Chapter 59: Chapter 24: The Bachelorette

Jamie

“What’s it like waking up to that big cock?” was the first thing Carmen asked me when she arrived at my door bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning.

It was the first laugh of many we would have today.

Today was the bachelorette party!

Months of planning and hard work had gone into this to make it perfect for Carmen. Today would be filled with laughs and many glasses of champagne.

We spent the day at the spa, which was my treat to her as her maid of honor. Afterward, we had afternoon tea at the Ritz, followed by a makeup and hair appointment.

Now we’re standing in my bedroom, rushing to get ready for dinner with everyone in thirty minutes.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been out like this, just us girls,” Carmen said as she looked at her figure in the mirror. “My ass looks huge in this.”

I chuckled. “If I remember correctly, you didn’t want it to be just us girls. You wanted us to spend tonight with the guys too. I don’t think that would’ve worked out well.”

“Why not?”

“You know how guys act when they go out. Do you think you would even be a little jealous of another woman who looked at Brent or paid him attention?” I asked.

“I see your point! I hate it when women flirt with him right in front of me. He never tells them that he’s basically married and to take a hike.”

I was sitting on the bed, slipping my feet into my new pair of nude heels. “Is that why you wanted to be with him tonight? So you could keep an eye on what he was doing?”

“No…” She paused. “Maybe. There have been things that have made me question his commitment to me in the past. Sometimes I wonder if we’re even right for each other.”

There were a lot of things that should’ve made her question his commitment, things that I thought she had turned a blind eye to, but apparently not.

I didn’t know what to say in this situation.

~Do I tell Carmen that I think the same as she does, that Brent is not the right guy for her? Or do I tell her that everything is going to be okay and she’s just getting cold feet?~

~As a best friend, what do I do?~

“Honestly, I—”

“Jamie,” I heard Mason’s voice call.

Damn that man for interrupting me during an important conversation. She was actually opening up about Brent for once.

“I’ll be right back.” I got up from the bed and left the bedroom.

I thought Mason had already left for Brent’s bachelor party. What was he doing home?

I walked through the living room and into the kitchen. Mason was standing at the kitchen island, tapping away on his phone. “What are you doing back?”

He looked up from his screen. “Wow! Look at you.” He had a devilish smile on his face as he looked at me. “Come here.”

I walked toward him in my little black fringe dress and nude heels.

After a couple of days of living together, I thought I was almost at my limit of being tempted by him. A romantic night at home sounded perfect for that intimacy we’d been waiting for.

“You look incredible,” he wrapped his arms around me and pressed his against my hair. “So, do you really have to go? We could always ditch them.”

“Hmm, tempting. But no. I can’t do that to her.” I lifted my head and kissed him softly.

“How about after this wedding is over, you take me on a date. I don’t care where. I just want to spend time alone with you.”

“A date. All right, I’ll think of something.” He kissed me again, with more tongue and a little more aggression than he did the last time.

He grabbed my ass over my black dress. “You taste so good, Jamie. It’s a tease just being around you.”

I chuckled. “I think I should get back to Carmen. We have to leave soon.”

“Unfortunately.” He kissed me again. “So, tonight is girls only, right? There are not going to be any men hanging around?”

“It’s a bachelorette party, Mason. There will be no men…except for the strippers.” I walked away with a giggle, and of course, he came after me. I had a feeling the idea of strippers would annoy him.

“Strippers.” He shook his head, not finding it funny at all. “I don’t like that. The idea of some guy all over you. Or you watching them dance naked on some stage.”

“Relax! The strippers are not for me. They’re for Carmen.”

I whispered in case she could hear. I knew she’d love that we were going to the strip club, but I didn’t want her finding out until we got there. “I’ll behave myself. I promise.”

“You better!” he replied, realizing it was going to happen no matter what he said.

I saw Mason’s face as I walked up the stairs. He was shaking his head, not looking pleased with me.

However, his opinion wasn’t going to stop me from making sure Carmen had a good night. It was her bachelorette party, after all. This night was about her.

~I think he trusts me, or maybe he will trust me more with time. You can’t have a relationship without it.~

Mason was a very controlling and possessive man, and I knew that getting into this. It was just his way of making sure that I was his and it stayed that way.

In the past, it bothered me how he wanted to control me and who I had in my life. Mason didn’t want me around men, at least not any man that he saw as a threat to us.

This time around, I wouldn’t be putting up with that. I needed to be in control of my own life. I would challenge him on this if I had to.

Dinner with everyone was nice. Carmen’s family was there. Some work friends too.

Ethan’s girlfriend Stephanie came, which surprised the hell out of me. I was normal with her, of course, for Ethan’s sake, but deep down, I hated what she had done to him.

We were having drinks at a bar, just us girls doing our thing and drinking cocktail after cocktail. I was pacing myself since I was Carmen’s maid of honor. Basically, I was looking after her that night.

“I can’t believe I’m getting married,” Carmen screamed with excitement.

Everyone in our circle cheered for her.

“I can’t believe you’re getting married to him,” Stephanie said and then looked in my direction, knowing that I was in agreement. “Isn’t anyone going to tell her?”

Carmen turned and furrowed her perfectly shaped brows at Steph. “Tell me what?”

