"Hello?" Pt. 2

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do

Charlotte.

To be honest, I was looking for an excuse to call her. No day is complete without me having annoyed her in some shape or form but today was going to be the test of her patience. So far, I'd tried all my soft tactics to try and get her to fall under my spell but I think today would require the big guns. Enter Alice, my sister and Plus One to the wedding. As with all aspects of my personal life, I guard my family's privacy with my life and no one outside my immediate circle know anything about the Fletcher's, so there's no way Charlotte would have a clue about Alice. For all she knows, Alice is the tall blonde hanging off my arm that is potential competition. If Charlotte doesn't pounce on me by the end of the night, then there's no hope of it ever happening.

That would be a shame; I've never spent this much time and energy on making a woman fawn all over me without getting any results at the end. Usually, women throw themselves at me because, let's face it, I'm a catch. Who wouldn't want a piece of me?

"What's got you smiling for?" Michael asked as he kicked my leg, throwing me off balance. Frowning at him, I flipped him the bird and threw myself down onto the plush couch. Sensing what this all could be about, Michael scoffs. "Princess is not going to sleep with you, you twat."

"We'll see," I laugh.

It's not long before Sam enters the room and Alistair exits. Ever since Evie's call came, we've kept the news from Daniel. Each of us has been on 'watch' duty with him, making sure that he didn't twig that there was something going on. Seeing as Sam hadn't been informed of the recent change in the situation, Elias fills him in and then passes him a twenty-pound note.

I had almost forgotten about the bet we'd made. Each of us had bet on how long it would take before either Sophie or Daniel realised they were making a mistake, although deep down we knew that they were both mad for each other. This was just something we did to kill the time and maybe do in the hopes that Daniel would find out and get angry. It was funny to see him all riled up- his face goes this really unusual colour of purple-red that would actually look kinda nice on my feature wall in the bedroom.

"So, we're back on, huh?" Sam smiled as he pocketed his winnings. Soon enough he would either win more cash or he'd have to part with it. As this bet wasn't really all that serious, whoever ended up with the cash at the start of the reception- you know, the one that said that Dan and Sophie would go through with the ceremony- would have to put the cash towards the first round of drinks. "Ok, so it's still early which means that we don't need to start getting ready for a while. Shall we go down the pub, have a few drinks, and play a game of pool?"

Liking the sound of that, we all make our way out of the living room and head for Daniel's bedroom upstairs. Instead of pacing around like a caged animal like I thought he'd be doing, he was reclining on the bed, watching episodes of Planet Earth II.

"Look at those snakes go!" He enthusiastically says, pointing at the TV screen. "Those baby iguanas never stood a chance."

Michael was the first to question Daniel's sanity. "What is wrong with you? Shouldn't you be nervous? Freaking out? Regretting the fact that you didn't shag that stripper Jimmy and Lucas organised for your Stag Party?"

"If you knew what Sophie and I do in the bedroom, you'd know why I wouldn't dream of having sex with another woman," Daniel says, a gross smile twerking his lips upwards. "And as for the lack of nerves, what's there to be nervous about? All that's important about today is that we say 'I do.' The church could burn down, the dress could be ruined, the rings could go missing... we're still getting married, so who gives a fuck?"

Before I could stop myself, I burst out laughing at his laid back attitude. The Daniel Whitaker I knew this time last year no longer existed, but that was cool with me. I liked that version of my friend, sure, but the man that he is today is better. He doesn't take himself too seriously anymore. He's more confident in his own skin. He's cracking jokes left, right and centre. He's swearing like a sailor. He's smiling like a man that's won the lottery. He's... in love, I guess. This Daniel Whitaker is a man that I seriously fucking (platonically) love.