The Wedding Guests

"Are you ready?" The bride asked excitedly as she stood in front of them with her new husband just off to the side with the groomsmen.

A round of cheers and clapping came from everyone. Ashlei just pretended to join in. She wanted this day over with as quickly as possible.

Turning her back on them, the bride hefted the bouquet in her hands.

"On three, then." The bride announced.

It was the longest three count Ashlei had experienced but finally the flowers were floating in the air as the bride tossed them up and backwards. All the women jumped and mingled, trying to guess where the bouquet would land and wanting to be the first to catch it. Ashlei just stood still...and the bouquet literally fell into her hands.

The women all looked around, and some gave her dirty looks until the bride spun around to see who had caught it and began clapping. Everyone joined in at that point.

"Looks like your next for the altar, Ashlei!" The bride said loudly over the cacophony of applause.

Ashlei just smiled and tried to look like she was happy and enjoying herself, thanking people who congratulated her as if she really was getting married next. When she saw Noah again marriage would be the last thing on her mind for him putting her through this!

She was just getting used to all the praise when suddenly Logan moved in beside her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Congratulations!" He said happily, and Ashlei murmured 'thanks' into his chest before she tried to push back out of his grip.

The strength of the man wouldn't let her though, and Logan pulled her tighter against him. His hug quickly became more than friendly as he pulled her to him and let his hands rest on the small of her back, rubbing up and down familiarly.

For a moment it was all Ashlei could do to stand there, shocked by his brazen familiarity. That and she couldn't exactly punch him in front of everyone who was still looking at her.

So instead, Ashlei just put one hand between her and him and pushed as hard as she could while trying to look like she was just being modest in front of everyone. It took a moment but finally Logan loosed his arms from around her and just slipped an arm around her waist.

"You're going to make a beautiful bride." He said as if he hadn't done anything wrong and all the women gathering around her agreed. Some congratulating Logan on such a wonderful fiancée-to-be!

The thought of being engaged to this man set Ashlei's stomach riling. But they didn't know, and she took it all with as good a grace as she could. And as for Logan's arm around her, she slipped from near him the first moment she got. He just looked at her amusedly, like she had gotten away from him for now but not for good.

That proved to be almost ironic as the conversation carried on with other guests now coming over and congratulating her, while others turned to him and engaged him in chatter. Then one guy in particular came over when the crowd began to dwindle.

He was a rather ordinary looking man, but he had slightly longish dark hair and a bold nose. More importantly, his eyes looked all over Ashlei and he had the air of someone who had had a few drinks already, though none had been seen at the ceremony.

"Congratulations!" He said in a nasally voice.

"Thank you." Ashlei replied, trying to downplay the whole bouquet thing.

"It'll be a shame when someone snaps you up. You're too beautiful for one man alone." The guy said, his eyes focused on Ashlei's cleavage.

The guy made Ashlei feel creeped out, more so than with Logan. With the latter he was a creep who hit on her every chance he got. But he was suave about it. This guy just made her feel like she needed a bath.

"Thank you." Was all she could think to say to such a 'compliment'.

Emboldened by her positive response, the lecherous guy licked his lips and flickered his eyes up from her tits to her face briefly. And it was only briefly. His eyes were back on her chest before his last words were out.

"If you don't mind my asking, would you care for a dance later at the reception?" He asked in an oily tone.

Ashlei's stomach turned at the thought, but she tried her best to be polite.

"I'm not sure my boyfriend would like me dancing with other guys. But thank you for the offer." She said honestly, and thankfully as the only answer she would ever give this guy.

He didn't look perturbed in the slightest. In fact, he looked even more interested. And his hands groped the air as if feeling her tits in his palms already.

"I can understand your boyfriend being jealous, but he doesn't have to know. It's just one dance." He said forthrightly.

"He doesn't get jealous. But I don't think so. Thanks anyway." She answered back, trying to ignore the bile rising in her stomach. She really felt like she needed another shower after the way he was looking at her!

"That's a shame. How about a hug then?" He asked, already moving towards her as if she'd already said 'yes'.

Ashlei opened her mouth to say no, but then a pair of arms encircled her waist from behind.

