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A finger slips inside the panties, the contact making my body lurch. He pulls his face from mine, the barest inch. “May I?” he asks, his voice low.
“Yes,” I say, and then he’s on me, mouth pressed on mine, fingers delving into me. I want to cry out, to scream. He works me so quickly, so fast. I’m spiraling out of control, gasping, rising to the precipice.
But then he stops, cocking his head to listen.
I want to groan with frustration, but then I hear it, too. “What is that?”
We go still. The rain is only a light patter on the roof. But the sound becomes clear. The slam of a car door. Then another. Then the rumble of an engine starting.
“It’s over,” he says. “We have to catch them before they all leave.” He stares down at me, my body exposed in the open zipper of the coveralls. “Damn it.” His jaw ticks. “We have no choice.”
I nod, dropping my legs so I can move off the cot.
I glance back at the dress. Should I try to get it back on?
“We have to hurry,” Drew says. He lunges for his pants and shoves his legs inside. He’s barely thrown his shirt over his shoulders and shoved his feet in his shoes when he’s out the door.
I zip up the coveralls and stand in the doorway, watching him dash down the path. Lights pierce the trees in a dozen directions, cars coming to life. I wait a few moments, wondering if I should change. But then the other bridesmaids are there, holding out my purse and phone, hugging me.
Ronnie’s sister, Becca, gathers my dress and shoes. She doesn’t notice the bra, thank God. “Let’s get you to the hotel,” she says. “And don’t worry, Dad is spitting mad. He’s going to deal with Felicia.”
Another bridesmaid brought flats for the dancing, so she passes them to me to wear as we walk out of the shed. When they’ve gone a few steps, I say, “Hold on a second,” and race back into the building.
I gather Drew’s jacket and bow tie and socks. I shove my bra into my purse and look around a moment. Things happened here. I feel different. Missing the wedding was horrible, but this loss seems worse.
I felt something, and it’s over before it even began.
I pull the light cord. In moments, I’ve joined the bridesmaids, and we’re dashing around the corner of the building. There was a side door so close the whole time. Just a few more steps in the storm, and we would have seen it. Drew is standing inside it, nodding at another groomsman, his face serious. He doesn’t look up.
We huddle in the warm limo, and all the talk is about Felicia. My phone buzzes, and it’s Ronnie:I can’t believe this happened!
I tell her to have a happy honeymoon and tuck my phone in my purse.
Drew appears in the door, and I pass him his things. He gives me a quick nod and takes a seat at the other end of the car.
“She made you miss the wedding!” Becca says. “Thank God her daughter decided not to ride with us. I’d kick her in the shin!”
“She’s probably as big a victim as the rest of us,” I say, feeling terribly self-conscious in the oversize coveralls.
“Just look at you!” Becca says. “Stuck out in the storm, drenched like a dog!”
She goes on, but I tune her out. I watch Drew on the other side. He drops his socks in a trash can and folds his wet jacket on his lap. He looks as handsome as he did before the disaster, with only a slight curl to his hair. I ache for him, even if I’m shocked at how far things got.
He meets my gaze with a grim press of his lips, but then he turns to accept a bottle of beer from one of the groomsmen and the moment is gone.
All that’s left is going home.
Chapter 6
DREW
Monday comes all too soon after the excruciating wedding weekend. Franklin’s on his honeymoon, so beyond what I heard in the limo on the way back to the hotel, I’m clueless to any fallout of our ejection.
I probably should have talked to Ensley when we got back. Things did get out of hand. But I will not give her any false hope. I made very clear the sole reason why I seek women out. Even if we got cut off, she can’t be an exception. I’m not the man for her. I can’t be.
“Dr.Daniels?” The voice is timid, almost fearful. It’s Jenny, the new receptionist. The last one quit after only three weeks, saying I created a hostile work environment.
The techs took Jenny aside to avoid a repeat situation. The side effect is that she’s terrified of me.
