Two Bad Groomsmen_An MFM Menage Romance Read online

  Either way though, this was bound to be one hell of an adventure!

  Chapter 3

  Janine

  "Okay, you're sure this is everyone who's coming?" I asked, looking down at the list of names Carla had given me. This was the third time she'd given me the list, with new names added each time. We were getting down to the wire though and I needed a final tally to make sure we had seats and food for everyone.

  There was no way in hell I was going to let some little mistake ruin her perfect wedding. She'd been looking forward to this day ever since we were little girls, playing dress up in her bedroom. And as her maid of honor, I was going to make damn sure everything went off without a hitch, even if it killed me.

  Carla nodded, looking down the list once more just to double check. "Yeah, that should be everyone. As far as I know, everyone else we invited already replied and said they wouldn't be able to make it. So there shouldn't be any more last minute additions."

  "Well, let's hope not because I really don't want to redo all the seating arrangements once they're done." I would, of course, but she'd owe me big time for it. And I'd grumble about it the entire time. But it was my duty and I would do it, if I had to.

  Which is why I was doing my damnedest to make sure I didn't have to.

  Carla smirked at me, clearly knowing where my mind was going. Then, she hopped off her stool and walked over to wrap her arms around me, hugging me tight enough to nearly smother me. "You are the absolute best, you know that? There's no way in Hell I could get through all of this without your help."

  I hugged her back, grinning. As stressful as all of this had been over the last couple months, I wouldn't have traded it for the world. Carla deserved this and so much more. But that didn't mean I wasn't also looking forward to it all be said and done with. "I know. I'll remind you of that when it comes time for my wedding!"

  "First you'd need to find a man to marry!" Carla said, grinning at me, Then she winked. "Maybe you can find one at the wedding. There's going to be lots of single, eligible guys there. Maybe you can snag one of them to take home after it's all over."

  "Yeah, right. Like that's going to happen." I was going to have way too much on my plate to even think about trying to find a boyfriend. Besides, it wasn't like I absolutely needed one right now. I had plenty of time to find the love of my life and settle down and start my family.

  At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

  Carla wrapped her arms around me again, but this time not as tight, so I could at least still breathe. "Seriously though, we need to find you a guy. One who will appreciate how dedicated and loyal and amazing you are. I want you to find someone who can make you happy like Josh makes me happy."

  I nodded, trying to keep smiling. Deep down, I did want to find a guy like Josh - one who would love me and adore me and make me happy. But the truth was, out of all the guys I'd gone out on a couple dates with, none of them had ever kept my attention for very long. I was starting to think I was a lesbian or asexual or something. The only reminder I had of my sexuality were my nighttime fantasies, filled with men from romance novels sweeping me off my feet toward my happily ever after.

  I had no doubt they were exactly that - dreams - but they still made me feel tingly inside. And downstairs.

  There was no way I was going to settle though. Hell, I hadn't even had sex with any of the guys I'd gone out with. It wasn't like I was saving myself for marriage or anything, but I still wanted my first time to be special, memorable, with a guy I really liked. Not some guy who bought me dinner and expected me to spread my legs as thanks.

  Besides, it wasn't like I needed a guy. Sure, having a boyfriend or eventual husband would be great, but I didn't need one. I had a good job that paid me more than enough to support myself. I had great friends, so I wasn't a complete shut in. And when I needed to get off, I had a trusty vibrator in my side table that did the job just fine.

  So for me to even consider a guy, he had to be pretty damn good and make it worth my time and effort. Otherwise, he was just going to end up being kicked to the curb.

  "What else still needs to be done?" Carla asked, moving back to her seat at the counter and looking at all the papers and photos spread out around us.

  "The caterer and venue are both confirmed with the deposits already paid. We need to call and book the hair and makeup today so we can make sure you look your absolute best." I winked at her, both of us knowing damn well she could roll out of bed, walk down the aisle, and still look amazing doing it. Carla was one of those naturally beautiful women. She didn't have to spend two hours corralling her hair to get it to behave every morning like I did. "I need to finalize the seating arrangements and the name cards, as well as call the florist and confirm everything is good to go."

  I went over the rest of the checklist with her. Carla had been letting me handle the vast majority of the things, just telling me what she wanted and letting me figure out how to make it happen. But now that her big day was just over a week away, she was getting anxious and nervous. She couldn't help but ask for frequent updates just to help put her mind at ease. I knew she trusted me to make her day fantastic, but she couldn't quite stop being worried that a freak meteor storm was going to wipe out all of Southeast Texas.

  So I did what I could to help ease her worries. And, to be fair, she was far from acting like a Bridezilla. I'd watched enough wedding shows with Carla to know she was a quiet kitten compared to some of the brides out there. She was just nervous now that we were so close to everything being done.

  Once we'd gone over everything, I neatly put all the paperwork back into their labeled folders and stacked them up. Carla had always teased me about my organizational skills growing up, but I knew she was appreciating them now. There was no way a letter or bill was going to get misplaced or lost, which I knew helped ease her stress just a bit.

