Old Friends l

-- TUESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2004, WINTER BREAK --

Daniel and Elaine were getting married.

Yeah, Daniel Chen and Elaine Fukuhara were still in college, only halfway through their careers at UCLA. Yeah, 20 was pretty young to be getting married, but with these two, age didn't matter. They were soulmates. They had been each other's one and only since they were fourteen, and their friendship dated back to being 2-year-olds in the same Montessori pre-school class. The day we'd all graduated from High School, Kenny Doyle had cracked that the pair should send us all their wedding invites in a few weeks. Well, more than a few weeks had passed, but absolutely no one was surprised that they were the first of our friends to be getting hitched.

The Wednesday date was a little strange for a wedding, but it was practical on many levels. First, the midweek date in the middle of everyone's winter break from college ensured that we'd all be able to attend. Second, financially well-off but fiscally conservative Daniel got the really swanky Tustin Ranch Golf Club for a really good price. And third, getting married before the end of the calendar year meant that he and Elaine could do their taxes as "Married Filing Jointly", saving even more.

Romantic, right?

For Daniel and Elaine, it was perfect. Elaine wasn't the most girly of girls who needed some elaborate "June at the Plaza" kind of wedding. Even in December, SoCal weather was pleasant enough. And the important thing was that all of their best friends were able to attend.

But first, the Bachelor Party.

Kenny Doyle wanted a wild Vegas weekend. But most of us were only 20 and besides, that wouldn't have been Daniel's style. Instead, we guys were being rounded up by a stretch Towncar limo and taken off to a day filled with golf, sushi, and yes, a strip club. Our only rule was that Daniel had to be home by midnight in order to get plenty of sleep for tomorrow's nuptials.

Tee time was at 10am, letting all the hardcore golfers go ahead of us early in the morning while we amateurs screwed around the course. The limo came by to fetch me at 9am, and Dawn escorted me to the door to wish me goodbye.

"Dude, you suck."

I frowned, arching an eyebrow at my one-time best friend. "Uh, nice to see you too, Kenny."

Kenny Doyle wasn't looking at me. He was staring to my left, gawking at my girlfriend. "Dude, you fucking, fucking suck."

My frown deepened, and Dawn looked at me with a nervous expression.

"Wow, she's real." Sung Joon nodded with an impressed expression, standing next to Kenny.

"Guys, this is Ben. Are we really surprised?" Daniel laughed.

"Megan, Cassidy, Adrienne, and now her? Fuck you, man," Kenny shook his head and walked away, heading back to the limo.

Sung cracked up. "Don't mind Kenny. He's in a bit of a funk. His last girlfriend dumped him just before finals." Schooling his face, Sung stuck out his hand and bowed his head politely. "You must be Dawn. I'm Sung. Very pleased to meet you."

Recovering quickly, Dawn blushed and shook Sung's hand. "You too." She then shook hands with Daniel and said, "Bring my boyfriend back in one piece, will you?"

"Don't worry about me," I cut in, wrapping an arm around Daniel's shoulders. "Pray for this guy. When we get through with him tonight, he's going to be wishing Kenny had dragged him off to Vegas."

Everyone chuckled at that, and I broke away to peck Dawn's cheek. I fought the urge to ramp up the PDA – just to make the guys extra jealous – and she waved us goodbye.

Back at the limo, I shook hands with Tony Lai, Daniel's best man. We still had one more pickup: Shin Murata, Daniel's other friend from UCLA. And then the six of us guys would be off to Tustin Ranch.

Kenny was staring out the window. "The mythical Dawn..." he sighed.

"Not so mythical," Daniel pointed out.

"I hate you," Kenny drawled.

"No you don't," I commented, elbowing him in the arm.

"Sure I do," Kenny spat, and then turned to me with a grin, smacking my arm back. We all got a good laugh, except Tony who looked at us in bewilderment.

Daniel recognized his friend's face and commented, "Sorry. Old story. Ben here has something of a reputation as quite the ladies man."

Sung chuckled. "Just watch: wherever we go tonight, somehow the hottest girl in the room is going to be all over him."

I rolled my eyes. "Clearly, I've got a girlfriend," I stated, jerking my thumb back toward the house.

"Like that ever stopped you before," Kenny laughed.

"Yeah, well, it's a good thing you're here," Daniel reached over and clapped my back. "The last thing I need tonight is temptation."

"Temptation?" Kenny leveled Daniel with a look. "Clearly, you've never been to Bliss."

"I'm 20," Daniel pointed out. "Of course I've never been, or to any strip club for that matter."

"Well, that all changes tonight. It's a Bachelor Party. How could it be complete without strippers?"

Daniel shook his head. "How the hell are you getting us in again?"

Kenny just grinned. "Worry about your golf game."

Golf is much more fun when you aren't keeping score. Golf is even more fun when you've got six guys just screwing around AND who have beers with them. Daniel was in the first group with his two UCLA buds while Kenny, Sung, and I hung back in the second group, occasionally "encouraging" the first group with the errant ball launched in their direction. One time, Sung even hit Daniel's golf cart.

There was also a classic moment when Shin fired a shot back, bouncing close enough to Kenny that my friend feigned being hit and he collapsed to the ground.

I clapped my hands to my cheeks and squawked, "Ohmigawd! You killed Kenny!"

Sung chimed in, "You bastards!"

We settled down a bit when a course marshal told Kenny to shut things down, but it was still a pretty good time.

Sushi was at a new kaiten place in Irvine that hadn't been there when I left. Those colored plates are supposed to tell you how expensive your meal is getting, but it quickly turned into a competition to see who could stack their plates the highest. Given the total cost we were racking up, and how fast we were emptying their conveyor belts, restaurant management overlooked our somewhat boorish behavior. Sung won, although since his wallet took the biggest hit, I'm sure he considered it a Pyrrhic victory.

And then came Bliss.

I started getting nervous as the limo approached the front door. It was a classy place, with a high-end reputation and a complete lack of neon lighting. Word out was that the staff was a mix of full-time professionals and early-twenties girls drawn mostly from the nearby community college. Nevertheless, there was no mistaking the exterior signage with the words "Nude Girls" underneath the club's name. And no matter what sexual experience I'd had in my life, it was still MY first time at a strip club.

A doorman actually came out to open the limo door as we rolled to a stop. He waved us inside and Kenny took the lead as we approached the counter, staffed by a bored-looking young woman with dyed-black hair who wore elaborate tattoos, a deep-cut push-up bra, and way too much eyeshadow. She didn't say a word, just looking at us expectantly.

"Is Heidi around?" Kenny asked. "She's expecting us."

The girl raised her eyebrows then swiveled around her stool, still not saying a word. She went to the back of the room and opened a door, poking her head out for a minute.

Kenny openly gawked at the girl's ass, neatly outlined by her black miniskirt, but then stood up straight when she turned around. "Over there," she pointed. "Heidi'll be out in a minute."

The six of us stood aside in silence, and I felt more and more nervous the longer we waited. Two new patrons entered, pulling out their wallets and sliding driver's licenses and twenty dollar bills across the counter without saying a word. Tattoo girl checked the licenses and took the money just as silently, then handed both men printed receipts and waved them to the far doors.

