Lost in Time (Forever and Always #20) (13 page)

By the end of the fight, I’d had too much to
drink and ate too many hotdogs. My player lost so I owed Flynn a
hundred bucks. Since it was my bachelor party, he didn’t take
it.

“Let’s head to the casinos,” Mike said.

I looked at my watch. It was already one in
the morning. This was going to be a long night. And I was already a
little drunk.

We hit the floor then played a few rounds of
blackjack. The guys wouldn’t let me pay for anything. Sean and Mike
forked over most of the money, paying for my chips and my bets. As
soon as I finished a beer, a waitress appeared out of nowhere and
replaced the one in my hand. I quickly realized she was waiting on
just me, probably because of Sean and Mike.

I won just as much as I lost, breaking even.
I gave the winnings back to Sean, but of course, he wouldn’t accept
them. My mind started to get blurry and a headache thudded behind
my eyes. When I looked over at Ryan, a group of girls were flirting
with him. He managed to slip away and join me at the table.

“Doing okay, buddy?” he asked.

“When have you ever called me that?” I said
with a slur.

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. You doing okay,
man?”

“No. I’m going to hurl.”

He patted my back. “Now this is a real
bachelor party.”

“I’m getting married tomorrow and I’m going
to be too drunk to open my eyes.”

“Good,” he said. “That’s how it should
be.”

I rolled my eyes. “Tell Monnique that.”

“Hey, after everything she did, she can be a
little understanding.”

“I was a jackass too.”

“Impossible. You’re too much of a nice
guy.”

“Are you mad I’m getting married before you?”
I rested my head in my hand and felt my eyes droop.

“No,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not a
girl.”

“Good. Cuz, like, I totally love her.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “You
totally
love her?”

“Totally.”
God, I was drunk
.

He laughed. “Cool.”

“You remember how you felt the first time you
went to Disneyland? How it was so awesome and you couldn’t wait to
go back? Well, that’s how it is with Monnique. I never want to
leave.”

He tried not to laugh. “Well, for one, I’ve
never been to Disneyland. And secondly—”

“You’ve never been to Disneyland?” My head
popped up and my eyes were wide. “The happiest place on earth?”

“I’ve definitely been to the happiest place
on earth.” He gave me a wink.

“How is that possible?”

“My mom is psycho, remember? She never did
normal mom things.”

Oh. I totally forgot about that. My mind was
falling apart with every drink I took. I couldn’t think clearly.
Words were flying out of my mouth, not having any meaning. “What
happened with that, exactly? I mean, I know you aren’t close with
your mom but what happened?” I never asked him any of this before.
For some reason, I was being illogical and brave.

He sipped his brandy then put down the glass.
“She never loved Scarlet and I. Plain and simple.”

“But that’s not possible,” I said. “Every
parent loves their children. My mom loves me too much
sometimes.”

He smirked. “Yeah, she does. You’re
lucky.”

“I mean, how can your mom not be there for
you? Not take you to Disneyland?”

He shrugged. “My dad pressured her to have
kids when she didn’t want any. When he was gone, she stopped
putting on a show for him. She didn’t take care of us. If I was
gone for a week at a time, she never wondered where I was. But I
only stuck around for Scarlet.”

“What did she do to you?”

He eyed me. “You’re so drunk. You would never
ask me this if you were sober.”

“But I love you, man. You’re the most
amazing, super cool, awesome, guy in the world. Like, how can
someone look at you and not be proud of you. You’re like my
brother. She has to love you.”

He smirked slightly. “I love you too. You are
my brother.”

“I hate seeing you guys in pain…why do bad
things happen to good people?”

“I’ve seen you drunk before, but you’ve never
been emotional before.”

“Monnique’s parents were awesome and amazing.
Why did they have to die? Why is yours still alive. It’s just not
fair…”

He took my drink and pushed it away. “I think
you’ve had enough for the night.”

I rubbed my temple and felt the headache far
underneath.

“You nervous about tomorrow?”

“No,” I said with a laugh.
Why did I
laugh?

“She’s the one?”

“Fuck yeah. Have you seen dat ass?”

Ryan laughed. “No. Tell me about it.”

“I just want to bite it sometimes.”

He laughed again. “How’s she in bed?”

