Never a Bride: A Short Story Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t get into trouble, ever,” Lisa grinned. “That was me.”
    “Well, since you are out of commission for a while, maybe I should take up where you left off.”
    “That I’d like to see!” Lisa laughed, then studied Sheena’s face. “You were too crying. Liar. Want to talk about it?”
    “No,” Sheena said, granting Lisa a huge, fake smile. “This is your special day. So, pancakes for breakfast? Anything you want, that I can give, you got.”
    “Well, I was craving peanut butter and banana ice cream.”
    “For breakfast?”
    “It would just make me throw up, anyway, so it’s not a good idea. How about a bagel?”
    “Mm. Onion. Cream cheese and lox?”
    Lisa turned green. “Plain. Toasted.”
    “I think an egg might be good for you, too. Protein.”
    Pressing her knuckles to her mouth, Lisa shook her head. “No. Nope, no egg. Roll down the window, would you? This is like being perpetually hung over.”
    Sheena watched in sympathy as Lisa stuck her head out the window, gulping air as if she were a puppy.
    “What can I do?” Sheena slowed to twenty miles an hour, ignoring the honks behind her.
    “Just drive. Get to the wedding hall. They have the perfect bathroom for puking.”
    “You scout venues for good puking stalls?”
    “Don’t judge me.”
    Sheena sucked in her lower lip to keep from laughing. She’d planned on keeping her Jared mistake to herself, but seeing her best friend in abject misery made her change her mind. Lisa needed something to think about besides throwing up. “I slept with Jared last night.”
    Lisa pulled her head in so fast she bonked her head on the window frame. “Damn it! You did what?” She rubbed the top of her head. “Just what I need. A concussion, to add to the nausea.”
    Sheena’s throat tightened. “Sorry. Are you bleeding?”
    “No. Spill!”
    Clutching the steering wheel, Sheena fought back tears of regret. Of idiocy. Of feeling like the biggest moron of all time. “I was that girl.”
    “That girl?”
    “Yeah,” Sheena confessed in strangled tones. “The one that sleeps with her ex in a desperate attempt to rekindle something lost or broken.”
    “Not too broken. I saw the way you guys looked at each other.”
    “After an amazing night of sex – no, it was making love – we connected on every level, Lis, just like before. Only richer, somehow, for having been tested, oh damn it.” Unwanted tears coursed down her cheeks. How could I have been so stupid?
    “What happened?”
    “When I woke up, he was gone.” Sheena snapped her fingers in disgust. “Poof.”
    Lisa inhaled slowly, then exhaled, her skin less green. “He probably had to go get his clothes and stuff from the hotel, to get ready for the wedding.”
    “You know that’s bullshit.”
    “Yeah. I know.” Lisa studied her manicure as if the answer to Jared’s behavior might be in the peach lacquer’s glossy finish. When she looked up, her eyes were as shiny as her polish. “I’m sorry. But you aren’t stupid, Sheena. Jared was the love of your life and you never got to say good-bye. Never had a last kiss, or the chance to hold him close. I don’t blame you one bit for jumping at the opportunity.”
    “I care about him.” Sheena let her tears fall, knowing they served a purpose. “I told myself I didn’t, but I do. I know it’s really over now, though. Maybe I needed to admit my real feelings before I could heal, and stop hiding.”
    “I might have to kill him when I see him.” Lisa’s hand curled into a fist. “To run away again? He doesn’t deserve you, Sheena. Period.”
    “He kept saying I didn’t listen to him. I say, actions speak louder than words. Twice now he’s left me. There is no third time. I’ll be okay.” She pulled into the wedding chapel parking lot, and scrubbed her cheeks dry with the palm of her hand. “I will be okay.”
    “Better than okay.” Lisa leaned across the center console and pulled Sheena into an awkward, much needed, hug.