Beyond Promise (16 page)

Ayden ignored me and glanced around the
group who seemed completely mystified; some finally giving hesitant
nods to satisfy Ayden’s prodding eyes.

“Okay, then. Everyone know how it works?”
Brandy asked, excited for any game that people might participate
in. A few shakes of the head prompted Brandy to continue. “So each
person will come up with something like, “Never have I ever eaten a
grasshopper or never have I ever had a threesome” and then—”

“Whoa. How does it go from eating a
grasshopper to a threesome?” Jason laughed.

“Only in Brandy’s mind does it make sense,
and only in her mind will it ever.” Mason shook his head.

“Anyway, after the person says their
statement, everyone who hasn’t done it, keeps all ten fingers up in
the air. Anyone who has done it, has to put down a finger,” Brandy
said.

“Isn’t it usually done with sipping a beer?”
I asked.

Brandy raised her brow. “I assumed not
everyone was into beer sipping at the moment so fingers will
do.”

I smiled and rolled my eyes. “Point
taken.”

“Alright, so it begins.” Ayden flashed his
dazzling smile and his eyes locked on mine. “Never have I ever, and
I mean EVER tried to grope or take advantage of a person in a
coma.”

All heads turned to me, and Gabby started
giggling so hard she fell off the couch. Jason attempted to pick
her up as Brandy started laughing as Gabby kept all ten fingers in
the air.

“I mean it was just like a big
misunderstanding…like…I don’t know…it just seemed…I thought
that...Well if he maybe heard or felt some sort. It’s just that I
couldn’t believe he didn’t remember me.”

“I’m in shock,” Mason laughed. “And to think
what we shared.”

Tori hit him upside the head, and I sunk
deeper into the chair as I caught Ayden beaming about his
accomplishment.

“Just wait. There’s more where that came
from,” Ayden assured us.

And I believed it, but two could play this
game.

“Let the partying begin,” Gabby yelled into
the dead microphone. She tapped it twice and handed it over to
Brandy who blew on it a couple times and gave it back to her. It
was like watching Tweedledee and Tweedledum blast into the
twenty-first century, and I giggled as Emily patted my
shoulders.

“Are you laughing at your friends?” she
teased.

I smiled and sat back in the chair, sipping
my soda water with orange juice.

“Let’s show Lily what she’s going to be
missing. Wild nights of clubbing, singing karaoke, and—” Brandy
stopped and tilted her head at Gabby. “What else will she be
missing?”

“Beats me,” Gabby snickered, and hit the
microphone against her hip to make it work.

“Guys, we heard you without it.” I smiled.
“You’re that loud.”

Tori threw her head back with laughter, and
Emily stood up and climbed on the stage with them.

We were at a small karaoke bar, and all the
tables were full since it was a rainy Saturday night.

Emily walked over to the machine and
scrolled through the songs. A wicked grin spread along her mouth as
she picked the next number and walked over to Gabby and Brandy with
another microphone.

I looked at the screen behind them and
laughed even harder. I couldn’t wait to see Gabby and Brandy try to
sing this song. In fact, this was my perfect ammo for whatever
might come at us over the years. I slid out my phone and began
recording.

“FYI, girls, the microphones don’t turn on
until the music starts.” Emily smiled and held her microphone
tightly, trying not to laugh at Gabby and Brandy. They’d only had a
couple shots, but they were goners and it was pretty
hysterical.

As the countdown on the screen went from
5-4-3-2-1, I just grinned and sat back in the chair.

“This should be entertaining,” Tori
whispered.

“This should be what gets us kicked out of
here. No one will forgive us for this. I can’t believe Emily chose
this song.”

And the music began.

I slid down in my seat as the trumpet to “My
Humps” by The Black Eyed Peas started, and Emily prepared herself
to belt out will.i.am’s part of the duet.

Gabby and Brandy looked at each other and
started giggling, and then they both stood up straight as Fergie’s
lyrics were about to start…Their big moment to shine.

And shine they did as they sang about their
humps, junk in their trunks, and lady lumps. That would’ve been
great enough to record, but it was like a gift from above when they
started bouncing their butts to the beat of the music. Next thing I
knew, they were covering the stage with dance moves the world had
never dared before.

And there was a reason for this.

As I sat recording, I felt almost evil as
the crowd roared to life around us, and Gabby and Brandy continued
to belt out the lyrics surprisingly well. Tori stood up and started
clapping as Emily sang her part of the song. This was
priceless.

I watched my two best friends eat up every
second of their fame as the song ended, and they took a bow with
Emily following suit. After all, it was her impeccable taste that
drove the house wild. All three trundled off the stage and wandered
to our table while the crowd kept clapping and began chanting,
“Encore”.

I stopped recording and slid my phone back
in my purse.

“That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever
seen,” I snorted. “Where did you learn those moves? I’ve never seen
you whip those out when we’ve gone out before.”

Gabby shook her head. “I have no idea where
they came from. The song just brought it out of me.”

The server came by, and Gabby and Brandy
ordered another drink as did Emily. Tori was still sipping her
cocktail.

“So what do you think the boys are doing?”
Tori asked, plastering on a wry grin.

“I don’t know. But it has me suspicious,”
Gabby replied. “Jason wouldn’t tell me one thing. Not one single
thing.”

“Ditto,” Brandy seconded.

“Me either.” I glanced at the next act about
to start their song and almost felt sorry for them. I wouldn’t want
to follow Brandy and Gabby’s number.

“Are you thinking strippers?” Brandy’s eyes
were wide.

“Do you think they would when they’ve got
all this at their fingertips?” Gabby motioned to us all.

“I don’t know. None of them ever struck me
as the stripper type,” I chortled.

