Camden
“Inow pronounce you man and wife. Ryker, you may now kiss your beautiful bride.”
The guests erupt in applause as Ryker cups Madeline’s face and kisses her.
“That was a beautiful ceremony,” Sophie, Xander’s fiancée, says. I’m sitting next to them at this luxury rooftop venue overlooking downtown Denver.
Ryker and Maddy are standing under an arch wrapped in fluffy white flowers, overlooking the Denver evening skyline.
As they walk down the aisle together, hand in hand, I holler and whistle.
Xander grabs Sophie’s hand in his and drops a kiss to her mouth. “Soon we’ll be the ones getting married, gorgeous. I can’t wait.”
Her cheeks flush as she smiles up at him. He kisses her again, this time longer.
I roll my eyes and shake my head. “Get a room,” I tease.
Xander lightly shoves my shoulder while still kissing his fiancée. Cocktail hour kicks off. Wedding guests mill around one side of the massive rooftop while sipping drinks and dining on appetizers. On the other side of the venue is a single long diningtable covered in flowers and candles, where we’re having dinner later.
There’s a photo booth in the corner where a bunch of people are taking photos. The backdrop is a neon white sign with Mr. and Mrs. St. George written in pretty cursive script.
It’s an evening wedding, and the nighttime summer sky is clear with a full moon. I smile and instantly think of Ellie.
When we were kids and lived next door to each other, the windows of our bedrooms faced each other. I’d always catch her staring out of her window on nights when there was a full moon. She said she read in a book that it was good luck to gaze at the full moon for ten seconds.
I snap a photo on my phone and text it to her.
Full moon tonight. Hope it’s bringing you loads of good luck :)
I still can’t believe we ran into each other last weekend after all these years. And what a dork I sounded like when I asked for her number.
Even thinking about it now, I have to fight a cringe. I sounded so uncool. But honestly? I was eager to get her number.
Catching up with her was a blast. It felt like we picked up right where we left off—it felt like that crush I had on her as a kid picked right back up too.
A giddy feeling loops through my chest when I think about how cute she looked in her Rapunzel costume, how much she laughed while hanging out with me and the guys. And how surprisingly cool she was when Ryker found that bra in my kitchen.
It’s weird, but if it had just been the guys seeing that, I wouldn’t have cared. But Ellie seeing it made me feel self-conscious for some reason.
Maybe because she was my childhood crush, and I didn’t want her to think I liked anyone but her.
I shake my head at myself. I’m reading too much into it. Ellie just laughed it off, like it was no big deal, and everything was fine. And then I went back to trying my hardest not to stare at her like a weirdo. I lost count of the number of times I had to tear my gaze from her because I didn’t want to come off like a creep.
I couldn’t help it though. Ellie is stunning. Even with the costume makeup and wig she was wearing, she was beyond beautiful.
I felt like I did when I was eleven and we were hanging out in my treehouse or riding our bikes together. Excited and happy just to be around her.
We’ve been messaging back and forth this past week, almost every day.
I’m at the bar getting another beer when my phone buzzes with a text from Ellie.
Ellie:Would you believe I was staring at the moon the exact second I got your text?
Me:I would absolutely believe that since that’s what you always did as a kid
She texts a laughing emoji.
Me: What are you up to tonight?
