3 Crushes and a Wedding Ch. 07

Jill, Kay, and I shared a knowing glance. We shrugged and smiled, then got up. The insistent pinky was somehow still laced with mine. The pinky's owner was next to me, shoulder to shoulder, causing millions of shivers in my body.

"I'll kill you if you tell him I had the jitters," Em scolded us and we laughed. "Seriously," she repeated.

"You were the happiest, brightest, most confident bride all day long and we barely managed to contain your excitement," Kay raised her hands in mock surrender.

"Zero doubts, zero questions, zero jitters. You never wavered," Jill piled on.

"That's what I'm talking about," Em smiled. "Now let's attach the veil and go do this!"

She bounded out of the bedroom and into the living room where the rest of her stuff was. Kay and Jill followed her, while I stood there, rooted to the ground by that pinky that had encircled and trapped mine.

I looked down at our hands, then slowly forced my eyes up to meet Megan's. I wasn't ready for this, but I had to know. What did this mean? What did any of it mean?

The look in her eyes threw me off. For the first time since the start of the weekend, they were completely open to me. It felt like the deepest pits of her soul were laying bare, like I could delve and explore and leave no stone unturned. I had never been given this kind of privileged access to her, or anyone else, in my entire life. I gulped and felt at loss. Do I let myself believe and hope? Or do I control my unbridled optimism?

"There's so much that's right, here," she whispered.

I didn't dare scream 'yes.' The earlier rejection in her room was still too raw. Or maybe I had had enough with her indecisiveness.

I tried to tear my eyes away from hers to give myself some room to think objectively. It didn't work.

"Zoe, there's too much that is right," she repeated, then started pushing me.

I don't know how one pinky can control an entire human being, but that's what it did. In two seconds, I was trapped between her and the wall. All I could see were her eyes, all I could smell her perfume, all I could feel... her. All of her, on me. Over me. Beyond me. Overpowering. Intoxicating.

"I'm sorry, I reacted like an idiot, a hurt, jealous, immature idiot," she said in her low raspy voice, the one that made my knees buckle and my mouth dry. "I'm more scared of losing you now. I'm so scared I wouldn't even let myself admit it."

At this point, I wasn't really thinking anymore. I was already lost, running around in her green eyes and hoping the golden speckles of her irises wouldn't burn me. Those speckles were always a happy sight, but from this short distance, and under such an intense stare, it felt like I was looking at the sun through a magnifier glass. It burned. Heat everywhere.

I was boiling but her words somehow made me feel lighter, calmer. Airy. Good thing I was pinned to the wall, or I would have floated away like a hot air balloon and carried her with me — pinkies laced.

I relaxed into the wall. My paralyzed hands sprang into life and grabbed her sides, pushing her into me. Our dresses brushed then meshed together.

"Zoe, Megan, where are you two?" Em's voice carried over from the other room.

I stiffened.

"One sec, I'm seducing your bridesmaid," Meg shouted back, then winked at me.

Oh. My. God. The mischievous look on her face, the twinkle in her eye. It didn't even take a millisecond for her to switch into this other version of herself. Jarring. But delicious.

"Kiss me," she whispered. The raspy hints of her voice carried those words straight to my heart, then down further, into the parts of me that she'd expertly toyed with during my massage.

Was this really happening? Less than an hour ago, she'd abando... And now... Was any of this real?

"What the... What are you doing?" I whispered back.

"Making sure everyone knows you're taken, so there are no more misunderstandings. Now, can you please kiss me?"

Her lips stayed parted, quivering, inviting. A short exhale escaped them, carrying a waft of her into me. I felt warm and tingly.

Could I kiss her? Despite all the potential red flags, could I kiss her?

It wasn't even a question. It was an inevitability. As if I'd spent my whole life running around in circles just so I could escape and end up in this moment, trapped between her and the wall, waiting for her lips to meet mine.

I tried a silly excuse. "They're gonna come in."

"I don't care, kiss me." She gave me another smoldering look.

Oof. I was already turning to jelly in her arms. One more of those and I'd crumble at her feet. Maybe push her to say it one more time?

"I thought I had to earn it," I smirked, reminding her of the rule she'd established early in the morning, when she was in my room, on my bed.

"Oh for heaven's sake. I'm not going to that wedding as your date before we kiss. So kiss me," she took a pause, which let a more vulnerable side of her slip through the cracks, "please."

