“I love you too, baby.” I laugh and slap his ass as he starts waddling toward the house, clenching his ass cheeks together still. “Oh, and don’t forget to collect the eggs when you say bye to your babies!”
He gives me a wave in acknowledgement, and as soon as he’s out of the barn, John walks in, and I can tell by the look on his face that he’s been standing outside long enough to have heard way too much.
“You assholes finally done? We have a flight to catch,” he says dryly.
I wipe my hands on my jeans. “Timing could’ve been better, man. Are you early?”
“Nope,” he deadpans, his brown eyes holding my gaze with an unimpressed stare. “I should’ve just met you at the airport.” He might look like he’s permanently pissed off, but I know he isn’t actually mad at me. Johnand I have both been through a lot, and I know he appreciates my friendship just as much as I do his.
“And leave your motorcycle in a parking lot in the city all weekend?” I challenge.
“Fine. Good point. You almost ready then?”
“Uh…” Shit, I still have to do the rest of the chores. “Actually, could you help me finish the last couple of things? I’ll fill all the animals’ water, if you could just fill their feed? The food bags are all in the back of the four-wheeler, you can take it around and dump it in so my dad doesn’t have to lift the bags over the weekend.”
“On it,” John says as he heads to the four-wheeler. He’s helped out quite a bit around here, so he knows how everything works. Him moving back has been great, and I’ve really enjoyed how much time he’s spent on our farm, hanging out and even helping when we don’t ask.
I’ve always considered John to be my best friend, even if our friendship is absolutely nothing like Blake and Chad’s. Although, I’m not sure anyone has a friendship like theirs. They’re the most unhinged, nothing-is-off-limits best friends I’ve ever seen for two grown men. Even Kieran, who’s really close with his high school best friend, Olivia, has nothing on Chad and Blake.
With their complete lack of boundaries, I’m sure people have assumed they’re a couple even though Chad claims he’s only attracted to women. But I never want to assume, and we all know how that turned out for Blake, so…
I grab the hose and fill all the animals’ water, following in John’s tracks. As soon as I’m done, I runinside to take a quick shower, change out of my dirty clothes, and grab my bag. When I’m finally ready, I find John and Blake over by the chickens with Lucky, so I throw my stuff in the car then head over to them.
“Oh, come on! I know you’re so excited,” Blake is saying to John, who huffs.
“As long as I don’t have to sit next to Chad on the plane. Or anywhere else this weekend.”
Blake’s face scrunches in confusion at that. I’m also a bit confused by John’s comment.
“Wait, what’s wrong with Chad?” Blake asks. “He’s great!”
“He’s just so happy all the time. It’s unnatural. And he’s been texting me every day for weeks about this trip,” John grumbles, rubbing his tattooed hands over his beard. “Full paragraphs with emojis. I put him on Do Not Disturb and don’t respond, and he still doesn’t stop. I can only imagine the five-and-a-half-hour plane ride with him.”
I bite back a laugh at John’s complaints about Chad, knowing how much John appreciates quiet. They couldn’t be more opposite if they tried. “He’s just excited. You’re both the best man for each of us.”
“Yeah, I bet you’ll get along better in person. It’ll be fun! Maybe Chad will even wear you down, like I wore this one down,” Blake says with a wink.
I highly doubt that, but who knows? It is Vegas after all; you never know what might happen.
2
CHAD
“Oh my god, I think they’re finally here!” I announce as I point over the crowd of people in the airport lobby, where Ash, Kieran, Jace, and I are all waiting for our upstate friends to join us before we check in.
I can’t believe it’s finally time for us to all head to Vegas for Blake and Liam’s bachelor party. I feel like we’ve been planning this trip for years even though it’s only been a few months.
I still think it’s so cool how Blake embraced the whole blind dating opportunity enough to fall in love with a man when he’d never even considered dating one before. Of course, they had their obstacles, but after spending more time together with them, it’s obvious they’re perfect for each other. I’m thrilled that my best friend is so happy.
Blake and I have been to Vegasplenty of times over the last decade, but this trip is definitely going to be the best one yet—it’s his fucking bachelor party! And to make things even better, he’s marrying a man, and they’re doing their parties together, so there are twice as many guys for us to have fun with this weekend.
Honestly, I couldn’t think of a better group to go on this trip with if I tried. I already know my own bachelor party is going to need to be something wild to even come close to this weekend, but that’s fine by me. I’m always up for a challenge, and since I’m single, I have a lot of time to plan.
“Hi everyone!” I greet them all excitedly as they approach us. “Wait, where’s Blake?”
“Bathroom,” Liam says. “He’ll be here in a second.”
“Jesus, bring enough bags, Princess?” Liam’s best friend, John, asks, tone dripping with sarcasm. “Or did you forget we’re only going for three days?” He’s staring at the small pile of luggage next to me as if it’s going to jump out and bite him.
