A/N: Okay, here's the first chapter to Already Married Mate. I'm starting to like this story's outcome so far and I hope you do as well. I'm so excited about this one that I'm already typing up chapter two and hope to finish it today. I will be stricter with these chapters and updating. I do need some votes before I update the next chaper.
Also, this chapter is all strictly Chaunsey's POV. It even states that. The other POVs will come in other chapters. This story in general will follow her and Mike though. I will put others to twist it up some, so pay attention to the changes.
Have fun my readers! And remember to leave me some comments, too.
P.S. Picture is of Chaunsey with the outfit she wore to the club. Next two pictures will be of Chris and KitKat. Mike and Alex have to wait on their turns. LOL
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~~Chaunsey's POV~~
"Chaunsey, you have to go out with us tonight. It's your birthday night and I know Alex would want you out celebrating than sitting at home depressed because he can't be here. Now get your ass in the shower so I can doll you up and make them single devil dogs jealous," ordered around a sassy little dirty blonde. She had her locks all curled and pulled back just out of her face. Her blue eyes demanded me to do as she ordered or there would be more problems to face from her.
With hands on her hips, her thin self knew she could force me into doing it. Size wasn't a matter here. Even being a thicker framed girl, my little skinny minny friend could put me down if she wanted. She was fierce and one force to reckon with.
"Do I have to make Alex worry about you by telling him you skipped girl's night because it's your birthday and he wasn't here? I'm sure he wouldn't be, too, happy about that, now would he?"
"Okay! I'll get ready. But you and Chris better take care of me. Keep those sleazy Marines away from me."
"Oh, we shall baby girl. Now go shower and I'll pick out your outfit."
I didn't dare take another thought into this as she started rummaging through my closet to find something I'd probably hate to wear. Because of her and Chris, the two made sure I had party clothes that I would otherwise not wear at all. It would be just my luck if she pulled out a dress for me since she was wearing a dress, too. Let's just say one of those little black dresses that hugged her tight. It was strapless and was skin tight at her thighs so it wouldn't move up them and show her goods. And of course the girl couldn't go anywhere without some black heels.
Katherine Jones, a.k.a. KitKat. My co-worker and friend. Christina Wright, a.k.a. Chris. Another co-worker and friend. Both some of the best friends a girl could have, but Chris and I still wondered why our bombshell friend KitKat ever hung out with us. We thought it was because of the whole pretty girl hanging with the not so great of girls to get the guy, but she didn't care about them when she hung out. It was us girls. There was no arguing with her either way, just like now as I was getting my shower so I could let her doll me up once I was done. I think I was dreading this actually.
Finishing up my shower and drying off before dealing with KitKat, I walked out to see her admiring a pink dress they made me buy a few months ago. I tried hiding it in the back of my closet so they'd never find it, but of course it seems I failed. It was a lovely dress, don't get me wrong. I just never found the right occasion to wear it. KitKat thought today was that special occasion I wore it though and had paired it with some black heels that had silvery straps about the ankles.
Time to suck it all up as I went through my panty drawer, pulling out a pair of black boy shorts trimmed in pink to match the dress. I found one of my matching bras to go with it as well and was thankful that both were designed to hide the lines of them under clothes. The pink dress itself was obviously pink. It had black mesh thick straps and the top was trimmed in a soft black fabric. That same fabric underlined right under where the bottom of my breasts would be and had two parallel lines down the chest area. It even had some to make it look like it would have pockets, but it was just an illusion made with the fabric.
I took everything and changed really quickly, not caring if KitKat saw me. It wasn't like she hadn't seen me naked before. All three of us had taken a spa trip once and changed in the same room when preparing for massages, so we all got over it quickly. Once the dress was on, KitKat made me sit down on my king sized bed, dragging the make-up bag she had with her. She didn't want me to put the heels on just yet so that they didn't bother me. Let's just say I was thankful for that since heels tended to be a no-no for my ankles.
KitKat took about half a hour applying my make-up just right. She was jealous of my perfect skin though. It was just so much better with make-up as she made my eyes the main concentration as she did the mascara and eyeliner. Eye shadow was a smoky theme to make my green pop more in my hazel eyes. She hated the blue with my eyes because most girls had blue or brown. She liked working with green eyes most, so I tended to be the guinea pig with new colors for green.
Once my eyes were done, of course she tried to conceal my natural blush some with a bit of powder. Hated how it dried my skin, but she liked how my cheeks weren't as flushed looking with it. Then of course she applied some gloss to make my pink lips pop more. This girl knew what she needed to do and perfected it every time. As she backed away, she smiled at me, proud of her work once again. I took that chance to look in my bathroom mirror and was glad to have a friend like her who did make-up well. She did teach me some tricks just to make my eyes pop, but overall package, she did it way better.
