Her Devil May Care

3. Double Take

My dream girl? I'm looking at her right now—looking perfect and gorgeous as always. But tonight...

Tonight, she's in a wedding dress.

Ren Regali. The one I've always measured every woman against is now officially married to my best friend. You know that song "Jessie's Girl?" Yeah, well, just replace the name Jessie with Gio, and that was basically my anthem song in high school.

Gio always had his pick of the girls. He was the quietly mysterious, tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome guy all the girls swooned over. I was the 'cute' one. The funny one. The clown.

Gio's friend.

I remember being so angry with him when I first found out he kissed her. Why'd he have to choose her? The one girl I liked that I was finally making headway with. Yes, I got over it and was happy for them, but I never really fully let her go, either. I was almost glad when they broke up when she moved away to New York for college. Then, both Gio and I were forced to move on. But once they got back together last year, it reminded me of what I always wanted but never had. That kind of girl, and that type of love. Pathetic, I know.

Alone on the restaurant's patio, I sigh and lean against the railing, drinking a beer and cooling off from absolutely killing it on the dance floor a minute ago with my first song request of the night—the forever epic Chicken Dance.

Well, it's not so much a request; there isn't even a proper DJ tonight. I just hacked into Gio's phone and added a few must-haves to his weak-ass playlist. I mean, how can you even say it was a wedding without that song? I got everyone out on the dance floor having a good time. Young people, kids, the old-timers. Everyone loves that freakin song! You need to start a dance party? Call me up. I'm the dance party king!

King. Ha. I take another swig off my bottle.

Dancing, maybe, but I wish I ruled more in the love department, that's for sure. In that realm, I've definitely come up short. Sure, I've had my share of the ladies. Cut many a notch on the old best post. I'd like to say I'm a demon between the sheets. But in the end, if I'm into them, more often than not, I'm relegated to the friend zone. I come on too strong, and I know it—but just can't seem to help myself. I open my mouth, and before I know it, I'm saying the stupidest things—a classic case of foot-in-mouth syndrome, and I haven't found a cure yet.

Well, it's not been too terrible staying single all these years. Straight after high school, I signed up for the military and joined the Air Force. Military life doesn't usually lend itself to long-term relationships anyway. But I just turned thirty, and I'm starting to wind down my career. I'll be doing tanker runs on a reserves base in New York soon, not going on so many missions anymore. Maybe it's seeing Gio so happy today, but right now... I'm feeling the urge to settle down, too.

But here I am, alone, without even a date for the wedding.

Heaving a sigh, I look up at the night sky, the vast universe, and all its stars winking down at me. It's magical, really. Speaking of magical, right this second, I see a shooting star zip across the sky and suddenly, I feel compelled to speak my heart to the heavens, "Why can't I find my soulmate?" Then I look down and mutter, "I just wish Ren had a sister or something."

But that's a wasted wish. I know she doesn't—Ren's an only child. 

Tipping my head back with the bottle, I down the rest of my beer. Things will be brighter tomorrow, but right now, I need another drink.

Heading inside, I see Sydney and Chiara heading for the bar, both happily married as well. Then my eyes land on someone who stops me dead in my tracks.

Ren?

Except it can't be. She's younger and wearing all black, not white. She's beautiful and edgy and—hold the fuck up. Did Ren find a flux capacitor and go back to the future as her younger self to witness her own wedding? 

Tearing my eyes away, I search the crowd to find the bride. There she is! A stunning white beacon amongst a sea of garish color.

So, who is this other girl in black?

Focusing my attention back on my mystery girl, I can now see they are a bit more different than I first thought. She has a different nose, lighter, long brown hair, and gorgeous green eyes instead of blue, maybe an inch or two shorter... they must be related, though.

I have to go find out who she is from Ren, but talking to her has been hard all night. The bride and groom are constantly descended upon by guests like a flock of seagulls to a loaf of bread. Ren is wrapped in a death hug by her aunt, so I yank on Gio's arm and pull him aside.

"Hi, Charlie," he sighs, then suddenly fixes me with a pointed look, "Hey... did you fuck with my playlist? I didn't put the Chicken Dance on there."

"It's okay. You can thank me later," I smirk. "But never mind that right now. You'll never believe this, but there is a girl at the bar who could be Ren's long-lost sister!"

"Yeah?" he grins, refocusing his eyes on mine. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Charlie, but I already know."

"You do?" I ask in shock. "How long have you known about her?"

"That she exists? A long time—they're cousins. But I only just met her tonight."

"Hmmm. Cousin, you say?"

Just then, I see Ren's aunt leave her side, so I jump on my chance to talk to her and leave Gio just as his dad moves in.

"Hey, Ren, having fun yet?" I wink at her, fully intending to rile her up with my old line.

"Hi, Charlie," she rolls her eyes. "You having fun yet?"

"Always. Hey, what's you're hot cousin's name?  You said you didn't have a sister, but holy hell, you've been holding out on me!"

"Charlie," Ren sighs. "She's only twenty-three."

"So! That's only seven years. Come on, please! Introduce me." I give her a bat of my biggest please-y eyes.

"Okay, you win," she sighs, "Her name is Leigh, but you'll have to introduce yourself. Though, I know that won't be a problem for you." She gives me a knowing smile, then glances back over to Gio with a longing look. He catches her eyes and bites his lip, shrugging apologetically. I can tell they both just want to get out of here and go fuck each other's brains out.

"Nope," I grin, looking over Ren's shoulder for Leigh. 

Leigh... Beautiful name. I adore her already.

Immediately, I catch her cat-like green eyes, and they go wide as she takes me in. A big winning smile overtakes my face. Hey, I think she just winked at me... or maybe it was a blink, but I'll take it either way.

I'm about to leave, but I just can't help but add, "Your boobs look hot tonight, by the way. Gio nearly creamed his pants when he saw you."

Her mouth hangs open agast. "Char—" she begins, but I've already turned and disappeared into the crowd to talk to Leigh, who's just slipped behind a column like an elusive lynx.

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(1,289 words)