Always a Bridesmaid Pt. 03

"Oh you know I love you to death!" she said sincerely, acting as if I might have been offended by her comments thus far.

I failed to repress a burst of laughter. "Flying solo on this one I take it?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

Jenna's face broke into a wide smile that made her eyes twinkle. "Hell yes! Finally got a chance to just let loose and have fun. No responsibilities!" she answered, shaking her hips in an impromptu dance.

"You are gonna have a great time, I promise. Head on up there, I will see you once the bride shows up." I said, gesturing to the location. I looked at my watch, noting that one other bridesmaid and Paula had yet to show up. I dreaded the arrival of Jan Wang, she was smart and pretty but despised me. If I had a real enemy in this world, the photo in the dictionary would have her picture beside it, with fangs. I figured that some of it had to do with her traditional Chinese upbringing, but mostly chalked it up to being a bitch when it came to me.

I secretly hoped that my best friend would beat her and that I could just abandon my post and let the Asian girl find her own way up. I doubted I would be that fortunate, and I pictured Lady Luck giving me the middle finger in that regard. Normally I would never back down from a confrontation, but ruining the party was not even a remote consideration. Glancing out the glass door, I could see her in a conservative cream-colored knee-length dress, heading in my direction. I quietly slipped away and into the ladies' restroom, waiting for the sound of her steps to fade before emerging. I should have gotten an award in the conflict avoidance department for that clever maneuver.

I was more than a little surprised when I collided with Paula as I emerged from the restroom, sending us both spiraling to the floor. Well shit, that was a bad way to start the evening. "I so did not see you coming, you ok?" I squeaked out, regaining my footing and standing upright again.

Laughter erupted out of Paula's pretty mouth, telling me that not only was she unhurt, but thoroughly amused at the whole thing. "Well, happy to see you too, hun," she said, also standing up.

I silently caught my breath as I caught sight of her attire for the evening, a satiny red dress that sat tastefully just above her knees, but revealed her cleavage in a less-than-subtle way. I had never seen her be so daring, as that dress screamed fuck me at the top of its proverbial lungs. For a moment, I was speechless.

"See anything you like?" she said, batting her eyes in an exaggerated fashion.

"Tease!" I shot back.

"Flirt!" Paula shot back before giving me a loose hug, for which I was secretly thankful.

With that brief exchange, we made our way through the mostly quiet club to our reserved area, which was stunning in and of itself. The spot had high walls that formed an open oval, with the entrance measuring about fifteen feet with semi-sheer curtains providing some semblance of privacy. I guessed that the space could hold about twenty people comfortably, with a dark leather couch against the walls and some stand-up tables arranged in a circle at the center. A similar couch had been set up along the far wall, making it easy for all of us to chat face-to-face, where everyone else was already sitting.

The rest of the group jumped to their feet and gave the bride-to-be hugs and greetings before settling back down. Unsurprisingly, Jenna spoke first. "Damn, girl, you picked out a perfect place for our bachelorette bash! And this room is fucking perfect!" she exclaimed. I saw a drink in her hand, so I reasoned that she had gotten a head start on the partying.

All of us spent the next hour snacking on the items we had ordered collectively, and of course drinking, and by the time the club started getting active we were all feeling no pain. At one point everyone was out dancing except me, as I was keeping an eye out to make sure that drinks and snacks were coming constantly.

Cathy slipped through the curtains shaking her head, a drink in her hand, which was surprising to me because of how buttoned up she was. "Damn, the men out there are animals!" she said, half irritated and half amused. She sank into the semicircular sitting area we had all started at, so I went over to make conversation, which I did with some trepidation.

"That bad, huh? I asked, sipping my drink.

She groaned and shook her head again. "I swear most of them would just flat out fuck anything that moves!" she exclaimed.

I made no effort to hide my surprise at her coarseness, which I attributed to the half a dozen appletinis that she had consumed, or at least that I had seen. Since I had never been with a guy, I was at a loss to say anything that would be meaningful. "Yeah, I bet, well I wouldn't know, personally."

Cathy chuckled as if she had thought about what she had said to me. "Yeah, sorry, forgot that wasn't on the menu for you, my bad," she responded.