That's it. Resistance was futile. And unwanted to begin with.

No more teasing. We leaned in together, her green eyes magnetically pulling me in. In reality, only a few inches separated our faces, but in my mind, it felt like miles and miles. I wanted that distance gone; we just couldn't be separated by any measure, inches or less, ever again.

A small smile pulled up the corner of her lip, her eyes danced, then everything went dark. I later realized I had closed my eyes to savor the moment.

There was silence, suspension, stillness. Then there was ringing, movement, chaos.

A marching band was speeding across my body, pulsating across my skin and lungs and heart. I felt weak and invincible, in control and out of it. How could she keep triggering these feelings in me? The world had ceased to exist. The ground too. The entire room. The wall behind me. Everything had disappeared. Everything but her body next to mine, her hips in my hands, her scent in my lungs, her moans in my ears. And her mouth... her mouth touching me. I was kissing Megan and Megan was kissing me. That's all that mattered.

Her lips were so soft, so fluffy and soft. And delicious too. A faint hint of toothpaste lingered, but it was mostly her. Her smell, her flavor, her sweetness. Her teeth dug into my lower lip and I could hear a faint whimper escape between our mouths. Hers? Mine? Ours.

I let her suck my lip. Because I wanted to let her suck my lip. Also because I couldn't imagine doing anything else in my life that would be more delicious and rewarding than standing there and letting her suck my lip.

Maybe suck her lip back? I waited for her to come back to my mouth, for our tongues to duel, for our saliva and heaving breaths to melt together, then I took over and attacked her lips.

Yeah, this was better. Good competition, but we had a clear winner.

I was high on adrenaline and craving a bit more control. I grabbed her and flipped us around. Who was pinning whom now?

She melted into the wall, her knees buckling.

"Fff... Uck," she whimpered in two breaths, and threw her head back at the wall, exposing her entire neck.

"You realize you can't leave this like this, in front of me." I whispered while caressing her neck with my thumb.

"Or what?" The smokey look and smirk were enough to make me go weak in the knees too.

"Or I'll have to lick all of it again, like I did this morning."

She shrugged and smiled. The naughtiest innocent smile I'd ever seen.

I dipped, grabbed her earlobe, making her squeal, and trailed my tongue down all the way to the front of her neck. Looking up, I made sure the smile was wiped off her face, then I went up to the other ear and suckled. She grunted and dug her nails deep in my butt.

That's when I became aware of other noises in the room. Throat clearing and gentle knocks.

I stopped and turned to the source, mentally registering the whimper that my retreat had caused in Meg. More. I wanted more too. So much more. But Kay stood at the door, grinning with a raised eyebrow.

"Your seducing will have to wait a bit. We have a wedding to attend, and you two have to walk in before the bride." Then she teased, "Sorry if this is causing any inconveniences, but them's the rules." As she walked away, she gestured and mouthed "over" and "under" to me, reminding me of her advice during our manicure and facial, then did a happy two-handed thumbs-up.

I turned back to find Megan smiling a very flustered 'caught by the principal but I did nothing wrong' smile.

"We should uh..."

"Yeah."

I didn't move. Neither did she.

"That was..."

"Yeah."

"Raincheck?" I asked, hopeful.

"More like a ceremony break then I'm coming back for seconds," she laughed, "or in the case of my neck, thirds." Another laugh, this one low and throaty followed, and it was unlike any laugh I'd heard from her before.

I chuckled back. Mine was in the same register. I recognized my horny voice. Was it hers too?

She gave me a quick peck on the cheek and gently pushed me away. I hung on to her pinky. When she looked down and smiled, I did the same and said, "So I don't fall."

"That bad, huh?"

"Weak knees."

She sighed. "You and me both. That was hot."

"Scorching."

"Can you, uh, use your tongue like that in other places?"

"If you ask nicely," I teased as we walked out of the bedroom. She elbowed me. "What?! That 'please' was very convincing. I'd love to hear it again."

We blushed our way through the last-minute preps with Em, Jill, and Kay, but somehow managed to keep our pinkies laced the whole time. They only separated, reluctantly, for the walk down the aisle, then found each other again at the altar.

The ceremony was sweet and adorable, like Em and Dave's whole relationship. Everyone ooh'ed and ah'ed when Emily walked in, teared up during the vows, then smiled and laughed when they kissed.

