Teddy Bear Sir (The Sloan Brothers Book 3) (12 page)

I was still holding her hand and with my free hand, I reached into my suit pocket.  I kept her eyes pinned to mine until I actually had the box out and between us.  There was no doubt what it was, the box was small, square, and Tiffany blue.  Her eyes followed mine to the box, and held.

I felt her hand tremble a minute before her head jerked up.  Those beautiful blue eyes were huge and wary until I smiled.

“
Have you changed your mind Ayla?”

The box was still closed and her hand still trembled.

“
About what?”

That same tremble registered in her words.  She hadn’t shifted into panic-mode, but she was close.

“
About marrying me.”

“
I don’t recall there being much of a question.  I recall a declaration.”

I had to give her that one and I chuckled.

“
You want the words?  I’ll give you the words.  Marry me Ayla.”

“
That’s still not a question.”

I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t think it was supposed to be this difficult.

“
Ayla Warren, do you love me?”

Now that got a reaction.  All trembling stopped and her baby blue laser beams zeroed in on my own.

“
More than anything Pierce.  I think I fell in love with you when you protected me in that strip club, the first time we met.”

“
Do you love me enough to commit yourself to me?  Do you love me enough to marry me?  Don’t tell me you have to think about it.  If you have to think about it, then the answer is no.  In your heart, you know the answer to this question.  You’ve always known.  So Ayla Warren, will you marry me?”

I flipped open the box and there sat a perfect two carat, round cut diamond on an antique band of platinum that was carved like lace.  Perfect and simple.  Just like the woman I wanted to give it to.

“
Yes.  Will you marry me?”

That wasn’t in the script.  Was she supposed to ask me as well?  I guess it didn’t matter, but it felt odd answering my own question.  Then again, everything about our relationship was odd.

I took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger.

“
Yes.”

I took her face between my hands and kissed her softly.

“
We are officially engaged.”

She sighed and I smiled.  Then she leaned towards me.

“
You know, we’ve never slept together.  That’s probably unheard of these days, that we’d get engaged before we’d... you know...”

“
There’s a bathroom on the plane.”

She jerked back and her eyes grew huge.  I had to laugh.

“
What?  You’ve never heard of the mile high club?”

She started blinking rapidly and my laughter became louder, which in turn attracted attention.

Anton’s voice carried across the plane.

“
What’s so funny over there?”

I turned to my brother and everyone else who was now curious and staring at us.

“
It seems that my fiance has never heard of the...”

Ayla slapped her hand over my mouth before I could finish my sentence, causing me to howl all over again at her embarrassment.  She leaned in to whisper into my ear.

“
Don’t make me throw you from this damned plane Pierce.”

I grabbed the hand over my mouth and kissed her palm.  Anton was paying close attention, but worse than that, so were Melody and Deacon.  Dorothy was discussing something in depth with Sean.

“
Back it up little brother.  Did you say fiance?  As in you’re finally serious?”

Melody cut in with her own question.

“
Where’s the ring?”

And there it went.  Ayla hurried over to Anton and Deacon and Anton hurried over to me.  The rest of the trip was spent discussing rings, proposals, and Vegas safety strategies.  At least it made the flight seem quicker.

One more time.  Have I mentioned how MUCH I hate Las Vegas?  This time of the year the weather isn’t as bad as it could be I guess.  It was overcast and a little chilly, but at least we didn’t have the oppressive heat.  If only we didn’t have the oppressive boneheads.

Before we even checked in, the first order of business was the marriage license for the next day.  We were assured it was a brief and painless experience as off we sped to the county clerk’s office.

Everyone elected to stay in the limos and wait, but I could tell that it was making Anton and Melody nervous to have to face this part alone.  Fair enough.  I leaned into Ayla and she leaned back.

“
Let’s go in with them.  I think it’ll help with their nerves.”

She nodded sweetly, grabbed her purse, and we followed them inside.

The wait was roughly ten minutes and then we approached the clerk.  Anton and Melody were deep in conversation while the clerk smiled expectantly.  I decided to take the initiative.

“
We’re here for a marriage license.”

She smiled her world weary smile, like she hadn’t heard that request at least a hundred times in the last two days.

“
Of course.  Have either one of you been married before?”

I looked at Ayla who was shaking her head “no”.  I had no idea what our marital status had to do with anything, but I shrugged and replied, “No”.

“
Very well.  Fill this out please.  The charge is fifty dollars cash.”

Melody and Anton were still having a conversation, so I paid the lady and took the document.  When I stepped aside, Mel’ and Anton stepped up and repeated what I’d just done.  I began tugging on Anton’s sleeve, while he kept trying to shrug me off while he talked to the clerk.  Ayla tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to face her.

“
Let’s fill it out.”

“
What?!”

