AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He doesn’t look away. He just stares – his eyes taking me in from head to toe. And when I narrow mine slightly, he just smiles.
He’s good looking and he knows it.
I know it, too, but I’m not going there. For many, many reasons. Ones that aren’t coming to mind right now, but I still know exist.
I met Alex last summer when Ally moved here to Pine Cove and we all went to The Rusty Anchor for a girl’s night out. Alex is the bartender there, and from what I saw, he definitely uses that to his advantage for picking up women.
I watched him that night, and the following one, flirting, smiling, winking, and oozing charm from his pores like he poured drinks – second nature, and without thinking twice.
Looking down, I study my bouquet of white English roses and eucalyptus, trying to focus on what I’m supposed to be doing.
Which is what again?
Oh, right, Ally’s wedding. Not about how I want to see Alex’s emerald eyes up close again, or maybe what it would be like to kiss that sexy smirk off his lips.
Taking a deep breath, I look back up, and smile at the vision in white lace that Ally is as she takes her last few steps towards her soon-to-be husband. But no matter how hard I try to focus on her, my eyes are like magnets being pulled back to his.
But then a movement to his right catches my attention, and I take notice of the woman next to him. She’s clinging to his arm like she’s afraid he’ll run away, while her other hand rubs up and down his thigh. He doesn’t give her any attention, though, instead just tilts his head slightly, his eyes on mine – reading my reaction.
Of course he has a date, and of course she looks like she should be straddling a Harley Davidson as Miss September. He really needs to not be looking at me like he is while he has a woman like that hanging all over him.
She’s beautiful, too, with long dark hair, a slim frame, and is wearing a tight, form fitting black dress, that’s showing off her generous, uh, chest.
I bet she feels special that he chose her. But I can also bet that she’ll be just like the others I’m sure have come before her – a means to an end, and just a single night in a string of many that won’t include her. Alex doesn’t strike me as a man who keeps a woman around for long, let alone have a steady girlfriend.
My eyes flit away from him, and then back. He looks down at her, and leans in to whisper something in her ear that makes her smile and blush. He’s probably promising to sneak off with her the second it’s dark enough to some place no one will see them. Kind of like Ashley and Ryan when they first met.
That thought has me biting back a smile and sneaking a look between the two of them as they make eyes at each other across the alter. Ash and Ry look like they’re ready to sneak off the second it gets dark too.
Ugh. Blinking the images of their forest sex away, I watch Dr. Taylor hand Ally off to Jake as they take their place in front of the arch that’s made up of white, pale pink, and burgundy flowers, flowing down to the ground like a gift from the sky to the earth.
They look at each other with such love and devotion that it brings tears to my eyes as they exchange their words of love. And when they kiss for the first time as husband and wife, I look out at the people closest to them all smiling and cheering, joining and sharing in their happiness.
But it’s that same pair of green eyes that find mine again, standing out from everyone else’s.
“I can’t believe Ally is married,” Ellie says to me as we take our seats at the wedding party table for the reception.
“I know. She looks really happy.”
“Yeah.” I can hear the twinge of jealousy in both of our voices, but we ignore it, knowing nothing good can come from admitting, or talking about it.
Over the past year and a half, Ellie and I have had to watch our best friends since high school move hundreds of miles away and fall head over heels in love. I hate that we only get to see them maybe once or twice a year now, meanwhile Ally and Ash get to see each other whenever they want.
They also have Courtney, who was Ally’s first friend when she moved here, and gave her a job right away at the café she owns. She’s also madly in love with her husband Jack, who is a fireman in town with Jake’s younger brother Tyler. I mean, it’s unfair all the hotness that has been bestowed upon the three of them, and here I sit – alone.
“Mel, did you get all misty eyed up there?” Ashley asks, smiling as she sits down next to me.
“Didn’t you?”
“I did, but then I looked across to Ryan and saw him looking at me with that look he gets.” She smirks. “I mean, I do look really good in this dress.” She looks down at her girls and puffs her chest out. “My boobs are having a good day.”
“Oh my god, Ash.” I laugh, shaking my head.
“What? They are. And Rylovesmy boobs. I also love him in a suit. Damn, that man knows how to tease me. I can’t wait to sneak off with him in a little while.” Biting her lip, Ryan comes up behind her and kisses the side of her exposed neck before taking the seat next to her. Leaning into him, she smiles up at him, a silent exchange of words happening in a single look.
Turning back to Ellie, we roll our eyes at each other. Those Taylor brothers have our best friends acting like sex craved lunatics.
I don’t even know the last time I wanted a man so badly that I counted down the minutes until I could sneak away with him. I don’t think I’veeverwanted a man that badly.
