Page 87 of Sadistic

By the time we land in Vegas, I'm tipsy and laughing at everything.

The limo ride to the hotel is more of the same—Rhiannon pointing out strip clubs we should visit, my mother looking mortified, Charm encouraging every bad idea.

The suite at the Aria is ridiculous.

It's bigger than my entire apartment, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Strip.

"Holy shit," Elfe breathes.

"Holy shit indeed." Rhiannon grins. "Wait till you see what I've done with the place."

What she's done is turn it into a bachelorette party explosion.

Penis decorations everywhere—balloons, confetti, even the ice bucket is shaped like... yeah.

"Rhiannon," Greer sighs. "I said tasteful."

"This is tasteful! For Vegas!" She hands me a sash and tiara. "Put these on. You're the bride, you have to look the part."

"I'm not wearing?—"

"Yes you are," my mother says firmly. "If we're doing this, we're doing it right."

Coming from the woman who just spent ten minutes blushing at penis straws, this is unexpected.

But I put on the sash and tiara, feeling ridiculous and loved.

"Right!" Rhiannon claps her hands. "Everybody get settled. The entertainment arrives at nine."

"Entertainment?" I ask suspiciously.

"Dancers," she says innocently. "Very talented dancers."

"Strippers," Dalla translates. "She hired strippers."

"The best in Vegas!" Rhiannon confirms. "You can't have a hen party without strippers. It's the law."

"I don't think that's?—"

"Shh." She shoves another drink in my hand. "Less thinking, more drinking."

The afternoon becomes a blur of spa treatments, poolside drinks, and increasingly ridiculous conversations.

Greer tells us about her own bachelorette party, Everly shares marriage advice "Sometimes you have to let them think they're in charge", and my mother gets progressively tipsier and more honest.

"I was so scared when your father told me about the arrangement," she admits, mascara slightly smudged. "But seeing you with Doran... there's something there, baby. Something real."

"Mom—"

"No, let me say this." She grips my hand. "I see how he looks at you. Like you hung the moon. That boy's been waiting for you."

"Man," Charm corrects. "That's not a boy, that's a full-grown, dangerous man. And he's completely obsessed with our Revna."

"Is that a good thing?" Elfe asks.

"In their world?" Everly nods. "It's the best thing. A man like that will burn down cities for you."

"He said something like that," I admit quietly. "That he'd burn the world if something happened to me."

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