by Ward, Kira
Again, I was stricken at how much Mason and Caleb looked alike. His short brown hair was a little darker than Caleb’s, but they shared the same big, blue eyes. I was particularly impressed at how well Mason had aged. I couldn’t remember how old Mason was, but he still looked like he was in his early 20s. The Greene family had damn good genes, that’s for sure.
The minister made his opening statement and read the vows which Layla and Mason both repeated. When the two said, “I do,” I could see Layla’s father tearing up, and I also had to wipe a few drops from my eyes. The rings were placed on their fingers and the crowd clapped and cheered. It was the first wedding that I ever attended as an adult and even though it wasn’t mine, it was one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Following the ceremony, the wedding reception started almost immediately. Catering brought a delicious chicken and lamb course, and Rick seemed pleased about the unlimited champagne and wine available.
Layla came by and gave me a hug while we were eating.
“I’m so proud of you,” I said to her.
“Thanks Amanda. It’s just all so hard to believe.” She stood and looked down at Rick who was shoving a bit of his roasted chicken into his mouth. “When are you two going to tie the knot?”
Knowing Layla, there’s a good chance she was teasing more than being serious, but Rick seemed to have taken the question completely seriously. His eyes snapped open and he looked like was about to choke on his food.
I just chuckled a bit, feeling a bit uneasy at the question. “Marriage?”
Rick sipped on some wine and cleared his mouth. “Oh um… We’ll have to talk about that later, right?” he said with a smile.
“Yeah, we’d have to talk about it,” I said.
“Okay.” Layla shrugged and then panned her surroundings. “You know I want to stay with you, but I’ve got to check with all of the guests. I’ll be back.”
“Okay,” I said as I watched her walk away. I still felt strange about the question, and after watching the wedding, it made me have even more questions about my relationship. What if Rick never wanted to get married to me? Was I just wasting my time with him?
I wanted to get married, damn it.
“Marriage, pfft.” Rick spat as he poked his fork into his food. “Marriage just ends in you getting your heart broken and your bank account cut in half.”
“Babe!” I squawked.
“What?”
“That’s not something you should say at a wedding. Layla and Mason are going to make it. Look at how in love they are.”
“Yeah, sure they will,” he said sarcastically.
“You’re really irritating me, Rick.”
“I’m irritating you? I came here for you!”
“Yeah, well I would’ve just come here by myself if I knew that you were going to act like a prick.”
“With my money, right?”
“What?” I asked, my jaw growing more slack with each of his comments.
“I paid for the trip here, and I’m sure you would’ve used my money if you came here alone.”
I huffed. “Rick, please stop. Why are you acting like this?”
Rick rolled his eyes and lifted a wine glass to his lips.
“And stop drinking. Maybe you’re being weird because you’re getting drunk.”
The other guests at the table looked on in silence as Rick slammed his wine glass down and licked his lips. “I need to get drunk just to get through the rest of this silly thing.”
“It’s not silly.”
“Not silly? Look. Half the people here are hoodlums.” Rick waved his hand around, pointing at some of Mason’s friends. Some of them had crazy haircuts, a few tattoos showing, a few people with piercings.
“Wow,” I said. “I can’t believe you.”
Rick shrugged. “Just speaking the truth.”
One of the guests at the table frowned and quickly got up from our table. I knew that he was offended by Rick’s comments, but he was doing the right thing by trying not to cause a scene.
“I think you should just leave, Rick. Go back to the hotel and do whatever makes you happy.”
“Oh, thank god!” Rick grunted loudly. “Finally, you want to get out of this hell-hole. Come on, let’s go.” Rick stood from the table, bumping his knee on the bottom edge, causing everything on top to shake around.
“No, not us. You. You should leave. I’m staying here to support my friend.”
“Oh fucking hell. Fine, I’ll stay.” Rick started sitting back at the table.
“No,” I stressed again. “You need to leave here, now.” I was struggling to stay calm, to avoid disruption of the reception as much as possible.
“If I leave, you’re coming with me,” Rick barked and grabbed me by my upper arm.
“Hey!” one of the guys at our table said as he stood and eyed Rick down. He was a thin guy with a beard and tribal tattoo showing on his neck. “You should listen to her and get the hell out of here.”
“Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?” Rick said as he let go of me and clenched his fists, looking like he was ready to fight.
“You don’t want to know, old man. You don’t want to know.”
“Give me a fucking break,” Rick countered. “If you want me to leave, come over here and make me!”
The bearded guys face turned red and in seconds, he had already rounded the table and was standing face to face with Rick. They both barked at each other at the same time, so it was impossible to make out what either of them were saying. People were gasping, shocked at was unfolding in front of them.
“Rick, stop!” I yelled and grabbed on to his hand, trying to pull him away. I tugged and tugged, but he just ignored me as he continued throwing insults back and forth with the other man.
Eventually, Rick shoved the bearded guy, which also caused me to fall back a bit in the process. There was another audible gasp in the crowd then the bearded guy pushed back and soon they were grappling, at each other’s arms, and at any moment I knew that punches were going to be thrown.
