by LJ Baker
My cheeks burned with embarrassment. I pulled my hand from his and took a step back. "That will have to remain a mystery because I won't be telling."
"Oh, come now, Lexi. There must be something you could share with me." He tilted his head and raised one eyebrow.
"I think I'll just leave it up to your imagination. You do have an imagination, don't you, Sebastian?"
He stepped closer once again and slid one hand around me, resting it on the small of my back. "I would love to show you just how creative I can be."
My skin burned under his hand and his breath fell against my neck sending shivers down my spine. Every part of me screamed out for his touch. I had to do something quick or I might have tried to undress him right then and there.
My head spun with dizziness and I pushed him back to twirl out of his grasp. I tried to hop up on the railing to sit since I was starting to really feel the tequila, but I lost my balance and nearly fell. The only thing between me and the prickly shrubs below was a set of strong hands around my waist, pulling me back against a muscular chest. I leaned against him, breathing in a mixture of expensive cologne and something I couldn't quite place, that wiped all rational thought from my head. I wanted to fill my lungs with his scent and run my tongue over his skin to see if he tasted as good as he smelled.
"Lexi, look at me. Are you all right?" he asked in a serious tone, pulling me back to look me over. I wanted to protest, tell him to pull me close again but the room started to spin and my words seemed lost in the haze.
CHAPTER FOUR
I tried opening my eyes, but they didn't want to cooperate. The overwhelming brightness of the room coupled with the throbbing pain that echoed throughout my skull was too much to tolerate. I felt around and squinted against the sunlight, trying to figure out where I ended up. It didn't take much to realize it was not my own bed.
I ran my hand over the soft t-shirt I was wearing and tried to think back to the last thing I could remember. The church was clear, including the guy with the mole hitting on me, but I did deserve that for using him to tease Kat. Another man flashed into my mind. He was tall, with piercing blue eyes, and hot as hell. I remembered doing shots of tequila at the rehearsal dinner. Oh why did I do so many? My head throbbed in agreement.
Someone rolled over next to me and let out a little snore.
Shit, I'm not alone.
Panic washed over me alongside a wave of nausea. I tried to pry my eyes open, but the light stung, and my vision blurred. That was all it took. I dragged myself to the side of the bed and vomited.
"Shit, Lex, you're six inches from the bucket I gave you," Matt groaned as he pulled my hair back in a futile effort to keep it free of puke.
"Matt?" I croaked, my throat burning from the acid.
"Of course. Who did you think it was?" He tried to stifle a laugh and gently rubbed his hand up and down my back.
I had no idea why the hell I was in my brother's bed, but my panic subsided. If I was with Matt, that meant I couldn't have done anything I'd regret. After a few minutes, my stomach stopped trying to eject itself from my body, and my eyes began to focus. As the room came into view, I realized that I wasn't in my brother's bed. We were in Kat's room.
"Why are we in Kat's bed?" I wiped my mouth on the neck of the t-shirt I was wearing.
"You really don't remember last night, huh?" He was quite amused, which told me I must have embarrassed myself.
Great.
"Oh Lex, not on my rug!" Kat yelled, as she walked into the room and saw the puke over the side of her bed. "I told you we should have dragged her to her own bed."
"I got it, babe," Matt said with a chuckle and got up to clean the mess on the floor.
I gave Kat my best 'please forgive me' look, and she melted instantly. She climbed into bed with me and pulled my head to her shoulder.
"What happened last night?" I asked her, almost afraid to hear the answer.
Kat laughed and I could tell she was stalling, trying to decide if she should give me the whole story.
"Kat, please?" I covered half my face with one hand. As much as I'd like to skip the details of my humiliation, the bandage just needed to be ripped off.
I could see fuzzy pieces of what I guessed were memories, but none of it really made sense. I had to know more.
God, how much tequila did I drink?
"Well, I don't know if you will be hearing from Sebastian again," Kat said, looking away to avoid eye contact.
