True North Book 3 - Finding Now Kate and Sam (2 page)

“Of course it is,” he stated flatly.

I’ll admit it; Nate was a pretty good sport while the “master” set the harness up around his ankles.

Too soon, understanding began to dawn on Nate. “Oh, fuck no,” he groaned.

“Oh, fuck yes!” Jake was just as psyched as I was.

“Remove the blindfold,” Caleb instructed like a circus announcer, and Will obliged, taking the blindfold away with a huge gesture of his arm.

“No! No way! NO
. FUCKING.
WAY!” Nate said looking down as we all stood behind him on the steel deck of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, where we had nudged him out onto a jutting platform.

“Six hundred and eighty feet of pure fucking adrenaline!” I shouted into the deeply carved gorge below. My voice echoed back up to me, and I couldn’t wait for my turn!

“This is the plunge before the plunge,” Caleb announced with a reckless smile, watching the Rio Grande River winding its way far, far below us.

“Couldn’t start off easy, could you? Couldn’t have chosen a bridge a little less close to the fucking moon?” Nate grumbled.

I threw my head back and laughed. It was a gorgeous freaking day. The sky was clear blue, and the heat of the New Mexico sun felt good against my skin.

“You jump or we push, your choice,” Will warned him.

“Yeah, yeah, asshole! I know the score,” Nate barked.

“Are you ready?” hollered out the jump master.

Nate rolled his eyes while the rest of us smirked at his demise, but he gave a thumbs up to the master who then yelled, “JUMP!”

Nate dove into the nothingness around him. He was silent as he effortlessly sliced through the air at breakneck speed. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking about. For me, it was about not thinking at all. Some people did yoga and meditation to clear their minds. This, falling hundreds of feet, the wind rushing through your ears, your mind like a blank slate waiting to be filled with new thought, this was that for me.

We all leaned over the railing and watched Nate reach the end of the bungee, only to be snapped back hard. I wondered if he’d puked. It probably wasn’t very nice of us to have made him drink so much. I smiled at that. Then we all heard him whoop and holler. Yeah, we knew he’d love it.

Jake shook his head slowly and grinned. “Jules would fucking kill us if she knew.”

“Good thing she doesn’t know.” Will clapped Jake on the back and called out, “Who’s next?”

Each of us took two turns. Several times, people driving by stopped to watch us. We gave quite a performance, especially when two hot girls pulled up in a white convertible Jaguar. They parked and got out to lean against the hood, wearing only bikini tops and tight denim shorts, reminding me why I loved being a guy.

I’d just had my ankles set in the harness for my second jump when I decided to make this party even more fun. I called over to the blonde, “Hey, Blondie, what’s your name?”

She smiled when she realized I was addressing her. “Heather.”

I motioned with my head. “Come on over here, Heather.”

Both girls looked at each other and giggled before she put on a brave face and came over.

As she got closer I said, “This could be the end for me.” I looked into her deep brown eyes. Damn, she was smoking hot! “How about a kiss in case I don’t make it?”

She looked back at her friend again then back at me and grinned eagerly; her pretty white teeth gleamed behind her cherry red lips.

Yeah, that’s what I thought.
I slid my hand up under the back of her long wavy hair and brought her face close to mine until our lips touched. She tasted like cinnamon, and a second later she pushed her tongue into my mouth, making my dick very happy in my pants.

When we came apart she said, “Now don’t die, ’cause there’s more where that came from.”

“I’ll hold you to it, Heather,” I said right before I threw myself from the platform and free fell between the rock crevices. 

I invited Heather and her friend Ange, who my twin brother Will was hitting it off with, to park their car in town and join us for a tour of the area from inside our limo. They agreed and soon we were a group. After a couple drinks we were feeling pretty good, and I really just wanted to get rid of the married guys and let our pretty female guests strip to their bras and panties so we could enjoy the hot tub together.  But I’d have to wait and try that later because now we were headed to The Alley, a hopping club in the middle of Taos which really started revving up as the night went on.