  Then, I dragged her into the living room and plopped her down on the couch, putting on the most mindless action flick I could find. Something without any romance to make her think about Josh or the wedding. It was time for both of us to veg out for a little while and pretend we weren't in the middle of planning a wedding.

  Because, trust me, even though Carla wasn't a Bridezilla, planning a wedding was still a fuckton of stress and I was more than ready for all of it to be behind me. The other day, Carla had jokingly suggested I become a wedding planner and I'd nearly choked on my Diet Pepsi. There was no way in Hell I was ever going to become a wedding planner. Working as a veterinarian was a much less stressful job, which was saying something.

  Dealing with brides all the time?

  Oh hell fucking no!

  I'd take a rabid dog any day of the week over that.

  Which is why our plan was to spend tonight being complete and utter bums. Josh had their apartment to himself for the night, since his closest friends hadn't come in from out of town yet, while Carla was camping out at my place. We'd planned the works -- movies, pizza, and as much ice cream as we could stand.

  She'd already had her full blown bachelorette party complete with half-naked dancers and sex toys. Now it was time for a girls night.

  And that was exactly what we did. Once those folders were put away, the wedding wasn't mentioned for the rest of the night. We lounged around in our PJs, binge-watched movies like we'd never get another chance to watch one, and ate junk food like we were still kids.

  It was heavenly.

  That was the best way to relax. Forget going out to clubs or getting drunk or any of that bullshit. Give me a relaxing day to curl up on the couch and watch a movie and I was down for it. A nice hot bath with a book to read? Perfect. Spending a weekend without leaving the apartment and avoiding all human contact? Definitely my speed.

  But going out to a dance club where you can barely hear anything above the thumping bass and everyone is wearing less clothes than nudists? Yeah, totally not my scene.

  Which, if I was being honest with myself, was one of the reasons I was still s
ingle and hadn't found Mr. Right. It was hard to find a guy to fall in love with when my idea of fun was seclusion and isolation. There weren't very many guys hiding out in my closet, at least I really hoped there weren't!

  Maybe Carla was right and I did need to get out and meet someone. What could it hurt to at least go on a date once in a while? It wasn't like I had to fuck any of the guys if I didn't want to. But if I kept hiding in my apartment and only going out when Carla forced me to, I was going to end up being alone for the rest of my life.

  And at the same time, I wasn't sure how the hell I was actually going to meet a guy without going to some stupid bar or club. Especially since even if I did, those guys were most likely just looking for a hookup and not an actual relationship. What I wanted was someone to come home to, someone who would text me cutesy things every morning. I wasn't necessarily looking for a husband, at least not right off the bat, but I wanted someone I could enjoy spending my time with and not just in bed.

  "Are you okay?" Carla asked, jarring me out of my thoughts.

  I blinked a couple times, trying to get my head on straight. I looked over at her to see a concerned look on her face and smiled to hopefully put her at ease. "Yup. I'm doing great."

  The look on Carla's face told me she didn't believe me for a moment. That was the downside to us having been friends for what seemed like forever. She always knew when I was bullshitting her.

  "Should we call it a night?" she suggested with a raised eyebrow.

  Part of me want to say yes. I craved my nice soft bed and warm blankets. But I wasn't ready to give up my girls night with Carla just yet. I'd been looking forward to this night for a while. It was my small reward after all the work I'd put into planning her wedding. There was no way in hell I was going to give it up that easily.

  "Nope! I'm fine, really." I broadened my smile, but it didn't seem to help very much. "I just got lost in thought, that's all. Come on, let's enjoy the movie. Or do you want some ice cream? I've got a half gallon of Rocky Road in the freezer."

  Carla's eyes lit up. All worries about me vanished at the thought of ice cream. I couldn't really blame her. Nothing made you feel better like a tub of ice cream and two spoons! It really was the magical answer to all of life's problems.

  "Ugh," if we keep this up, I'm not going to fit in my wedding dress!" Carla rubbed her stomach, then took the empty tub of ice cream and set it on the coffee table in front of us.

  It was hard to believe we'd devoured the entire thing. Still, I doubted Carla would have any issues with her wedding dress. Lucky woman always seemed to be able to eat whatever she wanted without gaining any weight. It'd always irked me growing up that I had to actually watch my diet, otherwise I put on weight. Everyone had always assured me it wouldn't always be like that for Carla, that her metabolism would slow down eventually, but so far, it hadn't yet.

  Still. I wasn't going to dwell on it. "You're telling me. We're gonna have to hit the hotel gym every morning to just to make sure we don't need any last minute size adjustments!" I rubbed my own stomach, feeling like I'd already gained more than a couple pounds. I was definitely going to be watching what I ate for the rest of the week.

  But hey, part of tonight was us splurging. We could eat lettuce and carrots all week if we had to. Nothing was going to stop us from having the time of our lives tonight!

  By the time we finally called it quits, both of us were ready to fall asleep on the floor. A bed wasn't even necessary at that point, but somehow, we managed to stumble into my bedroom and collapse on the king sized bed like zombies. Showers were out of the question, at least until morning.

