Inked Chaos (19 page)

I can’t see and I can’t
breathe, all due to the pure emotion I am feeling, as I gaze at Jen after she
walks out of the fitting room.  I have never seen her look more beautiful.  In
fact stunning, with her happiness shining out of her very soul.  Her dress is
figure hugging down to her hip, where it kicks out in gentle falls until it
lands at her feet.  Strapless, it shows her delicate shoulders off perfectly,
and all this finery, is topped off by a delicate sheer veil falling down her
back.  

She had told me she was having her dress
designed especially for her, and they have caught the essence that is pure Jen
perfectly.  Watching as she walks to the podium and stands in front of the
mirror, with the assistant arranging the back of her dress, I can no longer
hold it in and a sob escapes; drawing Jens attention from her reflection to
myself.

“Boo?” On seeing my expression, her own
eyes fill with tears. “Oh Boo.” She whispers, and disregarding the fact that
the assistant has just spent the last few moments meticulously arranging her
dress, she steps down off the podium and walks straight into my arms.

Holding each other tightly, neither of us
can speak, but the embrace and the love we feel for each other is all that’s
needed.  She knows how much I love her, and I know she feels the same way.  All
our lives we have supported each other.  This special time will be no
exception.  Breaking apart as the assistant brings us tissues, we laugh as we
wipe each other’s faces, trying to redeem the leftover make-up.

“Ruined?” I ask of my make-up,
as I wipe her cheeks.  

“Yep! Mine too?” she
asks.

“Totally.”  

Laughing we embrace in another quick hug,
before Jen walks to take her place once more on the podium, in front of the mirror.

“So I take it you
approve.” She inquires.

“One hundred percent.” I
reply. “It’s totally perfect for you.

Razor isn’t going to know
what hit him.”

We spend the next hour going over her
fitting and arrangements, before it’s my turn to try on some dresses.  After
narrowing it down to two, I try them both on again, before we decide on a satin
strapless dress in black, with elegant crystal work at the waist.  I thought
Jen would want a bright colour, but no, as I am to be the only bridesmaid, she
declares she wants me to stand out.  Viewing myself in the mirror, I can’t deny
that’s exactly what I do.  My auburn hair standing out loud and proud against
the black satin.  By the time the wedding comes around I will have a slight
tan, and it will make the dress even more stunning.  Matched with a pair of
four inch heeled, black satin shoes the outfit is complete.  I can’t believe
that the person staring back at me from the mirror is me.  I’ve lost a few
pounds, but this dress highlights my hour glass figure to perfection.

By the time we leave the wedding store, we
have been in there for hours.  Both hungry, we make our way downtown and enter
the sushi restaurant that Jen took me to on my first night in LA.  So much has
happened since that first night, I can hardly believe my life now.  We don’t
have a reservation, but on seeing Jen, we are quickly ushered from the foyer,
and are seated and eating at a speed that I can hardly believe.

Over lunch, Jen fills me in on the wedding
arrangements, and I fill her in on the whirlwind happenings of my book launch.  I
have never seen Jen so animated.  So much for needing me to help with the
arrangements.  Between Jen and her organiser, everything is in hand.  Which I
suppose, as I hear the amount she is paying said organiser, it should be.  

“So, how’s things with AJ?” she questions, just
as I am about to take a sip of wine.

“Sneak attack eh?” I announce, my hand
holding my glass an inch from my lips, before taking a sip and placing it on
the table.

“Gotta be done.” She announces with a
smile. “Besides, I need to know that my Boo is happy, and that I didn’t make a
mistake when I believed AJ was the one for you.”

“You didn’t make a mistake.” I acknowledge.
“Well, so far anyway.” I smile.

So over sushi, Jen becomes acquainted with
my life, my feelings, and my love for AJ.  As I speak, the smile on her face
becomes wider and she acquires a contented expression on her face.  

“I’m so happy for you
Boo.” She whispers.

“Me too.” I laugh. “So now you’ve given me
the third degree.

What’s next for today?”

“We are going to pick the
makings of our bouquets.”

“The makings of our
bouquets? Flowers?” I query.

