Plus 1

by Erica Lee

  Plus

  1

  By: Erica Lee

  Copyright © 2018 By Erica Lee

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Dedication

  Dedicated to Megan. Thank you for all of the support you have always shown me throughout our friendship, especially recently with my writing. Thanks for encouraging me as I wrote this and for pushing me to see it through. Also, a special thanks for making sure I kept the characters' names the same throughout the book.

  Prologue

  “So are you ready?” I looked over to see Jenny’s big brown eyes already staring at me. Those were the eyes that first attracted me to her and they still had the habit of taking my breath away, even though I knew they shouldn’t. Her eyes always had such a nice shimmer to them, only today they didn’t. Today they just looked sad. It killed me to see them looking that way. All I wanted to do was reach out and grab her hand. I wanted to tell her that everything would be ok. I wanted to promise that we would find a way to make things better. More than anything, I just wanted to make her smile again.

  Instead I shrugged my shoulders and forced a fake smile onto my face. I threw on a pair of sunglasses and as the music started, I took her hand and broke into our choreographed entrance, hoping no one would realize just how broken up I was inside.

  Chapter 1: 5 Years Earlier

  I stood at the bar, staring out at the dance floor and studying the crowd. When the bartender handed me my drink, I nodded and gave him a tip, then promptly turned my gaze back to the dance floor. The dance floor which happened to be completely empty at this point. I sighed to myself. This wedding was definitely going to be a challenge for me. I was only 24, but had already developed a reputation as the “fun wedding guest.” In the past few years, I had averaged about three weddings a year, which is unusual for someone my age. It’s not as unusual when you’re from a town as small as mine though. Everyone seems to get married early, mostly because they have nothing else to do. I started out with weddings of a few close high school friends, but now it seemed everyone’s fourth cousin twice removed was inviting me to their weddings. What can I say? I’m a good time. I know how to get a party started and how to keep people dancing all night, so people liked having me around. I knew I had a reputation to live up to, so I took it upon myself to take the time at the beginning of every wedding reception to study the crowd and decide on my tactic to make it a fun night.

  This particular wedding was for my 19 year old cousin, Valerie, who was marrying her 21 year old high school sweetheart, John. That’s where the challenge came in. Half of the people attending this wedding couldn’t even drink; a lot were still in high school since my cousin had just graduated a year ago. Most of the people who could drink were choosing not to. I was actually shocked that they even had alcohol since Valerie and John were so religious. Neither of them had drank a lick in their life, even John who legally could now. I never questioned why they were getting married so young. I knew exactly why. They were both saving themselves for marriage. People saving themselves always got married young. It’s not like they were any less needy than the rest of us. They just needed a label to feel ok about it. I would never understand that mindset, but oh well. To each their own.

  Now don’t get me wrong. I adored my cousin. She was the definition of what a Christian should be - loving, selfless, and non-judgemental. She didn’t even flinch when I came out to her a few years ago. She told me that she knew I was born this way and that God loved me no matter who I loved. She is actually the reason that I now believe in God. I can totally get down with a God that is as loving as the one she talks about. I just can’t give up drinking and pre-marital fun, which is where Valerie and I differ.

  My thoughts were getting me off task so I tried to force myself to focus on the challenge in front of me. Just as I was about to turn to the bartender to ask for another drink, I caught someone coming up beside me out of the corner of my eye. When I felt a hand land lightly on my shoulder, I turned so I could face the perpetrator completely. As I looked into the eyes of the girl standing next to me, I felt my heart skip a beat. I never understood that expression until this very moment, but believe me, it actually happens. What drew me in were those eyes. They were brown just like mine, but while mine had that dull poop color, hers had a shimmer. It was a shimmer that caused you to get lost as you tried to define just what color it was. It was a shimmer that was currently causing me to stare blankly at her like a complete idiot, which wasn’t like me at all.

  She giggled and gave my shoulder a light squeeze. “Sorry if I scared you. I was told that I’m supposed to talk to you. Apparently we would get along well.”

  I did a quick sweep of her body trying to be discreet incase she was a friend from church who would be weirded out by another female blatantly checking her out. She was wearing a green dress that fell right above her knees and hugged her in all the right places. Her brown curly hair fell halfway down her back and when she smiled, a dimple formed on her right cheek. Simply put, she was gorgeous. She was probably one of the most beautiful females I had ever laid eyes on and I was still unable to find my voice.

  I shook myself free of those thoughts. What was wrong with me? This wasn’t like me. I was Rory Montgomery for God’s sake. It was no secret to me that girls flock to me. My hair wasn’t nearly as luscious as the mystery woman standing in front of me, but girls seemed to appreciate my shoulder length straight brown hair that I lightened with streaks of blonde highlights. They also went nuts for my subtle chin dimple. Yes, I had a slight indent in my chin that I always hated growing up. That was until I got to college and realized it was lesbian bait. But what really attracted the females was what seemed to be escaping me at the moment - my smooth talking abilities. I wasn’t fake or an expert on saying the right things to get someone to melt at my words. I was a charmer. It just came naturally to me. People always told me that I was exactly like my dad. I guess his charming personality explained why I still adored him, even though he was almost never around. He moved to California when he and my mom divorced right after I graduated from high school and I had only seen him a handful of times since then. But somehow his warm embraces, sincere apologies, and promises to do better always wiped away any anger I felt toward him.