“What the fuck!” a voice rang out, and before the fight could go any further, Caleb had squeezed his way between Rick and the other guy, holding his arms out to keep them separated. “You two need to cut the shit right now.”
“This guy is disrespecting everybody, calling the wedding a joke and saying that the guest are hoodlums,” the bearded guy said.
“You are hoodlums!” Rick yelled out.
Again, the two started pushing towards Caleb’s hands, trying to get at each other, but Caleb held them back.
“Stop!” Caleb yelled, and when they both stopped moving, Caleb turned to Rick and looked him dead in the eye. “You need to get the fuck out of here. This is my brother’s wedding, and you’re not welcome anymore.”
Caleb looked like some kind of God compared to Rick, several inches taller than him and having at least 30 pounds more muscle in comparison. Rick might have had a chance against the bearded guy, but Caleb would have kicked his ass.
“Take your wedding and shove it up your ass!” Rick yelled and turned, holding his hand out to me. “Come on, Amanda.”
I just shook my head no.
“Come on!” he said again.
“She said no,” Caleb barked.
Rick snickered and stared a hole into me, his hand still extended. “If you don’t come now, we’re done.”
“I don’t care,” I muttered.
“What?” he asked, a confused look on his face.
“I said I don’t care!” I screamed. I had finally had enough of holding it all in and no longer cared if the guests saw. Rick had already caused enough embarrassment for me, so a little screaming wasn’t going to change anything. “We’re through Rick! We’re through!”
“Oh, so that’s how it is then?”
“Yes! Just leave now! I don’t want to this anymore! I don’t want to be with you anymore!” By that point, tears were pouring down my cheeks. They were tears of embarrassment, tears o
f heartbreak, tears of losing my love. I never imagined that Rick would ever do something like he had.
“Alright, we’re done!” Rick yelled. “And find your own way back home! Your shit will be packed when you get there. Good luck taking care of yourself!”
“I’ll be better off without you!”
Rick laughed. “Oh, will you? We’ll see about that. You’re making the biggest mistake of your life, you dumb bitch!”
Everyone moaned when he called me a bitch, and Caleb gave Rick a shove, pointing away from the wedding area. “Get out of here now!” he ordered.
Rick turned and stuck his hands in his pockets as he casually strolled away.
I was shocked and hurt. The tears just wouldn’t stop flowing.
“Are you okay?” Caleb asked me.
I nodded as I tried to dab tears out of my eyes with a napkin. “Yeah…”
Layla made her way behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. “Oh my god, what just happened?”
“Rick is an asshole,” I cried.
“It’s just a fight babe. It happens.”
I shook my head and wailed. “No… We’re done. I’m done with him for good.” I sniffled and snorted, still feeling emotionally out of control. “I’m so sorry for ruining your wedding.”
“It’s okay babe. Don’t worry. You didn’t ruin anything.”
“I’m so sorry,” I repeated.
“It’s okay,” Layla said as she wrapped her gentle arms around my throat, comforting the way only a best friend can. “It’s going to be okay.”
Chapter 6
Caleb
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I spat as the taxi stopped at another red light. “Can’t you get us there faster?”
“Hey, man,” the turbaned driver said calmly. “I’m going as fast as I can. I’ve got to obey the traffic laws.”
“Yeah, I understand.” I mean, I sort of understood. Obeying traffic laws wasn’t exactly something that I did very often.
It was already an hour past the time that I told Mason I would be at the wedding. I had two missed calls from him, and the stress was causing me to sweat bullets into my tux. That and the fact that I was hungover as hell.
I had gone out to some club called Croatia the night before and within an hour of arrival, I was hammered. The place was packed with hotties, everything from Latinas to Eastern European types. The girls there weren’t like the thing model types that I saw back in California. There was a lot more of the thick, sultry types—the girls with booty for days.
I found myself making out with a Cuban girl and dancing the night away. She played a little hard to get, but the last thing I remember was us hopping into taxi together, and the rest is blank. I woke up in the hotel alone with the alarm clock wailing, a hard-on and an empty bed. There were a few strands of thick, dark hair on the pillow beside me, but no sign of the girl.
I had no idea if we had sex, but my cock didn’t smell like pussy and I didn’t find any condom wrappers. Maybe I just got a blow job?
Fuck, I thought. I really need to calm my drinking down. I couldn’t believe that I was so irresponsible, that I was going to be late for my only brother’s wedding.
The taxi pulled up to the beach, and far off in the distance, I could see a couple of tents set up and the guests seated in front of an altar. It didn’t look like I had missed the main event yet.
I handed the driver a $50 and told him to keep the change as I hopped out and jogged towards the event.
“Mason?” I asked a guy I recognized as a racer from the bluff.
“He’s in the tent right over there,” the guy replied.
I turned and headed for the tent door, but right before I stepped inside, Mason came out and immediately creased his brow at me.
“I said 10am, Caleb.”
“Bro, I’m so sorry.”
“You had one thing to do when you came to Miami, and that was to get to the wedding on time.”
“I know, I know.” I nodded my head while looking towards the sand as he scolded me. “I got a little carried away last night and woke up late.”
“I’m sure you did.”
