25. Isabelle
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
isabelle
A ll right, Mikey and Erin, you can go.” The wedding coordinator cued each of the bridesmaid and groomsman pairs to walk down the aisle.
Ellison and Colter had hired a woman to handle the big day-of things as well as the rehearsal the day before. That way Ellison wouldn’t have to lift a finger, and I wouldn’t have to worry if anything went wrong with the venue and could focus on being there for Ellison.
“Jake and Caitlin.” She motioned for them to start walking.
The rehearsal dinner was immediately after the wedding rehearsal, so family and close friends sat in the chairs watching the practice ceremony. I couldn’t help but notice that Caitlin’s husband, Adam, had a scowl on his face the entire time she stood by Jake. Their daughter, Whitley, was also the flower girl, although she was only two, so she walked down the aisle with Colter’s parents, Maggie and Chip, instead of going after the wedding party by herself .
“Do you know much about Caitlin’s husband?” I whispered to Reid.
“Not a whole lot. Just that since she married him, she never really comes home. Maggie travels out there most of the time when she wants to see her. But Adam, he’s some big wig out in Washington. Works in finance, I think?”
“Interesting.” I hummed. “I don’t know if I would have pictured that type of man for Caitlin?” Granted, I didn’t know a ton about Caitlin, but from my interactions with her, he didn’t seem like her type.
“Yeah, she doesn’t talk about him much, honestly. I don’t think Clay ever really approved. He’s protective of her. But I’d be the same way about my little sister.”
“Reid and Isa, you can start walking now.” The coordinator broke us out of our conversation.
“I would too,” I murmured as we walked down the aisle.
“I didn’t know you had a sister.” He turned to me, earning him a snap from the coordinator to focus.
“Yeah. Her name’s Amelia. She’s still in high school—just turned sixteen. My parents only thought they were going to have one kid. That’s why there’s such a large age gap between us,” I explained. “I’d do anything—everything—to protect her.”
“You’re a good sister. I’m sure she’s really thankful to have you.”
We reached the end of the aisle and went our separate ways, but I still snuck quick glances over at Reid every so often throughout the run through of the ceremony. I wasn’t sure if I was hoping I’d catch him looking back at me or not.
Silverware clattered against plates and glasses clinked together at the rehearsal dinner that night as Colter’s nieces and nephew ran around playing.
Clay had two kids; one wasn’t much older than Caitlin’s daughter, but the other was at least five.
Laughter filled the air as anecdotes of Ellison and Colter’s childhoods were shared as well as individual stories.
“Colter was a wild child. He may not seem like it now, but he was a terror.” His mom reminisced, to Colter’s embarrassment.
“So was Ellison.” Hanna laughed. “She took after her dad, that’s for sure.”
“Mom!” Both Ellison and Colter protested.
“Oh, don’t worry, Ells. I won’t tell them about the time you ran out the front door of the house naked when you were three. Scared the living daylights out of some of the ranch hands.”
Ellison’s face turned beet red as she leaned forward, burying her head in her hands.
“I could tell them all of the stories of us in college,” I teased. Granted, most of our crazy stories were a result of me dragging Ellison out to a house party somewhere. And after thinking about it, most of those nights ended in us leaving early either because Ellison punched drunk boys who were getting a bit too handsy or she was about to and I had to intervene.
There was one night, though, that she got a little bit too drunk and hit her head on a chandelier as she was climbing onto a table.
Yeah, now that I was thinking about it, it was probably not the best idea to tell stories about our college days. Hanna’s stories were a lot more wholesome.
Ellison shot me a glare, one she wouldn’t have given to her mom. “I think that’s enough stories for one night.” She coughed. “No need to air out my entire life history.”
“Isabelle, you’re from Texas, too, then?” Colter’s mom asked me, changing the subject.
“Yes, ma’am. Ellison and I met in college,” I replied. “I wouldn’t trade our friendship for the world. And I can say the same about everyone at this table.” I looked around at Erin, Sloane, Reid, and the rest of the wedding party.
They all smiled at me, but the look on Reid’s face looked like something deeper, bringing me back to the night in the trailer when he told me I wasn’t just any friend . I’d assumed he meant it was because he thought of me as a best friend, not as potentially something more .
“Well, it’s getting late and we all have a big day tomorrow.” Maggie sighed, scooting her chair out from under the table. “Why don’t you kids get settled in and we can take care of all this?”
Hanna nodded in agreement, giving us an encouraging wave, and all of us got up to leave.
We had the ceremony venue rented out for tonight, so we didn’t have to stay at the hotel where the reception would be then drive back in the morning. The venue had a few small guest cabins, as well as a larger bridal suite, which were perfect for our group.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep tonight.” Ellison let out a breathy laugh.
“I don’t think anyone is expecting us to go to sleep right now,” Sloane reassured her. “There are all those couches and chairs in the bridal suite we could hang out on. Maybe after a couple more hours you’ll be tired enough to get some rest.”
“Oh, that sounds like a great idea! I think I stashed some tequila and vodka in there too,” Erin added with a grin.