"You haven't introduced me to your friend, babe." Logan's voice sounded behind her.

With the icky guy's eyes still on her, smothering her, Ashlei didn't think twice. She half turned towards Logan and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting against him.

"Oh, you surprised me, babe. I was just talking to, I'm sorry what was your name again? I don't think you said?" She replied as she looked back at the now disgruntled man.

"Charles." The man said dirtily, and smiled at Logan as if seeing the last person he wanted to see in the world right then.

"I'm Logan, Ashlei's boyfriend." Logan said swiftly, and Ashlei smiled up at him before turning back to her would-be groper.

"A pleasure." Charles said in return. Though it was clear he didn't mean it. "You have a lovely girlfriend."

Logan's arms tightened around Ashlei, and he pulled her closer to him. Her large tits mashed against his chest in her dress, and she almost had to step on to tip toes. She just hugged him back and played with his neck with her fingers.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you to say. She is a gem." Logan replied before looking down lovingly at her.

Ashlei returned the look honestly right then - he was like her knight in shining armour! - before she turned back to Charles with a protected smile.

"You're lucky to have her." Charles said dissatisfiedly.

"I'm the lucky one." Ashlei replied as she looked up at Logan with bright eyes. "He's my everything."

"And you're mine." Logan responded and added a kiss on her nose to mark it.

Charles just looked sick as he watched the pair. His lecherous eyes were more fixed on Logan's muscular body in comparison to his own meagre frame than Ashlei's chest this time.

"Yes, well, that is really sweet...oh, I've just seen someone I need to talk to. If you'll excuse me? A pleasure to meet you both." Charles said quickly dismissing himself before they could say anything. He walked away and started a conversation with another couple as if that had been his intent all along.

Ashlei sagged against Logan's chest for a moment as she watched to make sure Charles really had gone and wasn't paying her any attention anymore. Then she pushed back from Logan's hold on her...at least she tried. He didn't let her go straight away.

As she pushed harder, she came loose and almost stumbled backwards.

"Thank you for that." She said reluctantly. Whether she meant for letting her go or helping her out with Charles she wasn't sure. Maybe both.

"Anytime, precious." Logan said smoothly. "Anything for 'my girlfriend'."

Ashlei felt her stomach flip at that now they were alone. She wouldn't want to be Logan's girlfriend if he was the last man on earth! Well, last but one. She wouldn't be Charles' girlfriend either.

"Thanks. That guy was kind of freaking me out. I thought he was about to grope me no matter how many people were around!" She said disgustedly.

"I thought that too. So I came as soon as I could." Logan said confidently, "But your boyfriend has always got his eyes on you!" He added knowingly.

Ashlei just nodded and tried to appear calm.

"Well it worked. Now you can go back to just being my boyfriend's best friend." She said softly, so as no one else would overhear.

"That quick? I thought we had something!" Logan said amusedly and as if he had been struck in the heart.

"Don't fool yourself. It was just a needed deception. One you pushed too far, I might add." Ashlei said as she rubbed the end of her nose and eyed him, clearly meaning the very friendly hug he had taken advantage of.

"Well, I had to make it look realistic. Any guy with you would do the same. Wouldn't Noah?" He asked and Ashlei suddenly felt a stab in her heart.

Noah should be there to defend her. And would he have acted the same with her, his girlfriend? So manly and defensively?

She didn't know, and that just pissed her off with Noah and Logan both.

"Enough hugs. You can't be trusted." She said defiantly.

Logan just chuckled to himself, but he left it be.

"Anything my girlfriend wants." He said smugly.

"Stop calling me that. I'm not your girlfriend and I'll never be." She replied and Logan chuckled some more.

Fortunately, the rest of the ceremony at the church went well.

Well, it went tolerably. Ashlei still got dirty looks every now and then, especially when some woman saw the bouquet. But there were no more lecherous guys and no more incidents with Logan. In fact, the latter spent most of his time talking with other people genteelly. They all seemed to love his company. Which pissed Ashlei off even more.

But she was just grateful for the peace. Even when that came with people talking to her who clearly didn't want to talk to her but were just doing it out of politeness.

