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Twenty
Even though I thought I would never make it to the wedding, finally, it was the week of. Catalina and my mom teamed up to make sure that I didn’t have to worry about any other details before the big day, which meant they arranged a bachelorette party, a couple of days before the rehearsal dinner, against my wishes. Cat came over to my place a few hours before to do my hair and makeup.
“Who’s even gonna be there for it?” I asked as Cat arranged my hair around my face. She gave a sharper tug than I felt was necessary and I winced. “Sorry, besides you.”
“I guess you’ll just have to wait and see. God, were you always this insistent on not being surprised?”
“Were you always this unwilling to give me the goods?”
She smirked at my reflection in the mirror. “Shouldn’t someone else be giving you the goods?” I rolled my eyes and her smirk grew wider. “Speaking of the king, how’s he doing these days?”
I sighed as I fiddled with my sleeves. Cat refused to see him more than was necessary these days, which meant that she never saw him. I can’t hold your secret for long, she said. I can’t straight-up lie to the man and not tell him you’re also in love with someone else. “He’s good. Nervous, it seems.”
At the word nervous, her hands stilled and she frowned. “What does he have to be nervous about? Y’all are already married. The hard work is done; now all that’s left is the fun stuff.”
I shrugged, my shoulders lifting in as much apprehension as I felt coming from her. “Fuck if I know, Cat. The man’s an enigma these days.”
“Hmm.” She came around to squat in front of me with a makeup brush. She swiped it in the powder and dusted it across my face. “That’s strange. Michael’s the last person I’d expect to be mysterious.”
“I know.” I closed my eyes as she got closer to them with the brush. “Usually, he’s an open book. Lately, not so much.”
Cat hummed her concern as she closed the makeup container and picked up another. Though I tried to make eye contact with her, she kept her eyes down as she asked, “What do you think it could be?”
I lifted my shoulders again. “Work? Practice?”
“The fact that he knows he has competition?”
I grunted my irritation as I closed my eyes again.
“What?” I could hear the defense in her voice. “Your attraction for Andrew is apparent. And his for you is undeniable. It was only a matter of time before Michael put the pieces together and felt some type of way about it.”
“That’s the thing, he’s not around enough to see anything. Besides”—I scoffed, trying not to fidget—“Andrew and I don’t hang out anymore. He’s on the road with the band. And most importantly, Michael wouldn’t only be able to see something if it was more than attraction. I would need to have feelings for Andrew. And he would need to have feelings for me.”
Cat’s long-suffering sigh was her only reply. I focused on the jangle of her bracelets to distract my mind from indulging in the memory of Andrew’s body so close to mine. “But whatever. I’m sure whatever Michael’s struggling with will be over by the time he sees me walking down the aisle.”
Cat’s eyes met mine in the mirror. “Girl, for your sake, I hope so.”
* * *
Not surprisingly, Cat was only able to round up a few of our mutual acquaintances from high school. My mom, thank God, bowed out at the last minute, citing “you shouldn’t have your old mother hanging around” as her reason. I knew better than to say it aloud, but I’d much rather have my mom hanging out with us than a bunch of people I barely spoke to even in high school.
Cat, keeping up the secret, ordered me to blindfold myself when we got in the limo. “Either you can do it, or I’ll do it,” she said, watching my hesitation with sharp eyes.
I rolled my own eyes before taking the slip of fabric from her. “Fine, fine, I’ll do it.” I pulled the proverbial wool over my eyes and sighed. “Better?”
“Much. Now sit back, relax, and have some champagne.” She gently placed a glass in my hand. “And yes, it’s actual champagne. Drink up.”
Without hesitating, I tipped the glass back and did just that. The cool, bubbly liquid poured down my throat at a rate I didn’t think was possible without choking. As the alcohol effervesced in my system, I tried not to fidget with the glass. “Now what?”
“Damn, girl, I didn’t think you’d drink it that fast!” Catalina’s disembodied voice came from my right side. “Want another?”
Ignoring the mischief in her voice, I held my glass out. “Yes, please.”
By the time we arrived at wherever we were, I already had two more glasses of champagne and not nearly enough hors d’oeuvres. I stumbled out of the limo, teetering precariously on pinheads-for-heels. Catalina took it upon herself to untie my mask with a flourish. I blinked as I looked around.
“Welcome,” she said, “to bachelorette paradise.”
All around us, groups of women—also teetering on tiny heels—flooded the streets. Get the perfect mani-pedi combo here! one sign shouted. Best bar in town! another yelled. The thumping baseline seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere and provided a weird backdrop to this bachelorette hellhole.
