It's Got A Ring To It (29 page)

A barrage of bridesmaids and groomsmen sauntered down the aisle to a
lovely ballad, in knee-length silk pink dresses and penguin-like black tuxedos
with matching pink bow ties and pocket squares. As soon as they were positioned
in their respective staggered lines, the music changed and the horns of the “Wedding
March” song echoed throughout the building. At the entryway, Elle stood arm
-
in
-
arm with Myles for all the room to see her.
She was exquisite in all her wedded glory as she sashayed regally toward the
altar. In a floor
-
length
ball gown boasting a fitted satin strapless bodice and befitting polka
dot
tulle
skirt as fun and flirty as she. This was the moment she’d dreamed about a
million times since she was a little girl. Everything she had envisioned with
the
girliest
of pinks at every turn and beautiful
bushels of flowers pouring at the seams. At her side as always, Myles towered
above her, with pride and a trace of seriousness about the job ahead of him.

Elle was his precious cargo today. We talked about how bittersweet it
was, giving away the sister that he’d cared for, for so long, though
respectfully to a man who loved her unconditionally. Since their parents died,
Myles had been the only father figure, protector, provider, and confidante that
Elle had until Sam became a part of her life.

 
“Who gives this woman to
be married to this man?”
Q
uestioned
the
officiant
, as Myles proudly assumed the
responsibility and stepped aside for Sam to stand in his place. The way Sam
endearingly watched Elle’s every move
, h
anging on her every word, he listened to
his soon
-
to
-
be wife, pledge her love to
him. From where I sat, it was like watching a silent film. No words, just body
language and interpretation. The looks on their faces spoke volumes. They were
the only ones in the room, professing untainted love to one another. Sam smiled
from ear to ear, while Elle’s eyes rimmed with tears. He placed a
diamond-encrusted band into the groove beside the simple princess cut solitaire
as the
officiant
pronounced them husband and wife.

The stress began to subside with the drowning applause of the
couple’s kiss. The tension in my neck eased slightly, and I could move freely
without regard for the events around me. As people approached the candy bar and
scooped their fill of treats into the takeaway bags, I was actually starting to
enjoy myself. Our table was next to the photo booth, so it was a natural
progression to get amped up on sweets and memorialize the sugar-high with an
Ironman mask or Minnie
M
ouse
ears. I’d taken a liking to the handlebar mustache prop and heard the proper
banter of an English accent creep in a time or two as I sipped my champagne
with the pinky lifted to attention.

At the peak of
the day
, long after the wedding party
pictures and the father
-
daughter
dance that Elle replaced with the brother
-
sister dance, I resolved to have a good
time. A waiter with
hors d'oeuvres
and petit fours waltzed by and I
snagged a few and ate them hastily, looking over my shoulder to see if anyone
else saw me scarf them down. Not a few moments later, another waiter circled by
and I was double-fisted throwing caution to the wind. Quickly, I took one down
for courage, and sipped like a lady on the second as I headed over to sign the
guestbook while the line had died down.

Somewhere
down the middle of the page
, I jotted
down
my information and well wishes to the
happy couple. My handwriting was barely legible chicken scratch. All at once, I
felt woozy, unstable on my feet. I grabbed hold
of
the table to anchor myself, when I felt a
hand cup my elbow to hold me up.

Turning, I’d hoped it would be Myles, but it was Myles’ friend, John.
As my luck would have it, behind him stood the whole New
Year’s
Get-Along-Gang, Drew and Raquel.
Almost immediately, I regretted my decision to drown my sorrows and fears by
hobnobbing with alcohol. My cheeks flushed, but I was too nause
ated
to try to make a run
for it. Absentmindedly, I patted at my dress to iron the invisible wrinkles
out, and smoothed at my hair.

“Hi,” I stammered, stifling a bubbling urge to laugh—likely at
myself.

They held it. Clearly, for as long as they could without exploding,
but it got the better of them. Right in front of a gathering line at the
guestbook, the
T
hree
S
tooges burst
into
knee-slapping
laughter—hooting and hollering and carrying on. John’s eyes watered,
threatening to spill with tears at my expense. He let out a robust snickering
cackle. Raquel was more of a chuckler gasping for air with no sound, but the
way she held her stomach, even Drew doubled-over.

I wanted to be mad. I really did. I wanted to be really pissed at
them. But I couldn’t blame them for guffawing at my futile attempt to maintain
my equilibrium. Who was I kidding? I’d never been able to hold my liquor. Half
my prom night was spent in the girls’ restroom, while my date stood outside the
door warning people off. Before I knew it, I was in stitches, too.

We were getting along like old friends. Drew was every bit the
ladies’ man that I thought he was, flirtatious and touchy-feely with constantly
wondering eyes. Naturally, he came by himself so he wouldn’t miss out on any
good catches. There’s
a sweetness
to John and Raquel’s
relationship that made me a tad envious, wishing Myles and I could be that way
all the time. It was sort of a relief to see the whole crew. Otherwise, Myles
and Elle would have been the only ones I knew. But, I was right at home as they
let me in on stories about Myles before his skateboard phase, growing up being
awkward and nerdy. Drew, thumbed through pictures on his phone to one of Myles
with thick-rimmed glasses—a nauseatingly genius IQ and a makeshift pocket
protector that he’d invented, apparently went along with the picture.

The guys had ventured onto some worldly subjects that I was
n’t
quite paying attention
to, for the heat of Raquel’s interrogating eyes pierced on me.

“So…?”
S
he
dragged it out
.
“
W
hat’s going on with you and
Myles?” A little too eager, she pried with a wink and a smile, knowing good and
well that she likely knew more than I did.

