Page 69 of Ashes
After I shook hands with everyone, introducing myself more officially, they went back to their previous conversation and Shareef invited me to take a seat in the back corner while we waited for the remaining time until the ceremony started.
He leaned back, resting a hand on the back of the couch and propping his ankle over his knee. “So,” he started, trailing off.
I waited for him to continue his sentence, but he just appraised me up and down.
Knowing I couldn’t bring out my lighter to calm mygrowing nerves, I wound my fingers together and let my hands rest on my lap as I leaned back on the couch.
“Congratulations,” I answered, not knowing what else to say. I hadn’t had to talk to new people since I met Kai, so this was uncharted territory.
“Thanks.”
I hummed, once again waiting for him to spark a conversation, but he just kept looking at me. I wished Kai were here. He’d definitely know what to say. I’d much rather have Shareef grill me than the suffocating silence surrounding our corner of the room.
Suddenly, a laugh erupted across from us and Shareef joined them. “I’m just messing with you. You should see the look on your face,” he said, teasing me.
I let out a breath. “I’m not great at conversing.”
“Yeah, I could tell,” he answered playfully and I gave him a tight smile, but his next question made me choke on empty air. “How did you and Sienna meet?”
At our wedding.
“Through friends,” I lied.
“And you treat her right?”
“I hope I do, but that’s a question you’d have to ask her.”
“Good answer.”
We made idle conversation until someone knocked at the door to let us know the ceremony was about to start.
“Come with me,” Shareef said. “You’ll sit at the front with my family.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to imp?—”
“No arguments. It’s my wedding. Besides, you’re Sienna’s husband and she’s family.”
I followed him out and he quickly showed me my seat before he left. A few minutes later, chatter erupted and I looked over my shoulder to see guests trickling in toward the ushers that were waiting at the start of the aisle.
My fingers brushed against the cold metal in my pocket, fidgeting with it and imagining that I was flicking it open and closed.
The seats filled up quickly and I turned my attention back to the front once the quartet strung the first chord, a hush overtaking the crowd.
The first people down the aisle were an older couple and they sat on the section opposite me. Then Shareef and his father came down the aisle and something caught in my throat at the thought that I’d never get to have my parents at my wedding.
I shook myself out of it and watched Shareef stand at the head of the aisle, anticipation painting his expression, while his father took a seat in the row right in front of me with the rest of Shareef’s family.
Pairs of bridesmaids and groomsmen came in one by one. I locked eyes with Shareef and he winked at me before turning his attention back to whoever was walking up now.
I shifted in my seat to look at who was coming down the aisle, only to find Lucas with my wife on his arm as they walked down the path. A hint of jealousy licked myveins at the sight of another man with my wife, but I reined it in, reminding myself that it was a common occurrence at weddings for men to offer their arms to whoever they were walking down the aisle.
So instead, I focused my attention on Sienna and watched the wide smile on her face as she gave Shareef a nod. He returned her smile as Lucas left her near the altar. Then she turned her body toward the guests and looked around the crowd until her eyes found mine.
I held her gaze and she gave me a warm smile.
It hit me like a tidal wave.
She might have been a means to an end, but the way she smiled at me suddenly made me realize that she wasn’t.
