Jamie was getting ready for his bucks’ night out with a few mates. Sitting on his bed in his old room at his parent’s place. Feeling a little anxious, but extremely happy. It had been more than a year since the engagement party and so much preparation had gone into making this event perfect for his future wife.
His future mother-in-law Janice was lovely. Jamie got on very well with her. Janice could see how he had settled her daughter down and was a very good influence on her. Janice and Jamie both had the same strange sense of humour and would often share a joke that nobody else would get, however, Melissa’s father Howard, made it clear he disapproved because Jamie’s family was not from ‘Old money’ and was usually barely civil when talking with Jamie. Howard’s family had all been lawyers for many generations. Howard even went so far as to say to Jamie that he only tolerated him because he seemed to make Melissa happy. Howard really was the stereotypical snob.
Years ago, Jamie’s father had started a small construction company and Jamie worked with his father after school, on weekends and holidays. After completing a business degree when he was just 24, he worked with his father full time helping implement a lot of improvements to the company's operational procedures. Firstly, making the company more cost-efficient, then chasing bigger contacts.
A year later his father was diagnosed with cancer and after a short fight, he passed away.
Jamie would have liked more time to grieve but as his father had said the day before he lost his fight, "The company is yours now and I know I’ve been holding you back. You will do great things." Jamie respected loved and respected his father and hoped he would do him proud. Once he’d come to terms with his new responsibility, he set about moving the business forward.
For the last few years, Jamie had worked hard, took some calculated risks and now he employs over a hundred and fifty staff.
Despite Howard’s prejudice against Jamie, he had spent a lot of money on the wedding for his only daughter who in his eyes, she could do no wrong and he would do anything for his little angel.
The guest list of a little over 250 consisted of the who’s who in the community, including Angela’s new fiancé and his family who are investment bankers. Angela is Melissa’s best friend and her chief bridesmaid. There were to be no children aloud which Jamie thought was a shame because he loved kids and couldn’t wait to be a father. He was never sure if this directive came from Angela or Howard, but it would be to his advantage later.
On Jamie’s side of the guest list was his mum, his sister, uncle and aunty and twelve of his mates and their partners and Jamie’s personal assistant Liz. Although Liz had never said anything because she’s too professional for that. She was always polite towards Melissa, however, Jamie always got the impression that Liz didn’t like her. It was like she knew something, but it wasn’t her business to say anything.
Angela has tried everything to break Jamie and Melissa up ever since, while drunk at their engagement party, she tried to seduce Jamie, but he politely declined her advances. She may be pretty with a great body but she’s a bitch and nothing is worth ruining his future with Melissa.
While sitting in his room, waiting for his ride and contemplating the past and excitedly anticipating the future, he received a text from Melissa.
‘I’m going out with Angela and a couple of others for dinner. Keen to be in bed early, looking forward to our big day to start our life together.
Love you soooooo much, Mel’.
This helped settle him a little, smiling to himself as he read it a couple of times. He heard the toot of a car horn. It was Jamie’s best man Liam, arriving to pick him up. Jamie had made Liam promise, ‘NO strippers,’ but he also knows Liam very well. He won’t be able to help himself.
They had a private room at the back of their favourite pub, and it had been a great evening. Plenty of good food and great friends, joking, laughing, who could ask for more.
Just before the desserts were brought out, the music started and sure enough, in walked ‘Crystal’, the stripper.
It was all fairly standard stuff. She danced around taking off her clothes and the men cheering her on. When she was naked, she sat on Jamie’s lap and gave him a big kiss. Then she looked to Liam for instructions. All his mates were urging Jamie to go a lot further, but he kept laughing and saying no, I’m going to be married tomorrow and I’m not going to ruin that. With Crystal still on his knee he received a text from Angela.
‘Melissa told you she’d be in bed early and I’m texting to let you know that she was indeed in bed very early.’
After only a few seconds Jamie turned his phone off. Crystal got off his knee and Jamie stood up, turned to Crystal who had seen the text and part of the attachment, and whispered,
“Please don’t say anything to the guys.” Crystal kissed him on the cheek and smiled.
Jamie grabbed his things, thanked his friends for a great evening and left. Liam and a couple of the others had tried to call and text him, but apart from asking Trevor to send the pictures and videos he took of their night, he only texted them back thanking them for a great evening, everything is okay, and I’ll see you tomorrow.
===============
When he first saw them in the church car park, he thanked them again for last night and when asked about why he left so quickly, he told them that he had somethings he remembered he had to do and didn’t want to be coerced to do anything with Crystal that he might later regret.
In the church, the organ started, Jamie watched as the bridesmaids entered and walked towards him lead by Angela with a very smug smile. Liam nudged Jamie and whispered, "She scrubs up okay for a." Jamie stopped him from completing the sentence. As she passed Jamie to take up her position, she paused and whispered, “Still going ahead with it, gusty, or you’re a bigger wimp than I thought.” Jamie just smiled at her. Melissa entered the church to gasps and murmuring around the gathering as to how beautiful she looked. As she walked towards him, he agreed, he thought how beautiful she looked and told her so when she reached him. She was beaming as they joined hands.
