Her night wedding event had gone as smoothly as possible.
Yes, even with the thirty-minute delay with the groom's car, the struggles Naina faced with the mothers-in-law and her lack of sleep thanks to Lauren's night performance, it occurred without issues.
Mostly.
Naina leaned against the brick wall surrounding the town square. The groomsmen had decided the extra food at the buffet table was for a food fight and threw everything everywhere. Luckily she hadn't been wearing her glasses; one of their elbows had connected with her left eye, when she'd tried to break it up, and she could feel her skin prickling with pain.
Moon Moon was still open. She could see people billowing about inside.
Maybe Deme could get her a free drink. Naina knew she could use something right now.
Sugar, maybe some alcohol.
No, bad idea. The last thing she needed was the alcohol interacting with the ibuprofen she'd just taken.
Deme was serving some customers when Naina walked (trudged) in. She sat down on the stool and leaned her head against her hand.
"What happened to you love?" Deme asked. Her dimple winked in and out as a wry smile spread across her face. A few brunette tendrils floated around her pale face.
"Groomsmen thought it'd be funny to host a food fight. I got elbowed in the eye when Dexter and I had to break it up," Naina answered. "I need some ice; I think it's gonna bruise."
"Yeah, it's darkening, give me a second." She moved away and got a bag.
Naina had never expected to make a friend in this town. Everyone already knew each other or knew Lauren too well to like her. Deme had been the first person to speak to Naina, back when she first moved to town.
Demeter 'Deme' Sanderson was the no nonsense, sarcastic, caring proprietress of Moon Moon, the local watering hole. She'd inherited it from her dad.
She handed the bag back, now laden with ice. "Well, at the very least, I'm glad to see you not wearing those oversized clothes. You've actually got clothes that fit you! I always forget that you do have them."
Naina looked down. The skirt she wore hugged her waist too well and her shirt emphasized her boobs. She'd taken off her sweater because the heat hadn't settled away outside. "The bride made sure I didn't wear anything 'old lady like'. This is the best I could come up with that was still business-likeish."
"Well it looks great."
"This skirt makes my ass look fat, look at it," Naina turned around, still pressing the 'ice-pack' to her eye and looked at her butt.
"I can see, it looks nice." Deme gave her a wink and went to help another customer.
As she sat down, Naina glanced around, wondering if a familiar face was here.
There were three.
Lauren, Dominic and Ian were sitting at a booth. Lauren seemed to be laying it thick on Dominic; she'd seated herself next to him and was poking his arm. She kept giggling at everything he said.
It's only been a few weeks. She must really want it bad.
Immediately after she thought that, Naina felt bad. Maybe Lauren really liked the dude, who was she to judge?
But then Naina thought about her sleepless night and Lauren's awkward moaning.
She made eye contact with Ian and looked sharply away. His piercing hazel eyes had definitely seen her.
"Naina!"
She groaned. His annoying drawling voice called out to her, clear across the loud crowd in the restaurant. When she looked up, he beckoned her over with his index finger.
Deme gave her a smirk as Naina walked towards him awkwardly. Her heels were killing her; with every step the strap dug into her ankle. She kept the ice bag to her face. At least it hid the burning.
"What happened to you?" Dominic asked. "I didn't keep you up did I?"
"No, you didn't," she responded. "Someone else did." The joke was already getting old; Naina had to resist sighing.
She glared pointedly at Lauren who suddenly looked very interested in her napkin.
Naina continued, not looking at Ian at all, even though he sat next to where she stood. "I got elbowed in the eye by a groomsmen today because they thought it'd be a great idea to start a food fight."
Dominic and Lauren laughed as if it Naina had said a joke, but Ian didn't.
When she glanced down at him, his eyebrows were furrowed, but he didn't look grouchy. "Are you really okay? You should go to a doctor. Is your eye alright?" he asked quickly.
"My eye is fine. I'm used to this—" she quickly corrected herself when she saw the alarm on his face. "I meant that I'll be fine. This happens more often than I'd like. Just happens when drunk groomsmen get ahold of extra food."
"You sure?"
