Jaxon was in bed that night, thinking it was funny that he had a chance to meet Ava in the garden when he did. As sleep slowly descended upon him, his mind went through what had happened during the day till night. "Oh shit! I forgot! Nooooo…," he said jerking himself awake and out of bed. The bachelor party was about to start soon. Jaxon looked at the alarm clock near his bedside which read 11:30 p.m.
He ran into the toilet, took a cold shower, dried himself with the white towel provided by the hotel staff, and put on underwear, a red shirt, and black jeans. He then brushed his teeth once more over the sink and then stopped midway cursing himself for forgetting that he had already done so before going for a walk in the garden. Such was Jaxon's plight as he hurried out the door of his room and took the lift to the lobby. At the hotel bar, there was a giant flat T.V screen set up, in a little sitting area that had brown wooden chairs and a large red sofa with a long wooden table in the middle.
Guys were simple creatures especially this batch of men gathered together. They planned to spend the night watching a football game with beer, grilled pork chops, ribs, potatoes, and beans. His uncle Mark Sandford was a tall man at six feet and one inch with jet black hair that was slightly grey in some areas. Deep blue eyes that were so hopeful at the moment and twinkling with excitement. He sat on the sofa with the remote control in one hand pointed towards the T.V flipping through the channels.
"Jaxon you came!" He said getting up to give Jaxon a man-hug.
"Uncle Mark, it's nice to see you after all this time."
"Indeed, my boy. How is your mother? I'm sorry I could not meet you both much earlier."
"We're fine, Uncle. Just happy to be here, and accompanying you down the aisle is an honor sir."
"Glad you could make it."
"Hey Gary, it's been a long time friend!" Exclaimed Uncle Mark to the gentleman with blonde hair and piercing grey eyes that had just come into their lounging area.
"I'll catch up with you later," he said looking at Jaxon, before walking over to where Gary stood behind the counter ordering a tall glass of beer.
The men came in and amongst the crowd, was Ava's father Mr. Brandon Hartwell. He stood at five-foot-ten, with a stocky build, with straight brown hair and brown eyes. He shook Mark's hand and said "Congratulations! Welcome to the family!"
"Thank you," said Mark.
They walked together and sat on the sofa, where the game was playing.
"So which team are you on?" asked Brandon Hartwell.
"The Blues, Chelsea" replied Mark
"No, bro you're going to lose, I'm on Manchester's side all the way."
"We shall see about that, loser has to jump into the pool with clothes on," suggested Mark with a grin.
"You're on man," countered Brandon Hartwell.
The game started and pretty soon all the men were gathered around the T.V set. Amongst them were, Gary, Jedidiah, Sean, Ryan, Jim, Claude, David, and Ted. All 10 men watched in anticipation as the game went on it was Manchester United vs Chelsea. As both teams played, there were victory shouts that rang out when either team won a goal. The intensity could be felt vibrating throughout the bar that night as 10 pairs of eyes sat glued to the screen, eating and chugging down glasses of beer.
"Hey Jaxon, right?" asked Jedidiah coming over to where Jaxon sat.
"Yeah," replied Jaxon
"So you dig Ava, huh?" suggested Jedidiah
"Not really, we're just friends."
"Sure, ya'll are that's how things start," said Jedidiah laughing and nearly spilling beer as he held his tall glass in a mock salute toward Jaxon.
"Well, good luck with that one," he said again before leaving Jaxon for a second serving of pork ribs.
He came back and went on to say,
"you seem decent, don't mind me I'm just looking out for her, she's like my baby sis, even though we ain't related by blood."
"I understand," replied Jaxon.
"So you understand, there should be no play with her, got it?"
"She's not a toy."
"I hear you loud and clearly," said Jaxon solemnly.
"Great," said Jedidiah, changing the subject by asking "you want to play some pool? The table is right there behind the sliding black door.
"Sure, why not," said Jaxon readily.
"Where you from?" asked Jaxon this time shifting the attention away from himself and onto Jedidiah for once.
"Australia. Met my girl Mary-Anne at uni. We've been inseparable ever since," replied Jedidiah with a winning grin of his own as he successfully got the balls into the pockets with his cue.
"I see," commented Jaxon.
"What about yourself?" asked Jedidiah.
"I'm from around here," answered Jaxon.
"Huh, good for you," said Jedidiah as he shot another ball into the pocket.
Sheesh, he was going to lose this one, thought Jaxon before he finally got a ball into a pocket.
"Not much of a player are you with this one?" asked Jedidiah indicating the pool table with his head.
"No practice," admitted Jaxon.
"Cool, I win this round."
Both young men looked at each other as they heard Ryan shout out "We Won! Yesssss!" He said pumping his fist in the air. "Losers into the pool, now!" he announced smugly. Sean, Jim, Claude, and surprisingly the groom, Mark jumped into the pool. Jedidiah ran outside and joined in by jumping into the cold water.
There was laughing, jesting and some of them choking on the water as they splashed in the water. However, all the excitement alerted the security guard who ordered all the men out of the pool. They came out one by one, drenched and wet. Hotel towels were brought and the men quickly dried themselves as best as they could.
The winning team that night was Manchester United and Brandon Hartwell made a toast announcing, "to Mark Sandford, may you never lose at life or love from this day forward!"
"To Mark!" cheered the group of merry men that night, with raised fists pumping in the air.