The lobby was way too quiet. Thumping music from behind the far doors filtered in, but the absolute lack of conversation was unnerving. All the other guys seemed as uneasy as me, even Kenny, which was really worrying. But then a side door opened and a beautiful, bombshell curly blonde stepped out wearing a strikingly sexy ensemble of bedroom lingerie.

"Kenny! Hey, you made it." She made a beeline for our friend and opened her arms, chastely hugging him without actually bringing their chests together, lest some of her makeup and body glitter rub off on his shirt. She did peck his cheek, though.

"Hey, Heidi. Good to see you again," Kenny exclaimed with relief.

"It's been too long." She nodded and stepped back.

Sung leaned into my ear, whispering, "How the hell does Kenny know her?"

I shrugged, as clueless as my friend.

Heidi then turned to survey us. "And which one of you is the groom-to-be?"

Tony actually pushed Daniel forward with a stiff hand to his lower back, and Daniel shot his best man a harsh look before blushing pink, visible even in the dim lighting. "That's me."

Heidi laughed. "Oh, hell. We're going to have to get a few cocktails in you, young man. Loosen you up a bit."

I smirked at the 'young man' comment. Heidi looked the same age as us, if not younger. At the same time, though, her eyes carried a weighty maturity that spoke of a lot more life experience than what most of us had gone through.

"Well, come on then," Heidi finished by waving us toward the far doors. "Just follow me."

I thought I knew what to expect. Even though I'd never been in a strip club, I'd watched plenty of movies over the years. Catwalk, poles, dim lights, and wolf- whistling guys with beer bellies, right? Well all of those things were in place, and more. A beautiful, skinny girl with dyed-blonde hair obvious over dark eyebrows bumped and gyrated on the main stage. Her fake tits were near-perfect spheres on her chest, but still large and quite pleasing to the eye. There were two additional dancers on mini-stages elsewhere around the room, both topless as well. That mean there were six bare breasts available for view, and Sung seemed to be getting whiplash next to me as he tried to look at all of them at once. That didn't even count the scantily-clad waitresses scurrying about.

But even though the image of the strip club was pretty much what I'd been expecting, the feeling of the place was just ... weird. And my sense of unease only got worse as we took our table, sat down, and began to take in the entertainment.

It's not like I wasn't used to being around a lot of scantily-clad young women. Between the parties Dayna and Brandi had thrown in the Berkeley house and my experiences with the Tri-Delts, I'd certainly been in similar atmospheres before.

But this was different. This felt ... unreal, and I didn't trust it. For one thing, I never questioned things when a girl in Berkeley would flirt with me. There were no ulterior motives, no hidden agendas. Perhaps she knew about the Big Ben reputation and just wanted a ride. Perhaps she was flirting just for the sheer fun of it. Either way, the flirting just felt honest.

But this strip club? Every girl who came by subtly asked if I wanted a lap dance (for only $20). Every girl who paid me a compliment not-so-secretly also wanted ME to pay HER in some fashion. Despite supposedly being an establishment built around sex, none of the interactions actually felt like they were about sex; they were about money.

Money, we had. We all came from fairly well-to-do families, and we'd all stacked up on twenty dollar bills. And once the word spread that we were a bachelor party in attendance on an otherwise quiet Tuesday night, we found ourselves with an abundance of female company.

But despite the money spent ... it still felt a little cheap.

The girls hanging around my friends and me weren't here because they enjoyed our company. They weren't here for our scintillating conversation. They weren't even here for my Big Ben reputation. They wanted money. And as I sat there, staring at the very attractive young women giving me quite delightful glimpses of their nubile bodies, I found myself wishing I was back in Berkeley: joking with the Tri-Delts, lounging around the house with my roommates, or even just at home watching a chick flick with my sisters.

Time after time, a beautiful young woman came by to chat with me. Not wanting to spoil the mood, I politely engaged in conversation. But I made it clear that I wasn't interested in anything more. After all, why would I pay for a lap dance from one of these girls when I could have a half-dozen fully naked babes like Dawn, DJ, and Kim writhing in my lap. More to the point, those girls in Berkeley would let me put my hands on them (and my cock into their pussies) at the same time.

But apparently I was the only one turning down such offers. All five of the other guys got lapdances, Sung, Tony, and Shin even disappearing for ten minutes or so into a back room for the more private versions. Thong-covered pussies were ground against jeans-covered hard-ons. Bare breasts were rubbed up against warm cheeks. And honey-tongued innuendoes were whispered into excited ears.

"What's your story?" a silky-smooth voice practically purred into my ear.

I turned my head, looking into some of the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen. Even in the dim lighting of the club, those irises sparkled with a self-illumination that was almost catlike in its eeriness. And as I pulled my focus backward, I took in the prominent cheekbones, pale skin, and flowing red mane of an absolutely stunning young woman.

She was beautiful enough to catch me off guard, but after steadying my breath, I arched an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean?"

Wearing a slinky black cocktail dress with a matte finish that highlighted the pale skin of her exposed limbs, the redhead slipped into my lap and wrapped her right arm around my neck. She was not the first girl to do so tonight, and I was sure she wouldn't be the last. "I mean you. I've been watching you."

"That meant to make me feel special?"

She pouted, hurt. "I'm not just delivering a line here."

Instantly, my face softened. "Sorry, that came out harsher than I meant." An hour's worth of fending off would-be suitors had worn down my polite veneer.

"Why is that? Aren't you having a good time? Your friends certainly are."

I glanced around at my buddies. Kenny had been the latest of us to disappear to some back room. Two of the others were currently engaged with other girls. Only Tony and Shin were currently alone, but Shin was flirting with Sung's current 'date' while Tony was eyeing my redhead quite enviously. "I'm enjoying myself, certainly," I said.

"But not as much as you could be." Her hand came up and traced along my cheek.

I smiled and leaned into her touch, which was quite pleasant.

She beamed and shifted position, bringing her torso up to face me a little more directly. The motion also pushed her cleavage together, spectacular Double-D's that wanted to burst out of the confines of her cocktail dress. My eyes dropped to them automatically, and she caught my gaze.

"Would you like a closer look?" she purred.

"Of course," I replied before immediately adding, "But no thank you."

"And why not? A matter of a few dollars?" Without waiting, she turned and looked across the table. "Anyone want to buy your friend here a dance?" she asked loud enough to be heard over the music.

Still staring at us, Tony immediately raised a twenty.

Shin chimed in, "Yeah! Homeboy here is harshing my mellow!"

I shook my head and stated, "No, thank you."

Sung laughed, "C'mon, Ben! Just do it!"

"I'll take it if he doesn't want it," Tony stated breathlessly.

I gestured the redhead over. She already had an interested customer. But in a sweet voice, she apologized to Tony, "Maybe a little later, honey." And then she returned her attention to me.

I shrugged and suggested, "I'll buy HIM one." And then I started digging into my pocket, not easy with a hundred-something pounds of woman sitting on your thighs.

