WhileLiviexplains the game,Ihand out the cutest papers to each person in the circle for them to mark their answers on.They’veeven got a little honeycomb and the wordsBridetoBeeat the top to match the theme.
Mackenziewas smart to nameLiviand me as co-Maids-of-Honor.Thedetails of things sometimes… go wrong forLivi.Thedetails are whereIshine.Plus, there is no way thatI’mgetting up in front of everyone to run this game, yetLividoesn’t even mind having all eyes on her.I’llgladly take hostess duties any day of the week, andLiviwill gladly take the reins for interactive fun.
“Okay,”Livisays, “Questionnumber one: where didJaceandMackenziefirst meet?WasitA, in an escape room where they accidentally got paired together and couldn’t escape.WasitB, at a restaurant whileMackenziewas on a bad date, andJacepretended to know her.Orwas itC, at a sidewalk sale at an outdoor mall, whenJacetackled the guy who stoleMackenzie’spurse and returned it to her?Writedown your answer.”
ItwasB!Ofall my brothers,Iam closest toJace.Andalthough he does tell me a good amount aboutMackenzie,IdoubtIget as many details asLivigets fromMackenzie.Iam one hundred percent sure thatMackenzieshared the details withLiviall along the way of her andJacemeeting, dating, and falling in love.
Butalso,Ihad tapped into the cameras inside that restaurant and had been on comms withJace, soIwas present for the whole glorious date interruption whereJaceandMackenziecame up with a story together about how they knew each other.Iwas also on comms and cameras during the sidewalk sale with the purse snatching, soIknow that happened the second time they met.
Theescape room, though?Totalfiction, unlessJaceis holding out on me.Iwalk over to the refreshments table to check on everything asLiviruns this game.
Peopleshould hire me to come up with the food for any bridal shower they are planning because this spread is next-level.JaceandMackenzieseem to have some kind of inside story related to honey, and since my roommate,Reese, is a beekeeper,Idid everything honey-themed.Ieven gotMackenziea sash to wear that readsBridetoBee.
Everythingis in yellow and white and spread out beautifully, ifIdo say so myself.Thetable holds all of the refreshments and also glass jars of lemon drops, butter mints, and yellow flowers.Mackenziehas taken a picture of every date that she andJacehave gone on, soIprinted out their favorites and have each one stuck in a place card holder and spread throughout.
I’vegot cupcakes that look like they’re each part of a honeycomb, sugar cookies each frosted with two bees and the wordsIfound my honey.I’vegot cute little honey mascarpone cheesecakes, honey hummus with veggies, blackberry and honey tarts, and a fruit board with honey-spiked cream cheese.Oh, and grilled pear, brie, and honey crostinis.
Peopleshouldnothire me to do the actual baking, though, because that never goes well.But,Imean, who hasn’t had a batch of potato chip cookies in the oven when they get an emergency call to support the intelligence operative who’s intercepting a rogue agent inBerlin?Iam an excellent planner, though.Topnotch.I’mgood at searching for the best bakery, picking out the best items, and presenting it all in a way that is beautiful and matches the bride’s personality.
Andbased on the looks on everyone’s faces, it tastes every bit as good as it looks.
WhichIalready know, of course, becauseItaste-tested one of everything beforeIbrought it out here.What?Ihad to make sureIwas serving high-quality refreshments.
“Okay, question two,”Livisays. “WhatdidJaceandMackenziedo on their first date?DidtheyA, have a picnic in the park and then play miniature golf, whereJaceprotectedMackenziefrom a rogue golf ball.B, go to a black tie fundraising event where they both tangoed, orC, attempted to build the world’s largest pizza at a make-your-own pizza restaurant?”
A!Man,Iam killing it.It’stoo badIcan’t play.Okay, even ifIwasn’t hosting this,Iwould have an unfair advantage.Iwas also present (remotely) for the picnic/panic at the golf ball incident and at the black tie event.It’stoo badJacestopped letting me tag along on his dates via comms.Imiss out on so much.