The wedding had been perfectly planned and as expected, went off without a hitch. All the ladies looked lovely in their gowns and even Jamie’s mates scrubbed up alright in their suits although some of them looked a little uncomfortable as this wasn’t their usual dress, but they all made the effort for Jamie.
The reception also had gone very well, everyone was having a wonderful time. The food magnificent, the band was unbelievably good and had everyone up dancing having a great time. Nothing had been left to chance and the meticulous planning had all been worth it.
When it was time, Liam made his best man speech. It was typically Liam, he had everyone laughing as he recounted stories of what it was like to have a great, loyal friend like Jamie and how he had watched as Jamie’s love and devotion to Melissa had grown and he looked forward to watching Jamie become a great and devoted family man just like Jamie’s father had been. He did the obligatory toast to the bridesmaids, even saying some lovely things about Angela, who he didn’t like at all, but chose to put that aside. He proposed a toast to the new couple, then handed the microphone over to Jamie for his response.
Jamie has always been confident in front of an audience, he and Liam are a great double act but today was important and so he was a little more serious.
He began, “On behalf of my wife and myself I have to agree with Liam about how beautiful the bridesmaids look.” Everyone cheered. “and thank you so much, everyone, for coming particularly those who have travelled a long way to be here. I can’t tell you how much it means to us that you here to witness the proceedings today.”
There were two large TVs behind them and two at the other corners of the room that had been showing a rotating slide show of pictures of Melissa and Jamie when they were children and when they met and a few other significant moments through their growing friendship, courtship and inevitable engagement.
Jamie picked up the remote and changed the slide show.
First, there was a picture of an old run-down house that Melissa recognized straight away. A look of confusion changing to elation as Jamie continued. “It’s a couple of streets away from Melissa’s parents.”
Jamie looked at his new bride,
“Melissa, remember when you saw this beautiful old house for sale and you said you’d love to buy and renovate it, but then when it sold quickly how disappointed you were. As we’ve been driving past, we’ve watched as the new owners were doing a major renovation. You even made me lift you over the fence so you could see what they were doing. The only thing you didn’t like was the kitchen tiles. You thought they were too dark, and you’d prefer a slightly lighter version of the same colour.”
He changed the picture to a slide show of the same house, showing all the rooms and outside, renovation finished.
“I can tell you the landscaping was finished yesterday afternoon and the kitchen has been retiled in the colour you like.”
He held up the house keys.
Melissa jumped up and threw her arms around him and gave him a big kiss. The room burst into applause and cheers.
Then the slide show stopped on a picture of a new dark blue BMW M3 in the driveway and he held up the keys.
She jumped up and kissed him again. After the commotion in the room settled Jamie continued,
“Moving on, last night the boys and I went to the pub for a nice meal. I told Liam NO Strippers., but because Liam did what Liam does, just before dessert Crystal arrived.”
The sideshow had changed from pictures of all his mates at the table to a picture of Crystal when she first arrived and then one in her bra and panties. There were some murmurings in the room and some inappropriate comments from his mates.
“Crystal danced around and took off a little more, gave me a hug and a kiss and wished us good luck.”
Then a short video of the guys urging him to do more and him refusing.
Melissa looked shocked at the pictures of Crystal the stripper and smacked Jamie’s arm a couple of times and there was a bit of laughter, mainly from Jamie’s mates.
“Despite plenty of urging from my mates to continue I called it a night at that point and went home. On my own, before anyone asks.”
Jamie looked over at the tables where his family and friends were.
“Mick, it’s a shame you weren’t able to make it last night because it was a great night, however, I want to thank you so much for supervising the renovation and keeping it a secret. I was disappointed that you couldn’t make it last night, but you earned that promotion you had worked so hard for including a company car. I’ve always valued loyalty but you obviously had somewhere else you needed to be.” Mick shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
Jamie paused, took a sip of his drink and a deep breath.
“Melissa promised me she would get to bed early and by all accounts, she kept her promise.”
Just then the slide show changed from pictures of his mates at the pub to a video.
There was a loud gasp from the audience and Melissa and Angela screamed.
The video starts showing Jamie’s mate Mick naked have sex with someone. Jamie had attempted to blur the hardcore bits however it was extremely obvious what was happening. The video quickly panned out to show Mick was actually fucking Melissa and beside her on the bed was Angela being done by some big black bloke. The two men swapped places as two other men climbed on the bed and pushed their erections into the girl's eager mouths.
The commotion in the room was frantic and to the onlooking function staff, almost comical.
Angela’s fiancé and his family quickly got up and started to walk out and Angela jumped up screaming, running after them crying as Howard ran towards the bridal table, yelling incoherently and tried to grab the remote. Jamie stepped back from the table so he couldn’t reach him as some of Jamie’s mates restrained Howard and held him at bay.
“She’s not the angel you thought she was, is she Howard?”
Melissa just sat beside Jamie with her head in her hands crying as Jamie yelled out to Angela’s fiancé as he was about to step through the exit door,
“Don’t go yet, you’re missing the best bit." Jamie continued, "This wasn’t a one-time thing, oh no. These two sluts have been doing this with god knows how many for I don’t know how long.”