And thus, Astar Levi went to handle his swelling, disappointed he wouldn't be receiving his darling's assistance, but comforted with the fact that soon enough, this little cabbage would be fully his, and then he would be able to eat it up in all sorts of ways for the rest of eternity.
Meanwhile, Noah remained there in the hallway, encouraging himself to man up. Though embarrassing, he ought to go back to the party. If he didn't return back soon, others might think the two of them were doing inappropriate things together!
But ah! Going back wasn't that easy! Right now, he was again feeling like his life was too embarrassing to continue living! For such a thing to happen in front of so many people! Noah covered his burning face with his hands.
'They saw nothing. They saw nothing.' He tried to brainwash himself. 'Just pretend nothing happened! You've got nothing to be embarrassed about! It's not like it was you that got an erection!'
"Well, it's true that they didn't see anything…" Blackie comforted his host.
However, before Noah could sigh in relief, Blackie added, "…before you screamed your husband's name. Then pretty much everyone looked your way."
Noah, "…can you NOT attempt to comfort me in the future? Thanks!"
Blackie, "Oh? And here I was, just about to tell you a genuine bright side in all of this!"
Noah, (≖_≖) "…There is a bright side?"
Blackie, "Remember what you mentioned every proper bachelor party should have? Yep! Black history / Blackmail material! ✔Check! " (☞ﾟ∀ﾟ)☞
Noah, (ꐦ ◠‿◠) "…"
Meanwhile, in the living room, the acquaintances of Astar Levi shared a look in awkward silence. Then they looked at the bodyguards, who stared straight ahead and pretended they saw nothing.
Of course, not everyone was sensible enough. Among the group, there were naturally also people with EQ and/or IQ deficiency:
Acquaintance S (for 'straight man') exclaimed, "Ah, Captain Levi is really close to his little brother-in-law, yo!"
Acquaintance A (for 'asking the right questions') then wondered, "Are we still continuing the pool game?"
Acquaintance B (for 'blind') spoke up, "Eh? Eh? Hey, hey, what happened?"
Acquaintance D (for 'dolt') stared at the dirt underneath his nails, "Just boss being a dick again."
Acquaintance M (for 'Moon Moon'), who had been eating his plate of spaghetti, choked on his laughter and ended up inhaling pasta instead of swallowing it. "Look! I am the spaghetti monster! LOL!"
Faced with the image of a grown man with spaghetti hanging down his nostrils, the men shared a look that could only be described with the words "Whose idea was to invite Moon Moon?"
Finally, acquaintance F (for 'fucking brave') smacked his thigh and then opened up the light screen of his communicator.
The man next to him couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"
"Timing how long Captain Levi can last. Duh."
A long and heavy silence fell over the room.
Then…
"I bet 1,000 credits for 5 minutes."
"2,000 credits for 10 minutes!"
"1,200 credits for…"
"3,200…"
"…" Trey gazed up towards the ceiling, looking like a man who had nothing left to live for.
***
The sun fell, yet the party went on in full swing.
Outside the presidential suite, the hotel manager stared blankly at the row of beautiful girls and boys lining up to be checked by security before entering the bachelor party.
"I did not hear anything about this from the boss…" the man frowned.
"I was told it is a surprise arranged for the boss by his friends," his colleague reassured him.
In other words, their boss didn't know about it, so he couldn't have let the manager know of it beforehand.
The manager hesitated for a moment, but that explanation did sound reasonable. Bachelor parties often included these types of things. And the people were all reliable employees of their night club, so letting them in should be no problem?
While the man still hesitated about what to do, the identity verification of the people involved passed smoothly, and so did the body check for dangerous items. Seeing how none of the people posed a security threat, the manager decided to let it go. If their boss didn't want them at the party, he could just throw them out.
***
Levi and Noah sat on the sofa in front of the karaoke equipment. When the off-tune singing of Levi's law enforcement colleague entered their ears, Noah burst out laughing, while Levi couldn't help but wince. Thank god for his baby's melodious laugh! Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to endure this music disaster!
Levi checked the time on his communicator. The ideal time for the sniping was approaching. In the cover of the darkness, it would be even harder to see the sniper once he struck. Just a few more minutes, and it would be the time for them to give Swiftrain the opportunity to strike.
Just as Levi was about to remind Noah of the time, a group of unfamiliar people walked in, none of which were wearing the staff uniform.
Immediately, both Noah and Levi sat up in attention. Their eyes darted towards one another, but both saw the same questions in each other's eyes.
Who are these people? Who invited them to the party? Was this set up by the terrorists?
The two didn't speak, but everything that needed to be said was exchanged through their gazes. They tacitly and unanimously decided to wait and see what stunts these people would pull.
While Noah and Levi were silently communicating, the nuisance who claimed to be singing was kicked off the podium, and the DJ took over with an upbeat mix.
Noah and Levi trained their inquisitive gazes on the newcomers. There were 8 attractive people in total, 4 men and 4 women.
They strutted towards the middle of the room, smiled coquettishly towards them, and…
Noah's eyes bulged out, and his mouth dropped open.
The vein on Levi's throat nearly popped, and his Enforcer powers almost blew the 8 away on reflex.
Enthusiastic hoots and wolf whistles erupted, drowning out Levi's screech of "Don't look!"
Before Noah could come to his senses from the shock of seeing 8 people suddenly drop their clothes, his vision was blocked by Levi's large hands. Levi's abrupt and desperate movement ended up not just covering Noah's eyes but also pulling the other into his lap.
Noah stiffened, dumbfounded, "What?? What's happening?"
"Just something indecent…" Levi ground his teeth, staring daggers into the 8 strippers who were indecently swaying their hips and smiling coquettishly. Whoever was responsible for this better not let him catch them!! They sure had guts to dare call in these shameless hussies to seduce his baby!
Noah paused for a moment, listening to the sounds around them. Quickly, his mind connected the dots. Someone called for strippers, ah!
"Something indecent, is it?" Levi felt Noah raise his eyebrow through his hands. "Then why are you watching it?" Baby Noah reprimanded.
And just like that, Levi's raging fury melted into sweetness. Ah, ah! His baby didn't wish him to see! Ergo, his kitten felt possessive over him, Levi! Hence, his precious darling liked him back!!
Euphoria swelled within Levi's chest until he thought he might burst. He stared at the fluffy head in his arms, his eyes brimming with adoration and infatuation.
Levi put his mouth close to Noah's ear so that the other could hear him better over the music. "I'm not watching it. Of course I'm not watching it." He coaxed with what seemed to be utmost sincerity, tinged with a bit of submissive groveling. "This kind of dirty sight will pollute my eyes."
Feeling Levi's hot breath puffing against his ear, Noah's ear instantly flushed pink, and his voice came out sticky and nasally, "Really? You are really not watching it?"
"Mn. How about this…" Noah felt one of Levi's hands move away from his face to take hold of his hand. Then Levi brought their two hands up to cover his own eyes too. "Now you can be sure I'm not watching, mn?"
Blood rushed into Noah's face, and for a moment, he fell into a daze.