CHAPTER 19 (EDITED)
"WOULD YOU STOP walking so fast?" I cried out as I tried to catch up to Ethan. Our Uber driver had dropped us a few minutes away from the hotel, for some reason.
Ethan came to a stop and turned around to look at me.
"It's not my fault you're slow. Now use those gorgeous legs of yours and speed up."
I tried my best to hide my glare. He had no idea how much my ankles hurt. These shoes were not made for walking.
"Easy for you to say. You try walking a mile in these heels then we'll talk." I scoffed.
"Want me to give you a piggyback ride?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
"I'll pass," I said, sourly. Even though I was at the point where I would accept the offer, my outfit was not made for it.
In the end, I swallowed my pride and took off my heels. I'd never walked barefoot anywhere except inside houses or on a beach.
"Can you believe the wedding is tomorrow?" I asked him. The days had gone by far too quickly and I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that my best friend was going to get married.
"Actually, you mean today. It's well past midnight." Ethan corrected.
A groan escaped me.
"This was such a terrible idea."
Ethan ran his hands through his hair and looked at me, frustration written all over his face.
"I swear if I have to convince you one more time that I actually do like you, I will go crazy."
For a second, I contemplated letting him think that that was what I meant but the look on his face meant business and I'd stalled long enough.
"I meant going clubbing tonight so calm your whipped ass down."
"I'm not whipped." He muttered but the lack of confidence in his voice let me tease him about it for the duration of our walk back.
As we walked to our room, I realized I was absolutely exhausted. I leaned my head against the wall as Ethan got out his keycard to open the door. My headache still hadn't left me and it felt like someone was tapping a hammer on my temple repeatedly.
I yawned out loud once we had entered.
"Oh, hell no. You're not falling asleep." Ethan caught my arms that were stretched above my head and pulled me to our balcony.
On the way, he grabbed a bottle of water for me and a few tablets.
Bless him.
I smiled at him appreciatively and downed it all in one go. I felt a little better once I was hydrated again and had a few painkillers in my system.
"My ankle hurts like a bitch." I groaned as I rubbed my ankles, vowing to never wear heels higher than four inches ever again.
Ethan laughed as he took off his shoes and socks and put his legs in the pool water. I followed him, automatically enjoying the warmth of the heated pool.
"Remember that one time you told me you wear heels higher than my dick."
I cringed at the memory and automatically went back in time to that argument.
"Hey, I speak the truth," I said, a smirk on my lips.
He looked so offended but eventually covered it up by nudging my side.
"You can think what you want but you'll know the truth soon enough." He winked, and I gasped before smacking his chest.
A few moments of silence passed before he talked again,
"Can you believe how far we've come since then? It's actually impressive." He said.
Not just since that day. We had come a long way since high school. We'd known each other for over six years but the amount of progress we had made in five days was insane.
"Yeah. If someone had told me that I'd be friends with you back then, that would have been the last sentence they ever uttered." I joked.
"Is that all we are? Friends?" He asked. He was finally addressing the elephant in the room and I was thankful I didn't have to be the one to start the topic.
I sighed and moved my legs in the water. While doing that, my feet knocked into his. Instead of moving his away, however, he locked our legs together. It was uncomfortable but somehow nice.
"I don't know, Ethan." It was true. There were feelings but I didn't know what we were.
When he didn't say anything, I took that as my cue to keep talking but I had very little to say.
"You scare me." I finally managed to get out. Not trusting to make eye contact, I looked up at the night sky and saw a few stars twinkling. It was difficult to ever be able to get such a sight in NYC.
"Why?" He questioned.
"Because I'm able to tell you things that I can't even tell myself. I'm okay with opening myself to you and that itself scares me to death. It just...means I'm, I don't know, you make me vulnerable."
"That's not a bad thing. I don't trust that many people but you happen to one of the very few that I do. It's a nice feeling to know you can." He said and I nodded, glad that it wasn't some one-sided therapy session where only I did the talking.
"Hey." He whispered and made me turn to face him completely.
He grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. His hands were a little rough but I liked how they felt. From the smile on his face, he did too.
"I just want you to give me a chance and show you that I'm not the jerk you think I am or the manwhore. I care about you and no matter what you choose, I'll be there to listen." He said, and my heart melted at his admission.
