Back on Solid Ground (44 page)

“Will you
help me up?”

“Come on.” 
Jason put his arm behind her back and got her to her feet. “Do you want me to
walk you to the bathroom?”

Holly shook
her head yes.  “Yes, please,” she said, with a drunken smile.  She leaned her
head against him as they walked.  “You are so cute,” she told him, slurring her
words.  “How come nobody has snatched you up and married you?”  She put her arm
around his waist, then she stopped him and moved in front of him.  “Did you
know that you’re the first guy I’ve actually wanted to have sex with in ages.” 
She was teetering around and he had to grab her to keep her from falling.

Jason was
having a hard time keeping a straight face.  “No, I didn’t know that.”

“It’s true. 
I have had so many shitty dates where I couldn’t even kiss the guy.  Don’t you
just hate that?”  She had gotten the hiccups and was hiccuping every three or
four words. 

“Yeah, shitty
dates suck.  Do you want to sit back down?”

“No, I need
to throw up.”  They walked a little further and she stopped in front of him
again.  “So do you want to?”

Jason
couldn’t help it and he laughed out loud.  “Do I want to what?  Have sex?”

“No.  Go out
on a date.  Where’d you get that?  We were talking about shitty dates.”

“Never mind.”

“Although sex
would be nice too,” she added. 

Jason pointed
his finger to the right then the left.  “Which way are we going?”

“To the
bathroom.  I have to throw up.”

They got to
the bathroom and Holly went in and threw up while Jason waited outside the
door.  When she finished she opened the door. 

“I’m using
someone’s toothbrush,” she said, with a mouthful of toothpaste. 

“As long as
it’s not mine,” Jason laughed.

He walked her
to the bedroom and he pulled the covers back and Holly fell onto the bed. 
Jason took her shoes off and covered her up and she was passed out before he
got to the door.

Jason made a
drink and joined Eli and Carlos on the balcony. 

“Where’s
Holly?” Carlos asked.

“She threw up
and passed out,” Jason said, and they all laughed.

Eli held up
his drink.  “Well, I guess this marks the end of an era.”

“To the
beginning of a new one,” Jason said, and they all touched glasses and took a
drink.

Niki was
released from the hospital the following day and everyone had gone over to
Stacy’s condo to celebrate.  Stacy had arranged for food to be brought in and
they were all visiting out on the balcony after lunch.  Niki’s parents and
Charlotte were flying back to New Orleans later in the day, and Carlos, Eli and
Jason would be going back to the island for a week then to New Orleans for Charlotte’s wedding. 

Jason had not
had a chance to talk to Holly in private since the night before, so he went
over and sat down next to her and tried not to laugh. 

“Are you
feeling any better since you’ve eaten?” he asked.

“Maybe a
little.  I can’t believe you made me drink that much last night.”

Jason’s eyes
got big.  “Me?  You were the one ordering all the shots!” he said.  “So do you
remember what you told me last night?”  He smiled conspiratorially and nudged
his shoulder into her. 

Holly got a
worried look on her face, “No,” she said, skeptically.  “And I don’t think I
want to know.”

Jason laughed
and leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You told me you wanted to have sex
with me.”

Holly turned
beet red.  “I never would have said that,” she exclaimed.   

He put his
arm around her and squeezed her.  “I’m kidding,” he lied.  “You asked me out on
a date.”

“I am so
embarrassed.  I don’t remember anything after we left the bar,” Holly said, and
Jason laughed at her.

“Don’t be
embarrassed.  You just threw up and passed out,” he told her.  “You want to go
to Charlotte’s wedding with me?”

Holly smiled
and her eyes lit up.  “In New Orleans?  I’d love to!”

“Good. 
Consider it a date,” he said smiling.    “I’ll come back here Wednesday or
Thursday and we can fly over with Stacy and Niki.”

“That sounds
great,” Holly said.  She looked over at Jason for a minute then narrowed her
eyes.  “I did tell you I wanted to have sex with you, didn’t I?”  Jason
couldn’t keep a straight face. “Oh my God!” she said mortified, covering her
face.  “I am so embarrassed.  Don’t even tell me what else I said.  And don’t
ever let me drink like that again,” Holly scolded him. 

Eli walked up
to the two and smiled.  “Well, what do we have here?”

