A Gentleman's Affair (9 page)

“That I can do, Mr. Hart. How many
girls?”

“There are four,” I reply quickly.

“Will they need make-up, sir?” he replies
eagerly.

“Oh, yes. I forgot about that actually.”
Lily gives me a disapproving stare. I hold up my hand and mouth,
“Calm the fuck down, will you?”

“I’ve got it covered. Tell your bride-to-be
not to worry. Mauricio is on it.”

“Thank you again. And on top of whatever
your usual fee is, I am going to comp you a room here at the hotel
for you and a guest for the night. It’s the least that I can
do.”

“Really? Well, thanks Mr. Hart. We’ll see
you Saturday then.” We exchange goodbyes then hang up, and I
quickly yet carefully turn my attention back to Lily.

“See, it all worked out.
Are you going to make it?” I ask, laughing as I try to lighten up
the now-resolved near-nightmare.

“Yes. Thanks Donovan.” After letting out a
huge sigh of relief, she gets up and practically leaps across the
desk, giving me a tight hug in thanks. “You saved my wedding. Thank
you, thank you, thank you!”

“I just made a call, but you are very
welcome.” As she pulls away, I stand and cross the room, walking
towards the door and motioning for her to follow. “How about a
drink, Lily? I think after that, we both could use one.” Not to
mention, after last night. Fuck, don’t even think about
that…Redirect.

“Donovan, it’s eleven o’clock in the
morning,” she smiles, winks and adds, “But it’s happy
hour somewhere, right?”

“That it is, Lily. How about Mimosas then?”
I put my hand on the small of her back as we walk to the hotel
restaurant.

The past couple of days have been filled
with non-stop preparations for the big day, which is tomorrow. The
courtyard that sits in back of the La Fuga will serve as the
ceremony site and is almost ready. Pink roses and violets adorn
almost every square inch of the area. White chairs have been
delivered and set up. A tall white arch also covered with flowers
and tiny white lights now sits in the courtyard where the brick
walkway meets at the end.

My father put this entire courtyard in with
his own hands, and he built it to curve around the fountain that is
nestled in the middle of the garden.  He also put that
fountain in himself when my parents first bought the hotel so many
years ago. He did this all for the love of his life, my mother.
Sadly the only thing my father does since her death is tend to that
garden. I wish I could do something to change that, but he has
always been a stubborn man, and after losing her…well, he died
right along with her. He has been here all week nevertheless,
making sure that the garden is perfect for Lily’s big day.

Lily’s family and friends have now all
arrived from Florida and the U.K. I join Lily and Christopher in
the lobby to greet them all, finally putting faces to the names of
those that I’ve been hearing stories about all of these years. One
in particular standing out in this crowd is Rebekah, her sister. I
recognized her right away from the many pictures that Lily has
shared with me, and let me tell you, she is even more attractive in
person. Stunning, actually. Tall and beautiful like Lily. Long
raven black hair, hypnotic emerald green eyes and a figure that
demands attention. Shame she lives in Florida, or I would
definitely be asking her out.

After settling into their rooms and
freshening up, everyone gathers back downstairs in the restaurant
for a welcome luncheon. A wide assortment of imported cheeses,
meats, crudités and fine wines adorn the three buffet tables.
Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, so I slip away and go
downstairs to see how things are coming along at The Underground.
The hotel is starting to have that presence of true wedding
madness, and everyone seems more than ready to party. Every single
room is booked this weekend, and all of the guests are family and
friends of Lily and Christopher.

Adam, the manager of The Underground, is
overseeing preparations at the club for tonight’s bachelorette
party. The girls have provided some very interesting favors and
decorations, most of which are penis-related in one way or another.
Jared, my bartender, and Patrice, my personal assistant, are in
charge of decorating and when I popped in to check on things I was
unfortunately greeted by the ridiculous over-abundance of penis
balloons in assorted sizes and colors dangling from the ceiling.
The tables were littered with penis straws and hats, napkins in
phallic shapes, and glow-in-the-dark penis necklaces.

Whoever tries to tell you that men are more
sexually-driven than women is extremely delusional. Women clearly
have it all over us men, and they are in my opinion the filthier,
and naughtier thank god, species. They are just—usually?—more
discrete about it. Not that I’m complaining. I do like that about
them. This…is just odd.