“Nothing,” I interrupted. It was not the night for this.

I wished Stephanie would’ve had better timing telling Carmen that her soon-to-be husband is a total asshole. “Everything is fine. Look, I think your mom is getting another round of drinks.”

Carmen left us both, and I turned and looked at Steph. “Can we talk somewhere a little quieter?”

She gave me a little attitude and walked on ahead of me.

~Why did she come tonight? Was it to cause trouble because she ruined the good thing she had with Ethan?~

Well, technically, she still had Ethan, but the good relationship they had was on the rocks now because of what she had done.

We stood in an empty bathroom. Steph was busy looking at her face in the bathroom mirror instead of explaining herself.

“So, what’s going on? It kinda feels like you’re trying to ruin Carmen’s night.”

“Come on, Jamie. You and I both know the only reason she is marrying that idiot is that she wants a wedding. Carmen wants a day to be all about her.”

“Listen, I don’t like him either. But Carmen is happy with him. She loves him, so we need to accept her choice and be happy for her. If this doesn’t work out, we’ll be there to help her through it.”

She rolled her eyes in the mirror.

“It’s easy for you to say, Jamie. Look at everything you have: a gorgeous daughter, a nice home, a good job, a loving family, and a billionaire boyfriend that caters to you hand and foot.”

“I don’t know why you’re putting this on me. You know what I’ve been through in the past. My life is not easy.”

My ex-boyfriend had a recording of me naked and being pleasured by him. He’d broken into my house, so I was literally scared to death of being alone.

Didn’t she know what had been going on in my life?

“I know that you know.” She turned around and looked at me. “I know that Ethan told you what I did to him. I’m sure you judge me for it.”

I released a sigh and walked toward the sink.

“I don’t think it’s any of my business, but yes, he told me. I think he needed to tell someone. You cheated on him, Stephanie. He’s really hurting right now.”

“I cheated on him, yes. People make mistakes. I try every day to make up for what I did, but he can’t even look at me.”

The door to the bathroom opened, and both of us looked that way. “Please tell me that I’m hearing things?” Carmen asked, and neither of us said a word. “You cheated on him?”

“It was a mistake.” Stephanie looked in the mirror and started to apply her cherry red lipstick. “I don’t see how it’s anything to do with you, Carmen. You have your own cheating man to worry about!”

~Crap! I wish she hadn’t said that. Of all nights for Carmen to hear something like this, tonight was definitely not the right one.~

“What did you just say to me?” Carmen replied, full of attitude. She was giving her a glare that even had me scared. “You cheated on my best friend. Please don’t make this about my man.”

“Whatever! I was trying to do the decent thing and warn you before you marry the guy.”

Steph popped her lipstick into her little silver clutch and looked at us both. “Ethan forgave me because that’s what a desperate person does. I’m sure you both know a little about that.”

She smirked and walked past us toward the door. I was angry, of course, but I didn’t want to make a scene.

Carmen, on the other hand, didn’t give two shits who saw. She grabbed Stephanie by her brunette extensions, and everything pretty much escalated from there.

I was a grown woman and a mother, so I wasn’t about to start a war. I did end up getting my hair pulled, trying to break the two of them up. Thankfully, my hair is all-natural, unlike Steph’s.

“Are you okay?” I asked Carmen.

We were sitting at the bar, and she was calming herself down with her fourth gin and tonic.

“I’ve never been better, actually. She deserved everything she got after what she did to Ethan. All this time, she was just as fake as her hair.”

She threw Stephanie’s extension toward me on the bar and chuckled. “I always hated her.”

“I think it’s safe to say she’s not coming to your wedding now. She’s probably already called Ethan and told him.”

“Do you think he’ll be angry with us?” Carmen asked.

“I hope not. I think he’s still pretty angry with her after what she did. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It wasn’t my secret to tell.

“Ethan didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you to be angry with her at the wedding. They’re still figuring things out, I guess.”

“I get it.” She sighed. “I hope he dumps her ass.”

I did too. We’d had our heartbreak, Ethan and I both. Carmen still had hers to come. Brent was going to do it sooner or later. Maybe he’d already cheated many times, and she had yet to find out.

“I think Ethan will figure out that she’s not right for him eventually. I feel so bad for him.”

~After everything Steph said tonight, I hope their relationship is over.~

“Me too. I can’t believe she turned it all on me, saying those things about my relationship with Brent. She’s unbelievable.”

She shook her head. “I’m going to give Ethan a call. Hopefully, he hasn’t talked to her yet.”

“Okay, I need some fresh air. I’ll be back in a minute.” I got down from my stool and left the bar area. I slipped my nude belted coat on over my little black dress as I walked outside.

I breathed in the cold night air as I stood outside the bar. A couple of people were standing outside the entrance, smoking and chatting.

It was a little after ten, still enough time to go to the strip club if Carmen was in the mood to stay out. The night was still salvageable.

It was freezing.

I pulled out my phone to give my mom a quick call before I went back inside. She had Penelope for the night, so I wanted to make sure she got to bed okay.

“Jamie.”

I heard his voice and immediately felt a shiver through my body. It wasn’t the cold that did it. It was seeing him after everything.

“Jack.”