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Will is standing beneath Clarke with a fistful of bills in his hand and a drink in the other. I knew he had a crush on Clarke, but he hasn’t left her sight since the second he saw her. Zebras don’t shed their stripes, and my brother sure as hell won’t stop with his manwhoring ways for Clarke. And she knows it, too. So, why does she keep egging him on?
She drops low enough to allow Will to slip some money down the top of her shirt, his hands lingering at her breasts for far too long. I stand next to Ethan, sipping my martini and watching the show play out before us.
“A hundred dollars says they hook up before the end of the night,” I say.
Ethan laughs. “Will was talking about Clarke on the way to the airport. She’s the biggest challenge he’s ever faced. The only woman who’s ever told him no.”
“That’s why he likes her. Will likes the challenge. I already told her that once she gives in, he’ll lose attention.”
Ethan tips the beer to his mouth and hooks his arm around my back. “I don’t know about that. I think he actually likes her. Like for real.”
“Interesting.” I study my brother and best friend, now noticing the looks they give each other. They’re not enemies, nor are they friends, but there’s definitely some chemistry between them.
Liam West, a winger from the Flyers, strolls up next to Ethan and hands him a shot glass. “You’re not drunk enough,” he yells over the music blaring through the speakers suspended from the ceiling. “It’s your bachelor party. We’re supposed to be getting lap dances and getting shitfaced, not hanging out with your girl and her friends.”
“I can hear you,” I shout. “Ethan can leave whenever he wants. I’m not keeping him here.”
It’s the truth. I never intended to get in the way of his time with his teammates. Our running into each other here was purely coincidental, or so I thought until I saw Will and Clarke together. I wonder if they had planned to meet here.
Will reaches up to help Clarke down from the bar, and she falls into his arms. Oh, shit. She’s so damn drunk our night is most likely over before it’s even begun. I’ve had all of three martinis, while Clarke has been throwing drinks down like prohibition starts in the morning.
“Go ahead,” I tell Ethan, pushing him toward Liam and his other teammates who are waiting to leave. “I’ll meet you in the hotel room later. Wake me up if I’m sleeping.”
He gives me a wink and then sets off toward Will to separate him from Clarke. But Will doesn’t seem like he wants to leave her alone. Nope, he steps back from Ethan and slides his arm behind Clarke’s back. I can’t tell who’s holding up who, he looks just as drunk as her, if not worse.
“I’m not going anywhere with Will like this,” Ethan says, coming back to my side. “We might as well stick together. He’s a fucking mess.”
“So is Clarke.” I tip my head in their direction. “Look at them. Maybe I should take her back to the room.”
We stroll over to them, and I tap her on the shoulder to catch her attention. “Hey, do you want to go back to our hotel?”
“Why?” she whines. “We’re having fun here. Don’t be such a buzzkill, Mia. I want to hang out with Will.”
I cock an eyebrow at her. “Really? You’ve hated his guts since I’ve known you, and now you guys are besties?”
She chuckles but doesn’t respond, taking the drink from Will’s hand to chug the rest of his beer.
“Yeah, baby sis,” Will slurs, his eyes lidded from how much alcohol he’s consumed today. “Clarke’s with me. Stop being a downer. You never have any fun.”
“That’s because you have enough fun for all of us,” I counter with a wicked smirk.
He turns his back to me, his arm around Clarke. They walk away without another word and head toward the bar to get more drinks. Not like either of them need any more.
This is my bachelorette party—I guess I should get drunk and stop overthinking everything.
My last vacation from the paper was over three years ago. And in less than a month, I’ll marry the love of my life on the beach in Nassau. We’ll have the entire week to soak up sunshine and drink margaritas.
A few hours later, we’ve lost Will and Clarke, who disappeared into a crowded bar. We had no idea where either of them went, their cell phones going straight to voicemail every time we called. So, I followed Ethan and his teammates to the strip club, where I danced alongside two strippers in a private room. His friends were on the other side of the velvet curtain as we gave Ethan one hell of a show. It reminded me of the night we spent at Scores. I was so bold and out of my mind for allowing Roxie to show me to dance. But it felt good to let loose for once. The more martinis I drank, the more liquid courage I developed.
