Friday Night Brides

by Samantha Chase

  Stomping from the closet in her bra and panties, she tripped over Trampus on her way to grab her phone. Scrolling quickly, she pulled up Hailey’s number.

  “Hey, Ang!”

  “Okay, I am officially freaking out.”

  “Uh-oh…”

  “Yeah. Uh-oh. I’m totally screwed here.”

  “What’s going on? Is Sean still coming?”

  “He is but I can’t find anything to wear! Everything is either too dressy or too casual or too squeezy…”

  “Squeezy?”

  “You know, too tight to go out to eat in. And I really don’t want to break out the Spanx. I’m not prepared for that kind of workout.”

  “Plus it would suck later when you’re trying to undress each other,” Hailey said and then snickered.

  “Seriously not helping right now! What do I do?”

  “Okay,” Hailey began, sounding serious, “where are you going for dinner?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then how do you know what you’ve picked out is too dressy or too casual?”

  Angie sighed with annoyance. “Okay, let’s just assume we’re going fairly casual. At least I hope we are. I’m not going to put on jeans and a t-shirt!”

  “Of course you’re not,” Hailey said patiently. “You can do a step up from that and still look nice—without looking like you’re trying to impress.” She paused. “Or are you trying to impress?”

  “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. Honestly, I wish he would have just said he was bringing over a pizza or tacos. I would be totally cool with that.”

  “You are going to have to come to grips with this new phase of your relationship. It’s obvious Sean is looking for more than dirty weekends and booty calls.”

  “Booty call? Did you seriously just use that phrase?”

  “What? It’s still a thing,” Hailey said defensively. “And I thought you wanted my help.”

  “You’re right, you’re right. Sorry.”

  “Okay then…the weather is great tonight so I think you should go with a pair of capris—preferably your black ones—and the turquoise halter with the little bit of beading on it that you wore last month when we went out to celebrate Becca’s birthday.”

  Angie stepped back into her closet and found the outfit and examined it. “You don’t think the halter is too much?”

  “Too much what?”

  “Is the beading too fancy?”

  “You wore it to the Cheesecake Factory. I think you’re safe.”

  “I really could do with a little less sarcasm right now, Hails. I’m already on edge!”

  “I don’t understand why you’re freaking out so much. It’s a date. A date with a guy who you’ve already been in a relationship with. I could see if this was a first date or even a blind date, but you and Sean were pretty exclusive before he…”

  “Took off without telling me and blew me off?”

  “You know, when you say it, it sounds really bad,” Hailey said. “And he’s already explained it to you and apologized for it so you have to decide if you’re going to let it go or if you’re going to keep harping on it.”

  Collapsing on her bed and lying down, Angie let out another sigh. “For the most part I’m over it. Just every once in a while it comes back and bites me in the ass and makes me crazy.”

  “So what are you going to do about it? Because you know you’ll never be able to have a decent relationship with Sean if you’re going to let this thing keep creeping in.”

  “I just don’t know how to not let it keep creeping in,” she replied honestly. “And on top of that, I don’t know how to handle this change in the relationship.”

  “Why?”

  “It was casual before, you know? We would meet up for a weekend, have crazy-monkey sex and then go our separate ways. There were flirty texts and calls but it was all about what we were going to do the next time we got together. Now…now it’s like a real relationship. Sean wants to talk to me—like really talk to me—and he wants me to talk to him.”

  “And not your usual snarky stuff.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Okay, now I see why you’re freaking out.”

  “What do I do? How do I not act like a complete babbling idiot because I’m feeling self-conscious?”

  “How about telling him that?”

  “Seriously?”

  “Uh-huh. When Sean gets there tonight, sit him down and tell him how you’re feeling a little out of your comfort zone.”

  “He’ll think I’m being an idiot.”

  “No,” Hailey countered, “he’ll appreciate that you’re really talking to him—that you’re trusting him with your feelings and it will open the door for some good dialogue between the two of you.”

  “Sounds like a damn episode of Dr. Phil.”

  “Get all that snarkiness out now, my friend, because you’re going to need to reel it in later.”

  “Dammit.” Looking at her bedside clock, she cursed. “I’ve got to go and get dressed. He’ll be here in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Call me tomorrow and let me know how it goes.”

  “I will,” Angie said. “And Hails?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  Once she hung up the phone, Angie sprang into action. She pulled on the capris and then the halter and after looking in the mirror, she frowned. There was no way to wear the halter with a bra. Technically she already knew that but didn’t want to seem like she was being slutty for not wearing one. Pulling it off, she readjusted everything and then checked her reflection. “Hails may be a little bat-shit crazy, but she’s an excellent fashion consultant,” she murmured as she walked back to her closet.

  It looked like a bomb had gone off in there and not wanting to deal with it, she simply kicked everything into a corner, turned off the light and shut the door. Her bedroom was spotless because…well…because she had a feeling she knew how the night was going to end. So she had spent a little extra time tidying up and changing the sheets and making sure everything was in order.