It was like she was right on cue. I heard the doorbell ring and the front door open. There was only one person who did that at my house and it was Chris as she made her way into my room smiling at me and KitKat.
"Hey my lovely gals! Are we ready to knock them dead tonight?"
"Oh hush black beauty!"
"No, you hush Ms. Sassy Pants," joked back Chris. Her and KitKat always loved showing the other up and joking around. It was just who they were and they even did it at work. But we needed the fun since we worked in a doctor's office. Things tended to die down at times there depending on the time of day and time year. It was expected for psychiatric hospital and you worked on just the daily routine counseling section for Marines having PTSD problems or just the usual civilians who had other issues like ADHD or ADD or even bipolar or depression. We loved our job though.
"Okay you two. Let's just figure out who's car we're taking and get going. I presume dinner is first since it's still early for the clubs?" I asked them.
The two of them just smiled at me. When they did, it meant trouble. What could they have planned for my twenty-second birthday? There was no doubt that drinking would be involved, so of course I was wondering who would be driving. And knowing them, they hired someone to do just that so they, too, could get drunk and have more fun than what they did sober.
"Chauns, hunny, we have this all covered for you. My brother is going to be hanging out as well with us tonight. I know you don't mind him and he doesn't drink anyway. He just wants to see his sister happy," answered Chris.
Chris' brother was awesome to be around. He was a gentleman and made sure the women came before him. He was the guy who'd help you out of the car, hold doors open, and make sure that when on a date, he'd pay for it. Basically the one-out-of-a-million type guy that you don't find often. Most guys in Jacksonville, North Carolina would do like one of these and it was just usually covering the meal so they could get in your pants. We were all thankful he didn't like me or KitKat, too. As he would always say, "Neither of you are my African queen."
That was Shaun Wright for you. He went for the black girls with big booties, thin waists, large breasts, and the gorgeous faces. They were his perfect match. He was twenty-six, over six feet tall, and all lean muscle. You'd think he was a Marine with his build, but he was just the average civilian. Shaun did work with the girls as well. He had went to medical school and completed training to be a registered nurse. He was part of the reason the girls got their jobs.
Soon, Chris' phone started going off. She answered it and talked to the other person, which ended up being her brother. "Well, he's here. Ready to jam, girlfriends?"
KitKat just chuckled some and the two of them dragged me out of the house. At least they allowed me to lock the door before we left. It was times like this that I was glad my husband and I never owed animals yet. We knew how our friends were and they liked to randomly make us go out. Of course he got the better half of the time as they all let him sit around and drink a few beers. I had no choice but to go dance with the girls and just ignore the world.
Shaun smiled at us all as we approached the car and rolled down his window. "Happy birthday, Chaun-Chaun. Now all three of you need to get in so the cold air doesn't go to waste. You know I hate this June heat." I just gave him a genuine smile and thanked him as we all got in.
"I appreciate you driving us around tonight, Shaun."
"Anything for the birthday girl. You're like a sister anyway, so I rather take care of my three favorite young ladies than let some asshole ruff your feathers. Now pick a place for dinner so we can go eat."
"Let's go to Cheddars. I know we all like that place and I love their broccoli casserole," Chaunsey picked. Of course KitKat and Chris hooted in joy. It was our favorite place and we hadn't been in awhile. I finally took the chance to actually look at what Chris was wearing a three-fourths sleeved leopard printed dress that hugged her thick figure. It made her look smaller than what she was, but it looked great on her. She paired it off with some black flats with the same print on the bow at the tip of them.
So we went and ate at Cheddars, enjoying our time there. The girls had guessed right about where we were going for dinner and had a cake brought in that the wait staff brought to the table and wished me happy birthday. Sure, I was embarrassed, but my friends loved me. They even decided that we'd go to Alexander's. We went every once and awhile, and even to Gus's for those country moods. But Alexander's is our place. It was nice inside and the music was very grindable. Chris always had plenty of other friends she knew there that made it a wonderful night.
Shaun got us there about nine o'clock. Slow, but still bumping with the crowd. I will say I was thankful we were members and it was Friday. Ladies night! That's right, free for twenty-one and up. I was twenty-two today, KitKat was twenty-three, and Chris was twenty-three as well. And like I said before, Shaun was twenty-six, but didn't really matter. He seriously didn't drink.
Inside, the music was loud, the lights dimmed to allow the strobe and eliminator lights to throw colors and bright lights everywhere. Many people covered the dance floor and the go-go dancers were already having their fun on their pedestals. This was already calling for a fun night. Especially once the girls tagged me along to the bar for the first set of drinks. I wasn't allowed to pay for anything. It was the rule of my birthday night.