"Maybe later," she repeated, arching an eyebrow at me quizzically. She held the look for a long while, scrutinizing me carefully. I felt those glowing eyes peering back into my soul, searching for something without any luck. And with a sigh, she frowned. "I meant what I said before: I've been watching you. I'm trying to figure you out."

I cracked a smile. "Not much to figure out. This just isn't my scene."

"Married?"

I grinned. "No."

"Gay?"

I chuckled. "No."

"Hopelessly in love."

I shrugged. "Sure, actually."

"And you don't want to betray your soulmate?"

I snorted. "Uh, not exactly. She'd probably invite you home for a threesome."

Redhead's eyebrows popped at that. "Hmm ... Tempting."

I laughed. "But not tonight. We've got a big day tomorrow."

She turned around once again. "Ah, right. Heidi told me one of your friends is getting married."

I nodded and gestured to Daniel, who currently had a busty brunette shoving her tits into his face while grinding herself down on his crotch. "The lucky groom," I pointed out.

"At least he is getting into the idea of things."

Briefly, I let my eyes yo-yo back down to the redhead's bosom as the idea of motorboating myself amongst that lush titflesh entered my head. But I smirked and brought my gaze back up.

She caught the look again. "Clearly, you want to. But just as clearly, you're not going to. It's not the money, and you say it's not your girlfriend."

I shrugged. "I'm an enigma."

"That you are," she hummed, with more than a hint of interest. There was a sly smile crossing her face, and whether intentionally or not, I'd certainly captured this beautiful woman's attention.

Standing up then, the redhead reached out to my hands and started tugging. "Come on," she stated, telling me more than asking.

I resisted her pull and furrowed my eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but I have to decline."

She shook her head and then leaned down to whisper into my ear. "I'll make it a freebie. No charge."

"It's not about the money," I whispered right back. "I just ... don't need this."

She looked at me again, her eyes shimmering even brighter. And then with a silly grin, she leaned in one more time and whispered, "I just want to talk to you a little more privately. I won't make a move on you. I promise."

I arched an eyebrow and looked at her in surprise.

She smiled mysteriously and said, "C'mon. It'll get your friends off your back about not indulging yourself."

I glanced over; Daniel, Shin, Sung, and Tony were all watching us intently. I sighed: she had a point.

Shrugging, I nodded and let her pull me up. Without another word, she turned while still holding my hand and led me away,

The redhead pulled back a thick velvet curtain and led me into a small room. At table height was essentially a flat, cushioned mattress that ran from corner to corner. With a smile, she pushed me against it and kept pushing until I was flat on my back.

Reaching down, she began unbuttoning my dress shirt, which caused me to raise my hands to her wrists. She didn't flinch when I stopped her. In a low voice, she stated, "Just go with it. My boss wouldn't be happy if he caught me slacking around back here."

I felt a little misled, but figuring I wasn't in any real danger, I let her remove my shirt. She left my undershirt in place as she started to rub my chest. But she quickly released me to hop up onto the makeshift 'bed', straddling my lower body and reaching back to begin unzipping her cocktail dress.

"You promised," I said quietly, while at the same time my eyes went wide as the black material tugged downward, exposing inch after inch of creamy Double-D titflesh. The redhead truly had spectacular breasts, capped with perky pink nipples that were just begging for a suckling.

"There are closed-circuit cameras above us. I have to make it look good," she stated.

I shook my head and then reached up, taking hold of her torso where her dress still covered her skin, gently pushing her away as I sat up. "No. I told you I didn't want this."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of a pair of boobs."

I rolled my eyes. "Hardly."

"Then what is it?"

I gestured around to the little cubicle we were in. "I don't do this."

"With girls you've never met before?"

I chuckled, thinking about my rather sordid past. "Not a problem, actually."

"Okay..." she whistled speculatively. "Then ... you got something against lapdances?"

I shook my head. "I love lapdances. As warm-ups. As foreplay. But you don't know me. I'd have a pretty hard time stopping if you really got me going."

"Tough talk."

I smiled confidently. And in a deadly serious voice, I stated, "It's not just talk."

The redhead's eyes sparkled. The sexual fire had actually increased, and she was looking at me as if for the first time. "You really mean that, don't you?"

Keeping my head up, I nodded slowly.

"So what ... You'd rape me against my will?" There was a breathlessness to her voice.

I frowned. "No, no, of course not. I just don't see the point in doing all this warm-up and teasing without getting down to the main event. Like I tried to tell you outside: this isn't my thing. If I wanted a lapdance from a ridiculously hot babe, I could get one anytime I wanted without all this."

"Your aforementioned girlfriend."

I smiled predatorily as I got off the "bed" and stood up beside her. Leaning in, I put my lips right to her ear. And in a deep voice, with quiet confidence I stated, "And many others."

That got another eyebrow raise. "You really mean that," she said quietly, watching my face intently.

I nodded. "I do."

"So if there weren't any cameras, no burly bouncers to interrupt, and I slammed you back onto that platform there ... If I stripped down this wispy little dress and cupped my supple breasts together, feeding my nipples to your lips and grinding my soaking wet panties against your belly you'd-"

"Flip you over," I interjected casually as I stood behind her, putting my hand on her hip as I continued speaking directly into her ear. "I'd clamp my hand over your mouth and pin you down with one knee. I'd growl into your ear about how I was going to use your body. And then I'd shove two fingers under your soaking wet panties and strum you to the precipice of orgasm inside three minutes."

"Tough talk," she challenged again, although her voice was a little shaky.

I just grinned and continued in a soft tone. "Like I said: you don't know me. I've done it to literally dozens of different girls; I know what I'm talking about. You'd be humming right at the edge of climax, unable to go over it, when I'd flip you onto your back, seize your head in my hands, and then shove my tongue halfway down your throat."

"I don't kiss customers."

"Who said you'd have a choice?" I sneered, starting to get worked up. Leaning in with my hips, I allowed the bulge forming in my pants to push against her still-covered ass. "I'd impose my will over yours, making you understand that for the next hour or so, I would be your Master. I'd bite your neck and grope your perfect tits with one hand while the other resumed pressing your love buttons until you were absolutely quivering with uncontrollable desire. I would tweak sensitive nerves and erogenous zones you didn't even realize you had, turning you into a drooling, twitching mess of a human being that cared for absolutely nothing in this world but the blissful release of orgasmic pleasure."

She shivered visibly. I now rubbed my rock hard erection against her backside while my left hand rested on her shoulder. I wasn't actually touching her anywhere sensitive, not in any threatening way that would be bring in the burly bouncers from their closed-circuit cameras. But my lips stayed at her ears as I continued verbalizing my fantasy conquest.

"I'd enter you at a time when you least expected it. The sudden thickness filling up your very core would be the catalyst for your climax, a monster orgasm that would well up from the hidden depths of your soul. It would radiate out with such force and energy that beams of light would feel like they were streaming out of your eye sockets and the tips of your toes and fingers while a shriek of exquisite ecstasy tore its way out of your throat. And even then, I would only have just begun to destroy you."

"Bull ... shit..." she panted, hanging her head forward even while leaning back against me.