“
We don’t have to use it, but let’s fill it out.  For fun.  We’ll set the example for those two.  Look at them Pierce.  They’re sweating bullets.  It’s just a piece of paper if we don’t use it.  I think it’ll make them feel better if they’re not alone in this.”

There was logic in her reasoning and I followed her to an empty space on the counter where we began filling in the blanks.  In short order, Anton was standing next to me, Melody on his other side.  They definitely seemed more at ease.  I signed on the line and passed it to Ayla who did likewise.  She kissed me sweetly and we handed the application to the clerk.  Fifteen minutes later, both Anton and I walked out with our girls, marriage licenses tucked neatly into our pockets.  Time to check into our rooms.

Am I a snob?  For the most part, yes.  I’ll admit that.  I’m willing to wager though that it’s not in the way that you’re assuming.  I don’t care about how much money a person has, that’s irrelevant to me and always has been.  As I’ve said before, we weren’t raised with money.  The hobbies I have and the things I enjoy aren’t contingent upon large quantities of money.  I can enjoy a hot dog from a good street vendor as much as I can enjoy a lobster at a reputable seafood restaurant.  I’d take my mother’s chocolate cake over any dessert cart in any restaurant anywhere.  I can get into popcorn at a drive-in as much or more than a movie premier and a red carpet walk.  Everything hangs on who I’m enjoying it with.

My “snobbery” revolves around people.  If you have no manners or have total disregard for anyone around you, I will snub you.  If you’re cruel to children, elderly people or animals, I will unleash my inner snob and grind you into dust.  Make no mistake, my capabilities in that arena are endless and at my fingertips.  Vegas brings it to the surface.

People, in general, turn into idiots when they walk into a room full of slot machines.  Add free alcohol and they revert to their evolutionary base.  The sounds of ringing bells and the stench of cigarette smoke give me headaches and people walking around in flip flops and mismatched clothing makes my teeth itch.  Yet in Vegas, it’s accepted as a given and encouraged.  It boggles my mind.

Yet here we were.

We entered the Bellagio and although better on many levels, I still felt out of place.  The rest of our ensemble made their way to the check-in desk, while I hung back.  Ayla was between Deacon and Melody.  I stood alone like a bison on a marble floored prairie, trying to get my bearings.

“
Excuse me sir, I have a complaint.”

That got my attention.  A strange woman with purple hair teased to an extraordinary height, was tugging on my coat sleeve.  In her other hand was the obligatory pink drink with a tiny straw.

“
Pardon me?”

She rolled her eyes as if I was the daft party present.

“
A complaint.  I have a complaint.”

I escaped her grasp and straightened my tie.

“
Don’t we all”, I said as I rapidly made my way to the group I should never have strayed from.  I could feel her eyes follow me, but I never spared her another glance.  She obviously mistook me for a part of this circus.

We moved en masse towards the elevators and Melody inched closer once we got on the elevator.

“
I think she thought that you were a manager.”

I looked down at her and my expression must have given something away because she continued.

“
Oh loosen up Pierce!  Try having a good time for once.  You’re standing there in a three piece suit looking like you’re negotiating a manure field.  You’re in Vegas Teddy Bear.  Lighten up.”

“
I’m here for a wedding Jaws, not a good time.”

Dorothy started laughing at that and I noticed that Deacon was doing his best not to join her.  Ayla began to shake her head while looking at the floor.  I took her hand and smiled.  The door opened but Melody wasn’t finished with me.

“
What?  You don’t think that a Vegas wedding can be fun?”

“
I’m sure a Vegas wedding can be fun.  I’m also sure that it should be a serious undertaking and therefore it should embrace a certain decorum.  The taking of vows should be a solemn occasion Jaws.  It should not be done to a ‘theme’ or taken lightly.  For myself, I plan to take those vows only once in my lifetime.  I want to be taken seriously.”

We’d reached the door to the suite that she would share with my brother, when she turned to me before slipping the key card into the slot.

“
Teddy, you could be in a mankini taking the vow in front of Flipper dressed as the Pope and you’d be taken seriously.  No worries there big guy.”

She winked and then she was gone.

We occupied the suite next to theirs, while Deacon and Dorothy were across the hall.  Sean, Austin, and Chase were next to Deacon and Dor’, in a three bedroom suite that was the largest one of all.  We occupied every room on the floor, save one.

Once we were settled, the phone calls started.  The plans were in place, all that had to be assembled were the players.  No one took into account the fatigue factor.  We’d worked that day and with the flight, it seemed that Deacon, Anton, and myself were getting our asses handed to us.  Still, we played along because we were Sloans and Sloans never threw in the towel.

We met out front and where two limos were waiting.  Austin’s friend was hosting our stag parties at his club and off we went to someplace called the “Blue Moon Club”.  It sounded very old Vegas to me and for the first time, I thought I might actually be able to have a good time.  I invested in those feelings when I noticed that we were leaving the strip and heading to an older, more established part of town.  This was more like it.

