Hotel Key

Chapter 22

After flipping the farm upside down and turning his entire fucking life into a nightmare circus, the man and woman of the hour finally decided to grace everyone with their presence on the afternoon before their wedding. Merle took one look out the window and poured himself a double glass of whiskey. He tossed the contents down his throat and quickly poured himself a second drink, sipping it as he watched Jessica's daughters jump up and down squealing because RickyJo unzipped a big white bag and gave them a tiny peek at what Merle assumed must be her wedding dress. All he could tell from his vantage point was that despite having already fucked not only her groom but his brother as well, she was still planning on wearing white.

"Better him than me," Merle grumbled under his breath, swallowing down the rest of his drink. It was the same thing he'd been telling himself for the entire last week. It wasn't a hard sell, with all the florists and caterers and emergency last minute cake decorators running around. In what fucking universe could decorating a cake ever be considered an emergency? That was the real question. So even though Merle knew full well that he was lying to himself about his feelings, since the only wedding-related thing he was expected to do was put on a suit and stay sober enough to stand, it was an easy lie to accept. Until he saw RickyJo step out of her car and sweep her youngest niece up into her arms.

She looked like she always looked. Like a walking wet dream. She had a long white stretchy dress on with a slit up the side that showed her long tan leg and a little peek of the big tattoo on her thigh. Her hair fell down her back in loose waves. She had a little denim vest on over the dress. And a pair of aviator sunglasses on her head, holding her long blonde hair back out of her face. Her skin was tanned from the summer sun and she was smiling so hard she was practically glowing. It was impossible for him to look at her and not think about what it felt like when he had her tight body under his. She had completely ruined him for other women. Merle couldn't even get off anymore unless he closed his eyes and imagined RickyJo on top of him instead of her cousin.

"They're here," Jessica said, poking her head into the house from outside. "Aren't you coming out?" Merle huffed, rolling his eyes and waving her away from him. He would come out when he was good and fucking ready. The last thing he needed on top of the rest of this shit was to be called outside like a damn dog. Jessica offered him a choice piece of advice before she snapped the door shut again.

"It's yer brother's weddin'," she hissed. "...so maybe try not being such a ragin' asshole fer once in yer life."

Merle cursed under his breath as he watched Jessica walk from the house over to the car. RickyJo and Daryl were kissing, which for some reason seemed to be delighting everyone to no end. Jessica threw her arms around them both. Merle couldn't hear her. But he was sure Jessica was telling them the same nonsense bullshit she'd been shoveling all week. Which mostly revolved around her opinion that this was the most romantic thing that ever happened and that RickyJo and Daryl were perfect for each other. Listening to her talk about it made Merle want to punch himself over and over again in the face, preferably until he was unconscious. Instead, every time she mentioned the wedding, he started drinking. Heavily. Which never went well. And wasn't about to get any better now that he was about to actually have to watch the woman of his dreams marry Daryl instead of him.

Merle took a deep breath. Then he plastered his biggest fakest smile on his face and headed outside. He had to offer the happy couple his congratulations. Which were even less sincere than his smile. But speaking the obligatory lies gave him the perfect excuse to put his hands on RickyJo. He grabbed her around the waist before she could back away from him, pulling her body hard against his and giving her a lingering kiss on her cheek. She smelled like oranges and the musky perfume she favored. And the way she was wriggling in his arms, trying to escape his hold, was making his dick push against the zipper of his pants.

"Goddamn Merle," she cursed, "...did ya start the party early or what? Ya smell like the bottom of a bottle."

Merle held on despite RickyJo's obvious attempts to shove him off. The fact that he acted like an asshole on a constant basis worked in his favor. Because Jessica just assumed that's what he was doing when he grabbed RickyJo's ass, squeezing hard enough to make her yelp.

"Get offa her," Daryl huffed, shoving at his brother and pushing his body in between Merle and RickyJo. Merle took in his brother's facial expression, wondering the same thing he was wondering when they had to go get fitted for suits together. Does he know? Daryl was acting like a moody little shit the whole time and Merle assumed it was just because Daryl was not only being made to go clothes shopping but also being touched by the elderly woman that was measuring him for his suit. Daryl hated being touched. But now it seemed like it might be more than that. And Merle wondered again if RickyJo told Daryl what happened between them. Merle didn't think she would. And if she did, it seemed like Daryl would have just confronted him about it. But there was no other explanation for Daryl's behavior. And the way he was suddenly getting angry and possessive every time Merle went near her.

"Let's go up to the main house and get settled in," RickyJo suggested, pulling Daryl away from his brother and wrapping her arms around him.

"Ya can't stay up there together!," Jessica squawked. "It's the night before yer weddin'! It's bad luck!" Merle's grin was sincere this time, as he added his agreement to what Jessica said.

"That's right," he chuckled, "...it's bad luck."

"There's no such thing as luck," RickyJo countered, grasping Daryl by the hand and pulling him towards the back of the car so he could help her unload their bags. Merle watched them walk down the driveway together until they were out of sight. Then he went back inside for another drink.