For a while, I was afraid this very serious commitment situation would make Meg coil back or distance herself, but she stayed there, next to me, with her pinky wrapped around mine the whole time. We shared glances and smiles, and I had to remind myself a thousand times that we were just getting started. That we hadn't properly dated yet. That we'd realistically just met two days earlier. Everything that happened when we were younger didn't count; it was another version of us. This wasn't just another chapter, it was a whole other life.

Even this, this wasn't completely real either. This was a destination wedding and lots of things happen at destination weddings that would never happen elsewhere. Real life was back home, in Chicago, and that's where this relationship would either be solidified or melt into a puddle of high expectations and bitter realities.

But how could I not get carried away? This was Megan, my Megan, my ray of sunshine Megan, my hot cocoa and a chill talk Megan, my breakfast on the lanai Megan, my fingering during a massage Megan, my whimpering while pinned against a wall Megan, next to me, and she'd admitted she liked me, and she wanted us to move forward. How could I not get carried away? How could I stop myself from imagining a wedding like this for us at some point in the future?

When the ceremony ended and we finished posing for pics with the rest of the party, we somehow found ourselves a few steps away from everyone. She leaned into me and rested her head on my shoulder, sighing with content. It felt as if she'd done this a million times already. Her head belonged on my shoulder.

"This was beautiful."

"How are you not freaking out?" I joked, kindly.

A nervous smile. "I am, kind of, but not enough to run away."

Then her whole demeanor became a lot more serious. She looked me in the eyes, one of her signature deep stares that invaded my soul and ravaged my insides, and I knew I was in trouble.

"Deep down, I've always wondered what would've happened if I never left. Now, I'm starting to realize that maybe I had to go away, live my dream, and discover a different life, to finally see that nothing compares to you. Nothing can replace you." She choked a little. "There's a version of me that only exists when you're around," she declared, shyly, but with a seductive tone. "I like that me. I think it might be the real me. And I'd like to keep being that person, which means keeping you around," she smiled, having completed her switch into her teasing and seductive persona.

"Wow, that is the least selfish proposal anyone has ever made," I teased back.

Her eyes twinkled and her dimples deepened. "Ellen Zoe Matthews," she fake-frowned, and for the first time in two decades I didn't coil when my real first name was used by someone other than Valentina. I had closed that chapter for good now, hadn't I? "I'm being serious for a minute."

My mouth dried up. I allowed her last confession to make its way to my heart and brain. I guess I had still been holding myself back, ever since she'd apologized in the bridal suite. I wanted all of this to be real but I didn't want to get hurt by her indecision again, so I hadn't really let myself believe. But these last words... They were everything. I felt them in my core. There was a version of me that only existed for her, too. A side of me that only awakened when she was around. I didn't know how to describe it, but it was just... better. Everything was better with her, but most importantly, I was better with her around.

"I'm the best me I can be when you're with me, too."

Her eyes, no, her whole face lit up.

I leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. I confirm: Her lips were still delicious. Delicate, exquisite, fruity, and perfectly biteable and lickable. When we parted, I lost myself in her eyes again and tried hard to convince myself that this wasn't a dream. That I was kissing Meg, that she was kissing me back with the same passion, that fate had finally let me pursue and win over the love of my life.

Shit. Yes. Love of my life.

Every moment of my life, I had planned what to do next, where to go, who to be with, but when I was with her, the planning stopped. I didn't think of anything else. She was the what, where, and who. She was my final destination.

How stupid had I been the entire weekend? I could've had this since Friday evening, instead of losing two days running around like a fool between Valentina and Scarlett. The smarter part of me knew I had needed those encounters to close the past chapters of my life, but the sentimental part of me just wished it could've all been avoided so I'd have the most time with Megan.

I leaned in for another kiss, this one more passionate. She let me lead, tilting her head back and offering her lips, her open mouth, and her tongue for me to play with. When she moaned after I suckled her lips, I was home.

As we parted, she had the silliest grin on her face. I think I did too.

"What?"

"What?"

My heart danced in my chest. Her eyes? Home. Her lips? Home. Her pinky? Home. I didn't want to scare her away, but boy did it take all the effort in the world to stop myself from telling her I loved her.

"I..." I stumbled.

"Me too," she cut me short. Firmly, but sweetly.

It was too soon. So we grinned again and walked back to the crowd.

