“Oh right, Inez had something else, but she made sure I knew these were for outside and not in a warehouse of alcohol,” Simon said as he pulled boxes of cigars out of his bag. “We didn’t know if they were still good, or the good ones, and she said to make it clear this doesn’t mean you’re knocking her up since it’s a thing to smoke cigars about babies.”
“That’s to celebrate when they were born,” Jaxon drawled. He chuckled when Simon simply shrugged and handed them over.
They were in good shape and excellent ones. Nice. We browsed around and enjoyed several bottles of spirits to share with the large group once we were outside in the summer night, smoking cigars. It was funny to see what was surprisingly good or what we maybe hadn’t had in a while.
“Anything with a high sugar content is long dead, even if not opened, right?” Simon asked as he came out with a bottle of coffee liqueur.
“Yes, but it degrades, so it’s still drinkable as long as it’s not a cream one, even if it doesn’t need to be refrigerated,” I answered, taking it from him. I opened it up and sniffed it. “It’s fine. Might taste stale or blander than if it hadn’t expired, but it’s fine.”
He nodded, taking it back and sniffing it. “I was thinking this might be fun for Irish coffees for guests.” He waggled his eyebrows at Jaxon. “Get it?”
“Yeah, we got it, goof,” he chuckled.
Simon just shrugged. “I became of age to drink in the fucking apocalypse. I’m like Inez, I want to try it all and see what I like now that we’ve got it.”
We spent a bit there, most ready to take the bottles back to where they were staying and add some food or fun with their drinks. Cerdic let everyone take whatever they could carry, making it clear it was only an offer for that night and if he found anyone raiding his gift, he would be pissed.
Looking at the sky, I realized Inez’s party was probably winding down as well, thinking I should head to Montana and check in she was safe. That seemed to be the consensus, Kristof thanking everyone for coming, but the rest of the night would be the wedding party only.
Fine, I could include myself in that as her guard and noble who wanted to be in her court. We blurred over there to see how the women were doing, careful since there were other princesses there, and it was a faux paus to see them undressed unless in their court and part of the festivities.
“Girls only!” Inez announced as we arrived, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glazed over as she beamed at us. Oh boy, she was sauced for sure.
“Yes, love, but our party wrapped up and everyone was heading back,” Cerdic said.
“I want my bed,” Lara slurred. “That was good shit.”
“Yeah it was,” Maggie agreed, pushing to stand and not caring that the water had hid their nakedness from us. I quickly turned around with the others as everyone got out and wrapped towels around themselves.
“Fine, the strippers are only for me anyways,” Inez giggled.
“She’s not half in the bag, but all the way,” Matilda warned Cerdic. “But we had fun and she needed it. Did you have fun?”
“We did. Lots.”
“Good.” She kissed his cheek and moments later, she was gone, along with the others, some able to carry the shifters.
I turned back in time to see Inez walking out of the pool completely naked, water dripping off every inch of her. She started to trip but I caught her, swallowing loudly as she smiled up at me.
“Are you my stripper?”
“Yes,” I blurted. “I can’t dance but whatever you want, Inez.”
She gave an excited squeak and tottered over to the patio furniture the place now had, plopping on the sofa with her moonshine. She waved at me when I just stood there. “Let’s go. I’ve never seen a stripper.”
“We’ve stripped for you lots, love,” Cerdic chuckled.
“Shhh, you’re not here. Fiancés aren’t allowed. I’ve got three strippers.” She toasted him with the jar of moonshine and focused back on me.
“Three?” I asked as I started getting undressed.
She nodded. “Three. No fiancés or husband so they’re invisible.” She waved towards where Darius was. “He’s—I don’t know, but whatever.” Ouch. “Vitor and Tian are guards and that leaves my three—Branko, Moon, and you.”
“You forgot Sisay,” Moon said, sounding amused.
She waved off the idea. “Sisay and I are buddies, like Eddie. He’s like a super old, Eddie and my friend.”
“Sisay got friend-zoned,” Tian snickered, shaking his head.
“Shut up, guard,” Sisay drawled. “Well, as your friend, can I get you some water and maybe something to eat?”
She nodded. “Okay. And bills. I need like, dollar bills, right?” She frowned. “They’re worth nothing now. That’s not nice. I’ve seen you guys in swim shorts. I wouldn’t not tip for that hotness.” She bounced her head around as if trying to figure out if all the negatives of that sentence worked out, but then she was over it. “Can I touch? You have to ask with strippers, right?”
“You can touch me all you want,” I promised, undressing faster for her hungry eye.
“Anywhere I want?” she asked, licking her lips as I got to my pants. I was dying just to get it all off at a faster speed, but she was enjoying the show. “Anyone object if I touch the strippers? The three invisible ones I mean.”
Oh ouch, excluding Darius again, but really, he deserved it, and from the pain in his expression, he knew it. He went over to the corner with the bottle he’d brought and sat down to quietly drink and watch the show.
“Love, touch them all you want. Have a
