Friends With More Benefits (24 page)

She said breathlessly, "It does."

"I don’t think I'm going to be able to fit that
in my pants without, uh…"

Jillian looked up to his face as she said, "They
kind of have to wait for us anyway. What's a few more minutes?" He
nodded, and she added, "Just a quick one. Even though I can't wait
to get my mouth down there…Let's just—"

Brian scooped her up into his arms before she
could finish. He carried her to the bed and placed her down
carefully. She spread her legs, and he was inside of her in less
than two seconds. They stared into each other's eyes as he slowly
made love to her. She moaned, and he quickened his pace.

"I've missed you," she said.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he
reached his hands down to scoop her up by her ass cheeks. He lifted
her like she weighed next to nothing and he began moving her up and
down over him in that standing position. When they were done he
held her tight as they stared into each other's eyes, struggling to
catch their breath.

Jillian looked as if she were in pain as she
said, "Ouch…Okay, put me down."

Brian released his grasp and allowed her to slip
to the floor. She said, "That was amazing, but now we have to
move."

She took off into the bathroom, looked in the
mirror, and screamed, "Oh my gosh. Have you seen my hair?"

"It doesn’t look that bad."

Jillian stepped out of the bathroom and stared
at him with her hair a complete mess. "Put your suit on and get
down there. Send Victoria up. Tell her it's an emergency."

She put on a bra and panties, and then went back
into the bathroom to battle her hair, as he quickly got dressed. He
poked his head into the bathroom, and her hair somehow now looked
even worse. He tried to hide his expression, but she saw his look
and asked, "What?"

He glanced in the mirror and recovered by
saying, "I just got a look at my own hair. Shit."

Jillian glanced at him and scoffed. He worked
gel into his hair, quickly pulled a comb through it, and then took
off. He paused, slipped back into the bathroom and then kissed her.
"I love you. You look amazing."

Brian located the guests in the banquet space,
which had been rearranged quickly to accommodate the wedding. The
minister and wedding party stood in the front, and all the guests
who remained after the fracas were in their seats. He rushed to
Victoria. "She needs you up there now. It's her hair. It's bad,
really bad."

Victoria took off. Brian made the rounds to
check on all the guests. He thanked the minister for his patience
and fifteen minutes later Victoria appeared wearing a smile. Brian
looked sharp in his dark blue suit with a yellow tie, which matched
Jillian's stylish yellow one-shoulder stretch satin sheath dress,
which she had planned to wear for the reception. Brian beamed for
the second time in less than an hour as the three-piece orchestra
repeated their processional song. Jim felt his emotions getting the
best of him once again as he glanced at Victoria and then to
Jillian. He moved his eyes to the crowd instead and took a deep
breath in order to pull himself together.

The service was moving and concise. When it came
time to say their vows, they had prepared their own. Brian spoke
first, "Jillian, before I met you I was lost inside the confusion
of my own thoughts. As soon as I saw you, everything became clear,
and I fell in love. As I grew to know you better, I fell deeper."
Jillian stared at him with her emotions welling up inside. Both
Victoria and Jim were losing it as well. Brian continued, "I'll
spend the rest of my days trying to be the man you deserve. I love
you completely."

Jillian took a deep breath. "Brian, when you met
me I was a basket case. I couldn't write a word. I couldn't think.
I needed something, someone to show me the way. You showed me that
life could be amazing and that love could be special again. I thank
God every day for delivering you to me. I'll love you always."

Victoria and Jim didn't stand a chance as they
curled their lips. And as the crowd looked on immersed in the
ceremony, you could count the dry eyes in the place on one
hand.

Since the wedding was delayed by more than an
hour, Jillian decided to have everyone eat before there were any
toasts or dancing. After a glorious meal, Jillian and Brian made
the rounds and personally thanked everyone for their infinite
patience and for sharing this day with them. After the newly
married couple returned to the table, Jim stood and sheepishly
tried to get everyone's attention by taping a knife against his
glass. It didn’t work. Victoria noticed, put her fingers to her
mouth and blew out a piercing whistle, much like a sailor. The room
quieted instantly, and all eyes went to Jim.

