Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 6

out with you guys instead of sending me off on five million errands to pick up this and drop off that."
    The elevator stopped and Bobby got off, so we followed him.
    "Here you are." Bobby slid the key card through the lock and opened the door.
    "Which one of us?" I asked. Bobby walked into the room and looked back at me like I was crazy.
    "Both of you. We're trying to watch costs; I didn't think you two would mind sharing a room. There's two beds."
    I sighed. Well, no need for Chase's peek-a-boo jeans on this trip then— Chase's colorful briefs would be on full display every morning. Just kill me now.
    ****
    We had just enough time to stash our stuff in the room and then Bobby whisked us off to the rehearsal and the dinner afterward. Mom was there, and she was thrilled to see both Chase and me. She hugged and fawned over him just like he was another one of her sons. We got to meet Kate's family and the other members of the wedding party. The dinner turned out to be a lot of fun, there were a lot of toasts and jokes aimed at Bobby and Kate, and everyone seemed to get along well.
    Just as things were breaking up, a hotel employee came in and whispered something to Todd, one of the groomsmen and one of Bobby's good friends here in San Francisco. He was a little loud and brash, but he seemed like a decent guy. Todd got this big smile on his face and let out a loud whoop, as he stood up from the table.
    "All right men! The limo is out front waiting on us." He went over behind Bobby's chair and shook him by the shoulders. "It's time to celebrate this man's last night as a free man!"
    I groaned and looked across the table at Chase, who was chuckling but had a similar uncomfortable look on his face. Bobby had told us one of his buddies from San Francisco would be planning the bachelor party just because it would be easier, since Chase and I didn't live here. Which I was cool with, I had just been hoping for something a little more laid-back and casual. But if a limo was involved, I worried it might be a long night.
    In the limo were a couple more friends of Bobby's to make a total of seven, including the four of us in the wedding party and Bobby.
    The first stop was a cool sports bar that had a private room upstairs with comfortable couches and a huge flat screen TV. I began to think maybe this wouldn't be so bad. We had beer and nachos and everything was pretty chill. But after we'd been there a couple of hours, Todd announced it was time to move on to the second phase of the evening. Crap.
    The limo pulled up in front of what looked like a posh, upscale restaurant on the outside. However, the inside definitely did not match up to the outside. We walked into a series of large, interconnected rooms. There was a huge bar along one side of the wall and back a little farther, a couple of near-naked women dancing on a stage. But through the large open doorway to another room I could see another stage, this one had men in g-strings dancing and gyrating to the music. And wandering throughout the entire bar were the waiters and waitresses, all barely covered themselves.
    Chase and I were just standing there, slowly taking everything in, when Bobby came up behind us and threw an arm around each of us. "Sssurprise! Isn't this place cool?" Chase and I just turned and looked warily at him. "Todd and I found this place online; we didn't want you two to feel left out. Seeee—" he waved a hand in the direction of the room with the male dancers. "Strippersss for everyone!" Oh dear God.
    Todd came and pulled Bobby away to the rest of the group who was heading over toward the room with the naked women. I slid a glance over at Chase and he was bright red and biting his lip until he couldn't hold it in anymore and finally busted out laughing.
    He looked over at me for my reaction. "Oh come on, Adam, you can't deny it is funny! And so sweet that they wanted to include us."
    That last line caused us both to break out laughing until we nearly had tears in our eyes. Once we settled down, Chase asked what I wanted to do.
    "Well I think we need to keep watch over Bobby, he's already sounding rather tipsy and I don't trust Todd." Chase agreed and we both decided to take turns innocently strolling around the bar, to make sure Bobby wasn't getting too out of control. Bobby had really grown up in the years since Dad had died and he'd been with Kate. I didn't want him getting too drunk and crazy on the night before his wedding.
    When we weren't doing