Fifty-Six
Stacy
What they don’t tell you about moments is that they too quickly become memories.
You only get to revel in them for a minuscule amount of time and then you tuck them away in the back of your mind before you even realize they’re over.
Some memories you want to keep there, locked up behind a steel fortress so you never relive those moments again.
But others… Other memories simply sting because the moment was so good and you know you’ll never get it back.
Despite the pang of nostalgia, those are the memories you dredge up when you need something good.
Something to hold on to. Something to remind yourself that you’ve fought and won battles before, you’ve felt love, you’ve felt joy, you’ve felt excitement and sorrow and pride and pain and you’ve come out of it all the same if not better.
Those are the memories worth holding on to.
Now I have nothing left but the memories of college. The memories of cheerleading, of winning Nationals, of practices and routines and of meeting friends that have become my family.
Memories of wine nights with Mae, my first bar after turning twenty-one, late night drives to nowhere and midnight library runs during finals week.
Memories of fake dating Reece Taylor. Of pretending for so long that I forgot we were pretending, of realizing I’m worth more than I’ve given myself credit for.
I have the memories of our final stunt together, our senior athletic banquet, of going out to our favorite college bar one last time to celebrate after we finished our last final ever.
And now I’m making the memory of walking across my college graduation stage with him in the crowd, watching me with that same damn proud smirk he’s worn since I met him.
My parents are out in the audience somewhere, along with Charlotte, Atticus, and my precious new niece, Jensen.
But it’s Reece whose eyes I meet right after I shake hands with the Dean and receive my diploma.
I make sure to capture this moment just right so it’s the perfect memory later.
I realize as I make my way off the stage and back to my seat that I don’t have any memories of falling in love with Reece. I can’t pinpoint a specific moment that became a memory when I decided Reece Taylor was my forever person.
Because I think I’m still in the moment of falling for Reece. I fall in love with him every single day and I don’t think it will ever be a memory.
?
“… May you two have a long and happy life full of all the love you can handle. To Tashia and Evan!” Reece holds up his champagne flute.
“To Tashia and Evan,” the crowd echos, holding up their own flutes and taking swigs as Reece takes his seat next to Evan at the head table.
I grin against the rim of my glass and shoot a wink at Reece who winks right back at me as Lily stands to give her speech.
My stomach somersaults as I note for the millionth time today how damn good Reece looks in his chic, black tuxedo.
His sharp jaw is clean shaven, his usual loose hair slicked back, and his tailored tux fits his body like skin.
His wink and smirk are both promises that later on I can peel that tux off of him and my heart thumps wildly in my chest at the thought.
“Jesus. Could your eye-fucking be any more obvious?” Miles teases, leaning forward from the other side of Mae to taunt me.
I chuckle and throw my napkin at him. “Shut up, I’m happy.”
“Good sex does that to you,” Mae comments, nudging my shoulder.
Drew groans from the other side of me. “I need to get laid.”
“Dude. It’s a wedding,” Miles points out. “Hot bridesmaids, single ladies everywhere who are going to get drunk and sad that they don’t have a boyfriend, resentful, older cousins who are pissed that their younger cousin got married first… The world is your oyster, my friend.”
Drew considers this. “Isn’t hooking up at a wedding kind of a cliché?”
“Hooking up is the best part of weddings,” I argue.
Drew narrows his dark eyes in my direction. “You’re in a relationship. Your opinion on casual sex is null.” He turns back to Miles. “Want to wingman each other tonight? Only because it’s been a couple months for me and, fine, I’m getting a little desperate.”
Miles snorts. “I’ll always be your wingman.”
Drew turns to survey the crowd, the young women at the head table and groups of Tashia and Evan’s college friends alike. “See anyone you might be interested in?”
I feel Mae still beside me as Miles clears his throat, taking a sip of champagne. “Nah. I’ll be your wingman tonight but I think I’m good.”
Drew whips his head back to his friend at the same time I turn in his direction, my eyes widening. “You?” I ask. “Miles Gray? At a wedding? Not hooking up? Not taking a chance at a night of casual sex? Who are you?”
“What she said.” Drew nods at me.
Pink touches Miles’s cheeks, but he forges on. “I’m not interested in a one-night stand tonight.”
“Are you okay?” Drew asks.
Something shifts in Miles’s face, his expression softening. “Yeah. I’m okay, I’m… better than okay.”
I quirk a brow at him before my eyes wander to Mae. She’s gnawing on her bottom lip to bite back a smile, her face closer to the color of her hair than usual as she avoids eye contact.
Miles’s hand slides over to find Mae’s thigh.
“Wait,” I start.
“Yes, okay?” Mae finally speaks, her eyes darting between Drew and me. “Whatever you’re about to ask…” She intertwines her fingers with Miles’s, picking their hands up to set on the table. “The answer is yes.”
A grin slowly unfurls across my face as I stare at their clasped hands, shy smiles on both of their lips as they glance at each other .
It’s not a declaration of love but it’s enough for now.
“Okay.” I nod, still smiling at my friends. “Details later?”
Mae nods back as Lily finishes her speech. “Details later,” she promises.
I settle back into my chair with a goofy smirk on my face, turning my attention to where Tashia and Evan have taken the dance floor for their first dance.
The champagne I’ve been drinking goes to my head as everything seems to click in place around me.
Evan spins Tashia around on the dance floor and my heart swells as I catch Reece staring at me from the other side of the winery tent.
His eyes are soft, full of love and adoration as the world blurs around me.
And when Reece pulls me to the dance floor after the cake is cut, wrapping me in his arms to dance to “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” I wish, for a minute, that the whole world would pause—just so this moment can last a little bit longer before it becomes a memory.