Just This Once by Evelyn Jeannie Hall

Two

Zane entered the dining area of the resort’s common building right behind his best bro. The delectable scent of Mas Huni wafted over to him, a local Maldives breakfast of smoked tuna that had been shredded and was served with grated coconuts, lemon, and onions. They’d had it yesterday morning, too, and since it was low carb, high in protein, and seriously tasty, it was perfect for him.

He noticed his buddy’s bride flitting around the place like a hummingbird on crack and stifled a chuckle. Kat had grown more and more uptight the closer their wedding encroached. Tonight would be the rehearsal dinner with their nuptials taking place tomorrow evening at sunset. Since the sunsets around here were downright spectacular, Zane knew everything would turn out magnificently, even if the double-tiered wedding cake fell into the sea.

He feared Kat wouldn’t take such a complication in stride, though. In fact, based on how pinched her features looked and the depth of the lines marring her fair forehead, he knew she wouldn’t.

“Benji, I can’t find my shoes, my earrings, or my panties.”

The groom’s focus went to the same place Zane’s did. “Your panties?”

“Yes,” she said, wringing her hands. Like, she legitimately mimed wringing out a sponge. Zane studied her as she did it. He’d heard the expression but never witnessed someone legit making the motions. “And if I can’t find them, it’ll ruin everything.”

Benjamin took his wife-to-be by the shoulders as if to steady her. “Kat, it’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”

“But… I want everything to be perfect.”

“It will be,” her groom insisted. “Since we’re planning to take pictures in the surf, anyway, do you even need your shoes?”

“Yes,” she said with what Zane considered unnecessary vehemence. Kat had this tendency to switch over into micromanagement mode when stressed. He’d noticed it while working side by side with her at their firm. Under less harried circumstances she was sweet as pie, though. All the triplets were.

“Listen, if you can’t find them…” Kat interrupted her groom with a high-pitched noise somewhere between a huff of indignation and a shriek. “I mean if we can’t find them—because we’ll all look, of course—I’ll just carry you out to the beach tomorrow. It’ll be good practice for when I bring you over the threshold.”

She wrinkled her nose. “But what about the earrings? They’re sapphires so they’re my something blue.”

“But there are sapphires in your engagement ring already. Can’t they be your something blue?”

The bride ignored this.

“And the panties are my something borrowed.”

“No one but me will even notice if you’re not wearing panties and…” Benjamin leaned towards her and whispered something in her ear.

Zane was sure whatever his friend had said was of the X-rated variety, but instead of laughing like she usually did, Kat smacked his arm. “That’s not funny.”

“It’s kinda funny.”

“Benji, this is important.” She didn’t do it, but her posture was that of someone about to stomp their foot in temper. Zane had never seen Kat like this. Christ, weddings could get women riled up. Aliyah had… Nope, better not go there.

Instead of attempting to persuade her verbally anymore, his buddy did something Zane never would’ve considered. He kissed the holy living hell out of his bride. Right there in front of everyone. It wasn’t a chaste, holy matrimony type of kiss, either. It was a no holds barred, let’s-go-back-to-our-room-and-hump-each-other-like-bunnies-till-we-see-stars kiss.

Damn.

At first, Kat went rigid, but within seconds, her man had her in the palm of his hand. That was impressive, truly. Benjamin had taken the woman he loved from a category five hurricane to a tropical storm. Hell, he’d taken her all the way down to a gentle rain. By the time his friend broke their lip lock, Kat looked visibly dazed. Zane would have to remember that tactic for the next time a woman started to lose her shit at him. Not that it happened much anymore.

Even since his ex-wife had gone out of the picture a few years back, his life had stayed relatively peaceful.

And speaking of women, one specific copper-haired goddess entered the room, making every smidgen of his attention zero in on her. Lacey Farrell stood in the doorway, her ocean blue eyes fixated on the engaged tangle that was her sister and his best friend.

“For God’s fucking sake, I’ll be glad when you two tie the knot so the horniness will calm into more ambient levels,” she blurted out, and Zane hid his smile behind his hand at her bluntness. The woman didn’t mince words, that was for damn sure.

“For heaven’s sake, Lacey,” Elizabeth chastised her. “Could you at least lower your voice? The whole staff is gawking at you.”

