8. Chapter 8
Cole
“We need a real wedding,” I said the next day when I walked into Sadie’s with dinner. I loved the excitement Alyssa had when I brought pizza, so today I brought tacos.
“Why?” Sadie asked.
“To make my mom and grandma happy—and to make it seem more real.”
She sighed and sank down into a kitchen chair. “No eloping?”
“Have I told you about my siblings?”
“Not really.”
“I have four sisters and two brothers.”
“Wow. What would that be like?”
I grinned. “The best kind of chaos. But I’m the only one not married, and most of my siblings have eloped. It makes my mom mad and my grandma disappointed. As the last one, I feel like we should have a wedding to keep the peace.”
She nodded. “Alright, but it’s going to be awkward. I don’t even have anyone to invite.”
My mouth turned down. I felt bad about that, but I wasn’t sure how to fix it.
“The gym owner’s a family friend. I called him, and he said he’ll give me a month to get everything settled, and then I can buy it. If I tell my family now, we could get married in three weeks. Does that work?”
“In three weeks, next month’s rent will be past due. I have enough to pay it, but it’s going to be rough.”
“We can move to Lansing Falls before the wedding. We can plan better that way. You and Alyssa could stay with my grandma or one of my sisters until the wedding, and we can look around for a house.”
She put a hand to her stomach as if trying to settle her nerves. “Where will you stay?”
“I’m not sure. Probably the same. Grandma or one of my sisters. They all have plenty of space.” I cringed. “I bet my mom will want us to stay with her.”
“Where do you fit into your family?”
“I’m fourth.”
“Ah,” she said, smiling. “Middle child. Makes sense.”
I laughed, glad she could tease me. That had to mean we were making progress. “I was my dad’s favorite, but he passed a long time ago. I was never my mom’s favorite.”
“Why not?”
“I never conformed to her plans. That would be my youngest brother, Chance. Well, Chance and Dax are twins. Chance followed the plan my mom laid out for him. Then there’s Lainee—she’s the other favorite, because she can keep up with fashion and throw a good party.
The rest of us are all slight disappointments. ”
Her mouth turned down. “I get that. After my mom died, my dad just took off. I guess he didn’t even have a favorite.”
“Do I smell tacos?” Alyssa asked, entering the kitchen.
“Sit, and we’ll eat,” Sadie said.
She grinned and sat down. “Thanks, Cole. You’re the best.”
“You’re welcome.”
I noticed Sadie’s small frown, but it disappeared quickly as we all began eating.
“Can I take engagement pictures?” Alyssa asked. “I’m taking photography in school, and I’m not too bad.”
“That’s fine with me,” I said, biting into a taco. “Will it be bad moving Alyssa in the middle of the school year?”
“No,” Alyssa said. “The term ends next week, so it’s perfect.”
“We’ll need to get her registered in Lansing Falls fast,” Sadie said. “I don’t want her falling behind.”
“Should we take pictures after dinner?” Alyssa asked.
Sadie groaned. “Not when I look like this.”
I studied her wavy hair and cute pink shirt. “Like what? Beautiful?”
Sadie turned pink, and Alyssa smiled as she bit into her taco. She was beautiful—no exaggeration there.
As soon as we finished eating, Alyssa dragged us up to the roof for pictures. Sadie had insisted on fixing her hair first, but now here we were, with about fifteen minutes before the sun went down.
“We need to hurry,” Alyssa said, holding her camera up. “The sky looks pretty over here with the pinkish-purple, so stand right there.” She pointed to her chosen spot.
We moved to where she directed us.
“Okay, now turn, put your arms around each other, and look into each other’s eyes and smile.”
Sadie frowned. “Can’t we just smile at the camera?”
Alyssa’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s the creative genius here? Just gaze into each other’s eyes. I’m sure you’ve done it plenty.”
I smiled and put my hands around her waist. She sighed and rested hers lightly on my upper arms.
“Look happy, Sadie,” Alyssa scolded.
Sadie smiled, but she was leaning back.
“Pretend you’re checking out the fit of my pants,” I teased.
She rolled her eyes. “You read too much into that.” She moved back a step.
“Trying to escape?” I murmured.
She relaxed a little, though her eyes gave her away—she was nervous.
“Come on,” Alyssa said. “The sky’s perfect, and it won’t last.”
Sadie nodded, closed her eyes for a second, then looked at me and smiled.
“Better,” Alyssa said, snapping pictures. “Now move a little closer, like you might kiss, but don’t.”
I leaned closer.
“Closer,” Alyssa commanded. “It’s going to feel unnatural and probably make your eyes blur, but it’ll be cute.”
I moved close enough to feel her breath on my lips.
“Perfect,” Alyssa said. “That’s going to be a good one.”
“Now kiss.”
Sadie stepped back. “I’m not sending out kissing invitations.”
“Fine, but let’s take a few just for you to have.”
“No, we don’t need that.”
“Yes, you do. It’s tradition.”
“I don’t care about tradition.”
I decided to let the sisters fight this one out. I wouldn’t mind kissing Sadie, but I wasn’t going to make her do it if she was uncomfortable.
“Cole, tell her to kiss you,” Alyssa commanded.
“Sadie’s a shy kisser. Nothing wrong with that,” I said. I had no idea whether that was true, but I’d guess it was.
Sadie’s eyes bore into me. “A shy kisser?”
I shrugged. “I’m fine with it.”
“You two aren’t bullying me into this,” she said.
“I’m not trying to,” I said. “We’re doing whatever you feel comfortable with.”
“Not kissing.”
“Fine,” Alyssa said. “You’re going to regret it someday.”
“Why?”
“Let’s just finish here.”
Ten minutes later we were finished and I was in my apartment, looking at the pictures on my phone. There was one, the one when we were really close, that made me smile. It was perfect.
I sent it to my siblings with a text that said, “Guess what?”
I laughed softly when my phone started blowing up, so I plugged it in and set it on the nightstand. I’d let them all wonder for the night, then tell them tomorrow.
Sadie had held it together, even though I could tell she’d hated every second of it. I climbed into bed and stared at the dark ceiling. Maybe someday something would happen between us. Perhaps she’d start seeing me as someone she could trust, someone she could turn to for comfort. Maybe even love.
Maybe one day I’d be more than the mess upstairs.