Yeah she is drunk, she would never apologize to me sober!" I thought. "No problem," I said out loud instead.

"I'm surprised you haven't found someone to settle down with, but you seem to be a serial dater."

I paused a second to think about how I wanted to respond since I wasn't certain if she was being sincere or snarky. I shrugged and took a sip of my drink. "Just haven't found the right one, I suppose. It's no different for a straight girl, you know." I answered.

She looked up at me with an expressionless look. "Hmm. Well, I can't begin to understand relationships between women, but I wasn't trying to insult you. Trust me, you would know if I was."

I smiled. So she is human after all. "Well, thanks for that," I said.

"But--" Cathy started to say, then stopping with a smile.

I was immediately confused, having no idea what she was hinting at. "Ok, I'll bite. But what?"

"But maybe it's because you only have eyes for your bff. Everyone can see it."

I sighed. "I don't want to have this conversation, let alone right now." I said, now feeling angry.

"You didn't deny it." Cathy said with a huge sigh.

I sat down next to her, taking a deep breath. "First of all, it's none of your damn business or anyone else's. Second, Paula is completely straight and off limits anyway and getting married. And third, I didn't confirm or deny what you said."

Cathy smiled and shook her head. "Not trying to make a scene or piss you off, just was pointing out that you are way closer than any girls I know. Just an observation." she answered.

"Fine." I said, putting my drink down and heading out of the reserved space. It seemed smart to put some distance between myself and her, to avoid some sort of confrontation. We both possessed strong personalities, which virtually guaranteed some conflict. I eased along the narrow path behind the crowd that stood on the perimeter of the dance floor, watching the action from the sidelines.

Glancing between breaks in the throng, I could see the other girls in the bridal party dancing with various men in the club, having a good time, but never saw Paula. That's odd, she is pretty much a dancing fiend. Starting to get concerned, I began moving around the club, trying to find her, just to make sure that she was all right. Clubs can get raucous and I didn't want her to get into trouble.

After searching for about ten minutes, I spotted her leaning against a wall far removed from the wild dance area, as if watching something. That aroused my curiosity, so I moved in her direction, staying out of sight as much as possible. I found a good vantage point in an empty booth a few feet behind her, having a good view between the slats of the barrier atop the spot.

Paula was peering down a half-lit corridor, looking around the corner for a few moments, drawing back, and then looking again, as if afraid of being caught. Up against the wall was a couple, two women, tangled up in each other, mouths glued one one another, making out, and clearly enjoying it. The sounds of soft moans and successive kisses filled the air, and hands roaming up and down each others' bodies exploring one another. The girl against the wall was a slender blonde and the other was a curvy brunette with long hair..

I had strong mixed emotions swirling around my mind. First, I was more than a little turned on watching the two gorgeous girls engaging in passionate sapphic foreplay, the kind I loved indulging in. I have a voyeuristic streak that I have hidden well, so this was a real treat for me and I was enjoying the show. The other emotion was shock--or confusion--at the sight of my straight best friend watching them, taking it all in, and lingering there.

I was about to slip away when I saw the brunette slide down the strap of the other girl's dress, while not breaking the passionate kissing, bringing a pretty pert breast into full view. Her hand cupped it for a moment before wrapping her lips around the nipple and sucking loudly, making the blonde moan loudly with delighted arousal. I watched the dark haired girl slide her leg between her lover's, her mouth returning to kissing as they began grinding against each other eagerly.

I could see Paula's hands trembling as the two girls began increasing the pace of their gyrations, hands on one another's hips, forcing their bodies together. In near-perfect unison they both stiffened and moaned with as much quiet loudness as they could before stopping and becoming silent. Paula apparently took that as her cue to withdraw stealthily, scurrying away and vanishing into the somewhat distant dancing crowd.

I was breathless when I arrived back at our reserved spot, surprised to see Paula sitting alone. What she had done was undoubtedly a fluke, an accident of circumstance fueled by too many drinks. My best and smartest course of action was to keep the matter secret and not mention it to her or anyone else. As I sat down next to her, she laid her head on my shoulder and slipped her arm around mine.

"Hey, are you having a good time?" I asked, noting how dilated her pupils were.