KitKat handed me my favorite drink; a nice Red Bull with Malibu Coconut Rum. I loved the drink when I couldn't have a legit Piña Colada. It tasted like it, so why not? I had no idea exactly what they had, but the vodka in it was strong. Shaun just ordered a Sprite and let it be. He'd keep an eye on us, but it was also his time to prowl for any ladies that were willing to take the nice guy up.
We took our drinks to an open table and decided to drink them before we did any dancing. As KitKat and Chris talked about some of the guys dancing nearby, I just looked around in general, taking in who was all there. The club was always a nice mix of people. There was even a group of Marines trying to scope out women as well. It was very typical for the Marines to come out to the clubs and see if they could hook up with someone. It was easy for them. Girls here in Jacksonville either played hard to get or easy to get. Most girls were easy to get and that's why so many women were scorned on the idea of Marines. Some of them were just skanky like that and slept around often. I didn't blame the Marines though. I knew these girls around her with half their junk hanging out and flaunting it like they did made these guys sexual frustrated; as if their jobs didn't do it enough for them.
But welcome to where I live. Jacksonville was Marine central basically and all the women here thought the men were made of money and hooked up with them for that reason. They find out the hard way that they really don't get much when it comes down to paying your bills and stuff. My husband and I even found it hard at times. We lived in a simple two-bedroom, two-bath apartment that sucked most of our first paycheck from us with at least the water bill. Electric, car insurance, and student loans from me sucked up most of the second one.
So yes, they learned hard. Marines were not made of money like they all believed. I was just lucky that my husband was deployed for another month and I managed our finances. I was great at it and sometimes was asked at work to help with the accounting. Math was just my thing and so was organization. Couldn't blame me when I wanted to keep a structure in my life and make sure I was financial stable. Of course my husband's Corporal pay did help. He ranked up while deployed and I noticed the decent increase afterwards. I wasn't complaining since we lived comfortably.
I was so off in my own thoughts that I didn't realize I finished my drink and the girls were laughing about me spacing off. I did it often when I wasn't working or busy doing something that needed to be done. I blushed some as I noticed there were some Marines standing by talking and one was trying to catch my attention.
"Sorry. It's just been a long week and I think the little bit I've already had to drink is getting to me."
"Chaunsey, don't apologize to the dog. You're already married and he's been hitting on you anyway," angrily cut in KitKat. She didn't care if I wasn't paying attention to him, but she hated when I apologized for something I wasn't interested in.
"Dog isn't even a compliment, Missy," the guy basically barked at her. What was his deal anyway?
Another man walked up, clad in some dark blue jeans and a black button down short-sleeved shirt. His blue eyes were icy as he glared at the other guy. Who was he?
"Nick, leave the ladies be. Obviously they're not interested in you and the others. And this one is..." he stopped and took a deep breath and looked at her, "Married." His tone sounded sad when he said married. Was I that attractive to these guys? I knew I wasn't model thin like KitKat and the other girls that most of them went for. But this guy seemed really upset about me being married. "Mate," he whispered.
The other guys heard him, but us three girls didn't. The guys backed up some and looked at him. It was like they were afraid to see what would happen. He just ran a hand through his short brown hair and sighed.
"Well shit. The moon goddess obviously thinks shitty of me today."
The guy he called Nick placed a hand on the other guy's shoulder. It was a gesture I had picked up on that guys did to try and comfort the other. Not like they'd hold each other and let the other cry it out like us girls did. "Come on, Mike. This could get really bad here if you get angry. Save it for another time. You know who she is now." The guy let his hand off Mike's shoulder and walked away, the other guys following, and left Mike standing there.
Mike looked me in the eyes, my eyes locking with his. I couldn't break the contact as his icy blues seemed to darken some. Something in my heart seemed to beg for him to come closer, to talk to me, get to know him better. How was that suppose to work out without my husband getting jealous? It was bad enough he barely tolerated the others from his unit talking to me when he was around. Could he even let me have guy friends if I wanted one?
"Chaunsey!"
Both the girls yelled at me as they seemed to know what was going through my head. They knew that my husband was a good guy most the time, but he did put me down time-to-time and they never liked it. It was why they were glad he was gone.
Chris pulled me away from the table and away from Mike. KitKat started talking to him; probably explaining my situation about guy friends and my husband's jealousy. Chris pulled me to the bathroom, looking me up and down. She was worried and I could see that.
"Girl, what the hell was that? It was like you saw a guy you wanted to just jump into bed with."
"I don't know what that was. He didn't seem like anything special till I heard his voice and saw those blue eyes of his. Something like drew me in. Is it wrong to say I liked it though?"