"I've done it before," I stated matter-of-factly, raising my right hand to the small of her back to keep her from leaning against me. And then half-muttering to myself, I added, "I am a sexual creature."

"Then do it to me now," she breathed. Her long, extension-laden eyelashes fluttered rapidly. "Now, do it. Please."

"I can't," I answered quietly, right into her ear. "Closed-circuit cameras. Burly bouncers. I'm sorry."

And with that, I grabbed my dress shirt and opened the curtain, letting myself out.

"Wait," she called after me, but not before five seconds had passed and I'd gotten a good ten feet away from the small room.

I turned around to see her jerking her dress up around her bosom while coming after me, her hair a little in disarray. Even though I'd barely touched her, the redheaded beauty looked rather disheveled.

"Can you..." she began in a shaky voice. "Can you really do that?"

I just grinned. And without another word, I turned and went down the hallway to take me back to the main room.

"There he is!" Kenny cheered as I returned to my friends, having come back before me and been briefed by the others. "How was she?"

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "No comment."

"WHERE is she?" Tony asked desperately, scanning the room. "I'm not leaving until I get a dance from her. Seriously, that chick is the hottest thing I have ever SEEN!"

"Well now's your chance," Shin piped up, looking past my shoulder. "Here she comes."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I picked my head up and glanced back. Sure enough, the redhead made a direct beeline for our table, walking stiffly. Tony was fumbling with his wallet to pull out a stack of twenties, but when she arrived, she simply knelt down next to my chair and seized my hands in a desperate grip.

"Come home with me," she pleaded.

My eyebrows shot up. I glanced at Kenny, and he stared back at me in surprise.

"Please." The redhead jerked on my hands, bringing my attention back to her. "Come home with me," she repeated.

I didn't know how to respond to that, and the first thing I came up with was a joke. "Mom told me not to leave with strangers. What's your name?"

The redhead smiled, showing off twin rows of pearly white teeth. "Destiny."

I smirked. "What's your real name?"

"Sydney," she said quite seriously. "Please."

I looked up, now finding that all the other guys were gaping at me. Poor Tony's jaw was practically on the ground.

Shrugging sadly, I said, "I can't. We've got a wedding tomorrow."

Sydney pouted and then lifted up the little purse she had dangling from one elbow. Fishing in it quickly, she produced a pen and a slightly-worn twenty dollar bill. Scribbling quickly, she wrote her name and a 714 area code phone number. Then shoving it into my hands, she got up and dove at my face, locking her lips onto mine and giving me an intense, white-hot kiss that rivaled Adrienne's for pure nuclear ferocity.

A moment later, she pulled back breathlessly. "Call me. Please," she gasped. And without another word, she walked away, tottering a little off-balance.

"Dude ... What the fuck did you do to her?" Tony gasped in amazement.

"Did SHE just give YOU a twenty?" Shin asked, flabbergasted.

Sung just laughed, a drunken, happy bellow. He clapped Tony on the back and snickered, "I told ya."

Kenny refused to believe I hadn't fucked Sydney in the short time I'd been gone. He was dead certain it was impossible to produce such a reaction in a girl without fucking her. I tried to 'no comment' the whole issue for about five minutes before simply pointing out to Kenny that a woman left wanting in need was far more likely to appear so desperate than one who had completed a sex act.

"That doesn't mean you didn't fuck her. It just means she didn't finish," Sung pointed out.

I shook my head. "These places have closed-circuit cameras manned by burly bouncers, don't they?"

"Oh, right," Kenny sighed. His head perked up and a silly grin crossed his face. "What I wouldn't give to see the camera pointed at Heidi and Daniel right now."

Our groom-to-be had apparently left while I was occupied. After doing her own set on stage, Heidi had returned to our group, chatted with Kenny for a minute, and then delicately asked Daniel to go to a back room with her for an "extra-special" surprise.

When the guys told me, I arched an eyebrow at the 'extra-special' term and asked, "She's not going to actually DO something to him, is she? Daniel and Elaine have been each other's one and only for all this time. You don't go fucking with that the night before his wedding!"

Kenny laughed, "No, no. Nothing like that. You said it yourself: nothing like that can happen in one of those rooms."

"Well, hang on a minute," Shin posited. "You've got to figure the camera is in an overhead corner, right? Let's think about the geometry. If she keeps her dress on, and straddles him while he's lying flat on his back, then technically the camera wouldn't be able to see their crotches and any undulating would appear to be part of the normal-"

"No fucking way," Tony interrupted. "Daniel would never do it. He loves Elaine."

"Right, right," Shin nodded with a sigh.

"Hey!" Sung perked up. "That means that you and that redhead really could have-"

I was in the middle of holding my hands up to ward away that particular line of thought when Daniel himself returned, a silly grin on his face. Indeed, I recognized that kind of face: It was the face of a man who had found his orgasmic relief.

Frowning, I found myself scrutinizing Daniel's physical appearance, noting that his dress shirt was misaligned by one button. At the same time, I worked around in my head Shin's theory about the physical geometry of the room and likely placement of any cameras. And after looking back at the goofy grin on Daniel's face, I leaned over to my best friend, saying, "Kenny, you swear to me that you didn't-"

"Relax, relax. Heidi's not like that. She's a good girl."

"How exactly do you know Heidi?"

He darted a glance over to me, a wistful expression on his face. In a quietly serious voice, he sighed, "That's a long story, my friend." Just then, Heidi herself reappeared from the hallway, dressed in her slinky bedroom lingerie, and came over toward us with her eyes right on Kenny.

I watched Kenny staring back at her with clear adoration and affection in his eyes, and allowed myself a smile. Even if I never found out the whole story between them, I'd seen enough to put a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach.

Daniel flopped down into his seat, looking for all the world like his spine had been turned into jello.

"How ya' doing, man?" Tony thumped his best friend on his knee.

"Happier than ever in my life," Daniel sighed.

Shin cracked up. "Gawd, I hope not. You gotta get married tomorrow!"

-- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2004, WINTER BREAK --

"Ben? Who is Sydney?"

"Huh?" I turned away from the mirror in my bedroom, my hands halfway through the knot of my tie. Dawn was holding up my wallet, since I'd asked her to double-check that I put the directions to the Tustin Ranch Golf Club inside. The limo had taken us yesterday and I hadn't been paying much attention to the street signs.

But she wasn't holding the directions in her hand. Instead she held a slightly-worn twenty dollar bill, and I cracked a smile. "Oh, that. She's a stripper at the club Kenny took us to last night."

Dawn smirked. "And why did she give you her number? Did you two get up to something dirty you're not telling me?"

"Quite the opposite in fact. She wanted to; I didn't." Shrugging, I returned to my tie.

"Was she not hot enough?"

I shook my head. "Actually, she's pretty stunning. Flaming red hair. Porcelain skin. Big boobs."

"Then what went wrong?"

"It's a professional club. Cameras. Bouncers."

"So bring her home."

I chuckled to myself as I finished my tie, just squaring the knot up a bit. How many guys in this world could have their girlfriend find a hot stripper's phone number in their wallet and wind up with their girlfriend suggesting he bring the stripper home?