“Um…just the usual.”

“Uh
-
huh.
Romantic trips to Napa and secret gardens are the same old same for you,” she
demurred skeptically. “That’s the story you’re sticking with, huh?” Raquel
flashed a disbelieving smile under raised eyebrows.

Straight
-
faced,
I stared back and cracked almost immediately. “Ok
ay
, ok
ay
. Ok
ay
. Geez. Does he tell you guys everything?
If you know so much, why don’t you tell
me
,
how we’re doing?” It came out sounding sarcastic, not at all what I intended.
Guiltily, I backtracked a little to save face. “Honestly, we haven’t talked
much since the weekend ended.” And that
wa
s the truth, though I wish it wasn’t.

“All Myles told us was that he had an amazing weekend, emphasis on
the amazing
.
”
S
he smiled more for my sake
than hers
.
“
B
ut, he said the last night,
things took a turn in a different direction. Although I tried to get more out
of him since he was being so vague, that’s all I could get.”

Her eyes, didn’t tell me she was lying. Still, I couldn’t
get
past the word,
“different.” What the heck was
“
different
”
supposed to mean. It gave
me no indication of whether he was sincerely willing to be there for me, or
simply ambivalent toward the whole thing.

Raquel sat on edge, waiting to hear the scoop, but it just doesn’t
feel right spilling the beans to his friends, when he had the chance and chose
not to. I kind of felt obligated to do the same
.

“Myles is right. Things did go in a ‘different’ direction, but the
most important thing is that we’re in love.” Immediately after I said the words
aloud,
it felt
weird. Myles and I spoke the words repeatedly, but to tell others,
somehow made it more official. It wasn’t the scoop that she was hoping for, but
it was enough to dodge the subject. Raquel shrieked with a mile
-
wide smile and wrapped me
in a hug so tight, my air supply cut off temporarily.

Somehow, I got caught up in the excitement and the two of us were
higher than the moon and the stars, hugging as we bounced in circles in a
frenzied tailspin. “May I cut in?”
A
familiar voice whispered in my ear.
Raquel’s bulging eyes confirmed my suspicion. I didn’t turn, just stepped back
into him, so that his arms enveloped me. Raquel eagerly took her cue to rejoin
the guys.

“Hello
.
”
H
is warm lips on my ear set
me aflame.

“Hello yourself.”

“Don’t ever leave me again,” he whispered. Behind his words, an
emotional undercurrent gave way to the pain that he’d concealed so well up
until now. “Have I lost you?”

I shifted to turn toward him, but he held me in place. “You could
never lose me…unless you decided that you didn’t want me anymore,” I replied,
worried that he might choose the latter and get tired of me one day.

Myles didn’t acknowledge the last part. Without missing a beat, he
continued his line of questioning. “Happy to see me?” The way he did it was
sexy, to say the least. All the innuendo backed up
by
strong
hard fact.
We were
swaying to the rhythm of the music while our bodies spooned in ecstasy. My back
arched in response.

Turning me to face him, I locked eyes with the smoldering
gray
ones of
the man who showed me love instead of just saying the empty words. He was
debonair
,
stealthy,
like the
deliberate moves of a jungle cat prowling in his sable suit and freshly groomed
mane.
Virile and pristine.
Satisfied with my answer,
he submerged me into a kiss that had me seeing double. When we came up for air,
Myles paraded his flawless wicked grin at me. “
Laila
,
we are in public…at my sister’s wedding,” he feigned shock and innocence, as if
he wasn’t the cause and cure for the ache stirring in my belly.

If I wasn’t stifling a guttural laugh, I might have noticed sooner.
Quite befitting to see that he was turned on high, too. Donning my most serious
face, I chastised him in return
.
“Mr. Donovan, I advise you
to
contain yourself,”
I
scold
ed
as I motioned
with my eyes toward his
burgeoning erection.

Crimson is the exact shade he turned and I could hardly contain my
hysterics. In one fluid motion, he’d glued our bodies together and we were
headed for the dance floor.

“I need another drink first,” I complained, still giggling.

“Just dance with me,” Myles pleaded with a wicked grin. He was
irresistible. Without further ado, I surrendered to my sweetheart.
Music
blared
through
the speakers and it felt like old
Hollywood
glamour.
“
Come
Fl
y with
M
e
,
”
played
and at that moment, I could have, as
long as I was in Myles’ arms. “Have I told you that I love you today?”

 
“Just once.” He looked at
me with upturned eyebrows, trying to recall when he’d said the words. “On the
note that came with the beautiful flowers you sent. Thank you by the way.”

The music faded into
a
low instrumental jazz tune. Background
noise.
Theme music for the best man and maid of honor to give
their speeches.
We fumbled to our seats at
a
round table set for ten, along with the
rest of the guests, trying not to be the last ones standing.

“
You’re
welcome
.
” Myles leaned
in and whispered from a seat behind me on my right side.

The bride and groom sat at a heart-shaped table at the center of the
room and a step up
from
the wedding party
seated at
a
linear table that spanned the width of the dance floor. The maid of honor was
telling some story about her and Elle back in middle school that had
all
the
signs of a
tearjerker. The spotlight painted her a luminescent shade of pearly white, and
as she stood there, feet hidden behind the ivory tablecloth, with that ethereal
glow, it seemed like she
was
floating.
All attention in the room faced her, so I couldn’t turn around without stirring
a commotion.

Leaning against the table and slightly into Myles, I whispered back
through closed teeth and a plastered smile, trying not to move my lips
.
“I have something for you,
too
, b
ut, you’ll have
to come back to my place to get it,” I murmured teasingly.