Why was I answering him?
“So fucking
good. Her pussy is like…dipping a strawberry in chocolate—warm,
smooth, and sweet.”

Ryan rubbed his chin while he laughed. “Damn,
I could ask you anything and you’d answer. I’ve never seen you this
drunk.”

“You’re drunk,” I said like it was a
comeback.

“Sure.” He humored me. “Are you scared you’ll
never sleep with anyone else for the rest of your life?”

“Hell no. I hate dating. I hate finding the
right one. I was with Elizabeth for years and I was never really
happy. Monnique is the first girl that makes life worth living.
Everyone else just…passed the time.”

He nodded. “I understand that.”

“She quit her job.” I raised a fist in the
air, victorious.

“She did?” he asked in surprise. “That’s
good.”

“Now I can keep her in the house and she’ll
never leave.” I gave a maniacal laugh.

“That’s not creepy at all.”

“You know what I mean.” I laughed at myself
and felt the room spin. “Now I’ll have a nice housewife. Dinner
will be ready when I get home and she’ll take care of the kids. I
win!”

“You win?” Judging the smile on his face he
loved my drunken state.

“I totally win.”

“But didn’t she quit her job on her own?”

“Yeah…but still.” I reached out for a half
finished beer on the table and pulled it toward me.

“That’s not yours.”

I drank it anyway.

“So gross…”

“Um, that was mine.” A woman next to me
stared at me with an amused expression.

“I’m getting married tomorrow,” I
blurted.

“Oh.” She nodded her head slowly.
“Congratulations.”

“I don’t want to have sex with you.”

“Okay.” She laughed. “That makes two of
us.”

“My fiancé is hot.” My vision was blurry.
“She has a really nice body.”

Ryan covered his face and laughed.

“Well, good for you,” she said. “Have a good
night.” She turned back to her friend.

“No offense, but you aren’t my type,” I said.
“My fiancé has skin like chocolate milk and brown eyes. She’s
fucking hot.”

Ryan grabbed my shoulder and turned me back
to him. “Okay. That’s enough.”

“What?” I said, offended. “She wouldn’t stop
hitting on me.”

Ryan kept laughing. “You were talking to a
dude.”

“What?” I turned my head back and squinted my
eyes. Sure enough, it was a guy with a ponytail.
How did I miss
that…?

“So leave the nice man alone,” Ryan said.

“Whoops…” I shrugged my shoulders then
laughed again.

The rest of the guys came back and looked at
me.

“Is he doing okay?” Mike asked.

“Hey!” I gave them each a high-five but
missed each time. “It’s nice to see you.”

Mike smirked. “So, he’s totally wasted.”

“I just realized something!” I stood up but
wobbled on my feet. Ryan pulled me back into the chair. “We’re like
the three musketeers.”

“Yeah…except there are five of us.” Flynn
cocked an eyebrow.

“There is?” I started counting, but when I
reached the number ten, I knew something wasn’t right.

Mike looked at his Rolex. “It’s almost six.
We need to make sure Cortland has time to sleep this off.”

“Man, I want to have sex,” I blurted. “I wish
Monnique was here.”

“Has he ever been this drunk?” Sean
asked.

Ryan shook his head. “Never. He was just
telling some dude he didn’t want to have sex with him because he
thought the guy was a girl.”

“Damn, we missed that?” Flynn asked.

The waitress came back with another drink
then handed it to me.

Ryan snatched it away. “That’s enough for
him.”

I stared at her chest, seeing how big her
boobs were. “Do you have fake tits?”

Ryan knocked over the glass because he
laughed so hard.

Mike covered his face and snickered.

The waitress gave me a hard look, not looking
happy.

“I don’t like them,” I said as I raised my
hand. “My fiancé has a nice rack—and they’re real.”

The waitress grabbed my beer then poured it
on top of me.

“Why is it so cold all of a sudden?” I held
up my hands, seeing the amber liquid drip off my hands. “How did I
get in the shower…?”

Sean handed the waitress a wad of cash. “My
apologies for tonight.”

She stuffed it into her bra then walked
off.

“I’ve seen better!” I shouted after her.

“Man, drunk Cortland is fun,” Mike said. “We
need to drink with him more often.”

“I wish Monnique was pregnant,” I
blurted.

“Really?” Ryan asked, amused.

