Page 3 of Torch

“Yeah.” I sighed. “I’ve told her countless times I’m not interested, but she keeps trying. I can’t even use Dad’s plane when I’m traveling alone. I have to fly commercial because I know she’ll hound me the entire flight.”

“Spoken like a true rich kid. I have to fly commercial,” Dice mocked. “Y’all are spoiled as fuck.”

The group roared with laughter, including me and my siblings. Little did they know we weren’t spoiled at all. My parents made us work for everything we had, including our trust fund. We had to maintain certain grades throughout school, graduate from college with a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and avoid any trouble with the law.

My parents came from a rough neighborhood. They busted their asses to provide a better life for us. They didn’t want us to be the average snotty rich kids who lived off their parents, so we didn’t get any handouts.

“I’m spoiled, but wasn’t it you who demanded we use his plane to come here?” I shot back.

Dice raised his head defiantly. “I sure did. You and your rich daddy shouldn’t have made me accustomed to these kinds of things. Now, I have expectations,” he said with no shame.

The group laughed again as we all filed into the four sprinter vans that were waiting on the tarmac for us. Once all the luggage was loaded, we were on our way to the hotel.

“You really went all-out, huh, Cara?” Thor spat, gaining everyone’s attention.

Cara turned to him with a confused expression. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m just saying. You’re pulling out the red carpet for your buddy, Tech.” Jealousy laced his tone.

I chuckled and shook my head. Thor and Cara had been the best of friends since the moment they met four years ago. Well, after she shot down his advances. Now, those two were super close. He was the godfather to all her children.

“Thor, really?” Cara laughed. “I am the best woman of the wedding, so I want to make sure Tech has a great time at his bachelor party.”

We were all shocked when Tech asked Cara to stand beside him at his wedding to Will. I’m sure we were all thinking he would choose one of us. He told us he owed his newfound happiness to Cara, so he wouldn’t have it any other way. Prior to Tech getting engaged to Will, he had lost him. They spent years in secret together. Tech ended up making a mistake, and Will broke up with him. During the months they were separated, we watched Tech transform into someone we didn’t know.

We all tried to help him, but none of us knew what the real issue was. Well, none of the guys knew. The Ol’ Ladies had known what was going on between those two for a while. Eventually, Cara went and talked to Tech when he was damn near drinking himself to death every day.

I didn’t know what she said to him, but he got his shit together. He started therapy and eventually got Will back. So, I understood why he chose my sister as his best woman.

“He didn’t have to choose you, though,” Thor whined. “He’s trying to steal you from me!”

The entire van roared with laughter. He sounded like a petulant child. He was talking about my sister as if she were his favorite toy and he didn’t want to share.

Viper sat next to Cara with a frown on his face. “He can’t steal shit from you, because she’s mine!”

Cara rolled her eyes, rubbing her forehead. “Will both of you stop? Thor, even though Tech and I have grown closer, you will always be my best bud. Nobody can take that spot from you.” Thor visibly relaxed, sending a smug smile to Tech, who was shaking his head. “And Viper, everyone knows I belong to you. There’s no need to get all territorial.” She palmed his face and kissed his lips.

“Now that tug-of-war game is out of the way, tell us what’s on the itinerary for this trip,” Oscar, Will's best friend, demanded.

“Hold that thought. There’s one thing we need to start this trip off right.”

“What’s that?” Oscar asked, tilting his head.

Cara didn’t bother responding. She and Sara reached into their purses, and I already knew what was coming. They both pulled out a Ziploc bag full of pre-rolled joints. My sisters used to occasionally smoke but hadn’t done so since becoming parents. I guess since they were kid-free and we were in a state where it was legal, they were about to live their best lives.

“Hell yeah! Hand me one right now,” Axel demanded.

When my sisters first came here, they smoked one with all the guys. To this day, I didn’t know where the girls got their supply, but it was damn good.

They handed out joints, and we wasted no time sparking them. Cara started going over everything she had planned while we smoked. Most of that was going in one ear and out the other. I was already soaring and very relaxed.

While Cara was talking, Madison, Thor’s Ol’ Lady, reached for the joint Cara was smoking. “I want to try some.”

Madison was a good girl through and through. I was a little shocked and against it. The shit we were smoking had no business going into the lungs of an amateur.

“Hell no,” Cara refused immediately.

“But why?” Madison pouted.