Thankfully, the rest of the day mostly passed him by in a whiskey induced blur. Everywhere Merle looked, there was a flurry of activity going on. Large white tents were being set up. Giant bunches of flowers were being drug around. And since there was extended family from out of town that had already arrived, the caterers were serving food. By the time the wedding planner arrived to show them where they would be standing and walking and putting this five ring circus monkey show on, Merle had given up any show of discretion and was drinking whiskey straight from the bottle. Jessica tried to pry the bottle from his hands, which resulted in a loud embarrassing argument. He had a vague memory of RickyJo putting her arm around his waist and walking him quietly away from the small crowd that gathered. She took him all the way back to Jessica's house and forced a glass of water on him before she warned him that he better lie down on the couch and stay there. The room was spinning around him when she covered him with a blanket. It wasn't until the next morning that Merle realized he'd only dug himself deeper into the doghouse with his drunken antics.

Jessica was irate. RickyJo and Daryl were barely speaking to him. Jessica's gran gave him a scolding lecture along with the strong cup of coffee she made him. And even little Desiree was looking at him like he was no better than a flea on a dog. Serving as Daryl's best man while they would both rather be beating each other to a pulp was awkward to say the least. But watching the whole wedding play out in front of him without even a drop of liquor to ease the pain was even worse. Not to mention that he had one of the worst hangovers of his life.

With the pounding in his head and having already worn out everyone's patience the night before, Merle decided the best course of action for him was to just keep his big mouth shut and do whatever he was being told to do. He stood where he was told to stand and tried not to scowl too hard while the photographer snapped what seemed to be an excessive amount of pictures. He didn't start feeling guilty until he was stuck alone with Daryl before the ceremony was due to start. Whether or not they were both in love with the same girl, Daryl was his brother. His younger brother. The one he had been looking out for since he was still a child himself. And while what was happening was making him completely miserable, Merle knew that Daryl was marrying the only girl he ever loved. And that he was probably nervous for not only the wedding but for his new position in her life. And instead of being able to have a drink with his little brother and offer him some probably bad advice, Merle was just trying to get through the next twenty minutes without being punched in the face.

"Sorry fer last night," Merle finally offered. Daryl's only response was an angry grunt. Before Merle could make any further attempt to mend things, the wedding planner poked her head in and ordered them out into the warm Georgia sun.

Since Merle was his brother's best man, it was his job to stand next to Daryl at the end of the aisle. Which meant he got to watch everyone walk down. Jessica came out first, in a green dress that hugged her curves and flattered her figure. Her daughters came out next, dropping brightly colored flower petals from little white baskets. Merle supposed in his mind he knew RickyJo was coming out next. He just didn't expect his stomach to bottom out when he saw her. With her tanned skin against the white lace of the dress and her long hair falling down her back in curls, she looked like something from a dream. And it appeared that Daryl felt the same way because when she finally made it down the aisle and took his hands, he snatched her up into his arms and kissed her. People laughed and whistled at them. And the officiant finally had to clear his throat and tap on the microphone to regain control over the ceremony. The vows themselves were simple and to the point. And Merle was grateful that the entire charade was over quickly.

After the ceremony, there were even more pictures. But most of them were just of RickyJo and Daryl. So Merle was finally able to sneak away and get himself a beer. He stood in the shade and sipped it while he watched them pose for pictures in front of Daryl's favorite car, the vintage red Thunderbird that RickyJo's Poppa let him drive her around in on their first date. It was so cute that Merle was just about ready to puke in his beer. After about a million more pictures were taken, the reception started. This meant that at least Merle got something to eat, which along with a second beer, eased the intensity of his hangover.

Merle stayed in his seat and did what Nana asked of him, which was to not make another fucking scene. He filled his time watching RickyJo walk around the place with her big glowy smile and cursing himself for letting her slip through his fingers. It wasn't until she and Daryl finished dancing together that Merle saw his opportunity to steal a moment with her. Her grandmother approached them as the song wrapped up, grabbing Daryl before he had a chance to book it away from the dance floor. This conveniently left RickyJo without a partner. And before she realized what was happening, Merle had already swept her up into his arms. The song was an old country love song. Probably one of her Poppa's favorites. Merle held her as close as he dared. Her hair smelled like sunshine. And he was surprised when she leaned closer to him and whispered into his ear.

"Are you okay?," she asked. "Last night was bad. I haven't seen ya like that in years." Merle could only sigh. RickyJo was so sweet and genuine in her concern for him. Unlike everyone else that was simply mad at him for getting plastered and ruining the party. The anger and bitterness went right out of him, like the air from a popped balloon. RickyJo was the only woman he ever met who had that effect on him.

"I guess jealous ain't a good look on me," he admitted. RickyJo pulled back a little, meeting his eyes with hers. She looked sad. Like she could feel his pain.

"It was never my intention to hurt you," she whispered. "You were there fer me when I needed a friend. The last thing I wanted ta do was cause ya pain. We've all had enough of that to last us a lifetime." Merle felt her hand fist into the back of his suit jacket. And he knew she was battling for control over her emotions.

"Are ya happy?," he asked. RickyJo pulled back again. Only this time her face was lit up with a beautiful smile. One that without a doubt answered his question.

"Yes," she whispered back. "I am."

"Then go live yer life," Merle suggested, "...don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I always am."

As he finished saying what he knew in his heart was a lie, the song they were dancing to ended. RickyJo threw her arms around him, hugging him and pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. And then she was off to terrorize his brother with what Merle could only hope was about to be hours upon hours of dancing. Even if it was only a few minutes, Merle had his fill of watching. He headed for the exit, taking his regret and his well intended lies with him.