22. Ivy Jade
Ivy Jade
The prettiest long table was set up outdoors, with black draping that was just as long.
Gorgeous black and red roses were centered, with place cards and a little note underneath, and some kind of rating sheet for wine tasting.
Tallulah outdid herself. Everything was beautiful and sourced from her store–minus the wine.
The sun was shining, the air pure, the green acres before us perfectly groomed into checkered lines across the vast land.
Tallulah clapped to gain everyone’s attention. “Everyone! Find your seats, please. Our sommelier is wrapping things up in the kitchen and is ready to serve you all!” Tallulah said excitedly. “She’s here all the way from Wild Euphoria Winery. Listen attentively and be nice!”
“Only the best from the Castellanos, sí,” Mami added as she stood beside Tallulah. Tallulah’s face flushed. I knew Mami was overbearing, but I didn’t realize Tallulah may have been exhausted from her nitpicking.
There were a few cheers, woos, and “hell yeses” throughout the crowd.
Just about everyone looked around at all the cards on the table, mumbling with those they were with. Tallulah and Gustav sat down next to one another in the middle of the table. Tallulah waved me over. “Maid of honor is right next to me!”
“What an honor,” I said. It really was. Maybe it was the mind-melting orgasm from last night, but my mood began to slowly mellow out over this wedding. It was really starting to settle in that my best friend was getting married to my brother and that she’d be the best sister I'd never had.
I glanced upward and watched as Ro came to sit beside Gustav.
When he saw me, he gave me a quick nod, and I gave him a small lingering smile, breaking eye contact.
Hundreds of butterflies swirled in my stomach over the way his grin curved.
I felt like I was being too obvious, like my face betrayed my transparency, letting him know I masturbated to him last night.
Multiple times, in fact! Often with both him and High Jynx in my mind, taking me on at once.
All morning I stayed stuck on that fantasy, and I couldn’t ignore how I felt about both men anymore.
Suddenly, I felt so stupidly shy as I turned my attention forward.
Thankfully, my parents were on the opposite end of me, gabbing and laughing about who knows what.
“Hey, sis, I like your dress,” Gustav said.
“Thanks. I wanted to match the vibes today,” I told him.
“You sure did,” Tallulah commented. “She came by my closet this morning for something a little darker and more vibey…” Tallulah went on to talk to my brother.
I leaned over slightly and saw Ro sitting there in a handsome black suit and a white button-up. He’d been fidgeting with his tie. It was cute, but the moment he sensed me staring, he looked over. I sat straight back into my chair to go unnoticed.
After a few minutes, the sommelier appeared front and center of the table. She asked who had been on a wine tasting before. I’d been to hundreds at this point. I shot my hand upward. We all did except one person, Ro, and it nabbed at my heart. This would be a great first experience for him.
The sommelier came around to pour our first tasting. She was really pretty. Cute, short bob the color of honey, and big brown eyes. “I heard this is the bride’s favorite wine, which is why we’re starting with this one,” she said.
Tallulah let out a big laugh. “Don’t tell me Gustav told you that!? He’s such a stinker,” Tal scrunched her nose at him with a smile.
“I thought you loved it,” my brother defended himself. The table laughed collectively at their cute back-and-forth banter.
“We’ve got plenty more wines coming up to find the bride’s new favorite,” the sommelier said, raising her glass.
“When you’re wine tasting, there are a few things we’re looking for to enhance your experience.
We like to call them the five S’s of wine tasting.
First, see the color of it. Hold your glass up to your eye. Take it in.”
Everyone mimicked her movements, and their eyeballs grew bigger behind their wine glass.
“Then we’ll want to swirl it, to aerate it.
It’ll allow the aromas to come forth. Which is why we’ll want to smell it next.
” After the sommelier swirled it, she brought it up to her nose.
As everyone mirrored her, I heard loud sniffing left and right.
They were louder than Nelly. “Look for the notes it may have. Is it fruity, citrusy, maybe oaky?”
“I smell the divine grape,” I heard Papi say on his end. Mami nodded and agreed, and everyone started discussing the flavors together.
I peeked over at Romeo once more, and when he caught me, I raised my glass, and he did the same. A cute grin spread across his lips.
