Page 31 of Allison

“I thought Daddy liked Curtis?” Emma sounds worried.

“He does, my girl. Curtis is a fine man and your father knows he’s perfect for you, but he still wants to pretend that you’ll just magically present us with grandbabies. He doesn’t want to think about how you make them.”

“Ewww, Mom!” Allison laughs at Emma’s discomfort. She shouldn’t laugh. She should feel sympathy for her, because she wouldn’t want to have this discussion with her own mother, not that it would ever happen. Allison’s mother avoids discussing anything of an intimate nature. She probably hopes her grandchildren are produced by magic, too.

“Now, get that dress off,” Aunt Margaret commands. “Don’t you girls have a party to get to?” Ah, crap! Allison had let the bachelorette party slip her mind while she’d been talking with Russell and lusting over him. She wishes she’d gotten his number so she could text him and let him know she won’t be back to her room until much later.

Allison slips off the dress and dons her other one. “I forgot about the party,” Allison whispers to Emma. “I don’t have a way to let Russell know.”

“Oh, don’t worry about him,” Emma whispers back, glancing at her mother who is busy hanging Allison’s dress up. “Curtis and the guys are coming, too.”

“They are?” Allison frowns. Russell hadn’t said anything about them coming to the party. “How are you having a bachelorette party with your fiancé there?”

“It’s a combo,” Emma shrugs. “I don’t like going to bars, you know—” Allison nods. She understands, after what happened to Emma. “I’ll feel better having him close, but I still wanted us to get to drink, dance, and have some fun.”

A banging on the door causes the women to jump. “Emma! Let me in!” Susie Beth calls from the other side of the door. Emma hurries to open the door. Susie Beth rushes in looking adorable in a short gold dress. Her wavy, brown hair is hanging loose around her shoulders and flowing down her back. “Are you all ready? We need to go.”

“I’ll see myself out,” Aunt Margaret calls, heading for the door. “You girls have fun.” The door closes behind her.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Emma questions, giving Susie Beth a hard once over. “What’s wrong?” She obviously sees something in Susie Beth’s demeanor that Allison is missing.

“Nothing,” Susie Beth dismisses Emma’s concern with a wave of her hand. “I’m just ready to get this party started.” She waggles her eyebrows, but her eyes don’t hold the humor her actions are emitting. There is something off with Susie Beth. Before she can join Emma in forcing Susie Beth to confess what she’s trying to hide, Emma’s phone rings.

“Hey Curtis,” Emma coos into the phone. Her voice gets that dreamy tone she uses when talking to her lover. She listens a moment before saying, “Okay, we’ll be down in a minute. I love you.” Her ghost of a smile widens at whatever he says in reply, then her face flushes a deep shade of red.

Hmm, Emma’s man is talking dirty to her.Allison smiles, happy for her cousin and the love she’s found. Emma is back to the fun loving, carefree woman she’d been before her attack. Curtis is to be thanked for that.

“It’s time to go,” Emma announces when she ends her call. “There are a couple of SUVs waiting for us.” They head out into the hall meeting up with the women who belong to Curtis’s teammates. Allison is thankful Emma had kept this little excursion from their family. Aunt Jenny and Aunt Lettie would be blocking the elevators while they lectured the women about loose behavior.

They step out from the lobby into the cool night air. “Party time!” Susie Beth yells rushing for the first SUV sitting at the valet stand. Suddenly, a large figure slips out of the passenger seat and opens the back door for her. Susie Beth skids to a stop, arms flailing. The move reminds Allison of Scooby Doo. “What the hell?”

Bull smirks at Susie Beth as he reaches for her arm, gently pulling her toward the door he’s holding open. “I’ll be your escort for the evening.” A distorted string of words erupts from the tiny woman.

Even though Allison can’t understand what Susie Beth is muttering, she can’t keep from sharing a grin with Emma, because Susie Beth is going full-on cartoon in the flesh. This time she reminds Allison of Yosemite Sam from Looney Toons, letting loose a string of curses. Tonight is going to be interesting.

21

WORM

Worm is getting restless. Allison should’ve been back by now,shouldn’t she?How long does it take to try on a dress?He paces his room, wearing a path from the door to the window. He runs his hand through his hair. He’s being ridiculous. He shouldn’t be this worked up over a woman.He can’t be!

Unable to take it another second, he storms out of his room and down the hall. Worm knocks firmly on Allison’s door. When she doesn’t answer, he knocks again. He clenches his teeth in anticipation, but still, she doesn’t respond. He looks up and down the hall wondering what to do.

Just then, Tank, Straw, and Wallace come down the hall. “You ready for the bachelor party?” Worm frowns. He had forgotten they’d planned to have Wallace’s bachelor party tonight.

“That’s tonight?” The men all nod at the same time.

“The women have already taken off,” Tank grumbles. “We need to get going so we can keep an eye on them. I don’t like them being out, consuming alcohol, without some of us around.” Worm agrees. It’s not a good idea for them to be out alone.

“I’d forgotten that was the plan for tonight,” Worm admits. “Let me grab my phone, and I’ll be ready to go.” The men wait in the hall as Worm steps into his room to grab what he needs. He rejoins them, and they head down the elevator and out to the valet stand where a couple of SUVs are waiting. Many of the other guys are standing there waiting for them.

“Has anyone seen Bull?” Wallace asks, after scanning those gathered around.

Virus steps out. “Yeah, he went with the girls, even though Susie Beth was giving him hell about it.” Virus chuckles. “I’m pretty sure she’s already neutered him by this point, but we should get going, just in case. We still might have time to save his manhood.”

The men laugh moving toward the vehicles. Worm is anxious to see Allison, even though it’s only been a couple of hours since he’d left her at her door. He can’t deny it; he is becoming obsessed with her. He should be distancing himself, but he honestly doesn’t want to.

If I can just fuck her, I’ll get her out of my system.Even as this runs through his mind, he knows he is lying to himself. Allison is unlike any woman he’s ever met. He only wishes he didn’t have so many other responsibilities so she could be more than a fling and he could pursue her.

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