Bound to the Beard

“Viva Las Vegas!” My buddy Josh handed me one of the three-foot-long vodka slushies he’d just bought from a woman dressed in nothing but feathers. “Can you believe this place? Come on, Flynn, it’s time to party.”

So much for taking him outside to get some fresh air so he could sober up. “You’d better slow down on the vodka or you won’t make it to your own wedding.”

“Don’t be such a party pooper.” Josh shoved the straw in his mouth and sucked down a quarter of his drink. His fiancée was going to hog tie us and leave us on the side of the highway somewhere between Nevada and my home state of Texas if he showed up at the wedding chapel wasted.

I’d been on the fence about making the trip to Vegas so soon after the holidays, but our other friends guilted me into it. I could afford to take a long weekend off since Josh had just bought out my half of our construction business. But babysitting the groom hadn’t been part of my plans.

“Give me that.” I yanked the huge drink out of his hand. The rest of the guys were still racking up chips at the craps table inside. I seemed to be the only one worried about sobering up the groom so he could say, “I do.”

“Walk with me.” He slung an arm over my shoulder. We made slow progress down the sidewalk since he wasn’t doing a very good job of walking in a straight line. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

Josh was one of those guys who got way too philosophical when he drank. I ought to know since we met our freshman year of college and had shared a lot of beers over the years. “What the hell are you talking about?”

I stopped next to the railing overlooking the front of the Bellagio. Based on the size of the crowd, it was probably time for the fountains to start again.

“That’s how it was with me and Georgeanne.” Josh wedged himself between two groups of tourists and motioned for me to come closer. “She was standing next to me at the bar. We bumped elbows, and I spilled my drink on her jacket.”

“I know, asshole. I was there.” They’d met senior year of college, and she’d been making his life a living hell ever since. Witnessing the ups and mostly downs of their rocky ten-year relationship had been more than enough to convince me that falling in love was a horrible idea.

“Get over here. The fountains are about to start.” He scooted to the left to make room for me.

We still had a few hours before we had to meet Bridezilla and crew at the chapel. Hoping his buzz would fade by then, I stepped closer.

The woman on my right turned just as I approached. Full pink lips curled up in a contagious smile. I couldn’t help but offer a dopey grin in return. She laughed at something the woman next to her said. The sound did something funky to my insides. What the fuck was wrong with me? I felt like I was in a bad rom-com movie, but I couldn’t look away.

Dark brown eyes stared up at me as my elbow bumped into hers. My grip on the giant plastic tube shifted, and the huge drink in my hand tilted toward her.

Everything from that moment on happened in extreme slo-mo.

Her eyes widened and her lips formed a perfectly shaped “O” as half of my slushie splashed down the front of her low-cut white top. Having her cleavage doused in a frozen cocktail must have caught her off guard because she jumped, bumping the top of her head under my chin.

My teeth knocked together, which wouldn’t have been too painful except my tongue got caught between them. I dropped the tall plastic cup when my hand flew to my mouth, accidentally sending whatever had been sitting on the railing in front of her over the edge.

“No, no, no!” She looked like was ready to hurl herself after whatever had gone sailing into the water below. I reached out to grab the back of her shirt. The thin fabric ripped.

“Oh, shit!” Josh yelled and knocked her back from the edge.

She tumbled into me, and we both went down. The rest of the boozy, fruity slushie splashed over both of us.
Time sped up again.

She lifted her head from where she’d landed on my chest. “What just happened?”

“Are you okay?” I tried to sit up, but her body still sprawled across me.

“Duuuuuude.” Josh’s skin had taken on a weird shade of grayish-green. It was the same color as the inside of an over-ripe avocado. “I don’t feel so well.”

“Sit down and put your head between your knees.” The woman staggered to her feet. Her shirt hung in pieces, doing nothing to cover up her lacy beige bra.

Josh did what she said. “Are you a nurse?”

“No, I just hang out with a lot of drunk people.” Her dark brows drew together.

I stared at her as I sat up and took an inventory of my body parts. Except for the painful spot where I’d bitten my tongue, I didn’t appear to be injured.

“Are you okay?” My fingers still clutched the fabric from her shirt. I held it out to her. Maybe she could pin it back together, or…

“No, I’m not okay. You just dumped two liters of sticky strawberry shit down my front and ruined my favorite shirt. Not to mention my purse is now sitting at the bottom of the… what is this? A swamp? A pond?” She turned toward the water.

“It’s an eight-and-a-half acre man-made lake.” I cursed myself for reading the “Facts about Vegas” cards that Josh’s fiancée forced everyone to look over on the plane.

“Really? Eight and a half acres?” She glared at me, her lips turned down in a frown that did nothing to take away from her beauty. “Any chance when you’re done rattling off useless facts you might be willing to give me your shirt since you’re the reason mine is in pieces?”

“Give her your shirt, Flynn,” Josh called out from where he rested with his back against the railing and his head between his knees.

“Sorry about that.” I whipped the dark gray tee over my head and handed it to her. Thanks to my height, I always ordered my shirts in extra-tall. When she pulled it over her head and let it settle on her shoulders, it hung down past the point where her tight jeans encased her full, round ass.

“Thanks to you, I just lost the entire contents of my purse. What are you planning on doing about that?” Her hand clamped to her hip, and she studied me with a look that reminded me of the ones I used to get from my middle school teachers when I’d done something to cause trouble. Only my teachers had never been as pretty as the gorgeous woman standing in front of me.

“I’m going to get everything back for you.” The only thing that mattered in that moment was coming through for the curvy brunette.

“And how exactly do you plan on doing that?”

I shot a glance at Josh. He’d be okay for a few minutes. “Hold my phone?”

“Where are you going?” She reached for the phone I handed her. Our fingers brushed. Maybe it was the music blaring through the speakers while the fountains danced, but I could have sworn I heard angels sing as I stared deep into her eyes.

“I’ll be right back.” Then I turned toward the fountains shooting water four-hundred feet into the air and hopped the railing.