I had my cousin's wedding tomorrow in Seville which meant that I would be away from Ale for a couple of days. I wanted her to come with me but it had been planned for months and I'd RSVP'd before I had even returned to Barcelona so I didn't have a plus one. It was going to be the first time spending the night away from Ale since I moved in. We had fallen asleep in each others arms everynight for almost two months and the thought of her not being there for the next couple of nights filled me with dread.
"You need to get going, you don't want to miss your flight" Ale whispered into my ear as she held me in the hallway of our house.
"I don't want to go" I mumbled into her shoulder.
"Yes you do, you'll have a great time. You love weddings"
"I know I just wish you were coming with me"
"Me too, I wish I was going to be there to see you in that dress" She said as she pulled away from me with a smirk plastered across her face.
I was going to be a bridesmaid at the wedding so I would be wearing a beautiful green dress and walking down the aisle, but my heart still fluttered at her words and the way she said them with a teasing tone to her voice.
"You'll just have to send me a picture" She whispered before placing a kiss on my lips and ushering me out of the door towards the waiting taxi.
My mother picked me up from the airport and drove me to the wedding venue where I would be spending the next two nights. I settled into my hotel room before heading downstairs to have dinner with my cousin and her other bridesmaids. The evening was spent eating good food and listening to stories about the soon to be married couple, it was obvious how in love they were and each memory that was shared reminded me of Ale and how much I loved her. The story of how they met made me think about the first time Ale and I were introduced to each other, listening to her speak about their first date got me reminiscing about the first time Ale took me out for dinner and hearing the story about their first kiss got me thinking about ours.
I couldn't sleep that night, the bed felt so much bigger without Ale next to me. I was lying wide awake at 1am staring at the ceiling when my phone screen lit up on the nightstand, illuminating the whole room. I rolled over and looked at the screen, the brightness making my eyes sting.
Ale 🥰
Are you awake? xx
Yeah, you ok? xx
I just miss you, the bed feels so empty without you here.
Nala missed you too xx
*sends picture of Nala sleeping on my side of the bed*
I miss you both so much, I can't wait to come home! xx
Try to get some sleep cariño, you've got a big day tomorrow xx
I love you, give Nala a cuddle from me xx
I love you too xx
The wedding was amazing, it was a biggest wedding I had ever been to, with over 200 guests in a fancy hotel. Everything was decorated in white and green with extravagant floral decorations on the tables and drapes hanging from the ceiling. It was beautiful, but not at all to my taste. It was the opposite of what I would want at my wedding and what Ale had discussed in bed after drinking too much on a night out almost 3 years ago.
Flashback
"I love you so fucking much" Ale mumbled into my ear as we lay in each others arms, my head buried into her neck as she traced her fingers up and down my back.
"That's good, because I love you so fucking much too" I chuckled.
We laid there for a few minutes, neither of us saying a word until Ale whispered something into my shoulder almost inaudibly.
"I'm going to marry you"
It was probably the alcohol talking...
"I heard that" I smiled, not moving my head from the soft skin of her neck.
"I meant it
"I've dreamt about our wedding so many times"
I lifted my head to look into her hazel eyes that were sparkling up at me.
"Tell me about it"
"It'll be in Greece, where we first went on holiday together, in that little church on top of the hill" She smiled, her cheeks blushing as she explained.
"What else?"
"It will just be us and our closest friends and family"
"Mmmhmm" I mumbled, returning my head to her neck and placing a gentle kiss on her sensitive skin.
"Then we'll go for dinner at that little restaurant on the cliffs that you loved so much, the one that looks out over the ocean"
I continued placing gentle kisses onto her neck, slowly moving down to her collarbone and sucking on it gently.
"...and we'll drink too much and stumble back down the hill to the villa"
She didn't continue, instead moving her hands to my lower back and pulling my hips closer to her body. The kisses were clearly taking up too much of her attention, but I didn't want to stop.
"Then what?" I said, removing my lips from skin her momentarily before resuming, this time placing small pecks from her collarbone down the centre of her chest and towards her toned stomach.
"Then you'd be my wife" she smirked as she watched my actions, her hand gripping me much tighter than before.
"And you'd me mine..."
___
I was sat at my table during the evening party which had seemed to go on for hours, watching couples dancing when my mother sat down on the empty chair next to me. She didn't say anything straight away instead she joined me in watching the dancefloor. The music was blaring and the conversations of other people filled my ears until my mother finally spoke.
"It was a such a lovely day wasn't it?" She asked, leaning closer to me.
"It really was" I smiled.
We were sat there in silence taking in the atmosphere of the room when my cousin walked past with her new husband, wide smiles on both of their faces.
"It could be you next" My mother spoke softly.
"Mum!! What are you talking about, we've only been back together for a couple of months"
"You were together for 3 years Isabel"
"I am aware of that, but I don't think that there is going to be a wedding anytime soon..."
I was relieved when the conversation was interrupted by my dad pulling my mum up from her seat and onto the dancefloor, smiling at me as he walked away. I loved how in love they still were with each other, after all this time they still acted like lovesick teenagers, twenty-seven years of marriage and they were stronger than ever.
I had always wanted a relationship like theirs and I thought that I had found one with Ale, until the day it all came crashing down and that dream suddenly looked further away. The dream seemed closer now and even though I had brushed it off in the conversation with my mother, I did want to walk down the aisle again, but not as a bridesmaid next time. I wanted the wedding that Ale had dreamt about all those years ago.
I snuck away from the party, not wanting to interrupt the bride and grooms evening to say goodbye I headed straight up my hotel room and curled up under the cloud like duvet counting down the minutes until I would see Ale again.