Kisses From Jack: Chapter 1
“They always do that, don't they?” Owen Parker had slurred as Jack Saunders half-carried him out of the bar and back toward the house. “They just want us for something, and it's never just us.”
“I hear ya, buddy,” Jack agreed, shifting Owen's weight more evenly across his shoulders. Jack was still slightly surprised that the girl had only been interested in drinks from Owen. As far as men went, most women thought Owen was beautiful. Tall, blonde, blue eyes and built like a viking, Owen never seemed to lack for feminine interest. Just goes to show, Jack thought, there's no accounting for taste.
Jack wasn't bad looking himself. Tall, with sandy hair that always seemed to be falling into his hazel eyes, he liked to run and kept himself in fighting shape. Every magazine article said he was a catch. He sometimes wondered if that was referring to his physique and handsome appearance, or to the fact that he owned a multi-billion dollar oil company. Either way, girls always seemed to flock to them, though they never seemed to stay.
“How you doing, Owen?” Jack asked. He didn't regret going out to the small local bar, but he was a little disappointed at just how drunk his friend had gotten. While Jack sipped on a simple jack and diet, Owen had found a pretty little blonde who had promptly drunk him under the table. The girl then went on to find another willing suitor to buy her drinks. Once Owen's desire to pay for her beverages stopped, so did her interest.
“Dude, I think Brandy's bad news,” Owen said, stopping in his tracks and nearly pulling Jack over. Owen's face was pale and the sweat on his forehead gleamed a little in the moonlight.
Brandy. Thinking about her made Jack's blood pressure rise to levels requiring a doctor. Bringing her on his “boys” trip had most certainly been a mistake, but he couldn't figure out where he had gone wrong. The sexual tension in the office had been palpable, but out on vacation all she did was grate on his nerves. He had been grateful when her headache had kept her in for the night.
“Come on, Owen,” Jack said. “I know you aren't the biggest fan of her, but give her a chance.”
Owen's lips thinned and his eyes went glassy. “I just don't think she has your best interests in mind. I don't like her.”
Jack took a deep breath. Owen wasn't the only one who didn't like his relationship with Brandy. Rachel, Jack's personal assistant and friend, had basically said the same thing. Only Rachel had used less nice words. He was beginning to think the relationship was doomed.
“Then again, there just doesn't seem to be any girl for us, is there? There will never be some girl that we can just hang out with without them just seeing our money, is there?” Owen sighed, then seemed to freeze up.
“I appreciate your concern, and-” Jack started, but Owen suddenly leaned to the side and started regurgitating all the alcohol in his stomach. Jack sighed. At least Owen had avoided hitting him with projectile vomit.
“The milk was a mistake,” Owen groaned, clutching his stomach. Jack rolled his eyes. He hadn't even seen Owen drink any milk, but knowing the lengths Owen would go to impress a girl, he wasn't surprised.
“Let's get you to bed.” Jack waited a moment before taking Owen's arm over his shoulder again to make sure he was finished. “I'm pretty sure Janet stocked the fridge with some Gatorade.”
Owen moaned in answer but started to shuffle his feet toward the beach house. Jack walked slowly, nearly dropping Owen whenever he started to make retching sounds. Luckily, Owen kept the rest of his stomach down for the remainder of the short walk back.
The beach house gleamed in the moonlight like a beacon of hope as the two men staggered forward. Jack had always liked the place. Technically, it was Owen's beach home, but Jack had stayed enough times that it felt like his own. The house was one of the few places that Jack actually felt comfortable in.
It was that feeling of comfort that had made him choose to have his “bachelor party” here. Jack wasn't getting married, at least not to a woman. The party was more symbolic of his job taking over his life completely. He knew that with the amount of work on his plate this next year, he'd be lucky to have enough time to shower, let alone meet a woman to marry.
As much as he hated it, Jack accepted the fact that he was probably never going to get married. It was just a cold fact of life. He was marrying his business; DS Oil and Gas was his life partner now. Once he signed those papers next week, he would be as off the market as any married man. Thus, the decision to throw a blow out bachelor party.
“Okay, Owen, time to sleep,” Jack said gently as he laid Owen down in the first available bedroom. Owen mumbled something and buried his face in the pillow. “You can sleep until the party tomorrow.”