Holly leaned
over to Jason and whispered, “You didn’t tell him what I said, did you?” and
Jason laughed out loud. 

“I haven’t
had a chance.  But I’m sure we’ll discuss it in detail on the flight home,” he
told her.

Stacy had
gone into the kitchen for something and Charlotte had followed her in.  They
hadn’t spoken much since that day in the waiting room before Niki woke up. 

“Stacy, I
want to apologize for everything I said to you earlier.  I was so worried about
Niki and I know that’s no excuse, but I had no right to say those things to
you,” Charlotte said.  Stacy started to say something, but Charlotte held her
hand up and continued.  “I’ve seen how happy you make my brother and I can tell
how much he loves you.  And I hope that you can forgive me for being so hateful
and cruel.  Eli was right, I don’t think Niki would ever forgive me if he knew
how I had treated you.” 

Stacy smiled
at Charlotte.  She looked so much like Eli. “Apology accepted.  Let’s not
discuss it again.”

“Let’s not
discuss what?” Niki said, walking into the kitchen.

“None of your
business,” Stacy said.  She looked at Charlotte and smiled, and Niki shook his
head.

“Great.  We’re
not even married yet and you’re already conspiring with my sister.”

Charlotte looked from Niki to Stacy.  “Are you two engaged?”

“No,” Stacy
said. 

“Not yet,”
Niki clarified.

“You’re
coming to my wedding aren’t you?” Charlotte asked Stacy.

“Absolutely,”
Stacy said. 

Charlotte looked at Niki. “What are you going to do until then?”

“Play with
Stacy.”

Stacy put her
arms around Niki’s waist and leaned her head against him and closed her eyes. 
“I’m going to take good care of him,” she said.  “Actually, you should probably
be sitting down.  You’ve been up for a long time,” Stacy told Niki.

Everyone had
come inside and they were getting ready to leave for the airport.  They said
their good byes and Stacy and Niki walked everyone to the elevator. 

“We’ll see
you next week,” Niki told them, and he and Stacy went back inside. 

“How about we
lie in bed and watch movies,” Stacy said. 

“How about we
lie in bed and do something else,” Niki suggested.

Stacy
smiled.  “Even better.”  They walked hand-in-hand back to the bedroom, and
Stacy asked Niki, “Do you think we’re soul mates?”

Niki smiled. 
“Without a doubt.”

Niki and
Stacy and Jason and Holly had gotten adjoining rooms at a hotel in the French
Quarter and the girls were drinking champagne and getting ready for the
rehearsal dinner in Holly and Jason’s room. They were laughing about something
when Niki and Jason walked in ready to go. The room smelled of expensive perfume. 

“If nothing
else, you two smell good,” Jason said.

Stacy walked
out in a short red dress with spaghetti straps, a long scarf around her
shoulders and three-inch heels, and Niki’s jaw dropped.

“Shit,” he
said, checking her out.  “Let’s just stay here.”

“Fine by me,”
Stacy said, and Niki pulled her into their room and closed the door.

Jason could
hear them laughing on the other side of the door and he banged on the wall,
“Cut that  out in there!” he yelled, and Holly came out laughing.

She was
wearing an off-the-shoulder black velvet dress and she had worn her hair up
with long ringlet curls hanging down around her face.   “Wow!  You look
awesome,” Jason said.

“You clean up
pretty well yourself,” she said smiling. 

A limo took the
foursome to the rehearsal dinner at a plantation mansion outside the city. 
There was a sit-down dinner and everyone had made a toast to the bride and
groom afterwards.  The event was over before midnight, so the limo took Niki,
Stacy, Jason and Holly back to the French Quarter and they went bar hopping on Bourbon Street.  They went inside a club and Jason and Niki grabbed a window table and Stacy
and Holly immediately hit the dance floor.  Niki and Jason drank beer and
caught up while Stacy and Holly danced for the next half-hour.  They just sat
down for the first time when two guys came over and asked them to dance. 

“Do you mind
if I dance with him?” Stacy asked Niki.

“You can
dance with anyone you want, as long as you go home with me.”

Holly looked
at Jason and he waved her off, and the girls went back out to the dance floor. 
They danced several dances when AC/DC
Thunderstruck
came on and Niki and
Jason watched as Holly and Stacy cleared the dance floor.  Even their dance
partners had backed off as the two head-banged all over the dance floor. 

