My continued thanks to my editor, '
larryinseattle,) who makes me work harder to become a writer.
*****
I met Daniel Matthew Richards the first day I attended the University. He was rugged, handsome, and rich, everything I wasn't so it was amazing when we became quick friends. As crazy as it seemed, for the next three years we did virtually everything together ... except date. There he still outclassed me and while I had my share of 'encounters' he fell totally in love with the most beautiful woman on campus. Crazier still was that she fell in love with him, too.
Soon it was the three of us doing everything together; camping, hiking, and kayaking. Then, as to be expected, I was invited to join them less and less until by the time we graduated I was almost completely on my own. After graduation, they went off their way and I went mine which is why I was so surprised when I received a call from him the next Spring.
"Hey partner, how ya' doin'?"
"I'm doin' pretty good. The job is everything I'd hoped for. The only drawback is that I had to move back in with my dad and step-mom until I can save enough for my own place. To tell ya' the truth though, right now, I'd settle for a dorm room again."
"How come?"
"My step-mom had a baby just before I graduated and ... well, let's just say things aren't all that smooth around here right now. How about you? You still with Jess?"
"That and more. We're getting married."
"Wow. I thought you'd always said 'IF' it happened you wanted to take your time before taking the leap."
"Yeah, I know, but things change when you find the right woman and ...," he hesitated.
I'd seen this before. As I said, Dan was everything I wasn't but I was different from him, too in that I knew what I wanted out of life. "Okay, buddy. What now? What did you get yourself into?"
"Mmmmmm, well ... Jess is pregnant."
"I thought ... you always insisted ... you know, protection."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know I did but one night we went out, had some fun, wayyyyyyy too much to drink, and ended up on a very romantic stretch of beach. One thing led to another and before you know it ... WHAM ... I'm gonna be a daddy."
"So do I wish you congratulations or offer condolences?"
"That's what I'm callin' about."
"Yeah?"
"I was ... actually, WE were wondering if you'd do us the honor of being my 'Best Man' at the Wedding. Then you can decide which of the two choices fits."
I was shocked and speechless. "Me? What about all your other friends?"
"It turns out they weren't the people I thought they were. As soon as Jess began to help me control all the money I was spending, my 'friends' slowly disappeared. Not that it really mattered, Jess and I had already made up our mind about asking you."
"In that case, I accept."
"Before you do, there are two things you need to know."
"Yeah??"
"Number one, the wedding is being held in Jamaica ...,"
"JAMAICA," I shouted. "How am I ...?"
"Don't worry about it. Jess and I already bought you a ticket and booked you a room."
"You already ...? Pretty sure of yourself, aren't ya'?"
"Not me, Jess. Besides we were best buds so I guess I had a pretty good idea what ya'd say."
"Okay," I sighed. "What else?"
"Mmmmmmm, where was I? Oh yeah. The wedding is in two weeks."
"Two ...?" I stammered. "You don't give a guy much time."
"Jess wants to get this done before she can't fit in her Wedding dress," he whispered.
"Well, I better let my boss know and start packing."
"Oh yeah, there's no need to talk to your boss. He already knows."
I was speechless for the second time since the conversation had started as I listened to him continue.
"Ya see, when we decided to do this, Jess got on the 'Net' and did some checking on ya. One of the first things she noticed was that you were working for a company that's owned by a friend of her dad's soooooo Jess made a call to him, and he made a call to the regional supervisor, who made a call to your boss. Presto, done. Oh, and before I forget, the owner says he'd like to sit down with you before the week is over. Apparently, he'd already taken notice of you and some of the ideas you've come up with."
"So let ME get this straight. You already knew I'd say 'yes'. You already bought me a plane ticket. You already got me a room. You've already made arrangements for me to have the time off work AND that the owner of the company I work for wants to meet with me. Do I at least get to pack my own clothes?"
"Sure," he laughed. "Just a bit of advice. Bring your blue swim trunks and leave the 'Hawaiian' shirt at home."
"How ...???"
"Because every guy has one," he continued laughing. "See ya' in Jamaica."
'CLICK'
I stood there looking at the phone in my hand. The only question going through my mind was,
'What else?'
It was a question I'd learned to ask myself when doing anything with Dan and the answer was always the same. "Who knows," I whispered softly.
The following morning, I found myself sitting in a first class seat on a large jet heading East. The rest of the passengers sat staring at computers or resting except for a few, apparently from the same company or group, that sat in the rear talking in low, hushed voices. That left me as the sole passenger in first class for the flight attendant to deal with. She was tall, blonde, had sea-blue eyes, and a figure that curved in all the right places. She also had on a uniform top that was so tight the third button kept popping open every time she leaned over. She kept asking if there was anything she could do be for me, her voice soft with a Southern drawl, the double meaning of her words obvious. Unfortunately, she was also a tease and kept everything completely professional causing my fantasies of becoming part of 'The Mile High Club' to quickly fade.
By time I got off the plane, two thoughts swirled throughout my brain.
"I can either find a place to get so drunk I never think of that bitch again or I can stay here and strangle her."
Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, I didn't have to decide since Dan and Jess were waiting for me at the luggage casserole.
"Hey, you," Jess yelled as she waved.
I shook my head as I looked at her.
"Damn. She looks even better now than when we were at school."
Jessica Margaret Whitman was the youngest daughter of a well-known business owner with companies spread across the country. At only 26 years old, she'd traveled most of the world and supposedly was worth well into the high six figures but that's where any resemblance to the 'upper crust', as she referred to her families friends, ended.
She stood 5-foot, 7-inches tall but was always wearing high-heels or high-heeled sandals to add two to three inches. Her hair was a deep auburn that was highlighted by the sun. It was tied back in a long-ponytail and she refused to go to a 'beauty parlor' for anything other than an occasional trim so it hung almost to the upper slope of her butt. Her eyes were a rich, chocolate-brown, with a depth that I never could explain and green flecks that seemed to twinkle when she was happy, as she was now. Her figure was toned, but not like one of those female weight lifters. Instead, she moved with the grace of a dancer. Her bust was 'more than a handful' as Dan had once told me and her hips swayed with every step she took towards me. The only two things that I could see that were different were the golden-brown tan of her skin and the beginning of a slight bulge in her stomach.
"Hey, yourself," I called back. "I'll be right there."
I seemed to fly through customs and soon she had me wrapped in her arms.
She kissed me lightly on the cheek before pulling away from me, a smile on her face. "I'm glad to see you, too but ... ummmm ... I'm getting married in a few days."
"Ha??" I replied unsure of what she meant by the comment until I noticed her looking down.
"FUCK,"
I thought as I looked down at the bulge in the front of my pants. "Sorry about that. Long story."
"So it's not for me?" she said as she licked her lips and fluttered her eyes.
"You wish," I teased in return.
"Always the gentleman," she laughed, loudly.
"My downfall," I groaned, jestingly.
Instantly, she hooked one arm through mine and the other through Daniel's. "Look out Jamaica, the three musketeers have arrived," she called out as she started to skip down the lobby floor.
"Oy," I sighed, doing my best to imitate the character from "Fiddler on the Roof."
Dan simply smiled. "That's Jess for ya'."
The next three days were filled with last minute plans for the wedding and catching up on what we'd been doing since graduation. It was only when one of the other 'groomsmen' asked what was planned for a bachelor party that I remembered that it was my responsibility.
After getting 'the evil eye' from the staff at the hotel reception desk, I figured who better to ask about the sexiest, nastiest bar in town than the bartenders. I asked four of them and got the same answer from three, the "SS Lounge." I didn't remember seeing anything by that name listed in the phone book so asked them for more information.