He glanced at Victoria with a grimace. "Thank
you." Jim held his glass as he began, "When I met Jillian, I
thought she was beautiful, kind, and amazing. As I saw the way she
looked at my brother, Brian, I wondered what the heck was wrong
with her. I mean, did she take a blow to the head or…" Everyone
burst into laughter as Brian grinned up to his brother. Jim
continued, "I'm just kidding. These two crazy kids are in love."
Jim glanced at them and added, "When you look at them you can tell
that they love each other and that it will last forever. Most
people dream about meeting the one person…" He stopped when he felt
his emotions taking over as he glanced at Victoria and then thought
of Caroline. He shook his head as he continued, "…the one person in
this world that is made for them. For these two, the dream has come
true." Jillian stared at him while her lip fluttered and then she
and Brian shared a smile as Jim added, "The rest of us should be so
lucky." Jim raised his glass along with everyone else.
"Cheers."

Jim moved to Brian and shook his hand. Jillian
stood and gave him a big hug. Jim turned away and faced the window
for a moment as he collected his emotions before he slipped back
into his seat.

Victoria stood and all eyes went to her. She
grinned as she looked down to Jillian and Brian. She held her glass
in the air as she began, "When I met Brian for the first time, I
was wearing this little see-through, sheer white bikini. I happened
to be stretching, and my bikini bottoms fell right off…" Bev and Ed
Nash shared a horrified look as grins spread across the face of
most in attendance.

Victoria nodded casually as she added, "It
happens…anyway, this amazing young man was such a gentleman that he
hardly looked at all." Victoria nodded to the crowd with a proud
smile. "And that was before these two wonderful people fell in
love. Now I'm sure I could take my top off, and he wouldn't even
notice because there is no other woman in the world for him. Here
I'll prove it…" She placed both hands on the top of her dress, and
Beverly Nash gasped. "Just kidding…although I've known Jillian for
only two years, she's like a sister to me. From the moment Jillian
met Brian, she hasn't been the same. She's truly happy, and they
make a perfect couple." Victoria held her glass higher while she
looked at Brian and Jillian huddled together. "If you want to know
what true love looks like, well take a good look. You won't see it
often…I love you both and wish you the very best." She took a sip
and everyone did the same.

Jillian and Brian stood. Jillian hugged Victoria
and moved to Jim as Brian grabbed the sexy maid of honor. Jim got
out of his seat and embraced the bride once again. The orchestra
began playing a song, and the happy couple headed out to the dance
floor as the guests looked on wearing slightly envious smiles.

Half way thought the song Jim stood and put his
hand out to Victoria. She smiled, and they walked out to the dance
floor. Jim held her close as their bodies pressed together moving
to the rhythm of the music. Her stomach, with his child growing
inside, pressed against him. She closed her eyes and just held him
while thinking that she'd give anything to be with him. To tell him
she wanted only him. That she loved him more than she could ever
imagine she would love someone again.

Jim held her gently while thinking about
Caroline and Victoria and the baby. The thoughts were clouding his
mind. He wondered how a nerdy guy who just three months ago
couldn't get a girlfriend to save his life, now found himself in
love with two incredible women both of whom he was sure loved him.
He wanted them both, and the baby. He wanted to carry Victoria up
to one of the rooms and make love to her all night. He wanted to
fall asleep staring at her beautiful breasts with his hand on her
growing belly.

The rest of the wedding party joined them on the
dance floor. A member of the hotel staff held a phone and waited
out of sight while wearing a bright smile. When the song ended,
Jillian and Brian returned to their seats, and the hotel employee
approached them. Jillian shook her head no as the employee conveyed
what apparently was good news. Jillian sighed and looked to Brian.
He shrugged, and she reluctantly grabbed the phone. She headed to a
quieter spot as she spoke to the caller. Her expression went from a
frown to a look of surprise to a huge smile. A few moments later,
she rushed back to Brian and whispered in his ear. He beamed and
then he walked with her to the stage as Brian motioned to the
orchestra to hold the music. They stopped playing, and Jillian
grabbed the microphone.

