Chapter 6

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The sound of glass breaking in the kitchen followed by a chorus of laughter was a sign the girls weren't going to be reliable, it seems they couldn't even hold their drinks properly.

"Oh, he was good in bed, and he barely makes a sound. Me on the other hand, is the loud one," Maya was saying to the rest of them who were gathered at the TV room, after the traditional unwrapping of tokens to the bride and the dozen heart felt speeches.

The party turned out to be a rendezvous with lots of music and dancing as well as champagne exclusive to the girls. It was your typical over glorified slumber party at a house with the deck and pool that had a sweeping view of the city and the mountains.

Temperature-wise, the place was icy cold, the type of cold that clings to your body and seeps to your bones.

Smoke from the cooling coals of the barbecue grill not far away enveloped the deck outside.

"It's time for a special event. This, I don't think you've expected," Maya paused dramatically, surveying each of their faces with a look of mischief on her face, "we'll be having special guests tonight, and girls, please remember to contain yourself when you see them. After all, we are the one who's a lot more disciplined..."

Ten minutes later, Maya disappeared at the front door, and when she came back she had an entourage of six sexy males dressed in suits at her back.

Male strippers, or macho dancers?

It felt like a concert in there with the loud cheers and shrieks of the girls.

"Are they...allowed in here?" Camille, another acquaintance of theirs asked in shock.

"Hm, I wonder what the poor husband would think of the double standard," Dawn who was sat beside Lyari at the bed sofas mused.

Another girl canted her head in their direction.

"I bet he's in on it too. He's got her spoiled, you know."

As the guys introduced themselves one by one, the girls cheered them on---all of them looking quite thirsty. It didn't take long for the dancing to begin when a slow suggestive music turned on in full blast. Belts were removed, and half of the girls were already deeply inebriated.

Lyari seriously hoped this won't get out of hand.

And there goes another round of craziness.

When one of the guys started doing a macho dance around the girl called Wendy, she'd almost cringed, having a hard time watching the indecency taking place in front of her. Idealistically, Lyari never liked men who flaunted their bodies anyway, no matter how hard rock those abs and pectoral muscles are.

Girls loved that, why was she bothered with it?

Maybe she's just the abnormal one? She was beginning to wonder.

After sitting through it for another ten minutes or so, suddenly, she felt like she's had enough.

"Okay, I think I'm gonna go outside, excuse me?"

Dawn's smile broke when she saw her best friend stand up. "Lyari, where are you going?"

"Outside," she mouthed, "I won't be long."

As soon as the cold night air hit her warm cheeks red from the alcohol, she thought she could breathe again.

Until her phone rang.

Now, where is that thing?

Her robe.

Since Maya made them wear these stupid nightgowns, she practically forgot she had it with her.

She searched through the pockets and found it. The caller ID indicated Chase's name. She accepted the call, pressed it to her ears and said,

"Oh hi there, Chase."

"Miss Sage, I hope I didn't call you at a bad time," His baritone voice slithered from the other end, and it seems he didn't know how to do the standard hello.

The time on her phone said it was still 11:00 pm.

"No... No, it's definitely not a bad time. I'm still up as you can see, and my services are open anytime of the day as long as it's about business," she replied with a smile and a shrug.

"Right, it is a business matter. To be fair, I've been thinking about you and our little project lately... What is that sound?"

"What's what?"

"Your music is awfully loud, I think."

Frowning, she looked back at the house. "It's just the party," she explained, raising her eyes towards the sky.

A party she didn't ask for.

"Ah, so I get this is a semi-drunk Miss Sage I'm talking to, is it?" he remarked with an amusement so palpable, it could be heard.

"I may have had a drink or two, Mr Romero. Now, what were you saying?"

Belatedly, she knew that if she hadn't had that drink she wouldn't be using the ballsy tone with the client.

"Well, I was wondering when I could get to see those designs of yours again in person, go through the sketches because Cassian wants another addition to the amenities. God knows he is so adamant about it, even thinks your job is an easy feat but I told him no. He still doesn't get all these fuss."

The inside of her mouth stung from the constant contact with her teeth. "I understand. I get that all the time, Chase. So is your boss friend pressuring you, now?"

He gave a slight laugh.

"Something like that. Frankly, when I told him about who's doing the project, well. It seems you've caught Cass' attention."

That gave her a pause. Flashbacks of the shirtless guy in the deck surfaced from the back of her head, and her hand clasped her burning cheeks.

The sobering fact of that realization hit her like the force of a truck.

What the hell?

Uncertain, she replied, "Really? I hope I didn't make a bad impression."

"No, on the contrary. He's been meaning to meet you. So how about it, Lyari?"

"Wow. What an honor, Chase. But you want me to meet with your boss, I thought you were the one handling this project?"

"Now, there goes a misunderstanding. You're not going to meet with Mr Sandejas, Lyari, his whims will have to wait. I've already scheduled for the two of us to meet in Makati on Friday, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, sh-sure. It's good you reminded me of this. To be honest, I was hoping to see you again about the drafts I made so I could get your feedback, before I get ahead of myself that is."

"Okay, good. Let's talk about it on Friday."

"Okay... See you Friday."

For some reason, she found herself dreading not the meeting, but the possibility of running into the owner himself.

• • •

The Wedding

"I don't think I'm going to make it to the reception, Dawn," Lyari whispered to her friend seated beside her at one of the piers.

She haven't had the chance to break the unfortunate news to her best friend ever since the part two of Maya's bachelorette shenanigans where they spent a whole day trekking in the mountains, some white water rafting, and a bath in the hot springs that eventually ended up with a big bonfire.

Finally, by the time they arrived at the vacation house, some were already snoring in the lounging rooms. All of them dead tired to do anything else.

Dawn frowned, wiping a stray tear on her cheeks. "Not now Lyari, give us a moment. Can't you see the bride is taking her walk?"

Oh, right.

The bride, Maya who's wearing a rather elaborate lacy wedding gown just passed by them in the aisle, along with her parents.

It was a happy sight.

But Lyari didn't exactly get why a lot of them were tearing up unnecessarily.

"What were you saying again?" Dawn prompted her with an elbow to her rib, as the bride reached the dais of the altar where Mike was waiting.

"Ouch, that hurt," she said through gritted teeth, rubbing her side. "I told you, I can't make it to reception."

"Oh, so you're just gonna leave me here."

"It's my job, Dawn, one of my clients called to meet me tomorrow. And you're leaving for Tabuk, it's just as well."

"Ah, well, that's unfortunate," Dawn sighed.

"You can give me a hug later, you know."

The groom was slipping the gold band on the bride's eager finger. For a moment, she watched, transfixed, as the golds glinted off the gaudy lights of the church. Their joined hands limned by the kaleidoscopes from the stained glass above was already a highlight to Lyari's misgivings on this day.

All the girls and the bride gave her one hell of a farewell that afternoon.

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