Chapter - 28
ELOISE
ABOUT A YEAR LATER
“This cake sucks,” Taylor had shouted to us across the table, loud enough to be heard over the DJ. “They should have gone with something better, like pie or cheesecake. Maybe ice cream.”
“Good thing this isn’t your wedding,” Beck rolled her eyes at our friend. “You don’t have to eat it.”
Taylor narrowed their eyes at her as they deliberately forked another massive bite of the cake that they had a beef with into their mouth. I snorted, laughing at our friends as I rested my elbows on the table.
It took a ton of planning, lots of phone calls, and demanding that catering services took me seriously despite the way my face looked, but we all finally made it here. Courtney and Josh were married, and the two lovebirds were busy twerking and grinding and dancing on the makeshift dance floor in the most inappropriate way possible, while their friends and family laughed and cringed at their antics.
Courtney and Josh decided to tie the knot in the state that originally brought them together. In a small venue on the Oregon Coast, surrounded by pine trees and ivy and grass, with the taste of the ocean breeze in the air. The venue was partially indoors, and partially outdoors on the off chance it wouldn’t rain. Thankfully, the outdoor bar had a covering that allowed guests to enjoy the air and scenery, without getting wet. Strings of lights were hung all over the venue, lighting the party up in a tasteful and elegant manner without taking away the beauty of the modern lodge the reception was hosted at.
Josh had already ditched his tie, unbuttoning his dress shirt to show off all the tattoos on his neck and chest and un-tucking it from his pants as he danced with his wife, stars in his eyes.
Courtney had her dress altered so that she could pin her skirt up high enough so that she could move around as she liked. She had left her heels next to me at the table, while dancing barefoot with her husband.
“When you plan your wedding, I’ll make sure there isn’t a single slice of offensive cake,” I winked at Taylor. Their eyes widened as they swallowed their piece and shook their head.
“I’m never getting married,” they emphasized their words with a slice of their hand, “That’s gonna be a no from me, dog.”
Beck smiled and reached a hand up for Taylor to high-five, which they met enthusiastically. Beck had confirmed my previous suspicions earlier, on the flight here. Due to her extra fun layer of religious trauma she endured from her childhood, she couldn’t wrap her head around doing something so traditional and archaic as getting married. Adam, apparently, could go either way. But if his girlfriend had no interest in getting married, neither did he. The two of them were perfectly content to continue “living in sin” as Beck described it.
I…was pretty sure I wanted to do something traditional. I mean, if big raging feminist Courtney Henderson could formalize her partnership, why couldn’t I?
Honestly, any excuse to throw a fun party.
I glanced around the room, looking for my date to my friend’s wedding. My date, who locked us down for this event just over a year ago.
“I saw him and Adam heading towards the bar a moment ago,” Beck informed me with a finger past my shoulder. I turned my head around, looking out towards the open-air space where the bar was located.
I nodded my confirmation at her and settled back in my seat.
Taylor continued to list off the reasons why cake was a poor choice for dessert, when Beck’s eyes perked up at something behind me again. I turned around, a massive grin pulling at my lips.
Adam and Logan were returning from the open bar, two cocktails in Adam’s hands while he tried to make his way through the tables, and also hold a conversation he was having with Beck’s grandmother, Susan.
Susan was being pushed in her wheelchair by Logan, who smiled and shook his head at me. Susan probably just said something ridiculous to him, and I couldn’t wait for him to tell me what it was.
“I was worried you got lost,” Beck smiled as she lifted her head for Adam to press his lips to hers. Logan settled Susan’s wheelchair right between Beck and me, and Adam set both of the cocktails down on the table in front of her.
“You couldn’t decide between the two?” I asked Susan with a lifted eyebrow.
“I didn’t even bother trying. It’s an open bar. YOLO and stuff.” Susan winked at me before taking one of the cocktails and slurping loud enough for Courtney to shout from her spot on the dancefloor to, “Knock it off, Susan!”
I laughed as Logan took his seat next to me, leaning in to press his lips firmly against my neck, and inhaling deeply. I blushed under the intense PDA, but our friends were used to it at this point. While Adam and Beck were more reserved about their PDA, and Courtney and Josh didn’t hold back theirs in any way, Logan and I were a comical mix between the two.
Logan was always the first to reach for me. To reassure himself with my presence by touching or kissing me, regardless of the company we kept. The only time he truly held himself back was if we were having dinner with my parents, and even then, he kept one of his large hands either on my leg or my hand under the table.
I wasn’t as bold as Logan. I didn’t initiate physical contact between us nearly as much, but I never shooed him off of me when he did.
I never wanted to push Logan away. I found myself growing more and more comfortable with his displays of physical affection this past year. I think a part of me would always feel guilty for how stubborn I was at the beginning of our friendship, and then romantic relationship. I knew I didn’t need to carry the guilt of my behavior forever, but I also loved making it up to Logan in this way.
It was one of those rare times that the former people-pleasing Eloise perked up, happy to be her boyfriend’s reassurance when he needed me to be.
The conversation around the table started, but Logan’s fingers tapped my arm so that he could get my attention.
Want to know what Susan just told me at the bar? Logan asked, his eyes glowing with mischief.
Obviously. I signed back. Logan smirked.
She asked if you and I were next.
I rolled my eyes, before giggling and signing back to him, What did you say?
Logan shrugged; I wasn’t the one she needed to ask.
I frowned at him; You made it sound like I am the one holding us back.
Logan shrugged again. I pinched his thigh, and he huffed his laugh before letting his gaze wander over to Courtney and Josh, who were now slow dancing like mature adults to a slower song the DJ was playing for them.
I followed his gaze, taking in our friends’ expressions. How they looked at each other as if there wasn’t another single body in the room with them, and I felt deep in my bones that they were designed specifically for each other.
Similar to how I felt about Logan.
There wasn’t anyone else I had met in my life who understood me the way he did. That was as perfect for me as he was. Who let me have my emotional freak outs, who rubbed my feet when my period felt unbearable. Who challenged me to a food fight in the kitchen when I started one.
Who loved me unconditionally, as I did him.
That wasn’t to say there weren’t moments when he and I didn’t act like complete dumbasses around each other. We did. There were times when one of us would be tired and cranky, either from his hockey schedule, or my work schedule, or my mother’s excessive and demanding rich-lady parties. But every time, we took a breath, and did what our friends taught us to do when things got heated.
We talked it out.
Sometimes, we even gave the other space to feel their feelings. Unjudged.
Which was significantly easier for us to do now since my signing had improved so much this past year.
It really helped that I was sleeping with my ASL tutor, not gonna lie.
I got up from my chair at the table and pushed Logan’s shoulder back for him to scoot his chair out. His lap was available now, and I plopped myself right on his thighs and looped my arms around his shoulders.
I leaned in to brush my lips against his, nothing aggressive or sexual, just simple passes, before pulling back to sign my thoughts, I’ll let you know when I’m ready for something like that.
Logan’s eyebrows raised as my favorite smirk of his made another appearance.
I’ll be waiting,he replied.
I nodded and leaned into him, resting our heads together as we watched our friends joke around at the table because it was just that simple. We both wanted the same thing, and we would patiently wait until the other was ready to catch up. Safety and comfort, like what our friends had with their partners.