To Caress My Day

Avery’s conflab with Seth would’ve prolonged for god knows how long hadn’t she spied over his shoulder a party of very recognizable women directly headed their way. All dressed in flowy maxi dresses with different prints, vibrant colors and cut outs was the Bachelorette party she was invited to join in Las Vegas. The leader of the group was the bride who had so far been consuming all her time drinking, dancing, partying and gambling before the day walked down the aisle to marry the man of her dreams. Avery couldn’t be more delighted for Libby Melton, a woman whom she had first met through Seth then throughout many fashion circles. If anyone deserved a happily ever after it was her dear friend.

On the opposite end, over Avery’s shoulder, Seth spotted his own group of friends that had also invited him out for a Bachelor party, and they were headed their way at the exact same time. It looked like they had just exited the theater within the Casino where elegant burlesque dancers were performing for their crowd. Seth must have missed the show entirely which honestly didn’t bother him. While the crowds were mesmerized by these sultry women and their every move on stage, he had been preoccupied with fantasizing his own girlfriend performing on that same stage but for him instead. Because Twigs was so ingenious in the art of dance and movement, it wasn’t that hard at all to visualize her underneath the spotlight, undressing herself at a painstaking but alluring rate for him alone. The fantasy had successfully gotten him rock hard sitting amongst his friends, and so Seth had to excuse himself to the bathroom.

And that’s when Seth had run into Avery who just so happened to be in Las Vegas at the same time as him. He must have gotten so caught up with talking with her he lost track of time.

It was evident the group of guys were looking for him, and so Seth tried to let Avery know he had to get going. “Um, my friends a-”

“My friends a-” Avery began but stopped when her ears caught onto Seth’s similar words overlying hers. Her brows rose as she stared at his finger pointing over her shoulder, then her own digit pointing over his before finally glancing over her shoulders. She saw a group of guys in cargo shorts and Hawaiian shirts coming their way, laughing and joking while sipping on their drinks. “Oh…what a coincidence.”

“Yeah…it’s almost too coincidental.” Seth mumbled underneath his breath with a frown. He suspiciously glanced over his shoulder and saw a group of laughing women coming their way with their vibrantly colorful tropical drinks in hand.

The former couple both watched as their groups began to close in on them.

Glancing ahead, Libby’s smile stretched even further as she encountered her handsome fiance Frederick with his group of friends before her. Her eyes sparkled brighter, if that was even possible before she let out a girlish squeal at seeing him again. “Oh baby, it’s you!”

Frederick couldn’t keep himself away from his fiance even if he was chained at the ankle to one of his friends. He was gonna find a way to get to his woman one way or another! Crossing the few feets between them, he swept Libby up in his arms. “There she is! My soon-to-be-wife!”

Both Avery and Seth couldn’t resist facing the romantic reunion with jubilant grins on their faces. True love was a truly marvelous sight that never got old even when the two people watching the amorous scene used to be in love themselves. Neither of them found it uncomfortable to be watching the tender scene side by side together, not when they were too in love with their own significant others to care.

“Frederick!” Libby gasped before falling into giggles as he began to spin her in circles before gently setting her back on her feet again. Tilting her face up to receive his kiss, she smiled in it as she cupped his face in her hands. “Mmm, I’ve missed you too!”

“You have no idea!” Frederick groaned, embracing her tightly to him as if they’d been parted for over three years. As much fun as he’s been having with his boy on his Bachelor trip, it wasn’t anything compared to being with Libby.

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold the phone!” Aaron Bates stepped in, cutting into the romantic reunion of Frederick and Libby with an unfavorable tone. With a point of his finger, he waved it back and forth between the bride and her band of friends repeatedly. “What are you women doing here? This Casino is BACHELOR PARTY TERRITORY, not yours!”

Stepping forward to take her brother heads on, Giselle Bates, with rainbow drink in hand, shook her head at him and gestured to the sparkling diamond watch on her wrist. “That’s bullshit, Aaron, and you know it! According to my watch, we got access to this Casino at 10!”

Aaron and his friends all looked at her in a mix of disbelief and bemusement.

Giselle gaped back at them, stunned that they had completely forgotten everything the group had scheduled together before they had split up and set out today. “We literally told you guys the schedule over and over again just this morning! Were none of you even listening to us?”

Judging by the glance the males shared amongst each other, it was a good index that not a single one of them present in that room that morning was listening. Likely they had partying and alcohol on the forefront of their minds.

“Woooow.” Avery said, her brows shooting up in mutual surprise. They might as well have spent their entire morning hours speaking to the walls in their hotel suite!

Choosing to change the subject, Spencer questioned the bachelorette party. “Okay, fine. Where are you ladies headed right now?”

“We were just thinking about dropping by the new club and seeing what that was all about.” Lucy Jackson answered, wife of Harrison Jackson. She was used to the peaceful life she and her husband had made in the Midwest. Las Vegas so far was…a lot for her. So much was happening at once, and there were endless streams of people and sounds going off simultaneously. It was overwhelming, but she was appreciative of the experience so far and the endless opportunities that have presented themselves.

“The Burlesque club?” Seth asked, jerking his thumb in the direction he and the Bachelor party had just come from. He wasn’t informed of any other clubs this Hotel Casino might have had other than that one they just checked out a few moments ago.

“No!” Lucy objected with a shake of her head, a look of distaste on her face. Her eyes then narrowed and darted to her husband as she demanded. “Harrison, were you in that place?”

Harrison Jackson was not the kind of man to lie to save his own skin, especially when it came to his wife. He believed in honesty and so he nodded to confirm her worst fears. “Yes ma’am.”

Trying to keep her composure in front of their friends, Lucy swung her drink into the hand of the person standing next to her and crossed her arms over her chest. “And? What did you think?”

“I know that’s the last show of that nature that I’ll ever want to see again in my life. If you ask me, I got way better at home.” Harrison answered truthfully with a smile, shooting his wife a wink.

A blushing Lucy practically swooned along with the rest of the Bachelorette party at Harrison’s romantic declaration. Avery had to admit she too was impressed by his smoothness. “The lucrative club we’re talking about is a small intimate place. It’s in the newly renovated basement of the Hotel, not everyone can get access inside. You have to be somebody if you know what I mean.”

“Whoa…that actually sounds pretty cool.” Braxton whispered among the Bachelor party.

Finally severing the passionate kiss he’d been locked into this entire time, Frederick voiced an unthinkable idea to Libby. “Can we tag along? Please, say yes, Libby. I’ve missed you.”

“Of course you can!” Libby immediately accepted with glee, throwing her arms around his neck.

Simultaneously, the Bachelor and Bachelorette collectively threw their heads back and united together to audibly groan in annoyance. They’d been hell bent since Day One in keeping both parties divided at all times! Of course both Libby and Frederick both wanted a joint Bachelor and Bachelorette instead of being detached, but none of their friends would dare to hear of it. Frederick’s friends wouldn’t dare to let the women tag along and spoil all the wild and crazy antics they planned to get into in Las Vegas with their judgements. On the other hand, the women chosen to be in the Bachelorette party didn’t want the men trailing along like hindrances sabotaging everything by simply being…stupid men. Alcohol was gonna be massively involved so naturally both parties wouldn’t get along, it was common sense. But now after all that hard work they were being merged back together again! As both Libby and Frederick linked their hands together and began to walk towards this new underground club in the basement, their once severed parties vented their complaints among each other in hushed whispers and dragged their feet.