“Yeah, you guys are all having kids and
shit,” I said. “I feel left out. I’m going to knock her up.” I
suddenly felt confused. “How do you get a girl pregnant?”

Sean shook his head. “We need to get this guy
home. His brain cells are dying.”

“Scarlet and I never would have worked out if
we got together,” I mumbled. “She’s too classy for me.”

“Good to know,” Sean said with a sour
voice.

“Change the subject,” Mike warned.

“Rainbows!” Ryan waved his hands in front of
my face.

“What? Where?” I looked around the casino,
trying to find the colored rays of sunshine. “Rainbows are so
awesome.”

“We need to get to the roof to see them,”
Flynn said. “We should go.”

I pointed my finger at his chest. “I’ve
always liked you. You should be an astronaut or something.”

Flynn nodded. “After I completed space
training, I didn’t pass my final boards exam so I didn’t make it.”
He shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s not fair,” I said. “You couldn’t take
the test again?”

Ryan was laughing again.

“Nope.” Flynn shrugged again. “But what are
you going to do?”

“Wait,” I said. “Sean can do something. He’s
a Preston.”

Sean smirked. “I’ll make a call in the
morning. But for now, let’s go to the roof and see that
rainbow.”

“Wait,” Mike said. “Hey, Cortland. Did
Scarlet say who has a bigger dick? You or Sean?”

Sean gave him a death stare.

“No,” I said, running my fingers through my
hair. “But she said—”

“Rainbows!” Ryan waved his hands in front of
my face again.

“What? Where?” I looked around the casino,
searching for the magical rays.

“Disaster averted,” Flynn mumbled.

“Let’s get out of here before I kill
Cortland,” Sean said.

“Scarlet wouldn’t like that…” My words were
slurred.

Ryan grabbed my arm and helped me from the
seat. “Come on, man. We want to see the rainbows up close.”

“Good idea,” I said.

We took the elevator to the top floor then
took the stairs to the roof. We saw the skyline of Atlantic City.
“Where are all the rainbows?” I asked, suddenly feeling sad.

“They went to bed.” Ryan kept guiding me to
the helicopter. The rest of the guys took up the rear.

“Wait, let me call Monnique so I can tell her
I didn’t see them.” I took out my phone then dropped it.

Ryan put it back in my pocket. “Tell her in
the morning.”

I closed my eyes, suddenly feeling tired.
“That’s probably a good idea.” I pulled out my phone again. “You
want to see naked pictures of her?”

Ryan’s eyes widened. “You’re going to show me
pictures of your fiancé?”

“She’s really hot,” I said. I pulled up the
photos on my phone. “Here’s one of her in the shower.”

Ryan snatched the phone away and put it in
his pocket. “Show me some other time.”

“Damn, he’s drunk,” Sean said.

“I wish Monnique and Scarlet would make out
again,” I said. “That was hot.”

“Yeah, it was,” Sean said.

Ryan got me into the helicopter then buckled
my safety belt.

“I love you, man,” I said to him.

“Yeah,” Ryan said.

The rest of the guys sat down.

“No,” I said, resting my head against the
wall. “I really love you. Like, all of you guys. You’re the
best.”

“We love you too,” Mike said.

“My friends are so cool,” I said. “You guys
took me to Atlantic City and…showed me rainbows. They are so
pretty.”

Ryan eyed me. “But we never saw any.
Remember?”

“But I did…”

They all fell silent while they watched
me.

“What’s the point of living life without
people who love you?” I mumbled. “I’d be nothing without you guys.
My life is so awesome. Like, I feel like Superman. I got a perfect
girl and I have you guys…yeah.”

Flynn nodded. “We love you too, man. Close
your eyes and get some rest.”

“Rainbows…” I finally fell asleep.

The next thing I knew we landed and Ryan was
helping me out of the helicopter.

“Did it do any flips?” I asked.

“Yes,” Ryan said. “We almost died.”

“So cool…” I nodded.

Sean came to my other side and wrapped my arm
over his shoulder. Together, they walked me from the building and
back down to the road. They loaded me into the backseat of
Scarlet’s car and I lay across the seat. I wanted to close my eyes,
but kept looking out the window and watched the lights of the
strip. I couldn’t think. Emotions and thoughts moved through my
body but none of them made any sense.