“Nope, you’ll see.” Is
her mysterious reply.  

So after Sushi, we make our way to a store
that I doubt I would ever locate again; seeing as it is all but hidden away
down a side road, and to my surprise, I find myself sitting opposite Jen,
perusing brooches.  A mixture of outstandingly, amazing brooches, incorporating
black and white stones.  Some even look like diamonds, but I sincerely doubt
they are or I hope not, seeing as they are huge in size.

Yes, my clever friend is having bouquets
made out of different brooches.  The only problem being, that as we like them
all, we have severe difficulty in choosing them; however eventually, the
decision is made as to which ones are to be incorporated into the bouquets.  Jen
said that she wanted something that was not only unusual, and stunning, but
something that we could both keep forever, with these we can.

With the last chore of the day done, we hug
and part company.

Climbing into the back of the car, I can’t
help the beaming smile I have on my face, knowing Jen is going to look
spectacular on the day.

“It’s been a good day
Wade.” I shout over the stereo.

“It has indeed Jorgi.” He replies and I
hear a hint of boredom in his voice.  Poor Wade, he has had to put up with the
two of us laughing and crying and being totally girlie all day.  Even playing
along when we made him swear that he would never divulge anything he had seen
in the process.

It doesn’t take long before we are back at
the house, and in desperate need of a shower I head straight upstairs to our
bedroom.

Dropping my bag onto a chair as I walk in,
I immediately strip off and head into the bathroom.  Placing my iPod on the
docking station I select my favourite playlist, turn up the volume and step
into the shower.

Relishing the hot water beating down on me,
I stand and let the heat ease away the day’s aches and grime; only to jump when
the shower door opens and AJ swiftly steps into the shower, his back to the
spray.  Without a word he lifts his hands to each side of my head and dips his
own to kiss me.

“Hi.” He whispers against
my lips.

“Hi.” I murmur, wrapping my arms around his
waist. “I missed you today.”

“Me too.  Did you have a
good day?”

“The best.  You?”

“Yeah.  Only thing
missing was you.” He smiles.

“Well, I’m here now.” I say.

“So you are.” He smiles as he places his
hands on my hips and pulls me closer to his body.  I can feel his erection
against my belly, causing my nipples to respond and harden.

Reaching behind him, he picks up a bottle
of shower gel and turning back to face me, proceeds to tip some into the palm
of his hand.  His eyes never leaving my own, my breath hitches in anticipation,
as he rubs his hands together.  Slowly, starting at my shoulders, he moves his
hands gently down over my body, delaying to play close attention to my breasts;
circling my nipples, before moving downwards over my belly and out to my hips,
and around and lower until he reaches the most sensitive spot of all.  Kneading
his fingers as he goes, he takes his time massaging my body, bringing me to the
height of arousal.

With my eyes closed, my hands clinging to
his waist for support, I have become a tightly strung ball of sensation.  No
one has ever taken the time to bring me to such an arousal before, and I’m
totally lost; only conscious of AJs hands as he works his magic on my body,
causing me to moan.

“Birdie.” He breathes and I slowly open my
eyes and look at him, to see him holding the bottle been two fingers swinging
it slightly from side to side, smiling.

Returning his smile, I reach and take the
bottle from him.  Oh, I’m going to enjoy this.  Taking his lead I start at his
shoulders, working down and around his body as I go.  Kissing every place my
hands caress, running my tongue over his nipples, tasting him.  I can hear his laboured
breathing, and it spurs me on as my hands travel lower, until I touch his
erection, running my fingers up and down his length and around the tip.

Hearing him groan, I look at his face and
find he’s standing as I had been; eyes closed, and totally enthralled in my
actions.  Quickly dropping to my knees, I take him deep into my mouth.

“Ah Birdie?” he moans spurring me on.

I release him as far as the tip, before
taking him deep again, sucking and running my tongue over and around the tip.  He
tastes divine, all AJ, and listening to, and feeling AJ becoming more excited,
encourages me to be bolder.

