Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty-Eight

Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty-Eight
Jayce

I stumble in home at three in the morning, drunk and a little richer than when I left. We ended up in Atlantic City. How we ended up there, I don’t know, but we turned into a bachelor party for Tanner, me and Joshua, even though Joshua is already married. It was a night of drinks, good food and gambling. We were all lucky tonight, especially Rose’s father. He won sixty thousand dollars. The rest of us won between ten and twenty thousand dollars. I don’t need the money, so I will donate it. I didn’t expect to be home so late, but we did let the girls know where we were and didn’t know when we would be back. They were fine with it, but I feel a little guilty for leaving Rose all night. 

I stagger towards the bedroom, and Rose seems to be sound asleep in bed. I try to be quiet so as not to wake her. 

“Jayce, you aren’t doing a good job of being quiet.” Rose’s giggles ring in the dark. 

She switches the lamp on, sits up, looks at me, and shakes her head. “You look like you have been on a bender for three days.” 

“Sorry, I was away so long, but your father won sixty thousand dollars tonight.” 

“What? He did? That is crazy. He will not know what to do with it. You have nothing to be sorry for. You seem like you had a good night.” 

“Yes, his face was priceless. We all won something.” 

I try to undress myself, but find it hard to steady myself on my feet. I drank way too much tonight. It seemed like a good idea at the time, probably not so much when the morning comes around. I will be rough. 

Rose laughs, shaking her head and stands up. She strolls towards. “Please sit, before you fall. You stick of scotch and cigars.” 

Rose makes sure I am safely on the bed and helps me out of my clothes and into some flannel bottoms to sleep in. I go in for a kiss, but she turned away. “No chance, you reek so bad. I am not kissing you unless you go shower and brush your teeth.” 

I pout, hoping she would change her mind, but she doesn’t. “Mean.” 

“Get your drunken ass into bed. I will get some water for you.” 

Rose helps me under the covers and turns to walk away. I slap her ass as she does. “You aren’t getting that tonight either. You are so wasted, you will fall asleep on me,” she teases and exits the bedroom. 

Tonight was a lot of fun—a proper guy’s night. I am happy that everyone seems to get along because it makes life easier. I lie down, making myself comfortable and wait for Rose to return. She commands me to sit back up to take some water before I go to sleep. She slips back into bed with me. 

“Did you get your dress?” 

“Yes, which I already told you.” She snickers, shaking her head at my drunkenness. 

“Oh, yes, what does it look like?” 

“I am not telling you. You need to wait and see on our wedding day.” 

“You know, we could go get married right now in Vegas?” 

“No, we can’t, my love. Our wedding is planned, and it would break my parents’ hearts if I did. If I could marry you sooner, you know I would. Now, sleep because when tomorrow comes, you are going to be rough.” 

I nod, settle down and close my eyes, hoping the room will stop spinning. 

“Goodnight, pretty eyes. I love you.” 

“I love you too, Jayce.” 

It is the last words I hear before I drift off. I dread tomorrow. I will have such a bad hangover. I won’t be doing anything tomorrow. It is Sunday, so we can have a chill day at home. I need time to recover. I am not as young as I used to be. Hangovers hit me harder and linger longer. I miss being in my early teens and twenties. I never had this problem. 


I drag my hungover ass to the kitchen in need of some coffee. My heart is pounding, my stomach is churning, and I feel so sick. I will be spending most of my day in bed, or at least until dinnertime. 

“Mom, it is fine, go and have fun. You both deserve it.” Rose is on a call. 

She glances up and laughs when she sees me. I must look terrible. I glare at her before pouring myself a large mug of coffee. I am never drinking so much again. Sitting at the table, I groan and rest my head on it. 

“I love you too. Have fun.”

With that, she ends the call. I lift my head to look up at her. “Everything okay?” 

“Yes, everything is fine. My mom was calling to see if it is okay if she leaves a little earlier because my dad wants to use his winnings to take her to Turks and Caicos for a week.” She smiles. 

“I am glad he is putting his winnings to good use.” 

“Are you rough, my love?” she asks and sits across from me. 

“So badly. I shouldn’t have drunk so much. I am sorry I got home so late.” 

“Jayce, you have nothing to be sorry for. I told you that last night. Do you want me to make you some breakfast?” 

I gag at the thought of food. “No, I can’t eat. If I do, I will be sick. Coffee and water now.” 

“Jayce, go back to bed. Well, shower first because you still stink. There is no reason for you to be out of bed today.” 

“Are you sure?” 

Rose nods, encouraging me to go shower. I do smell bad due to the alcohol, cigars, and the heat in the casinos. I am getting too old for this shit. I take my coffee and head for a shower. I will feel better soon, hopefully, and we can do something before I return to work tomorrow. I am not the only one who will be feeling like this. My brothers drank as much as I did. The only sensible ones were Rose’s and my father. They knew when to stop. We should all have done the same. It is done now, and it was a good time when it happened. I will be back to my normal self tomorrow.