Chapter 15 - Gwen - Bumping into You
Chapter 15
Gwen
“Hey, there!” says a female voice I unfortunately recognize all too well now.
Tammy. No. No. No. Tammy and Bradley must be rock climbing too.
Oh shit, I didn’t have time to warn Holly or Greg that Bradley and his fiancée are on this cruise.
I was really hoping I could keep the rest of the wedding party from seeing them so soon. Honestly, I was hoping that the agreement Niall and I made this morning wouldn’t ever come into effect with my friends around.
But I am not that lucky.
Nope.
Not even close. Because as I walk into the rock-climbing area, sure enough, Bradley and Tammy are signing their waivers on the little pads.
My body sputters to a stop. And when I say sputters to a stop, it’s like the comical screeching-of-tires, frozen-in-time, heart-in-my-chest kind of sputter.
It wouldn’t have been so bad, but my untimely stop causes everyone in the group behind me to topple forward in what is probably the most comical slow-motion game of human dominoes ever seen.
Before I can register what’s happening, we are all in a pile on the ground.
“G, what in the—” starts Holly.
“Miles, you’re on my arm,” says Gillian.
“Gwennie, seriously why’d you stop?” asks Greg.
Margot and Trent chime in with their own complaints.
There’s only one person who didn’t need an explanation but instead knew why I’d frozen mid-step. A Mr. McHottie. Niall extracts himself from the pile and easily lifts me to my feet, pulling me close to him in what I hope is both just a friendly way, but also a boyfriend-ish way, considering the two groups.
“You okay?” he asks me, making my heart jump into my throat.
“Oh em gee,” exclaims Tammy in her four-inch wedge heels, showing off her perfectly light-pink toenails, and looking like a barbie in her short shorts and lacy white shirt. “Are you okay? That looked like it hurt.” She makes her way over to our group, who are all still trying to untangle limbs and right themselves.
I groan and lean my head against Niall for a second, trying to gain composure.
“Hi, Tammy,” I say, plastering the most fake-but-trying-not-to-seem-like-I-am-losing-my-shit-internally smile I can muster. “How awesome that you were able to join us.”
“I know, right? I was just telling Bradley that I had a feeling we’d get here before you all. I have a sixth sense for these types of things. Don’t I, Bradley Boo?”
Rolling my eyes, I hold my plastered smile on my face. Bradley Boo doesn’t seem as happy at seeing us all together as Tammy did, and from the look on his face as he looks over my shoulder to Niall, he doesn’t like how close Niall is holding on to me.
Not that he should care. He’s the one who dumped me.
“You don’t say,” Niall replies to Tammy, sensing I am not in the mood to deal with her Barbie-esque personality.
“Tammy!” exclaims Vivian, rushing over to give Tammy a hug after extracting herself from the domino pile. “I was hoping you’d be able to join us this afternoon.”
“Oh my gosh, Vivi, yay,” says Tammy. “I’m so excited we were able to get in the same time with you!”
Motioning to the rest of the group, Vivian says, “Tammy, this is the rest of the group. Everyone, this is Tammy, my friend and coworker, and my plus one to the wedding.”
“Hi, ya’ll,” says Tammy sweetly.
“Hi,” they chorus back to her.
“And this,” says Tammy, pulling Bradley to her side, “is my fiancé, Bradley.”
Margot’s eyes go wide. Trent’s mouth falls open, Greg looks like he could rip something in half, and Bradley looks like he wants to be anywhere but here.
I echo Bradley’s sentiment, wishing I could melt into the floor and disappear rather than go through this moment. Niall’s touch at my back is the only thing keeping me from sprinting away. We made a deal, and if he’s going to stick to it, so can I.
“Bradley?” says Holly.
“Hi, Holly,” Bradley says.
She looks from Niall to me, then back to Bradley and Tammy, and I can see the tirade of questions forming in her mind. But I know Holly. She won’t cause a scene here. Though I’ll definitely hear about it later.
But the same cannot be said for Greg.
“What are you doing here?” asks Greg.
“Do you guys know each other?” asks Vivian.
“We sure do,” says Trent.
The rest of the group stares at us with a mixture of confusion and horror.
“Congratulations to you both on your engagement,” says Bradley, nodding toward Holly and Greg.
“Thank you,” says Holly sweetly.
But Greg holds a heated gaze. “Seriously,” he says, “why are you here?”
“I thought you guys knew I would be here?” Bradley says, placing his hand around Tammy’s waist. “Vivian, didn’t they say it was okay if Tammy brought me?”
“I did,” says Vivian.
“What are you guys talking about?” asks Greg, only getting angrier. “Why would we ever be okay with Gwen’s ex being on our wedding cruise?”
“Gwen’s ex?” says Miles incredulously. Gillian swats him on the arm, then leans in and whispers something to him. I know exactly what she is saying because his eyes glance at me then to Bradley.
“Oh,” says Vivian, “I had no idea. Is this going to be a problem?”
“No—” start Holly and I.
“Yes,” say Trent and Greg in unison.