I tried to remember who Sebastian was. He had to belong to the blue eyes I kept seeing in my head. I could almost feel strong arms around me. Images came back little by little, but a lot was missing.
"Is he in the wedding party?" I couldn't quite place him, even though his eyes were clearly visible in my mind.
"Yes. He's Justin's cousin, from Europe." She was still feeding me baby-sized bites of information, probably hoping my memory would come back and spare her from having to break the bad news.
I peered over the side of the bed at my brother. He was scrubbing at the rug with his nose scrunched up. The scent of lemons mixed with vomit filled the room and my stomach to twisted in protest. My body did not want to move, but I had to get out of the room. I must have had my puke face on, because Kat slipped out of bed and extended a hand to help me up.
"Let's get you out of here before you blow chunks all over the rest of my rug." Kat held on to my arm, just in case, as we made our way into the kitchen.
I considered coffee, but the thought brought threats from my stomach. Kat poured me a glass of orange juice and popped some bread in the toaster. It wasn't often that I got a hangover, but then again, I didn't normally drink a lot either.
She poured herself a steaming hot cup of coffee. "You better get it together. We have too much to do before the bachelorette party later," she said and pushed dry toast at me.
I groaned. "Shit, how could I forget about that?" I rubbed my temples. "Bring on the strippers," I deadpanned.
"Yeah, you look really prepared for that, Lexi."
I couldn't argue. "So let's hear it. What happened last night?"
I broke off small pieces of toast and popped them into my mouth. I was encouraged when I didn't immediately puke on the counter.
Kat eyed me cautiously.
"Come on, just tell me! Not knowing is so much worse than anything you could tell me."
She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know everything. You were with Sebastian out on the terrace for a while. I'm not sure what happened out there, but he didn't seem happy with you."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know." She shrugged. "He looked angry when he stormed back in the room."
"Oh." I didn't know what else to say. There was a part of me that didn't want Sebastian to be mad at me, even if I could only just barely remember him.
"Hon, that's not everything." Kat gave me a look that could only be read as I'm not sure you want to hear this, and I took a deep breath. "Okay, let's hear it."
"Do you remember Gary?" she asked, nibbling nervously at a blueberry muffin that was clearly labeled Lexi's, don't touch!
"Mole guy?" I braced myself.
"Yes, well, you had him pinned up against the wall by the bar trying to suck his face off." She screwed her nose up at the memory. "When you disappeared in the men's room with him, I almost sent Matt after you, but Sebastian beat him to it."
My mouth dropped open, and a deep heat flooded my cheeks. I was speechless.
Kat took my hand for comfort and continued.
"Oh God, there's more?" I shook my head in disbelief.
"Don't be surprised if Gary has some bruises tomorrow at the wedding. I think he might have broken his nose too. There was a lot of blood."
"Wait, what?" My brain wasn't comprehending what she was saying. "Why was Gary bleeding?"
"I don't know exactly what happened, but by the time I got there, he was on the bathroom floor with his face covered in blood. Sebastian was fuming. Like, seriously,
I thought he was going to kill the poor guy. Your shirt was laying on the floor, and your pants, well, I'm not even sure what happened to them."
"Oh. My. God."
"You were trying to push Sebastian away from Gary, yelling for him to stop," she continued. "Matt threw his jacket around you, and we got you out of there before anyone realized what was going on."
"Oh my God, who saw me?" The panic washed over me again when I realized I would see everyone at the wedding and wondered what the hell they would be saying about me.
"Don't worry, babe. I'm pretty sure only the bartender and one of Justin's ancient family members knew you were involved. Matt got you out of there before people started coming over to see what the yelling was about." Kat tried to look reassuring, but I knew how bad the scene must have looked to everyone.
Matt came into the kitchen with a bucket in hand and a towel draped over his shoulder.
"You owe me for this, Sis," Matt grumbled as he set the bucket and towel over by the back door.
