“So you’re also from New York?” asked Tom. Tom, who had nose hairs visibly protruding from his nostrils. He was standing too close to her, leaning down and in to talk. I didn’t like that one bit, but could do nothing about it as Rich started asking me about how my project at work was going.
“Is the backend ready for the new UI?” he asked. Rich and I didn’t like each other. I don’t know why he tried to talk to me. Maybe he could tell that I wanted to talk to Anna and was trying to piss me off. It was working.
“Not yet. We…” I watched from the corner of my eye as Tom and Anna chatted. She looked up at him coquettishly and slapped his arm, laughing at something he’d said. Really, Tom? I frowned, then turned away and focused on answering Rich’s question.
“We had to deal with some security issues.” I explained the issues in excruciating detail until Rich hurriedly wished me luck and turned to talk to Prisha.
By the time I turned around again, Tom was talking to Emily and Anna was gone. Hmph.
After a few minutes, the shuttle arrived and we all shuffled on board, our group filling up the rows in the back. I eventually saw Anna take a seat in the front, surrounded by what I assumed were some of her college acquaintances, based on their polite chatter.
I spent the next 30 minutes staring at the back of her head, the gorgeous slope of her neck and shoulders, only periodically turning away when one of my coworkers addressed me directly. They talked about sports, new shows, the latest restaurants and bars in New York, and occasionally, work gossip. Small talk. I didn’t have much to add to the conversation. If this was Anna’s experience of people in tech, no wonder she assumed that I was bland.
I glanced out the window as the shuttle pulled into a paved parking area. Everyone began ooh-ing and ah-ing at the sight, and even I had to whistle. Cassie and Michael (or their parents) had spared no expense—the venue was absolutely breathtaking. The entrance to the high-ceilinged barn was decorated from top to bottom with pale blooms, succulents, and ivy. Trellises with grapevines and delicate white lace lined the path to the outdoor ceremony, then continued further on to the reception area. Golden vineyards stretched for as far as the eye could see, charming and rustic in the afternoon sun.
We all swiveled our heads to take in the views as we got off the shuttle and slowly filed towards where the outdoor ceremony was to take place. I noticed Anna ahead of me, her heels periodically sinking into the dirt, causing her to jerk her feet up in order to get the shoes out, then tiptoe on the balls of her shoes like a T-Rex.
I left my group and caught up to her, taking her arm and looping it through mine. “Seems like you could use a hand.”
She got me a grateful look. “Thanks. I thought I was about to get really cozy with these trellises.”
I laughed and placed my hand over hers. “You’d fit right in, so pretty and pink like the flowers.”
“Uh huh.” She smiled wryly and shook her head. No eye roll? Progress!
“What? You are. You look like a thousand bucks.”
“A thousand? Don’t you mean a million?”
“If you weren’t walking like a drunk runway model, maybe.”
Her shoulders shook with quiet laughter. Then she casually placed her other hand over mine and looked up at me through her curled lashes. “You know, you shouldn’t waste your breath flirting with me. You’re never getting into my panties.” The flirtatious look she gave me suggested otherwise.
Hmm. Was it the Ethiopian food? My bespoke suit? Whatever it was that did the trick, she’d somehow started to come around. I smiled and rubbed my thumb along her fingers.
“Never?”
“Never.”
“Good thing you’re not wearing any right now,” I guessed.
She stopped walking and gaped at me. “How would you know?”
I laughed. “Your dress doesn’t leave much to the imagination, especially with that thigh slit.”
She frowned at me, then shook her head and continued walking. “Whatever,” she muttered. “You know what I mean.”
Not breaking stride, I shifted towards her and lifted her hand. She watched me closely, her face difficult to read, as I pressed a lingering kiss to her knuckles. “I can’t help flirting with you,” I told her. “You look absolutely stunning.”
She stopped walking once more and scanned my face, something flickering in her eyes at what she found. Whatever it was, she soon turned and continued ahead without responding, pulling me along with her.
People turned their heads as I escorted her to the ceremony area—she looked that good. So I didn’t mind that we’d ended up standing near the back together, as nearly all of the seats were filled by the time that we’d arrived.
The ceremony itself was fairly standard. Cassie, in a huge white princess gown, was escorted down the aisle by her father, a large man with a cartoonishly happy face. Michael stood at the makeshift altar, tall, lean, and bearded, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. The ring bearer, their dog Frankie, wore a bowtie collar with the rings looped through it. He’d trotted up the aisle admirably, and Michael’s best man rewarded him at the end with a small treat.
A couple of their friends did readings (two poems by e e cummings), then the bride and groom exchanged vows. They promised the usual to each other, were pronounced husband and wife, and sealed it with a PG-13 kiss while we all looked on and cheered.
No more than fifteen minutes after we’d arrived, the ceremony was complete, and we were asked to head