“Or we wouldn’t be marrying them,” Brandy
said, folding her arms in front of her. “But do you think they have
strippers?”

I laughed.

“Well, we were told to stay away from
Ayden’s house until what was it…two o’clock in the morning?” Gabby
asked. “Wasn’t that what it was?”

Tori nodded. “Sure was.”

“You think they might have strippers coming
to the house?” I asked. “Yuck.”

“I don’t think they have strippers at all,”
Brandy stated again, but her voice went up in a question.

“I did tell them we were taking you to a
male strip club,” Gabby said. “But I was pretty sure they knew I
was kidding.”

“Were you?” I asked.

She shrugged and smiled.

“So the verdict is still out on the
strippers with the guys. What else do you think they’re up to?” I
asked.

“Drinking. Lots of it.”

“Ayden’s not supposed to drink yet,” I
said.

“Well, I’m sure he won’t then,” Emily said
smiling.

Appetizers that we ordered before the
singing triplets got on stage arrived, and we all started chowing
on mozzarella sticks and fried zucchini. It was a good thing I
planned for a forgiving wedding dress.

“I so admire you,” Emily prompted. “Most
brides are going crazy with worry about fitting into their dress.”
She beamed and popped in a zucchini spear.

“You’re so persistent, and I have absolutely
no idea what you’re talking about.” I grinned, taking a bite of the
melted cheese scrumptiousness. “Delicious.”

“I think they had a car service reserved,
maybe for dinner,” Gabby said. “I saw a receipt reserving one for
tonight in Jason’s jeans.”

“Ooooh. Interesting…” I took another
bite.

“You don’t think they’d ever do something
like really stupid…” Tori began.

“Ha,” I barked. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure that
stupid could enter into the picture when this group of guys gets
together, but not the kind of stupid you’re referring to. They’re a
really solid group of men.”

Tori was so sweet, and she’d only begun
dating Mason a few months ago so I understood her worry. Her
boyfriend’s twin brother was about to get married, and they were
all at a bachelor party. Between videos that had gone viral of
bachelor parties gone wrong and elusive social media posts on the
topic, it was no wonder she was worried. But I had total faith in
the Rhodes men.

“You know, I saw online this one stripper
who came to the house, and she got completely naked. Like
completely naked.” Brandy’s eyebrow rose as she conveyed her
findings.

I reached over and squeezed her hand,
chuckling. “I think that’s how it works nowadays.”

“No way,” Emily said. “I think it’s topless
only.”

“Is that better, though, really?” Brandy
questioned.

“I don’t think our guys are even getting one
of those services,” Gabby said. “We should have faith in them.”

“I have complete faith,” I said, nodding.
“Complete faith.”

“Me too,” Brandy mumbled.

“Me three,” Tori confirmed.

“Well, I don’t have faith in men at all so I
say we go spy,” Emily announced.

I shook my head, but my gaze connected with
hers and saw the actual worry lurking behind her eyes. I glanced
over at Gabby who noticed Emily’s expression as well.

Maybe it was about time we showed Emily what
real men were all about.

“You know what? Let’s go find the guys. See
what they’re up to. I bet they’d love if we crashed their party,” I
said, glancing at the group.

Brandy looked puzzled, but Gabby had already
zeroed in on my plan. Emily already had her fair share of bad luck
in the marriage and dating department so now it was our duty to
show her good men really did exist in the world.

And they did.

Gabby nodded and clapped her hands in
excitement. “I can’t wait to spy. I even have other shoes in the
limo.”

“Seriously? Who packs two pairs of shoes?” I
asked.

“Always be prepared.”

I smiled as Brandy waved over the server for
our check.

“So let’s do presents in the limo on the
ride to Ayden’s,” Brandy said.

“Sounds good to me.”

I could only imagine what kind of
bachelorette gifts I had to look forward to…pink and purple battery
powered things that shouldn’t be pink or purple or have glitter on
them for that matter. My stomach clenched at the thought. I hoped I
had lots of nice lingerie on the horizon, nothing more
creative.

“Alright, ladies,” Brandy said, standing up.
“Operation…What should we call it?”

“I have no idea.” Emily shrugged.

“Operation
Wedding Singer
,” Gabby
suggested.

“I love that movie.” I stood up from the
table and glanced at the couple on stage singing. They looked cute
together and were having a lot of fun.

“I do too,” Emily agreed.

“Okay. Operation
Wedding Singer
has
commenced,” Brandy announced. “Let’s pile into the limo and decide
how best to breach the property without them knowing.”

“We could arrive to an empty house,” Emily
pointed out.

“True, but then we could make ourselves
comfy,” Tori said. “One thing I know is that they were planning on
eating a lot. Mason bought out Costco.”

“Curious,” I muttered.

We walked out to the waiting limo and piled
in.

“I hope this doesn’t backfire,” Emily
muttered, buckling in.

My stomach clenched. I knew Ayden was never
into strip clubs or strippers, but things could, I guess, go
instantly wrong on a drunken bachelor’s night.

But Ayden wasn’t drinking.

Yet everyone else was.

That would be awful to show up at the house
to convince Emily that not all men were the same and find our guys
ogling some naked woman.

Nope. I had full confidence that we wouldn’t
find a woman or women at the house.

Then why did my stomach stay knotted?

The limo started and pulled onto the road as
the girls poured themselves champagne.

“Okay. My present first.” Gabby slid a large
wrapped box across the floor.

It moved like it was heavy and that had me
worried. I glanced at her and she was nearly beaming.

I tugged on the silver ribbon and ripped the
ivory paper off the taped box. I opened the flaps on the box and
was completely relieved and excited to see what was inside: a
beautiful ivory negligee balanced on two handmade photo albums
covered in white satin and bordered with red bows.