  Ok.. now my mind was just going all over the place. Where was I? Oh yeah. Beautiful girl standing right in front of me. I leaned back, placing both elbows on the bar and raised a seductive eyebrow at her.

  “Oh yeah?” I said with a smile. “And why is that? Does it have something to do with our dashingly good looks?”

  She laughed, shaking her head at my joke and I couldn’t help but notice how she slowly traced her fingers down my arm, before placing her hand on the bar beside me. That definitely didn’t seem like the move of one of Valerie and John’s overly friendly church friends. That was the move of a very skilled flirt.

  She smiled over at me, her right dimple on full display. “It could be that, but I also think it might be the fact that we are the only two people at this wedding who are over 21 that don’t have a date.”

  I looked around me then shrugged my shoulders. “Guilty.”

  “So, why doesn’t a pretty girl like yourself have someone with you?” The mystery woman asked while motioning for the bartender to refill our drinks.

  I stared up at the ceiling for a few beats before answering. “I guess you could say I’m kind of a serial dater and serial daters don’t get plus ones to weddings, even if
it is a family wedding.”

  At this, the gorgeous brunette placed her elbow on the bar and put her chin in her hand, then smiled up at me. “Serial dater, huh? So why were you refused a date? Your family isn’t a fan of snap crackle and pop?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. This girl was witty, but two could play at that game. “Not quite. It turns out Snap and Crackle have been pretty hot and heavy for a few years now, but recently Crackle and Pop have been having a thing on the side. I’m not quite sure where I fit into that equation, but no one wants that kind of drama at their wedding.”

  “That’s too bad,” she shot back. “I’ve always been more of a Tony the Tiger girl myself.”

  I gave her a half smile, demonstrating my doubt. “Is that so?”

  She slowly shook her head. “Nope. I made it up. He’s not my type.”

  “Wrong species?”

  “Wrong gender.”

  I tried to keep a goofy grin from spreading across my face from her confirmation. Instead I pointed one finger in the air like I just had a revelation.

  “Aha. So that’s why they said we would get along. The only two lesbians at this wedding. Probably the only two lesbians within 100 Miles so clearly we would get along.”

  “Naturally,” she said with a wink.

  I cleared my throat to try to stop myself from salivating over that wink, then reached out my hand. “I’m Rory Montgomery, cousin of the bride. And you are?”

  My soon-to-be-not-so-mystery girl took my hand. “I’m Jenny Hanson. Cousin of the groom.”

  I picked my drink up off of the bar and tapped it against her wine glass. “John never mentioned that he had such a beautiful cousin.”

  “John and I don’t see each other much. My family lives in California.”

  “Oh yeah? What part? My dad moved to LA a few years ago, so I’ve visited a few times.”

  “Wrightwood. It’s a small town about an hour and a half outside of LA. I’m actually in the process of trying to move closer to LA though. The small town life isn’t for me.”

  I held up my hand for a high five. “Preach it sister. Me either.”

  Jenny raised an eyebrow at me. “So I take it you're from around here?”

  I spread out my arms and took a look around. “Cowtown. Born and raised. But I escaped. I’m living about 2 hours away in a suburb of Philadelphia. I highly suggest it. Escaping that is.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  I wasn’t ready for the conversation to end so I thought quickly. “And why don’t you have a date? I would think traveling all the way from California would make you worthy of one.”

  Jenny raised her wine glass to her lips and took a teasingly slow sip. “I don’t date,” she said stiffly.

  “Oh yeah? Celibate? Waiting for a princess to sweep you off your feet?”

  Jenny slowly shook her head. “Not quite.”

  I decided to pry further. For some reason, I was desperate to figure out what this girl’s deal was. “So. You completely don’t date or you just don’t bring dates to weddings?” I hesitated before adding, “I got it. You’re saving yourself for marriage and bringing a date to a wedding would just be way too tempting.”

  Jenny leaned in close enough to whisper in my ear. “Quite the opposite actually,” she revealed.

  I felt my whole body heat up at this revelation, but willed my face to not turn red. Instead, I did my best mock gasp and threw a hand over my heart. “Miss Hanson. Your cousin must be so disappointed with you.”

  Jenny looked in the direction of John. “Like I said, we’re not very close. I love my cousin, but there are certain things he doesn’t need to know about me.”

  I felt a sly grin cross my face. “What? Like the fact that you…”

  Jenny put a finger to my lips before I could finish my sentence. “Hey now. Let’s not make any snap judgments. Just because I said I’m not waiting until marriage doesn’t mean I’m getting into bed with a different girl every night. Let’s just say I enjoy a little fun.”

  “And if that fun lasts until morning, you make sure you’re out of there before the bacon and eggs start cooking.” I threw a wink in for good measure.