The club was large, dimly lit, and packed.  It quickly became apparent that it was “The” place to go for bachelor and bachelorette parties.

We were led to an area known as the “VIP” section and seated at a large round table.  There were four other tables in our section, but ours had booth seating and all of the other tables were visible from ours.  A live band was playing and they were quite good, albeit a bit loud.  I’d promised Ayla that I’d loosen up and behave and I had that promise repeating much like a mantra in my head.

Our drink orders were taken by a pretty waitress in a sapphire blue corset wearing black fishnet stockings.  I could feel Ayla’s eyes burning holes into the side of my head as she waited for me to peruse the young woman’s assets, but I kept my eyes glued to hers as I gave her my drink order.  Score one for me.  I knew I’d done well when I felt my fiance’s hand on my thigh.  So far so good.

Anton was a putz.  He winked and openly flirted, while the waitress kept shifting her glance to Melody who was staring daggers at her.  Deacon looked at me and I mouthed, “five hundred dollars” in a reminder of the wager still on the table.  Yes we were in Vegas, but Anton wasn’t at the altar yet and I still had a chance to win this thing.  Deacon shook his head at me and I smiled.

Seated at a table near ours was a group of women having their own party.  The bride-to-be was wearing a sash that read, “Future Mrs. Reyes”, and everyone else was wearing embarrassingly short dresses with dangerously high heels.  They were several drinks ahead of us, but I had a feeling that we’d be gaining fast.

Our waitress deposited a tray full of drinks and three bowls of cashews in front of us.  We began to munch and drink and after several rounds, our conversation grew louder.  As did the conversation at the all female table.

While the men at our table were better versed at holding our alcohol, Ayla and Melody were not.  Dorothy was sipping virgin daiquiri’s and seemed more than content to watch and laugh.  I admired her and wished I’d taken her approach.  Instead, I watched Deacon get bolder by the minute and Melody get looser.  Ayla grew quiet and melted into my side.  No complaints from me on that one.

The band took a break and we watched as the waitress delivered a tray of rather dubious looking shots to the ladies.  Our table grew quiet as we watched the antics unfold.

The ladies placed the shots in front of them, then put their hands behind their backs.  As a group, they all bent their heads, took the shot glasses in their mouths, and tipped back quickly, swallowing the liquid in one gulp.  They returned the glasses to the table and high-fived one another.

We were all stunned speechless.  I felt Ayla sit up straighter, then she rolled her eyes.  Melody turned to her in question, and Ayla explained.

“
It’s called a blow job.”

Melody’s eyes lit up.

“
Oh I want one of those!”

Anton casually said, “So do I”.

Melody must have kicked him under the table, because he jumped and shot a concentrated look in her direction.  I looked at Deacon and once again mouthed, “Five hundred dollars”.

The next thing I knew, another round was being delivered to our table, but two of the drinks were different.  Placed before Melody and Ayla were shots that looked like the ones the bachelorettes had consumed.  I looked over and the bride-to-be winked.  Great.  Now strangers were buying us drinks.  Why was I envisioning scenes from that old classic, “The Lost Weekend”?

Melody squealed and Ayla moved forward as if she’d done this a hundred times.  That made me nervous, but I was powerless to turn away.  She turned to Melody and said, “On the count of three, tip and guzzle.  Got it?”

Melody nodded and turned back to her shot, her hands behind her back.

“
One...two...three!”

Both of their heads went down, two shot glasses came up and the liquor was consumed.  The glasses were returned to the table and Melody whooped as if she’d won Olympic Gold.  Anton looked reasonably impressed, which just goes to show how easily that man is to entertain.

I looked down at Ayla who was once again pressed into my side.

“
You didn’t have to drink it you know.”

“
Yes I did.  It’s her bachelorette party Pierce.  It’s what you do.”

I did not see her logic, but I was certain it was there somewhere so I held my tongue.  Just like I’d held my tongue when Anton had insisted that we take Deacon to a strip club for his bachelor party.  Some things are traditions that escape me, but are obviously traditions all the same.  Things like strip clubs and blow jobs.

We were done an hour later.  At least I was and I could tell by the way that Dorothy was fading fast that she and Deacon were done too.  Austin and Sean decided to stick around for a little while and I think Anton would have joined them had it not been for Melody.  He was concerned with her giggling and decided to join the rest of us in getting our dates back to the room safely.

Once we were snuggled up and ready for sleep, I started to think about our day.  In particular, the flight.  I’d had thoughts that tonight might be “the night” for Ayla and me, but with all the drinking, that was once again a pipe dream.  I curled around her and pulled her tightly to my body.

“
This is my favorite part.”