Give Me Some Sugar

by Gen Griffin

  “You don't want to cross this line with me,” Addison said.

  “You're really mad, aren't you?” Makinsley was actually grinning now. She stalked across the room to him, shaking her hips the whole way.

  “I'm tired, Mak. I've had a pretty shitty night.”

  “What happened?” She asked. “Did Ian catch y'all fucking?”

  Addison slammed his fist into the wall next to the door. “Get the hell out of my house.”

  Makinsley's eyes widened but she didn't budge. “Hit a nerve?”

  “Get out, Mak. Get the fuck out and don't come back.”

  “You don't mean that,” her cocky smile faltered just a hair.

  “You and I are done. We should have been done a long time ago, but I let you stay because you were easy and I'm lazy.”

  “Excuse me?” She was starting to look furious.

  “Remember that talk we had the other day when you said you thought we should get married?” Addison tried not to pay attention to the hole he'd just punched in his drywall.

  “I remember it perfectly,” Mak said. “Why do you think I was so pissed to find out you ditched me and then spent the night with an ugly girl?”

  Addison forced himself to ignore the insult to Katie for the moment. “The logic you laid out the other morning made pretty good sense and it was hard for me to argue with what you were saying. We are a lot alike. We have been in this whatever it is, I really hesitate to call it a relationship but I can't think of a better word, for too long. Marriage would be the obvious next step, but the truth is that I don't really like you.”

  “What?” Mak's mouth fell open and she paled. He had a feeling that she would have been less stunned if he'd hit her.

  “I don't like you,” Addison said. “You and I aren't having fun together unless we're screwing like bunnies on Viagra. You can't hang out with my buddies, they all hate you. You can't hang out with the girls, they hate you too. My sister can't stand you and neither can my Granny.”

  “Addison-.”

  He held his hand up to stop her from saying anything else. “ Don't tell me you like my friends.”

  “I don't like your friends,” Makinsley said flatly. “They're immature assholes. Out of all of them, Breedlove is probably my favorite.”

  “Yeah. That's another thing. I don't want to know my future wife would be just as happy to go home with my best friend as she would be to go home with me. David and I are close and we share damn near everything, but we don't share Trish.”

  “You're mad because I want to fuck David?”

  “No. It's just one of the many reasons that I'm not going to marry you. I'd never be able to trust you, Mak.” Addison's anger was starting to fade, but his mind wasn't going to change about his relationship with Mak.

  “We talked about having an open marriage,” she said.

  “I don't want an open marriage.”

  “If that's really how you feel then I guess I can get used to sleeping with one person and only one person,” she said. “Does that make you feel better?”

  “Not really.”

  “I'm offering you monogamy.”

  “I don't want monogamy with you,” he said. “I don't want to come home after a bad night and find you waiting up for me, pissed off as fuck because I was too busy to answer you calls.”

  “You were with another girl.”

  “I was with a friend.”

  “A married female friend who everyone knows has a crush on you.” Makinsley sneered at him.

  Addison felt his heart drop a little bit in his chest. It was the second time in 24 hours that someone had accused Katie of having feelings for him. He knew he shouldn't be hoping that it was the truth, but he couldn't quite stop himself. “It doesn't matter who I was with. I'm not going to marry someone who gets pissed off at me for being who I am or doing whatever it is I feel I have to do.”

  “You ditched me,” she pointed out. “I was embarrassed.”

  “For what it's worth, I'm sorry my problems interfered with your perfect life,” Addison said.

  “I don't want to lose you,” Makinsley said suddenly. “I care about you, Addison.”

  “You've never had me.” He stared at the girl who was standing in front of him and felt almost nothing. “Who am I supposed to talk about my favorite books with if I marry you?”

  “What?” She frowned at him as she tried to smooth out her rumpled hair. “I don't know. I don't read. What has that got to do with our relationship?”

  “Nothing. Everything. I don't know. You and I don't have any hobbies in common other than going to the club and getting drunk. What are we supposed to talk about over the dining room table if we don't share the same friends or hobbies?”

  “You don't have a dining room table,” Makinsley pointed out.

  “You're missing my point.”

  “You're talking cray-cray,” Mak said. “You and I are almost exactly alike in all the ways that matter.”

  “I don't want to be like you,” Addison said abruptly, realizing that the words were true as soon as they left his lips. “Looking at you is like looking at the very worst, shallowest and most selfish parts of my own personality. Being with you is the worst thing I could possibly do for myself.”

  Makinsley just stared at him, as if the words that were coming out of his mouth had cut her to the core. “You're being awful, Addison.”

  “I'm being honest.”

  “If that's how you really feel about me, then why have you been wasting my time for so long?” She asked. “You've always known that I wanted more from our relationship. You can lie and say that we've never been committed to one another and we've never been serious, but you know damn well that I've always wanted more.”

  Addison took a deep breath. It would be easy to deny he'd ever had any suspicions that Mak had wanted more from him. It would also be a lie. Makinsley had been stenciling his last name after her first name for as long as he could remember. He'd just ignored it. “I'm selfish and I'm lazy. I didn't want to put any effort into a relationship, and you never asked me to.”

