“That’s what I’m afraid of,” muttered Sebastian.
He was only half joking.
He held my face gently and looked into my eyes.
“Just promise me you won’t turn into one of those bat-shit crazy women about the whole wedding thing, Caro.”
“Such sweet nothings you whisper,” I teased him. “Don’t worry, Sebastian, that’s not my style.” I slapped his chest. “I don’t care if I get married in jeans.”
“Jeans?” he said, raising his eyebrows.
“Well, my favorite jeans,” I replied, with a challenging stare.
“Okay, jeans. Cool.”
Sebastian was nervous about meeting my friends, understandably, perhaps. I tried to reassure him, but he felt they’d be judging him: he was undoubtedly right.
He looked delicious in a white T-shirt and blue jeans, and, with his bare feet jammed into a pair of flip-flops, he looked like he’d just strolled off the beach. Except for the fact that when he walked, he still had a pronounced limp.
I heard Nicole’s car pull up and I leaned out of the window, waving excitedly. I pretended not to hear Sebastian murmur, “Incoming.”
I ran out of the door, and Alice leapt on me first, hugging me tightly.
“Oh my God! It’s so good to see you, Lee!”
“You’ve lost weight, beotch!” yelled Nicole, grappling me around the waist, and smearing a lipstick kiss onto my cheek.
“I’ve brought chocolate and champagne,” sang Jenna, flinging her arms around me.
And then Nicole shrieked.
“Omigod! Omigod! Is that what I think it is?”
She grabbed my left hand and stared at my engagement ring. There were loud gasps and shocked looks from Alice and Jenna.
I nodded.
“You guys are all invited to a wedding in the Fall,” I said, quietly.
At that, there were loud shrieks and cries of congratulations, plus a few tears. They all hugged me again but I was growing uncomfortable, aware that Sebastian would be watching, and waiting for us to come in.
“When did this happen?” said Alice, grabbing my hand again to look at the ring.
“That’s a nice piece of rock, Venzi,” murmured Nicole. “But are you sure about this? I mean right now, the way everything is…”
“I’ll tell you all about it later. Just be… cool, okay?”
“Well, come on,” said Nicole, rather tersely, “let’s meet the paragon.”
“Nic!” I said, my voice warning.
She held up her hands. “I’ll be good.”
Which didn’t fill me with hope.
Sebastian was standing in the middle of the living room when my friends walked inside. I could tell he was nervous, but to anyone who didn’t know him, he would have merely appeared arrogant.
I introduced everyone, and Nicole couldn’t help herself, running her eyes up and down Sebastian’s body: it was practically a Pavlovian response with her when she saw a cute guy. Jenna and Alice had taken sneaky peeks, too; they were just more subtle about it.
The girls settled themselves around the room, and then an uncomfortable silence descended, with everyone’s eyes fixed on me. I could tell Sebastian was feeling overwhelmed at having so many people in our small home, so I smiled at him, took his hand, and led him back to his favorite chair.
I could see the pitying faces of my friends as they watched Sebastian limp painfully across the room. I wished they wouldn’t – Sebastian loathed being pitied – but their reaction was understandable.
I perched on the arm of his chair, and he rested his hand on my knee. It was as if he needed physical contact with me to get him through what he clearly saw as an ordeal.
“Well, you know what I’ve been doing,” I said, calmly. “I want to know what all of you’ve been up to.”
Gradually the conversation began to flow. Sebastian was silent at first, but slowly Alice began to draw him out, asking about his plans to go back to school.
“I was going to study Italian and English Lit,” he admitted, “but that kinda got interrupted.” He glanced at me and I squeezed his hand. “But I don’t know now.”