Seven Groomsmen from Hell (Love by Numbers 6)

“Yeah, don’t do that,” I said. “You’ll really have to be careful about almost everything you do for a few weeks while this gets better.”

“I just got excited because I thought of a way I can thank you,” Kent said.

“There’s no need to thank me, sir, I was just doing my job,” I said, holding my hands up.

“Please,” Kent said. “Even if you didn’t have to save my life, as you say, you still helped me a lot and I really want to say thank you.”

“I won’t accept it,” I persisted. “Really. It was my pleasure to be able to help you in any way I could.”

“Then let me invite you out as a friend,” Kent said. “You said so yourself, our jobs are alike, and you said you rarely get a chance to have fun and hang out. My friends are idiots, but why don’t you come to our game with me on Sunday and then catch a beer with us afterwards? You may be a doctor, but you haven’t lived until you’ve seen the way women hang on football players.”

Despite my oath, and the fact that per the hospital regulations I was not supposed to accept gifts from patients except the odd small trinket, Kent’s offer did sound really fun, and it just so happened that Sunday was an off day for me. The Texas Hellraisers were a big deal, and though I wasn’t a football fan on the whole, I liked them as far as having a bit of hometown pride; it’d be cool to see them play in real life, and to actually hang out with someone other than my dog.

“As friends?” I asked.

“Of course, certainly not a thank you. I don’t even think you did that great a job,” Kent responded jokingly.

I nodded. “Okay, I’ll take you up on that then.”

The rest was history. I went to the game, they lost by four touchdowns, and then we drowned our sorrows in an inordinate amount of liquor. I met all of the guys in Kent’s circle, including their true ringleader, Luke, who told me on the sly that if I was struggling with women he had a solution. He actually offered to share one of the women he was dating with me. He told me that, if I was interested, he thought I’d do well in their guy group because they shared many things, including partners. I wasn’t really interested at first, it didn’t seem like my cup of tea, but Luke convinced me and another non-believer of the group, Christian, to go to a swingers club with him. We met a woman there, a real bombshell, and she was willing to have sex with all three of us. They had dedicated rooms in the club for sex, and the three of us went to town on her. I liked it. I liked it a lot.

From then on, I was ‘one of the guys’ including being one of the ones they shared women with. We’d had sex in pairs, threes, even a few fours. I’d finally discovered a way to have a woman without the stress of keeping her satisfied with the crazy hours I worked. I could have her when I wanted, and had the other men to keep her happy when I wasn’t available; it was a dream come true.

I walked into the bistro and smiled wider at Kent than I would have because I’d reminisced on the way over. I wouldn’t say I was glad he got hurt, but I would say I was happy fate forced our paths to cross.

“What are you all smiley about?” Kent asked as I sat down.

“Just glad for the break from work. Thanks for inviting me,” I said.

“Of course. I’ve had a taste for the brisket, and I know you love it here too. Plus, I wanted to hear from your lips, for certain, that you’re not going to miss my wedding,” he said.

I took a sip of my water. I eyed Kent’s beer with envy, but I was technically still on the clock. “I’m not going to miss your wedding, buddy,” I assured. “I already got a doctor to be on call for me, the whole week. Her name is Dr. Jillian Portland, and I’m slightly concerned she’s too good and is going to take my job.”

I raised an eyebrow at Kent and he snickered. “What?”

“I was also told to take the night off for the bachelor party, so I sincerely hope you went with the rented out strip club I was promised,” I said.

Kent nodded his head with a cheeky, perverted grin on his face. “Khloe made sure everything was all set.”

I let out a loud bellow. “You made Khloe deal with arranging the strip club?”

“Of course!” Kent responded. “She’s the wedding planner, and besides she demanded to make all the arrangements, even the bachelor/bachelorette parties. I mean, she nearly had an aneurysm when I told her we were renting out a strip club and they only accept payment in person, but she did it. She’s a beast. If Luke isn’t careful, she might run over him with her car.”