Last Call (2 page)

“Surprise,” sang Candace, nudging Sara in and holding up two carry out bags from my favorite local Italian restaurant.

“And ice cream,” Sara chimed in, pulling out a tub of Ben and Jerry’s. “Want dessert first?”

I so did, more than either of them knew.

Friday - April 12, 2013

Nine Weeks until “The Wedding”

Get Your Freak On

An hour later, stuffed with ice cream and parmigiana chicken, the three of us were lounging in the living room when Candace finally got up the nerve to ask about the invitation. I’d allowed them to take a peek at it when they first came home, but neither of them had said anything about it until now.

“So, do you
have
to go to the wedding?”

“Hell yes she has to go! What would Mary Anne and the rest of those little debutante brats think if she didn’t?” snarled Sara, her eyes flashing in anger at the mention of the word
debutante.

“You forget - I was one of those debutantes.”

Derisive laughter bubbled up from Sara as she pulled herself up in her chair; sitting on her feet. Yoga really did her body good. “Savannah, you are no more a debutante then I am. I know you did all that stuff back in the day, but it was solely at the urging of your mommy dearest. You’re so not the ‘only wear white after Memorial Day, clutch-my-pearls, and never leave-home-without-makeup’ type anymore.”

“This is true,” I agreed. My girlfriends really were the best medicine ever.

“So, you’re going then?” Candace asked again.

“I have to. Could you imagine my mother’s reaction if I tried to skip out?” I shuddered in faux fear. “Besides, I don’t want Daniel or Mary Anne to think they’ve hurt me. If I don’t go, everyone will assume I’m not done nursing my broken heart.”

“Over that pretty boy? Whatever,” Sara protested.

I refused to jump at her bait. Sara liked her guys rockabilly, and the more James Dean-like they were, the better. I was pretty sure the only reason she ended up in school in Nashville was for the music scene and the rockabilly hunks.

I rolled my eyes at my eccentric roommate and leaned forward to pour the last of the white wine in my glass.

“I forgot to tell y’all that my mother is already trying to wrangle me a date for the happy event.”

“Oh good lord, who?” coughed Candace, clearly as amused with my mother’s antics as I was.

Sara butted in, “You need to find some hot, tattooed bad boy to walk in on your arm, Savannah.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I need, Sara. My poor mother would die of a heart attack.”

“Wait a minute.” Candace popped up, her eyes bright with excitement. “Lord help me, I’m going to say it.” She paused for dramatic effect. “Sara may be on to something.”

“Yes,” Sara squealed with delight. “Hot bad boy to the rescue.”

“Nooo, thank you. I’m not interested in a bad boy toy.”

“Boy toy. Even better, Savannah,” Sara teased; rubbing her hands together evilly.

“Shhh. Would you two be quiet? I’m not talking about a bad boy or a toy. However, we
could
find you an amazing date for the wedding.” Candace smiled my way, adding, “One that will dote on you all weekend, and show those Charleston socialites that you are doing perfectly fine, thank you very much.”

Sara hissed out a very enthusiastic “Yesssss” while exchanging high fives with Candace. Their eagerness to help me was touching, but misplaced. I didn’t need a date for this wedding. I would be fine.

“Put your little black books down, ladies. I’ll be perfectly fine attending the wedding by myself. I couldn’t invite some random guy to a family event anyhow.”

“Like
hell
you can’t,” growled Sara. “Girl, this is the wedding of the couple who humiliated you your senior year of high school. They are the reason you don’t go home for the holidays. You damn well
can
and
will
show up for that wedding with a slamming dress and a gorgeous accessory on your arm.”

“Sara,” chided Candace.

I hadn’t given it much thought in a long time but Sara was right. Mary Anne and Daniel being a couple had kept me away from home for the past two years. During my freshman year of college I’d gone home for all of the holidays, only to find the happy couple showing up at family meals. What would normally be a joyous time to see my family ended up being an uncomfortable mess as Mary Anne draped herself on Daniel’s arm; her eyes smiling triumphantly at me. Daniel, on the other hand, always had the good manners to look guilty when he caught my eye.

