Page 8 of Vegas with my Brother’s Best Friends

Cassidy laughs and shrugs. “I used my connections as a lifeguard to reserve that pool for three hours of chaos, and it all paid off.”

Nothing like a pool party with a bunch of recent graduates full of hope for the future. We partied like there was no tomorrow, and it was all thanks to Cassidy pulling strings and planning the whole thing for us and our other friends.

I remember almost kissing her that night when we were swimming next to each other. She looked so beautiful with her hair wet and slicked back. The white bikini that she had on nearly made me run into the lifeguard stand when I first saw her.

But I stopped myself at the last second.

Part of me regrets that, but it was for the best.

“The wedding invitations you designed look sick too,” Tyler adds. “You’ve got some artistic talent too.”

She presses her teeth into her bottom lip in a shy smile. “Not like Marcus.”

“Don’t downplay your talents,” I tell her. “Sarah and Ryan are lucky to have you helping out with the wedding.”

Jackson nods in agreement. “You should be cherished for everything you do. Derek dropped the ball on that.”

I can tell that Jackson is pissed off with Derek. I can’t say I blame him, but he doesn’t need to start any fights during the wedding.

“Now, his birthday parties are going to suck without me planning them,” Cassidy replies before tossing a small fry into her mouth.

Tyler laughs. “Exactly. I hope a creepy clown shows up at his next one.”

Laughter surrounds the table, heads shaking in amusement.

“You guys are seriously the best,” Cassidy says, her eyes sweeping around the table before landing on me. Her gaze lingers, her cheeks slightly pinkening when I smile at her.

Derek seriously messed up when he let her slip through his fingers.

“Are you tired or can you keep going?” Jackson asks her as he tosses his napkin onto his nearly empty plate.

Cassidy glances between the three of us. “I’m good to keep going if you guys are. Do you have something in mind?”

Jackson pulls some bills out of his wallet and puts them on the table before getting out of the booth. “I heard of a pretty cool place.”

“Follow the leader,” Tyler quips, making Jackson roll his eyes.

I chuckle and follow them out of the booth. If anyone is going to take the lead, it’s the guy who runs into burning buildings.

We all walk back out to the Strip, hundreds of people roaming up and down the sidewalks in search of a late night adventure just like us. Something tells me that this is going to be a very late night for us.

Not that I mind.

There’s an endless number of possibilities in store for us tonight, and I’m looking forward to seeing which ones turn from fantasy to reality.

We just need to stay out of trouble as much as we can.

Chapter four

Chapter 4: Jackson

Usually, I don’t enter closed doors in sketchy looking alleyways, but I can make an exception for a vintage themed speakeasy.

The four of us head down a dimly lit hallway, following the sound of slow, sultry jazz music.

“Are we going to get kidnapped?” Tyler whispers.

I flash him a pointed look. “Sorry the music isn’t loud enough to burst your eardrums and the lights aren’t crazy enough to give you a seizure.”