"Why didn't I sleep in my own bed?"
Matt burst out laughing, and even Kat couldn't hold in snickers.
"You insisted there were birds in your room and you couldn't sleep in there. I actually found you laying on the kitchen island at about two. I was afraid you were going to fall off and crack your head open on the tile, so I moved you into Kat's bed to keep an eye on you," Matt answered, still holding back laughter.
I had a feeling they were giving me the short version, but I really didn't need to hear anymore. Hallucinating birds and sleeping on the kitchen counter was more than enough information for one morning.
Despite my better judgment, there was one more thing I wanted to know. "Why did Sebastian get involved? I've never even met him before last night." His face flashed clearly in my mind and caused a fluttering that didn't go well with my current state of nausea.
"I have no idea, babe. You were out on the terrace with him for a while, but when you came back in you walked right over to Gary. I had no idea how much you had to drink until Sebastian told me," Kat apologized, looking at Matt rather than me.
"When I went out to check on you before that, Sebastian had his arms around you and it looked like you were kissing, so I came back inside," Matt said, guilt evident in his voice.
I closed my eyes and tried to piece together memory fragments into some sort of coherent time line, but my brain refused. I could see pieces, but that was it.
"I can't even think about this anymore." I forced myself off the kitchen stool and walked down the hall to my bathroom to shower.
I stood under the hot water and tried to absorb the previous night's events. I was a complete mess. My hair reeked of vomit and something else I couldn't even place and honestly, didn't want to know. How could things have gotten so out of hand?
After showering, I looked and smelled better, but the embarrassment hadn't faded. Even if Kat was right and my drunken scene went mostly unnoticed, I still had to face poor broken-faced Gary. Then there was Sebastian. I wasn't sure what I did to anger him in the first place or why he cared what happened with Gary in the bathroom, but I needed to know. Something about him, even with what little I could remember, drew me in.
I wanted to scream and reach into my head to pull out the memories. My brain didn't care how frustrated I was, it was holding on to its secrets. I had to find a way to push everything aside and get through the rest of the wedding nonsense. I still had to go to the salon with the girls, and pick up dresses, not to mention the bachelorette party and the wedding itself. This wedding had turned into a three day event. Nothing like prolonged torture to celebrate a doomed union.
This is going to be the longest weekend of my life.
***
After two hours at the nail salon getting manicures, pedicures, and matching nail designs for the whole wedding party, I finally got a break. I found a nice cushy chair to lose myself in while I waited for the rest of the girls to finish. My head was still throbbing, but the nausea thankfully subsided.
Jamie was next to finish and came straight over and sat on the small table directly in front of me.
"What the hell happened last night?" Her eyes were wide, and I realized then that she had likely been holding in that question all morning.
"I have no idea," I answered flatly, not really in the mood to rehash my humiliation even if I had the answer.
"Don't you give me that, Lexi James. I know you know what I'm talking about," she demanded, pointing her perfectly manicured nail at me.
"Seriously, Jamie, I don't really remember what happened. I drank too much tequila. There was a fight." I sighed. "I don't know."
Jamie narrowed her eyes and assessed me critically. For a moment, I didn't think she would buy it, and I cringed at the thought of having to give her the play by play. Her face softened and I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding.
"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry," she squeaked out and pulled me into an embrace.
"Um…thanks?" I squeezed myself out of her death grip. I knew by her dramatic reaction that whatever she knew was bad.
Jamie bit her lip and looked away.
"Jamie? Please just tell me what you know," I sighed.
"Well, I overheard Justin and his cousin talking…" Avoidance was unlike her. She was normally the biggest gossip I knew.
"And?"
"Well, Sebastian told Justin that you were coming on to him, but when he refused, you went out to the bar and threw yourself at Gary. He actually used the words, 'threw herself at him'. He tried to leave it at that, but he kept an eye on you because you were so wasted but then you disappeared with Gary when he turned his back to help Aunt Mary with her medication." She stopped there, giving me a minute to digest what she said.