  “And now that I have asked you to, you don't want me.” Makinsley wiped her fingertips across the lower lids of her eyes. It took him a minute to realize that she was starting to cry.

  Addison leaned against the wall he'd just put a hole in and felt like shit.

  “Tell me something, Addy. Is any girl going to be good enough for you to want to put the effort in?” Makinsley swallowed the visible lump in her throat. “I can change. Give me another chance. I'm sorry for springing commitment on you and expecting you to actually follow through with it. I know you don't like having to account to anyone for your time.”

  Addison just shook his head at her. “Please don't beg, Mak. You're making me feel like shit.”

  She finally looked away from him. Her tears were smearing the heavy layer of eyeliner that she wore 24/7. Neither of them spoke for several minutes.

  “I'm going to go get a shower,” Addison said when the silence got to be too much for him.

  Makinsley looked up at him through puffy, swollen eyes and sniffled. “What do you want to do about the wedding?”

  “What about the wedding?”

  “I've already bought a new dress. I took off work today so that I could be your date. I had my hair and nails done yesterday so that I would look good in all the pictures.”

  “You still want to go to Gracie's wedding with me?” Addison couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

  Makinsley bit her lip and then nodded. “It'll be easier for me to save face if we have our big split after the wedding. I can tell people you got drunk and tried to have sex with Breedlove.”

  Addison snorted. “Will that make you feel better?”

  “A little bit,” she said.

  “Then go for it,” he said.

  “Oh, I will.” Makinsley wiped her cheeks again and then headed past him for the bedroom. “Damn it, now I have to re-do my makeup.”

 
Addison watched her go with a feeling that was almost, but not quite, relief.

  Chapter 50

  “If the calm always comes before the storm, does that mean that the ceremony and reception are going to be a total disaster?” Gracie paced anxiously from one end of the prayer room to the other. The skirts of her wedding dress were making an annoying swishing noise with every step she took.

  “Stop pacing. You're going to give yourself blisters before you even make it down the aisle, and then you really will be sorry.” Trish grabbed Gracie by the arm and tugged her down onto one of the elegant embroidered chairs that were normally arranged in a circle in the middle room so that the mostly elderly members of women's prayer group could hold its weekly meetings in comfort.

  “I'm just stressed out,” Gracie said. She knew Trish was probably right about the blisters, but she couldn't bear sitting still. She used the toe of one foot to slide the high heel off of her other foot and then kicked off the second shoe. Pushing them to the side with her feet, she stood back up. “I can't sit. I'm too nervous.”

  Trish sighed at her. “Why can't you be like Katie and take a nap until the ceremony?”

  Gracie looked over to the small loveseat. Katie was curled into a pretty ball of yellow fabric and delicate curls. The makeup Amberly had put on her made her look like a sleeping version of Alice in Wonderland.

  “Did she ever tell us why she was up all night last night?” Gracie asked.

  “No. She somehow managed to keep dodging that question.”

  “I hope it wasn't because of Ian. I don't know how much more of his stupidity she can take.” Gracie smoothed the lace overlay of her skirt as the door of the prayer room turned dressing room popped open without a knock.

  “Hey! We could be naked in here!”

  “Like I haven't seen that show before?” David raised one eyebrow at her and grinned.

  “God, you look good in a suit.” Gracie crossed the room to him with a smile on her face. If David was at the church and fully dressed then at least she knew she wouldn't be getting stood up on the alter. Cal had texted her earlier to tell her that they had finished their meeting with his Pappy and were heading back to the house to get ready. If David was ready, then somewhere in this church Cal was also ready and waiting around for the moment when he and Gracie would become husband and wife. “Will you please do us all a favor and start dressing up a little more often?”

  “I've worn a suit four times in the last three months. It's a personal record.” David dusted some imaginary lint off of his suit lapels. He had a simple, but pretty yellow rose boutonniere pinned to his chest. The new florist had come through for them and done a nice job of it, according to Loretta Walker. Gracie figured that, if Miss Loretta was happy, then so was she. “I'm planning on burning my suit after today.”

  “I don't think so,” Trish said with a shake of her head. “You don't burn $800 tailored suits just because you're tired of paying the dry cleaners bill.”

  David stuck his tongue out at her and then smiled. “Have I mentioned how gorgeous you both look today?”

  “No, actually. You haven't.” Trish did a little twirl in front of him, giving him ample time to take in the plunging neckline of her orange floor length gown.

  He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I'm a damn lucky man.”

  “You better believe you are,” Gracie told him. “She's way out of your league.”

  “I know.” David pulled Trish close against his side. She wrapped her arm around his narrow waist and smiled. Gracie couldn't help noticing what a handsome couple they made and thinking how happy they looked together.

  “I'm glad you found her,” Gracie said. “I needed a new bestie.”

  David laughed. “Speaking of your besties, should we wake Katie up?” He looked pointedly to where she was sleeping on the couch.

  “Probably. We only have fifteen minutes until the wedding is officially supposed to begin.”

  “I'm surprised Katie can sleep through all this excitement,” David said. “I guess she and your brother must have had a hell of a night.”

  “My brother?” Gracie did a double take.