An hour later, Meg and I got trapped in a lengthy chat with Emily's mom and brothers. They started reminiscing about all their old neighborhood and childhood stories. Of course they had all ended up becoming like family. And I had a small inkling that both of Em's brothers had had a crush on her while growing up. Stop me if you've seen that episode before!

And could I even blame them? Megan radiated beauty, love, and authenticity. She didn't realize how devastating that combination was, but I was planning on reminding her of that every day as long as she'd let me — which I hoped would be our entire lives.

For now, though, I had to make sure Em's brothers knew she was taken, but I also wanted to leave her the freedom to continue her chat with them. I placed my hand on her shoulder and leaned in very intimately to whisper in her ear, "I'll go get us more champagne." If that doesn't make things clear...

As I walked away, I remembered the shiver I felt in her body after our contact, and the frown she gave me when I disconnected our pinkies.

I got to the bar and tried to grab the bartender's attention, but he was too busy with other guests.

"You're grinning wider than the bride." Valentina's husky voice snapped me out of my reverie.

Where did she come from? I had no idea. Honestly, I didn't even recall seeing her or Scarlett since the wedding started, but that's maybe because 10% of my attention was on the bride and groom, and 90% on Megan.

The world had ceased to exist for a while, but the world was now back knocking at my door.

"Am I?" I think I blushed a little.

"She's your something real I presume? Green eyes?" She tilted her head in Megan's direction.

She was talking to a hotel employee now, smiling that bright smile of hers that lit up everything around her. I nodded.

"It's cute. You're cute together."

"She's amazing," I found myself saying, as if I needed to justify my elevator choice to her.

"If she made you say no to this," Valentina gestured toward her entire body, now clad in a long vibrant red dress that showed off her shoulders, chest, arms, and ass like no other ever could, "I'm sure she's worth it."

I looked back at Megan, who was still deep in conversation with the hotel employee. She spotted me, which means she also spotted Valentina next to me, but she still smiled. I smiled back.

"She definitely is."

"I'm happy for you. Un poco celosa," she winked, "but happy for you."

"Sure, sure, I'm sure I broke your heart," I said, emphasizing both the subject and pronoun. The idea of her being jealous was, quite frankly, absurd.

"I wouldn't go that far. I mean, I had some great fantasies that'll never happen, but I think I'll survive. Not sure about them, though."

She first nodded toward Scarlett, who was guzzling down a dark amber liquid, then toward a decent-looking man I didn't recognize. He was looking at me, but he averted his eyes immediately.

"Huh? I have no idea who that..."

Valentina chuckled. "Of course you don't. He's been following you around, trying to grab your attention all weekend. You didn't even notice him!"

"I'm... flattered?! I guess."

We both laughed.

"I'd have been a little offended if you picked him over me, to be honest."

"As if that could ever happen. Have you seen yourself?"

"Si, but go on..." she raised her eyebrows.

I gave her the side eye. "Amazing. You really must bring the conversation, and attention, back to yourself, no matter the topic."

She raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Would you blame me?" I shook my head. "Seriously, though, watch out for her," she brought her eyes back to Scarlett. "I don't know what happened between you two here, but she is not doing well. I've never seen her spiral so fast and so bad."

I looked back at Scarlett and, sure enough, Valentina was right. She seemed off. And potentially very drunk.

"Just... don't let her ruin your something real," she added.

Of course this is the moment Megan would choose to join us. I was startled for a second, and I hoped she didn't consider that a sign that I was hiding things from her.

"That champagne is taking forever," she leaned into me and gave me a very possessive hug and a kiss on the cheek. The kind of hug and kiss that make anyone around feel like an unwanted third-wheel.

When she let go, she turned around and gave Valentina a side-glance that said just as much. Oh, I liked that jealous, claws-out side of her.

Valentina seemed impressed. "I like her," she said to me, ignoring the glare Meg gave her. "Feisty. You know what, I'm going to extend the invitation. Por que no? If you two ever want to try something a little more surreal," she gestured toward herself and winked a third time, then took a step towards both of us, nuzzling between our heads and wrapping her arms on both of our shoulders, "you're well...C.U.M," she spelled in a dark staccato. The air felt thicker with her perfume. And imposing presence. And charged-up sexuality. She waited a couple of seconds to make sure we were suffocated by her, then she pulled away, "Dave can give you my number."