A Wedding to Remember

Welcome to my second attempt at writing. For those that read my first, thanks for all the great comments.

For those readers looking for lots of graphically described sex, you may be disappointed. If you love characters and storylines, I hope this satisfies your craving.

I need to especially thank NoraFares for her kind assistance. If you love excellent writing, look up her published stories.

Everyone in this story is over 18. Have fun, and please comment. Thanks.

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Prologue

Weddings are milestones. They come in all different shapes, colors, and sizes. Some are serious while others are ridiculous. Most are the happiest of occasions, while others can be sad or even tragic. Good, bad, or ugly—weddings are memorable.

Linc's wedding was, most definitely, unforgettable. It was the single, common event that would tie four specific lives together in a most memorable fashion.

Lincoln Addington was a genius. At 28 years old, he had Ph.D.'s in Mathematics (which he received when he was 19), Computer Science, and he just finished a third in Biomedical Engineering. His dream was to combine these disciplines to create advanced computer modeling programs for medical diagnosis and research. He wanted to make a difference in this world.

Linc had some characteristics often seen in those blessed with an IQ that's 'off-the-chart.' He was painfully shy and awkward in social encounters. And if there was a female of the species nearby, he was a basket case. Linc was not strikingly handsome, but not bad looking either. He was 6'3" tall and had a slender frame, so he had suffered nicknames like "String-Bean" or "Stick." His thick, nearly black hair was always poorly trimmed and looked uncombed—almost in a constant state of "bed-head." And someone needed to help him decide to shave. The sparse facial hair he seemed to cherish distracted from his appearance, almost giving him a homeless look.

Throughout his school years, Linc kept being advanced by skipping grades so he was always surrounded by much older kids. The result? He was often bullied. When he was 11 years old, his family had him learn martial arts so he could protect himself. Several notable encounters with unfortunate bullies made him a hero to his fellow geeks, and he became their unofficial leader. While learning his new defense skills, he also developed a strong frame. So even though he looked and acted like a weakling, he was anything but.

Danielle—or Dany Moore was the only girl he had ever been able to relate to. They were close, life-long friends and they interacted as though sexual chemistry was a completely foreign concept. Underneath the surface, it was a different story. Both were deeply attracted to each other, but neither had a clue as to how to escape the "friend-zone."

Dany was more outspoken than Linc but suffered some of the same social discomforts. Through her teen years, most kids her age considered her a dweeb. So she wasn't popular with other girls, and she certainly was not highly sought after by the opposite sex. Fortunately for her self-preservation, she just didn't care what anyone thought about her. She had a knack for being very candid, which Linc found refreshing. Others seemed to be put off by her casual remarks that often sounded caustic even though they carried no intent. It was just the way she processed her environment and reflected her natural reactions. But Linc was strangely attracted to her personality. He envied her ability to rise above the muck. She was comfortable with herself or at least seemed so.

Dany's personal care habits were similar to Linc's. But when you looked past them, she was really very cute. She was tall at 5'10" and had long, but very straight reddish-brown hair. She carried a healthy weight and might be considered a little pudgy at 150 pounds, but her shape and feminine features formed a very attractive package should anyone take the time to look closely. If a salon would take her in for a day as a make-over challenge, she would be quite stunning. But Dany didn't care about that mundane, surface-level stuff. Linc would agree, although he was not completely immune to the effects of feminine beauty.

Stephane Picard, or Steph as her friends called her, was beautiful to the level of magazine-cover worthiness. Her flowing, well-styled auburn hair framed her gorgeous blue eyes. High cheekbones, petite nose, full lips, cute chin, and a long, graceful neck came together into captivating perfection. She was a classic beauty with a killer body. No human eye, especially those attracted to females, could resist admiring her beauty. She was fully aware of her effect on others and it served her well in support of her narcissism. Steph looked like an angel, acted like an angel, and had a heart from a realm far lower than where angels trod!

Steph's drive to improve her position in life drove her to many less-than-adequate sexual encounters—mostly with dweebs and nerds that she hated with a passion. But 5 minutes of bad sex was worth getting something from them that would pay off later—she hoped.

