Chapter 8 #4
My body went completely still. I didn’t even give a fuck how hard I was shamelessly staring at her.
My gaze was fixed on her so hard, I’d forgotten to blink for a few seconds.
Even then, I couldn’t pry my eyes away from her.
Her eyes narrowed at the bright, white spotlight lamps hung from overhead as she stepped up onto the platform.
It wasn’t until the seamstress turned around that she saw me sitting there and acknowledged my presence.
“Oh, hello! Are you the handsome groom?” the seamstress asked, eyeing me closely.
“Oh, um, no. He’s my best friend’s brother,” Lex pointed out awkwardly fast.
“Yeah. I’m just filling in for my sister,” I clarified.
“She’s my maid of honor, and she’s got food poisoning right now.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope she feels better soon,” she acknowledged before allowing her gaze to pass over me and back onto the details of Lex’s gown.
“She wants me to FaceTime her when you’re ready,” I stated before scrolling to her name and tapping the FaceTime button.
The phone rang a few times before connecting. When it did, I immediately turned the camera view from my face to Lex and her dress. Liv immediately squealed loud as hell through the phone.
“Oh my Goooodddd! You look absolutely gorgeous! Go, best friend, that’s my best friend! The dress is fucking stunning! I swear I’m about to cry right now.”
The seamstress nodded in agreement. “This is the most beautiful gown I’ve ever had the pleasure of altering. It fits you like a glove, and you look like a runway model.”
I caught a glimpse of Lex’s reflection in the mirror as her gaze skated over the hand-applied lace appliques and delicate sequin embroidery down the bodice.
“Thank you so much,” she acknowledged before pinning her eyes on me through the mirror.
“But I think I need a man’s perspective. What do you think, Oak? And be honest.”
Suddenly, my mouth was drier than the Sahara Desert. My palms got clammy, and my ability to speak had been altered by the twist of my tongue. What could I say that hadn’t already been said? She was fucking breathtaking.
When I didn’t readily respond, the seamstress looked at me and then back at Lex with a smirk. “It’s a good thing when they’re speechless like that, my dear. I’m sure your fiancé will be the same way.”
Her comment brought a genuine smile to Lex’s face.
“Uh, hellloooooo? Did you freeze?” Liv’s annoying voice called out to me through the phone, snapping me out of my daze.
“You look beautiful,” I finally said to Lex. “Any man would be lucky to have you as his bride.”
“Thanks,” she replied with a ghost of a smile creeping up one side of her mouth. She shyly reached up to tuck a curl behind her ear, and that’s when I noticed she’d added the charm I’d given her to her bracelet.
From the minute I saw that ring wrapped around Lex’s finger at my welcome home party, I knew she belonged to someone else, but that didn’t change the fact that she’d always been mine.
I tried my best to hide the fact that I was feeling a way, but every time I tried to swallow down the words, it felt like they were itching to race out like Liv’s vomit.
Once my sister was off the phone, I couldn’t hold back anymore.
I followed Lex back toward the dressing room to confront her.
“So, your wedding is back on like everything’s all good?” I inquired.
“It was never off, Oak. Just . . . temporarily suspended.”
I scoffed, knowing bullshit when I heard it. “And you’re good with that? After everything? After . . . us?”
“We both know there was never a real us, Oak. We talked about that up at the cabin.”
“That’s not all we did at the cabin,” I reminded her. “And you know as well as I do that our shit runs too deep for words, Lex. I didn’t bring it up during Pop’s birthday, but I wanna know what changed your mind between the cabin and now.”
Her chest deflated with a hard sigh. “Why are we even talking about this right now?”
“Because I want to,” I said, voice rising an octave. “Don’t you think I deserve an update? To know what’s going on with you and where we stand?”
“Could you please lower your voice?” she hissed, slicing her eyes through me.
I sucked my teeth, knowing I had a tendency to get loud whenever I was pissed off. “My bad.”
“Can’t you just be happy for me?”
“I could never be happy knowing you’re miserable, Lex, but enjoy your big day. I won’t be there to see it.”
“Wait, you’re not coming now?”
“Nah. I close on my house two days before your wedding, and the movers are coming that Saturday morning. It’s probably for the best anyway, given our history.”
She huffed as her head shook from side to side. “You’re right.”
“I still wanna know what brought on the change of heart.”
Lex twisted her hands around each other as she began to explain, “You remember I told you about Pat’s grandfather’s health?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, a few days after we got back from the cabin trip, there was an emergency where he went missing for a couple of hours. No one could find him, and it was really traumatic for the family. I don’t know.
Seeing that, it put something into perspective for me.
We ended up talking more and decided to go through with the wedding and make his family happy. ”
I caught a glimpse of the scowl on my face in the mirror.
She had me fucked up. “What about your happiness? Who’s making sure you’re happy?
Who’s taking care of you? Because I know you got that ring on your finger and this pretty ass dress on and shit, but I’m not fuckin’ convinced that he’s capable of taking care of your heart,” I asserted.
Her jaw clenched. “Can you please not make a fucking scene here?”
“If not here, then where, because you got me fucked up. Since when have you let other people live through you? Since when have you let other people influence your decisions?”
“I’ve made my decision. I’m getting married, Oak. End of story. Okay?”
I sucked my teeth. “Yeah. You fuckin’ got it.”
She’d made her decision. If she needed to be with a nigga who vibrated on a lower frequency, then so be it.
From here on out, whatever happened between them was no longer my concern.
Lex and I had officially reached our expiration date, and I had to let her go, even if it was the last thing I wanted to do.
When I made my way back to my truck, I realized I’d left Yasmine on read for the last couple of hours and decided to hit her back. My eyes scanned her last message to me before my fingers began jabbing at the screen with a reply.
Me:
Drinks tonight sounds good.