  Truth be known, she missed that part of her relationship with Sean. Not that sex was the only thing she missed, but they had physically clicked from the get-go and Angie knew from experience that that sort of connection wasn’t easy to come by. They may both go into this date thinking it’s a getting-to-know-you-again thing, but she knew if she had her way, this was where they’d end up.

  Fingers crossed.

  Walking out to the living room, she smiled when she heard the knock on the door at exactly five. Her smile grew when she opened the door and saw Sean standing there. He was dressed somewhat casually in a dark pair of jeans and a dress shirt that was untucked. “Hey,” she said as she moved aside to let him in.

  “Hey yourself,” he said softly, kissing her on the cheek. “How are you doing?”

  Did she just throw it out there now about how she was unnerved or did she wait?

  “Good,” she said, opting to wait. “I’m good.” She shut the door and turned to see him taking a seat on the couch. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  Sean shook his head. “I’m good. Thanks.” He seemed very relaxed as he made himself comfortable. “I’m sorry that I missed meeting you in Charlotte yesterday and seeing the show. What time did you get home?”

  “Just a little after noon.”

  His eyes went a little wide. “Wow…that’s earlier than you thought. Everything okay?”

  Sitting down at the opposite end of the sofa, she told him about the morning’s drama. By the time she was done, she couldn’t help but laugh. “All I wanted was some damn waffles and it turned into a soap opera.”

  Sean chuckled. “So is everyone okay now?”

  “For now,” she said. “Hailey’s going to have to deal with this situation her own way. Jack’s not going away—she’s going to have to see him next weekend whether she likes it or not. Ella’s having her own mini-breakdown but at least she’s talking about it. Not
that long ago she would have kept it bottled up. And Becca? Well…I have a feeling this thing with Max is going to get serious. Fast.”

  “And is that a good thing?”

  Nodding, Angie said, “I think so. He’s a really nice guy and from what I can tell, he’s just as crazy about her as she is for him. She’s never dated anyone like Max before so I’m sure it’s a little weird for her.”

  “Why do women go for guys who aren’t good for them?” he asked with a grin. “I never understood that.”

  She shrugged. “Because we always think we’re going to be the ones to change them.”

  “Is that what you thought when you met me?” he teased. “That you were going to change me?”

  She laughed out loud. “Actually, I wasn’t thinking that at all. I was thinking we were going to do the traditional maid of honor/best man thing.”

  He looked at her with confusion.

  “You know, we’d sleep together after the wedding and that would be it.”

  “Wow…that was brutally honest.”

  “Why lie about it?” she asked and then let out a small nervous laugh. “When we first met, I wasn’t thinking about long-term relationships. You lived in New York, I lived here and…you know…that was it.”

  He nodded as his expression sobered. “And what about now?”

  “What about it?”

  “Where do you see us now?”

  Okay, here it was. Time to throw it all out there and deal with the consequences. “I don’t know where I see us,” she began honestly. “I was really happy with the way things were…before. And then…”

  “I left and screwed up everything,” he supplied.

  She smiled slightly. “Yeah. That.”

  Sean stretched out his arms along the back of the sofa. “What does that mean, Angie? I’ve told you what I want—where I want us to go from here. But if you can’t forgive me because of it, then I don’t want to waste your time.”

  “What about your time?” she asked cautiously.

  He shrugged. “I’m willing to put in the time—just as long as I know there’s a chance. You’re worth the wait.”

  Well damn.

  Swallowing hard, Angie slowly rose to her feet. “I can’t make any promises to you, Sean. Not right now. I’d like to think there’s a chance, but…I can’t guarantee it. But I’d like to try.”

  He stood and took her hands in his and gently squeezed. “Then that’s what we’ll do,” he said softly. “We’ll try.”

  ****

  Meanwhile, Ella was busy making a romantic dinner for Dylan. Since they’d moved in together two years ago, they rarely spent a night apart. The times when she traveled with Enchanted Bridal for one of their events were the only reason they did—and occasionally Dylan went with her. It was crazy how after all their years together, she still managed to miss him after only one night apart.

  Looking around the kitchen, she smiled. Everything was cooking. She’d made all of Dylan’s favorites—pot roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, biscuits and gravy. It wasn’t glamorous or gourmet, but it was what he loved and Ella enjoyed making it for him.

  With nothing left to do—the table was set and the food was doing its thing—she sat down and sighed. Right now, she thought, Angie was out on a real date with Sean. It was—according to Angie—their first date. Ella could only imagine the anxiety her friend must have felt while getting ready and probably during those first few minutes of the date.

  In another part of town Hailey was probably still beating herself up over her night with Jack. Personally, Ella thought the two of them were pretty much perfect for each other. Jack seemed like the type of guy who could be a really good balance for Hailey. He would help her to relax once in a while and have some fun and not be so serious and task-oriented all the damn time. Unfortunately, Ella knew that was something Hailey was going to have to figure out for herself. With any luck, Jack wouldn’t be content to just sit back and let Hailey get away with walking out on him this morning.