She grinned. "Yes, I'm sure I'll be fine."
Pressing the ice bag further in, she winced. "It was nice seeing you guys, but I'm going to turn in for the day. Have a good night."
They mumbled responses and she walked back to Deme.
Deme pounced on her immediately. "So you know McHottie?"
"Who?" Naina asked. She knew who exactly in the room was Deme's type, but didn't want to answer right away.
"Guy with the beard. Hunky dude."
"Sort of."
"One-night stand sort of? Work? What kind of sort of?" Deme bugged.
"Work!" Naina snapped.
"Hmm."
She headed out soon after that, while Deme was distracted with another customer. If she stayed, Naina would be teased and prodded.
The cool summer breeze ruffled her hair layers, sending them in all kinds of directions. Condensation dripped from the bag she still held to her face. As she shook it off, she sat down on a bench.
Her feet were really murdering her. She'd made a mistake of buying shoes that weren't the correct size (even though they'd been advertised as a nine and half). When she removed the straps, the indention in her ankle glistened red and stung to the touch.
Naina removed the ice bag. It'd melted, leaving her holding a bag of cool water. She poured it out on the cuts on her feet and sighed, fanning her ankles.
She had another event the following afternoon.
"You sure you're alright?" a drawl asked, slithering into her thoughts.
She jumped a foot off of the bench and landed painfully back on. Her rump screamed as she touched back down.
Ian stood across from her, looking as if he was torn between amusement and worry.
"Just tired," she mumbled.
"Jesus woman, what happened to your feet?" he asked, looked a bit bug-eyed.
She held her heel up and palpated the raw flesh. "Too small shoes worn for almost twelve hours."
She stuffed her heels in a plastic bag and ruffled around her purse, looking for her old gym socks.
Instead, she found the shoe covers.
Ian grinned at her. "Still got those I see?"
Naina tried suppressing a smile but failed miserably. Her lips were practically twitching. "Yes, well. Luckily, the townsfolk know how to clean up their animal doo-doo. I haven't had a chance to use them. Why are you here?" she asked.
She was sure this wasn't remotely close to where he lived; the mansion was on the other side of town and a good drive away.
"I live in the condos." He gestured behind her with his chin.
Rich and good looking. Gotta set him up with Deme. After all, he'd never go for someone like her.
She must've stared too hard at him, because he raised an eyebrow, as if asking a question.
"Sorry, spaced out," she explained. "Um, that's cool."
"Yeah, well, it's probably better than the apartments, you know, with Nic keeping you up and all," he said; bemusement dripped from his voice.
She raised her head, intent on giving a dry, sour stare, only to find him smiling at her.
Geezum...he really was hot. Despite having a beard and grouchy face. She could feel her lower parts growing hot, a certain pressure bearing down in her chest and fear itching the back of her brain.
She groaned and rested her head in her hands. "Can't we let that go? That joke's getting so old already...and he wasn't the one. It's Lauren usually."
"What's she doing?"
"Guys." The word slipped out of her mouth before she could bite her tongue. Naina clapped a hand across her face but it was too late.
His smile was still there, but there was a certain strain to it.
"Sorry, shouldn't have said that, since you know," she said.
"Know what?" he asked. It sounded innocent enough but not with Grouch McHottie. The smirk on his face was way too smug.
"You know...um, well I thought it was obvious." Her face was aflame now; damn her and her big, fat Freudian slippery mouth. "You know, um, her liking—or being interested in your brother," she said, meekly whispering the words.
He nodded. "Only an idiot wouldn't see that...not saying that Nic is one. He's just a dense goof."
"So basically, an idiot, in your words."
"I didn't say that," he countered. He crossed his arms, as if to emphasize his point.
"You hinted it."
He grinned at her again, further drilling the pressure into her chest.
She slipped on the foot covers and stood up, shaking a bit. Her feet still ached, but not as much now. "I've got to go, but thanks for keeping me company."
"Would you like me to walk you back to your place?"
Despite herself, not wanting to smile or give in, a familiar goofy feeling floated over her face and she nodded.
~~~
Again, lemme know if there's anything I should fix or if anything seems off please!!
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