Love Letters

Love Letters (Part 51)

Jem

I was actually quite nervous about turning up at Ethan’s wedding even though Benny insists that it was Ethan’s suggestion for me to come along. Apparently Ally wants to meet me too, so here I am at my ex-best friend’s wedding.

We’re waiting for the bride who’s conveniently late; there are murmurs among the guests about pushing ‘fashionably late’ too far.

 Ethan’s starting to look really panicked and his gaze lingers on the door for far too long. He hasn’t changed much, his facial features have become more defined and he has definitely bulked up a little more. I’m genuinely proud of him, he looks very handsome.

I’m about to stand up and resume my position as his best friend by muttering a few reassuring words to him but then the doors he had been staring at burst open and to everyone’s amusement and horror, the bride comes hurtling through… in the arms of another man.

I don’t see his face but note her broken heel and stifle a laugh at the situation; this was definitely something I’d never seen before, not even in the soap operas. I sit back down and smooth down my dress as I do so.

Mitch raises a brow at me questioningly, ‘I’m almost glad you dragged me along,’ he smirks into my hair.

We hear a woman behind us rasp the words, ‘Damn that was hot,’ and Mitch cleverly disguises his laughter as a cough.

‘Mitch don’t you dare get me started,’ I say, smiling.

The ceremony has already started and I look around at the other guests, trying to find Sam among them.

‘Didn’t your brother come?’ I ask Mitch, he simply shrugs in response.

I catch the eye of the man who brought the bride in, his cheeks are red from the effort and his tie is loose around his neck. He’s staring at Mitch and me with a look of both disbelief and relief on his face.

‘Dear God, I think that guy likes me, he’s been looking at me far too long,’ Mitch mutters as he watches the man from his peripheral vision, ‘why do I always attract men?’

I don’t tell Mitch that in my opinion, the man is far too good looking to be gay or that no gay man who wear that tie with that shirt, I let him flatter himself by letting him believe that even men wanted him.

‘Put your arm around me,’ I whisper, even I was starting to feel uncomfortable.

Mitch raises an eyebrow at me again, and I nudge him with my knee, ‘so he knows you’re off limits,’ I suggest, hoping that the man would look away. He does, his face burns red again when he realises that he was caught staring.

‘He is kind of cute,’ Mitch whispers a while later and I smile.

Mitch has changed a lot since we were in school together. We wound up in the same classes at university and at first I was disgusted, I didn’t want to have to talk to him but one day he approached me after seminars.

‘You’re Jem, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, you’re Sam’s bully brother.’

He looked slightly taken aback by my bitter tone, ‘hard not to be with a saint like Sam for a brother, but hey, give a guy a chance, I’m a changed man,’

At first I didn’t believe him but one day, a few months into the academic year, an older student had been hassling me for my number and Mitch had stepped in to defend my honour.

He’s not as bad as I first thought he was, he’s much nicer, he is now anyway.

Hours later, the after-party is still going strong and my ride home has disappeared.