I was, once again, unsure of what to say. He didn't seem like he needed me to make a decision there and then but I didn't want to drag it out any further, either. It was far too tiring.
"I can't even imagine my life without you anymore and that's even more terrifying. The fights, the laughs, and everything in between. I don't want to depend on anyone. But, I don't want to lose this." I admitted.
He nodded and pushed behind that one stubborn strand of hair behind my ears as he always did.
"Yeah, I understand. But you don't have to rely on me. I would never want you to. You're your own person and that's one of the things I admire most about you. There are hundreds of girls who'd much rather just cling to my arm but you don't do that. Hell, you're close to turning me into one of those guys that cling to you. I damn well need someone who can call me out on my shit like you do." We both laughed at the last bit. He surely needed someone to bring down his ego a few notches.
"This is all just too quick for me. Two days ago we wanted to bite each other's head off and now..." I trailed off. I was afraid if I carried on I'd admit my love for him or something. I didn't even know if I felt that for him but it sure as hell felt pretty damn close to it.
He sighed and I knew he wouldn't do anything to pressurize me no matter how much he probably wanted to label us.
"You know what? Let's just leave it at this for now. We can address it when we get back, how about that?" He negotiated and I squeezed his hand to show that I appreciated how considerate he was being and that he was giving me the time I needed.
"That works for me," I said.
"But, you can't just be all friendly with the other groomsmen." He said and I smirked at the sort of hard look on his face.
"Aw. Is someone jealous? The green monster doesn't suit you, either." I mimicked his words and he shook his head but I didn't miss the smile.
"We'll see how you feel when I flirt with the bridesmaids, then." He shot back.
I rose my eyebrows.
"You mean Vanessa's younger sisters?"
That wiped the smug smile right off his face as he grimaced.
"Ha ha ha. You're hilarious." He said, sarcastically and kicked my foot under the water.
I was struggling to contain my laughter and had to close my eyes to keep the happy tears from falling. It could have been due to the alcohol or just his company. I wanted to believe it was him.
After I was sure there was no more laughter left, I opened my eyes and took a few deep breaths. I could feel Ethan's gaze on me and in response I non verbally asked him 'what'.
"Nothing. You just look really freakin' beautiful when you smile, babydoll." He said and I felt the stupid butterflies erupt in my belly.
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"I need all the flowers in twenty minutes. I didn't pay you to do half the job." I said. I was at my wits end and it wasn't even past eight in the morning.
"I understand but they're taking a little longer to be delivered, Ms Forde." The worker or whoever the hell it was spoke through the phone.
"So, you gave me the wrong estimated time for delivery?" I asked, frustration seeping through my tone. I put a hand on my temple to calm myself down because I refused to get a headache again. We had slept pretty late and I was too sleep-deprived to be sane.
"Sorry. It'll be no longer than forty minutes." I was beyond pissed so I just hung up on them. They were supposed to be here with all the flowers thirty minutes ago.
What was I supposed to do with a half decorated aisle?
I bit my lip and paced around our room banging my phone on my head every once in a while. I had already sent my dad a text telling him I hoped he was feeling better but no reply. My mother didn't reply to one either.
But, my mind was too focused on the flowers and all other arrangements to spend too much time worrying about that.
It'll be okay, I repeated to myself.
There was a knock on the door and I rushed to open it assuming it was Ethan, who was at the beach helping make sure everything was perfect.
However, I was a little disappointed to see that it was Vicky, instead. It was funny how time changed things.
"How are you always the first to be dressed?" I asked her. She was already clad in her bridesmaid dress. It was a floor length peach colored dress with an asymmetrical neckline. Her dark hair was in a nice side braid with a minimal amount of makeup.
After I complimented her on her look, she shuffled around before saying,
"Mom told me to help you out with whatever you need since that's what bridesmaids do and Sara and Tara are too busy being their bratty selves."
I thought about something I needed to be done. Most of it was taken care of but I didn't want to waste her efforts.
"Well, you can just wait near the beach and welcome or guide any guests. Wait...one sec." I walked into our room and grabbed a copy of the seating plan and handed it to her.
