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I began loading glasses onto the clean trays, every once in a while glancing up and looking at Jackson. God, he was so fucking attractive; I knew it would be easy to fall for him again. Too easy. I glanced at Cara and saw she was watching me with a grin on her face.
“What?”
“Why don’t you just go over there and talk to him?”
“I’m not interested,” I answered matter of fact.
Cara gave me a knowing look. “Bullshit, you haven’t taken your eyes off that table since they walked in here. You might be able to feed that line of crap to someone else, but not to me. I know you too well.”
I always had to leave it to Cara to call me out, which proved I was right. She knew me better than I knew myself.
“I wouldn’t even know what to say to him if I went to talk to him. It’s not like we have things to discuss.”
Cara shook her head in disbelief. “Whatever you say. All I know is that you better figure things out, and soon. I can’t have you two dripping with all this tension during the wedding.”
“There is no tension.” I bit back. Just as the words rolled off my tongue, Asher caught my attention and my eyes instantly landed on Jacksons. I could feel my face heat as Cara watched me. I grabbed my notepad and made my way around the bar. “There won’t be any tension, I promise.”
“Whatever you say.” She called after me as I walked away.
Jackson
I had been looking forward to this night since I’d agreed to be part of the wedding party. At first, I’d figured we’d hit a strip joint, have some food and beer, and perhaps play a few games of pool. That bubble burst when Ryan came to me and told me Cara asked him not to have strippers at his own bachelor party. I was taken aback. Who the hell made agreements like that? So instead of being a man and standing up to Cara, here we all sat in Ryan’s living room playing games on the PlayStation.
Tonight was supposed to be about stress relief. Only, I ended up getting roped into picking up the girls from the bachelorette party and getting them home safely if they needed a ride, which meant I had to stay sober. Ryan owed me huge; I thought as I looked around the kitchen. The table was littered with pizza boxes, crumpled napkins, and empty beer and pop cans we scattered everywhere.
A loud roar of laughter came from the living room as the guys completed another round of some racing game they’d been playing. Ryan stood in the corner of the kitchen loading up a plate of cold wings while I started collecting some of the empty cans.
“Is this really all you wanted to do tonight?” I questioned.
Ryan chuckled. “Listen, I know you were hoping for a little tits and ass, but I’m not putting myself into any type of situation that might mess up this wedding. Cara means the world to me.”
“I never said you had to do anything to mess it up, but really, what is a bachelor party without some tits?”
Ryan laughed at my comment. “Look, I’d die without Cara, and to be honest, with you, when she asked me not to have strippers, what could I say? So, I am just respecting her wishes.”
“Always Mr. Respectful, huh? I call it pussy whipped.” I coughed.
“Call it what you want. However, you are the one who isn’t drinking tonight because a certain someone is out with the girls and may need a ride home. You’re also standing there cleaning up the kitchen because you know Cara will flip a bird if she sees this place like this. Who’s the pussy whipped one now?”
I’d been burned by my best friend. I could play it up all I wanted. I could say that I was just doing my duty as the best man but when Cara asked that I stay sober to make sure the girls got home safely, but I already knew the truth. The girls who were out with them tonight barely drank. Cara had already stated that she would probably remain sober the entire night since she’d had a severe headache most of the day. Truthfully, I was worried that Bailey may not. She’d always been a bit of a party animal, and I was sure being back here wasn’t the easiest thing for her to be dealing with.
“Not pussy whipped at all, just doing my job as the best man.” I replied as I cracked open another can of soda and drank down the cold liquid. I grabbed a slice of pizza from the box and had taken a bite when Asher walked into the kitchen.
“You guys need to get in there. I’m getting my ass handed to me in this game,” he said, grabbing wings and a slice of pizza just as the phone rang.
“Come on, let’s go see if I can’t beat the lap you’re on just like I used to do when you were just a pain in the ass kid.” I said, grabbing Asher by the back of the neck and guiding him to the living room.
“Hey, Jackson,” Ryan called just as I was about to sit down. I walked over to where my friend stood, clenching the phone in his hand. “Can you head down to The Crooked Judge? Cara says that she needs some help.”
I frowned. “What’s going on?”
“She won’t say. She just said she needs your help.”
I glanced at Asher and shrugged. “You’re on your own.” I smirked, then dug my hand into my pocket and pulled my keys out. “Tell her I’m on my way,” I said, shoving the rest of my pizza into my mouth.
Just as the door slammed behind me, both Ryan and Asher yelled, “Go get her, show her what she’s missed out on.” Laughter erupted from inside as I rolled my eyes and gave them both the finger as I climbed into my truck.
It took about twenty minutes before I walked into The Crooked Judge. The place was packed, and it took me a minute to spot Cara and one of the other girls over by the pool tables. I waved, then made my way through the crowd to them.
