Super not a big deal. I am, in fact, completely unfazed by anything Adam has ever said to or about me, and also by the span of his palm against my stomach. I let one hand come to rest atop Adam’s forearm to prove it, and lift the other to examine my nails.
“I didn’t mean it as a slight against you,” he continues. His thumb sweeps softly back and forth against my shirt, and my stomach clenches again in response. “I’m not usually one to bend the rules. The idea of using the company card for something I’m not supposed to and getting caught freaks me out. But let me be perfectly clear: the idea that someone might assume we’re together is not the issue. Not a single thing about you is embarrassing.” He considers this for a moment, and then adds: “Aside from the fact that you like Justin Bieber.”
My elbow needles into Adam’s side, and he huffs a warm laugh against my neck. I suppress a shiver and duck my chin. “Understood.”
We’ve caught the attention of the other couples waiting for the game to begin, and before I know it, a woman who barely looks eighteen is pulling her equally baby-faced husband over to us.
“Hey, y’all! You’re here for the newlywed game too?”
“We are,” I say, unable to stop myself from eyeballing her. She’s the kind of pretty that you’d think I’d be numb to, after living in LA for so long—perfect teeth and a youthful glow, long legs and a narrow waist emphasized by the fact that she’swearing only a bikini, sheer cover-up dress, and espadrilles. Maybe it’sbecauseI live in LA that my brain automatically catalogues all of her features that way, as if searching through my mental Rolodex to determine if she’s someone borderline famous that I should recognize. But no, in this case she’s just a girl from Texas, which she tells us immediately.
“We’re from Dallas. Well, not actually Dallas—a suburb outside Dallas. You probably haven’t heard of it. We were on the news last year because we got this really freaky snowstorm? But I’m not sure if it was on the news everywhere, or if it was only big news in Texas because we don’t usually get much snow, and we lost power for like two weeks. I was walking around in every sweater I own—it was crazy.”
Beside her, the husband chews gum and nods slowly.
“I’m Tess, by the way,” she goes on. She hip-bumps her partner and beams up at him. “This is Danny.”
She looks back at us expectantly, waiting for us to introduce ourselves. This shouldn’t present a challenge, but my palms are sweating, and despite the fact that we’re outside, I’m feeling a bit claustrophobic.
“This is Eleanor,” Adam volunteers. “I’m Adam.”
“How long have you two been married?”
“Twelve hours,” Adam answers, and I can’t see his expression from our position, but his tone suggests they’ve been the longest hours of his life. “Give or take.”
Tess’s face lights up. “A Vegas wedding? Us too!”
We’re joined by the third couple, who introduce themselves as Chris and Harvey.
“They’re from California,” Tess informs us dutifully.
“The Bay Area,” Chris adds, to which Tess nods excitedly.
“What about y’all?”
“LA.” I brace for an enthusiastic response from Tess, and am not disappointed. She bounces on the balls of her feet and claps her hands, and I get the distinct impression this woman has been a cheerleader at some point in her life.
“Oh my god, what a small world!”
Despite the urge to point out that LA and San Francisco are six hours apart, or that it really isn’t that big of a coincidence so many of us are from California, I find myself reluctantly charmed by Tess and bite my tongue. It’s her relentless positivity—it reminds me a bit of Iris.
“So did the two of you elope?” Adam asks, and naturally, Tess is the one to answer.
“Yes! We were high school sweethearts. Our parents are actually pretty supportive, but we didn’t want to spend money on a big wedding when we still have college to pay for. Well—I do, at least. Danny has a football scholarship.”
She loops her arms around his waist and gazes up at him adoringly. One corner of Danny’s mouth tugs up, almost sheepish, and he drops a kiss on her forehead. The whole exchange is unaffected and sweet and reinforces how in love they actually are.
Chris volunteers that he and Harvey met back in college and have lived together for nearly twenty years, but only got married last month. “We have a big trip to Europe planned this summer—”
“A cruise,” Harvey adds with a bit of an eye roll.
Chris scoffs. “It’s a luxury ship with stops in the Greek Isles. Don’t act like you’re not excited.”
Tess bites her lip. “I went on a Disney cruise once when I was in middle school!”
Harvey blinks at her. “I’m sure that was lovely.”
“Anyway,” Chris cuts in, presumably before Harvey can say anything snarky. “We’re just here for a quick mini-moon.”