The throbbing in my head increased, and I could feel a wave of lightheadedness come over me. I had get up, move, do something. I almost walked out the door, but Jamie stopped me. She put her hand on my shoulder and led me away from the door toward an overstuffed sofa in the corner.
I glanced at the other girls who were looking at us curiously. "Do they…"
"No. They have no idea you were involved with the whole mess."
She waited a minute to give me a chance to calm down a bit, but looked over at the others several times. They would be done and joining us soon. I knew she was dying to get out the rest of the story.
I closed my eyes for a long moment, then turned to her. "You might as well tell me the rest."
She sat up straight, looked at the girls one last time, and began in a hushed tone. "Sebastian said by the time he figured out you went into the bathroom, you were in your underwear, and Gary was about to score. I didn't even know anything was going on until the paramedics showed up and I saw Gary all bloody. By then, you were gone. It didn't even cross my mind that you were involved until Justin said something. You seriously don't remember any of it?"
"No. I have little pieces, but after what you just told me, I don't even trust them."
"Well, what do you remember?"
I choked down the lump forming in my throat. "Not a lot."
The other girls were finishing up and walking over in our direction. I slumped further into the seat and dropped my face into my hands. Christine and Becca both eyed my curiously.
"Hangover," Jamie covered with, being a great friend.
Kat shot me a sympathetic look. "You should have seen her this morning puking all over my rug."
Christine sat down on the arm of the sofa next to me. "I didn't even realize you drank that much last night."
Becca elbowed her playfully. "That's because you were busy trying to get Owen's attention the whole night."
I turned to look at Christine and arched an eyebrow. "Owen, the hot best man?"
She closed her eyes and moaned. "Mmm yes, that's the one.
Kat narrowed her eyes at Christine. "Don't you have a boyfriend?"
Kat had no right to be judgmental with the way she flirted with anything that had a pu
lse.
Christine laughed. "Boyfriend is such a strong word."
Jamie cleared her throat loudly. "Okay ladies, I think it's time to go pick up our dresses."
***
The bridal shop was only two blocks from the salon and we walked so we didn't have to find street parking again. It was a bitch to find parking on Fridays. The walk helped clear my head a bit. By the time we got there, I was starting to feel a little better.
My dress fit perfectly, so I found a cozy armchair out of the way to wait out the rest of the fittings. Of course, Jamie had a hissy fit because there was a single bead missing from the bodice of her gown. She had the poor seamstress in tears trying to find just the right bead to sew back on, perfecting her overpriced dress-for-a-day. Craziness, it was all craziness.
My phone buzzed. I answered, grateful for the distraction from the current sideshow.
"Hey baby sis. How goes the dress thing?"
I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see me. "You have no idea."
"Feeling any better?"
"Getting there. What's up?"
"So, I just got off the phone with Dad…"
I didn't like where he was headed. "And?"
"Look Lex, before you try to say no, just hear me out."
I laughed. "Matty, I can't say no if you don't tell me what it is."
I didn't need to see him to know he was smiling. "Right, well, I told Dad we would meet him and Greta for lunch Sunday so we could go over the wedding details. Plus, it would be a good idea for you to meet her before the actual ceremony, don't you think?"
"Yes." I wasn't going to lie and say I was looking forward to it, but I certainly could manage a lunch meeting.
He paused for a moment, then spoke, sounding confused. "Yes, you think you should meet Greta, or yes, you will go?"
"Both." I still didn't agree with the whole seventh wedding thing, but it felt good to do this for Matty.
"Seriously? You're not mad? I thought you were going to fight me on this. Are you hitting the tequila again?"
"No, I'm not mad, and no, I am not drinking." I shook my head at the phone. "You know how I feel about our father and his weddings. I agreed to do this for you, and meeting the bride to discuss details seems like part of the package."