“You guys want to come too? There’s nothing you aren’t allowed to see,” I asked the guys, reassuring Colter that Ellison’s dress wasn’t out in plain sight.
“I don’t see why not. We don’t have anything better to do.” He looked to the other guys, who all nodded their approval.
Caitlin, Clay, and Cora had chosen to go back to the cabins their families had been assigned for the night, so it was just the single members of the wedding party in the group, plus Colter and Ellison.
“Lead the way.” Jake lifted his chin.
“Never have I ever…” Erin tapped her chin, trying to think of the things she hadn’t done. Somehow, she had convinced the group—all of us in our mid- to late-twenties—that Never Have I Ever wasn’t just for college kids and was more fun as an adult because you had wilder things to say. “Ooh! Never have I ever been engaged.”
“That’s so unfair.” Ellison rolled her eyes, and she and Colter took a shot.
“Never have I ever been to a strip club.” Ellison gave Mikey a pointed look as he shrugged and took his shot.
“Never have I…oh wait, I have done that. Ne ver…nope. Done that too. Fuck, this game is hard,” Mikey complained. He was already drunk, having been the brunt of a lot of the statements including unironically being in handcuffs, fighting in public, and sleeping with multiple people in the same day. “Never have I ever had a kid. Ha! There you go!”
We all looked at him in amusement.
“It’s a miracle you haven’t had a kid already.” Jake snickered as Reid pointed out that none of us had kids either.
“This has been fun, but Mikey’s not going to be able to function tomorrow if we keep going,” Hayden pointed out.
“He’s probably right. We should get him back to the cabin,” Jake agreed. “Come on, buddy.” He hoisted Mikey—who could barely stand—up and slid under Mikey’s shoulder to help him out, giving us all a salute before they went out the door. Hayden followed close behind, leaving the girls, Colter, Reid, and me.
“I’m going to head out too.” Sloane yawned.
“I’ll go with you!” Erin offered, giving me a sly grin.
“We should probably go too,” Ellison added, clearly not missing the look Erin gave me. She practically pulled Colter out of the suite, leaving me and Reid as the only ones left.
“I’m going to try to clean some of this up,” he said softly, wringing his hands.
“Oh, I’ll help.” I nodded, leaning forward to pick up a bottle off the table. However, Reid apparently had the same idea, and we bonked heads.
“Ow, fuck.” I groaned, rubbing my forehead.
“Shit, are you okay?” He quickly put down the bottle, grabbing my chin to make me look at him.
I blinked. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Thanks. ”
He moved his hand away from my face, muttering, “Sorry. Maybe I…maybe I should get you some ice for that.” He stuttered over his words, and I shrugged, unsure what he was so flustered about.
“It’s fine, Reid. It wasn’t that bad.” I might have a headache in the morning, but the small amount of alcohol I had probably would be contributing. I was a bit ashamed to admit I was a lightweight.
He nodded and continued picking up bottles and shot glasses.
“Mikey sure is something, isn’t he?” I laughed, trying to make conversation.
“That’s one way to put it.” He snorted. “I was surprised to hear some of your answers, though.” I caught a glint of something in his eyes.
“Yeah? I mean, I’m not that crazy. Just been on a lot of bad dates.”
“I wonder if some people lied about their answers,” he contemplated, still roaming around the room picking up trash.
“Oh, absolutely. Erin has done half of the things people mentioned, and Ellison and I both know it.” I wasn’t going to admit I also lied. Erin had—of course—brought up the elephant in the room, saying, “Never have I ever had feelings for anyone in this room.”
Colter and Ellison drank, obviously, but I wasn’t about to reveal my cards. Besides, no one else—namely Reid—drank, so me taking a shot probably would have made it extremely uncomfortable.
“That’s valid. What a way to air out everyone’s secrets, huh?”
“I’m surprised you even have secrets anymore, with Mikey being in your friend group. ”
“I basically don’t,” he admitted with a chuckle.
“Well, I’m great at keeping secrets,” I teased, unable to bite my tongue or take it back.
“Is that so?” He looked at me with curious eyes. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Looks like we got everything.” I scanned the room, not seeing any leftover bottles or cups. “I should probably go to sleep. Big day and all.” I awkwardly shifted on my feet, unsure of what to do.
“Yeah, me too.” He paused. “Let me walk you to your cabin. Make sure you get there okay.”
“All right,” I agreed.
He gave me an after you type gesture when he opened the door, but as I stepped through the doorway, he placed his hand on the small of my back.
I looked at him in confusion, and he pulled his hand away, mumbling, “Sorry,” before putting a bit of distance between us as we walked to the cabin in silence.
“Okay, this is me,” I said when we arrived at the cabin. I was sharing with Erin, and I swore I saw the curtains shift as we approached.
Do we hug? Why is this so weird?
I settled for a nod. “Well…goodnight,” I mumbled as I opened the door.
He held one hand up in a wave as he backed away, the other tucked into his pocket. “Goodnight, Isa.”