The Alley’s terracotta buildings and curving archways were rustic New Mexico perfection. One of the structures was the oldest building in Taos, built by the Pueblo Indians some four hundred years ago. The music was rocking, and we happily found an open table in the bar under the dark log support beams.

We got three orders of their homemade corn chip nachos with salsa and guacamole and ordered tamales, enchiladas and pork tacos and stuffed ourselves.

After dinner, Josh suggested tequila shots. A tall bottle of Cuervo, a bowl of salt and another bowl with limes were set before us, and we had at it.

A few shots later, Heather was sitting on my lap while Ange was on Will’s. Caleb, Jake and Nate shot pool, while Josh had begun entertaining a long, dark haired Latino beauty named Elena. It was turning out to be an awesome fucking bachelor party after all.

Midnight rolled around, and because we had a big day scheduled for tomorrow, it was time to go.

“Hey, baby,” I breathed in Heather’s ear. “If you want, I could have our driver give you a lift home.” I licked the sweet curve of her ear.

“What if I didn’t want to go home?” She tilted her neck just enough for me to have access. 

“Then I’d say you should spend the night with me.” I traveled down her throat with my mouth, alternating between my lips and my tongue.

She moaned ever so softly and positioned herself so no one could see her give a hard squeeze to my package. 

Perfect answer.

We all walked together noisily down the two blocks to our hotel, because yes, we did in fact own Taos. At the hotel we all went our separate ways, me and Heather to my room, Will and Ange to his and Josh headed with Elena to his. The married folk went to sleep alone.

The next morning I made a pot of hotel coffee and gently shook my date awake. “Hey there, gorgeous, sleep good?”

She sat up and tried in vain to straighten her sex-messed hair. “Yeah, I did.” She smiled at the coffee. “For me?”

“For you.” I pressed the ceramic cup into her hands. “My brothers and I have to get an early start.”

“Right, the bachelor party.” She nodded and grinned. “Well, it was great getting to know you better, Sam. If you’re ever in the area again, look me up.”

“Deal.” I gave her a kiss and grabbed my black backpack. “Feel free to hang out here as long as you’d like. Check out time isn’t for another five hours.”

“Sounds good. Hope you boys have a good time,” she said in a sing-song voice.

I was thinking that I already had.

Jake and Nate … and Caleb for that matter, could get all caught up in their one woman plan, but me? No fucking way. I didn’t need one woman all up in my head—that kind of relationship made it impossible for you to think fucking straight.

I texted Will, who was already in the lobby with the rest of the guys. When I walked in, Jake was giving him shit for being a “man-whore.”

“And speaking of man-whore, Sam you may just be the fucking gold medal champ,” Jake accused, laughing.

“Oh, what?” I began. “You’re with one woman for a year and you think you know it all?” I saw Nate give me a look, and realized he might think I was insulting his sister. “Not like Livie isn’t incredible,” I backtracked. “She’s maybe an exception.”

“So is Jules,” Nate said threateningly with his arms folded across his chest.

“I know, I know, Jules and Livie are amazing.” I rolled my eyes a little, throwing my hands up in my defense. “I’m not saying they aren’t. I’m just saying I’m not a man-whore. I resent the term,” I said. “Let me explain. Each woman I meet is special. I treat each one of them like a princess, and they love it. And don’t think for a second that sometimes a woman doesn’t need to just let go and allow her body to dictate its own fun for a night, without a commitment,” I mused. “For me it’s all about the challenge and the chase. I like uncovering a new landscape, one I’ve never discovered before. I also love a girl I can say goodbye to in the morning.”

Josh and Will laughed and patted me on the back; the others laughed too, but were so pussy whipped they shook their heads.

“Don’t you asshats act like you don’t get me ’cause I know you do,” I insisted.