Rolling my eyes, I turned around and replied, "Yeah, my parents would LOVE that."

Dawn sighed. "Oh, yeah. This was easier when we were in the Berkeley house."

I shrugged. "Anyway, we'd better get going. We're already running late."

"Not MY fault," Dawn sighed. "SOMEONE woke up a little frisky this morning."

"Not MY fault," I shot back. "SOMEONE was rubbing her perfectly formed ass against my morning wood this morning."

Dawn giggled and sidled up to me, turning around and deliberately running her butt against my crotch.

"Hey, stop that," I admonished, slapping her buttcheek. "I filled up one hole, and unless you want me to fill up the other, we'd better get going."

"Okay, maybe not now," Dawn conceded. "But I'm sure to be all fuzzy and excited after the wedding. Maybe we can seduce some bridesmaid and tag-team the ever-loving shit out of her, sound good?"

Yeah, it's a hard life.

"Hi, I'm Dawn."

"Hi, I'm Dawn."

"Hi, I'm Dawn."

For what felt like an hour, those were by far the most common three words coming out of my girlfriend's mouth. We'd arrived about fifteen minutes late, not the last ones to arrive, but late enough that most of the assembled guests had already made their greetings to one another. That meant that most of them were engaged in conversations, and any of them that weren't had nothing better to do than come over and meet the "Mythical Dawn".

"See, not so mythical," Kenny pointed out to Abbie and Allie Sanders as they came over.

I'd been waiting for this moment, so I whipped out my High School tape recorder and pressed play: "Yes, she's real."

Everyone cracked up at that, and Allie quickly came to hug me. The petite brunette hadn't gained any height in the intervening years, but her skinny body had filled out some and she'd lost some of the baby fat from her cheeks, giving her a more mature-looking face. I held her hug just a little longer than normal, not quite letting her go when she finally pulled away. There weren't any meaningful words exchanged between us, but there was a lifetime of intense thought and feeling in the few seconds we stared at each other.

Still, I let Allie go before her boyfriend started giving me the stink eye. I stepped over with an outstretched hand and introduced myself to him as well.

Meanwhile, twin sister Abbie exchanged pleasantries with Dawn before returning to HER boyfriend, and then Kenny finally stepped forward with a proffered hand. "Hi, I'm Kenny. I don't think we were properly introduced yesterday."

Dawn giggled, remembering how Kenny had stalked off muttering about how I "fucking sucked", and now shook his hand. "Hi, I'm Dawn."

The group of us chit-chatted for a bit before Megan Kwan came over. I quickly leaned down and picked my first girlfriend up off the ground, squeezing her tightly as she giggled before setting her back down. "Hey, where's Kaito?" I asked with a frown.

"Ah..." Megan winced before putting on a brave smile. "James and I broke up. A few months ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I apologized. "I've kinda been out of the loop."

"Don't be, we've both moved on," Megan said while nodding positively. She then turned to my girlfriend. "Hi, I'm Megan."

"Hi, I'm Dawn."

They shook hands. "It's really nice to finally meet you. I know you've been an important part of Ben's life since he was little."

"Since birth, practically," Dawn commented. "And you, too. Ben's spoken very highly of his first girlfriend. He says you were his conscience for a long time."

"Not a very good one," Megan said with a giggle. "Couldn't keep him from getting into trouble."

"Well, neither can I," Dawn laughed.

"So how're things going?" I asked. "With the wedding I mean. I'd have thought the Maid of Honor would be scrambling around making sure everything was just perfect.

"We're pretty settled right now," Megan said with a sigh. "Elaine hired a top-notch wedding planner, so we're just about set. The only thing is that the morning tea ceremony is running a little late."

"Tea ceremony?" Dawn inquired.

"Asian tradition," Megan explained. "In this case, Daniel's parents are hosting things where the young couple pays honor to their elders and family. Mostly, they offer their relatives tea and their relatives give them red envelopes filled with money."

"Ooh, good idea," Dawn cheered, looking to me. "We're doing a tea ceremony."

I chuckled, "Okay."

Megan added, "These things sometimes have a lot of rituals, and sometimes they run late. That's where we are now."

"How late?"

Megan sighed. "Last time I talked to Daniel's sister, they should be here in ten minutes or so."

"Oh, okay. That's plenty of time."

"Should be. Oh, hey. These are some of Daniel's and Elaine's friends from UCLA. Let me introduce you."

"It's time," the wedding planner said after tapping Megan on the shoulder.

The petite Chinese girl nodded and then tugged on Cassidy O'Leary's hand. "Gotta run."

Cassidy had been in the middle of some hyperfast compliment about Dawn's beauty and old times with me, mixed in with the typical 'can-you-believe-it' fascination over Daniel and Elaine getting married so quickly and so young. She paused a moment to catch her breath before flinging her arms around me in a fierce hug, exclaiming, "Ohmigawd, Ben! We have sooo much to catch up on!"

"We will, we will, Freckles," I laughed, patting her back.

Cassidy gave me a heartfelt look of longing as she stepped back. Her coppery hair fluttered in the wind, her arms folding tightly across her lower abdomen as if hugging herself. Her bright green eyes shimmered with moisture as she glanced over at Megan. And then without another word, she turned and headed off for the bride's room with Megan and the wedding planner both in tow.

"What was that all about?" Dawn asked, sliding her hand into mine and intertwining our fingers.

"Cassidy? Oh, she was always a passionate one."

"Passionate about you. She couldn't stop talking about your High School days."

"Good times..." I chuckled before really thinking about it and adding, " ... and bad."

"Well, they're all good from the way she seems to remember them." A little light bulb seemed to go off in Dawn's mind, and a sly smirk began to cross her face. "Hey, you remember what I said this morning about seducing a bridesmaid?"

I arched an eyebrow. "You don't mean-"

"What?" Dawn gawked. "Cassidy IS a bridesmaid. And she's beautiful."

"She's straight, for one thing. 100%."

Dawn sighed, staring off the way the girls had left. "I've heard that before."

I shook my head, wondering just when Dawn had become such a nymphomaniac. From Viktoriya to Nora to Chevelle to now, she'd certainly become quite the predator. Not that I was complaining, of course.

But before I could really comment, thumping footsteps grabbed our attention. I turned around to see Shin Murata racing down the hallway, turning as soon as he saw us. "Ben! Ben!"

I immediately picked my head up. "What's going on?"

"It's Daniel. He needs to talk to you!"

"To me? Why?"

"I don't know!" the groomsman squawked, splaying his hands open.

I took one look at Dawn, telling her, "Go sit down. I'll come find you." She just nodded.

And then I returned to Shin. "Okay. Let's go."

"Ben! You're here," Daniel sighed with relief, leaning back on his hands against the vanity dresser behind him.

Shin closed the door to this little "groom's room" and I turned back to look at my high school friend. "I'm here. What's going on?"

Daniel glanced at first Tony then Shin, taking a deep breath before asking, "Uh, can you guys give us a minute?"

The two UCLA friends looked at each other, shrugging before going back out the door and closing it behind them. The room went silent, and Daniel just kind of stared into space for a minute before I repeated, "What's going on?"