In one swift movement, I’m up with my back pressed
against the tiled wall, and he’s inside me driving deep and hard, his hands
supporting my ass, and it’s wonderful.  All I can do is hold onto his shoulders
for support, as I feel it quickly build within me.

“AJ.” I moan as I explode into a thousand
pieces, and I hear and feel him follow me as he climaxes.  We stand with our
arms wrapped around each other, catching our breath; my heart pounding, my legs
weak.  I’m grateful he’s holding me up, as I doubt my legs would support me if
he wasn’t.

Lifting my chin, he kisses the tip of my
nose and then my lips.

“Wow, you did miss me.” I
smile.  

“Oh yeah.” His arms give me a squeeze
before he releases my legs.  Taking my hand, he leads me out of the shower, and
passes me a towel.  We both dry off, and grabbing my hairbrush, I try to tame
my hair.

“So what are the plans for tonight?” I
enquire.  I know we are staying in, but that’s all.

“Slumber party.”

“Slumber party?” I repeat smiling. “But you
said it would be just us tonight.”

“It is.  We’re going to get our Pj’s on,
have a carpet picnic, watch a movie and generally slob out, with a little
making out in there somewhere too.”

“Sounds perfect.” I
smile.

“Thought you’d like the idea.” He says
opening a drawer and pulling out some pyjama bottoms.  I stand and watch him, marvelling
at the beautiful man that he is, and he’s mine.  How could it be that this man
belongs to me and says he loves me?

“You’re staring.” he
states with a lop-sided grin.

“I know.” I retort smiling, as I walk over
to quickly kiss him, before collecting my own pyjamas, which consist of shorts
and a camisole top.

“Birdie!” He replies on
an exasperated sigh, shaking his head.

“Come on, let’s go.  For some
reason I’m suddenly starving.”

“Can’t think why that would be.” I say sassily
only to laugh when I notice his impatient expression. “Okay, okay I’m ready,
let’s go feed you.” Grabbing his hand, I pull him after me as we leave the room
and head downstairs.

On arriving in the lounge,
I come to a sudden halt when I see he truly meant a carpet picnic.  On the
floor in front of the sofa is a rug, onto which lie several bowls of food;
ribs, chicken, salad, nachos the list goes on.  The coffee table to the side
holds drinks, plates, cutlery and condiments.

“We’ll never eat all that.”
I say, turning to him astounded.

“Come on.” He says and tugs me towards the
rug, before sitting down on the floor, dragging me down with him.  He passes me
a plate and orders me to “tuck in” as he reaches for the TV remote.

“What are we watching?” I enquire as I
start to load my plate with food.

“You’ll see.” Is his cryptic reply and I
stop picking at the food to look quizzically at him.  The TV springs to life
and seconds later the opening titles of The Notebook begin to play.  I turn to
him in shock.

“My favourite.”

“I know.  Jen told me.”

“But honey, it’s kind of a chick flick.  I
don’t think it’s going to be your kind of thing.”

“I don’t care.  I’m willing to sit through
it if you want to watch it.  Now, the quicker you eat up, the quicker we can
concentrate on the film, the quicker we can arrive at the making out part of the
evening.” And ensues to pile his plate full of food.

*****

The final credits of the movie start to
travel over the screen, and AJ passes me a tissue.

“I’m sorry, it always makes
me cry.”

“I can see that.”

“It’s so sad.”

“Ahuh.” He mutters.

Turning my head to look at him, I see that
he’s intently examining the remote control.

“AJ?”

“Mmm?”

“Look at me.” He turns to look at me and I
see that his eyes are moist.  He wasn’t crying, but he definitely wasn’t far
off.

“You liked it.  You
lovvvved it.” I tease.

“Okay, I liked it, and
yes, it got to me.  I confess.” He laughs.  

Grabbing his face I kiss his lips. “Another
reason to love you.” I announce.

He lowers my back to the floor and kisses
me, his tongue teasing mine, before lifting his head to smile down at me.

“I guess we’ve reached the make out section
of the evening.” I breathe against his lips.

“Oh yeah.” He confirms
before doing just that.

