Chapter 762 - One day before wedding (J&J) (3)

~ Pacific Ocean, not far from the coast of California ~

Guys are on the luxurious yacht which has three decks and provides variety of entertainment. Several staff members are present, including a bartender who can make variety of cocktails popular with gentlemen, and few chefs which are making sure that barbeque is just right, and that sushi is made fresh to order.

Aiden is standing on the tallest deck and gazing toward the coast, which is only faintly visible in the distance. He lowered his head to look at his phone and sees that Sarah is downtown Los Angeles. With a flick of his finger the screen changed, and he confirmed that Madison in back at the resort. A second later he flicked the screen again and stared into a dot which represents Sarah as if he is trying to send her some mental message.

"Jeff told me that one woman is giving you a headache.", Steve said as he joined Aiden while carrying two chilled beers.

Aiden responded with a small nod and accepted one beer which Steve offered.

Steve observed that Aiden is looking at his phone and asked: "Is she a real threat? Or are you just putting too much thought into it because she is the only one?"

"What do you mean?"

"For Jeff, more than few headache-inducing women will be at the wedding. He is concerned, but maybe because there are so many of them, none of them stands out like a real threat. Jeff does not seem too worried about them.", Steve explained.

Aiden could see some logic in that. "Maybe you are right, and I am overthinking it. But more than once I was close to losing Sarah, and I will not let that happen again."

"More than once?", Steve was curious.

Aiden didn't want to go into details. There are so many stories he can tell on that topic, but he wanted to explain to Steve why he is concerned without too much drama. "Think of a scenario: you get drugged and they orchestrate it so that Bridgette sees you being intimate with another woman… Even if she knows that you were not yourself, will she be able to accept you like nothing happened?"

"I see what you mean."

Aiden wanted to say: 'no, you don't' . Because stories like Sarah being drugged and ending up in a hospital with her life in danger twice, Dodson brothers dragging him into a shed so that Klark sisters have their way with him… are stories that are difficult to believe in. But Aiden was happy that he does not need to explain further. He does not want to think about it, if possible.

Aiden decided to change the topic: "How are you and Bridgette?"

"We are good." Steve smiled while thinking of Bridgette.

"Are you considering marriage? Or are you not there yet?"

"It's not that I didn't think about it, but we are not there yet."

"If you thought about it, what is stopping you from proposing?" Aiden paused and asked another question: "Did you introduce her to your family… elders?"

Steve's smile faded. "They know that I am dating someone."

"Does she know about your family?"

Steve was obviously uncomfortable, and that answered Aiden's question.

"The longer you delay, the harder it will be.", Aiden advised.

Steve wanted to say something, but then he saw Felix approaching, and he swallowed his words.

"Do you mind if I join?", Felix noticed that Steve is giving him apprehensive look.

Aiden also didn't miss that Steve is caught off guard by Felix's sudden appearance just when they discussed a sensitive topic. Aiden decided to handle the situation. "Not at all… We were just talking how these bachelor's parties are a pain. When my turn comes, there will be no such thing. If we have any pre-wedding party, I want to be with Sarah. I can't be separated from her and have a good time."

Felix approved. "That is a valid point. I will gladly join your party, with Sophia."

By now, Steve relaxed and three of them chatted a bit more before changing into wetsuits and heading to the lowest deck where jet skis are available.

On the second deck, Jeff and Jasper are on the lounging chairs.

Jeff is smiling while texting with JoAnna and his occasional giggles are making Jasper frown.

Jasper cleared his throat to get Jeff's attention and when he saw that Jeff is looking at him, he spoke: "You always had number of women pursuing you."

Jeff raised an eyebrow while wondering from where that statement came. "Your point?"

"How did you know that Anna is different?"

"Different?", Jeff mumbled and got lost in thoughts. He was not sure how to answer this question. "She likes me for who I am as a person, not because of my background. It's a cliché, I know… Does this answer your question?"

"Not really…", Jasper mumbled. "You said that you pursued her. How did you know that she is worth pursuing?"

Jeff thought for few seconds before responding: "At that time… I was not sure about my feelings. I didn't know what I was doing, and my actions could be easily classified as stalking. But few things I knew was that I wanted her to smile, and that smile to be directed at me. Also, I noticed her absence. When she was not by my side, I was thinking about her so much that I thought I'm going crazy. At first, I just wanted to see her and identify what is this strange feeling she is invoking inside me. And the more time I spent with her, the greedier I was. No matter how much time we spend together, it is not enough, because when I am with her, I am… happy. It's like an addiction, and when we are not together, I'm crashing."

"Speaking like a man in love."

"Yes. I can't imagine my life without Anna in it." Jeff didn't deny it, ignoring Jaspar's skepticism.

"Aren't you afraid that you will get bored with one woman in your life?"

Jeff laughed. "Anna is many things, but she is not boring."

"Yes, I heard that she is a surgeon and owns a resort.", Jasper said with a slight mockery in his voice.

"She is much more than that… even if you talk only about jobs she is doing, you will need to add few more."

Jeff wants Jasper to acknowledge JoAnna and to stop using his almost-mocking tone whenever he talks about her. After all, JoAnna is nothing like endless line up of Jasper's one night stands, and Jeff wants Jasper to realize that. He contemplated for some time if he should say more or not before deciding to share his thoughts: "Do you know that she saved my life by crippling a man with a .50 caliber rifle?"