by K. T. Castle
Really? He’d just asked me out on a date? It wasn’t that late, but I certainly wasn’t in the mood.
“No,” was my simple, cutting answer.
“Oh, come on, Kass. I know you need a drink.” He was completely right, but I was completely drained.
“I might need one, but I’m tired,” I replied.
“Then I can come visit and rub some oil on that rockin’ body of yours.” Oh yeah, I’d caught that tint of mischief on his voice. He was throwing bait, and he certainly wasn’t going to catch me. At least, not tonight.
“No, thanks.”
I didn’t count on Josh persisting so much. “Come on, babe. You know you want to.”
I laughed. This guy just didn’t understand the words not interested.
“Stop flirting with me. It won’t happen.”
“I’ll stop flirting when it happens. Maybe.” He was probably right. The only way for him to desist might be to sleep with me. Afterwards, he’d probably lose his interest.
I wasn’t going to play that game. But he’d made me laugh. Somehow, I always seemed to relax near him, and even though we were only talking now, I still felt it.
“What about a little chat, then?” he asked.
This deprived us of any alcohol or physical contact, so, why not?
“Chat about what?”
“Your day,” he said.
He wanted to know about my day? That was cute. And easy. Well then, I’d tell him about my day.
“Are you sure you want to hear about it?” I was going to give him one more chance to back down. I still couldn’t see a guy like him interested in a wedding shopping spree.
“Very,” came his answer.
“It’s about dresses. You might get bored.” At least I could be honest with him.
“You never bore me.” Oh, but he sounded too honest.
“Okay, then. Don’t complain later.”
Per his request, I told Josh about my day, which was summarized into two words: dress shopping. After we helped Laura choose her wedding dress, we talked to her about the bridesmaid options. We had three colors in mind: pale yellow, turquoise and coral. Very primary-colors-like. Apparently, I was the only one who wanted the turquoise, so I was rapidly ruled out. There was a lot of going back and forth from the yellow to the coral, everyone undecided until one of the saleswomen practically told us that coral would be more visual with the colors of the sea and that yellow wasn’t easily worn by anyone. Laura agreed that coral would be a much happier and elegant choice, and that was the end of the discussion. We tried different dresses in that color spectrum and took pictures. We’d drawn the unspoken conclusion that since Laura was all on board with strapless dresses, ours would also follow that rule. While the girls and I left the store promising we’d come back to buy our dresses later, Laura, on the other hand, paid for hers in full.
“I bet you look awesome in blue.”
“I bet you look lovely in pale yellow.”
“I bet you’ll look hot in coral.”
Apparently, this was Josh’s only contribution to the conversation, but he was making me laugh—a lot. “So you think I look good in everything?”
“Absolutely,” he affirmed. “But you know that, right?”
I didn’t respond his question. I knew it was rhetorical.
“I bet you look even better naked.” Josh paused. “And in my bed.”
This was not where I wanted our conversation to go. We needed to have some distance, here. I needed to keep my distance.
“Keep that up and I’ll hang up on you, right now.”
Then the line went dead.
I’d really had no intention of hanging up on him; I just wanted him to behave. I felt kind of bad, and only a little guilty, when I thought about it. He’d probably lost reception and the call dropped, but I couldn’t shake the possibility that I’d finally pissed him off enough with my rejections to make him hang up on me, instead. I’d actually really enjoyed our conversation.
I decided my bath was over. The call had been a very nice compliment to my relaxation time, and now I needed to get ready for bed.
A few minutes later, someone knocked on my door. It was late and I was already in my pajamas, which consisted of multi-colored boy shorts and a white camisole. Usually on weekends, I’d be wearing some sexy set of lingerie and enjoying the company of some glorious hunk. Instead, I’d spent all day shopping with my girlfriends, and I felt exhausted and without energy to go find a man for the night.
I looked through the peephole on my door before even turning on the lights. It was Josh—and this was even more unexpected than the phone call.
As I opened the door, I asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I ran out of battery and I wanted to hear the rest of your story.” He stepped inside my apartment and kissed me on the cheek. He looked as breathtaking as he had this afternoon at the bridal boutique.
“That’s it?” I asked, blinking back my surprise.
“Yep,” he responded.
“Weren’t you out someplace?”
“Yeah, I was. Then again, I wanted to hear the rest of the story.” Josh found his way to my white couch and sat.
“Just like that.” I couldn’t believe he was here just because he wanted to know what happened next.
“I was close.” Then he reached for me and pulled me to sit next to him.
It took me a moment to sit comfortably. After all, he was completely dressed and I was in my underwear.
“So, what happened after the bridal shop?” He seemed surprisingly interested in my account.
So I continued. It was a little strange, to be honest. But strangely easy.
After saying our farewells to Laura, we carried out our plan to go to Marisol’s cousin to get our dresses done. Natalie drove with me and we had some time to discuss Eddie, Laura, and me. She begged me to talk to Laura about it, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to do that. But I knew she was right. We finally got to Maria Fernanda’s shop, and all of us were mesmerized by her beautiful designs. It was so easy to select a model and the fabric; besides, she was asking peanuts for our dresses and she even gave Denise the option of making small payments a week for hers.