"Did you fuck that stripper last night?"

I blinked rapidly and jerked my head back at the unexpected question. Did Daniel really just ask me that?

"I ... uh..." I fumbled, still recovering from my momentary shock. "That's not really something I talk about."

"You did, didn't you?"

"That's none of your business," I stated defensively.

"So 'yes', then." Daniel sighed, pushing off the vanity and heading for the window to look outside.

I frowned, confused about where he was going with this. But I forced myself to look at the situation rationally. This wasn't an ordinary conversation. This was Daniel, a guy who had always respected my privacy in the past. This was a guy about to get married in just a few minutes, and for some reason, he wanted to be alone with me and ask me this question right now. So taking a deep breath, I stated evenly, "No, I didn't."

"But she wanted to, didn't she? That's what all the guys were saying last night."

"The guys were all drunk last night."

"Doesn't change the facts. They said she pleaded for you to go home with her, and gave you her real name and phone number. Did she or didn't she?"

I bit my lip, taking a deep breath and wondering why he was asking me this. Although I'd never experienced it myself, supposedly the last hour before getting married was the most introspective of a man's life. With only minutes to go, and left all alone with the poor sap, it was my responsibility to get Daniel's head screwed on straight.

So even though I didn't see how the matter was relevant, I resolved to do whatever I could for the guy. And with another deep breath, I answered, "Yes, she did."

Daniel was silent for a while, and I knew the clock was ticking. After all, he was supposed to be getting married in about ten minutes. So I stepped up next to him, semi-looking out the window myself as I queried for the third time, "What's going on?"

He didn't answer, so I resolved to push the conversation forward. For a guy about to get married, at the forefront of his thoughts would likely be the "should I or shouldn't I go through with this" dilemma. So I asked quietly, but firmly, "Do you love Elaine?"

He turned away from the window and looked at me with cold eyes. "Of course I do."

"Do you want to marry her?"

"Of cour..." he stopped, wincing instead of completing that sentence. "I'm not sure right now."

Now we were getting somewhere. "Why not?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he glanced at the floor before looking back up at me and asking, "Are you happy with your life?"

Back to the questions about me? I shook my head. "This moment isn't about MY life; it's about yours. Are you happy with yours?"

He shrugged. "Happy enough, I guess."

"You like the way things are going? School?"

"School's fine."

"Elaine?"

"Elaine's great."

"Then what's the problem?"

Daniel took a deep breath, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the wall. His eyes took on that vacant stare again, and he exhaled slowly. "Am I rushing into this? Lots of people have said I'm too young to settle down. I'm only 20, for cryin' out loud."

"Lots of people get married at 20."

"Farm hicks in Podunkville, maybe," Daniel snorted. "Do you know how many married 20-year-olds there are at UCLA? I sure as hell don't know any."

"So? You and Elaine have been together for what, six years already? That's like a third of your life."

"So much gone..." he mourned.

I frowned. "You're regretting the last six years?"

"No, no, of course not. It's been great. It's just ... it's been..."

I stayed quiet, waiting him out.

"It's been routine," he finished.

"Nothing wrong with routine."

"Isn't there?"

"What, do you feel like you're in a rut or something?"

Daniel nodded. "I feel like everything in my life has been leading to this point. Our parents joked about us getting married when we were toddlers in preschool. The Daniel and Elaine songs about sitting in trees K-I-S-S-I-N-G started in fourth grade. I think the only reason we didn't start dating even earlier was because I didn't hit puberty and had no hormones until I turned 14."

I smiled, thinking of how my relationship with Dawn had gone pretty much the same way. "I can relate."

"Can you? I doubt that."

There was venom in Daniel's voice, an edge that I'd never really heard from him before. For a second, I thought he was angry with me, but that didn't make any sense. Why would he want to spend these last few minutes before his wedding with a guy he disliked?

But when Daniel looked away, it clicked for me. He didn't hate me; he was... jealous of me.

"How many girls have you slept with?"

I winced, half-expecting that sort of question but still surprised to hear it. Multiple times in the past few years, different guys had tried to get me to give up my number. Some were near-strangers just in awe of the Big Ben legend. Others were close friends who were simply curious. Kenny had gone out of his way to ask every time he saw me. "I don't think that's relevant."

"Of course it's relevant. Please?"

"There've been a few." I nodded noncommittally.

"How many?"

I frowned, wondering how to deflect this line of thought.

"Twenty?" he asked before I could say anything.

"Daniel."

"More?"

I knew the answer was 61, Chevelle being the most recent addition to 'The List'. My eyebrows popped as I turned that number over in my head. Sometimes it felt like I'd lost count, but as I looked back on my life, I'd made it a point to remember each and every girl I'd slept with. It's not that I wanted to tally up the number of notches on my belt for bragging purposes. I just felt that the physical act we'd shared merited my memory at the very least. I owed them that much.

"I'm not discussing numbers," I stated with finality. Just because these were Daniel's final minutes before the wedding didn't mean I had to tell him everything.

"More than twenty then," Daniel sighed, pushing off the wall and going back to the window. "Do you know how many girls I've slept with? One, Elaine. In my whole life, just one."

"That's something to be commended."

Daniel snorted and glanced over at me. "Don't feed me that bullshit, Mr. I've-slept-with-more-than-20-girls."

"I'm not trying to..." I sighed, collecting myself a little better. This wasn't an ordinary conversation. "What's your point?"

"My point is that YOU have apparently lived a much fuller, more rewarding life than I have."

I frowned. "I think that's debatable."

"By what metric? I've been getting the same blowjob and the same missionary fuck with the same woman for the past six years. How about you?"

"This isn't about me."

"No, it's about ME, and about how I don't think I'm quite satisfied with the way my life has gone up to this point."

"You've been happily in love with a wonderful, wonderful young woman who wants to spend the rest of her life with you," I reasoned.

"Is that what you would want?"

"Yes!" I stated honestly. "And I think I've finally found it." Despite the tension of the situation, a little smile tugged at the corners of my mouth while thinking about Dawn.

"Perfect then. You're with your soulmate. Everything is happy and the future is bright. But you still got to spend the last four years or so screwing your way through half the student body!"

I paused and took a deep breath, thinking about my next words. Again, I tried to steer him away from my sex life. "Daniel ... What happened? Yesterday, when we were talking in the limo and on the golf course and at dinner and everything, you couldn't seem more excited to get married. You couldn't WAIT for this day to come. Now it's here. Elaine is waiting. What the hell is wrong?"

Daniel turned away from me, planting his hands down on the vanity dresser and hanging his head. In the mirror, I could see that his eyes were open, although he wasn't doing anything but staring straight down at the polished wood surface.

"What's wrong?" I asked again, moving up and gently putting my hand on his shoulder.

"She wouldn't fuck me. Heidi."

My eyebrows furrowed. "The stripper?"

Daniel nodded. "I offered her a thousand bucks cash right there if she would just put me inside."

My eyes went wide. "Uh ... okay..." I mumbled in shock.

"I've never done that before, offered money for sex. Then again, I'd never been in a strip club before. Didn't seem like such a big stretch going from twenty bucks to rub her titties in my face to some higher dollar amount for sex."