“Very good,” the sommelier said with a smile.
“Now for everyone’s favorite part. We’re going to sip and then savor it.
Try not to ingest it unless you’re looking to get drunk on the next twenty-nine flavors we’ll be sampling.
There’s a small bucket beside each glass; you’ll want to make your mouth into a tight ‘O,’ then spit the wine out.
Waters are there for you to cleanse your palette if need be. ”
By about the fifteenth demonstration of wine, I was ready to stand and stretch.
Luckily, the sommelier recommended a brief intermission.
As everyone rose from their seats and started mingling with one another, I kind of felt a bit of a buzz.
Maybe I shouldn’t have drunk most of those down. They were pretty good, though.
Not too far off from the table, I walked over to stand behind a lovely balustrade that overlooked the colorful garden below. I hadn’t gone to visit it yet, but I’d been dying to. I had just been so busy…
“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” I heard that familiar voice.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Ro standing there with a wine glass in his hand as he took a sip. My shoulder tensed for a moment. For whatever reason, I wasn't sure how to act around him. I smiled at him, but maybe a little too hard.
Was I being weird?
“The garden? Oh! Yeah. Of course… like totally pretty. The best I’ve seen in a long time. Maybe even better than the Royal Botanical one…”
“Nonsense.” Ro shook his head incredulously.
The heat of the wine rose up my neck. “I visited Buckingham Palace just last year, and we made a trip to Edinburgh. Don’t get me wrong…
It’s super cute, but it’s a national park, so by comparison, the chateau has done pretty well, since the garden is private.
Like, look over there,” I pointed out toward a far corner in the distance.
“That little greenhouse with the Roman pillars. That’s for the maintenance crew, but they’ve built it to be enjoyed by everyone, including the workers. ”
I was just making up stuff now. I was too buzzed and flustered to keep track of my thoughts while standing next to Ro.
He inched himself closer to me, as if he were trying to get a better view of the greenhouse. His suit jacket brushed along my shoulder. “It’s impressive you know all this.”
“Well, I do love my historical fiction and traveling the world,” I said, then took a sip. “What countries have you visited?”
Romeo laughed. “Plural? None.”
“Singular?”
“I’ve never been outside of Pennsylvania.” Silence stretched between us before he cleared his throat. “But I plan to leave this place one day.”
My buzz flattened for a moment. He wanted to leave this place? “Where are you leaving us to?”
“I don’t know. New York maybe,” he said casually, noncommittal. “Somewhere a little more… I don’t know. Aligned with my interests.”
“You have interests?” I joked, swirling my wine. “What do you like, outside of emo music and beating me at video games?”
“Don’t be jealous of my skills,” he said passively, looking out at the garden. He was so sarcastic and dry that I nearly choked on my wine from laughter.
“Okay, but seriously? What is it about New York?” I wanted to know.
He shrugged. “I’d like to catch a few Broadway shows, maybe. Shakespeare in the Park.”
“Plays?” I said, astounded. I couldn’t tell if he was pulling my leg or not. I remembered he was in one of the school plays that I never attended because I probably would have geeked out.
“Is that so surprising?”
“From Mr. My Chemical Romance? Yeah, a little.” I lifted my glass to my mouth, talking into it. It smelled like wild strawberries and rain. “It’s cute, though,” I added, not yet taking a sip. “I like that you enjoy that.”
“I like that you like anything about me…” he answered, his eyes moving from the garden to mine.
My head felt extra fuzzy, but in the best way.
Ro and I were standing beside one another, shoulder to shoulder.
We both had our hands on our own glasses of wine, and our free hands lay gently on the railing close to one another.
Maybe it was the alcohol, but I could have sworn I felt the warmth radiating from his pinky.
“How are you enjoying your first wine tasting experience?” I asked.
“You saw that, huh? That was a bit of a reality check that I’m not part of your world.”
“That’s not true. You are very much part of my world!” And it was true. He wasn’t looking from the outside in. Romeo belonged with us. Ever since he was thirteen years old, when Gustav first introduced him to us.
He scoffed, looking down, not believing it.
I laid my glass back down and turned to look at him, elbows on the railing, my cleavage on display. It took a while for him to say anything.