She looked shocked and impressed. She was logical like me so having a chart would probably make her life easier. Probably more enjoyable, too.
Vicky left once I tested her on what she was supposed to do during the actual wedding. She passed with flying colors, no surprises there.
Ethan had texted me a few seconds ago letting me know that he was getting ready with the rest of the groomsmen and their hairdressers, which gave me the room to myself. Vanessa was getting her hair done and all I had left to do was put my dress on. We'd already taken a hundred pictures in our customized robes in Vanessa's room with other bridesmaids.
I opened up the dress bag and stared at it for a few seconds, letting it all sink in.
The dress was, of course, beautiful. Like Vanessa's wedding dress, my maid of honor dress was also a Vera Wang. It was a lighter blush than the bridesmaids' dresses, with a sleeveless lace top. Below the waist was all chiffon with a slit starting just above my knees. It was slightly backless, not too much but just right.
My hair had already been put together in soft curls and my make up was a nude tone, unlike the previous night's boldness.
I finished up some final touches and made way to Vanessa's room.
I was double checking everything while texting Mr Davey to make sure everything was running smoothly when I bumped into someone.
"I'm sorry." We both said in unison and I looked up when I heard Ethan's familiar voice.
All words dried up in my throat. He was fully dressed in his suit and he looked...handsome, to say the least. The R-Rated part of my mind wondered what it would feel taking all of these layers one by one.
Get your head out of the gutter, Charlotte.
"You look stunning." He breathed out and I saw him staring at me, his eyes looking like they were also mentally undressing me.
"You don't look too bad yourself, either," I said.
"What? I look absolutely amazing." He smirked. If it were any other day I'd retort with something but he wasn't wrong. So amazing.
"Anyway, I gotta run. I'll see you later." I said and took a step backwards but he didn't let me and ended up grabbing my elbow. I scowled at him when he told me to wait a minute while he got something out of his pocket.
"Three things," He began, "One- Aiden gave me the ring for you to hold during the ceremony." He handed me the velvet box. I had already given him Vanessa's band.
"Two- he told me to tell you to tell Vanessa that he loves her very much and can't wait to start their life together. He could've just texted her like a normal person but whatever." Ethan looked a little embarrassed to be the messenger but I found it cute.
"And, the third thing?" I asked.
"This." He held out another rectangular box with the Tiffany logo on it.
I opened it up and saw a gorgeous diamond bracelet inside. It was shining under the light. It was beautiful and just from the number of diamonds on there, I could tell how expensive it must have been.
"Wow. Aiden has taste." I exclaimed, excited for Vanessa to see it and wear it. It could be her something new, although she already had her things ready.
Ethan's eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head.
"No. It's for you."
My eyes widened and I snapped the box shut.
"Aiden got this for me? Is this his way of thanking me because this is too much and—"
"Do you ever shut up? I got it for you." He said, loud enough for some other guests to hear.
If I weren't so utterly shocked, I would have told him too stop cutting me off and speak a little quieter.
"No. This is too expensive. I can't accept it." I said and shoved the box in his hand.
He rolled his eyes.
"Too expensive? How is that a problem? It's not a big deal. Aiden and I were out yesterday to get Vanessa some honeymoon present and I saw this and thought it would look good on you. Now stop being modest and take it."
I felt giddy as he took it out and put it on my wrist.
I jumped up and hugged him once he was done. There was no real definition of what we were at that point but I knew we would figure it out. If that bracelet was his way of gaining some brownie points, however, he was in for a surprise because I couldn't be bought. But, being in his arms felt good — like home. I hadn't had that feeling for too long.
I pulled away and he rested his forehead against mine, not letting go of my waist.
"I really don't want to let go." He whispered against my forehead.
I closed my eyes, the words coming out of my mouth not matching what my heart wanted.
"We have to. Our best friends are finally getting married." I replied and gently caressed his cheek with my index finger trailing down to his jaw.
He grabbed that wandering hand and kissed my palm. It was the best he was going to get, anyway.
"I actually need to go. Thanks for the gift. I love it."
"And, I love y—uh, love that you love it!" He exclaimed with a little too much excitement.
I pecked his cheek once before walking off to Vanessa's with a goofy grin on my face.
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