Take Her to HeVan (Nephilim Book 6) (25 page)

“Hi, we couldn’t decide which set to get you so we got both. Each of these cases has another two nesting inside. Now that I can see the stacks of clothes, it’s probably a good thing. You’re going to need all six suitcases to get all this stuff home; you’re going to need a large box to put all those shoe boxes into. Wow, they really took all this bridal stuff to heart. They bought you an entire trousseau,” Tammy said.

“A trousseau?” Marla asked.

“Historically, a bride’s parents would supply the new bride with a wardrobe so her husband wouldn’t have to spend on her in the first year of marriage. In addition, a bride would have been sewing linens, sheets, napkins, et cetera, for her future home. My guess is, knowing you don’t have any family, they wanted to do this for you,” Tammy answered.

“Oh, that is so sweet,” said Julie.

Marla didn’t say anything; she was trying hard not to start crying again.

Over the next three hours, they ate and gossiped and got ready for a night on the town. Around nine, those who were going out left the hotel and took a limo to a popular night club. The women who were staying behind got picked up by their men and left for their rooms.

*****

While the women were doing their thing, Karlo and Charl met with the other warriors. Tammy had arranged for limos for both groups. The men didn’t gossip or eat food; they saw this as fulfilling a human ritual so they all showered and met in the lobby, waiting to hear from Charl what they had to do next. Julie and Amy’s
Ankida
would stay behind and take care of their Joins. They got promises from the others to share their views on how the night went.

Charl waited until the warriors had gathered around. “From my research, this ritual involves the males having a night of eating, drinking, and smoking cigars, things that females don’t care for. It’s symbolic of an indulgence before leaving behind one part of your life and going forward into another.”

“We are already Joined; are we allowed to attend?” one of the others asked.

“All research indicates the males are to spend the evening with their close friends and brethren. The relationship status of the attending males was not mentioned in the materials I read,” said Charl.

“Have you decided on a venue?” asked Markus.

“I’m unfamiliar with Boulder. Tammy arranged for a vehicle and driver since we will be consuming alcohol. I thought I’d let the driver suggest a place.”

The others all nodded in agreement so they moved as a group to the exit. Stepping out, they saw two large vehicles parked in front of the hotel. One was a regular stretch limousine and the second one was a stretch truck. Since the shortest man in the group was Karlo
—
at six-foot-one
—
as a group, they walked to the truck.

The driver saw them coming and ran to open the door.

“Good evening, sirs, I wasn’t told where to take you. Or did you just want to drive around?”

Charl put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Tomorrow is our wedding day and tonight we are having our all male pre-marriage ritual. Since we’re not from Boulder, we were hoping you could recommend a place where we can eat, drink alcohol, and indulge ourselves.”

The driver took a long look at all the men piling into his Hummer Limo, short and long hair. They were dressed in jeans with t-shirts, a few had leather jackets, and most weren’t wearing one. He’d driven all kinds and prided himself on taking any group where they were most likely to find what they wanted, so he was sure he knew where to take this group, too. “There’s food and beer while we’re on the road,” was all he said before closing the door.

As he got into the driver’s seat, he plugged in some music and pulled out of the lot. It would take about forty minutes to drive into Denver; he hoped there was enough food, because those were some big guys.

In the back, the guys were getting comfortable and looking around with interest. Karlo and Charl passed out beers and small wrapped sandwiches. It would do for a snack.

“Charl, what are these poles for?” asked one of the warriors named Ralf.

“I’m not sure, Ralf; perhaps if there are not enough seats, the extra passengers can stand and hold the pole? Like on a bus?”

Ralf accepted this as plausible; he and others nodded in agreement.

“Did the driver tell you where he was taking us? We appear to have left the city,” said a warrior named Jural. He was one of those present who had not yet met their
Join
. Because he was unmatched, he tended to try to protect his brethren who were, not that they appreciated his efforts, being highly trained warriors themselves. Since he was so much younger than they, at a mere eighty years of age, they allowed his actions.

“He said he knew of the type of place we wished to visit. If we have not arrived within an hour, then we will take action,” said Karlo.

What action they might have taken never came to be. After thirty minutes, they saw the lights of a much larger city on the horizon. Soon they had entered the outskirts of Denver, and the limo began navigating the streets. Fifteen minutes after entering the city, the limo pulled to a stop in front a bar. From the outside, it didn’t appear different from many other bars, so Charl wondered what made it special. Perhaps the bachelor ritual could only be held in special places?

“I’ll wait in the limo until you are ready to leave. If you don’t like this particular bar, I know of a few others here in Denver. We’ll find one to suit your tastes,” said the driver.

“Our tastes?” asked Karlo.

“Uh…yeah, what kind of music you prefer and
—
like that.”

“I understand. If we wish to change venues, we’ll know soon enough. If not, we’ll remain inside for three or four hours.”

All the warriors were waiting, standing around on the sidewalk for Charl and Karlo, the men of the hour. Charl crossed the sidewalk and with the others following, entered the bar. He found the music pleasant and there was enough seating available for his group. Looking around, he didn’t see any females. This was the right place.

The men put a few tables together and sat down. It didn’t take long for the waiter to come over.

“Ooh
—
what a picture you all make. Just give me a second to ogle and then I’ll be ready to take your order,” said the waiter, fanning himself with his order pad. “Okay, I’m Brad and it will be my pleasure to serve you this evening. Please let me know of
any
needs you may have. I’ll do my best to fulfill them.”