"Um, it kinda is."

"That's what she said. She told me it's a slippery slope she's seen other girls go down, but she's not like that."

"Okay."

"I don't even know why I did it."

"You were drunk."

"It was more than that." He shook his head. "I didn't want to get married knowing that I'd never have another woman in my whole life. Do you know that last night was the first time I've even touched another woman intimately? Period. For the first 20 years and some-odd months of my life, the only pair of breasts I'd ever come into physical contact with were my mom's as a baby and then Elaine's. And then last night I got no less than four incredibly awesome pairs rubbing up against my cheeks. Fact is: every one of them had a better rack than Elaine's."

"They're professionals," I said lamely.

"How many have you rubbed up against?"

I shook my head. "We're not getting into that."

"Are Dawn's going to be the only ones you have for the rest of your life?"

"Daniel," I sighed. "You're not going to live MY life, under any circumstances. You can only live YOUR life."

"Why is that? Why has your life been so much better than mine?"

I reached up and brushed the scar across my cheek that would never go away. "I got SHOT, man. My life hasn't always been a picnic."

He shook his head. "We went to the same schools. We hung out in the same group of friends. It's not like you're any smarter than me, or really any better looking. I dated Elaine and you dated Megan. Everything was just about even ... ish."

"Superficially, maybe there are some similarities. But we're still very different people."

"You broke up with Megan. You took the opportunity when you had the chance to sample other girls."

"'Sample'? Daniel, are you listening to yourself?" This was SO not the loyal, sweet guy I knew in High School. I doubt HE would have recognized himself at this point.

"I-I-I ... I can't do this," he stammered, wringing his hands together as he started pacing around the room. "I can't tie myself down for the rest of my life."

"Fuck, Daniel. Elaine is in her wedding dress out there, waiting for you."

He shook his head. "I haven't lived enough. I haven't tried enough. You know I told Elaine I wanted to go skydiving? She wouldn't let me because she was worried I'd die or severely injure myself. Well I want to go skydiving!"

"Then just go!"

"I think I will." He stood up and started for the door.

I grabbed his chest and pulled him back. "I didn't mean right now! Go out there, get married, and tell her that you want to go skydiving! But get married!"

"Why?"

"Think about this." I grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face me, forcing him to look me in the eye. "I know you're beating yourself up over all the things you haven't done yet. But you're only 20, man. You have your whole life ahead of you to try these things. THINK about what you'd be giving up at the same time, though. If you walk away from Elaine right now, I'm not sure you'd ever be able to come back. THINK about everything she means to you. THINK about why you proposed to her in the first place!"

"I proposed because she thought it was time. She said: 'We're going to be together forever, might as well start counting married years instead of dating years.'"

"Did you agree with her?"

"Well ... yeah."

"And you had REASONS for agreeing with her, right? You've been together forever. She knows you inside and out and she believes in you. Your life is in perfect harmony with her."

"My life is perfectly BORING with her. I realized that last night."

"Realized what? That if you paid a woman in a club that she'd rub her titties in your face? Life's not like that in the real world!"

"What? Are you saying that I couldn't hook up with another girl if I wanted? That I'm not the famous Ben, Sex God (TM)?"

I blinked rapidly. "I'm sure that you could, if that's all you want. But think about this. People spend their entire lives trying to find what you've already had all along. They make movies and write books and songs about this crap. You've got your soulmate waiting a hundred yards away to pledge her life to being with you. Are you really going to give that up for the phantom idea of being a single playboy?"

"Worked for you, didn't it?"

I sighed. "It's been HARD man. You have no idea what I went through to get together with Dawn." I furrowed my forehead and grimaced just thinking about all the heartache of the past few years. Without even thinking about it, my fingers traced the bullet scar on my cheek once again.

Something in my expression must have registered, because Daniel stopped trying to get loose of me and just stood there, staring at me.

Shaking my head, I exhaled again. "On the surface, it sounds great to have nailed a whole bunch of different girls. But the good came with a LOT of bad, and a lot of pain. Fuck man, you were there when Megan and Cassidy ostracized the hell out of me for my slip-up with Adrienne. That stuff in High School was like falling into a small puddle compared to the shit I went through in the years since. I feel like I've been to Hell and back, and I wouldn't wish my life on anyone."

"You really mean that?"

I nodded.

"Tell me I'm better off marrying Elaine. I'm putting this in your hands, Ben. You tell me that I'll live a happier life with Elaine, even if it means giving up ever knowing what it'd be like to sow my wild oats with other girls. Tell me that, and I'll do it."

My eyebrows popped up and I pulled my head back.

Daniel reached up and grabbed my shoulders. "Tell me that this is what's best for me, for my life in the long run, and I'll go out there and marry Elaine right now."

I wanted to. I really wanted to. For Elaine, my friend who would be heartbroken if Daniel walked away right now. For Daniel himself, who had a real shot at happiness if he did this. Heck, for me, because my life would be easier if they just got married.

But I couldn't. "I can't tell you that, man. This is your call. I want you to think about everything you'd be giving up. I want you to think about Elaine and how much this would hurt her. But if you need ME to tell you to marry her ... well ... what does that say about how ready you are?"

Daniel let go of my shoulders, then turned and paced away. I stood there, feeling the dark gray cloud moving in above us. I just KNEW this wasn't going to end well.

He kept pacing for a long while. Once or twice, I thought he was going to look at me and say something, but he just kept turning around while staring off into space.

There was a knock at the door. "Dan?" Tony called out. "Dude, it's time."

Daniel kept pacing.

A minute later, Tony called out again. "Dan?"

"You okay in there?" Shin added.

Sighing, I turned to open the door. But just before I got there, Daniel spoke up. "Okay. I've decided."

The door opened from the outside, Tony and Shin poking their heads in.

Daniel took a deep breath, looking at me and giving me a soft smile. He then looked at his best man and groomsman, nodded, and then said, "Okay. Let's go."

Dawn was understandably curious when I finally returned to her. But there was no way I could discuss what had taken place in the open area of the ceremony area with so many people around, so I just said that I'd explain later.

There was family from both sides in attendance, for a total of about a hundred people filling the white folding chairs of the outdoor patio ceremony. It was a pleasant enough afternoon, not too cold, with the sun high in the sky. The nearby brook babbled over the little man-made waterfalls. Birds in the trees tweeted as they fluttered past. And the officiant puttered around the central "stage" area in front of a semi-circle of four ionic columns, making sure everything was in place.

I'd been seated for about ten minutes when sudden movement to my left caught my attention. Megan, resplendent in her peach-color bridesmaid's dress, crouched in my row with one hand on the empty chair next to Dawn for balance. "Hiiii," she greeted warmly, albeit with some obvious tension at the corners of her eyes. "Excuse me, Dawn. But do you mind if I borrow Ben for a minute?"

"Oh, certainly," Dawn answered politely, pulling her legs in to give me room down the row.

I frowned, querying with my eyes what was going on. Megan just gave me a sharp look that worried me, and I quickly got up. Rather than exit up the main aisle, I took Dawn's cue and scooted myself out to the side. And then the two of us were walking rather quickly back into the clubhouse.

