Taking Chances (Learning to Love) (2 page)

This kind of event calls for an intervention, if you ask me.

Jamie's eyes were wide as she hung on Kat's every word. "I can't believe you got Club Verde. That wait-list is like a year long."

Club Verde was an over-priced, high end club that catered to businessmen, and other rich clientele. It was basically a high end strip club for the overpaid.

"My cousin had her bachelorette party there and it was out-fucking-rageous. We just happened to get lucky enough that their monthly male revue was right before your wedding. How's that for luck?" Kat winked at me over her shoulder.

"How did you even manage to get in there?" Jamie ignored three texts, mesmerized by Kat's details.

"I had a nice long conversation with the sweet guy who runs the desk. He promised to give me a call the second there was a cancellation, and what do you know, there just happened to be one."

Honestly, I think the guy had something to do with the cancellation because it seemed a little too convenient that someone would cancel at all, much less on the exact day we wanted.

I tried taking Jamie's attention off the strippers "You all set for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow? Anything you need?"

"Mom and Dad took care of everything. Now hopefully they can play nice with each other." She shook her head, looking skeptical.

All Jamie's parents ever did was fight and sometimes it got quite ugly. They never bothered to get divorced, but they hadn't lived together in almost a decade. Yet every holiday or family gathering, there they were together, pretending everything was great between them. At least my parents had the decency to get divorced and avoid each other properly.

Jamie finally glanced down at her missed texts. "Ugh, that's Mom now. She can wait." Jamie put the phone back down on the table and turned back to Kat. "So tell me more about Friday." The excitement returned to her face.

Kat's smile widened. "Oh my God, the guys are awesome. At my cousin's party, they dragged her up on stage and two of them were rubbing all over her. I was so jealous."

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, Kat?"

She laughed. "Yes, Lex. Maybe you'll get to see just how awesome on Friday."

I snorted.
Yeah right
.

Once Jamie got over the excitement of having her party at Verde and the group of strippers, because one is just never enough according to Kat, she started to panic.

"Do you think that Justin will be upset that I'm having strippers? What if he thinks I did something with one of them? Oh my god, what if one of them tries something with me? And, what if I'm too drunk to say no and oh my god, what if--"

"Jamie, calm down," I said, trying to placate her. "We will be there with you. We won't let you do anything stupid. Besides, Justin knows you. He knows you won't cheat on him."

Jamie would never cheat, but Justin could be just as freaked out, for all I knew. He didn't seem like the type to cheat, but then men don't always reveal their douchebaggery until it was too late.

Jamie's panic turned into tears, as she let her emotions get the better of her.

Kat tried to gently sooth her. "Sweetie, don't cry." She pushed Jamie's hair back from her tear-soaked face. "Lexi and I are here for you. You have nothing to worry about."

I nodded in agreement, trying my best to look empathetic. There was only so long I could convince my friend that everything was going to be fine when I just couldn't help but feel it wouldn't be.

Part of the problem was, Jamie was in love with being in love. Ever since fifth grade when she had a fake wedding to Michael Hartwick, she wanted to be in love and get married. She went through boy after boy, trying them on like shoes, always thinking the newest one was the perfect fit. Of course, they never were, until she met Justin that is.

The waiter interrupted, mercifully, and I wondered if he heard my telepathic plea for someone to save us. "Can I get you ladies anything else?" He shot a nervous look from me to Kat to Jamie, who was still sobbing quietly next to Kat.

"I don't know Leo, is there something else you could offer us?" Kat purred, and smiled seductively at him.

Leo's face lit up at Kat's flirting, as if he had been waiting for that moment his entire life. He opened his mouth, about to tell her exactly what he could offer when Matt walked up behind Kat, leaned down and nuzzled his face into her hair. Leo's face fell, knowing he had just missed the perfect opportunity to make his case.

"I don't think they need anything else,
Leo
," Matt said, sarcasm dripped from his voice.

"Matty!" Kat flipped herself around to face him and planted her mouth on his in a disgustingly long show of affection. For a moment, I thought she was about to swallow his face.

"Oh get a room!" Even Jamie had enough of them. Not that she was any better when she was with Justin.

When he finally tore himself off her, he turned to me and kissed the top of my head. "Hey sis."

"Hey."

I looked over him for a minute. His hair was brown like mine, though a shade or two lighter, and hung in an overgrown messy-on-purpose style that framed his sapphire eyes perfectly. He was dressed in ripped jeans and a white t-shirt, both showed evidence of hard work from his construction job. He had the kind of boyish good looks that got plenty of attention and he wasn't the least bit shy about accepting it.

Matt pushed a chair up between me and Kat, and pulled her legs up onto his lap. He watched her intently as she went back to reassuring Jamie, who was finally starting to calm down a bit. There was something different about the way he was with her, than how he was with every other girl I'd ever seen him with. I think that Kat wanted to believe it was because he somehow changed, that he could be different with her. Maybe she even thought he would fall in love with her. I wasn't convinced that he wouldn't slip back to his old ways, love or not.

"So sis," Matt said quietly, nudging my arm. "You coming over later for dinner?"

I nudged him back. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

***

"You hear from Dad lately?" Matt scooped some meat and pasta mixture onto a plate and set it in front of me.

I forked a bite into my mouth. "Mmmm." It didn't look pretty, but it sure tasted good. "You haven't made this for me in years."

His eyes dropped down sadly. "I thought you might be sick of it. It was the only thing I could cook for years."

