I nodded my head and hugged Aideen again and when we separated I said, "I have to go to the weddin'. You know me ma will come round here and pester me for life if I don't. If I go and sit down in the back of the church and reception she won't care."

Aideen growled, "I hate your ma."

I smiled making Aideen chuckle.

I sighed. "I just wish I didn't have to go single, that will only make the entire day worse."

"The entire week actually. The weddin' is in the Bahamas and you leave in the next few days."

"What?" I screeched.

Aideen nodded. "That's what the invitation said."

"Fuck!" I groaned and hung my head.

We were silent for a moment until Aideen dramatically gasped which made me jump.

"What?" I asked.

She looked at me and said, "You're goin' to kill me, but I have a solution for you so you won't be attendin' the weddin' as a single woman."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Yeah, what's that then?"

"Not that, more like who?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Who then?"

Aideen smirked as she said, "Alec Slater."

"What about Alec Slater?" I asked Aideen with my eyebrows raised.

Aideen gave me an are-you-serious look then sighed. "He could be your date to Jason's and Micah's weddin'. Duh!"

For real?

I burst out laughing. "Yeah, right!"

Aideen shoved my shoulder. "I'm dead serious, this is what he does. Well, not exactly what he does but it's close enough."

I felt my eyes roll with confusion. "Ado, I've no clue what you're talkin' about."

Aideen pinched the bridge of her nose and blew out a long breath before she focused on me and said in a low voice, "Alec is a male escort, Keela."

I held Aideen's stare for a few seconds before I cracked up laughing again. Aideen grunted and slapped at my arms to get me to stop laughing, and after a minute or so it worked.

"I'm not jokin'!" Aideen bellowed.

I was still chuckling a little as I said, "I don't believe you."

Aideen folded her arms across her chest. "Keela, I swear on me life that I'm not jokin' with you. I'm dead serious. Alec is a male escort."

My shoulders stopped moving and my chuckles slowed until no more sounds of laughter came from my mouth. I blinked as I looked at Aideen, her face didn't hold any hint of a smile like she was playing with me and that freaked me out more than a little.

"You're serious?" I asked my voice a whisper.

Aideen nodded. "Yes, I didn't believe at first because Branna told me one night when she was drunk, but when I said it to her the next day she flipped out and made me promise never to tell anyone."

I gestured between Aideen and myself. "What's this then?"

Aideen snorted and waved me off. "You're me best friend, so you don't count."

That's Aideen's logic for you on a plate.

I chewed on my bottom lip as I tilted my head back and looked up at the ceiling. "Okay, I believe you, but I don't see how Alec bein' an escort helps me. I was in his presence for only five minutes and I already can't stand him. He is dickhead."

Aideen laughed. "So? Alec is gorgeous, and havin' someone like him on your arm will be the ultimate fuck you to Jason and Micah. Jason hates Dominic Slater, so chances are that he hates his brothers as well. Come on Keela, just think about how pissed he will be that you're with a Slater at his weddin'."

I could picture Jason's face twisted in anger and it brought a smile to my face.

"Okay, I agree that it would be great to rub someone Jason hates in his face, but I don't think Alec will agree to it. I mean, I pushed him to the ground and called him a batty boy."

Aideen waggled her eyebrows at me. "There is only one way to find out if he will be your date."

"Which is what?"

Aideen winked. "You ask him."

I sat up straight. "You want me to ask him to be me date to me cousin's weddin' after what I said and did to him last night?"

"Yes," Aideen replied instantly.

She was unreal!

I groaned. "And if I say no?"

Aideen shrugged. "I'll ring and ask him for you."

The evil cow!

I gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"

Aideen devilishly smirked. "Try me, Kay."

I slightly whimpered, "I hate you."

"I love you, too."

I closed my eyes and thought this over.

Did I like what I knew of Alec Slater so far?

No.

Did I want to be around him for a week if he accepted an offer to come to the Bahamas as my date to Micah's and Jason's wedding?

Hell no.

Did I want to actually see him again after our first interaction last night?

Heaven and Hell no.

Those points aside; did I want to have someone who looked like him posing as my boyfriend to my family and Jason?

Yes. God, yes!

I smacked my hand against the table when I came to my decision. "Fine, I'll ask him."

"Success!" Aideen cheered.

I snickered at her then watched as she jumped to her feet.

"Easy tiger, why so jumpy?"

Aideen moved closer to me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me to my feet. "Go get a shower, we're goin' to get this done in the next hour."

Excuse me?

I felt my insides churn. "Today? Can't this wait until Monday?"