  And then there was Becca. Ella chuckled. If their conversation on the last leg of their trip home was anything to go by, she was fairly certain that by now, Becca and Max were together at Max’s place picking up where they’d left off this morning. “Good for her,” Ella said with a smile. Out of the four of them, Becca seriously had the worst luck with boyfriends. And if there was one thing Ella knew for certain, it happened because Becca tended to choose guys who were all wrong for her. Max was completely different from the rest and she had a good feeling that he was the one for her friend.

  “And then there’s me,” she sighed. It bothered her that so much was…well…bothering her lately. All of the things Ella loved about her relationship with Dylan now seemed to make her feel silly. Inferior. Boring. Having a romantic dinner at home used to be something she would brag about, but now? Not so much.

  Looking around the kitchen—the one she’d decorated with her theme of country-chic—she realized it was nice. It was cute.

  It was boring.

  Standing up, Ella walked with a sense of purpose up the stairs to the bedroom and looked at herself in the full-length mirror and frowned. She looked cute. She looked nice. In a pair of faded blue jeans and a pink tank top she still managed to look…boring. Feeling defeated, she slowly dropped to the floor and sat down.

  That’s where Dylan found her.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said with a smile as he walked into the room. “What’s going on up here?” He sat down beside her on the floor and kissed her soundly before letting her answer. “The scent of dinner hit me as soon as I opened the door. It smells great.”

  For a minute, all of her worries vanished. Ella felt pride in Dylan’s compliment and then nothing but pure happiness.

  And then she remembered.

  “Hey,” he said softly, tucking a finger under her chin. “What’s wrong?”

  For the next ten minutes Ella rambled on about everything that was going on with the girls.

  “O-kay,” Dylan said slowly. “So you’re upset because your friends are…?”

  How could she even explain it? It barely made any sense to her! “Do you think we’re boring?” she finally blurted out.

  Dylan’s eyes went wide. “What? No. Why?”

  Ella shrugged. “Everyone is out doing something right now. Something exciting and we’re just here—sitting at home and having dinner. We’re young, Dylan, and we live like we’re old! We don’t really do anything anymore.”

  “We’ve been busy planning a wedding, El,” he reminded her. “We agreed to cut back on going out and doing stuff so we could put the money toward that.” He paused and studied her. “What is going on with you?” He rose to his feet. “Honestly, it seems like lately you’re just not happy.”

  Ella got up and faced him, but couldn’t make herself speak.

  “Ella, we’ve been together for too long for you to keep stuff from me. How can I help you if you won’t talk to me?” he asked sadly.

  The next thing she knew she was wrapped up in Dylan’s arms because she had burst into tears. She had no idea how long she cried, but Dylan never let her go. He would kiss the top of her head, whisper how he was there for her and how everything was going to be all right. When she finally felt like she could compose herself, Ella raised her head and looked at him.

  “I’m sorry.”

  For the first time ever, Dylan looked worried.

  “I don’t know why all of a sudden these things are bothering me. I look at everyone around us and see the things they’re doing or hear about how they’re feeling and…and it all seems foreign to me. It’s like I’m some sort of weirdo.”

  “Ella…”

  “And then I look around here and we have a cute house. It has nice furniture. I wear cute clothes…and it’s all so damn boring that I want to scream!” She jumped up and began to pace. “When did we become these people, Dylan? When did we just morph into this couple who’s steady and staid and… boring?”

  With
out a word, Dylan walked into their master bathroom and washed his hands and face. Then he changed his clothes out of the ones he’d worn to work all day. When he was finally done, he leaned against his dresser and faced Ella. “You know what? I don’t see us that way and I find it offensive that you do.” His voice was completely calm but his expression bordered on fierce.

  “Dylan…”

  He held up a hand. “You had your say; now I’m having mine,” he said firmly. “You want to know how I see us? I see us as people who work hard and are planning for our future. While everyone else is running around—or sleeping around—we’re committed to each other. We’re not pissing away our money at bars and clubs. We’re making sure we’re putting money into savings for retirement and college funds for our kids. We don’t live beyond our means and we decorated within our budget because we know this is our starter home and someday we’ll upgrade.”

  “I know, but…”

  “You’re looking around and thinking ‘look at all we’re missing’ and acting like it’s a bad thing. I’m looking at all the same people and thinking about it all with relief! You know what, El? I bet if you asked any of them, they’d all rather be us! We’ve got our shit together! And you know what? They’re right! There’s security in that that people want!”

  “Dylan…”

  “If you asked a majority of the people we know what they’d rather have—the crazy bullshit of running around trying to find someone to spend their lives with or having their soul mate—they’d choose soul mate! If you asked those same people if they’d rather be out trolling bars and clubs on the weekend or being totally themselves at home with someone they love, they’d choose staying home!”

  Shame washed over her.

  He was right.

  But before she could utter a word, Dylan spoke up. “I don’t know what it is you’re looking for,” he said, his voice back to being calm and level. “If you’re looking to go out clubbing or being immersed in drama, I can’t give that to you. It’s not who I am. I used to feel confident in what I was giving you and in what we had. Clearly I was wrong.”