The DJ turned down the light music playing as guests ate and turned on his mic. “Ladies and gentlemen, the best man and maid of honor wanted to say a few words to their friends. Ladies first: the maid of honor, Zoey!”
The guest politely clapped. Aunt Lisa whooped.
Zoey’s throat constricted when she saw the faces looking up at her. Zoey felt a wave of nervousness as the DJ handed the mic to her so she could begin her speech.
“Hi, I’m Zoey, the maid of honor. Caroline and I have been best friends since kindergarten. I’m an only child, so Caroline was the closest thing I had to a sister,” Zoey started, looking at Caroline. Oh great, Caroline was starting to get misty. “We did everything together. We even dated the same guy a couple times. One of them was a boy named Jared in the fifth grade…she dated him first, and then I did. And that one over there,” Zoey said, pointing at the groom. She expected laughs, but the room was dead silent. Aunt Lisa gave a pity laugh that echoed through the room.
“Actually, Jonathan, the best man, and I double-dated with Caroline and Brady once when we were fifteen. They did not talk to each other the entire time. If you would’ve told me then that it would all go down like this, I would’ve told you that you were lying.” Zoey could tell she was losing the room. She saw several people check their phones or set their head on a propped-up hand. She felt like the Short Subject Documentary winner at the Oscars.
“Caroline has been there with me for most of my big life moments, and we’ve fought like sisters and been close like sisters. She sometimes knows what’s best for me when I don’t even know myself.” She looked at Jonathan and then at Caroline. That’s when Caroline shriveled into a downright ugly cry.
“Brady has also been there through a formative time in my life and led me to where I am today. I love Caroline and Brady individually, but I love them together the most. I wish you a lifetime of happiness.” Zoey pulled the microphone away from her mouth. Polite clapping came from the crowd. All that mattered to her was Caroline’s reaction. Caroline took her in a tight hug, shaking in her arms. Brady stood to give Zoey a hug and kissed her cheek. Zoey gave the microphone back to the DJ.
“And now, the best man!” the DJ said into the microphone and handed it to Jonathan. Jonathan stood up and immediately locked eyes with the groom.
“Brady, we have been friends for just as long as Caroline and Zoey. I love you like a brother too. Maybe I should just copy all of Zoey’s speech since it was so good.” The room chuckled, and Jonathan paused. How was he getting laughs when he was just recycling?
“I was also on that date, witnessing Caroline and Brady not talk. I also didn’t expect it to take the twists and turns it has, but I’m glad we ended up here.” Jonathan caught eyes with Zoey, his lips curling to a slight smile.
“We’ve been through a lot together. You were there for me through some really dark times and your friendship helped me,” Jonathan said. He brought the microphone down, pausing. Zoey watched as the light bounced off some water in the corner of his eye.
Holy shit.
Jonathan sniffled and then laughed, his eyes clogged with tears. The crowd reacted with a collective “aww.” Brady stood up, and they connected hands and then wrapped their free arm around each other’s backs.
Jonathan grabbed his drink that was nearby and raised it. “I wish you both a long and happy life together. Cheers!”
The room lifted their glasses and clinked them like wind chimes.
He cried.
Zoey couldn’t shake the shock. When they dated, she wished for some show of emotion, some indication of what he felt for her. And now, she had finally gotten her wish. And her answer.
Holy shit. He had changed.
He sat down next to her, and she grabbed his face, planting a kiss on him so hard his head jerked back. She hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him closer, hoping their bodies could fuse into one. He placed his hands on her waist, on her jaw, at the base of her scalp. The world disappeared and it was just her and him.
“Wow,” he said when they pulled away.
The entire table was watching. Mouths were agape. Zoey looked at Jonathan, who now had red lipstick all over his lips. Dan pointed at his mouth, and Jonathan took a napkin with cold water and began rubbing it off. Makenna came over and cleaned up the edges of Zoey’s lipstick.
Dan walked over and slapped Jonathan’s back. Zoey heard him say, “I’ll find somewhere else to sleep tonight.”
The cake cutting was next. Caroline and Brady daintily fed each other bites of cake while Aunt Lisa yelled “SMASH IT” like she was at a wrestling match. Soon, Aunt Lisa and Dan were chanting “smash it, smash it, SMASH IT” and then the moment passed everyone by. Brady remained the perfect gentleman.
“I’m so going to smash cake in your face,” Jonathan said. “It was a fifty-percent chance before, but after last night and the pie, it’s now a one-hundred-and-one percent chance.”
“If you knew how long this takes…” Zoey said, circling her made-up face with her pointer finger, “you would think twice. I would be furious.” Somehow, the discussion of them potentially getting married one day with a wedding cake they could smash shortened her breath.
“You pied me,” Jonathan said. “You threw a pie. In my face.”
“I know that, but it was payback. Or as some would say, pieback.”
Jonathan erupted in laughter and leaned over. He took her face in his hands and kissed her slowly. Their breaths heaved when they finally tore apart.
“When did you start crying? It was torture to get an ‘I love you’ out of you back then.”
“Well,” Jonathan said. “After my divorce, I started going to therapy. Got in touch with my feelings. My therapist, Pamela, is the best.”
Zoey felt heat build between her legs. He went to therapy too?
“I am so turned on right now,” Zoey whispered close to his chest.
Jonathan let out a one-note “ha.”
“Hearing me talk about my therapist?”
“All of it,” Zoey said. She turned her head and spotted her mother watching them. She understood why her mother was being protective and skeptical. Two days ago, Zoey was pacing the vacation rental, wringing her hands in nervousness at seeing Jonathan again. Now, she felt relaxed and unconcerned about the future, and horny as hell in this man’s arms, arms that felt familiar and foreign simultaneously.
“I have to hit the bathroom.” She laid a peck on him, and he held her hand until the last moment as she walked away.
The note in her dress nagged at her. She found a plain wooden bench to sit down on. She looked around to avoid anyone seeing her pull a piece of paper out of her bra. It had dampened with the exposure to her skin.
Zoey, I went to the gym and didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful and pretty. I cannot believe how lucky I am that you allowed me back into your life, even for a weekend. The pain I caused—I am so deeply sorry. I am ready to move forward—with you. Love, Jonathan.
Her whole body responded, nerve endings firing alive. She now understood why Caroline and Brady pushed so hard for them to see each other again.
It could be right this time.