"Look, we know it's rough with Alex and you say you love him and all. But three years ago when we all attended college and you met him online, we didn't think he was right for you. He just gave off a bad vibe and you never saw it. Now look at you. He puts you down, you really only have me and KitKat as friends, and most of your time is spent making money to support his bad hobbies. He's going to end up hurting you bad one day."
"Don't say that Chris. I know Alex won't hurt me more than what he has done."
"Keep saying that. I'm not talking anymore about this with you. But that guy out there seems just as head-over-heels for you as you were just acting. And what was with that crap about a moon goddess. KitKat was about to fall over laughing if she even let it out."
I just stood there, thinking about the guy's blue eyes. They were so icy and held power in them. His friends respected him as well, so it made me think he was part of their unit or something and high up in rank. Maybe they just respected him for all I knew. Chris shook her head as she saw me slipping back into a daze, knowing all well that I was thinking about this Mike guy. Hopefully KitKat got some information for me. She was smart like that when she talked to guys. I was sure she'd at least get his name and number. She probably even told him why we were out tonight, too.
As I was thinking about her, she came busting into the bathroom and smiled at me. It was a big smile meaning she did something very devious.
"You, my little sexy plump friend, will indeed text this man tonight or tomorrow sometime. I don't care if Alex get's all fussy in his sandy pants over in Afghanistan because you made a male friend, but you so need to get to know him. He sadly won't give me his number. He wants to give it to you personally. So get your ass back out there and talk to him. We'll leave afterwards if you want," KitKat said, demanding that I listen to her again.
I obliged and took a deep breath that I sighed out. What were they getting me into? Alex was going to flip.
"Oh and don't tell Alex about it. He can find out when he comes home and we all meet up after that. I'll lie to him and say we got to know this guy through some of my friends. Maybe he'll make you want to leave Alex for good."
"Katherine!"
KitKat smirked at me. She knew when I said her actual name that I was getting pissed. She liked making me that way with her since it made me listen to her more to prove that what she said wouldn't happen.
"Then go out there and get his number. Get to know him and then tell me you won't leave Alex."
"I'll prove you wrong."
With that, I stomped out of the bathroom and walked back over to our table where Mike had taken a seat and Nick was bad talking to him. Nick pointed and Mike turned around to see me. Mike smiled when he saw me and I froze where I was in front of them. I couldn't help but stare into his blue eyes again as he smiled at me. He was just gorgeous as ever. I think I liked how he looked better than my own Alex. Oh, I was a horrible wife now.
Mike handed me a piece of paper with his name and number on it. I just took it as him and Nick got up. Nick just waved and walked back over to the other guys that were still trying to hang nearby, watching to make sure nothing happened.
"I know your friends are making you do this. I won't promise anything about stepping over the boundaries with you, but I want to get to know you. I'll prove to you that you're with the wrong guy, Chaunsey."
My name coming from his lips was sexy as hell. I bit my lower lip to prevent myself from saying something stupid. What was I to say to that anyway? I didn't get the chance as he leaned down some, didn't help he was like almost a good foot taller than me, and placed a gentle peck on my forehead. I blushed as I gasped at the feeling. His lips pressed to my head made sparks fly and I couldn't explain why. He just pulled away and smiled, obviously pleased out of the reaction he got from me.
"Please do text me, love."
With that, Mike left me there, standing and watching as him and his group of friends left the club. The girls came up behind me then, smiling as they were basically telling me "Told you so" and tagged me along with them as we went to find Shaun. We found him dancing with a perfect matched girl to his "African queen" and she was quite sad we were ending their night. They exchanged numbers and said goodbyes to each other before we all slipped out of the club.
Mike and his friends were still out there, deciding on something for their next thing to do. I blushed as his eyes met mine once more and he smiled softly at me. I could see that something inside him was making him love me more than what I could to him right now. Was I his love at first sight kind of thing? As I continued to blush, I looked away, smiling some to myself. Here was a guy who seemed to genuinely enjoy me for what I was without even knowing me yet. It was like I was his queen and he didn't care that I wasn't model thin. I think I could get use to this.
Chris and KitKat waved bye to the group as well as we all climbed into the car with Shaun driving. We were all back at my apartment in about twenty minutes max. I offered them all to stay so there wasn't any more driving for anyone. Shaun definitely took it as I let him use the air mattress and crash in the spare bedroom that was technically Alex's gear room and Man Cave. I hated that room to be honest. It was where his expensive hobby was. Paintball. Me and the girls crashed on the couch together. That's when I was thankful it pulled out into a bed and still had another portion for someone to lay on. I took the pull-out with KitKat and Chris took what was left of the couch. I was in the middle of my two best friends, watching whatever we found on TV to help us sleep. Which of course didn't take us long with the bit of alcohol in our systems. It always put us to sleep nicely.