Page 25 of Pieces of Us
“Linc, grab my phone from the table over there.”
I hand him his phone, and he’s reading something off of the cufflinks, typing it into a search bar. His fingers stop moving and he smiles. “They have the coordinates for Jamaica engraved on them. God, I love her so much.”
Jax removes the cufflinks he planned on wearing from his shirt and puts on the new ones. “I’m ready, guys. I want to get married. Let’s go.” He claps and starts for the door.
The guests are seated as I follow Marcus and Jax’s dad down the aisle. We all take our places at the front, and then Jax starts walking, his arm linked with his mom’s. I can see Kate’s eyes are a little red when they get to the altar. When they stop, Jax hugs her, and I already feel like I might cry. Yeah, I’m that guy that cries sometimes. Sue me.
Jax takes his spot beside me, and I squeeze his shoulder. He gives me a nervous smile as the music starts for the ladies. Emma is first, followed by Gigi. Emma’s date smiles as she passes by. Lewis barely glances at Gigi. I don’t really care for him, and after what Marcus said, I don’t trust him. But she seems to like him, so we’ll all play nice for her sake. God forbid if the guy screws up though, he’ll have to face the three men of our group.
Melonie appears in the doorway, and she starts to walk toward us. She looks a little nervous; I don’t think she likes being the center of attention. Her eyes shift and meet mine. My stomach clenches as she holds my gaze, and I give her my most reassuring smile. Her face relaxes, and I feel like her safety net at that moment, and it feels good. I see Jax at the edge of my vision,looking at me and grinning. I don’t care. I’m not taking my eyes off Mel.
The music changes and the guests stand. A few beats pass before Audrey comes into view, holding her father’s hand. I look at Jax, and I watch as he loses the battle. A couple tears fall as he wipes his eyes. I squeeze his shoulder again because shit, I think we’re all in need of a tissue. Even Marcus’ features soften as she approaches.
Audrey’s father kisses her cheek and gives Jax her hand. As soon as it’s the two of them, they stare at each other like lovesick idiots, and the ceremony gets started. They go through the traditional vows, then move to the vows they wrote for each other. Marcus and I spent three evenings over takeout with Jax to “get it just right.” He must have succeeded because when he’s finished, there’s not a dry eye in the place.
As Audrey starts to speak, I catch Mel looking at me. I admit, when her eyes are on me, I feel like the world has stopped. Weddings have an odd way of making you let your guard down. Maybe it’s seeing two people ready to start a life together, maybe it’s the ritual of it all.
As we keep our eyes locked, flashes of her and me appear in my imagination. Her helping me make pancakes in just a t-shirt, her cheering on a kid’s soccer game, her underneath me in my bed. My insides flip as the images run through my mind. Fuck, I can’t imagine things like that with her. She finally wants to be friends, and thoughts like that aren’t what you think about with a friend.
The officiant announces that Jax and Audrey are “man and wife,” and they’re all smiles as they begin to kiss, and everyone claps. I think Jax is trying to keep it G-rated, but Audrey has other ideas, pulling him in closer and slipping him the tongue. I laugh a little as Gigi lets out a whoop.
Audrey loops her arm through Jax’s, and they walk down the aisle to exit the room. Mel and I wait until they are through the doors, and I approach her, taking her arm.
“I saw you cry a little there, pretty boy.” She says my nickname a little differently this time. In a playful way. I decide to test the waters.
“Were you watching me, bubbles?”
She grins as she waves to someone in the seats. “Maybe a little.”
We get through the doors and head toward the side room where we were instructed to go after the ceremony. I think Jax and Audrey took a detour, because we have the room to ourselves for a moment, so I pull Mel close and lean down to her ear.
“Are you going to save me a dance tonight?”
She just nods, her eyes darting from my mouth to my eyes. Fuck, I want to flirt with her right now.
“Use your words, Melonie.”
“I’ll save one dance for you, Linc.”
“Just one?”
“I have a feeling you’ll be busy tonight. Half of the women in there were staring at you during the ceremony.”
“Really? Wouldn’t know because the only woman I was paying attention to in that room was you.”
She looks down at her bouquet. “Linc, don’t try to flatter me. You’ll be able to take your pick from a string of women tonight.”
I decide to be bold and place my hand on her neck, my thumb at the hollow under her jaw to force her to look me in the eye. I can’t help but think of having my hand there as I fuck her, controlling her breath. Her hazy eyes meet mine. I pray I’m not reading her wrong and work to gather the courage to say something to her that could wreck all the progress we’ve made.
“I’ll only say this once, and forgive me if I’m totally off base. I know we’re just friends and I should be a gentleman, but the way you look tonight, the way I wish I could see what’s under this dress, no other woman comes close to you, Melonie. If you decide you need help out of that dress later, you can ask me nicely, and I’ll be at your service. If you’re open to it, it would be an absolute privilege to walk you to your room.”
She stares at me wide-eyed, her chest moving with quick breaths until she hears the commotion of Gigi and Marcus outside the room. She backs away quickly and changes her expression like the changing of a mask as she pours herself a glass of champagne.
Chapter Fifteen
Melonie
My hand is shaking as I pour a glass of champagne. I need a drink after that exchange with Linc. His words have me lit up. The feeling of his hand on my neck was like every dirty fantasy I’ve ever had. I’m taking deep, controlled breaths as I bring my glass to my lips. Gigi is walking toward me, and I need to at least appear normal.
