Part I
Vegas
Alarm
Chris
My alarm went off, and I opened one eye. I had a girl wrapped in my arms. Fuck if I knew her name. She had long blonde hair, which looked hot, but it also was in my mouth. Ew. I spat it out. I was late to the graduation ceremony.
"You gotta go, babe."
She opened her eyes, turned, and reached for me, but I dodged her hands neatly.
"Get out. I've got somewhere to be."
She stuck out her lower lip. "But I thought we could have a repeat of last night."
"I don't have time, babe." I pulled her to the side of the bed, then I slapped her ass. "Good time last night." We'd stayed up past dawn getting to know one another.
She put her hand on my cheek and leaned in for a kiss, but I slid away from her. I didn't do sloppy seconds. It made girls want more than I really wanted to give.
"Leave."
I watched her sashay away from me. I knew that I wasn't going to fuck her again, but it was still a nice show. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and struck a pose.
"You sure?"
I nodded. "I'm late already." I watched as she found her dress and put it on.
"You left your bra."
"Keep it." She winked at me. "It's a souvenir." Her panties were nowhere to be seen, and she put on her heels very quickly and calmly, as if she woke in a stranger's bed every morning. She probably did.
"Bye, Chris."
I blinked. How did she know my name? I didn't remember much of last night. One, alcohol. Two, all the nights, clubs, and women ran together into a blur.
"What's your name?"
"Jordana." She winked at me again, and then she flounced out the door.
I headed into my shower to get her scent off of me. She smelled fine to me last night, but this morning, I wanted to scrape her sickly sweet scent off of my skin. Was there such a thing as whiskey goggles for your nose?
I turned on the shower and scrubbed everywhere. I should've been at my parents' house already to ride with them to Laila and Trouble's graduation. I'd text them to tell them that I was on my way.
I got dressed in one of my suits. When I was wearing one, I looked like a corporate drone, the son of a billionaire. Naked, I looked pretty different. It might have been the tats or the muscles honed from years of swimming, but girls loved to see me naked. I winked at myself in the mirror.
I combed my hair and used a little gel, and then I was ready to go.
My motorcycle wasn't a good choice when wearing a $5,000 bespoke suit. I felt edgy, though, even though I'd fucked Jordana's brains out last night.
I hopped into my little Lambo, a high school graduation gift from my parents, and headed towards USC's graduation ceremony. They were so insanely long and boring, but I figured that I owed them. Plus, my dad was paying for the best restaurant in town, one of Laila's favorites, and I didn't want to miss that.
Champagne and Jack
Chris
I slept through the boring graduation, then Trouble proposed to Laila and all of us went to Vegas for their wedding.
After the wedding, Trouble and Laila were basically on top of each other. Our parents had said goodbye to us after the brief ceremony - and Mrs. King had gotten a DVD of the whole thing - so the four of us went to a club to celebrate. We had Moet and Dom Perignon to celebrate that Trouble and Laila were married. From the way that they looked at each other, I knew that Nora and I were just cramping their style.
"For Pete's sake, guys. Get a room. I don't want to see you touching my sister."
The two of them turned to me, and Trouble's hand was on Laila's backside. He didn't seem concerned about it at all. "Yeah, dude, thanks for coming to my wedding."
He pulled Laila into his arms. She giggled as he pulled her off and said something about having his way with her.
Gross.
I tried to avoid thinking about my best friend being married to my little sister. Nora and I were still in a VIP booth with two magnums of champagne.
I drank it. It was sweet and light, but it didn't make my thoughts go away.
"Why don't we try something a little harder? How do you feel about Jack Daniels?"
Nora's eyes lit up. "Down for it."
I got someone's attention, and I got a little Jack at the table. I drank two shots immediately.
"I don't understand how my best friend could marry Laila. I know that they've been dating for a couple years, but he's young. Why would anybody date at this age?"
"They are in love. Aren't you happy for them?"
"I'd be happier for them if they weren't married to each other. Laila should've found someone her own age. Frankly, I'm glad that she didn't get an STD from Trouble."
Nora laughed a nice, light laugh. It was pretty. She was pretty. The lights were dim, but they caught on her earrings. Sparkly.
"I'm happy that they're together, and you should be, too."
"Well, I guess that I don't have to chase anybody off, so that's good. That's up to Trouble now." I did another shot of Jack.
"Think about it. There are plenty of benefits of being married. You have someone who is always there for you. And you can get down to baby-making when you're married. You go to sleep and wake up in the same bed as someone else, so it's pretty easy. It's not as hard as picking up somebody in a bar."
I snorted. "Like it's hard for you to pick up somebody in a bar." I waved my hand over her. "You've got great tits."
She gasped. "Chris!"
"What?" I shrugged. "It's true. You do."
"You're not supposed to say that."
Her cheeks got a little red, and I just grinned. "I'd have to be dead not to notice your body, sweetheart." I drank another shot of Jack, and my body was feeling pleasantly loose.
"You should know. You've been picking up girls left and right since you went through puberty."
I lifted one shoulder and dropped it. "Sure, but it's getting boring, you know? I mean, yeah, it's nice to get some novelty, but it's too much work for one night. I'm thinking about getting a girlfriend, but I'm not sure how to get one of those."
I looked at Nora in the dim light. She was pretty. Drunk logic had me asking, "Would you like to date me?"
Nora shook her head. "No. You're a player."
I put a hand over my heart and pretended to be offended. "The nerve!" I burst out laughing a little too loudly, if the looks that I got from the table next to us were any indication. "I wouldn't play you, Nora."
"The only way that I'd trust a boy like you would be if you put your money where your mouth was. I'd love to see you married to some chick … that'd be quite an experience for her and you."
I thought about it. "Married. I'm not sure why anybody gets married."
"The sex, of course."
"You can get free-range sex when you want it, if you want it." I shook my head. "Marriage is forever."
"It doesn't have to be."
I shut my big mouth. I knew that Nora's mom had run off when she was a little kid, leaving her dad to raise her solo.
"It's forever for me. Maybe I'll get married in my 50s or 60s."
"And that's why you can't date me. I'm only looking for serious boys right now."
"Seriously? You've been with what, a dozen guys? Two dozen?"
She slurred as she told me, "I haven't been with any guys."
I snorted. "Whatever. During high school, I saw you with a new guy every week."
"I haven't ever had sex."
What? She hadn't ever had sex? I tried to count the number of partners I had had, and I lost count. My body was still in good shape, even after I left behind competitive swimming, and the ladies liked it.
"You're a virgin?" I looked her up and down. "You sure don't look like one." She had the kind of curves that guaranteed a good night and a secretive smile that made me sweat.
"It's a secret that even Laila doesn't know."
She put her finger on my lips. "And you can't tell anybody."
I took her finger and bit it lightly. I pulled her into my lap, and I bent her back movie-star style as I thrust my tongue into her mouth. She participated, grinding on me and making my pants a little too tight. I smelled her fresh scent, and I knew that I needed her desperately.
"You're sure that I can't convince you to come to my room tonight?"
"Only if we get married," she giggled.
I threw back another shot. I had reasons why I didn't want to be married, but I was having a hard time remembering them. Why not? "Right. We're getting married." Maybe it was the alcohol, but I felt a rush of warmth fill my body.
Wedding Chapel
Nora
"Woohoo! I'm going to the chapel and I'm gonna get maaaarried!"
Chris took my arm. "Don't fall over. You're wearing pretty tall heels."
In my drunken haze, I considered it. On one hand, having heels on meant that Chris would stay connected to me. On the other, being heavily inebriated while wearing stilettos would end in tears.