Zane glanced around to see the youngest triplet was right. Every single person dressed in beige linen shirts and khakis were staring at Lacey with wide eyes. He wondered if this might be their main source of entertainment; tourists who made some sort of spectacle out of themselves. Not that he judged Lacey for her behavior. Fuck, no. He got a genuine kick out of observing her to see what she’d do next.

He’d gotten a kick out of anticipating her next moves in bed, too.

But he brushed that memory away. He really didn’t think getting a hard-on around the wedding guests would be something he’d ever want to live down. He did keep his eyes on her, however. The woman was a glimmering jewel, a real standout. He couldn’t believe he’d had so much trouble telling her apart from Kat and Elizabeth the first time he met her. He’d never mistake her for either of her siblings now.

Not with that Marilyn Monroe-like beauty mark right above the left side of her lip. Not with the bold way she held herself. Not with that effervescent vibe she continually gave off. Not with that mouth of hers. An image of her mouth around his dick sucking for all she was worth intruded, and again, he forcibly thrust it away.

Shit, now he was thinking about thrusting. Just his luck.

That was the thing about Lacey. Customarily, he had no problem being one and done with a woman. In fact, he preferred it. Back at his former investment firm, he’d hooked up with one of the executive assistants downstairs and had no compunctions whatsoever about being courteously aloof to her from then on. And he’d interacted with her daily. To any outsider, they must’ve seemed like any other pair of coworkers despite having spent a few hours sans clothing together.

Yet he found this so much more difficult with Lacey. It took every bit of his concentration to pull off the whole, we only know each other because we run in similar circles routine. He didn’t know precisely why he couldn’t keep his mind off her, but it was super inconvenient. Though the plunging neckline of her top—in an aquamarine color that matched her bright irises—along with her short shorts sure didn’t help matters.

She peeked over in his direction and pinpointed his face. This fascinated him because she hadn’t done it in an accidental manner, like someone simply scanning the room might. No, her gaze had gone from Benjamin and Kat directly to him. Like an axe kick in the MMA ring. Or an armed missile. But he wouldn’t let this throw him. He couldn’t. He made a point of being cool as a cucumber as often as humanly possible. So, he cast an easygoing smile at her. He even added in an unconcerned wink.

“Morning, Lacey.”

“Morning, Zane.”

Goddamn, but he loved it when she said his name. Somehow, it always sounded different coming from her lips. Like she put a tiny bit more emphasis on the Z. Zzane instead of just Zane. It was sexy as all fuck. Of course, it’d been even sexier when she’d screamed it at the top of her lungs as she rode him like a prized stallion.

Shit.

Her fieriness and absolute lack of inhibition had revved his engine something fierce. She was so fucking fuckable. But he didn’t do repeats. Especially since he’d already broken that rule by having a repeat with Lacey already.

The worst part was that he’d known down that path lay oblivion. He’d been there done that with Aliyah. Everyone had tried to warn him. His mother. His older sister Tasha. Even Benjamin had attempted to tell him to throw on some brakes. Yet he hadn’t heeded any of those warnings. And his heart getting smashed into smithereens had been the price he’d had to pay. So, no more go-backsies with Lacey or any other woman.

He forced his mind to return to the present.

Benjamin and Kat had remained woven together like a homemade afghan, though mercy of mercies, they’d quit making out like the stars of a daytime soap opera.

“Relax, mi alma,” Benjamin said to his wife-to-be, using his Spanish nickname for her. Curious, Zane had once looked up the translation to discover it meant “my soul.” That pretty much explained everything there was to know about the couple. Inseparable didn’t even cover it. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure our wedding goes off without a hitch. You have my personal guarantee. All right?”

The tension left her shoulders as she nodded at him. “I love you, Benji.”

“Good thing we’re getting hitched tomorrow then, huh?”

“Good thing.” She grinned at Benjamin rather soppily, and Zane felt a twinge somewhere in the region of his sternum. Surreptitiously, he pivoted away and rubbed at the center of his ribcage.

Must be heartburn.

∞∞∞

That evening when Zane climbed aboard the pleasure boat that would transport the small wedding party to the restaurant for the rehearsal dinner, he ran his hand along the polished walnut trim of the upper deck and marveled at his location. As an underprivileged black kid from Detroit, Michigan, he never could’ve imagined himself doing something like this. Even during his earliest years when his dad had still been alive, his family had had very few belongings that weren’t necessities.

