Page 4 of Playful Kris

“And last time?” He chuckles, at least I know he isn’t really pissed at me.

“I ghosted you.” My tone is flat, I can’t even deny that one.

He barks out a laugh, making me grin. “Damn, I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. How’s Ruby?”

Ruby is Kaleb’s fiancee, and she’s good for him; I like her. She’s never given me a reason not to, and God knows she puts up with a lot in this damn family.

“She’s good, planning a wedding in six months has been stressful, but she’s making it all seem so easy, even when I know she’s on the verge of tears at times.”

The way he talks about her makes me envious. I want that, I want someone like that.

But wanting and having are two very different things.

“I’m sure that is tough.”

“Speaking of the wedding?—”

I grimace, here it comes.

“That’s what I wanted you to call me about. I need an answer on if you’re coming and if you’ll be my best man, Kris. There’s no one else I’d rather have up there by my side than my big brother, but I can’t keep waiting. The wedding is less than a month away.”

Disappointment. That’s what I’m picking up on in my brother’s voice.

He’s disappointed and hurt that I’ve taken this long to give him an answer about the wedding. I should have been able to say yes the second he told me the news and asked me, but instead, I made things awkward and probably ruined his moment for him by telling him I needed to think about it.

“I’ll be there.” I pause, thinking everything over in my head. I have plenty of time off, I never go or do anything so it’s all built up over the last couple of years. “And I’ll be glad to be your best man, Kaleb.”

“Whew.” He sighs. “I’m so relieved to hear you say that. I really wanted to have you up there, and the longer you took to give me an answer, the more unsure I was getting that you were going to say yes.”

“Yeah, well let’s just hope our parents don’t ruin the weekend.”

“Just stay away from them, everything will be fine and I’ll make sure that Ruby seats you far away from either of them during the reception.”

I can hear Ruby in the background, but can’t make out what she’s saying.

“Hey, Kris. Are you bringing a date by chance? I want to make sure that I have the seating arrangement nailed down by the end of the week,” she asks.

“I’m honestly not sure.”

“Okay, well if you could decide by Saturday, that’d be great. I know we keep throwing deadlines on you, and I’m sorry. We just have to get everything finalized soon,” she tells me.

“Hey, I get it.” I shrug, because I do. “I’ll let you know by Saturday if I’m going to bring anyone with me.”

“Sounds good, see you soon.” She hands the phone back to my brother.

“Well, I’m going to go help her finish a few things. I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

“Alright, be good.” It’s something I’ve always said to him.

“I’m not a kid anymore, Kris.” He laughs.

“Yeah? Then act like it.” With that I hit disconnect on the phone, knowing he’s rolling his eyes on the other side.

A date? Who the fuck am I going to get to attend a wedding with me as a date?

I’ve fucked, I’ve had plenty of thosedates.But someone that I actually want to bring to my brother’s wedding as my date?

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