by Laney Terra
Alyssa noticed but waited until we all were in place to let us know that the grooms were to offer their arms for us to hold. Hidden in the corner, I noticed Hendrix’s mother inspecting us.
---
We were the last group to arrive at Leslie’s rehearsal dinner. One by one, someone from our group of girls had to run back up to their room to get a phone or lip gloss they forgot. When I sat down at the table, I noticed that Hendrix’s mother, Mrs. Gina Anderson, had her eyes on me. I smiled and she returned one.
“Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?” she yelled.
“No, you met Michelle,” Leslie said.
“I know I met Michelle,” Mrs. Anderson said. “And what a lovely woman she is, but I think I’ve seen you somewhere. What’s your name again?”
“Londyn,” I said.
“No, that name doesn’t register. I would have remembered someone named after a city.”
Was that a jab or…?
Thankfully that was the last I heard from her that night. She focused on matchmaking Michelle, telling Hendrix that he’d have a beautiful woman on his arm the next day. The pairing was fitting. Then later Mrs. Anderson slipped into mentioning grandbabies.
While waiting for desert, I excused myself and hurried around the corner to the area of the restroom. I didn’t go in. I had to take a moment to get away from the table, and the hall that led to the restrooms was a great place to stand.
“Hello,” Hendrix said as he showed up beside me and put an arm around my waist.
“What are you doing?” I said as I removed it. “Don’t you have Michelle to get back to?”
His chest bounced up and down as he laughed. “Somehow she became my mother’s favorite, but I’m not concerned with that. I wanted to hear your voice because I didn’t get to this morning.”
I pressed my lips together. “You missed me didn’t you?”
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say a little.”
“What are you going to do when I’m gone?”
“You should ask yourself the same question.”
“You think I’ll—”
Hendrix grabbed the back of my neck and kissed me, hard. I pushed his chest back.
“Don’t do that in public,” I said. “Someone will see us, and I don’t want to deal with it.”
“Then don’t let your mistake happen again,” he said and smiled.
“My mistake?” I said and chuckled.
I felt what I thought was Hendrix’s hand slide down the back of my jeans. “A treat,” he said. “I think you’ll find that it comes in handy. I’ll see you back at the table.”
A few seconds later, Michelle showed up around the corner. Good thing Hendrix’s hands were to himself. She gasped. “There you are Keene. I came to see if you were alright.”
“I’m fine,” he said.
Michelle glanced at me. “Oh, well I’m glad to hear the good news.”
“I was on my way back so,” I said and stepped around Michelle and Hendrix. “I’m going.”
---
That night was more laid back. We all joined Hendrix in his suite and reminisced on the past. When it was getting late, we filed out at the same time with the exception of Leslie and Michelle. Jackson was staying in the other room, on the opposite side of the suite, for the night, so Leslie stayed to say goodnight. Michelle… I hoped she wouldn’t do what I assumed. I know Hendrix isn’t mine, and I just met him, but that would still hurt.
I said goodnight to the girls on the elevator and reached my room. Once inside I remembered that Hendrix put something in my back pocket. At first touch I thought it was a note due to the thin width, but it was too hard. I pulled it out of my pocket. He already knew what to do to make me laugh. A key to his room as a treat for me? He wanted me to contest that ego and bring it down a bit.
About ten minutes later, I answered a phone call from Leslie, who was on her way back down.
“She’s gone,” Leslie said.
“What are you?” I said. “Oh.”
I snuck back up to Hendrix’s room like a stealth jet in the night. I wasn’t planning on staying. It was best, I thought, to go ahead and end our little adventure. Two nights without him? I could get through it. And even though Michelle was my adversary at times, and he wasn’t with her, I didn’t want to be in the middle of a tumbleweed mess.
The door unlocked with the key Hendrix gave me, but I cracked it open. I didn’t want to accidently run into Jackson. Being that Leslie knew, there was a ninety percent chance that he did too. But I didn’t want to feel strange knowing that he knew I was the only woman there.
After all, from what I was told about Keene, little escapades like the one we had weren’t completely uncommon to him. However, I was also told the frequency of those things happening were blown out of proportion. That was all I could remember from what Leslie said when she spoke of him.
The living area was clear. I slid in, made little noise securing the door, and tip toed with wide strides to Hendrix’s room. As I went in I recognized that I wasn’t prepared to see anyone else with him, but it was too late. At least there wasn’t chatter. Hendrix was in the bathroom area with the door closed. I stood along the wall until he came back out. He flinched when he saw me.
Seeing that man without his shirt made it hard for me to form the words to say that I stopped by to end it. And the hug and kisses made it even harder.
“Hendrix, I mean Keene,” I said.
“Baby you can call me whatever you want to call me,” Hendrix said.
“I’ll call you by your name, Keene.”
“Although I love the way my name rolls off your tongue, Keene doesn’t sound right.”
“You want me to call you Hendrix?”
“It’s our little secret.”
“Hendrix,” I said. “I didn’t come to… I came to cut this thing with us off.”
