Page 39 of Little Gray Dress

“Jack?” Sort of checking to see if he’s still alive.

He mumbles something to me.

“If we ever get married I want to do it here, without everyone we know. It’s just… so much easier than all the fuss of a wedding.”

Jack only groans over at me. I’m kind of glad he doesn’t totally understand me right now, because we haven’t talked about marriage at all. We’ve been together for three years and not once has he hinted that we should get married. He’s always so focused on the next step in his career that I don’t think it’s honestly even on his mind.

Our relationship is great, so why change it? But with my friends getting married I’m starting to feel a little left out. I mean… I’m 26 years old; I feel like this is the marrying age if there was one. I’ve no doubt that Jack is the one, so maybe I should mention it… preferably when he’s not puking in the sand next to me.

“Ems…” Jack groans at me, causing me to jerk awake and try to figure out where I am. “Why are we on the beach?”

It’s not as dark as it was when we sat down here so I pull my phone out of my pocket to check the time. 4.33 am. We’ve been lying out here since just after 1 am and we must’ve fallen asleep.

“We stopped because you were sick, remember? We can head back to our room. Do you feel OK?”

“No… But I can make it back.” He sits up and glances at me, his dark hair falling across his forehead. “I think this is the first time I’ve been this drunk.”

“In front of me for sure.”

“Well, that’s a change,” he laughs, as I try and pull him off the chair.

“That it is.”

“I had a dream that we got married.” His smile is faint, but his eyes are locked onto mine. He must’ve heard me earlier. “We got married right here, with the moon in the background.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, it was…” he stops walking, obviously searching for a word to use. “Beautiful.” He looks at me again. “Just like you.”

How could I not be happy to hear that?

“Thanks, Jack. Let’s get back.”

I slide the hotel card key into the suite we are all staying in and watch the flash of the green light before the door pops open and Jack pushes his way through like a bull in a china shop. “Hello, bed,” he says as he walks down the hall to our room.

“Let me just make sure everyone got back,” I say, watching him fall face first into our bed.

I quietly knock on Corinne’s door. She doesn’t answer so I crack the door open to make sure she’s at least in bed. She is… But so is Evan. Obviously they have been up to no good, considering I’m standing on their clothes near the doorway.

“Evan!” I whisper, poking him in the back. “EVAN!”

“What?” He groans, opening one eye.

“Get back in your room or Lily will kill you when she gets up. What is wrong with you? Corinne is engaged!”

“So… It’s not like we’re the ones getting married tomorrow.”

“Just go!” I toss his clothes at him and watch him kick off the blankets, hold his wad of clothes over his nether-regions and tiptoe back to his room across the hall. “Not a word of this to anyone!”

“Whatever, Mom.” His door clicks shut behind him.

I glance in at Jack, who isn’t moving but has somehow managed to strip himself and is now lying completely naked on top of the covers, his bare ass exposed to anyone looking in the wall of windows.

“Lil?” I crack her door enough that the light shines directly onto the bed, giving me the perfect vision of her and Josh doing things I never wanted to imagine they did. “OH MY GOD.”

“EMI!” Lily yells and tosses a pillow my direction.

“Sorry,” I yell through the crack, quickly shutting the door behind me. “Shit.” I race into my room, shut the door, and close the curtains so Jack doesn’t gain a crowd when it’s light outside.

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