"Yeah, I--I think so, my l-llast drink really hit me hard. I feel funny." she said softly, stuttering.

I looked at my watch. We had about an hour left on our club reservation. Even more, I could tell something wasn't right, which concerned me. "Where's everyone else?" I asked, not even sure if she knew.

"Carol bugged out an hour ago to get home, and Jenna went back to her hotel. I swear I saw two of them leave with guys, which with them being married or attached is sketchy." Paula responded.

I felt my blood boiling, as all of us had agreed beforehand to keep an eye on the woman of the hour and make sure she was safe and having fun. Clearly they either forgot or were too wasted to care, neither of which sat right with me. There would be hell to pay tomorrow, I would make sure of that.

"Wow, your skin is so smooth and warm." she said out of the blue.

"Okay, I think it's time to call it a night." I said, standing up and pulling us to our feet. I pulled out my phone and requested an Uber, which estimated an arrival time of twenty minutes. That would give me enough time to get my woozy friend to the front door and close the tab before we left. Paula lived on the other end of town, which would be a long trip, so I figured she could stay in the guest room as she had done so many times before. The ride home was uneventful and quiet, which was uncharacteristic of us, something else that had me concerned.

Once we got inside my place, I deposited Paula on the couch, determined to figure out what was happening, or at least confirming my suspicions. She smiled as I looked her in the eye and reached out to hug me. "Oh Carli, I just love you so fucking much." she sighed as she settled into my neck.

"How many drinks did you have?" I probed, not making any attempt to dislodge her.

"Hmm, I didn't keep count, but like--not like too many? Six? Seven?" she answered.

"Do you feel sick, like you have to puke?"

"Hmm, no, I didn't drink enough for that." Paula replied, sitting up, extending one finger to slide across the top of my hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, now weirded out by the way she was acting.

She giggled and shrugged her shoulders, but not stopping either. "I just like how this feels, it's making me shiver a little. Really like the sensations."

I have watched Paula's inhibitions melt away with some strong drinks, but she was no lightweight. If she was right about how many drinks she had, there was no way it would hit her this hard. Added to the wild differences in how she acted and it brought me to the conclusion that someone had slipped something in her last drink, presumably to take advantage of her. That was one of the biggest reasons that I made the bridal party basically take a blood oath to keep watch over her. Ok, now hell would be too good for them.

"Ecstasy." I said, forgetting I had said it out loud for her to hear.

"Huh?" she asked.

"The drug, ecstasy, you know?" I asked.

"Nnnnnooooooo, never taken drugs ok?" Paula responded, still touching my hand.

"I know that, I don't mean you did. I think someone slipped it to you." I said, concerned.

"Well then, I am still a good girl then. Just not a fortunate one. But this really does feel incredible, kinda freeing in fact." said said with a smile.

I had seen drunk Paula before, but ecstasy Paula was proving to be more than a handful. My best bet was to get her to lay down and sleep it off. "Is that so?" I asked, starting to become entertained. Now the fact that she has been watching women making out made a hell of a lot more sense to me.

"Oh very much so." Paula said, running her hand up my arm and back down. It was a casual movement, not the type of touching that came with flirting or foreplay, so I considered it harmless.

"Let me get some coffee down you, maybe that will help." I said, starting to stand.

"I wanna ride this out, ok? With my best friend?" she said, pulling me back to the seat.

"Ummmmm ok but if you start getting crazy or have a seizure I am calling 911 ok?" I answered, wagging my finger. My own buzz hadn't faded in the least so it made my decision-making less smart.

Without warning, Paula slipped her hands on my cheeks, which caught me off guard. "I just fucking love you, everything about you, you know? You watch out for me, listen to me, and protect me. I never once had to ask or explain when I needed something, that's something no one else has ever done. See? I love you!" she said before plating a seemingly platonic kiss on my nose.

I started laughing, so much that I feared I might not stop. After a few moments, I regained my composure. "Well that's what real friends do. Even if it means rescuing you from yourself." I countered. Pulling back to a safe distance.

"Touche." Paula said, resuming running her fingers up and down my arm.

"Hmm...more like touchy." I said, feeling that the joke was appropriate.