His eyebrows bent down. “Why?”
“It doesn’t feel right anymore,” I said.
“If this is about Michelle, I’m not with her. My mother likes her that’s all.”
“No, it’s not. I have to go.”
“Londyn, I enjoy your company,” he said. “We don’t have to be physical all of the time. I sound like I’m talking about forever, but you’re only here for less than two more days. Are you sure you don’t want to lie down over there and talk for a little bit?”
He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my fingers. “We can start with how you felt when you stood at the chapel’s doors for an hour, gawking at the fine specimen known as Hendrix. I know you imagined a whole lifetime of our moments together as a little documentary played in your mind.”
“Shush,” I said.
“Come and tell me about it.”
“Alright but only for a little while.”
Chapter 12
Londyn
The wedding was beautiful. White and pink roses bordered the runway, our various styles of short, dusty rose, chiffon dresses all fit well, the groomsmen’s grey suits were handsome on them, and Leslie’s lace and beaded mermaid dress was exquisite. The variety of white roses, gardenias, and ranunculus flowers in Leslie’s bouquet, with a few featured blush pink roses, wrapped the whole concept together.
When the doors opened for us to walk down the aisle, I was surprised to see the large gathering of people. There must have been about fifty people filling the seats. Jackson was from California, and the trip from L.A. was only four hours by car, so I was guessing that helped…and the more affordable flights and hotels too.
Leslie was beaming throughout the ceremony, and I had to dab some tears. Another great part was there were no threats of fights or attitudes. We were concerned that Leslie’s mother in law was being nice for the moment until she could object.
The party continued into another room for the reception after we posed for pictures in various locations of the hotel, outside by the pool, and on the Strip. I did a little dance into the room as we were introduced by the DJ, makin
g my way to the dance floor through a sea of people sitting at the tables.
As we clapped our hands for the rest of the wedding party, I noticed that a little photo booth was present on the side. Leslie’s wedding cake was behind us in the front of the room. After Leslie and Jackson came in, our party did a disjointed dance, which we barely practiced, then sat down to watch the family dances.
The food was delicious. Through the buffet, we were able to choose from Creole, other American, and Caribbean delicacies. Then Leslie’s cake, designed to appear as lace with roses over three square tiers, stole the show. Not only was it gorgeous and tasty, we had a choice: vanilla, chocolate, or lemon flavored cake. Although the outside design was one, inside there were different frostings to complement the flavors.
I knew who was going to be in charge of my wedding if I ever got married, Alyssa. She did a wonderful job, and I let both her and Leslie know when Leslie visited our table.
The time came to catch the bouquets and garter. I wasn’t so lucky but Michelle and Hendrix were. That moment made Michelle’s day as well as jokes about how the best man and maid of honor both caught the things.
When the dancing began, I had fun hopping onto the floor. A few songs later, Hendrix came and danced with me for a song and next to me for a few of the line dances.
I don’t remember how long I was on my feet, but I had to break from dancing to take a breather at one of the tables. Moments later Mrs. Anderson strolled over to me.
“Hi Londyn,” Mrs. Anderson said. “Can you help me with something out in the hall? It won’t take that long.”
“Sure,” I said and got up from the table. But what did she need help with exactly? It wasn’t her son’s wedding, and we had another hour at least until it ended.
Mrs. Anderson smiled and waved to people on the way out. Once we were outside I didn’t see anything that we needed to do.
“I saw the way you were looking at him,” Mrs. Anderson said. “And I don’t appreciate it at all.”
“Excuse me,” I said. “What do you—?”
“I want you to listen up. I’m only going to tell you this once. Stay away from my son. Got that?”
“Where is this coming from? I didn’t do anything.”
“Oh, yes you did,” she said and started pointing at me. “I remember you. You were with my baby the day we went to the spa. You already had your hand deep down in his pocket.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” I said.
“I know your type, and I will not stand here and let you ruin his plans.”
“You don’t control him.”
“I don’t, but I can control who is around him.”
“You really think so?”
“I’m his mother Londyn. I know so. Now, go ahead and enjoy the last few hours you’ll ever see of him.”
I huffed and went back into the room, traveling far enough to the dance floor that Leslie happened to peek over and see me. She shimmied off the floor and took my hands to dance.
“Londyn, what’s going on?” Leslie said.
“Nothing.”
Leslie must have seen Mrs. Anderson return to the room. “What happened?”
“She told me to stay away from Keene.”
“I’m going to—” Leslie said and started to pull away.
“No,” I said. “It’s not worth it.”
“But that woman is evil. I’ll kick her out.”
“No. It’s not like Keene and I are dating. I wasn’t planning on being with him forever. She just made me upset. Why would she do that?”
“She’s crazy like the one I had to deal with.”
“Now I see.”
“I’ll go back with you to the hotel after all of this is over,” Leslie said.
“No,” I said. “Shauna, Casey, and Alyssa are here. I’ll stick with them. It’ll be fine.”
“But you’re leaving tomorrow.”
“I’ll stop by your room to say goodbye. I’ll see you a few days later anyway.”
