Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my suitcase and left the apartment. I didn’t need luck. I was just going as a friend’s plus-one to a wedding. Everything would be fine. It had to be.
Grey was waiting in a car in the parking lot of my apartment complex. He looked incredible in a suit. Something about the dark fabric on his skin made his cheekbones more prominent, which made his eyes seem deeper and more contemplative. The suit clung perfectly to his frame, drawing my eyes to his slim waist and broad shoulders.
It was difficult to make myself do something other than gawk at him like an idiot. Forcing my body into motion, I loaded my suitcase into the trunk of the car. The plan was to go to the wedding then stay the night at a hotel in town before driving back the following day.
Ever since that plan had been made, my stomach had twisted into uncomfortable knots at the thought of us staying the night anywhere alone. We would be sharing a room. He would probably want to shower, which would involve him getting naked. The idea of rivulets of water streaming down his bare skin appeared unbidden in my mind’s eye.
Off. Limits,I told myself and pushed the forbidden thoughts from my head. Josh had been wrong to tell me to make good choices because it was too late for that. Agreeing to go to this wedding in the first place was the mother of all bad choices.
He let out a low whistle. “You look sexy as hell.”
“You don’t look half bad yourself” was all I said in return. I shouldn’t encourage his comments, but I couldn’t help it if they made me feel good.
Grey smiled then put his car into drive and pulled away from the curb. I watched my apartments in the side mirror as we drove away, a sense of impending doom building in my chest. I took a steadying breath. I knew what our relationship was. Grey had made it abundantly clear, and so had I. We’d held that line for weeks at this point.
So, why does I feel like I’m walking a tightrope over a flaming net, seconds away from falling and being burned?
“You okay?” Grey asked as he pulled onto the highway.
“I’m perfectly fine,” I said with a small smile. Nerves built in my chest. I needed a distraction. “How far away is this anyway?” I drummed my fingers on the window, hoping it came across as nonchalant and not the pure nervous energy that it was.
“Only a couple of hours,” Grey said. “Want to listen to some music?”
“How about some Dreamscape?” I said slyly.
“Shut the hell up,” Grey said, but he was smiling. He turned on some music from his phone, and sound filled the car.
Thankfully, it had the effect of dispersing my nerves, and before we’d made it ten minutes down the road, we began talking the way friends should be able to. It wasn’t about anything consequential, mostly about how stressed we were about finals and how happy we were to be so close to done with the semester. We would both be going home for the winter break, so the wedding was likely the last time we would get a chance to see each other until the new year.
That thought made me sad. It seemed like such a long time apart, but that shouldn’t bother me as much as it did—since we were only friends. Still, ever since Grey and I had become friends, we’d seen each other several times a week, and it was hard to not be sad that it wouldn’t be the case for six weeks.
The drive passed quickly with the continued conversation, and soon enough, we turned into a pristine French-inspired villa where the wedding would take place. Ivy grew over a pale stone building with a red roof. Archways covered the stone pathway that led to the building’s entrance, and white lace accented everything. It was beautiful and elegant—the wedding venue dreams were made of. Grey steered the car into the line forming in the driveway. Up ahead, valets helped guests out of their cars.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a valet,” I mused, propping my head against the window, ignoring the fact that it flattened my hair against my forehead. The building was surrounded by a beautiful garden full of purples and whites. It looked like a fairy tale. And if I closed my eyes, I could imagine being here with a person I loved.
My eyes snapped open. I wasn’t the type to wax poetic about love, not even to myself. It must’ve just been the romantic venue getting to me. For the briefest of moments, the silhouette of my love in my mind’s eye had looked an awful lot like Grey.
Our turn came to get out of the car, and I got out to wait as Grey handed the keys over to the valet before coming to join me on the stone walkway.
He held out an arm. “Shall we?”
I rolled my eyes but still hooked my arm in his. “You aren’t worried what people will think of you bringing me as a guest?” I asked, my tone teasing, but the question was serious.
“It’s a little late to worry about that now, I’d say.” Grey smirked at me.
Two bored-looking doormen at the building entrance swung the doors open to let us in.
People dressed in formal attire crowded inside. The guests milled around, chatting among themselves. I’d been to enough weddings in my life to recognize old friends and family catching up with each other. Some of the guests gave Grey waves of acknowledgment, but no one immediately broke away from their conversations to greet him in person.
“Josh and Kellan thought it was weird, like your family might thinkwe’redating.” I glanced nervously around the room. If I’d expected everyone to stop and stare and point, I was disappointed. We were just two more people in the crowd.
We paused by the wedding guest book near the entrance and signed our names.
Grey laughed. “There are worse things. You think too much.”
“Someonehas to do the thinking around here.” I gave him a playful nudge.
He laughed again, and I noticed a kind-looking, older lady walking toward us in a beautiful red dress. I’d never met the woman, but it didn’t take the most observant person to noticethat she and Grey shared the same nose and mouth. Hell, they even had the same freckle above their left eyes. She couldn’t be anyone other than Grey’s mom.
