Her Maid of Honor (gxg)

Lacey

As I hung up the phone, I turned to the side in order to place it neatly back with my purse that fit perfectly between the seats. Sliding the cell into a back pocket that had been designed specifically for that purpose, my eyes caught a glimmer of something almost metallic rolling around the bottom. Unzipping the Louis Vuitton just a little bit further, I noticed the red lipstick that I had grabbed last minute from my dresser drawer and stared at it blankly, completely unaware that it was still there. Debating whether or not to put it on, my fingertips hovered over the slender tube as the seconds rolled by. Finally, after much deliberation – and moreso the lack of time – I decided to pick it up and dab just a bit of it on to my nude-coloured lips, glancing in the rear-view mirror to do so.

A bit turned into a little bit more, that eventually enveloped my both lips in a stunning bold red that matched that of a 1980's film star. I started into the mirror, dazed at the reflection staring back at me as I wound down the tube and gently placed the lid back on, dropping it back into the depths of my purse without so much as a word. What was I doing?

Just then, I heard a knock on the glass that almost induced a heart attack with myself as I realized that it was Jessica waiting outside. I automatically unlocked the door and she popped it open, sliding in roughly to the passenger seat. Staring out my side of the window, as if not to face her directly, her voice greeted me in such a calm and collected manner that I turned my head reflexively to reply, but the second I had...

"Wow." It was almost a whisper, but it was loud enough to fill the space.

Her eyes moved from mine, to my ruby-coloured lips, to the white lace dress that had somehow managed to inch itself up a little bit higher on my thigh. Making a quick note of it, I passed my hand over my dress to regain a bit of it's length in order to draw her attention back upward. Why did I even bother to wear this dress in the first place? It's way too dolled up for a fitting...

As the last word escaped my thoughts, only then did I realize that Jessica too was dressed up in something rather nice. "You're not so bad yourself," I forced out jokingly to regain control of the situation that was beginning to develop a strange – and unfamiliar – air.

"Ha," she laughed, "I do own more than leather pants and biker vests," she joked sarcastically, turning to buckle her seatbelt only to slouch down more comfortably within the seat.

Her tone was so casual that it made me feel entirely off balance. Clearly, I was the only one acting weird, and for what? I still couldn't place my finger on it, but I'm assuming it was none other than the guilt of Wednesday night, and the gratitude of Thursday morning where not only did she nurse me back to health, but also drove me all the way back out to the boutique in order to retrieve my abandon car.

And all that from someone who has made it more than clear on countless occasions that she hates my very existence... If anything, she probably pities me... How pathetic I must be for someone like her to actually feel bad for me...

"You gonna start the car or what?" Her hazel-brown eyes were staring directly into mine as realization hit that the car was still in park.

"Uh...yeah," I quickly responded, fumbling around to place the car back in gear. "Just thinking about the dress," I laughed almost awkwardly as I finally got the vehicle to move, but when I looked over to Jessica to see if she had picked up on my obvious tension, I could note the smile on her lips, but somehow, she wasn't exactly smiling.

Instead, she turned over to the radio and began flipping through the stations before she settled on a rock band that was way too vulgar for my taste. Did I say something? I thought to myself as her mood completely shifted, though I could tell that she was putting a lot of effort into hiding the fact.

We drove a good deal of the way in complete and utter silence – despite the various men half screaming in the background alongside blaring electric solos. This was awkward... No. This was beyond awkward.

"So..." I began, not really mapping out a direction for my conversational introduction, but just not being able to take the silence anymore. I seriously thought we had gotten passed all this... or maybe I was just delusional and she really was the nightmare I had always thought her out to be. Either way, "thanks again for coming with me," I said, finally deciding on a direction. "I didn't want to bother you, but its not really like Daniel could've come with me to this one," I continued with a smile, thinking of just how ridiculous it would be to have him with me while I picked out my wedding dress.

"S'all good. They have free alcohol." Her statement was blunt and sounded almost rude, but the twitch of her lip told me that it was just her being her, all forms of sarcasm included. "So," she picked up where I left off, "you have any idea what you're looking for anyway?"

It was a good question, one that I had only thought about every single day since Daniel proposed, but now that she was actually asking the question, I guess the real answer was, "No."

"No?" She turned to face me almost shocked, automatically turning down the radio. "You're telling me that you and Danny are so head over heals for each other that you can't wait to get married and you haven't even once thought about the Vera Wang you're gonna walk down the isle in?" Her laughter filled the car as we continued to drive down the busy city street.

"No!" I immediately contradicted, "of course I've thought about my dress! I just haven't... picked one out yet," I concluded, straightening out the facts when something she said only then actually hit me, "and Vera Wang?" I pointed out, "seriously?" I couldn't help but giggle at her reference as she looked at me with sheer innocence.

"What? She makes wedding dresses, right?" My laughter grew as I acknowledged her statement.

"Yes," I confirmed, "Vera Wang makes wedding dresses."

We both laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement and just like that, the tension faded and the air cleared up entirely. I reached for the tuner to change the station hoping that now she'd be in a better mood for something a little lighter when I froze on a station where a piano solo was just starting up. I turned to face her slowly, biting my lips to hold back the laughter when she finally clicked with the song.

"Oh hell no!"

"Making my way downtown, walking fast, faces pass, and I'm homebound!"

She burst out laughing and starred at me in utter disbelief that I was actually belting out loud to 1000 miles of all songs. I nudged her on and she kept shaking her head, still laughing at me hysterically.

"C'mon!" I shouted, turning up the volume, "you know you want to!" She shook her head again, but this time, she started at me with an 'I can't believe I'm about to do this' look, and I knew that I had her.

"Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun! And I need you. Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun! And I miss you. Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun! And now I wo-onder!" she finally belted out with me, laughing the entire time while the song continued to play at an almost deafening tone between us that it was a miracle we could even make out a word at all - but nevertheless, it was amazing.