I look over at her and smile. “What’s your favorite memory of being here?”
“Hmm. I don’t know. We’ve had so many good ones,” she replies, grabbing the pillows and handing them out to us. She takes one for herself and places it under her head. “You?”
I open my mouth to tell her I have no idea when Joey cuts me off.
“Well, I’ll tell you what mine wasn’t. Fucking tequila drinking games.” Juls and I both make noises of agreement as Joey rolls on his side facing us. He smiles that winning smile of his. “You’re getting married tomorrow, cupcake. And I think you need to let everyone on this fucking block know.”
I glance between the two of them before quickly scrambling to my feet on the bed, placing a hand on either side of my mouth, and yelling at the top of my lungs, “I’M GETTING MARRIED TOMORROW!”
Juls and Joey both hoot and holler at me as I drop to my knees and fall back between them. And we don’t move from our spots for the rest of the night.
There’s laughing and talking more about the wedding, a few more text messages between Reese and myself, and a ton of discussion revolving around Juls’ pregnancy. It’s my last night in my loft, and it’s one of the best ones I’ve ever had.
With two of the most important people in my life.
Today, I marry my wedding hookup.
Not that I’m an expert on this sort of thing, but I’m pretty sure most people never see their flings again after sharing that one moment together. That’s the whole point of wedding sex, isn’t it? You’re watching two people vow to love each other for the rest of their lives while you wallow in your own single self-misery. Then you see an opportunity in the form of another hopefully-not-married wedding guest and proceed to get it on to help ease your loneliness. Or I suppose in my case, experience something you never have that your overly-knowledgeable best friend brags about. Either way, I’m certain in most cases of slutty wedding sex, no one expects to fall in love with the guy who romantically takes you against a bathroom sink at your ex-boyfriend’s wedding reception. It’s supposed to be a one-and-done deal. A shake of hands and saying how nice it was to make each other come before walking away. You’re not supposed to continually think about that person after you’ve gone your separate ways. You’re not supposed to lose sleep and briefly contemplate pursuing anything further with a man who you’ve been told is married. And you’re definitely not supposed to begin a casually-monogamous relationship with that same man, especially when you’re incapable of not falling in love with him.
But like I said, I’m not an expert at this sort of thing. And it’s a good thing, too; otherwise, I probably wouldn’t be standing in front of my mirror while my mother and fabulous wedding planner/best friend button me into my wedding gown. Without any difficulty, I might add.
“I knew you could do it, sweetheart. This dress fits you perfectly now,” my mother says behind me.
It does fit perfectly, thanks to the diet I’ll never be adhering to again. My low-carb days are way the hell behind me.
“Yeah, well, I plan on tearing into that wedding cake later, so I better have plenty of room.” I connect with Juls in the mirror, smiling at the sight of her in the floor-length, pale-gray bridesmaid dress she looks amazing in. “What time are you heading over?”
She looks over at the stove and quickly spins around, grabbing her stuff. “Shit. Right now. I’ll have your bridal suite set up for you, so go straight there when you get to the Whitmore. And use the side entrance. If Reese sees you beforehand, I’ll kill him.”
I laugh and hear my mom’s agreeing noise behind me as Juls walks to the door. It swings open just as she gets to it, Joey emerging from the stairs and decked out in his tux.
“Wow. Look at you,” he says to Juls, earning himself a kiss on the cheek.
“Right back atcha. I’ll see you guys there.” She disappears down the stairs as Joey comes to stand beside me.
“Everything go okay?” I ask as my mother steps back, seemingly done with her task. I spin around and face Joey, seeing his awestruck expression.
His eyes twinkle with adoration as he takes in the sight of me. “You look fucking fabulous.”
“Joseph,” my mother scolds.
He glances over at her. “Well, she does! Seriously, I don’t think anyone has looked this good in a wedding gown before. Aside from Juls.” He shakes his head with an exhaustive sigh. “Single gal, party of one over here.”
I smack his shoulder. “Whatever. No problems with the cake?”
He steps up to the mirror, straightening his tie. “Of course not. I gave it the Joey treatment. It’s waiting for you at the Whitmore, as is your anxious groom.”
“You saw him?” I grab his shoulder and spin him around. “How does he look?”
His eyebrows raise. “Like he might pass out if he doesn’t see you soon.”