Ashlei almost sighed with relief when everyone began heading off to the reception and the bride, to much fanfare, climbed into a car with the groom and drove off. It wasn't long until only a few people remained, and Logan had no choice but to head over to her once more as they had to make their own way to the reception.

Slipping his arm around Ashlei's waist, Logan walked with her until they reached the building not far from the church and headed in, waiting for the bride and groom to make their way in for all to celebrate.

When all was settled the afternoon began. At first it wasn't so bad, and Ashlei could even deal with the funny looks she got from some people. The food was good, Logan seemed to behave himself - other than smiling knowingly at her all the time - and the conversation went well.

That was until everyone started to dance as evening set in, and Logan caught up with her as she was coming back from the bathroom.

"Missed you." He said charmingly as he approached her swaggeringly.

"Of course, you did." Ashlei replied dismissively as she came abreast of him. Logan fell in beside her as they walked back towards the table.

"Is it so hard to believe?" He asked with mock hurt, "You're an amazing woman, and stone-cold gorgeous. How could I not miss your company?"

Ashlei rolled her eyes at him - she knew he was behaving for too long, he had to hit on her at some point - and carried on walking.

"Do you ever give up?" She asked curiously, eyeing him sideways.

"Never. Not until I get what I want." He answered confidently.

Ashlei was about to say that he wasn't going to get what he wanted in this instance when suddenly a couple walked up to them and stopped in front of them. Ashlei and Logan had to stop too or walk over the pair. They were smiling, which was odd for this group of people.

"Ah, you're Ashlei, right?" The man said as he extended a hand for her to shake.

Ashlei took it and shook, saying that that was indeed who she was.

"And this must be Noah then." The man said to Logan.

Ashlei opened her mouth to correct the guy when suddenly Logan spoke.

"That's right. Noah Young." He said as he too took the man's hand and shook.

Ashlei looked at him agape for a moment but then quickly shut her mouth and looked back to the couple in front of her. It wasn't like she could say he wasn't Noah now, not after Logan had just said he was. That would look right odd, and this couple at least seemed to be pleasant to her.

She thought that she would just play along. Obviously, this pair thought that Ashlei had turned up with her boyfriend, though why they thought that was a mystery to her. But they did. And it was harmless to let them think that. She thought. It turned out not to be.

"Oh you must be wondering who we are. I'm Gerald Harson, and this is my wife Linda. We're Estelle's grandparents." The man said as if that should ring a bell.

It did, sort of, as Ashlei knew Estelle - the bride - but she had never met her family before.

The sudden introduction brought a wave of understanding as to why they were talking to her now, and Ashlei smiled back at them pleasantly.

"It's so nice to meet you." She said honestly. This was the first couple not to look at her funny, so she meant every word.

"And you. Estelle has told us so much about you. Might I say that you two make a lovely couple." Linda said in response as she looked between the two of them.

Ashlei only smiled blankly in reply, but Logan took it one step further than a smile and slipped his arm around Ashlei's waist, pulling her closer to him and resting his hand familiarly on her slender hip.

Ashlei wanted to remove his hand or slap him or something, but that would look weird if she was hitting her 'boyfriend' or taking his hand off her, right after saying that he was her boyfriend!

So she grinned and dealt with it as best as she could. It wasn't pleasant.

"Thank you. She's an amazing woman, Mrs Harson." Logan replied and gave Ashlei a fond look to which she returned a frozen one of her own. Her eyes tried to tell him to back off but he had the bit in his teeth now and wouldn't let her go.

"I hope you've been having a good time?" Gerald Harson asked.

"Fantastic." Ashlei lied, but Logan wouldn't just leave it there.

"It's been a great day. A marvellous ceremony and lots of fine people." He said suavely, his hand stroking her hip, "And it's been nice for Ashlei and I to let our hair down. We're going to have a dance later. Hope to see you up there?"

The Harsons laughed politely at that and assured Logan that they would be joining in the dancing. Ashlei ground her teeth as she had been committed to do something she didn't want to, in a room full of people who didn't like her, with a guy she couldn't stand. What a mess!

"I must say, you look very beautiful, dear." Linda Harson said after the conversation eased.

Ashlei smiled genuinely at that - it was the first compliment she had received from someone here. Other than the creepy, lecherous Charles. But he didn't count.