I got out of there unnoticed, thankfully. I
make my way back upstairs to the kitchen to check in with my
assistant chef on the preparations for tonight’s rehearsal dinner.
I make another quick appearance at the luncheon, taking Lily aside
to remind her that dinner is at seven and that everything is
underway at The Underground as far as the bachelorette party-of-sin
is concerned. She shoots me a confused look, and I assure her that
all is just as she requested and not to worry. I excuse myself and
head upstairs to my penthouse apartment for a shower before the
night gets underway.

Pleased that everyone is enjoying
themselves, but with this crowd, I have a feeling that tonight is
going to be unforgettable.

Chapter Eight

~The
Wedding, part two~

The rehearsal dinner was a huge success. The
food was delicious. Speeches were made. Drinks were flowing in
copious amounts. The limousine arrived at nine to take all of the
men away for Christopher’s bachelor party, and the ladies have all
made their way downstairs to The Underground for Lily’s
bachelorette party.

Jared is treating the ladies with a new
signature drink that he conjured up just for Lily. He calls it
“Libagione peccaminoso” which translates to Sinful Libations and
contains absinthe. With this concoction in the hands of this group
of ladies, it should prove to make for an interesting
evening. Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder? No, that’s
absence. Absinthe make the panties drop…so I have heard anyway. I
have no idea nor would I know from experience. Oh, fuck it. I plead
the fifth.

But I digress.

The evening is well underway. The music is
blaring. A mix of R&B, hip hop, and club music fills The
Underground. The ladies seem to be enjoying it, and they want to
dance. Man, do they want to dance. Jared and I are, for the most
part, keeping our distance, remaining at the bar to observe. “No
Men Allowed” was the theme for the night, but we are the
exceptions. And the male strippers, of course. They have just made
their way into the club, and surprise, they are in police uniforms.
What’s with that anyway? Do woman really have a thing for cops? I
just don’t get that. Jared and I have a good laugh as the ladies
begin to scream…extremely loud. They pull chairs out to the dance
floor and form a circle as if they read in some “Guide to a
Bachelorette Party” handbook that this is the protocol when the
strippers show up. We are finding the whole thing fucking hilarious
to say the least

One of the strippers—who we are now
referring to as Thor due to his massive muscles by steroid—has
hoisted Lily up in a barbaric fashion, and now has her legs wrapped
around his waist. He is now bouncing and humping her around inside
the circle of shame that the ladies have formed. More
screaming.

It seems like only a brief moment had passed
when Jared and I look away to take a shot. When we turn our
attention back to the debauchery, the strippers have all of the
ladies lined up in the middle of the dance floor, bent over and
they are trading off grinding into each one, one at a time, and
sealing it with a bite on the ass. A lot more screaming. A lot. The
ladies are all clapping, jumping around, and begging for more. As I
said, fucking hilarious.

Before I can continue on with this
play-by-play, I am in desperate need of another Libagione
peccaminoso, or two. Probably three. As Jared mixes up an entire
pitcher for me I observe stripper number two and three joining in,
choosing two of the other ladies who are waving bills in the air to
attract their attention, begging for a ride on the muscle express
as well.

An hour has finally passed which, to be
honest, seemed like days. I have never laughed so hard in my life.
I have never seen a group of women scream, howl, and fan themselves
as much as I have witnessed tonight. I have never seen, nor have I
wanted to, so much grinding from men built like trees in my life.
T.G.I.O. Yes, thank god it’s over.

That part of the evening may well be over.
But Jared and I are the only men in the room again, and the ladies
have begun to stare us down as if we were the last two bowls of
chocolate ice cream left on the entire planet. The men are supposed
to join them here shortly after their night of debauchery, but that
won’t be for another thirty minutes or so. We will just have to
make do. This is a problem that any man would invite. Twenty-plus
horny ladies draping themselves all over them? Not a bad problem to
have. 

Midnight is upon us. The men have finally
arrived and the girls have flocked to their husbands and boyfriends
like mice to cheese. The singles all seem to be finding their way
to one another. All but one.