“They’re
wild,” Niki laughed.

“They’re
trouble,” Jason said.

Niki nodded
his head.  “I’ve always been drawn to trouble.”

“Me too,”
Jason agreed.   “When’s the wedding?”

“She’s turned
me down four or five times,” Niki said, and he took a long drink of his beer. 
“So what’s up with you and Holly?”

“She’s hot,”
Jason said, watching her dance around with Stacy.

“She is hot,”
Niki agreed.  “As overbearing as she is, she kind of grows on you.”

“Kind of like
someone else I know,” Jason said, motioning to the dance floor, and Niki
laughed.

A slow song
came on and Stacy and Holly returned to the table.  Stacy sat down in Niki’s
lap and put her arm around his neck. 

“Did you miss
me?” she asked, taking a drink of his beer.

“What’s to
miss?”

“Hey!” she
said, elbowing him in the side.

Niki laughed
and put his arms around Stacy’s waist and squeezed her. He called the waiter
over and they ordered a bottle of champagne and the four talked and laughed for
another hour before they headed back to their hotel.  Jason and Holly were
walking arm and arm ahead of Stacy and Niki.

“They look
good together,” Stacy observed.

“Yeah.  It
would be cool if things worked out.” 

They got back
to the hotel and Stacy and Niki went to the bar for a nightcap and Holly and
Jason went back to their room.  Holly kicked her shoes off as soon as they
walked in the door, and Jason came up behind her and put his arms around her
and kissed her neck. 

“I’ve had a
really good time with you tonight,” Jason told her.

“I have too,”
Holly said. 

She leaned
her head back against his chest and he kissed her again, then he turned her
around and put his arms around her waist and kissed her on the lips.  He
reached up her back and unzipped her dress and Holly did a little shimmy and it
fell to the floor.

“That was
cool.  Do that again.”

“Oh, you
liked that?” she teased.  “I’ve got a lot better moves than that,” she said,
and she pulled his head to hers and they kissed a long kiss like the one at
Stacy’s condo.  When it was over Holly threw her hands in the air. 

“Okay, I give
up, just take me!  You know I’m a sure thing anyway because I already told you
I wanted to have sex with you!”

Jason laughed
out loud and pulled Holly down on to the bed with him and rolled on top of her
and kissed her again.  “You’re too much,” he was about to say Lois, but Holly
covered his mouth before he could get the words out.

“Don’t you
dare call me Lois!” she yelled.  When she removed her hand Jason was laughing.

“Okay Lois,”
he said, and Holly slugged him.

“Jason!  I
really don’t like you to call me that.”

“I know. 
That’s why it’s so much fun,” he said, laughing at her. 

They stayed
up laughing and talking and messing around, and it was 4:00 a.m. when Jason
hung the Do Not Disturb sign out and they finally went to sleep.  

Stacy and
Niki sat in an overstuffed chair in the hotel bar listening to a saxophone
player while they sipped on a Sambuca.  She had her legs slung over his and
Niki had his hand on Stacy’s knee. 

“I’ve been
wanting to rip this dress off of you all night,” Niki said, running his hand up
her thigh. 

Stacy crossed
her legs and trapped his hand between her thighs.  “Is that right?  Well, why
don’t you do something about it?”

Niki smiled
mischievously and set the glass down on the side table and stood up.  He pulled
Stacy to her feet and threw her over his shoulder and reached in his pocket and
tossed a twenty down on the table.  Stacy was laughing and screaming as he
carried her out of the bar and through the courtyard to their room.  When he
got inside, Niki set Stacy down and he tackled her onto the bed and they rolled
off the other side and landed with a thud on the floor.   They were both
laughing hysterically, and Jason banged on the wall.

Stacy tried
to get up but she was laughing too hard and Niki wouldn’t let go of her.  He
was lying on his back and she was sitting on top of him and he reached up and
pulled the straps off of her shoulders and pulled her dress down to her waist. 

“Nice bra,”
Niki said.

“I thought
you’d like it.”

“I do.  But I
like what’s in it better,” he said, unhooking the bra and flinging it up on the
bed.  He ran his hands over her breasts and moaned, then pulled her down on top
of him and ran his fingers down her bare back.