Maria Fernanda was the perfect person to solve our bridesmaid’s wardrobe. I only had one complaint. She used one of the phrases I hate the most about weddings: “You'll definitely wear it again.” Girl, I know they’re your dresses, but trust me. You never do. Haven’t you seen that movie about the girl with the gazillion bridesmaid dresses? That single comment started a very heated argument about the whole ‘wear the dress again issue.’ Which was something I had to add to my checklist:
Bridezilla Checklist
☑ Enslaved bridesmaids
☑ Money woes
☑ Attire Backfire
Because no one wants to spend a dime in a dress that they’ll only wear once.
Fortunately, our seamstress superstar was the clear answer to that problem. Not only was she asking for a fraction of the cost we’d pay in a boutique in L.A., she also offered to modify the dress after the event so we could wear it again. Apparently, she already had it all figured out with slight changes here and there. She was really going to make some serious business with all of us and all the new customers we’d be sending her way after this.
Unsurprisingly, we were all pretty happy with the result of our trip. We even decided on a wedding gift for Laura that would have her smiling, and we knew she needed it. It had been a really productive day.
“Didn’t you ask her to make you that turquoise dress you wanted?” Josh asked after I finished my story.
“Of course.” I smiled at him. I liked it that he’d paid attention, apparently serious about getting to know me better. That simple thought made me happy.
I couldn't really remember how it happened, but somehow, Josh and I were sitting at opposites sides of my couch and he was rubbing my feet.
It felt wonderful.
He also seemed t
o get more comfortable as we continued our conversation. Josh placed his boots on the side of the couch, hung his jacket on one of my winged chairs, and remained only wearing his black jeans and shirt—a very greaser-like mien.
He looked hot.
“Did you get anything for the other events?” How could he be so curious about my dress selection.
“I didn’t. But I might go back soon. She had wonderful ideas.” I’d thought, during our visit, that I might as well choose a style; she could make me something for the engagement party only a few weeks away. “Maybe get her to make me a dress for the next event.” I couldn’t avoid yawning at this point. I was really tired, even if it was only half an hour after midnight. It had been a long day.
“Tell me when you do,” he requested, continuing his tender ministrations. Now it wasn’t only my feet he massaged; he’d moved to my calves as well. His hands were warm and so very soft. It was impressive for a man like him to have such delicate hands. It shouldn’t have impressed me that he could be so smooth, but he was. This evening had been full of surprises. I couldn’t concentrate in much else as his hands caressed my muscles in a slow, tender motion. “It’s always good to know a good seamstress for the girls.”
I probably should’ve made a nasty comment about his womanizer tendencies, but I didn’t. I felt so tired and relaxed, I couldn’t care less.
“Are you doing some planning for the engagement party tomorrow?”
When I heard his voice, I opened my eyes and noticed that I’d been falling asleep. “Yep.”
“Need some help?” he asked softly, his mouth close to my ear.
“Sure.” I felt him move from the couch. He was probably getting ready to leave. I did not expect his arms underneath me as he lifted me from the couch. I was so tired, I barely noticed when he placed me on my bed and covered me with the comforter.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, babe,” he said so very tenderly.
“Good night, Josh.”
“Good night, Kass.”
And he sealed our farewells with a sweet kiss on my lips.
~*~
The next morning, he came back as promised. I was a little nervous to spend more time with him, but he arrived with coffee, muffins, and doughnuts, which I gladly received. I’d invited some of the girls to finish planning the engagement party with me as well, but an hour after the appointed time, I felt hopeless. Fortunately, Natalie arrived a little later, apologizing for her morning sickness and delay.
In a way, it was a good thing that it was just the three of us there that Saturday. Josh helped me explain and reassure Natalie that Edward wasn’t the insensible bastard he’d been to me all those years ago—like pushing me to make decisions I hadn’t been ready for at the time. That was really beneficial, since I felt now that I didn’t have to tell Laura everything right away. I had some time to think about exactly how I was going to do it and what I was willing to share.
We advanced a lot on our planning, too. I had it all mapped out already, but they helped me decide and distinguish some information I needed to discuss with Laura to get her approval before we carried on with the arrangements I envisioned.
It was almost 4:00 when Josh’s phone rang. He looked at the screen and frowned before he excused himself, stood up, and answered his phone. “Hi, Mindy. How’s everything going, sweetheart?”
He motioned with his hands if it was all right with me if he took the call in my bedroom. I nodded and he left Natalie and me sitting in my living room. Nat was perfectly seated and cross-legged on one of my white winged chairs while I sat on my light, soft carpet and used my big beige ottoman as a table for taking notes as we discussed the main issues at hand.
