“I was just telling Missy and Harper that this friends-with-benefits deal was going to bite you in the ass someday. Well, here it is!” Tami howled as she got up and staggered over to tell Beth.
After she told everyone in the hot tub, I heard them all burst into laughter. I decided to ignore them.
“Cassidy, the key for something like this to work is that you have to be friends first. Honestly, I couldn’t even name half the girls the guys were going out with. You’re the only one I consider a friend.”
I knew it as soon as it was out of my mouth: she’d set me up. I could tell by the twitch of her mouth.
“Alright, I’ll let them all know that you’re only going to do ‘friends with benefits’ with me. They’ll just have to get over it,” Cassidy said glumly.
“Nice try,” I told her.
Cassidy ignored me and got serious.
“How could Jim do this to me? I thought we had something special going on. I gave my virginity to him!” she said, heating up.
I glanced over to make sure her dad wasn’t listening. Jim was dead if he was.
“Stop right there. You’re too young to be that serious about a boy. Jim is only one of many practice boys you’ll go through before you find the right one. That was something I had to learn the hard way ... twice,” I added.
“I already know who the right guy is. If he’d get his head out of his butt and man-up, he could get my dad to let me date him,” she said with ‘that look’ in her eyes.
“Coach, can I date Cassidy?” I yelled over.
“Nope, not as long as I’m breathing!” he yelled back.
“Okay, just checking!”
She rolled her eyes at me in disgust. I knew this wasn’t over, but I’d slowed her down. I got an evil glint in my eyes.
“Let’s go tell Beth that we need to eliminate some of her dates with me because I have to add all your friends.”
It sounded like a great plan until Beth splashed Cassidy. I thought I was going to see my first girl-on-girl fight so I grabbed Cassidy, ran over, and jumped into the pool. It’s good that I was strong or she might have hurt me. I kissed her. That took all the fight out of her.
Beth got her one of my t-shirts and a pair of shorts so she could get out of her wet clothes. I needed to inventory those things. Every time I turned around one of my girls was wearing a t-shirt that I never got back. And not my ratty old ones, either. Cassidy had on my three-hundred-dollar ‘Double Dragon’ t-shirt. How the heck did Beth get it, and how many more did she have? Good thing I didn’t pay for it, or I might have been mad.
I hadn’t had a chance to do my afternoon workout, so I jumped into the pool and started swimming laps. I was surprised when Jeff joined me. He’d started to take to working out. The changes in his body were obvious. He still thought of himself as a nerd, but girls were taking notice too. I predict that he’d have them chasing him when he went back to school. I might even get him to go out for football. He’d make a good wideout.
TAMI GAVE ME A RIDE in her new car. We went back to my place so I could load her china and flatware into her hatchback. She came upstairs, saw all the boxes, and then made me haul them all down to her car. Her job was to make sure I put them in the right place so they wouldn’t shift during the eight-block ride to her house.
“You gave me the best birthday ever. I had a blast on the trip, and the china was the most thoughtful gift. I couldn’t have picked out anything better. Now you need to think about what you want,” she said, and she saw me get thoughtful. “It’s not going to be that ... maybe that ... I’d only do that if I was really drunk, and even then it’d be messy.”
She’d been talking to Eve.
“I guess I’ll just have to get you drunk.”
She kissed me and got in her new car.
Wednesday May 28
WE HAD ALL JUST FINISHED eating at Greg and Angie’s rehearsal dinner, and the waiters brought us champagne. Dad got up, gave a nice speech, and welcomed Angie into the family. It was touching and had Angie in tears.
Being on the shy side, I figured I would never get a better chance to practice my best man’s speech. Everyone looked at me, and Greg flinched. Angie, his wife to be, got a big smile on her face.
“In every young man’s life, there comes a time when he finds that one true love, the person that makes him complete. For Greg, that happened fifteen years ago when he met me. I guess I should introduce myself. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is David. I’m Greg’s younger brother. I was truly honored when Greg asked me to be his best man because he finally admitted it ... I am the best.
“Greg told me that if I do a good job as best man tomorrow, he’ll let me do it again at his next wedding,” I said. Angie shook her fist at me.
“This is actually the first time I’ve made a speech, and it’s true when they say that it’s nerve-wracking. I only feel slightly better knowing that I’m not the only person in the room who’s apprehensive; but then again, she’s about to marry my brother.
“Seriously, though, when Greg told me that he was going to ask Angie to marry him, I got choked up. Then when he did, and she said yes, it made me extremely happy. I knew that Greg and Angie were perfect for each other.
“I was nervous about giving a ‘best man’ speech tonight, so I went online to find out how to do it. I found a website that had great advice on how long the speech should be. It said it should be as long as the groom can make love. I’m sorry that I went over the allotted time,” I said and took my seat to laughter and applause.
Angie was in tears. I guess my speech touched her.
GREG HAD MADE ME PROMISE that there wouldn’t be a bachelor party, so I had talked to Angie. I reminded her of a fantasy Beth had. Beth wanted to be tied up and blindfolded. She wanted me to go find a random guy, bring him back, and let him have his way with her while I watched. At the time, Angie had agreed to let Greg do it, but I never followed through.
“So what do you think? Beth’s coming over tonight. If there was ever going to have a chance to be together, it has to be soon,” I said.
“So tell me what’s going on again?”
“Beth told me a few of her fantasies. One is she’s tied up and blindfolded. I go find a random man and he has his way with her.”
“That’s hot. I can see the fun in that fantasy, but it’s scary also. She must trust you a lot.”
“Greg refused a bachelor party, but he’ll regret it later. So I want to replace it with something he’ll gladly do instead.”
“I want to watch,” Angie demanded. “If we’re together, I’ll be fine with this. If he does it without me there, it’ll feel like he’s cheating.”
I had to think about this one. I would need to talk to Beth before I could say yes. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. I could sell it as a girlfriend wanting to watch her man making love to another woman. We would see.
“No guarantees. Beth will be here in a little bit. I’ll talk to her.”
Chapter 4 – Buttercup
Wednesday May 28
BETH HAD THE CODE TO my apartment’s lock, so I wasn’t surprised when I heard my door open and she came straight up. She was wearing a short skirt and t-shirt. I now understood why she didn’t want to be waiting outside. She didn’t have any underwear on, and she was a wet dream in that outfit.
“I like this getup. You can wear it anytime,” I told her.
“I don’t look too slutty?” she asked.
“Just the right amount of slutty,” I leered.
“That’s the look I was hoping you’d give me. Take me to the bedroom and make me want to wear this for you every day.”
I took her to the bedroom and we got comfortable and made out for a while. She was confused as to why I hadn’t taken our clothes off. My phone chirped and I grabbed it. Angie had sent me a text. ‘G says OK!’ She was in charge of telling Greg. Now I needed to get Beth’s approval.