My mind flew back to Easter two years ago when he’d cornered me in my own room during Easter supper. I had sat, for the better part of an hour, through Mary Anne’s high pitched voice detailing their exciting spring break trip with his parents. Not being able to stand it any longer, I quietly excused myself from the meal. Tears began to fall the second I sat on the edge of my bed.

I cursed myself for the weakness the tears were revealing. What was wrong with me? I didn’t miss Daniel, not really. That was when a light knock sounded on my door. Without waiting for permission, Daniel stepped into the room and closed the door softly behind him. His clean white polo stretched tautly across his thick chest, and his normally floppy blond curls were meticulously combed to the side. He was the epitome of a J. Crew model, with his seersucker pinstripe pants and his Sperrys. Country club 101.

“Savannah.” He stopped short of my bed when he saw the tears on my face.

“What are you doing in here, Daniel? Go back to Mary Anne,” I snapped.

Shoot. That sounded like a jealous ex, didn’t it? I didn’t want him to think I was jealous, yet I couldn’t help being angry.

“I’m sorry I’ve hurt you, Savannah. I could tell you were upset, and I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Thanks for the long overdue apology, Daniel. You did hurt me - over a year ago - but I’m fine now. I have a headache, that’s all.”

His amused smile caught me off guard before he spoke. “Sweetie, I know it was hard for you when I broke things off. It wasn’t an easy decision for me either, you know. I honestly thought we should both try to enjoy our lives at the moment. You were a senior, and I’d just started college. We’d just been together for so long. I still love you Savannah, and I want to see you happy.”

He held his hand out to me and to my never-ending horror, I actually took it and stood up; allowing him to embrace me. I couldn’t really say what I was thinking at the time. Perhaps the true pain of his betrayal was finally sinking in, and I wanted closure. I’m not really sure.

The one thing I did know was that I wasn’t ready for the way his arms snaked around my back, rubbing up and down slowly, seductively. His mouth at my temple, he breathed in as he whispered, “You keep getting more and more beautiful, you know that?”

I was putty in his hands as he lightly pressed a kiss to my temple and murmured about how much he missed me. My hands were clutched around his waist, clasping him tightly to my body. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and took in the familiar tangy scent of his cologne. I felt his hand creep lower and lower until it cupped my rear, and yet I still stood there transfixed in his arms.

“Do you miss me?” he begged; his lips pressing soft kisses to my cheek and down my neck; his hand caressing my backside lightly.

I’m not sure if I actually nodded my head, but his words made me believe that I had. “Show me how much you miss me,” he urged, dragging his lips to mine.

I allowed my hand to creep up his chest as our lips met. My body was possessed by another as our lips began to move together, and I allowed Daniel to own my mouth as if he’d never stopped kissing me all those months ago.

Heat began to run through my veins as his fingers teased my lower back at the waist of my skirt. His warm hand delved into the back of my skirt, his fingers once again cupping my rear, now without the clothing barrier. A small moan escaped my lips as he slowly moved his hand to the back of my thigh, lifting my leg to wrap around his. His fingers were digging into my skin, his lips crushing mine as he put a slight amount of pressure on me and we fell to the bed.

Almost instantly his body went between my legs and I wrapped my thighs around him. Using the hand that was still trapped under my skirt, he began to tug at the lacy panties I was wearing; his fingers twisting under the fabric at my hips.

Something penetrated my senses enough to make me push at Daniel as his fingers began to explore my inner thigh. Perhaps it was the hard proof of his desire pressing against me, or maybe it was Mary Anne’s shrill voice calling his name from downstairs. Whatever it was I pushed him away, my head swimming in confusion.

“Daniel?” called Mary Anne again. Now her voice sounded like it was coming from somewhere down the hall.

