More gory details. Sharing information about licking was quite enough.
“Well, I don’t know your deal, but you’re here doing honest work. Nothing to be ashamed of unless something happened during your time together.” The woman smiles.
Our time together? You mean countless hours in the gym where he saw me as one of the guys. Studying for tests together. Our platonic fist bumps that he called his good luck charm. Scrimmage matches and practice sessions where he’d talk about all the women he slept with. Until that one night, I told him I thought his brags and boasts were a lie, and that he needed to put his money where his mouth was.
Oh, boy, did he go for the money shot.
It still sends tingles down my spine.
But then, he got called to try out for the Nevada Renegades and I ... well, I ended up on a different path.
What a long, strange trip it’s been.
I sigh, slightly pulling myself back together. “No, it was fantastic. But there’s a chance I might have freaked out and run away in the morning. I wish I hadn’t, but then when I tried to contact him again, he was a big star, and I didn’t want to seem like a cleat chaser.”
Plus, so much happened in between that I wasn’t about to dump it on him at the start of his career. It wasn’t his fault I was secretly in love with him and then almost died.
That’s a lot of baggage that he was in no place to unpack.
The bride shrugs. “I say you just get out there, do your job, and if he approaches you, be candid and honest with him. That’s all you can really do, right?”
I guess she’s right. I do a quick mirror check and swipe my fingers under my eyes to catch some errant eyeliner. I guess I’d better get back out there before I get fired. I pull my mask back up and wash my hands. Even if I weren’t in food service, I’m a freak about germs. This pandemic didn’t help.
Time to face the music.
I look up to see the bride smiling at me. “I’m Ophelia, by the way. Ophelia ... Henry.”
Thank God she didn’t say Entay.
“Hannah LaRosa.”
Ophelia opens the door for me, which I totally should do for her because she’s a guest here. “You ready, Hannah LaRosa?”
At this moment, I forget why I’m even nervous. I pull my mask down and mouth “thanks” as I head back out into the reception area.
Candid and honest. Candid and honest.
I can do that.
But as I spy Callaghan Entay across the room, I’m wishing I’d taken a chance on the vagina window.
