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And by the way he is looking down at me, I think that’s exactly what he wants me to do.
“Oh, just kiss her already!” Tess calls down from the steps leading back up to the hotel. The rest of the family turns to watch us when Tess yells.
Chants of “Kiss her, kiss her,” rain down on us and I’m not sure what is going through Theo’s mind.
I open my mouth to tell him he doesn’t have to kiss me if he doesn’t want to, but I don’t get the chance. Theo’s lips meet mine and he kisses me like he’s been wanting to do it for a while.
My hands lift and wrap around his neck. His hands are firmly rooted on my hips. Kissing him is everything I thought it would be and so much more. He is gentle and passionate, and his arms are tensed as if he’s holding himself back. If we didn’t have an audience consisting of his entire family, I’d want to climb him like a tree. When we finally pull back from each other, we hear his family cheering behind us.
“Get a room!” I hear Caleb yell and it draws a smile out of Theo and me.
Now we just have to get through the rest of the Wedding Games and a rehearsal dinner before we can get to said room.
Chapter Thirteen
All I can think about is how badly I want Theo to kiss me again. But Tess isn’t letting me have one second to daydream. As soon as lunch is over, she pulls me away from Theo and toward the patio surrounding the pool area.
The second event of the Wedding Games seems more like a frat boy’s dream. The team who has every member shot gun a beer the fastest is the winner. Simple. I look at Team Groom and know this isn’t going to be much of a challenge for them. I glance over at Team Bride and unfortunately my expectations for us are not high.
We’ve got Ruth, wife and mother of two kids under five who hasn’t been to a bar in over a year; Leah, the one who has said about fifty-six times in less than a three minute span that she ‘doesn’t drink that poison’; Sarah, who will down the beer and might even eat the beer can if it sealed a Team Bride victory; Tess, who can shot gun all five of our beers faster than us individually if for no other reason than to rub it in Team Groom’s faces; and me. I am all for a beer with dinner, but I’ve never shot gunned one.
We might be outmatched in this event. And Team Groom knows it. The ten of us take our positions at the rectangular table. Team Groom on one side and Team Bride on the opposite side. Cans of beer are in front of each of us. Once Ruth finishes her can, then Leah can start shot gunning hers, and on it goes down the line. I am not super confident being the anchor of this leg, but if Leah doesn’t finish her beer, then it won’t even be up to me to win this.
Athena has kindly and eagerly agreed to be the referee for this event. She stands at the head of the table and counts down.
“3… 2… 1… Go!”
Ruth stabs her can like it cheated on her and guzzles it faster than her husband across the table. She slams her can down signaling her sister, Leah, to start.
Leah surprises me. She slices her can open and drinks every last drop faster than I anticipate her to. She slams her can down but Isaac, her brother, finishes his beer lightyears faster than her. Caleb has already started his shot gun process.
Sarah has a fire, a passion in her eyes that should frighten me, but oddly doesn’t. She rips her beer open and swallows the can’s contents so quickly that she slams her can down at the same time her fiancé does. She caught us up to Team Groom.
Tess is quick. She’s like a cheetah when it comes to her adult beverages. She slams her empty can down several seconds before Liam and now it’s down to me and Theo.
I stab my can and raise it to my lips. I am chugging like my life depends on it, hoping I don’t hear Theo’s can smash before I can finish. I feel like I’m about to drown in beer, but I can’t stop. I can’t give up. If Tess smells even the slightest bit of quit in me, she’ll push me off my suite balcony. I’m nearing the end of my can and take the last sip and slam my can down but hear Theo smash his can too.
Our heads whip up and our eyes lock.Who won?
Athena is standing at our end of the table and is about to declare a winner. Theo’s green eyes of mischief are dancing. He must know he beat me by a hair. If he did, he will gloat about it for sure.
“The winner of the second event of the Wedding Games is…” Athena’s gaze bounces back and forth between me and her son. She motions toward Theo. “Team Groom.”
The men high five each other and I think I see Caleb try to chest bump Liam but thinks better of it. I rub my hands against the back of my neck. I hate losing. HATE it.
Tess pats me on the back. I recognize her effort to comfort me and gently nudge her with my hip. If I had been just a split second quicker, we could have ended these Wedding Games but now we’ll have to go to the last event, winner take all.
Sarah marches over to me and takes my hands before Theo, who is eyeing me like he wants to say something, can get close enough. “Cate, you were amazing. We would have smoked those boys if Leah had been faster.”
“Hey,” Leah snorts. “I can hear you, you know?”
“Good,” Sarah snorts back. “Cate shouldn’t feel like she lost this for us when you were the reason we fell behind.”
“It’s fine,” I squeeze Sarah’s hands, hoping that will put an end to this. But it doesn’t.
Leah slinks closer to us and pushes her sunglasses on top of her head. Her brown eyes are shooting daggers at Sarah. “I don’t know what your problem is, Sarah, but if you don’t fix your bridezilla attitude, I’m leaving.”
“You want to talk about attitudes, Leah? Let’s talk about attitudes.” Sarah squares her shoulders to her younger, but taller, sister. It looks like they’re about to physically duke it out.