"It's been an interesting day.
You've probably seen some things you've never before seen at a
wedding." She received a chuckle from the crowd and then continued,
"As you are painfully aware, I recently published a novel, and it's
been, uh, selling fairly well. As you also know, a young
woman
you met
a
little earlier today has sued me over the book. If you're confused,
she's the one I was rolling around with on the grass." Jillian
shook her head with a grin as the crowd giggled. "That was my
publisher on the phone. Since the story broke a few days ago, sales
of my book have been incredible, and it moved into the top ten on
Amazon. Well, since the video of the altercation at the wedding hit
the Internet and the cable TV newscasts, sales have spiked just a
bit.
The Leg Thing
hit number one on Amazon about two hours ago and—" The crowd
cheered as Jillian shook her head, bewildered. "I hate to share
sales figured, but what the hell…sales through yesterday were just
over five hundred thousand copies. Today we've sold almost three
hundred and fifty thousand copies, and my publisher estimates we'll
blow through the one million mark before midnight."

Nearly everyone in the crowd gasped as she
continued, "To give you an idea of what this means, I've sold more
copies in the last three days then I've sold of any book ever…oh,
and I was told we should put on the Darcy Gray show right now,
she's…" Jillian looked to the hotel employee and pointed to the
large television screen as she asked, "Do you get CNTN in here?"
The employee nodded and rushed to a turn on the TV as Jillian
continued, "Darcy evidently is a big fan and seems to be on my
side. And God knows I need as many people on my side now as I can
get."

In Natalie's hotel room, the flexible ballerina
soaked in the large tub behind the closed bathroom door as Josh sat
pouting on the bed. She'd been in a really bad mood since they were
asked to leave the wedding. Natalie informed him that he'd be
sleeping on the floor that night. He had the television on, and a
story caught his attention. He rushed into the bathroom. Natalie
screeched, "Get out of here." He glanced down to her amazing body
as she covered her chest with her hands. He grabbed the remote and
tuned the television to the proper channel.

On screen they both watched the section from the
wedding video where Natalie was knocked to the ground after Jillian
smashed her with the flowers. The reporter said, "That is a clear
assault and should bolster the case of Miss Brookhart against Miss
Grayson."

Natalie smiled at Josh and moved her hands from
her breasts as she continued to watch the screen. The reporter
continued, "The book at the center of this lawsuit has vaulted to
number one on Amazon, and it's rumored to be closing in on the
one-million-sales mark." An image of another man appeared on the
screen who commented, "I believe that Miss Brookhart has a
compelling case and should be soon fielding an offer for a
settlement in the seven-figure range."

Natalie's mouth opened wide as she asked, "Do
you want to get in?"

Back in the banquet room, the television
brightened to the image of Darcy sitting in front of the camera
with her big hair, way too much jewelry and her signature bright
pastel colored pleather jacket. On this night, it was a vibrant
blue. Half the screen was Darcy, while in one quarter appeared an
image of a man wearing a suit, and the final quarter showed a loop
of two sections of the wedding video. The first section was of
Jillian nailing Natalie with the bouquet and then Natalie taking a
tumble over the chair. That was followed by Natalie charging and
tackling Jillian to the ground. Then it showed the twenty seconds
of them rolling around on the runner and spilling over on the
grass.

Darcy commented, "That looks to me like assault.
How can you be suing someone and expect to win if you are in the
process of beating them up? It just makes no sense."

The man commented, "That is a gutsy strategy,
but some might argue that when Miss Grayson threw the flowers
causing Miss Brookhart to fall over, she was the one committing the
assault."

Darcy gave the camera a tired look as she said,
"Mitchell, who in their right mind would argue that? Someone would
need to be an absolute moron to believe that. Just plain
stupid."