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Best Man
An Under Construction Series Novella
Silla Webb & Kaden Layne
Chapter1
Carter
FOUR YEARS AGO
“Speech! Speech! Speech!”Liam chants, and the fellas follow suit.
I pull my attention from the unread text message I sent Laney an hour ago and look up at the celebration happening around me.
I plaster a fake smile on my face and set my phone on the bar, then stand as Liam makes his way toward me. He pulls me into a backslapping hug, the whiskey in his tumbler sloshing over the side and splattering against my shirt, but he’s none the wiser. If he keeps at this pace, he’ll be three sheets to the wind before the party’s over.
“Let’s have it, best man. What words of wisdom do you have to bestow upon me on my final night as a bachelor?” Liam boasts, not a lick of slur to his speech.
“I thought the speech was for your wedding day, not the bachelor party?”
“Now it’s time for the real speech,” he chides. “Not the speech about all the sunshine and rainbows, mushy shit; I want the raw, gritty shit.”
It sounds like he wants me to give him a pep talk to either prevent or encourage his ass from making a break for it–I’m not sure which one. Hell, given my current relationship predicament, I couldn’t tell you which I’d be in favor of: the departure or the follow-through.
I sigh loudly and turn back to the bar, motioning to the bartender to pour me a shot. Her smile reaches her eyes, and she grabs a bottle from the top shelf, pouring a double shot. Her eyes burn with challenge as she slides the glass across the bar to me. She’s been looking at me like that all night, and I’m not really sure what to make of it. I break her intense stare and turn my attention to the groom and the rest of these assholes. I thrust the shot glass in the air and call out a quick "Cheers," before consuming the drink.
I'm not much on hard liquor, although I only need to stand within a foot of Liam for a minute, and I’ll be buzzed due to the amount of whiskey seeping through his pores already.
“Only prepared one speech, but what I can tell you is this… There is no way in hell you’re gonna watch Layla walk down that aisle tomorrow if you don’t slow down on the alcohol and stuff some bread in your system to soak that shit up.”
Liam nods and sets the rocks tumbler on the bar and takes a step back. "Only if you promise to put Laney in your rearview and live up the night, man. It's my bachelor's party. Let's celebrate."
“Come on, Liam. Don’t bring her into this,” I plead.
Liam pulls me closer and says, “How long’s it been? Three weeks? A month? No phone calls, no texts. She’s gone, Carter. You know the chances of her showing up for our wedding tomorrow are slim to none. Layla has accepted that, so when will you? You don’t always have to be the good guy, Car.”
My eyes flicker toward the bar like a magnet is pulling my focus to the bartender. My heart is telling me not to give up on Laney, to not accept her silence as the finality of our relationship. But Liam is right. Laney has run more times than I can count, and I’m done chasing after her.
“It’s alright, man. The night is young. Plenty of time for a little sin.”
Liam nods over his shoulder with a chuckle. He grabs his drink off the bar, and then he leads me toward where the rest of the guys are waiting for the dancers to take the stage. Of course it’s a failed attempt to get him to pace himself with the liquor.
The lights dim as glass shattering rends the air, and my eyes instinctively turn to the bar. The bartender’s laser focused on polishing a glass, and as the club fills with a thick haze of fake smoke, I realize it was a sound effect meant to grab your attention and pull you toward the stage. However, I can’t seem to pull my eyes away from the breathtaking beauty behind the bar. There’s just something about her. Maybe it’s the fact that at first glance she almost looks ordinary, she isn’t overly made up, but this woman needs none of that. She is absolutely stunning in her natural state.
The distinct sound of a woman's heels echoes around the room, almost as if being played through the sound system, then they emerge through the thick gray haze. Three scantily clad dressed women crawl toward the center of the stage to give Liam the attention he deserves in true bachelor party fashion. The fellas are all enamored by the dancers' presence, but I’m not. It’s taking all the willpower I have to not immediately turn my attention back to the bar.
Stealthily making my escape, I head toward the bar, needing something cold to drink to wash the taste of whiskey out of my mouth.
The bartender is still polishing glasses as I take a seat, but she notices me immediately and makes her way toward me.
“What can I get you?”
"Can I get a glass of water please?"
Her brow wrinkles as she smirks. I immediately know that look of judgment, but I don't call her out on it.
"Sure…" she draws, her smirk suddenly replaced with a megawatt smile.
She slides the glass across the bar top then asks, "Need anything else?"
"No thanks."
I reach into my back pocket to pull out my phone, but it isn't there. As I stand to go in search of it, the bartender grabs my attention. "Hey, looking for this?" She waves my phone in the air. I extend my hand to claim it, but she pulls it back out of reach.