Steph's sex-buddy, Paul Foley, filled her more carnal needs. Too bad Paul was a loser. Paul didn't bring much to the table, so Steph found him unacceptable for her to be interested in him long term. He owned a beat-up 1990's something Toyota, lived in a trash-heap one-room efficiency, and tended bar at a dive near where she lived. That was where she met him. But he was damn cute and his skills in bed were mind-blowing. Heck, his skills were great in the car, on a park bench, standing in a hallway, a men's room stall at the mall—wherever the mood struck her. With Paul, Steph's mood struck often.

Paul was not stupid, or cruel, or particularly corrupt. He was down on his luck and searched for any means of climbing out of the pit that was his life. Basically, he was lost and floated aimlessly through his earthly existence.

These were four unique individuals with very different backgrounds and goals in life. The circumstances that brought them together all revolved around one event—a wedding to remember.

Chapter 1

Linc -- A New Contract

Linc periodically hosted a special party, and today was such an occasion. He surveyed the scene before him that included 17 of his closest friends. 'I need to do this more often,' he thought. He certainly had the resources and the venue.

He inadequately, and perhaps incorrectly, referred to this as his family room. He no longer had a family since his dad passed two years ago. And this room was the size of most hotel ballrooms. But with multiple levels and detailed architecture, it displayed little resemblance to the vast emptiness found in even the finest hotel venues. Pool tables, ping-pong, foosball tables were just the start. One side room contained the latest video games to go along with a two-lane bowling alley. The bar, complete with a bartender, was part of a kitchen and serving area that rivaled most commercial operations. A 32 seat theater room bordered the video room. Comfortable seating areas were scattered about for either intimate or group conversations. Then there was the indoor portion of the indoor/outdoor pool. The rainy weather had no impact on this gathering.

This group was his inner circle. To many outsiders, these 17 friends would be best described as a flock of nerds. All were very intelligent, most were painfully shy, and all shared a secret not known to many others—Linc was rich. Filthy rich.

With his dad's passing, it was all Linc's. He was the last in his direct family. His dad owned a large portfolio of companies but he maintained a low profile, preferring to let strong local management run each business since they understood it better than he did. He only stepped in when absolutely necessary. He compensated top performers well, and they supported his anonymity. Linc wanted the same support from his friends, and they kept his secrets.

Linc scanned the room to find several of his friends he needed to see and found Brad who worked for a pharmaceutical company Linc would be starting a contract with on Monday.

"Hey Brad, good you could make it." Linc both liked and respected this friend.

"How could I miss it? This room is my favorite destination."

"Did I see you come in with Kelsey?"

"Yeah. We actually started dating since the last time our little group got together. What was that—maybe seven months ago?"

"I guess it has been that long." Linc made a mental note. 'I need to get these guys here monthly or every other at least.''

"So, Linc, you ready to start tomorrow? I saw them preparing an office for you."

"Yeah. Thanks for putting me on to Amherst. The stuff they're doing in immunotherapy is a real area of interest."

"What exactly are you working on?"

Linc hated keeping secrets from his friends, but he had no choice. He signed a non-disclosure so he was legally bound to confidentiality.

"I wish I could tell you, Brad, but it's confidential."

"Even from your own teammates?"

"Especially, unfortunately. The HR guy told me there's been a leak of some tech from the team to Schein Pharmaceutical. R&D is strictly 'need-to-know' for now.

Linc's mind was working. 'I gotta change the subject. I may have told Brad too much already.'

"So tell me about Kelsey. Are you guys getting serious?"

"I think so. She's pushing for a ring, but there's this girl at work that has been putting the moves on me and I want to be sure Kelsey is the right one."

"You and Kelsey have known each other for a long time, and you even studied the same branch of microbiology. You should have a lot in common."

"We do. And, don't get me wrong, I love Kelsey and think she cute as hell. I just want to be sure. But what about you—are you seeing someone?"

"No. Just finishing my doctorate, I've been too busy to look."

"Linc, why don't you ask Dany out? I mean, you two are like peas in a pod and seem perfect for each other. Plus, look at her in that swimsuit. When she's not wearing those dumpy clothes, she's really pretty and that body looks snuggle-perfect."

Linc often asked himself the same thing. 'Brad doesn't know how much I want to do just that. Why can't I just suck it up and ask her? I've loved her since we were kids. What the hell's wrong with me?'