  As I stared at the inside of my eyelids, I found myself smiling. I was going to miss nights like this. Once Carla was married, she wouldn't have many nights to come over and just veg out with me until we both collapsed from sheer tiredness. She'd be spending her nights with Josh, curled up in his arms, instead of sprawled out next to me snoring loud enough to wake the gods.

  That was the biggest reason I'd pushed for us to have this girls night. Sure, she'd had a bachelorette party with all of our friends and had a night debauchery, but this was different. This was special. Carla and I had been best friends since childhood, with sleepovers being a major part of it. Even through high school and college and after, we still got together as often as possible to sit on our butts, each junk food, and gossip.

  In a way, it was like a chapter of my life was coming to an end. Carla and had been best friends since childhood. Sleep overs and veg weekends were part of our routine, our tradition. It had already been dying away over the years as we both grew up and became more busy, but now, this was like the final nail in its coffin.

  Soon, Carla would be a married woman. She'd be having kids and starting a family. She'd have a whole boatload of responsibilities. Which didn't leave much room for our girls nights.

  If I was being honest with myself, I knew it didn't mean much time for me, either. Sure, we'd still be friends and talk regularly and go out for coffee once in a while, but things would never be the same after she got married. Josh would be the most important person in her life, not me.

  He would be her best friend, not me.

  So where did that leave me?

  Chapter 4

  Zack

  The road trip was definitely one of legend! We partied hard, especially one night when we wound up joining some frat guy’s bachelor party and pounding tequila shots till we couldn’t see straight. We didn't end up getting to sleep until nearly four that morning. It was a good thing we could alternate drivers, since we were both tired and hungover as hell when we had to check out the next morning.

  Which lead to Drew driving while I caught another couple hours of sleep, then when I woke up, he napped in the passenger seat. We ended up doing that frequently during our road trip, grabbing sleep whenever we could. We never knew what time we'd be getting to bed each night and had to make sure we got our shuteye when we could!

  By the time we got to the hotel where the wedding would be, we were both in good spirits. The road trip was turning out to be a major success. Even though things had gotten pretty wild already, we were both looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble we'd get into this week.

  We both figured it'd be a lot easier to get a little crazier since we'd be staying in one place for more than a single night this time. We had a whole list of places we planned on checking out.

  Oh yeah, we were more than ready for this! I just hoped we had enough aspirin to get us through the entire week!

  Then again, worst case scenario, we'd go hit up Costco again and buy another bottle of them! Then again, I wasn't sure that was the worst case scenario. It was more like the best case scenario.

  When we finally pulled up outside the hotel, I wanted to just collapse onto a bed, rather than deal with bringing out luggage up to the room. But I knew Drew would kill me if I tried that, so I helped him load everything onto a luggage cart, then let him go check in while I parked the car.

  He was just getting our keycards when I got back and the two of us headed up to the room, grinning like idiots. We'd have to go meet up with Josh in a little while, but I was desperate for a nap. I was having a blast, but a good time can still wear a man out.

  When we finally got to the eighteenth floor and found our room, I was ready to fall asleep standing up. It was like a sudden wave of exhaustion crashed into me all at once. The multiple nights of getting only a couple hours of sleep had really built up, and now I was almost desperate to crawl into the bed.

  Drew couldn't get the door open fast enough.

  The room was pretty damn nice, far nicer than what we'd stayed in on the way here. Not that we'd been staying dive motels or anything, but this was above what we'd wanted to spend per night when we just needed somewhere to sleep. The only reason we'd stayed here this week was because it was where the wedding would be taking place. Staying here was much easier than trying to drive over each day for whatever was going on.

&nb
sp; Besides, it would be nice to bring a girl back to this place for sure! It'd make us seem like high rollers or something.

  The room was large and spacious, about twice the size of the rooms we normally stayed in. There was a big screen TV on the one wall, our beds up against the opposite. Two queen sized beds were right next to each other, separated by a nightstand, with pristine white sheets and pillows that looked like they'd been made out of clouds.

  There was a desk and chairs on the far side of the room, with a large balcony right behind it. The curtains were closed right now, but I knew the view would be stunning when we opened them.

  There wouldn't be a damn bit of privacy, but Drew and I were far from modest around each other. And the spacious room would give us plenty of space for whatever potential good times this place might bring,

  But I would have to wait, because I was so tired, I doubted I could've gotten it up if a team of Playboy models walked into the room after us. Sleep would come first, then we could head downstairs to meet up with Josh and drag him to the little bachelor's party we'd planned. With any luck, I'd find a hot girl to bring back to the hotel and fuck senseless. Drew was probably hoping for the same thing, but even give it a second thought before my head hit the pillow and I was out like a light.

  # # #

  When I woke up, it felt like I'd slept for a week. My entire body was light as a feather, my mind completely clear. God, I'd really needed that nap! When I checked the time on my phone, I was shocked to see that only two hours had gone by. I'd have sworn I slept for at least five or six hours!

  These beds must be made of magic clouds or some shit, I thought as I stretched.

  Drew was just waking up when I came out of the bathroom, his hair disheveled by looking like he'd gotten the rest he'd needed too. I grinned at him. "These beds are amazing, aren't they?"