"Yeah well this feels great, more than great. My gawd do you have any clue how beautiful you are?" she shot back, her eyes lingering on my lips, then moving down to my cleavage.

"Don't get carried away, hun." I said, not entirely joking.

"Says the girl who grabbed my ass in Mexico." Paula said with a wink, still looking my breasts over, as if studying them.

My face went red as I blushed. "Um, I was trying to get you to smile." I said, saying a half-truth. I was trying to get her to smile but I also enjoyed caressing her for a moment.

"Yeah and you did that a thousand times over. But don't pretend that you did a little more than that. Hand on my almost bare ass cheek, running your thumb on it. C'mon, fess up!" she prodded.

If I had been sober, I would have easily had a clever excuse ready, but in my current state, there was a certain danger to the moment that was too tantalizing to resist. There was a taboo to it, forbidden fruit that I should never taste but always wanted to. No harm in some flirting right? "Guilty as charged. I wanted to do it. I am glad I did. I would do it again without hesitation" I said with a smile, hoping that would suffice on some level.

Paula looked coy for a moment. "I have never once forgotten that. I felt something from you, and it was desire. A sexual touch for sure." she replied, a growing wildness in her eyes.

"Yeah and you are straight so that's that. I respect that" I said, pulling back a bit.

"Well what about the hot tub? Hmm?" she asked with a crooked smile.

Damn, busted. How the hell do I answer that? Apologize? Admit it? Deny it? I asked myself.

"Yeah, we soak together sometimes, so?" I responded, wondering what she would say next.

"I had the best fucking orgasm of my life the last time we did. It was mind blowing and amazing and I remember all of it." Paula said, moving her hand up my arm, stopping at the level of my breasts.

My better judgment was impaired, making my reply far more open than I would ever do otherwise. "I didn't originally intend for that to happen, but I don't regret it. Not one bit. You were so damned beautiful cumming in my arms." I said, truthfully, but probably too truthfully.

"It was beautiful. I felt beautiful. I could feel a deep connection with you, our bodies touching, your voice in my ear. You could have done any fucking thing you wanted to me at that point and I would have let you. I haven't been able to shake that feeling." Paula said, her eyes moving all around my face, breasts, and neck.

"I understand, but you are..."

"Just stop! I have never experienced anything that intense or sexy before, not with anyone, ever. Not romantically, not physically." she interrupted.

My head was spinning, partly from the drinks, and partly from our conversation. Paula's frank conversation and eager demeanor felt very sexual and that simply didn't line up with what I knew about her sexuality. Never once in our entire lives together had she ever even had a glimmer of attraction to other women, none, nada. And yet in that moment, I felt a flood of desire surging from her like a volcano. For a moment, I convinced myself that this was a bizarre sexual dream that my subconscious had fashioned from my own buried desires, but it felt too real just to explain it away like that.

"Babe, this is dangerous ground and you are beyond high. You aren't in your right mind." I said softly, trying to repress the urge to kiss her. I knew that if I did, or once I did, there would be no turning back. I could tell that the substances in her system had effectively shredded every last inhibition Paula had, and while it was fascinating to see more of the person she kept hidden, the consequences could be disastrous.

"I don't care, I love how I am feeling, and I can't help myself. I don't want to." she responded, letting her left thumb graze the side of my breast. I watched her eyes as she tentatively touched me and then touched more intentionally, discovering the sensations and drinking them in. It crossed a line, but not so grossly that we couldn't walk it back. The bad news is that in my compromised state I was rapidly losing any remaining sense of self control.

I opened my mouth to voice an insincere warning for her to stop, but before the right words even formed in my brain, Paula's hand slipped over and cupped my left breast, her thumb now tickling the exposed skin. "Oh shit!" I blurted out.

My exclamation only seemed to embolden her, and with a mischievous smile moved her hand right over my cleavage. I knew it was a brand new sensation for her, which both delighted and frightened me. "My fucking gawd, Carli, you feel incredible." she gasped, starting to caress slightly.

I was at my breaking point and I knew it, so I spouted out the words, "Stop, Paula!"

Paula, almost laughing, withdrew her hand, making me feel a sigh of relief. "Ok, fair enough." she said, smiling.