Oh my fucking god. I was mortified. “This isnothow I pictured my bachelor party at all.”
My embarrassment lifted when I heard the sound of Ava’s laughter below me— it was the first happy sound I’d heard from her all day. She cheered from below, “Work it! Mama and Daddy are going to love this. It’s better than the last video they saw!”
“What a great way to introduce your new husband to your parents,” I said sarcastically.
She continued giggling, and you know what? Fuck it. If it made her happy, I was happy.
Even if Ez was twerking so hard he was about to knock me over.
“I’ll give ‘em something to talk about,” Alistair said. “Come on, Eddie.”
The two spun away from me, toward the front of the stage. Alistair must’ve been usingEddieas a stripper pole, judging by our friends’ applause.
“Go Alistair!” Opal yelled.
Eddie laughed the whole time, like he was having the time of his life. I bet he really liked whatever the hell Alistair was doing to him. Good thing I was blind, because I didn’t want to watch.
“You call those dance moves?” Marcus challenged. “I’ll show you dance moves.”
Marcus reached for the pole, but he tripped and landed with a hardslapagainst the stage. He must’ve fallen right on his face, because he let out a pained noise.
“Okay, that’s it,” Kallie said. “You men don’t know how to dance. Let me show you how it’s done.”
Kallie must’ve been really good, because everyone was hooting and hollering at her show. Soon, everyone was on stage, dancing and taking turns spinning around the pole. Even Oberi came on stage, clapping her hooves against the floor. There was so much going on that I thankfully got a chance to step back and sneak away.
Ivy kept the drinks coming, and my friends became tipsy over the next hour. Alistair and Chancey were taking shots, seeing who could drink each other under the table. I was certain Alistair was winning, because Chancey had fallen into a chair and broken it.
Opal gave noises of glee as Ez swept her around the dancefloor, and I was certain she was blushing as Ez whispered sweet nothings in her ear.
Their cutesy actions ate at me. I wished Ava and I could be that happy.
The guests were having more fun than the bride and the groom, that was for sure. Ava stayed away from me. She was with Kallie most of the time. I heard them dancing together somewhere near the stage.
Ava and I were the only two people who weren’t wasted at our own wedding. I stayed at the bar most of the time and kept to myself, because I was still trying to process everything that had happened. I mean, I thought for sure I was going to die this morning, and now I was at my own wedding reception. Life at the Institute was just too crazy.
“This is so exciting!” Eddie babbled, already three glasses in. “My master is married, and our monarchy finally has a new queen! Maybe this will mean a new heir, and—”
“Eddie,shut up,” I growled.
“Right away, sir!” Eddie hiccupped and gave a girly giggle.
Eddie couldn’t hold his champagne for shit. What a lightweight.
I hoped Ava hadn’t overheard, but I caught a slight pause across our bond. Hell. She had.
“Fuck,” I grumbled. How close had she been standing to me when Eddie had been rambling?
“Eddie, new rule. No more talking about heirs,” I stated flatly.
“Of course, sire!” His drunken salute slapped me on the side of the head, and I fell over. He hit harder than I thought.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Eddie clumsily reached for me to help me up, and he punched me by accident. This time, my head smacked the side of the bar.
“Ouch!” I rubbed my temple. “Can’t you be more careful?”
“I’ve laid a hand on the grandson of the emperor! I must be punished!” Eddie wailed.
“Hey, that’smyjob!” Alistair complained. He stumbled into a barstool, and as it fell over, that hit me in the shin, too.