"I don't know, Brad. Dany and I have been friends forever. I don't want to take a chance and jeopardize what we are now."

"Linc, we've been friends for a while and I've never seen you date anyone. I don't want to offend you, but are you gay? I mean, it's okay if you are, I'm just wondering and would support you no matter what."

Linc laughed. "No, I'm not."

"Asexual? I mean, you're interested in sex, right?"

Linc was getting embarrassed now. 'Do I really need to get into this?'

"I'm as interested as anybody. Just haven't found the right woman yet, and I don't buy into humping anything in heat the way dogs do. When I find the right girl, I'm sure I'll be quite sexually active. Can we drop this?"

"Sorry, man. I just hope you're happy—that's all."

"No problem, Brad."

"Hey, Linc, excuse me. I need to talk to Thad. Catch you later?"

Linc was relieved for that embarrassing conversation to come to a close and wandered toward the one person he wanted to see most.

Linc had been working up to confessing his feelings to Dany for years, and yet he constantly gave in to his fear of losing his friendship with her. They spent nearly every Friday night together as friends, and every Friday night he failed his primary mission—tell her he loves her! He always settled his for secondary mission—to just enjoy each other's time together. That he always managed, then went home feeling lonely and beating himself up over another missed opportunity. Last night was the most recent failed attempt.

"Hi, Dany."

"Hey, Linc. Great party again. Why don't you do this more often? It feels like a retreat for brainiacs from the mundane world."

"Yeah, I know. I was just thinking about maybe putting together a regular schedule. What do you think of monthly or bi-monthly?"

"Personally, monthly would be my preferred frequency, but you should tie it into something more interesting than a simple Gregorian calendar schedule."

Linc laughed. "Okay, Dany. Give me some examples."

Linc loved the way Dany brainstormed in the open, often with socially unacceptable concepts. He awaited the 'pouring-out' her brain was about to produce.

"Alright. Let's see—what happens monthly? A woman's cycle, but which woman and—no—too gross. Or, the ides of each month—but that was based on the Roman calendar—so no. Full moons! January is Wolf Moon, February is Snow, March is Worm, April is Pink... but you can't tie them to a Saturday easily."

"Moons sounds interesting," Linc added trying to get to a decision.

"No! I've got it! And this group will get it." Dany had a 'eureka' moment.

"Am I going to like it?" Linc knew it would be brilliant.

"Sure. It's so mathematically driven. And it will put you on a schedule for every 5 weeks and perfectly on Saturdays."

"Okay. How?"

"Let's assume the first Saturday in January is on the third. Have a party on the third, and then each party after that will be exactly 35 days after the last one. So it would be days of the year in multiples of 35 plus the day of the first Saturday in January. So in our example, it would be multiples of 35 plus 3. What do you think?"

"Dany—you're brilliant." Linc wanted to scoop her up, tell her how awesome she is, and profess his undying love. But he didn't.

"Linc, I can help with the invitations. We need a mathematical equation to explain it and determine the name of the event. It will be an extraordinary blast."

"I like it. Can we talk more about it when we get together next Friday night?" Linc was desperate to declare his love next Friday, so he had made some special plans.

"Sure. I'm going to swim now. Talk to you later, Linc."

And she went off to swim. Linc wondered, 'how does she change gears so fast like that?' He admired the complexity of her mind and yet how direct her thoughts and actions were. He also admired her figure in that swimsuit. Even more, however, he admired her—everything about her. 'Does she think the same about me? I never see a hint.'

On Monday, Brad was given the task of showing Linc around the office and introducing him to his new co-workers. Linc found it interesting that he could remember all the details of the periodic table, and just about any other scientific fact or mathematical formula to which he had been exposed, but he couldn't remember the names of people he met for ten seconds. He made a mental note to consider that when he had a few moments of brain-power available.

"Linc, this is the bio lab team working on some new immunotherapy projects."

Each co-worker introduced themselves and quickly went back to the tasks that seemed to have them preoccupied—except one.

"Hi, Linc. I'm Steph, and I'm glad to meet you. From what I hear, you're the new star performer for our team. I hope we can chat sometime."

"Uhh, sure St...st...Steph. Love to." Linc's shy-boy appeared with a vengeance in the presence of this stunning, blue-eyed, auburn-haired perfection of a creature standing before him.