“Mason, I’m—”
Mason huffed and interrupted me. “Just go sit down at the table over there. The ceremony is about to start. I’m just glad you made it.” He patted me on the shoulder.
I gave my best embarrassed smile and nodded as I scooted through the sand and towards my seat. Mason was a good brother. He was tough, but forgiving. No matter how much I fucked up, he always wanted the best for me.
“Hey,” I said to Mom and Dad when I pulled my chair out from the table.
“Glad you could join us, son,” Dad said with a smile. “Mom was getting worried.”
The other two guests at the table I hadn’t met before. They just nodded and smiled as I sat down.
“I wasn’t that worried,” Mom said. “Caleb is chronically late.” Mom reached over and gave me a warm hug when I was in my seat. “You smell like alcohol.”
“Yeah, I was out drinking last night.”
Mom and Dad both threw me the stink eye. I was too old for them to scold me, but they wanted to make it known that they didn’t approve. Mom and Dad didn’t drink at all… not even wine. The clear liquid in their champagne glasses was most likely water.
The music kicked in, and Dad slapped me on the shoulder before pointing to the end of the procession pathway. “Look. It’s starting already.”
I turned my head where he was pointing, but halfway through turning, I noticed a familiar face sitting at another table several yards away.
Amanda Fox.
And for some reason she was staring a hole into me.
A knot instantly formed in my stomach the moment that I saw her. She had been my biggest crush during my high school sophomore and senior year. I still remember my mouth salivating when I saw her juicy tits bouncing up and down as she pranced down the hallway between 3rd and 4th period. I started hanging out with Layla just so that I could get closer to Amanda, but the whole thing never worked out.
I finally had the courage to ask Amanda out for Prom and the response I got was “pending.” Yes, “pending.” It was a bitch move I thought, but I still had my hopes up. And those hopes were shattered when she ended up going to Prom with Russell Blake, the most popular guy at school. I wasn’t surprised…. She was the hottest girl at school and could’ve chosen anyone, so why not Russell, right?
She was wearing a peach colored dress, and her tits still looked as impressive as ever as they spilled ever-so slightly over the top. He dark brown hair was pinned up and fell in ropes on each side of her face. She looked gorgeous, and I knew, without a doubt, that she was the hottest girl in attendance, even without looking around. She looked that good.
But the guy beside her wasn’t Russell Blake. It was another guy who looked like he could be her dad. Was it her dad? Mason told me once when we were chatting that Amanda had an older boyfriend, but I couldn’t imagine that he was that old. He certainly didn’t look like the type of guy I’d picture her banging.
Yeah, must be her dad, I thought.
And why was she staring at me? Was she staring at me or behind me? I couldn’t tell.
The man she was sitting with turned his head toward Amanda and somehow snapped her out of her trance. She smiled, and then turned her attention back towards the ceremony that was starting.
Weird.
The ceremony went down without a hitch, and Mom and Dad were both brought to tears when Layla and Mason said “I do.” Even I got a little choked up at the whole thing. It was hard to believe that my older brother, who I always looked up to as the biggest, most badass racer anywhere was marrying the shy girl from my school.
I never imagined he’d get married or if he did, he’d marry some Playboy model or a stripper. Layla didn’t seem like he would be her type.
Plus, we had shared classes together.
Double weird.
But there was no question in my mind
that he loved the girl. Ever since the moment he laid eyes on Layla, his demeanor changed. He seemed to have lost all interested in other girls, and he practically revolved his life around her.
If anyone else at the wedding doubted that they were love, I’m sure the wedding kiss changed their mind. Mom turned her head and blushed when it was clear they were getting into some tongue action.
After the ceremony, I congratulated my brother, and he seemed to have all but forgotten that I had been late. Everyone else was chatting, eating, and enjoying each other’s company until voices were being raised at another table.
I glanced over and could see that it was Amanda and the older guy that she was with, but it seemed like any other couple’s argument. Maybe she was mad at her dad for not spoiling her or something. Who knew? I couldn’t hear what was being said, and pretty much everyone tried to stay out of their business.
But then there was a loud gasp, and I could see that the old man and Shane Manning, a friend of Mason’s and a racer at the bluff, had stood up and were in each other’s faces. The old man looked like he wasn’t afraid to defend himself, but the last thing I wanted was to see an older guy get knocked out by Shane during my brother’s wedding.
I sat down my fork and jumped out of my table before rushing over to the pair. Right when I arrived, they had started pushing, and if I had split them up even a few seconds later, surely fists would have been flying.
“Come on, Amanda,” the guy said after I told him to leave.
Amanda shook her head no.
“Come on!” he said again.
“She said no,” I barked.
What happened after that was a bit of a shocker to me. The yelled at each other more and apparently broke up. The guy I thought was her dad was actually her boyfriend.
That made me feel a little bad. I mean, this was a girl I had fantasies about when I was in school—a girl I had tried and failed to nab. And that guy? He got her? What the fuck?
Eventually the guy left, leaving Amanda there sobbing and crying. Layla came around and comforted Amanda, and the other guests tried to get back to what they were doing.
“Thanks for handling that,” Mason said. “I would’ve stepped in, but it looked like you had it under control.”