Traditionally, the bride’s parents threw the engagement party. But nowadays, it’s more often for the couple getting married to host the party. Unfortunately for me, that meant I had to plan it all. Laura was so terribly busy with other things (such as her wedding gift registration) that it was up to me to plan everything else. So, after handing over the guest list, she basically bailed and left me to fend for myself. Everything was admittedly a bit rushed, seeing as we had less than a month to plan it all. According to my experience, it was best to send the invitations at least four weeks before the event.
We’d completely missed that deadline.
This was what we had so far:
We only had a few things pending.
Go shopping for wine and alcohol. Josh told me he could do this with Edward so Eddie’s budget was respected.
Prepare the venue. The day of the event, we needed to check that everything was prepared as planned. All our friends had sworn they’ll be there early that day to make sure everything went as expected.
Line up to help. Basically, be there and be ready to aid as necessary.
I had very little left to sort out with Laura (and I basically knew which way she’d go on most decisions, anyways). The rest was mostly already resolved.
Josh came back out of my bedroom. “I’m really sorry, but I need to get going, Kass. I forgot I had an appointment this afternoon.”
“No worries. I think we got everything figured out,” I said. “Thanks for all your help.” I stood up and walked him to the door.
Before he could leave, Natalie stopped us. “And thanks for the food as well,” she pitched in. She’d mentioned after her normal lunch time that she was hungry, and Josh had run to get us what Nat craved for the day: cheeseburger and fries.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he said. “Kass allowed me to join you girls today, so I was given the pleasure of providing you with your meal.”
Natalie smiled at him. This time, her smile was different. The sweet smile she always carried had a pixie-ish air as she looked from Josh back to me.
“I’ll see you soon, babe,” Josh said, placing a kiss on the corner of my mouth.
As I closed the door behind him, I smiled.
“He’s hot,” said my best friend.
“I know,” I replied. “But he’s trouble, too.”
“Some trouble is worth it,” Natalie sang.
I went back to my seat and back to work. I was pleased with everything we’d done today—and even more pleased with the idea of not doing it alone.
Chapter 8
No, no, no.
This couldn’t be happening.
As soon as I entered the elegant country garden we’d selected for Laura’s engagement party, I was about ready to have a heart attack.
The place wasn’t ready. It wasn’t organized. It was a complete disaster.
I walked around the place, looked at every corner, and identified every single detail unready or out of place.
I couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t right.
I arrived a couple hours before the event started to check that everything was as expected and hoping to sort a few things out, since I’d foreseen that the place might need some arrangements. But not this many. Never this many.
After I finished my short haul around the place, I stepped outside. I needed to breathe. I needed to get my head in order.
There were so many things that needed changing that I couldn’t place them in order in my head.
I wrote my friends a quick text:
Me: S.O.S. Help guys! Place not ready yet. I need your help a.s.a.p.
As I waited for my friends to reply, I made a mental list of all the things that needed correction:
Tablecloths were not the ones we asked for
Center pieces weren’t ready yet. Were those even the vases that we asked for?
The menu stations weren’t in the right place
That reminded me:
Check on hors d'oeuvres
The band wasn’t there yet….
Oh my god! There were so many things, my head wasn’t functioning right. None of my friends had replied yet and I really needed someone to help me.
Who could I call?
The answer was simple, really. The only other person who’d been
there for me throughout all this was Josh.
Me: Josh, sorry to bother you. I’m @ the Garden & everything’s a mess. I need help. I can’t get all these done on my own.
Josh: No worries. What can I help you with?
Me: Everything’s a mess: tablecloths, flowers, the buffet, the band isn’t here. Please, come & help me.
Josh: Calm down. OMW. I’ll b there as soon as I can. While I get there call the band. I’ll send you the deets.
Me: Thanks!
As soon as he sent me the band’s details, I gave them a call. Josh had hired them as his engagement present for Edward and Laura. Apparently, the band was on their way and stuck in traffic, but they assured me they’d get here fast and they only needed an hour to set up.
Thank goodness.
I finished rearranging my brain and everything needing to be fixed when my so-called friends texted me back.
Natalie: I’m @ the salon getting ready. I’ll be there as soon as I can.
Marisol: Leaving child with in-laws. Might take a while…. I’ll try to hurry.
Denise: Waiting for hubby to come back from an interview. He took the car. I might not make it on time to help. Sorry!
Great, just great.
They were all getting ready for the party while I was freaking out—wearing sweatpants.
I lived close to The Garden, so I decided to do a little exercise before the event. The plan was to run for a bit on the treadmill, come by the place to check on things (I expected most things to be right on track), and then go back to my place to get ready. Guess that would have to wait.
I was about to go back inside and talk to the person in charge of setting this place up when Josh arrived.
“I’m here. What do you need help with?”
“I was going to talk to the person in charge to get things fixed.”
“Great, let’s get going,” he said, taking my hand, and directed us to the site’s office.
After having a not-so-long conversation with the manager of the place, he reviewed everything we’d asked for and gave us his apologies for the inconvenience. Josh basically threatened him to death for not following up on my directions. He told the manager to forget the hell about whatever was written down or not, and I was pretty sure that convinced the man. Immediately, the staff working at the event started rearranging everything around us.