“It’s not that we don’t get you, Sam,” Caleb qualified. “It’s just that we’ve moved past that stage. When you find that one girl who takes your breath away and turns your fucking world upside down, you’ll get it.”

“I don’t want to
get
it
, I like what I
got
,” I retorted as we piled into the rented four wheel drive SUV Jake had picked up that morning.

We pulled into the parking lot of The New Mexico River Adventures headquarters. An hour later we were geared up and ready to kayak the rapids for a two day man-only trip on the Rio Grande.

I heard Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” start up and watched as Nate nervously shifted his weight. It was so very subtle no one else may have noticed, but I could tell his frame shook just the slightest in either fear or anticipation.

Probably both,
I figured as I stood a little taller, knowing what was about to happen.

The music was the audience’s cue to stand. They were seated in cushioned folding chairs that had been covered in soft, pale pink cloth—my sister’s favorite color—and set up in the far field on our ranch, close to the pond and gazebo. The grasses were autumn gold and they waved lazily in the breeze underneath a perfect blue sky.

Nate stood at the center of his party; behind him was Caleb, then Jake, and then me—completely killer in our black fitted tuxes with a single pale pink rose in our lapels. Too bad the wedding party and guest list was so small. There were like maybe fifty guests—mainly Mom and Dad’s contacts, a few cousins and some old high school friends. The maid of honor was, of course, Livie (obviously taken), and the only bridesmaids were Piper (taken again) and Jules’ friend Amanda who had come up from Florida (with her boyfriend)—oh fucking well for me. Wasn’t my gig anyway—this was all about Nate and Jules.

My sister emerged from behind a white lattice partition that was covered in ivy vines and roses. She carried a bouquet of colorful wildflowers and looked absolutely stunning in her lacy white gown. I couldn’t help but smile. She looked so ecstatic and so did Nate. I couldn’t have been happier for them both.

My father and mother stood on either side of Jules as they walked my sister down the aisle to give her to Nate. It was a tradition my sister had seen in a Jewish wedding ceremony. She loved the symbolism, and my mom was so excited to be part of the wedding that way. Mom wore a pink dress, and my dad wore a black tux with his best black cowboy boots. When they each took my sister’s hands and placed them in Nate’s, my mother began to cry. Jules leaned over and kissed her, and then I saw my dad had tears streaking down his rugged, weathered cheeks too. Mom laid her hand on Nate’s face and dad squeezed his arm. Jules was their daughter, and for many years now, Nate had been their honorary sixth son. It was a perfect union.

Watching them all melt into an emotional puddle made my lungs squeeze all of the air out of my chest. I was very aware of the life Nate had lived, and he deserved a little happiness. Maybe marriage seemed like a prison to
me
, but Nate was obviously thrilled, and I was happy for the lucky son-of-a-bitch.

The way he looked down at Jules as my parents put her hands in his and stepped back made me think he was going to kiss her right there, before they were even married. The Justice of the Peace asked who gave the bride away and my parents answered that they did, and then Nate and Jules stepped forward underneath the flowered arbor and turned to face one another. They spoke the traditional vows. Because Nate had two best men, Jake, who held the ring box, handed it to Caleb, who then passed it to Nate. The new couple placed the platinum wedding bands on each other’s fingers and a moment later sealed the deal with a kiss.

With my mom and sister in charge, the reception was elegant. White cloth canopies had been set up over the prairie to provide shade and beauty. Hung underneath were strands of tiny white lights, and there were flowers everywhere. On one side was a gourmet buffet, a bar, a lavish chocolate fountain with colorful fruits and other treats to dip, a five-tier wedding cake with edible flowers, an ice sculpture of wild horses running while others reared up at the sky, and a gift table that towered with fancily wrapped presents and envelopes. On the other side was the bride and groom’s table, where they sat and received their guests’ good wishes.

For their first dance together as a married couple, Nate chose “Sweet Child O’Mine” by Guns and Roses. The two of them came together and looked at each other as if they were the only two people in the world.