“I’m sorry if I caused any trouble,” says Tammy. “I just knew that Vivi would be busy a lot with the wedding party events, and I didn’t want to be lonely. I didn’t think it would be an issue to bring him.”
“It’s not that you brought someone,” answers Trent tersely. “It’s the person that you brought.”
The tension going around the group is palpable. It’s almost too much for me. I lean in a little toward Niall, unable to take my eyes off the scene in front of me, my cheeks hurting from the forced smile I’ve kept pasted on my face.
“It’s fine,” Holly says. “We did say that Tammy could bring her fiancé. Right, Greg?”
“Yeah,” says Greg, “but we didn’t know that it would be him .”
Holly places a hand on Greg’s arm and pats it softly, giving Greg a stern look. “Vivian, it will be fine; Tammy and Bradley, we are happy to have you join us on the cruise.”
Ah, yes, ever the placating bride.
“Thank you,” says Bradley.
With another stern look from Holly, Trent finally nods. “The more the merrier, I guess.”
Greg excuses himself from the group. “I need a breather,” he says.
At that comment, I seem to snap back to reality. Okay, Gwen, you can do this. Clapping my hands together, I say, “Alright, now that we’ve had this little reunion, how about we get an instructor over here?” I wave to one of the rock-climbing instructors. “We’re ready to sign the rest of the waivers and get to rock climbing,” I tell him.
Holly eyes me, and I try to give her an expression that I’m doing fine.
“Okay,” says the instructor, “I’m Chadwick, and I’ll be helping you out today. Who still needs to sign a waiver?”
After the waivers are signed, we follow Chadwick to the rock-climbing wall.
“Thank you all for coming,” says Chadwick. “We’re going to have a great race! We’ll get you all harnessed, and then we will set you up next to the others. We can have three people going at the same time. First to the top wins, and best time in each group will race each other for a final overall winner. Alright, any questions?”
Our friend group from Tennessee has been rock climbing a few times in downtown Nashville back home, and we have always had a blast. No wonder Greg and Holly added this event to the itinerary.
First up are Niall, Trent, and Greg.
“Have you ever rock climbed before?” I ask Niall as he gets a final check from Chadwick.
“I have,” Niall replies, a slight smirk on his face.
“Well, I hope so,” says Margot. “Trent and Greg are pretty good. It’ll be tough to beat them.”
I nod in agreement.
“I’m not too worried,” says Niall.
Margot and I step back to watch the guys race up the wall. Niall wasn’t lying. He’s definitely done this before. He manages to beat Greg and Trent, but just barely.
We’re all clapping as they rappel down and get unhooked from the harnesses.
Margot, Holly, and I are up next. I’m ready for this and am bouncing from foot to foot waiting for our start.
Greg gives Holly a kiss as she gets her final check from Chadwick. “Good luck,” says Greg.
“She’s going to need it,” says Margot, grinning.
It’s over almost as soon as it starts. I manage to reach the top right before Margot, and I’m so excited that my foot slips a bit and I bump into the wall before rappelling down to the ground.
Once unharnessed, I step back with the guys as we watch Miles and Gillian get ready to start their climb.
“You’re okay,” a soft voice says from beside me. I startle but glance over and see it’s Niall.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” I reply. “I won.”
“But you hit the wall after ringing the bell. It looked like it hurt.”
“I’m okay. Might get a little bruise later, but nothing to worry about.”
Niall nods, standing close to me and rubbing my arm.
“Go, Gillian,” Greg yells, as we watch she and her husband start up the wall.
“You got this, Miles,” calls Holly.
All and all, they’re making decent time—not enough to beat my time or Niall’s, but still decent enough. Miles reaches the top first and rings the bell, then he and Gillian rappel down together.
Vivian, Tammy, and Bradley are up next. Unsurprisingly, Bradley scorches them, beating the girls to the top while they barely made it halfway up. He was always great at sports, and Vivian and Tammy don’t seem upset as they chat, slowly making their way down the wall.
“Alright, gang,” says Chadwick, “we have four winners from the first rounds. Niall, Gwen, Miles, and Bradley.”
“I’ll sit out,” says Miles quickly. “While it was fun and all, this is not my kind of sport.”
“Alright,” says Chadwick, clapping his hands together. “Looks like we will have Niall, Gwen, and Bradley racing to the top to see who becomes the final winner.”
Oh no, I wasn’t paying enough attention to the winners to put together that it would be us three competing against each other at the end. This is going to be a disaster.
“Sounds great,” says Bradley.
“Let’s do this,” says Niall, his eyes filling with fierce determination.
“This should be fun,” I mutter.
“You got this, G,” says Holly encouragingly.
Chadwick checks our harnesses, and we line up on the rock wall with Niall to my right and Bradley to my left. What have I done to deserve this torture?
I brace myself and try to clear my head, focusing only on the wall. And we’re off.
“I’ll wave to you from the top,” says Bradley.
“Not a chance,” replies Niall. They take off up the wall quickly. I try to ignore the little quips they’re throwing back and forth. We’re all keeping fairly good pace. The guys are leading ahead of me by just a hair.
