Attitude Adjustment

22 The First Time He Saw Me

Val raises her palms. "Can we remember that this is not about our egos? We're here for our best friends. This is about them."

"I couldn't agree more," I say, folding my arms on the table. Let her see the guns.

Hayden puts his hand on my thigh under the table. His thumb strokes me like he's trying to calm me down.

"Doing okay over here?" The waitress stops by, cluelessly happy. I could take her down too.

"We need more alcohol," I say matter-of-factly.

"Look..." Hayden, to my surprise, is more collected now. "I know Edwin is extroverted and he likes to party, but Harry is not like that. I've known him for a long time. He's not going to want a regular bachelor party. It might be boring to some people, but not to him."

"That's fine, but if I plan everything for Edwin and he finds out that Harry is just 'going with the flow,' don't you think that's going to make him feel guilty?" Val argues.

"No."

"It will!"

"Let's just plan Harry's night then. It's not a big deal." I try to reason with Hayden. "If you don't think he'll like Val's suggestions, then where should we go? Are they clubs in Vegas that you think he might like?"

"There are." He eyes Val and Shane.

"Oh..." I wiggle my brows. "You mean, those kind of clubs?"

"Please don't tell me you're talking about those whips and chains dungeons." Val rolls her eyes.

"Whips and chains?" I giggle.

"That's not what they're called," Hayden pinches the bridge of his nose.

"No, thank you." She pulls back as if I just suggested we should sacrifice her first born.

"Funny. I thought this wasn't about us." Hayden gives her a cruel smile.

"Not everyone is comfortable going to a BDSM club..." I whisper.

Val rolls her eyes. "Exactly."

"Oh, well I just hope you're considering the fact that Edwin might be into things that you're not comfortable with." Sassy Hayden throws her words right back at her.

She blinks a few times, taken aback. I hide my smug grin.

"Im sorry, am I wrong?" Hayden acts nonchalant.

"Seriously? A BDSM club?" She wrinkles her face. "As a group?"

"Kind of defeats the purpose of a club if there aren't any people there," Hayden says.

"Yeah, but...I don't know. I guess, Edwin would enjoy it. And if Harry would rather go there, instead of a regular nightclub..."

"It's honestly not as bad as you think," I say. "I've been to nightclubs before, where people have no sense of personal space and guys feel entitled to come up behind you and rub their dick on your ass. When I went to a BDSM club, I was asked to sign a waiver that I will respect everyone, and never once did I feel unsafe or uncomfortable."

"Really?" She looks genuinely shocked. "That's not what I've heard."

Of course. "What's your source?"

"Hm?"

"Your source of information. What's it based on?"

She blinks at me the way she blinked at Hayden. Like she underestimated us, but now she's being proven wrong. "Now that you mention it, my sources are not reliable at all, actually."