“Yeah, I open them in the morning with my coffee.” I have to admit, Sami has won me over with this wedding. Her gift bags alone speak volumes about the thought she puts into other people, something I never would have imagined her capable of.
“Have you taken a bath with the salts from Wednesday yet? They’re amazing. My skin is so soft.” Sukii opens the French hand cream that came in today’s bag and takes a sniff.
“No, maybe that’s what I’ll do this evening. Since we’re free.”
She glances up. “Promise you’re not mad at me.”
“I swear, not mad. Just hoping you’re being smart and careful. Athletes are known for womanizing.” It’s more than I should say.
“I know. It’s not like I’ll end up with him, but maybe we’ll have some fun and hot sex . . .” Her voice trails off and it’s obvious she wants this to become something.
“But keep your eyes open and expect the worst.” I raise my glass of sparkling water at her. “That is my new motto.” I drink it back, loving the feel of the bubbles on my throat.
“And on that positive note, I’ll leave you to enjoy your solitary evening.” She chuckles. “Let’s ride over together tomorrow for the wedding.” She blows a kiss and saunters out my front door and across the path to her own cottage.
The sun is setting, lighting the sky with oranges and pinks. I take my water out to the porch and sit with a blanket curled around me.
In the silence everything slows down, and my head starts to take in the last couple of days.
My mind does a slow dance through certain aspects of the wedding, making me embarrassed and wishing it had gone differently, particularly with Lawrence, but I find I’m also quite happy with other events. Meeting Beverly and the family I can’t believe Matt Brimley belongs to, filled with normal people who have nothing but funny stories and sassy accents. The few times I’ve seen him with them makes me like him more.
Slowly but surely, my mind tiptoes to Ben.
Has he noticed I’m gone?
Did he stop by my apartment to find I’m not there?
Are the movers there and he’s panicking?
Has he been trying to call me or called someone to check on me?
As delightful as I thought this would feel, there’s some icky guilt. I’m not sure if I should be proud of ghosting him or ashamed or a bit of both.
“You look deep in thought,” a voice interrupts from the shadows.
I lift my head to find Lawrence walking by the front of my place to his.
He stops, grinning under the dim streetlight, and I realize the sun has gone down while I’ve been out here.
“I’d say a penny for your thoughts, but I’m scared I might have to pull out my checkbook.”
“It’s just so quiet here,” I reply before thinking and I’m sure it sounds crazy.
But he walks to me, nodding. “I know, it’s as if the stillness requires extra contemplations as payment for the peace.” It’s the smartest thing I’ve heard from a guy like him.
“Ex-exactly,” I stammer and have to agree.
“I keep finding myself startled back from the oblivion of daydreaming.” He doesn’t continue walking. “I don’t recall the last time I felt so peaceful in a place.”
“Right.” I change the subject to avoid getting deep with him, “Shouldn’t you be at the rehearsal dinner?”
“I rehearsed all I could and escaped out the back when no one was looking.” He points at the lake. “Actually, I escaped because that old guy, Sam, says there’s going to be a meteor shower, and if we lie on the dock or float in the middle of the lake, we’ll be able to see it clearly. I guess the moon rose early and now it’s gone so the sky should be dark enough.” He shrugs.
“Oh really? I’ve never seen one of those—” I pause, realizing it sounds like I’m inviting myself.
“Yeah, me either. I was gonna grab a blanket to lie on. I don’t think my back can handle the dock for hours.” He hesitates as if realizing how awkward this is between us here alone in the dim light, him being so cute and me being so single. “I think other people are coming. Bev said maybe. You should come.”
“Sure.” How can I say no after sounding so into it? “Let me grab something to lie on too.” I hurry inside and grab the thick fleecy throw from the sofa and a bottle of sparkling water and rush back out.
He meets me at my stairs holding a blanket and a few beers. His eyes are wide and earnest now. That schoolboy spark is there, and I remind myself that instead of putting on lip gloss, I need to fight finding him attractive because it’s not possible. Not someone like him, so much younger and a hockey player.
“Ready?” he asks though it’s obvious I am.
“Yeah.” I grin like an idiot.
Oh God, I want to kiss him. His lips are so perfect. And the way his stare finds mine makes me believe he wants to kiss me too. I wrinkle my nose and tell myself I’m reading too much into everything and forgetting my hockey player rule.
“Okay,” he says and it takes a minute for us to stop staring at each other.
It’s awkward as hell but we start walking to the lake. On the downhill part of the path, I notice he has a slight limp and cling to that as a topic to discuss. “Did you hurt your leg in that last game?” I ask, pretending I didn’t watch it or know the exact moment he was injured. I nearly threw my beer watching it with my dad.
“Yeah, it’s a charley horse.”
“Did you roll it out?”
“I did but