Lily’s sister, the lovely Rebekah, has
stayed back and we have engaged in quite an interesting,
alcohol-fueled conversation. She is not only stunning; she is
intelligent and kind. After a few drinks, the conversation became
more playful. I was intrigued by this woman, possibly a bit
mesmerized as well. While she was telling me about a trip that she
had taken with her family to South Africa as a child, I just stared
at her mouth. I don’t think that I heard one word she was saying.
Her lips are so full and just beg to be kissed. Her long dark hair
sets off her emerald green eyes causing them to pop and lure you
right in. And I do have to admit that I am happy to be lured by
this girl.

“Enough talking, Donovan. I feel like
dancing.” And with that she takes my hand and leads me onto the
now-crowded dance floor. I don’t even have time to object. I don’t
even know if I would. I have never been much of a dancer but I do
alright. No white man’s over-bite here, I assure you. I take charge
and pull her close, doing a bit of grinding of my own. Not quite
like Thor did earlier, but I manage. By the look on her face, she
agrees. We become lost in the music, lost in each other’s eyes.

“I’m a bit drunk I think, Rebekah.” I
clumsily stepped on her foot, so I might as well blame my misstep
on that. Right. Blame it on the alcohol…smooth move, buddy. “I
think that I need to lie down.” The room begins to spin. Absinthe
really does make things drop, and it appears to be me that is doing
the dropping right now.

“Let’s go sit down then. Come on.” She takes
my hand, leading me back to the bar where I notice Lily and
Christopher are both watching us closely. Too closely, in fact.

“Are you two enjoying your night?” I ask as
I plop my drunk self onto an open stool next to Rebekah.

“Not as much as the two of you,
Donovan…obviously.” Lily says, almost scolding as she gives Rebekah
a look of disapproval. Christopher and I remain silent giving each
other that “Oh shit, here we go” look.

“Don’t look at me like that, girl,” Rebekah
fires back quickly. “We’re just having fun.”

“Uh huh…” Lily rolls her eyes. “Just use a
condom you two.” Smirking, she grabs Christopher and drags him back
to the dance floor. Awkward. Rebekah and I just look at each other
and grin, both of us used to Lily and her smart ass comments. I
will deal with her later. For now, all of my attention is on this
beautiful creature, Rebekah.

“Jared, can I get some water, please?” I
look over to Rebekah and ask if she wants some. She nods her head
yes and again I get lost in her eyes, forgetting the question for a
minute. “Uh, Jared, make that two.”

And before the water hits the bar, my lips
are pressed to hers. My hands find their way to her beautiful face.
She responds favorably. Extremely favorably. Her arms are now
wrapped tight around my waist, pulling me in close. This is one of
those kisses that you never forget. And it reminds me of just how
long it has been since experiencing one of this magnitude. Stop
thinking, Donovan. Kiss the girl.

I break the kiss, pulling away. Looking
directly into her eyes I say, “We are really going to be in trouble
with Lily now.” We both laugh as we turn to check the dance floor
for prying eyes. As expected, the prying eyes in question are on
us. And Lily doesn’t look too happy.

“Don’t even worry about her. She’ll get over
it.” She pulls me even closer. “Maybe just to be safe though, we
could take this somewhere else?”

Somewhere else? Shit, dilemma. This is my
employee’s sister after all. What to do? On one hand, I feel that I
have an obligation to behave here, seeing that this is Lily’s
sister. On the other hand… Fuck it. What am I saying?

“I agree. Do you want to go and tell her
that we are going for a walk or something? Just so she doesn’t
worry?”

“Good idea. I’ll be right back.” She heads
for the dance floor, and I turn back towards the bar and drink down
my water. Jared is now shaking his head, laughing at me.

“What? Not you too, Jared,” I bark,
irritated.

“No man. I’m just bummed that you got to her
first,” he says, still laughing. “She’s clearly into you… go for
it.”

“Thank you for your permission…man. But it’s
not like that. I like this girl.” I finish my water and set the
glass on the bar as I get up from my stool. “Hold down the fort.
We’re going for a walk.” I walk out to the dance floor to find
Rebekah. Seeing that she is surrounded by all of the girls, all of
them looking in my direction, I pull Lily aside for a word.