It’s two weeks before the
wedding, and tonight is the start of Jen and Razors hen and bachelor party
weekends.  The guys are off to New York and we girls are off to a rather snazzy
spa hotel in Mexico.

The last week has passed by in a whirl of
wedding appointments, with a television interview promoting my book thrown into
the mix.  AJ and the band have been working long hours in the studio, so
between it all, we have only seen each other for a few hours in the evening.  The
only exception being, when I happened to mention I was going shopping for a
bikini for Mexico.  On hearing this, AJ decided he needed to come with me.  So
with Tiny and Wade in tow, we had hit the LA shops with a vengeance.

Needless to say, purchases didn’t stop at a
bikini.  Nope, I had six.  Six! I argued with AJ that we were only going for a
couple of days, but to no avail.  Then there were new shorts and tops and a
couple of dresses.  Every time I tried to call a halt to the shopping spree, AJ
would pick something else up and proclaim that he loved it, and that it was just
me, which I have to admit he was usually right.  It appears our taste in
clothes runs parallel.  

As AJ had stated he wanted a few things
too, I used this as a distraction and soon we were in a Harley shop.  While AJ
was inspecting some jeans, I wandered away looking at the T-shirts.  Finding
one I really liked I sneakily made my way to the pay point and bought it as a
surprise, hiding it in amongst my purchases.

By the time we had finished our shopping
spree, I felt like we had hit every shop in LA.  It had been a fun day, full of
laughter, as we pretended to like some really bad items, trying on hats, and
teasing each other endlessly.

The press had been nowhere in sight, although
I had learnt my lesson.  I didn’t presume that we hadn’t been photographed with
a long lens at some point.  I did notice a few people filming us on mobile
phones, and on more than one occasion AJs name was called out.  Nonetheless, no
one crowded us or tried to bother us, and I recalled AJ saying he had never
really experienced problems walking around the city before. 

On arriving back home, we had spent the
rest of the day relaxing by the pool, because as AJ had stated “you need to
break in the bikinis babe”.  To which I had called him a ‘pervert’ and listened
to his laughter as I had walked away smiling, whilst deciding which bikini to
model first.

On giving AJ his T-shirt, he’d excitedly
said he loved it and proclaimed he was going to take it to New York with him,
so it would remind him of me.

So here I am, packing the last of my things
for Mexico.  AJ and the boys having already left earlier for the airport.

He’d been laughing, as he told me Razor
wouldn’t know what hit him, but he wouldn’t divulge a thing.  Which filled me
with a sense of concern and anxiety for poor Razor.

We had stood by the car, our arms around
each other and I hadn’t wanted to let him go.  I have become so used to having
him around, and being part of my day, that I am going to miss him like crazy.  We
had teased each other to “not to do anything I wouldn’t do” and before I knew
it, he was gone, leaving me with Wade who was accompanying us down to Mexico.  So
now I’m waiting for Jen to arrive before we head off to the airport, where we
are going to meet the others for our flight.

*****

We’re strutting our stuff on the dance
floor, and I’m totally and utterly drunk.  In fact, we all are.  It’s our last
night and boy are we making the most of it.  We’ve had two days of pampering at
the spa.  Sunbathing, swimming, and laughter by day.  Followed by nights of
drinking, dancing and hilarious laughter.  All in all we have basically given
Jen the best hen weekend of all time.  We had a theme that Jen knew nothing
about, until we were preparing for our first night out, when I suddenly
produced her outfit.  An outfit that didn’t leave much to the imagination as
the theme was ‘Moulin Rouge’.

So there we had been, all dressed up in
raunchy Basques and stockings, of various colours.  Something I had been quite
apprehensive about when the girls had first mentioned it, especially as I was
taking the press into consideration.  However, Naomi had said as we were in a
private hotel, and we had security, that we should be okay.  I have to admit,
once I had tried my costume on and saw what it did for my figure, I had been
all for it; and we were only wearing them for the first evening anyway.

Just the expression on Jens face when she
realised what we were up to, had been worth it.  At first she had tried to
refuse to wear her outfit, until I had informed her we were all dressing up; she
had then given in gracefully.  However, I suspect she did so, mainly because all
the Basques had tiny skirts attached to them, so we weren’t being totally
brazen.