Then, after he died, their existence had become even more lean, even more hand to mouth. He and his sister had survived because of the tireless efforts of their mom. Roberta Morrison had worked her way up from nursing aide to LPN and eventually to RN. Despite working tons of hours, she’d kept tabs on her children and emphasized the importance of doing their homework and maintaining high grade point averages. If it hadn’t been for her instilling in him such a ferocious work ethic, Zane felt sure he wouldn’t have come as far as he had.

As the boat streamed through the smooth water, he caught a glimpse of Lacey, her burnished curls flying behind her like that painting of the Birth of Venus. Put her on a giant seashell naked and the image would come to life right here in reality. The thought alone made him hard, and he tore his gaze away, refraining from ogling her for the rest of the ride.

The trip didn’t take long, and once they arrived everyone’s attention was drawn by the unparalleled sight of their designation. Ithaha, the name of the restaurant Benjamin had reserved for the nine of them, had a one-of-a-kind draw. Benjamin’s infant half-sister Anastasia fussed as his dad Humberto and stepmother Tandi stepped into the dining area, but then the baby—like everyone else—became too awed to make a peep.

In front of them lay a long narrow room that reminded Zane of a tube with a walkway of hardwood down either side and a single table for them set up in the middle. The striking aspect that kept everyone’s eyes aimed upwards was that the establishment which specialized in Michelin-quality seafood and vegetarian dishes had been constructed underwater.

Above them the sun shone down through several feet of ocean, and as they watched, a school of silver-scaled fish came into view followed by two stingrays. Speechless, everyone remained rooted to their spots as from the left appeared a shark with black tips on its fins. Zane had never experienced anything like this.

A server in a bright white smock materialized, waving them forward toward their seats, and still in silence, all of them sat down. It was like entering an ancient cathedral that doubled as the most exclusive aquarium ever.

Benjamin and Kat situated themselves on one side as if glued together. Even now with the spellbinding glories of aquatic nature overhead, the bride and groom remained joined permanently at the hip. On the same side sat Lacey and Rookie, the johnny-on-the-spot receptionist who’d become Kat’s personal assistant at their firm of Farrell, Torres, and Morrison. Elizabeth stationed herself next to Humberto, Tandi and Anastasia, which left Zane to fill in the last spot.

The courses of the meal had been prearranged, but they all received small placards telling them what to expect. The first course would be an appetizer described as, “Butter poached lobster and white peach salad served with sliced Maldivian dried tuna and vinaigrette.” Zane could totally work with that.

Still, he had a special duty to perform here, so as they all dug into their lobster and peach salad, he stood. Due to everyone either taking in the majesty surrounding them or chowing down, he had to raise his recently filled wine goblet—unlike the white wine everyone but Anastasia had, his contained a clear diet soda—and tap it with his fork. Once they all looked in his direction, he lifted the glass into the air.

“Excuse me, everyone, but it’s time for the best man’s toast. Feel free to groan.”

There was a soft tittering.

“Benjamin and Kat are getting married tomorrow, which has been a long time coming. I remember when my best bro told me about his Missouri girl, the one he’d been in love with all his life. Back then, he’d been awfully torn up about her because he’d fu—” Zane censored himself for the sake of Anastasia. “Uh, messed up. But after some misadventures, the two reconciled, giving us the pair of disgusting lovebirds we’re being subjected to here today.”

The tittering this time came out as louder snickers. Then a female voice quipped, “Disgusting is right.”

Zane’s gaze rose immediately to Lacey’s face. He could tell from the tone that it was her, even though she spoke in the same soprano as her identical siblings. Or maybe it was what she said that made her voice so recognizable. Lacey favored a bolder, more seat-of-her-pants turn of phrase. Unlike Kat’s type A personality sarcasm or Elizabeth’s much more introverted cadence, Lacey’s words often erupted from her in an unfiltered, often blurted fashion.

This matched her overall attitude. The woman could be deeply passionate. Scatterbrained one minute and in your face, the next. Ravishingly gorgeous. And absolutely untamable.

