shouldn’t have to be chewing asses.” She sits up, sighing heavily. “This is crazy. Why can’t we just elope in some exotic country and get married without all this fancy crap?”
I laugh at the thought. Yes, Dayton would forgo her dream wedding for a small party on a beach somewhere. Sure.
I close her laptop down and stand up. “Okay, babe. Let’s get you a drink. You and I both know you wouldn’t want to have this any other way.”
“I know. I just… It’s three months away and already I’m being bogged down by shit. Why can’t these people just get things right?”
I fill two glasses of wine and put them on the table between us. “Listen to me, Dayton. You will get this fixed. Has Aaron chosen his best man yet?”
Distraction is the best policy. In this case, it’s by wine and a rare instance of Aaron’s incompetence. Here’s hoping she says he has…
“Yes. He had him picked three months ago. He just got his ass in gear and asked him.”
“Who is it? Anyone hot and rich from his company?”
Hey, distraction is the best policy. I could use a good distraction.
I grab her laptop and open her email.
Day snorts. “His cousin. Although, Tyler is hot and rich. And kind of from the company. I mean, he’s a photographer. He’s the guy training me. I don’t know how you two haven’t met yet. Hmm.”
Wait. Did she just say?
Fuck no. This is an awful, awful, coincidence that my best friend’s fiancé happens to have a cousin named Tyler who’s a photographer, right? Seattle is a big place. It’s totally plausible.
Still, I feel my cheeks flush, and Dayton frowns.
“Uh, Liv?”
“Um.” Cue nervous giggle. “Did you say Tyler? A photographer?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Does he happen to be British?”
A beat of silence passes before, “Yes.”
Oh, fucking crap.
“I know him already,” I squeak out.
Dayton tilts her head to the side, looking at me blankly. “Well, I suppose that will make everything easier. Maid of honor and best man thing. You guys have to get along.”
“Oh, we do. I can’t say we’ve talked much, but we get along just fine.”
I see the moment it clicks in her head, and her jaw drops. My mouth flattens into a thin line and an awkward silence lingers as neither of us knows what to say.
That’ll teach me to get a last name next time I fuck someone.
Dayton picks up her glass and drinks half of it in one go. “Well, that’s a surprise.”
I snort. “Yeah? Like the fact that he was the guy who photographed me two days ago?”
“I was supposed to go to that one with him. Oh my god.” She covers her mouth with her hand. “Liv! Did you fuck him after your shoot? Oh my god!”
“Um. I plead the Fifth.”
“Ohhhhh, shit.”
“If it makes a difference, we’d already met.”
She closes her eyes. “You fucked him twice? ”
“I know, right? This week is full of great, little surprises,” I joke, trying to make light of it and avoid her next question.
“And you’re…”
“Well I wasn’t planning on getting his last name, but now I’m assuming it’s Stone, so that throws that plan to shit, eh? And no, I’m not. I’m fine.”
So what if he gave my orgasm back and Mr. Jack Rabbit helped me to it last night with the thought of him?
Maybe not totally fine.
“This is bad, Dayton. So, so bad.” I grab my own wine glass and do as she did, drinking half in one go.
Two male voices laugh outside.
“And it’s about to get worse,” Day gasps.
My eyes widen. Oh, hell fucking no. Hell. Fucking. No.
“Hide me!”
Dayton bites her lip, an apologetic glint in her eye, and my heart thuds when I hear his voice.
“Wine already? Isn’t it early, even for you?”
Dayton says nothing, just stares at me.
“What’s going on?” Aaron asks.
I finish my wine.
“Um, Tyler, I’m assuming you met my best friend, Liv.”
I’m gonna kill her. She couldn’t hide me, could she? There’s nothing good about this. Not at all.
I turn around and give