  “It looks like you’ve got me all figured out. I hope you won’t judge me too much Miss Montgomery,” Jenny quipped before finishing off the rest of her wine.

  I shook my head. “Of course not. I also enjoy a good time. I just prefer to take a girl to dinner first.”

  Jenny sighed as she looked around the room. “This wedding could really use a pick me up. It’s barely 7:00 and I feel like people are already considering going to bed.”

  I sat my empty drink on the bar, suddenly aware of my prior mission, then turned back to Jenny. “Don’t worry. I’m on it. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I’m kind of a good time.”

  Jenny shot me a questioning look. “Is that so? See the thing is, I’ve been told that I’m a great time. Getting the party going at weddings is kinda my thing.”

  I shook my head, laughing at the irony of the situation. “Are you messing with me now? I didn’t know that could be someone’s thing. At least not anyone else’s thing, because it’s actually mine.”

  I raised both eyebrows at Jenny in a sort of silent challenge.

  The smile never left Jenny’s face as she took one finger and tapped it against her lips as if she was contemplating my words.

  After a few seconds, she stopped the tapping and stood up a little straighter. “Ok the way I see it, we have two options,” she said seriously. “We can fight over who is the more fun one here. We will most likely spend the whole night in this feud and you will be sorely disappointed once you find out it’s me. The second, better option would be to forget about competing and work together. God knows this wedding could use it.”

  Oh yeah. I definitely liked this girl. “I’m in. Just try not to let the fact that I literally am the party keep you from doing your part of the job.”

  Jenny shook her head and smiled widely at me. “Ok. Since you’re so terrific, what’s the plan?”

  A smiled back at her, ready to accept her unspoken challenge. “Easy. Conga line.”

  Jenny sarcastically choked on a cough while rolling her eyes. “Really? You say you’re some kind of pro and then suggest the oldest trick in the book?”

  “Ok then. If you’re so smart, give me your plan.”

  A mischievous grin spread across Jenny’s face. “I see your conga line, but I raise you at least two choruses of ‘shout’ before we start it. If we are going cliche wedding, we’re diving in all the way.”

  I rubbed my fingers across my chin in mock thought. “I like the way you think. Here’s the plan. We grab as many people as we can out onto the dance floor for ‘shout’ and dance through the softer part and back into the louder part. Once everyone is jumping up and down, we form the conga line. You go in front of me and grab your cousin to go in front of you. I’ll make my cousin join behind me. People will be excited to latch on to either the bride or groom. Deal?”

  Jenny reached her hand out to me, like we were in the middle of a high stakes Las Vegas bet. “Deal. Let’s get this party started.”

  I ran over to the DJ booth while Jenny made her way onto the dance floor. The DJ took my request and immediately switched on the song. As soon as it started, I began grabbing older relatives while Jenny made her way over to the high school boys. It didn’t take us long to have a group of people out on the dance floor with us. By the time the climax of the song hit, everyone was jumping up and down. At that moment, I nodded at Jenny then put my hands on her hips, just above her butt. I knew exactly what I was doing when I came up with this plan and I was going to take full advantage of the opportunity to get my hands on those curves. I only removed one of my hands for a few seconds in order to grab my cousin as Jenny grabbed hers.

  Soon, almost every person attending the wedding had joined the conga line and, much to my surprise, it lasted through two more songs. When it ended, everyone was o
ut of breath and the DJ took that opportunity to turn on a slow song.

  I turned to Jenny and reached out my hand. “Would you do me the honor, Miss Hanson?”

  Jenny accepted my hand and curtsied. “It would be my pleasure,” she said with a grin.

  As we danced close together, I noticed that her hair smelled like vanilla and her body like cocoa butter, emitting the perfect combination.

  “So, tell me something about yourself that I don’t already know,” I inquired.

  “You don’t know anything about me.”

  “Then this should be easy.”

  Jenny seemed to be deep in thought for a few seconds then remarked, “I graduated from UCLA 2 years ago with a bachelor of the arts degree in film and television.”

  I nodded my head nonchalantly, trying not to show just how cool I thought this girl was. “That’s awesome. And what are you doing with that degree now?”

  She sighed loudly and closed her eyes in embarrassment. “I’m doing what everyone with a film degree in California does. I’m waiting tables and bartending. Not so awesome anymore, I know. The tips aren’t bad though.”

  “Hey everyone has to start somewhere,” I reassured her. “What part of film are you interested in?”

  Jenny looked up at the ceiling as if she was deep in thought. “I either want to do screenplay writing or producing. I love all the little pieces that go into making a film, all the behind the scenes details that no one thinks about.”

  I could see Jenny’s face lighting up the more she talked about it and said a silent prayer that she would be able to find a job she loved soon. “I’m sure something will come along. You just have to be patient.”

  “I did get an offer from a small independent film company I did an internship with in college. I just haven’t decided if I’m going to take it yet,” she admitted.

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “Why wouldn’t you take it? Not into small companies? Looking to be under the shining lights with Hollywood’s greatest?”