I shook my head and forked another mouthful in. "No way. I love this shit." Dinner for our mother usually consisted of something at least eighty proof, so Matty was often the one feeding me when we were kids.

Matt smiled as he watched me devour the food. He waited until I was nearly finished before he spoke again. "So, about Dad…"

Larry, our father, had been leaving messages for me to call him all week. I guess he finally gave up hope that I was going to call him back because his last message was a five minute rant about how much he loved and missed me and oh, how he was getting married in a few weeks.

"Yes, I've heard from our sperm donor."

Matt was a lot more understanding of our father's indiscretions and lack of parenting. I however, was not about to go running back into the arms of a man who basically walked out on me when I was little, to start a new family. The years of cheating and never being around for us was bad enough, but when he left it was like he closed the door on being my father. He got remarried a couple times and had another daughter. I didn't even see him again for three years when he just showed up with a present on my birthday, pretending like nothing ever happened. It was just after that when I saw him with another woman, who was not his new wife, coming out of a sleazy motel. Within a year, he was divorced again. After that I insisted that Matt keep any information about the bastard to himself. It pissed me off that he still had a relationship with him but I loved my brother enough to keep my mouth shut.

"And, he told you about the wedding?"

"Yes, he left a message."

"A message?" Matt raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, a message. You didn't think I was going to answer the phone for him, did you?"

Matt frowned. I knew it made him sad that I refused to let our father back into my life. He brushed his hair back with his fingers, moving it away from his sapphire blue eyes that matched mine exactly.

"Are you going to go?"

"Are you kidding? What would ever make you think I'd even consider it?" I pushed the plate away and shook my head.

"Lex, Dad really wants you to be there. His fiancé, Greta, is really nice. I think you'd like her. Please consider it."

"You of all people should know I wouldn't be going to another of Dad's weddings. It doesn't matter how great Greta is, because it doesn't have anything to do with her. In a few years it will just be someone else. The man collects wives. I don't want to be a part of it."

"Please. Do it for me?" Matt looked down at me, his blue eyes normally so full of life, filled with sadness. There wasn't much my brother wouldn't do for me. He's never missed an opportunity to be there for me. He was the only man in my life I could ever count on. It was hard to say no to him when he asked so little in return from me for all he's done.

"I'll think about it." I owed him at least that much. That didn't mean I would change my mind though.

CHAPTER TWO

"Is that really what you're going to wear to the rehearsal dinner?" Kat stood with her hands on her hips eyeing me critically, with one finger curled under her chin.

"Yes, why?" I had on a pair of black pants, a simple white button up shirt and a pair of black flats.

I glanced at my reflection in the full length mirror next to the closet. The clothes weren't overly dressy but they were good enough.

Kat looked over me and snorted. "You can at least let me do something with your hair."

My hair was refusing to cooperate, so I put it into a single braid that came around my right side and draped over my shoulder. It was getting long and I knew I should cut it but it just wasn't that high of a priority.

"We can't all have perfect straight hair like some bitches I know." I stuck my tongue out at her playfully. I used to be so jealous of Kat's hair growing up. I wanted it straight and blonde. What I got was anything but either of those. Thankfully now it tamed into soft waves that even I could admit, wasn't half bad.

"You did hear Jamie when she said every one of the guys in the wedding party was single, right?"

Here we go again.

Kat didn't care if I was single but she insisted I needed to at least hook up with someone once in a while.

"You do realize that people can survive without sex, right?"

She gave me a dramatic shocked look and brought her hand up to her mouth to hide her mock-horror.

I rolled my eyes at her. "The last thing I need right now is random casual sex with strangers. I do know how to handle those needs myself if I have to."

"Yes, so I've heard. You might want to think about investing in a quieter model." She looked over me once more and walked over to the closet. "What about this?" She pulled out a short black dress and held it up for inspection. I was pretty sure it was actually hers.

"I think I wore that on my anniversary with Marcus."

She raised one eyebrow. "That was the last time you got laid, wasn't it? Which was what, six months ago?"

"Yeah. Then he got a call that he took in the bathroom and left. I wonder which whore he spent the rest of our anniversary with." I sorted.
Frigging Marcus.

"Okay, maybe not this one." She stuffed it back in my closet. She went through my clothes one by one, looking each over then shaking her head. "I'm sure there's something in my closet that would look fabulous on you."

"Kat, I appreciate it but I'm wearing this. I'm not hooking up with anyone tonight anyway."

She tried giving me the pout but I quickly walked out of the room to avoid getting suckered into wearing some low-cut, up the ass, dress from Kat's 'Look-at-me-I'm-half-naked' collection.

She followed me out to the kitchen. "Are you planning on giving up men for good?" She tossed her hands up in frustration.

"Of course not, but I'm not advertising either."

"Why the hell not? How do you expect to get some action without a little attention getter?" She motioned to her boobs pushed up so high she could probably lick them if she wanted to.

I shook my head and tried my hardest to hold back a laugh. She was trying to be funny. Mostly.

Kat hopped up on the counter, her short skirt only barely covering her. "Look babe, it's been months. It's time to dust off the vag for a little one-on-one time."

It was difficult not to roll your eyes at the things that girl said.

"Seriously, Kat. You can put the feather duster away. I don't need any one-on-one time."

"What about a little two-on-one time then?" she asked, tilting her head slightly, one eyebrow raised, the corner of her mouth tipped up in a smirk.