Our eyes met and Daniel quickly jumped up to straighten his wrinkled clothing. Reaching out his hand, he helped me to a sitting position and pulled my skirt down for me.

“I…”

“Shhh,” he interrupted, placing one last kiss on my lips. “Can you meet me tonight? At our old spot?”

Surely it was the heat pooling in my thighs that caused me to shake my head yes as I stared into his bright blue eyes.

A sharp knock came at the door and Mary Anne called out, “Savannah? Daniel?”

Daniel stepped towards the door, holding his finger to his lips. After a moment he pulled the door open, revealing my obviously irritated cousin. She looked between me on my bed and Daniel standing before her, her cheeks turning an angry shade of red.

“What’s going on here?” she snapped.

Daniel switched on the charm like flipping on a light switch. He turned to Mary Anne and took her hand in his, kissing it sweetly.

“Nothing,” he lied like an oily used car salesman. “I could tell Savannah looked unwell when she left the table, and I wanted to see if she was alright. All of your stories about our trip upset her and I felt bad. We really shouldn’t rub our relationship in her face, Mary Anne.”

Bile rose in my throat as I listened to his buttery explanation. Mary Anne, as clueless as ever, looked at me in sympathy and placed her arm on Daniel’s.

“Oh Savannah, I really thought you’d be glad for me by now. I’m truly sorry that you can’t find someone like Daniel to make you happy.” She turned to Daniel, pouting, “You know, I really don’t see why I shouldn’t be able to share my joy with my own family. It’s not my fault she continues to harbor feelings for you. That was puppy love, Danny. She should be over it by now.”

Every last nerve in my body urged me to get up and slap my cousin across her bitchy face, but twenty years of good breeding held me back. I watched as Daniel whispered something into her ear, placating her enough to leave the room without a backward glance. He stood at the door for a moment, his eyes taking me in from the top of my head to the tips of my toes before he spoke quickly.

“Meet me at eleven at our spot. We have so much to talk about.”

With that, he pulled the door closed with a sharp click
.

I shook myself out of my memories until I was back in the present. “You two are right,” I spoke, my voice unnaturally loud.

“Tattooed boy toy?”

“No,” I grumbled, throwing a pillow at Sara. “You’re a pain. But I do need a date for the wedding. A
good
one.”

“Well it shouldn’t be
too
hard to find you a perfect date. You’re smart, sweet, sexy and stacked,” Sara teased; holding her hands to her chest like I was Dolly Parton.

“Good lord, Sara. How much did you drink tonight?” barked Candace, rolling on the floor in a fit of laughter.

“Not enough.”

“Okay, so I need a date, girls. Problem is, I haven’t dated. Ever.”

“We know,” chimed in my best friends.

It’s not like I didn’t
want
to date, but after nursing my heart through the drama that was Daniel and Mary Anne, and then weathering the aftermath of Spencer Alexander, I couldn’t stand the thought of opening up to another guy. I’d left home for school to get away from all of the people I’d grown up with and to make new friends. However, once I got here I just ended up immersing myself in my classes and school clubs, and never made time to actually go out. Sara called me a homebody. Candace called me picky. I called myself scared.

“So what about Riley?” asked Candace. Her mind always went to Riley when we needed a guy around.

Riley was a local DJ who worked at the one and only bar the girls could get me to go to. Nashville’s music scene was full of bars packed to the brim with musicians, freaks and tourists, but we tended to frequent a place close to campus called The Garage.

The one reason I bothered to go to The Garage at all was because it was more of a place for locals. They had amazing live music and a laid back atmosphere. Riley was a plus. Amazingly enough, he was also a bioscience major who liked to DJ. Go figure. He was smart, sweet and funny, and not at all interested in getting in my pants. Another plus.

“No way - not Riley,” Sara disagreed, shooting that plan down. “We need to impress the Guthry family, and a surefire way of doing that is with a prep. As much as I hate to say it, we’re going to have to go old school for her.”