Aideen shook her head. "No, you leave for the Bahamas within the week and we have to go shoppin' for your holiday clothes so you'll look gorgeous at all times. Then we need to book your flights and call your job and tell them you're sick and will be off for a week. We have a lot to do, and I won't have you lookin' anythin' other than stunnin' at that disgrace of a weddin'. We also need Alec on board as soon as possible."

I swallowed down the bile the suddenly rose up my throat.

"Oh, God... I don't think I can do this."

Aideen grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the kitchen and straight into the bathroom. "You're just takin' a shower, that's it. One step at a time."

"Yeah, but-"

"Stop talkin'," Aideen cut me off. "Take a shower, and don't over think this."

With that said she up and left the bathroom leaving me alone in the room. I groaned as I began to undress. I turned on my shower and waited a minute for it to heat up. When I was sure the temperature wouldn't give me hypothermia I stepped under the flow of water and closed my eyes.

I didn't move from under the water for a few minutes because I was thinking, as you do when you're in the shower. I thought about what I was going to do and say when I came face to face with Alec. I couldn't exactly think of what to say after my encounter with him last night so I decided to just wing it. If I thought about it too much I wouldn't go and that would piss both myself and Aideen off, because once I gave my word on something I wouldn't back out.

I wasn't a chicken shit, I would one hundred percent go through with this and ask Alec to be my date to this farce of a wedding. The worst he could say was no. Plus, I've seen him once in my entire life and he has lived near my area for more than three years. It's not likely that I'd run into him anytime soon if he rejected me.

I hoped not anyway.

Twenty minutes after I entered the shower, I exited it sopping wet but extremely clean. I scrubbed myself raw making sure no dirty or dead skin was left behind. I moved to my sink and looked into the mirror; I rubbed the steam away and looked at my body. I didn't look below my chest because I hated my stomach, I had this little kangaroo pouch thing that never went away no matter how hard I dieted or how long I worked out in the gym!

I sighed as I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste, I applied the paste onto my brush, wet the brush then went to town on brushing my teeth. I was a bit OCD when it came to brushing my teeth. My teeth were very crooked when I was younger so my mother got me braces and when I had my braces removed and found I actually had lovely straight teeth, I made sure to take extra good care of them. They were my favourite feature about myself, I liked my smile.

After brushing my teeth and gargling some mouthwash, I grabbed a towel off the rack and dried myself down. I used the same towel to towel dry my hair then dropped it onto the floor to soak up my footprint puddles. Yeah, I used the one towel for everything. I hated when Aideen showered in my apartment, she used three towels just to take one shower and that pissed me off. A lot.

Next up was my moisturiser, I grabbed my favourite tub of strawberry body butter and rubbed it all over my body, then I did a little bit of a naked waving dance to help it dry faster. I probably looked like a dope, but it was effective and that's all the mattered.

When I emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel I was pounced on by Aideen. "Come on, I've got an outfit picked out for you."

She pulled me down to my bedroom by my arm and I stumbled a little when she let me go. I balanced myself and looked to my bed where Storm was passed out cold again and snoring.

"He is worse than a man."

Aideen snorted. "I would say he portrays males perfectly."

I snickered as I moved towards Aideen who was now practically inside my wardrobe. "I've picked out this blue knee length dress and a white pair of Converse for you to wear. It's on the end of your bed."

I looked at the dress and nodded my head in approval. I bought it a few weeks ago in Pennys for the summer months because it was a great length and fitted nicely.

"It's lovely but me boobs aren't big enough to fill it out though."

Aideen grinned. "That's why God invented push up bras."

I gave her a get-real look. "God didn't create push up bras, man did."

Aideen shrugged. "True, but God planted the idea in man's mind. Put it on."

I chuckled, and dropped my towel. Aideen was already turned and back inside my wardrobe looking for my right Converse since the left one was already on the floor. I put on the bra then grabbed a pair of white knickers from my underwear drawer. I pulled my dress on over my head and looked down at my chest just as Aideen turned around and gave me a thumbs up.

"See? Instant jugs."

I snorted and held my hand out for my Converse. Aideen wrinkled her nose at me and shook her head before moving to my chest of drawers. She opened the bottom one, and grabbed a white pair of ankle socks.

"I hate when you don't wear socks with shoes, it's disgustin'."

I stuck my tongue out at her as I took the socks from her hand, I put both of them on then put on my Converse and stood up. I did a little twirl.

"What do you think?"

Aideen tilted her head to the side as she looked at me and frowned. "You've lost weight, your love handles are virtually gone."

I clapped my hands together like a happy seal. "Best news ever!"

Aideen shook her head. "No, it's not, you shouldn't lose weight as fast as you are. Are you eatin' three full meals a day?"

No.

I wasn't starving myself, but I tried my best to limit my food intake if I could help it.