“Thank you, Brad. Karlo and I are performing our bachelor night ritual tonight as we are getting married tomorrow. Is there a specific beverage for this occasion?” asked Charl as he gestured to Karlo sitting across from him.

Brad let out a high-pitched squeal and got really excited. “Married, too bad for me but really great for you guys. This definitely calls for champagne. It’s kind of pricey though; what’s your budget for this party, honey?”

Charl and the others each pulled out a wad of cash. Becky had told them to take ID’s and cash to avoid identity theft with their credit cards.

“We each had a snack on the way here so we’d also like to purchase food. Will that be possible?” asked Charl.

“Honey, with that much money, anything’s possible. Peel off a few of those Benjamins and leave everything to me. The band will be back from their break in a few minutes and you’ll be able to dance. It’s early now; in a couple of hours it’ll really be hopping. If the two of you want to indulge, the back room has all the amenities,” he added before hurrying off.

Charl turned back to the group.

“What do you think he meant by amenities?” asked one and Charl shrugged. Jural, always suspicious, decided to take a look and his brother, Marko, went with him. They returned ten minutes later after inspecting the remainder of the premises.

Returning to the table, the others all looked their question and waited to have their curiosity satisfied. “They are Sybars; that is why there are no women here. The back room is set up for sybaritic interludes.”

“The driver brought us here because this must be where men go to have their last night before giving their lives over to a woman. It’s an interesting culture.”

Before he could say anything else, Brad returned. There were two men following behind him and all three were carrying two ice buckets each. In each bucket were two bottles. Karlo noticed some fabric sticking out from the tight pocket of his jeans.

“Alright. Now, I have the champagne here so we’ll have to have a toast. You two should be sitting next to each other so you can smooch,” said Brad as they opened the champagne and passed out the glasses.

“Why should I kiss my brother?” Charl asked with mild curiosity. “None of my research about bachelor nights involved this.”

“Your brother? You told me you were getting married,” said Brad in confusion.

“We are; we’re marrying Marla tomorrow afternoon,” said Charl.

“Well, honey, if you’re straight, why are you having your bachelor party in a gay bar instead of a strip club?” asked Brad, as he cocked a hip to the side and rested one hand there as he used his other hand to punctuate his speech.

“This is a bachelor night, only for the men. Marla and the women went elsewhere,” said Charl.

“Honey, what planet are you from?”

Charl was taken aback for a moment and wondered what mistake he’d made and then he took a closer look at the man’s expression and realized he was using a metaphor.

“We come from a small island in the Mediterranean,” he said, giving their cover story.

“Well, normally when men
—
and I’m talking about straight men. You are all straight, right, because it would make my night if one or two of your friends swung for my team. Anyway, straight guys usually spend their last night of freedom looking at naked women because it will be the last time they’ll get a chance to see any naked women other than their wife. You aren’t going to see any naked women here. Naked men now…”

Just then, the band started up and the noise level increased. Charl stood and putting a hand on Brad’s shoulder, he leaned over to speak in his ear. “The only female I’m interested in seeing naked is mine. Tonight we celebrate being men. On our island, there are more than twenty men for every woman. We are accustomed to the company of men. Do not worry, we will enjoy ourselves. Bring more champagne.”

Patting his shoulder, he turned to the other men and shouted out, “Let’s dance!”

Handing Brad some more money, he led the way to the dance floor. It was similar to the music that had been playing over the speakers when they first entered the club, only louder with a beat you could feel in your body.

Without realizing it, Karlo, Charl, Markus, and the others, started the movements of age old folk dances passed down through the Houses. They clapped their hands, stomped their feet, and let themselves go. Some of the other men on the dance floor tried to copy their moves and the Nephilim were happy to show them the steps.

They had been on the dance floor for about half an hour when they saw Brad waving to them madly from the edge of the floor. He shook this ass over to where Karlo was dancing. “Honey, your food’s here,” he told him loudly to be heard over the music.

Karlo passed the word amongst the dancers and a little bit later, when the song ended, they left the floor. When they got to their seats, though, the table had been split apart again and other people were sitting there.

“Don’t worry, come with me, honey,” said Brad, taking Karlo’s hand. He then danced his way through the tables, pulling a line of Nephilim through the club. Many of the other patrons hooted. One or two thought it was a kind of conga line and enamored of the beautiful men, started to follow. Brad had led them into a room separated by an arched doorway, near the entrance to the back room.

“This is our party room. I thought you might like to have your food in here where you can hear each other talk. As you can see, I’ve moved all the jackets and champagne. Is there anything else I can get you?”

“Thank you, Brad, this is great. We’ve worked up an appetite. How about bringing us some water? We’re all thirsty and this champagne shouldn’t be guzzled,” said Karlo.

“You have a nice club here,” said Markus, on his way out to the restroom.

“Fifteen waters coming up,” said Brad before he looked around and saw that there were more men. Some of the regular patrons had sat down with the guys and were talking with them. Brad decided to bring enough for everyone with extra pitchers for refills. He didn’t even try to tell the regulars these guys weren’t gay; they’d find out.

*****

While the guys were sitting down to eat, the ladies were just leaving the hotel. They had already eaten and spent time talking and going through all of Marla’s new clothes. Now Julie and Amy were going to bed and the rest of the ladies were going dancing. On the way out, they dropped off all of Marla’s new things in her suite.

When they saw the stretch limo, they all hooted. Inside there was one bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice that had mostly melted and several coolers of bottled water and lemonade for the other women. Since all the women except Marla were pregnant, she was the only one drinking alcohol.