Page 65 of Flying

“I’m not a period sex person. Stop. I wanted to show you how I feel about you, I wanted you to have this moment to feel everything because I know what telling you I want to stay meant to you. Girls make grand gestures too, you know.”

We lay there, holding one another. After a few minutes as his breathing gets heavier, signaling he’s falling asleep, and I rouse him enough to tuck us into bed. This is exactly the sort of home I’ve always wanted.

Once he’s fully out, I whisper to a sleeping River, “I promise to choose to love you every day. I promise to love you more and more over time.”

With a hint of a smile, he pulls me close and we drift off together.

forty-four

River

Weekend of May 5th

We’re headedto Atlantic City as a group today and there are SUVs lining The Featherweight’s parking lot as everyone brings their duffles and small suitcases to load into vehicles.

Nessa and Seth are both checking through a bunch of bags, which can only be trouble.

“River of Dreams,” Mateo shouts as he heads over to give me a high five. “My man, what is up, co-best?”

“Have a moment to take me to see your latest improvements?” He nods towards the back, and we start to make our way around the building together.

“Okay, so what’s the plan for the weekend? I swear I just saw Nessa and Seth with some body part-looking items and as much as I love to see some boobies,” he snickers, “I really, really cannot go to a strip club with my baby sister. Please tell me you got Lily to make an agenda that splits us up a bit? I know it could be fun for you two to be someplace so horny together, but you’ve got my back, right?”

I give a nervous laugh and confirm, “No joint plans for strip clubs. First, we are supposed to get the suites set up. There are three, one for the guys and two for the girls. Nessa said she is decorating. Sheinsisted guys do this wrong and purchased a bunch of stuff like ‘last fling before the ring’ for us too. Tonight we’re supposed to have a big group dinner at one of the best steakhouses in the area once Stef and Lee arrive. Then it’s either poker, black jack, or dancing at the club.”

So far Mateo is on board.Good, I don’t need to deal with a late arriving family member stirring up trouble.

I continue, “Tomorrow, we have a Lee-focused morning: brunch in the two connecting suites with a bacon bar, followed by some sort of painting class the girls organized. I’m pretty sure anyone who doesn’t want to join Lee for this will be welcome to head to the pool or nap or whatever.”

“The second night will be more of the same: dinner out, gamble, dance, drink. Lee doesn’t really want to do strippers so unless there’s a big demand,” I hedge.

Mateo interrupts sharply, “Oh good, I barely want to think about him with my baby sister.” He makes one of those shuddering faces that imply he’s reminded his “baby” sister is a full grown adult woman who lives with a man, is marrying him, and most certainly is not celibate.

Lightly punching at his bicep, I remind him, “Matty, come on. Stef’s a grown ass woman. Lee is a good match for her and she’s giving you a brother. Focus on him having fun.”

“Cool, cool, cool. Then we head back?” Mateos face flashes a hint of embarrassment, like he didn’t know who I expected him to be or which version of himself he wanted to be here.

“Yeah, sleep in, grab food, and head home. You going back to the city? Need us to drop you at a train?”

Spinning Tesla keys around his finger he says, “Nope, I’ll be expected by Susan Santos Manolo to be present for Sunday dinner so I’m with the crew for the duration.”

Giving a conspiratorial glance, he then leans in to ask, “What’s everyone else’s deal? Delia? Nessa? Seth? Who is seeing someone? Who is going to bed early and who is down to drink all night? Any good wing-men or wing-women other than you in this crowd?” He flashes me his winning grin, the one that allows him to be seen as charming when asking these sorts of questions.

“Umm,” it takes a moment but I recover with, “well, we all knowNessa is always down for just about anything, so she’ll probably wing-woman you no problem. Seth will likely dip out and read or he’ll be super drunk and start to lecture us all. That one is a jump ball. Delia, I’m not sure what’s going on with her, something has been a bit different since her time in London, so your guess is as good as mine. Then, the rest of the party are your cousins. So you tell me?”

With one of those airy grins that come with a laugh as though he understands and also knows nothing at the same time, he says, “Cooooool, good tips.”

Nessa is coveringthe common spaces with boobs and dicks. I have never seen so many boob-related things: sparkling nipple tassles, pin the nipple on the tit, all in every color you can think of a human or alien skin being.

Delia and I were shoe-ins to run meals and in-room drinks. Harry, Mom’s favorite distributor, even tossed in some extras for free. After the bars and decor are set up, we all lounge with sports and movies on and graze on snacks. Once the guests of honor arrive, dinner and gambling go smoothly. I wish I had bet Mateo on Seth’s choice of activity, because he digs into his jeans pocket and produces a thin novel. We lose him, then find him again, sipping free beers while reading at a slot machine. To keep the free drinks coming, he’ll drop in a coin every so often.

Lily went with Stef and the other women to dance nearby. As much as I want to go find her and be the one she’s grinding against, I also am exhausted from trying to run point across all these moving parts.

My chip pile is shrinking as Mateo, Lee, and I continue to sit at this poker table. Looking down at my hand, I toss the cards down. “Folding, gotta cash out for tonight, boys.” I clap Mateo on the shoulder and nod to Lee.

When I check on Seth, he’s happy to dip out now. “It’s probably good for the future-brothers to bond a little, you know?” Seth shrugs and follows me towards the room. I just hope Mateo remembers hissister and her fiancé are both public school employees. I grab my phone and shoot a quick text.

Groomsmen

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