, Braxton was looking out for my comfort, my safety, above all else. He couldn't be more perfect if he tried.

Shifting my hips, I gave over my power to him as I spied on our friends across the bar. Hannah threw her head back, her long caramel hair floating down her back, as she rocked violently over Cal's lap. There was no way of knowing if she was riding his cock or simply dry humping him, but both mental images had me panting in Braxton's arms as his fingers moved faster between my thighs.

Cal finally released his grip on the seat, digging his fingers into Hannah's hips so hard her cry floated over the crowd, though no one turned their heads to stare—no one except us, who were already watching with rapt fascination, surrounded in our own lust. Cal took over their movements, practically shaking the woman atop him.

Heat pooled between my thighs, taking me higher and higher, watching the scene play out before us. My back bowed as my muscles tightened, right on the edge. Like a perfectly synchronized symphony, my orgasm crashed over me at the exact moment Hannah's body grew taut with a tremor so violent I could see it across the room working its way over her muscles.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I gave myself over to the pleasure, my eyes slamming shut as I reveled in the sensations. Who knew it felt so good to be naughty? I never knew I had it in me.

"Show's over." Braxton's fingers slowed, easing me down as I struggled to remain upright.

Eyes popping open, I watched Cal lift Hannah into his arms and walk away. Breathing heavily, I still couldn't believe we just did that.

"But what a show it was." I could hear the smile in Braxton's breathy voice. "Time for me to take you home and make love to you under the stars, beautiful."

On shaky legs, I turned in his arms, anchoring my hands on his shoulders. A corner of my lips turned up at his suggestion.

"Just how I like it."