Movementat the side of my townhome catches my eye andIglance over.Myheart kicks up a notch at seeing that it’s my neighbor,Owen.Ourunits share a wall and he’s got another unit on the other side of his, so he has to come around to the space between buildings on my side to get to the garbage bins.He’stossing in a big bag, probably from his kitchen.Theman is just so cute!
Heeither hears or sees our group in the backyard, so he looks in our direction, curious.Oureyes meet, and he smiles.He’sgot such a great smile, andIfind myself smiling back with my whole face.Hegives me a nod before he turns to go back to his house.
It’sbeen a few weeks sinceIhid behind the bricks for that reconnaissance mission.Wedidn’t talk too long that day, butIreally liked getting to know him a teeny bit and seeing what he was working on.Neitherof us has made any kind of move since then.I’vemostly been admiring him from afar.
Anddaydreaming.Lotsof daydreaming.He’sjust got a face that makes me all…Idon’t know.Fluttery.It’sa kind face.Ahappy face.Butalso an intriguing face.Likethere is so much more about him thatIdon’t know.Andso much that maybe he doesn’t share with anyone.Itall makes me unbelievably curious about him.
Andsuddenly,I’mright back behind those pallets of bricks whenZoewas saying thatIcould learn a lot about someone by going through their garbage.
Oh, look.Weare running low on honey mascarpone cheesecakes.Ibetter go back inside and get some more.Ipick up the platter and motion toLivithatI’llbe right back, just as she starts asking the next question.
“WheredidMackenzieandJacehave their first kiss?WasitA, when they bumped into each other whileMackenziewas going on her never-miss-a-day walk andJacewas walking a dog that wasn’t his when they got caught in a downpour.WasitB, in an elevator that got stuck between two floors.Orwas itC, behind the stage at the concert onMainStreetwhile the cover band sangMan!IFeelLikeaWoman?”
Itwas totallyC.Iwasn’t on comms at all for that one, butIdid manage to get a few details about the night fromJace.Iknew that he danced (on stage, even!), andIknewthat they kissed.Ididn’t know that it happened behind the stage or to a song about unleashing your girl power.
AsIreach the end of the grass,Ipick up a stick with the hand not holding the platter and head toward the garbage cans.ThebagIsawOwenbring out is right on top, practically screamingIhold so many answers!It’sone of those translucent bags where you can kind of see things inside but not super well.
Andreally, allIcan see are some banana and orange peels,Chinesefood boxes, used paper towels, and eggshells.Ihold the platter away from the garbage and poke at it with my stick.ThenIkind of tip it up with the stick, trying to see if there’s anything visible from the side that might be more telling than what things he probably has now added to his grocery list.
Ispy some food wrappers, an empty spice bottle, and an old candle almost completely melted down.Ifanything is interesting in there, it’s not on the surface, and the bag is too clouded to see it.Isigh and toss the stick in the garbage with everything else.I’velearned nothing, andIreally need to refill this platter.Ispin toward my apartment, taking a step in that direction asIdo, and crash right intoOwen.Ilet out a squeaking sound as the force of our collision knocks the platter from my hand.
Owendrops what he is holding, twists, and manages to catch the platter without a single little cheesecake falling off.
“We’vegot to stop running into each other like this,” he says, an amused smile on his face.
Iswear, he was completely out of sight whenIstarted looking at his trash!Howdid he even knowIwas here?
Itsuddenly feels very hot.AndIhave a strong urge to hurry back to the party.Orinto my apartment.Whicheveris faster.Insteadof trying to gracefully exit this awkward moment,Imake it more awkward.
“Atleast this time, whatIdropped isn’t spread across the front yard.”Icannot believeIjust reminded him of the incident with the tear in my wet laundry bag and the trail of tush covers and booby trapsIleft strewn for all to see.Inod at the cheesecakes. “Thanksfor saving the day for these.”