“I know,” Leslie said and smiled.
---
The party continued late into the night. When it was over, I stayed behind to help Alyssa make sure we had everything. I thought Hendrix was gone already, but he returned to the room to see if we needed any help. We were glad that he came because Alyssa put him to work, and instead of making two trips, we only made one up to her room to drop off the extra items. After saying goodnight, Hendrix and I were alone on the elevator.
“This is the last time we’ll be together,” I said and pressed my floor number.
“I might miss you,” Hendrix said.
“Might,” I said and chuckled.
“Yes.” He kissed my cheeks and gave me a couple of deep, passionate couple of kisses.
The door opened to my floor, and Hendrix accompanied me to my room. “Can I come in, you know, for old times’ sake?” he said.
I grinned.
---
I didn’t get that much sleep, but I wasn’t worried. I’d have plenty of time to close my eyes on the plane. I paced around the room, making sure everything was packed. On a schedule, I had to get out of there, tell Leslie I’d see her later, drop of my car early enough so I could have time to wait for the shuttle, then check in my bags at the airport.
I didn’t like to cut things close. One time I showed up within minutes before the hour cut off time. That trip was so stressful that I promised myself to never do it again.
“I think you have everything,” Hendrix said, double checking the drawers and table for me.
“I do. Thanks,” I said. “OK, well it was nice meeting you. Thanks for the relaxation tips and nights out on the town. It was fun!”
“It was.”
I threw out my arms. “Goodbye Hendrix.”
He brought me to his chest and squeezed. “I don’t want to say goodbye forever. Can I have your number?”
“I don’t think that’s the best course,” I said, catching his eyes. “You live so far away and…”
He nodded then connected with my lips then tongue in advance of releasing his grip on me. “I understand. Can I help you bring your luggage down to the car?”
“I got it. Don’t want to ruffle any feathers.”
“I hope to see you around Ms. Londyn.”
The radiance of his smile warmed me one last time. I think I’m going to miss him. I smiled back then he went out the door.
I should have given him my number.
Chapter 13
Hendrix aka Keene
Returning to my room, I couldn’t take my mind off of Londyn. She’ll be gone in a few more hours or so, completely out of my life with the exception of events with Leslie and Jackson. If they don’t throw a summer or Halloween party, it would be Christmas or New Year’s Eve before I’d see her again.
I didn’t like those odds. And the timing was a big problem too. I wasn’t one to give up when going after what I wanted. I remembered what she said, but offering her a chance to change her mind was the right thing to do.
Earlier that morning, she let me know when her flight was leaving and what car rental place she used, so my idea was to make her trip less stressful.
On the way out to my limo, I saw Leslie helping Londyn carry her luggage to the car she rented. I advised my driver to wait a few minutes after Londyn left then we parked in an area not too far away from where the car rental shuttles picked up their customers.
One of the shuttles abandoned Londyn seconds after she finished returning her car and came outside. All of the air deflated out of her lungs. She started making her way down the sidewalk. Preoccupied with keeping her purse on her shoulder, while pulling a much heavier second bag of luggage out of a crack that it protested to smoothly cover, Londyn didn’t notice me stroll up to her.
“Let me help you with that,” I said.
She glanced up and her mouth opened. “It’s you.”
“It is, and I came to save you from the twenty minute wait and dragging these bags
along. How did this one get so big?”
“We did some shopping, and it’s some of Leslie’s things too. I think they either shipped or paid for extra bags on the way here.”
“How nice of you,” I said as I took hold of the problem bag. “I got this. And we have a ride in the opposite direction down there. Let me have that other bag of yours.”
She hesitated to give it to me. “You don’t have to do this,” Londyn said. “I have time to wait for the next shuttle. I know you have business to take care of.”
“Michelle isn’t here Londyn,” I said. “Don’t worry about her.”
“I’m not worrying. I’m just saying…”
“You can’t understand why someone would do something nice for you and not want anything else in return.”
The corner of Londyn’s lip curled. “But you do want something.”
“The only thing I want right now is to give you a nice, cool ride to the airport instead of wait in this one hundred degree heat that feels like someone is blow drying you at all times. It’s what I would do for my friends and friends’ friends.”
“After you,” she said.
I offered my hand to take her other bag, rolled the luggage, and put it in the trunk. On the way to the airport I said, “You’re right. I did want something else. I wanted to make sure you got home safely, so here’s my number.” I gave her a business card with one of my personal numbers. “You can call from any phone anywhere. I won’t call you back if I don’t pick up. I won’t bother you any further.”
“Alright,” she said and tucked it in her purse.
“Thank you. Well, we’re here.”
Londyn thanked me for the ride, and I helped her with her bags, putting them in line to check in outside. We said goodbye, and I slouched down in my seat as we drove away. I did everything I could. It was up to her if she’d ever want to see me again.
---
Londyn
I wished Hendrix would have been there to pick up that second heavy bag of mine off of the carousel. It took everything in me to pull it off and not fall backwards in the process.