They finished the introductions and Brad walked back with Linc's to his new office.

"Man, Linc. I'm sorry I questioned you this weekend about being gay. Your reaction to Steph seems to settle that issue."

Linc chuckled. "Yeah, she's stunning—and way out of reach for me."

"Glad you think so. Steph seems to like me, and I want to see where it goes. She's the one I mentioned when you asked me about Kelsey."

"You really think she has an interest in some sort of relationship with you?" Linc thought he'd have a better chance than Brad, who was much shorter than Linc, balding, and a bit portly.

"Yeah. She seems to hang on every word, and she calls me 'Sweetie' or 'Baby' all the time."

"Brad, I wish you luck my friend. But Kelsey is a fantastic woman who really wants you. Don't hurt her, and be absolutely sure about Steph before you do something you'll regret."

Chapter 2

Dany -- Another Friday Night

The week after the party Dany found herself even more consumed than usual with her thoughts running out-of-control. 'What kind of explosive will it require to get past this friends-only relationship with Linc? Does he even think of me as I think of him? If not, and I tell him I'm extremely attracted to him, would he get mad? Would I lose him altogether? Does he find me physically repulsive? With a 167 IQ, I should be able to calculate a resolution. Damn, I'm an idiot when it comes to this crap.'

She's had the same thoughts repeating week after week, but they seemed to be reaching a huge crescendo in recent months. She had a sense that, at some time, her chances with Linc would be gone. She had to open the door to her feelings to Linc when they were together that coming Friday. 'This can't be like every other Friday. I need to grow a set and let him know.'

Dany's week seemed exceptionally long. Her intelligence wanted to explore the relationship between time and mental anticipation of specific events. She knew time was a constant, of course, but the perception of time seemed to vary based on an individual's mental state. Could it be scientifically explained or calculated? In the end, she didn't think so. Plus, she was getting very nervous about what she could say to Linc, and the distraction of mental gymnastics was a waste of brain function at this critical moment.

Dany never hesitated to say anything to anyone. It was one of the things she liked about herself, but there were never any consequences that concerned her—except when it came to Linc. Potentially losing him as a friend was the one thing she feared more than death. But the status quo was mentally and emotionally frustrating. The degree of physical frustration, though, was becoming unbearable. She ached for Linc.

Friday evening, Linc picked her up at 6:00 PM. They rode in near silence to a highly rated French restaurant near the theatre where they expected to view a 9:20 PM film.

"Linc, you're not talking much tonight. Are you feeling well?"

"I'm sorry, Dany. My first week in this new position has me a bit on edge," he lied. "I was going to ask you the same thing?"

Dany considered her response in the flash of a moment. 'Is now the time? He seems off, so maybe it's not the best approach. Perhaps a little later.' "I'm fine. I think I was just picking up on your concerns and mirroring your disposition," she lied. "I was just worried about you."

They spoke of the plans for the 35-day party schedule, other typical things the friends discussed, and all the minor details of the week. The mood lightened. Even so, Dany continued to chastise herself for failing to say what she desperately needed to say. If Linc would only give her some clue, or some opening—something that would push her through this wall of fear she's recklessly built for years. 'What's one more week? I'll tell him next Friday,' she thought.

Chapter 3

Steph - Has My Big-ass Ship Come In?

It didn't take long for Steph to figure out that Linc was a genius. All the other geniuses in the group she called the 'nerd-herd' deferred to him.

The twenty grand that Schein Pharmaceutical paid her for the secrets she maneuvered out of Brad was almost gone already. She let them off with too good a bargain. The next sale needed to be six figures.

Her fake interest in Brad was tied to advancing her career by helping make her look more intelligent than she was to her supervisors, or finding secrets she could sell. A 'doggie-style' 25 seconds with Brad in the supply closet was worth the payday from Schein. She knew Brad had a 'walking-wet-dream level crush' on her. He craved her attention. When she faked any morsel of interest in him, he became putty in her hands. His puny little tent and wet spot in the front of his khakis were always dead giveaways. She easily hid the fact that she was completely repulsed by him. Steph saw that Brad was a close friend of Linc's. She decided to control her need to barf and convinced her puppet to help her get to know Linc.