“Benjamin Torres is a man of many talents,” Zane went on, refocusing on the task at hand. “He can cook, except when he burns things. He’s got a deadly accurate roundhouse kick, except when he misses by a mile—which is frequent. He’s a thoroughly dependable businessman, so that’s, you know, boring. He’s a klutzy drunk, as evidenced by the caved in box we were using as a dining room table back at Columbia.”

There were a few chuckles as Benjamin rolled his eyes. Zane continued with a grin. “Full disclosure, he’s also a hardcore friend. Dedicated, loyal, there when you need him. There whenever I’ve needed him. But the thing most of you already know is just how devoted he is to the woman he’s sitting so close to right now she’s basically in his lap. Sometimes you go to weddings and wonder if they’ll make it over the long haul.”

Unbidden, his mind flashed to the image of Aliyah treading down the aisle towards him, all smiles. Mentally, he shook it off. “But that’s not the case at all here. If anyone can pull off the forever and an eternity thing, it’s these two. To my bro Benjamin and his bride Kat, may happiness and love follow you wherever you go.” He tipped his goblet forward and everyone clinked their glasses together as they called out various forms of congratulations and well wishes.

His duty complete, Zane resumed his seat, catching his buddy’s eye. Benjamin mouthed, “Gracias, man.”

Zane nodded at him, but it made his throat constrict. He’d never once seen his best friend as outrageously content as he was right at this moment. Once the Farrells had skirted back into his life, there’d been some insane ups and downs, but after he and Kat unraveled all the kinks, they’d been golden. They still were, and Zane hoped they always would be. From the loving gazes they constantly bestowed on each other, they should be.

He felt glad for them. Benjamin had gone from an often sullen workaholic to a much lighter and more playful dude. Zane appreciated the difference having the love of his life present made for his buddy. The changes he saw in Benjamin were astonishing in a lot of ways. Christ knew the guy deserved it. Benjamin had been like a brother to Zane over the past decade. Since he’d never had one, and Benjamin had lost his tragically, they’d become exceptionally tight as roommates.

Unbeknownst to him at the time, Zane had really lucked out when the miserable Puerto Rican guy from Missouri had ended up on his doorstep to answer the ad to share his rathole of a studio apartment. Benjamin had also been the one to find him in his office unconscious when his sugar crashed over a year and a half ago. In a very real way, Zane owed the guy his life.

So, the least he could do was wish Benjamin the best for the rest of his.

When darkness fell less than an hour and three additional courses of food later, scuba divers with lights appeared on the other side of the cylindrical glass walls. The baby seemed fascinated by this as she pointed and squealed.

“Do you see the swimmers, Annie? They’re saying hi just for you,” Tandi told her daughter, and Zane buried his exasperation. Even here at a celebration of Kat and Benjamin’s nuptials, the woman tried to make everything about either her or her daughter. Oh, well. And apparently, the swimmers really did have a message.

The three scuba divers arranged themselves in a line and held up some sort of board. When put all in a sentence, the board spelled out, “Congratulations to the blissful couple, Katrina and Benjamin!”

“Awww,” Elizabeth crooned.

“Did you do this?” Kat inquired of her soon to be hubby.

“Wasn’t me.”

“It’s nothing,” Lacey said, seeming both pleased and yet humble. “Just a little surprise for you two. Elizabeth helped with all this way more than I did. This is my meager contribution.”

“You put in just as much work as I did, Lacey,” Elizabeth protested while Benjamin bestowed both of his new sisters-in-law with his crooked smile.

“Whoever did whatever, it’s all awesome,” the groom said.

“Extraordinarily so.” Kat agreed, leaving her fiancé’s side for long enough to hug her sisters. “Thank you both.” And soon all three triplets had gathered to cling to each other.

As they broke apart, Zane felt this compulsion to scrutinize Lacey.

Wanting to avoid being so overt, he waited a few beats before he peeked over at her, only to catch her glancing away. Had she been watching him? Then censuring himself, he decided it didn’t matter. He and Lacey had had their fling. They’d already scratched that itch, fabulous as it had been. And as much as he might like her, he wouldn’t be going back for more no matter how dazzling she looked in this mystical and surreal atmosphere.

He’d been single for several years now, and his life went far more smoothly that way. There were no horrific revelations. No betrayals. No deceptions. No strings attached. And no need to fix what wasn’t broken.