"Thank you." Ashlei responded. She was about to compliment the other woman when Logan spoke up.

"She is very beautiful. I'm a lucky guy." He said meaningfully and stroked Ashlei's hair from her face as he looked down into her eyes.

Ashlei would have gaped at his sincerity if it weren't so clear that he was hitting on her again and using his position as her 'boyfriend' to corner her where she couldn't say anything back to him.

But what stilled her tongue more was the fact that Logan leaned down to gently kiss her on the lips. It was quick and over before Ashlei knew what was happening, but it was done! Her stomach heaved and she wanted nothing more than to violently slap him for his audacity! But she couldn't, not with the other couple watching.

Ashlei tensed her hands into fists, hoping no one noticed.

"And you look wonderful yourself, Linda." Logan continued charmingly.

His affections seemed to work on the couple as they both melted into his every word from then on. But all Ashlei could think of was getting out of this situation as fast as she could so she could get away from Logan.

The conversation dragged on for her because of that, even though it didn't last long after that moment, it just seemed to last forever to her. Before long the couple were making their goodbyes and stepping around Ashlei and Logan to walk on to another group of people.

Ashlei waited only long enough to be sure they were out of earshot before she shrugged Logan's hand off her waist and turned to him fierily.

"Don't you ever kiss me again!" She warned him angrily.

Logan just grinned down at her.

"I thought it added to the moment." He said unperturbedly.

There wasn't much Ashlei could say to that so she just thumped him in the chest, careful to not draw attention to herself.

"Never again!" She hissed and Logan laughed softly.

"Ok. Ok. But you do have soft lips. And you felt good pressed against me. All firm and soft in all the right places." He said sincerely and cheekily.

Ashlei growled under her breath at him and turned, storming off back to the long table lining the walls. She hated that guy!

The people at the tables weren't much better than Logan though. They kept insinuating things about her and basically only just about hiding their dislike for her. She had no idea what she had done to offend these people but they all had their noses stuck in the air!

Oddly, it was a relief when Logan came to sit beside her. At least she knew how she felt about him and what he was like and how he felt about her. Which she couldn't say the same for these people. That and he was the only one who was on her side for anything. Of course, he had an ulterior motive for every word and action - namely to look at her or hit on her - but at least he was a sort of ally.

That was strange to think that, and Ashlei began to think of Logan as just that, an ally amongst people who didn't like her. She began to rely on him as they all talked and even found herself smiling at him every now and then. Of course, she still didn't actually like him. And when she had to take his hand off her leg for the hundredth time, she was feeling narky at him. But he was her only real 'friend' amongst these other people. And she liked that. Strangely.

It was about an hour later that the music changed and people began getting up to dance. Ashlei sat where she was as the group of people began to dissipate around her table. That was, until she saw Gerald and Linda Harson on the dance floor and she caught their eye in turn.

The two elderly people waved her over and mouthed 'come on!' as they partied on the dance floor like they were thirty years younger! Ashlei had to smile at them, they were so endearing, but she politely waved them away.

Then Logan saw what was going on and turned to her.

"Come on, Ash. Let's have a dance." He said excitedly.

"I'm ok, thanks. But you go ahead." She replied to him calmly.

"Oh come on. You owe me a dance for the Harson's, remember?" Logan asked.

Ashlei remembered all too well. And she still didn't like it.

"I don't know, Logan..." She began, but Logan, having worn her down this much, wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

"Come on, Ash, let's go!" He said as he took a hold of her hand and pulled her up.

Ashlei reluctantly got up and followed him, with him leading her by the hand. She walked onto the dance floor and stood still as Logan began to shuffle to the music.

Ashlei didn't know what to do. She felt uncomfortable and wanted to go sit back down, but it would look strange now that she was up. That and the Harson's were watching her and Logan, who was supposed to be Noah, and they would wonder why she wasn't dancing with her boyfriend now she had gotten up!

So reluctantly Ashlei began to move her feet. Just shuffling from side to side in a 'mom' dance at first.

"You can dance better than that!" Logan said to her over the music, a big smile on his face as he watched her. "Everyone's watching you dancing like that!"