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Bob smiled slyly, and he jerked his head in a nod.
“Hell yeah, I know you punched that asshole,” he said. Then Bob grinned. “That’s why I know you’re good for her, David. You took care of my kid, and you didn’t ask for any credit for it. You stood up for her because it was the right thing to do. That’s the kind of person I want my daughter to be with.”
Bob got out of the car, then, and he headed into the reception without looking back. I just sat there at the steering wheel for what felt, honestly, like an eternity. Was he right? Was I the good guy in this story? I’d never particularly thought of myself that way. To be honest, I’d always considered myself to be kind of a bad boy, an outsider.
Zoey had always been out of my league. Forever. She’d always been someone I’d wanted, but I knew that I couldn’t touch. Why would I be able to? She was perfect. She was fire and ice and beauty and gold. She was heaven and I was broken. I never thought I’d ever be able to even have a chance with someone like her, and now...
Now it seemed as though the universe was smiling down on me for some reason I just didn’t understand. It was up to me what happened next. I could take advantage of this. I could make the most of it. I could get out of this car and walk into the reception and I could start making Zoey the happiest woman alive, or I could be scared.
Well, fear had no place in my life, I thought. If Bob approved, that was incredible. The idea that he and my mom and Zoey’s mom had all considered that we might end up together was cute to me. I didn’t know what my dad thought about all of this, but I had a feeling that if he didn’t roll his eyes at me, he’d probably agree with everyone else and tell me to stop acting scared and just go for it.
So, I went for it.
I got out of the car and headed inside. There was music playing, and the guests were all gathering. The bride and groom weren’t here yet because apparently, they were supposed to make some sort of special entrance. Luckily, the rest of the wedding party wasn’t being held to the same standard. I wondered if the “special entrance” was just an excuse for them to be allowed to sneak off for a quickie before the reception.
I found Zoey standing by one of the refreshment tables. She was sipping lemonade and talking to my parents, who had come to the wedding, of course. They had been close with Felix’s parents forever. It made sense they would come to the wedding. Besides, during the traditional mother/son dance, Felix wanted my mom to take his mother’s place since Susan couldn’t be here. My mom had cried when he’d asked her, and even though she’d been honored, I think it had broken her heart a little bit, too.
“David,” Zoey said when she saw me. She smiled and gestured for me to come over, so I did.
“Mom,” I murmured, kissing my mother’s cheek.
“Hey sweetie,” my mother said. She gave me a quick hug and my dad simply nodded, letting me know that he saw me, and that we were good. “Zoey was just telling me about her new job. Did you know she works downtown?”
“Is that so?” I asked. I reached for one of the glasses of lemonade that was sitting on the refreshment table, and I sipped it. I made a mental note to get myself a drink from the bar as soon as possible. Lemonade was good, but whiskey would be better.
“It’s so,” Zoey smiled. “It’s a good firm. Actually, it’s pretty close to your office, David. You know, we could have lunch together sometime.”
“I’d like that very much,” I told her. I hadn’t even asked her where she was going to be working or what projects she was starting off with. I knew she had a big one starting next week, according to Felix, but that was it.
“Awesome,” Zoey smiled. She seemed genuinely happy, and that made me glad. It felt good to be desired.
“I’d like to have lunch with you sometime, too,” my mother told Zoey. “It’s been such a long time since the two of us spent time together.” When Mom looked at Zoey, I knew there was a lot going through her head. She missed her friend, I was sure. Was seeing Zoey hard for her because Zoey reminded Mom of Susan? I didn’t know. What I did know was that Zoey had a group of people who adored her, and I was at the front of that group.
“Of course,” Zoey nodded. “That would be great.”
Just then, the music changed, and we all turned to see the bride and groom entering the wedding reception venue. We all clapped and cheered and hollered, but the entire time, my eyes weren’t on Felix and Lauren.
They were on Zoey.
THE RECEPTION, AS FAR as receptions go, was lovely. The decorations were beautiful, and Lauren was smiling and laughing the entire night. I’d never seen Felix look more pleased than he did while he was dancing with his bride. Everyone danced and drank and ate. People came around to tell stories and catch up with old friends. Zoey and I each gave a short little toast, and then the night continued.
Eventually, though, all good parties must come to an end. It was a few hours later, after the last guest had left, that I found myself sitting in the parking lot with Zoey. Her dad had gotten a ride home, Felix and Lauren were off to their house for the night, and everyone else had taken off. Zoey and I sat in the parking lot listening to music from an obscure band we both loved, and we kissed.
We were making out like a couple of teenagers, and it was the best thing I’d ever done. The music was loud, and we were both feeling relaxed and happy. I’d stopped drinking hours earlier, and so had she, so neither one of us had any sort of buzz going. We just felt content to be together.
“You were beautiful tonight,” I told her.
“Tonight?” Zoey laughed and gestured outside. It was still light out. The wedding had been right after lunch with the reception immediately following. “Talk about a wedding for geezers,” she laughed, shaking her head. “Felix and Lauren really went all out, didn’t they?”
“Well, you know,” I shrugged. “She probably gets tired more easily now.”
“Maybe,” Zoey nodded.
“What do you want to do now?”
The party was over, and everyone had gone home. Felix and Lauren were both wildly exhausted from everything that happened. They might have had an afternoon reception, but they were both worn out from the wedding, the dancing, and the socializing. If I knew anything about my friend, he was probably already sleeping, and Lauren probably was, too.
Still, there was no way to deny the fact that it was barely past dinnertime. I was getting hungry again, and I bet Zoey was, too. I wanted to know if she wanted this date to continue, if she wanted to keep spending time with me.
