WANT (completed)

ch. 23 | Groomsman

CASSANDRA'S POV

My fingers wrap around the flask that Zac hands me, and I take it, bringing it up to my lips. I throw my head back, swallowing a huge gulp with my eyes closed. The liquor burns my throat and I make a face, passing the flask over to Camara.

We're waiting in the parking lot of the wedding venue for my date. Well, actually, it's my fill-in. I had asked one of Camara's friends to come with me, but he couldn't make it at the last minute and the only person that could fill in was Caden.

Which is fine, I guess. It's better than showing up without a date, especially when Asa is bringing someone. I'm the one who insisted that we keep this on the low for now. We just made it official and showing up with him as my date wouldn't be the best idea — especially since I haven't figured out how to tell Zac. I'm not even sure that I want to, honestly.

Things have been pretty good for the most part. I've been a little busy getting things situated in transitioning my mom's office into mine. I actually took a dive into reading a bit of her journal, mostly because Asa encouraged me to. I'm still nervous about it as it feels like I'm invading a part of her that she might not want me to know about, but it's kind of nice to hear her thoughts.

Most of the recollections that I have gone through are about her when she was a still young, talking about her getting married to my father and getting pregnant with Zac. I actually skipped that entry because I surely don't need to know how that happened.

Finally, Caden pulls up in his car, the tires squeaking on the unpaved road. We're at a winery outside of the city. It's a pretty good day out for February, but it's still too chilly for an outdoor wedding.

Caden gets out of the car, buttoning the jacket to his suit. It's navy with a white shirt underneath, which is popped open at the collar. His leather belt and watch band perfectly match the brown dress shoes he's sporting. I'm just glad that he dressed perfectly for the occasion.

He quickly gives Zac some form of a bro-hug, which makes me think of how much Zac would hate him if he knew the kind of shit he tried to pull in the past. Then again, I wasn't going to tell him and neither was Caden, and the only other person left was Asa.

Camara immediately hugs Caden, greeting him with a few words and a laugh, which makes me feel a bit weary. She's a little too cheerful, but I guess that's because she's pretty much friends with everyone and super friendly.

As soon as he steps to me, I smile faintly, a bit nervous about this whole interaction. Caden wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close from the side and pecking a kiss onto my cheek. "You look fantastic, as always," he mumbles, and I thank him softly.

I didn't want to converse with him more than necessary. In fact, he was the last person I wanted to call, but I knew that he was missing out on being here, and all his friends were already attending so it's not like he would have any other commitments. I was right about that because not even an hour after my call, he's here.

Zac and Camara happened to come together, which is kind of weird because I'm almost certain that Camara would consider that to be out of the boundaries they had set, but I didn't get a chance to ask. Also, I haven't told her about Asa and I being an official couple yet and don't want to be labeled a hypocrite.

The wedding ceremony is taking place in a heated patio overlooking the vineyards. It's a beautiful location actually and I'm so glad it's going to be warm. I'm wearing a light blue dress that shows off a bit of cleavage and ends a right above my knees, so if it was cold, I would most likely freeze. I wanted to be a little more conservative considering it's a wedding, and then some because I may have worn something special underneath for Asa to enjoy afterwards. He was adamant on us keeping our plans to go home together, and I didn't mind the least. I matched the dress with some nude pointed heels; they aren't as tall as usual, but add a good three and a half inches to my short height.