I was already pretty tipsy by the time we landed in Vegas. My groomsmen had done a good job getting me drunk on the plane, and we had even downed a few shots at the airport. I wanted no part in the traditional "bachelor party" extravaganza, but my best man insisted that we do it. I rarely drank, had only ever had sex with my fiancé, and had never been to a casino or strip club. The last thing I wanted was a stereotypical Vegas blowout, but my groomsmen had other plans.
At 28 years old, I was more interested in a low-key weekend with friends and family. Drinking beer on a boat was more my jam than doing cocaine off strippers in a limo. But my best man, Ricardo, thought differently. Ricardo and I were roommates and best friends in college but in the years since, he had moved to Miami. His life there seemed far different from my humble experiences in Nasvhille, where I lived with my fiancé, Charlotte. Ricardo regaled me with stories of clubs and cocaine, college girls and wet t-shirt contests, and quick trips to Havana and the Caribbean. According to him, he had so much "pussy" and "ass" in Miami that he didn't know what to do with himself. Ricardo had been far different in college, but now that he worked for an investment bank, he quickly adopted this fast-paced, big-money lifestyle.
My other groomsmen were a motley bunch. Logan was a guy from grad school who now lived in San Francisco; and Drew was my co-worker at a small tech startup in Nashville. Then there was Jared.
Jared was my 19-year-old step brother who annoyed the shit out of me growing up. When I was in high school, my mom divorced and got remarried to a man who was wealthy, handsome, and somewhat pretentious. His son—Jared—shared those traits. Even when he was in middle school, Jared bragged about his athleticism, grades, and boy-next-door good looks. Everything seemed to come easy to him. Not only was Jared valedictorian in high school, but he was also captain of the lacrosse team and first in the state in boys' cross country.
Everyone adored Jared, which is one reason I resented hanging out with him. Even though I was nine years older, Jared always seemed more accomplished and regularly beat me at video games, board games, and sports.
My fiancé, Charlotte, adored Jared, thought he was sweet, and insisted that he be a part of our wedding. Because she didn't have any brothers, she thought it'd be fun to have him as a groomsman. So reluctantly, I asked Jared to join my wedding party and invited him on the bachelor trip.
Ricardo insisted on planning the whole thing, which made me slightly nervous. Surprisingly, Charlotte gave Ricardo a "green light" that I could do "whatever I wanted" in Vegas, as long as it "stayed in Vegas." While I had zero interest in being unfaithful or doing anything crazy, Ricardo took this as a free license to do the most. He and the other groomsmen split the costs and off we went to Sin City.
When we landed at the airport, we took an Uber to our hotel on the Strip. I was thankful that Ricardo hadn't wasted money on a limo or strippers—yet—and that we got a good deal on the hotel room. We had a full, two-bedroom suite in the Aria Hotel & Casino with an amazing view of the Strip, including the famous Bellagio fountains below. The suite also came with a full bar, pool table, and in-unit Jacuzzi: the perfect bachelor pad for the perfect bachelor weekend...or so I thought...
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After putting our bags away, we went down to the casino and bar to kick off the weekend. Jared wasn't old enough to drink or gamble, but Ricardo set him up with a fake ID from Miami. Thus, all five of us were ready to roll out into this vast and sinful playground.
After playing a little blackjack, Ricardo took us to an exclusive, VIP club, where he had somehow put our names on the guest list. There were several big-time rappers and semi-famous actresses that I recognized, and also a few gorgeous babes at the bar who caught Ricardo's eye.
Once Ricardo approached them, the girls claimed to be models. Although they normally wouldn't have given us the time of day, they seemed enamored by Ricardo's charm and credit card. He bought over $1,000 in drinks and bottle service for the table, so the sexy models decided to stay put and flirt with our table.
I have to admit that we were a pretty good-looking group of bachelors. At 6'3" with brown hair and green eyes, I've never had any complaints about my looks. I played intramural sports in college and continued to work out a lot after, which keeps me in shape.
Ricardo was also quite dashing, with dark, Latin skin and sleek, brown hair. At 6'1", he was lean, strong, and quite successful with the ladies.
At 6'2", Logan was slightly taller, stronger, and equally if not more attractive than Ricardo. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and a handsome jawline. Logan had been my best friend in computer science grad school and had recently hit it big in Silicon Valley. He was now working for Google's artificial intelligence division and raking in a sizable salary.
Drake was the newest addition to our group and I hoped that he would fit in. He was the co-founder and CEO of the small startup I worked for in Nashville. Although Drew was on the shorter side at 5'7", he was quite handsome with curly brown hair and rugged good looks. He also worked out a lot, which made his small frame toned and lean.
Then there was Jared, the baby-faced kid of the group. Although he was almost a decade younger than the rest of us, Jared was toned and ripped from lacrosse and cross-country. He had blond hair and blue eyes and stood at 5'11".
The models found it hilarious that Jared was only 19. "No way!" one of them said. "He already looks like such a stud!"
When Ricardo told them about our suite at the Aria, the girls sounded intrigued. "Do you have a full bar?" they asked.
"Of course!" Ricardo exclaimed, as he told them about the room. The combination of a full bar, Jacuzzi, and a pool table convinced the models to come on over.
Three gorgeous girls followed us to Aria after leaving the club. "Guess we'll have to double penetrate them," Ricardo joked, as he whispered in my ear. He was referencing the fact that we now had five guys and three girls.
The eight of us arrived at our suite and gave the girls a private tour. They loved the jacuzzi, full bar, and view of the Bellagio fountains below. "You must be high rollers!" one of them exclaimed.
Drew, who worked as a bartender in college, offered to make us all drinks. He made Cosmos for the ladies and Whisky Sours for boys—trying to get us all as fucked up as possible. It certainly worked, because in no time at all we were all incredibly tipsy.
"Is anyone up for pool?" Logan asked. We had all been staring at the pool table in our hotel suite but no one had offered to play.
"Great idea!" Ricardo replied. "But maybe we should spice it up a bit."