I had stupidly enlightened AJ about our
outfits before we left, and he had demanded an inspection.  Knowing where that
would lead, I had speedily manipulated the situation, by promising a private
fashion show when I returned home.  To which his reply was simply a sulky
“Babe”.

Glancing over at Jen, and noticing she
definitely looks worse for wear, I carefully make my way over to her, whilst
trying to clear my head.

Drunkenly, she grabs hold of my shoulders
to support herself, almost making us both topple over.

“I love you Boo.” She
slurs, shouting over the music.

“I love you too, and I
think it’s time we called it a night.”

“Nooooo.  It’s still
early, and it’s our last night.  Let’s have another drink.” She says turning
away from me, and staggering towards the bar.

Drunkenly peering at my
watch, I frown and squint as I try to read the dial, before following her and
catching her by the arm.

“Jen, it’s late, we have
to be up in five hours to make our flight.”

She stands unsteadily in front of me with a
frown on her face, trying in her drunken way to give me the evil eye, thinking
it will make me change my mind, but I’m not shifting.  It’s time to make a
move.  The other girls join us and agree with me, so Jen finally concedes
defeat and we stagger towards the exit.

It has to be said, that the walk back to
our rooms is hysterically funny.  Not one of us can walk in a straight line,
and we are very loud, as we laugh uncontrollably.

It takes me several attempts to coerce Jen
into bed, due to her protesting that she isn’t in the least bit tired.  Until
finally, after threatening to hit the mini bar, she slumps onto her bed and
collapses backwards.  By the time I have taken her shoes off, she is out for
the count.  I don’t even bother trying to undress her.  I just pull the covers
over her, strip off and slump into my own bed, make-up intact and all.  

*****

The flight home isn’t a pleasant one, as we
all have horrific hangovers.  None of us had been able to face breakfast, so we
also feel nauseous.  It’s a relief when we finally land at LAX and know we were
going to shortly be home.

As the guys weren’t going to be back until
the following evening, we have arranged that I will stay with Jen until
tomorrow.   So on arriving back at Jens, we both hit the kitchen searching for
food and drinks.  After fixing ourselves a sandwich, accompanied by a large
glass of cool lemonade, we head into the snug and turn on the TV; deciding to
spend the afternoon having a chick flick extravaganza.  We plan to slob out and
watch girlie films all afternoon, that’s if we manage to stay awake.

The TV flicks into life and Jen starts to
flick through the channels searching for a movie.  As the pictures flick over
one after the other, I am sure I see an item about AJ and Razor and ask Jen to
flip back to it, laughing that we’ll discover what they had been up to while
they were away.

I soon wish I hadn’t.  For the article isn’t
about Razor, just AJ.  Well, they mention Razor, saying that they are in New
York for his stag party, but the focus is on AJ; and the focus on AJ is because
there he is and standing next to him is Melody Forrester, and he has his arm
around her shoulders.  Oh, the reporter is very forthcoming, saying that even
though it was a stag party weekend, AJ has still found time to date old flame Melody
Forrester, and he wonders if new flame Jorgi Morgan knows about it.

Well yeah, I do now.  I feel my eyes fill
up, and blink quickly trying to dispel the tears before Jen notices, as I watch
the scenes unfold across the screen.

Oh the pain, never have I felt such pain.  My
chest feels so tight, like an elastic band pulled to capacity about to twang
and break.  Then I notice that he’s wearing the T-shirt I gave him just before
he left.  The T-shirt he said he loved, and would remind him of me every time
he wore it.  Well, that didn’t last long did it?

I didn’t think the pain could become worse;
I was wrong.  Standing quickly, the plate I had on my lap falls to the floor
and shatters, and I stare at it wryly.  Just like my heart, shattered and lying
on the floor.

“Boo, I’m sure there’s an explanation.  Let
me phone Razor and find out what’s happening.” Jen says quietly.