"What the fuck is going on?" Megan asked me as soon as we were out of earshot.

My eyebrows popped at the foul language coming from my typically prim and proper ex-girlfriend. "I was just about to ask you that. Aren't you, Cassidy, and Elaine supposed to be lining up right now?"

"We were all set to roll out, just waiting on Suzanne to come get us," Megan explained, referring to the wedding planner. "But Daniel came to the room and told us he had to speak to Elaine alone."

A shadow passed over my heart, and I gulped in fresh tension. "Ah, hell."

Megan stopped walking in the middle of the hallway, turning to me. "Ben, if you know something, tell me now."

I winced. "Uhh ... well..."

"Ben..." Megan warned.

"Fuck," I muttered. "Daniel's got cold feet."

"How do you know?"

"He ... he asked to talk to me like twenty minutes ago. We had ... well ... the talk about cold feet."

"But you calmed him down, right? You got him all set to get married, right?"

I winced.

"BEN!"

"It's not my fault! I did my best. But Daniel's got some really serious issues with settling down right now. He's only 20. He's only ever been with Elaine in his whole life. He thinks he's too young, and he's scared that he hasn't experienced enough on his own just yet."

"Shit!" Megan immediately turned and began hustling down the hallway. I followed after. And as we turned the corner, we saw that Cassidy, Tony, Shin, and Suzanne the wedding planner were milling about just outside the bride's room.

Just then, the door opened. All of us looked in rapt attention at the door as Daniel exited first, followed by a crying Elaine.

Daniel looked to his groomsmen, and as Megan and I approached, we heard him tell Tony, "Can you go get our parents? We need to talk."

"Dude ... what's going on?" Tony asked in a shaky voice.

Daniel sighed. "The wedding is off."

To his credit, Daniel made the announcement himself. Standing in front of what would have been his wedding arch, he apologized to the assembled guests for taking up our time, but regretfully informed us that the wedding would not be taking place. And then he quickly walked up the main aisle, clearly leaving before he could be barraged by further questions.

Amazingly, Elaine was waiting for him at the entrance to the clubhouse dressed in casual clothes. They took each other's hand and left together, leaving the audience buzzing with speculation.

The bridesmaids and groomsmen were quick to offer condolences to the parents. Bringing Dawn along with me, I stopped by to extend mine as well. To my surprise, only Elaine's mom seemed disappointed by the outcome. Daniel's dad for one stated his confidence that the pair still dearly loved each other, but just seemed to realize they weren't ready for this big of a step just yet.

Only time would tell if their relationship would survive this.

Eventually, our High School crew collected in the golf club's bar area. Our minds were on Daniel and Elaine, but I took a moment to look around at the group and pondered just how much had changed in two years.

It was strange to see the Sanders twins drinking beers with their boyfriends. In my head, they were still young and innocent-looking 15-year-olds even more immature than their age. And despite their acrimonious High School breakup, Sung and Stephanie Vo were chatting casually, even with Sung's UCI girlfriend alongside them.

But some things never changed. Kenny was over by the bar, flirting with the female bartender.

Megan, Cassidy, Dawn, and I sat at a table together with four beers of our own, lost to our own thoughts. Cassidy was trying not to think about the failed wedding, and Dawn wasn't strongly connected to Daniel or Elaine, so the two of them were chatting about a variety of topics. Sometimes, they were talking about me, so I did my best to keep my head out of their conversation.

That left Megan and me on our own to speculate the state of Daniel's and Elaine's relationship. Megan held her nearly full beer with both hands in her lap, mostly staring out the window at the golf course. And with a sigh, she wondered aloud, "Do you think they'll make it?"

"I hope so. They've been together forever. They're practically soulmates," I answered.

"Maybe that's the problem. They are all they've each ever known. They have to be wondering what life would be like with someone else."

"Daniel IS wondering," I sighed.

"Elaine, too," Megan replied.

"Really?"

Megan nodded. "We got to talking yesterday at the spa. Elaine got us a 'couples' massage."

"Couples?" I cracked.

Megan smiled. "Really, she just wanted a situation where we could talk a bit. Although once the masseuses went to work on us, we were too busy groaning in pleasure to really chat."

"I'll bet. Plus you had two masseuses with you."

"Of course. But after that, we had side-by-side facials. Sitting there waiting for that paste to dry on your face, there's not much else to do but chat. That's when Elaine had her cold feet chat."

"Well, you must have done a better job than I did," I sighed. "Elaine actually showed up."

Megan shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't have very many good things to say to her."

I frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Megan took a deep breath. "Well ... when she talked about not being ready to go through with this, instead of reassuring her that she was making the right decision, I sort of told her I understood."

"Huh?"

Megan smirked and shook her head sadly. "Being too young and not experienced enough are the same reasons I broke up with James."

I frowned. "Really?"

"Oh, come on. Can you say it's all that surprising?"

"A little. I thought you and Kaito were perfect for each other."

"We were ... it was nice. I mean ... I was certainly comfortable with him. Everything seemed perfect, and James was everything I really wanted. He loved me, he respected me, and he was well on his way to a good job with all the stable security that would offer. I could really see myself married to him."

"But..." I led her.

"But..." Megan sighed again. "I felt antsy. I'm only 20. I've only ever had two boyfriends in my life: you and him. I could see myself settling down, but at the same time, I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing out on something."

"Do you regret it?"

She nodded her head. "Sometimes. I mean, right now it still hurts pretty bad. And I'm sure he feels even worse since I'm the one who did the breaking up. But ... I mean ... While I was with him, there was this nagging thought in the back of my head that I wasn't ready. No matter what I tried to tell myself, I couldn't get that thought out. It was driving me crazy, and eventually led to the breakup. Sometimes, I think I might have made the wrong choice. But at the same time, that nagging thought is gone now, and I don't really think I would have been able to live with it still bugging me."

I nodded, sympathizing for her. I sighed. "And even you've had one more relationship than either Daniel or Elaine."

Megan nodded.

"How long has Elaine been thinking this?"

Megan shook her head. "I don't know. We're still friends, but we aren't as close as we were in High School."

I frowned. "Then why are you her Maid of Honor?"

Megan shrugged. "I dunno. I got the impression that she doesn't have any really close friends at UCLA. Mostly she just hangs out with Daniel and his gang."

I winced. This was going to be that much harder on Elaine if Daniel really did pull out of this relationship.

"Do you realize how lucky you are?" Megan asked wistfully. "You got your wild youth and you STILL ended up with your childhood sweetheart."

Dawn looked over just then, catching the end of Megan's statement. With a smile that would have lit up the room had all the lights gone out, Dawn beamed and reached over to take my hand.

"Yeah..." I sighed happily, squeezing Dawn's hand before returning my attention to Megan. "Jealous?"

Megan chuckled, but shook her head. "No. Not jealous. Just happy for you. You grew up, and I'm proud of you for that." She reached over and patted my knee.

Cassidy chose that moment to jump in, whining, "Well I'm jealous! Where's MY soulmate waiting in the wings?"

We all laughed at that.