Before I know it, the torture is over, and Niall rings his bell.
“The view from up here is great,” he teases Bradley.
Bradley only shakes his head and mutters under his breath.
“Behave,” I scold Niall.
He turns and gives me a sheepish smirk. “Sorry, mo ghrá , I was fighting for your honor.”
I smack his arm as he repels down next to me.
“The best time of the group was Niall,” Chadwick tells our group. “It was close but Niall finished a few seconds before Bradley.”
“Great job, Niall,” I say, giving him a hug.
“Now,” says Holly, “how about we head back toward the lounge for some drinks?”
Bradley glances over at me and Niall again, a flash of annoyance in his eyes. I know that look. It’s been aimed at me many times over the years.
Vivian comes up beside me and whispers, “I’m so sorry, Gwen. If I would’ve known, I wouldn’t have asked if it was okay he came.”
“It’s okay,” I say, offering her a smile. “It was all a misunderstanding. I’m going to be fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m not the first woman in the world who’s had to be around her ex.”
“That’s the truth,” says Vivian, giving me a squeeze on the arm. “I’m sure you’ll be seeing each other here and there with the wedding activities, but we’re going to sit this one out to give you some space.”
“Thanks,” I say, “I appreciate that.”
“Holly,” says Vivian, “drinks sound great, but Bradley, Tammy, and I are going to head over to the pool.”
Holly nods. “We’ll catch up with you all later.”
“Stay cool at the pool,” says Trent.
I watch Vivian, Bradley, and Tammy head in the direction of the pool. I breathe a sigh of relief when they are finally out of sight.
“Gwennie, you okay?” asks Greg.
Gillian gives me a hug. “Let me know if you need to talk,” she says.
“I’m really fine,” I tell my siblings.
But no one seems to buy that. Everyone knows I did not take the breakup well. I’d thought he was close to proposing. Not on the verge of dumping me.
I’d been completely blindsided.
They all probably think I am freaking out at seeing Bradley at rock climbing. What they don’t know is . . . I’d already run into him two other times, so I am fresh out of the freaking-out stage. I’d just hoped I could keep it from all of them, because now they’ll be focusing on me being around Bradley. And I can’t have that.
Not when this cruise is about Holly and Greg.
I take a deep, calming, centering breath before turning to the group and laying everything out to them.
“Yes, that was Bradley. Tammy is his fiancée and Vivian’s plus one for the wedding.” I hold my hand up at Holly, Margot, and Gillian’s expressions, all three on the verge of either trying to mother me or sharing some sentiment about their ill will toward Bradley. “Before you say anything, yes, I was shocked when I first found out. No, this isn’t the first time I’ve run into them on this trip.”
“What?” says Margot. “How many times have you seen each other?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “You all just need to know that I’m not going to fall apart. And most importantly,” I look around at the group expectantly with my sternest look, “I will not have this week be about me. I can be an adult and deal with the fact that Bradley and his . . . fiancée”—I internally cringe at the word coming out of my mouth—“are on this cruise too. But this cruise is not about me. It’s about celebrating Holly and Greg. I hope you all will respect that I don’t want to be the center of attention. It is my job as best friend and event planner to make this week all about the soon-to-be newlyweds. Everyone understand?”
Stunned expressions are on everyone’s faces, but they all nod in agreement.
Everyone except Niall. He is looking at me with a lopsided grin, his eyes twinkling at my speech.
Clapping my hands together, I say, “Alright, we’ve climbed a wall, we escaped the domino collapse, I’d say we are more than deserving of a round of drinks. Everyone ready?”
“Miles and I are actually going to head out,” says Gillian, “to spend time with Maggie.”
“Give our niece a hug for us,” says Greg.
Holly, Margot, and I walk arm in arm into the elevator. The guys hang back chatting before following a ways behind us.
“Why didn’t you tell us about Bradley?” Holly asks.
“It wasn’t a big deal, honestly,” I reply.
“Seriously?” says Margot. “How can you say that?”
“I didn’t want to worry you all,” I say, “or take any of the light away from Holly and Greg.” I squeeze my best friend’s arm. “Was I freaked out at first? Yes. Was I furious that he is engaged to Malibu Barbie? Yes. But I realized this afternoon after running into them the second time that I am better off without Bradley holding me back. I want someone who is going to support my work and perfectionist nature.”
“I’m all for you standing on your own two feet and going after your dreams,” says Holly. “I mean, a year and a half ago I was miserable, but look at me now.”
“I’m just happy that you aren’t freaking out,” says Margot.
“Just so you know,” says Holly, “if you are freaking out and you’re trying to hide it, I will be furious with you.”
“Same,” says Margot.
“I promise I’m okay,” I say. “After my epiphany of sorts this afternoon, and I think everything will be just fine.” I’m not going to tell them that the epiphany is lying to my ex and pretending to be in a relationship with Niall. No one needs to know that except Niall and me.
I smile as I think about Niall agreeing to fake date me this morning. I still can’t get the image of him dripping wet in that too small of towel out of my head. I think it will be forever seared into my brain.