15–Joey
I swore I was going to pop a se
Damn Xan for making me eat those sweets. They might have been delicious, and he’d been true to his word, by helping me work some of them off with the most intense and sensual night I had ever had in my life. but honestly, if I even breathed the wrong way right now, someone was going to cop a gold button in their eye.
“Are you ready yet, Jolene?”
1 cringed at Phoebe’s voice whining at me through the door and I rolled my eyes. I turned to the door and walked over, carefully breathing in shallow breaths, to stop myself from bursting at the seams, literally and opened the door.
While I didn’t like her; I had to admit, Phoebe made one of the most beautiful brides I had ever seen. The ivory gown she wore, had been Jake’s mom’s, bought with them, when they had moved back to America, from Kyoto. The gown had been passed down for three generations on Jake’s dad’s side and now it was Phoebe’s turn to wear something I had only ever dreamed of being in.
“Well, don’t you look lovely.” Phoebe said, looking down her nose at me.
I bit back a retort and smiled, trying to do what I promised 1 would and remain civil. “Thanks”
I knew what she really thought. She had picked out the colors of the dresses, after Jake’s mom had told him she needed to pick a color from each of the elements, because it was a tradition passed down through the family.
I had been lumped with the green dress.
Thated green
It did nothing for my skin tone or hair, and it made me look like a giant lump of snot
“We’ve got half an hour until the wedding, is the dress going to last that long?”
My gaze moved from Phoebe to her three best friends, who were dressed in the most beautiful shades of blue, pale pink and yellow, who were also sniggering behind their hands. The same ones who had been with us the night I’d ditched Phoebe at her hen’s right and met Xan.
“Well, if it had been bought in the right size, it would.”
One of Phoebe’s friends hissed at me. “Maybe if you laid off the cakes, fatty.”
Iblinked and sucked my tongue over my teeth as I looked at her. “What did you just say?
The woman’s face paled, and she stepped back, almost hiding behind the other pair.
I turned my attention back to Phoebe, who was smirking, and I lifted my head, looking up at her. “I’m going to find Jake and see if he needs help with anything”
“You do that, because after today, you’re not going to be seeing him very often. Let me assure you of that.” She replied, flicking her hair and turning back to her friends, who rushed to her, as if I’d hurt her.
Irolled my eyes and turned, stomping to the door, at this point, not caring if my dress ripped. At least I would be able to get out of being at this shit show.
Slamming the door, I stomped through the gardens in my kitten heels, in the vain search of my best friend.
I would stop this wedding, even if I had to clobber him over the head and drag him
away
A laugh sounded through the garden, and I followed the high–pitched cackle of my best friend. He was standing near the venue’s restaurant, with his parents and someone else.
stared at the man standing beside Jake and blinked a few times, as if it might wipe his umage from my eyes. It didn’t and my stomach started to cramp with sickness.
No, no, no, no
around
ינו
Jake lifted his head, as if sensing me, a grin spreading across his face, as he saw me and he rushed over, wrapping his arm shoulders and steering me toward his parents and the other man. “Joey, you remember Alex?” Alex turned his dark gaze toward me, and his eyes widened as he looked down at me. “Jolene?”
1 hadn’t been called that by anyone other than my parents in almost ten years and by the exact man standing in front of
הן
13–Joey
- me. Why hadn’t I recognized him the other night? Was it the fact he’d matured? Filled out nicely? Or I was too overwhelmed with riding his-
“Alex came all the way from New York for the wedding, because Mom asked him to. Isn’t that nice! Throwing away any problems we had in the past to come and help me celebrate?” Jake squeezed my shoulders, making my breasts plump a little more and his brother’s gaze dropped to my cleavage. My stomach roiled with the lust which suddenly lit his dark eyes, and my clit throbbed with need as his gaze lifted to mine again.
“It’s good to see you, again.”
I turned to Jake for a minute, trying to ignore his brother and the tone of his voice, all while trying to keep my breakfast in my stomach. “I’m just here, seeing if you need anything else before you do this? Like maybe a get–out clause?”
Jake screwed his nose up at me and laughed, planting his lips against my forehead. “Jeez, you’re like the fifth person today who’s asked me that. I’ll be fine. I love Phoebe. We’re made for each other.”
“Got that right.” Alex mumbled and I turned my head, staring at him. He smirked and winked at me, before his gaze went to his brother and it suddenly became cold. “I’m going to the bar. I’ll see you at the altar, Jacob.”
Jake. Jeez, how many times have I told you, it’s Jake, not Jacob.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Alex turned to walk away, looking over his shoulder as he did. “See you around, Joey.”
Fuck.. I had to get out of here. Not only was I about to watch my best friend, the man I thought I would end up with, get married to someone else. but the man I had spent one of the most incredible nights with, in my life was here too.. and he was Jake’s brother!
Jake let go of me, stepping away to resume talking with his parents and I frowned, turning and watching as Alex walked into the venue, heading straight toward the bar. Of all the people I could have a one–night stand with… why did it have to be Jake’s brother?
I’d never really had much to do with Alex as a kid, just the occasional bello, or when he’d pick Jake and me up from school. Some of my only memories of him were squashed up against him, in the front of his Bronco, while he drove us home. I had always been so aware of how much older than us he was, of how.. mature he seemed, even if he was only nine years older than us. But I had never really known him enough to develop even a crush on him.
Jake was going to lose his shit, when he found out.
“If he finds out.” I muttered to myself. “If… if is good.”
Looking at the venue again, I flicked my gaze back to Jake for a second, to make sure he was still busy, and turned, stomping toward the bar to confront Alex and make sure he didn’t blab about our night together.