“No!” I snap.  The tears now freely flowing
down my cheeks. “No Jen, I know you mean well, but look at them.  God! I’m so
stupid! What did I expect? That little old me, Jorgi Morgan, would be enough
for him.  God! I’m a lunatic.” I say sarcastically as I move towards the door, grabbing
my bag as I go.

“Where are you going? Boo please, stay here
and let me try and discover what’s going on.  I’m sure there will be a good
reason Boo, I can’t believe he would see her romantically.”

“You can’t eh? Open your eyes Jen.  Look at
that.” I cry, pointing to the television.  Seeing her distressed expression, I
take a deep breath and try to compose myself.

“Jen, what you and Razor have is so
special.  That doesn’t mean that everyone’s relationship is the same.  I
stupidly believed that’s what AJ and I have, but I was obviously wrong.  I’m
sorry, but I want to go home; please, will you call me a taxi?

Jen knows me too well to try to talk me out
of it.  Nodding her head, she grabs her phone.

“Don’t bother with a taxi Boo, I’ll just
ring through to security.”

“No.  Please Jen, just call a taxi.  No
security.  No AJ connections.”

Shaking her head, Jen does as I request,
but I can tell by her expression that she doesn’t approve of my decision.

“Please Jen, don’t ring Razor.  Let me get
my head around this, and work out what I’m going to do.  I need time to think.”

“Okay, but you only have until later
tonight.  Then I’m calling him.”

“Deal.” I say and try to
smile, but fail miserably.

Leaving
my suitcase at Jens, I hear the taxi arrive and take my leave.  Jen gives me a
hard hug, and once again makes me promise to call her, which I agree to do.  Knowing
that I will probably break that promise.

The taxi pulls away and I give her a little wave, as we leave.

“Where to miss.” The driver asks.

I don’t
know where to go.  I didn’t think this through and acted on impulse.  I can’t
go back to the house, it would be too painful.  So I ask him to take me to
Griffith Park, with the intention of just finding myself a quiet spot to sit
and think.

It
doesn’t take long to travel there, and I start to rifle through my bag for my purse
to pay the fee, my hands stilling, as I come across my passport instead.  I had
forgotten I still had it; I sit there for a couple of minutes just staring at
it.

“Miss? Miss are you okay?” the driver asks worriedly.

“Yes, change
of plan.” I state taking a deep breath. “Will you take me to the airport
please?” I ask.  On the spur of the moment deciding to fly to New York.

I know
which hotel AJ is staying at, I even know his suite number.  I can’t hang
around until he comes home.  I need to speak to him face to face as soon as
possible, and find out about that report.  Yes, there may be a reasonable
explanation, or there may not be.  Either way, I need to find out.

Arriving
at the airport, I learn there is just over a two hour wait before the next
flight to New York, which means with the flight time it will be very late when
I arrive.  Oh well, it’s still better than waiting over twenty-four hours until
he would have arrived home.  So I take a seat and wait for my flight.

Checking
my phone, I see a missed call from Jen, but I also see one from AJ.  Ignoring
his, I call Jen, and put her mind at ease.  I lie and inform her that I am in
the park just sitting, thinking things through.  I hate to lie to her, but if
she knew what I was about to do, she would only try to persuade me to change my
mind.

She says
AJ has called her looking for me, but she has told him I had gone home for a
nap and that I had probably turned my phone off.  I hate her lying for me, but
I am also grateful, because it’s giving me more time to think things through
before speaking to him.

I say
goodbye and tell her I will call her later, and I will.  It will just be later
than she thinks.

Eventually,
I hear my flight being called, so I turn off my phone and head towards the
departure gate.  This is going to be one hell of a long flight in more ways
than one.

*****

I can
see the bright lights of New York as we descend.  I have tried to sleep during
the flight, but failed miserably, resulting in me feeling irritable, tired and
downright fed up.

I’ve had
time to contemplate the situation, and I have become calmer.  My mind has
flipped between going to see him, or just booking into a hotel and flying back
to LA in the morning.  One moment I feel it was a mistake to come, the next I’m
telling myself I did the right thing.  I’m so confused, and tired; I just feel
that I can’t think rationally anymore.  However, after much soul searching, I
know I won’t be content until I have seen and spoken to him.