The hours passed by like seconds as the two strangers forged their way toward the city of lights. Conversations flowed as if they had known one another their entire lives. “No offense, but you seem like too well-a-dressed man to be hanging out in crappy truck stops,” Brian said as the brilliant-orange setting sun blinded Kevin in his rearview mirror. “Thanks,” Kevin smiled, forgetting all about the fact that he still had on his best suit and flip flops that he had found in the back seat. “This is all I have with me to wear.” “Wow! You left on a road trip with only a suit to wear? That takes guts, man. I’m way too....I dunno..anal retentive for stuff like that.” Brian laughed.
“When I left my house this morning I didn’t know that I would be going on some road trip....I thought that I would be going to my wedding,” Kevin said shyly knowing that this probably wasn’t the best topic to be discussing with an eager groom. “Your wedding? You got married today?”
“No, I stood at the alter today and waited for my bride to come and when she joined me there I ran out of their as if the place was on fire!” Kevin said. “Wait a sec! You’re telling me that you bolted and left your bride at the alter today only to meet me and now you’re driving me to meet my bride at the alter? What the hell does all of this mean? How in a million years did we find each other?” Brian pondered as Kevin pulled to the side of the road in order to put the top up.
Darkness fell, but not for long. By the time the Interstate signs began to point toward Las Vegas, Kevin was on his 6th cup of coffee, Brian was fast asleep in the seat beside him. The neon lights were blinding as Kevin drove into the vibrant city. The clock on the dash read 12:28am. Kevin poked Brian to wake up, seeing as he had no idea where he was supposed to be dropping Brian off. Brian fished through his pockets and found the piece of paper where his bride had written “Caesar’s Marriott- Rm 407 (I’m in 408!)” The note offered directions, which were easy enough to follow.
Kevin pulled up in front of the main doors and shut off the engine. “Well my friend, here you are. I hope things work out for you better than they did for me.” “Wait. Where are you going? You can’t keep driving.” Brian said as he retrieved his bags from the trunk. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.....all that coffee, I could drive for two more day straight, at least.” Kevin laughed. “I won’t hear of it!” Brian stated. “Come up with me. I’ll get some gas money for you, we’ll put some food in you and hopefully, buy you something else to wear in the morning. C’mon, come get a few hours rest before you go!” Brian was right and Kevin knew it. He wasn’t tired, but he knew if he shut his eyes, he could sleep for hours. Reluctantly, he pulled his car over into an empty space and followed Brian up to his room.
Brian slid his key-card in and out of the lock, the red light turn green and he opened the door. He flicked on the switch and dropped his garment bag off his shoulder with a great thud, as though he had been lugging it across this vast land for days on end. Kevin followed, shyly, into the room. He had never been alone in a hotel room with another man before, except for that time when he was 8 and his parents had taken him to see the Grand Canyon. But things were different, he was a big boy now and he wasn’t with his father. Brian offered him a place to sit on one of the double beds which occupied the room; Kevin was relieved that there were two, otherwise, it would have been a long nite on the floor. Brian headed straight for the phone to order some room service. “What are you in the mood for? Are you starving, or just a light snack?” he asked of Kevin as Kevin reached for the TV remote. “I’m not that hungry, maybe just a burger, some fries and a shake!” Kevin said as he desperately searched for some sports. “Not that hungry, uh?” Brian laughed as he reached for the phone, but became distracted by a door along the wall in the centre of the room. “Oh, sweet! This is one of those adjoining rooms. Do you think Audrey’s awake still?” Brian asked as he pressed his ear against the door. He squinted his eyes tight as he listened closely. He heard her giggle quietly. “Oh great, she must be watching TV or something...I’m just gonna let her know that I’m here and kiss her goodnight.” he informed Kevin, who was bearly listening, he had found ESPN.
Brian turned the lock on his door and was thrilled to see that she had left her door open as well, obviously anticipating that he couldn’t stay away from her for much longer. Her room was dark, the TV was off. “She must have been laughing in her sleep,” he whispered to himself as he crept into her room. He loved her with all of his heart. He had known that he would marry her since their first date, only it wasn’t he who had done the asking. This past Valentine’s day, Audrey had gotten down on one knee and asked Brian to become her husband. He had been wanting to ask her, but he kept losing his nerve. But here they were, mere hours away from holy matrimony.
Brian entered cautiously into Audrey’s room, afraid of the unfamiliar surroundings. He hadn’t taken three steps in when he heard her giggle again. A smile washed across his face as he thought about the wonderful dream that she must be having. He took one more step, disappointed that his eyes had not adjusted better to the darkness, when he stopped cold. The comforter on the bed rose up like a monster rising up from the deep. Audrey’s distinctive laugh filled the room as he caught a glimpse of her bare legs flash in front of the light of the window. Her breathing was heavy and she began to squeal and scream as the bed began to rock. Her moans grew louder and were alternated by the deep moan of another man’s voice. Brian stood frozen in his cloak of darkness, numbed by the sight the darkness prevented him from seeing, horrified by sounds his ears had permitted him to hear. As the moaning quickened, until the final climax when the two bodies became one, Brian stood in disbelief. He couldn’t decide whether to find the lights and completely lose his temper, something he rarely did, or to stand there and wait to be discovered. He decided that his best course of action would be to reverse and trace his steps back into the safety of his own room, but before he could take one step, the light clicked on above the bed, revealing the horrified face of his fiancee, Audrey. “Oh My God! Brian!!!!” She yelled as she pulled the covers up over her, like he had never seen her naked before. “Audrey.”Brian said coolly, trying not to lose it. “I see that you had no trouble filling in your time while you waited for me to get here. I’m glad to see that you were worried about whether or not I’d be able to make it time!” his voice began to louden. “Not to worry, BABY, cuz you’ll never have to worry about me again.....GOODBYE! You can go back to banging you’re boy toy....don’t let a little thing like our pending wedding stop you from fucking any guy that looks at you!” he yelled at her as his eyes began to sting with tears. He began to turn to storm back to his room, when the man who was hiding under the sheets popped his head out, revealing none other than Brian’s Best Man, his best friend, Drew Campbell. Disgusted and speechless he tore back to his room slamming the door behind him, closing not only the door to Audrey’s room, but also to her heart.
Kevin was half asleep, slumped on the bed when Brian banged the door shut, causing Kevin to jar awake. Brian was fuming, pacing the floor like a lunatic. He was rubbing his hands through his hair so vigorously, Kevin thought he’d see great tufts dropping to the floor, but he didn’t. Brian’s face was tomato red with anger and with pain. “What’s going on? Isn’t your bride in there?” Kevin asked, still half asleep.
“Oh, she’s in there alright!!!” Brian fumed. “She’s in there, in bed with my best man and supposed best man. Well fuck her, fuck them both!” he yelled as finally sat down on the bed and rested his head in his hands. Kevin thought that Brian was going to break down into tears, another awkward moment approaching, but he didn’t. Instead Brian leapt to his feet, grabbed his bag and headed for the door. “I’m sorry, Kevin, but I can’t stay here.....not with HER in the next room. Man, if you want to...the room’s all paid for, stay here if you like tonite, but I’m going,” Brian said as he opened the door. “Hold on a second,” Kevin said as he struggled to put his flip flops back on. “If you’re going than I’m going too. “Two ex-grooms are better than one!”