AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nicole might not have been a great cook, but she could decorate. The entire house was stylish. Everything was neutral, dark, and warm colors. Tans, greens, and browns were the color schemes of each room, and it felt comforting and homey. I could tell they loved the house, and I was glad I played a role in making their first homebuying experience a great one.
Sav caught my eye from across the table.
She laughed at something Lucas said, and the irrational anger came crawling back. I’d wanted to sit beside her, but Sean wanted her next to him, and Lucas had lunged for the available seat on her other side. It would have been weird to insist, so I found an empty spot between Brian and Anna. Nicole and Sean sat at opposing ends of the table, and I’d somehow landed myself in the middle, across from Lucas’s dumb face.
“Okay, let’s eat,” Sean announced.
People began passing around dishes, and I took what looked edible. After Sean made his plate, he discussed details about the wedding and what events we needed to prepare for, including an engagement party in a few weeks, a night out with the whole wedding party, and then a girls’ and guys’ day before the big day.
Nicole jumped in. “Essentially, we’ve paired everyone off, so you’ll have to get familiar with your ceremony partner. Chris is the best man, and Anna is the maid of honor, so you’ll walk down the aisle together. We’ll also have you pose for photos together.”
Anna made a lowoooh. She winked at me and said, “I hated joint assignments in school, but this one’s okay since I’m with the hot one.”
I resisted the urge to cringe and gave her a half smile instead.
Brian leaned in and whispered, “You’re definitelynotthe hot one.”
I faced him. “You’renot the hot one either.”
He nodded. “You’re right. Lucas is.”
My eyes landed on the man in question. He was stealing looks at Sav from the corner of his eye while she drank a glass of wine.
“You’re full of shit,” I whispered, and Brian snorted.
Nicole continued. “Laura and Brian will be paired, and Lucas and Savannah will work together.”
Sav turned to Lucas and smiled. The look in her eyes made my heart squeeze. I almost missed the rest of the speech but tuned back in as they discussed dress requirements, theme, and a bunch of other stuff I didn’t care much about.
“I’ll detail it all in an email,” she said in closing.
“Great job, babe.” Sean clapped his hands together once. “Now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way, we can relax and enjoy the rest of our evening.”
“Yay,” Anna said, touching my forearm. “I can catch up with the best man. It’s been too long.”
I groaned internally.
I’d met Anna precisely one other time when she visited for Nicole’s birthday party. I thought she was hot at first, but once I talked to her, I quickly realized she had a shitty personality.
She complained about everything, including Nicole and Sean. Her attitude had bummed me out, and she sloppily propositioned me before the night was over. I turned her down, and she got upset. It was an event I wouldn’t want to relive.
“You should give me your number,” she said. “You didn’t give it to me last time, and Nicole said she didn’t want to violate your privacy by giving it to me without your permission.” She rolled her eyes like Nicole’s respect for my privacy was laughable. “We should be able to reach each other now that we’re important wedding party members.”
I hummed in response, trying to think of what to say. “I don’t give my number out too often, but you could add me on Facebook.”
She beamed. “Okay!” She pulled out her phone, and I searched for my profile.
I didn’t even have the app downloaded to my phone, so it wasn’t likely I’d ever check and see her messages to me. Sean could play the middleman between us. I doubted I’d see much more of her after the wedding. There was no point in establishing a solid line of communication.
She flipped through my profile photos. “I bet you get unsolicited messages from girls all the time with pics like these.”
“Not really.”
She scoffed. “Oh, come on. I’m sure you’re just being modest.”
If Anna wasn’t already off-limits, she would be a plain “no,” because she didn’t respect me. I was a piece of meat to her. A pawn she would use to make herself feel better or whatever her goal was.
Sure, when I took women home, we both just wanted to feel good. But I respected them, and I expected them to respect me, too. I didn’t take someone home and treat them like they’d just been a warm body. I treated them well. I just didn’t want to continue the relationship into something more.