  “Addison and Katie took off last night. No one has the slightest fucking clue where the two of them went, but they didn't come pulling back into town until after the sun was up this morning.”

  “Katie was with Addy all night?” Trish blinked in surprise. “Why?”

  “No idea. He won't talk about it.” David shrugged.

  “She won't either,” Trish said.

  “Maybe they have a good reason for not talking about it,” Gracie said after a slight pause. She purposefully turned her attention to David. “Are the guests here yet?”

  David nodded.

  “How many people are here?” Trish asked.

  “A lot,” David admitted. “They've had to open the upper balcony for extra seating.”

  “Damn it,” Gracie said. “We didn't invite enough people to fill the balcony.”

  “No, we didn't. Someone else did. Momma says it doesn't matter and that we can't turn folks away at the church door.” David rolled his head from side to side until his neck let out a loud crack. “Don't take this the wrong way, but I'll be damned glad when your wedding is over, kid.”

  Gracie smirked at him. “You won't be the only one. Are you and Addison still going to finish the last of the painting inside the new house while we're on our honeymoon?”

  “Everything will be fully inspected and ready to move in when y'all get back. I've sworn it on my life.”

  “You're the best,” Gracie said.

  “No, I'm the best.” Addison pushed though the open door and came into the prayer room. He'd paired a charcoal gray suit with a turquoise button down that matched his eyes perfectly. A pair of expensive designer sunglasses were hanging from his suit pocket next to his boutonniere.

  “Wow,” he said as his bright turquoise eyes fell on Gracie. “You make a beautiful bride.”

  Gracie grinned at him. “Wow, yourself. Has anyone told you lately that you're absolutely gorgeous?”

  “I hear it all the time.” Addison took a moment to check his own flawless reflection in the floor to ceiling mirror that covered one side of the room. He smiled as if he were pleased by what he saw.

  “Studmuffin knows he's sexy. Complimenting him is a waste of breath.” Katie had woken up on her own. She was sitting up on the loveseat, checking her heavily hair-sprayed curls with her fingers as if she were trying to figure out how much damage she'd done to her hairstyle by sleeping on it.

  Addison's gaze went to Katie and stopped. He did a double take as he took in her delicately curled hair and bright pink lips. “You look beautiful,” he told her.

  “You're a kind liar,” Katie said to him dismissively. There was an odd tension between the two of them this morning that Gracie would have wanted to get to the bottom of any other time.

  “I'm not lying,” Addy said as he crossed the room to her. He sat down on the love seat by her side and took her hand into his. “I'm looking forward to walking you down the aisle.”

  “To walking me down the aisle?” Katie looked just as startled as Gracie felt.

  “Addy, you're supposed to be giving me away,” Gracie reminded him.

  “Dad's going to give you away,” Addison said.

  “What?” Gracie gaped at him. “Dad's here?”

  “I am.” Dale Malone walked through the dressing room door as if he'd been waiting for his cue. Maybe he had. “You look beautiful, baby girl.”

  Gracie let out a squeal of joy and bolted to her Dad. Dale picked her up and hugged her to his chest. “I can't believe you came,” she said.

  “I wouldn't have missed your special day for the world,” Dale told her.

  Chapter 51

  Katie stood at the back of the church with her arm tucked neatly into the bend of Addison's elbow. The church was full to the point of standing room only. Jane May had, evidently, invited the entire t
own to her daughter's wedding, an act which had quite literally doubled the guest list for the big event.

  “You ready to walk down the aisle with me?” Addison leaned down so that his breath brushed against her ear as he spoke.

  “How many people do you think are here?” Katie asked him, ignoring his sexy, teasing whisper and the innuendo in his words. Flirting came as naturally to Addison as breathing did. He never actually meant anything by it.

  “It's standing room only. The church is packed.”

  Katie felt herself go pale underneath the pound of makeup that a frazzled Amberly had coated her face with in an effort to hide the dark circles that new motherhood and forty eight hours with very little sleep had given her. “Is now a good time to mention that I've never liked being in front of a crowd?”

  “You were a high school cheerleader. You've been in front of bigger crowds than this,” Addy reminded her.

  “It's been a few years,” she replied. She was tempted to lay her head against his shoulder, but she didn't because she was afraid her foundation would rub off on his suit jacket. Her brief nap had left her groggy and feeling vaguely detached from everything around her.

  The music started as the ushers finished guiding the last few guests of honor to their seats. Katie felt oddly numb as she watched Cal's mother, father and Pappy being escorted to their front row seats. Two minutes later, Trish and David started down the aisle, both of them looking calm and happy as they approached the alter.

  Quite a few of the people in the audience were leaning over themselves in an effort to get a good look at Trish. Rumor had gotten around town that a girl had finally managed to settle down the wildest bad boy Possum Creek had ever seen. Rumor had also gone around town that David had killed her ex to have her. That last rumor wasn't true, but it had made everyone who didn't know Trish very very curious about her. Katie imagined that the other girl probably felt a bit like a bug under a microscope right about now. “What if I trip over my own feet and fall?”

  “You won't fall. I've got you.” Addison tightened his grip on her am. His skin felt too warm against hers.