Jenna Jacobs, better known as JJ, is making her way over to us. Her naturally curly red hair is half pinned up, the rest cascading down her back and stopping in the middle of herspine. She wears a golden, floor-length gown with a deep V in the front similar to mine, a slit on both sides of the front where her long, toned legs shine through.
“JJ, I’m so happy you could make it,” Kirstin says as she walks over and pulls her into a brief hug. When they pull apart, she taps her shoulders twice before backing away. “I cannot wait to introduce you to your match. Marlowe, do you mind seeing if he’s arrived?”
I nod, sending a warm smile to JJ as I walk past them and head toward the center of the room where all the tables are located. About half of our matches are here now, a few already sitting at their table and introducing themselves. It makes me pause, taking in all the laughter and happiness that is flowing throughout the room. I glance over to my left, noticing that Travis is staring at me with an unreadable expression.
I begin to make my way over to him when I see movement in my peripheral vision. Scanning my eyes to the right, I see Cole standing at his table with his nameplate in his hand. He glances around the room, looking a little lost, so I hold a finger up in Travis’s direction and wait for him to nod before I make my way over to JJ’s match.
“Happy to see you arrived in a suit,” I tease as I stop beside him, resting a hand on the back of the chair next to his. “I was worried you were going to walk in wearing jeans and a graphic tee.”
“Not sure if I should be offended or not.” He chuckles, turning his body towards mine. He adjusts his suit coat before looking down at me, and I notice a few pieces of his short blonde hair are sticking out of place. “Just because I never have to dress up doesn’t mean I don’t know how to.”
I raise my hands briefly in surrender as laughter echoes out between us. “I’m sure your match is going to be thrilled to see you chose a gold tie. It matches her dress.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, he scans the room in search of a woman in a golden dress. I turn around, seeing that she is still talking to Kirstin. When I glance back at Cole, I catch him staring at her with his mouth hanging slightly open. I rest a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his trance.
“You know,” I say slowly, my hand still on his shoulder as I move so our bodies are brushing, making sure he can hear me over the growing volume in the room. Both of our eyes are on JJ as she laughs at something Kirstin said. “If you go over there and talk to her, she’ll love that. It’s more attractive if you make the first move rather than waiting for her to come and sit down.”
Cole nods, hesitating for a moment before he grips both sides of his suit jacket, giving it a slight tug before walking towards JJ and my boss. Once he is closer to them than me, I turn around and notice Travis staring at me with narrowed eyes, his grip on the back of his chair turning his knuckles white. A nervous lump forms in my throat, wondering what has made him so upset.
What the hell am I walking into now?
“Not bored yet, are you?” I ask once I’m within earshot. Travis doesn’t respond, instead loosening his grip and taking a very noticeable calming breathing. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He shakes his head and closes the gap between us, resting his hands on my hips. My hands instinctively land on his biceps so they don’t end up pinned between us. “Is Kirstin satisfied with how everything turned out?”
I nod, glancing back over my right shoulder to see her now standing at one table where four people, two pairings, sit. Turning back to look up at Travis, I tell him, “So far. Everything is set up the way we had envisioned. Now we just have to wait and see if everything flows smoothly. This is one of our fancier events, which means there’s more that is likely to go wrong.”
“You can’t always expect the worst, Mar.” He places a gentle kiss on my forehead. “Sometimes things do actually work out, you know.”
“I’ve learned it’s better to be prepared for the bad things to happen,” I respond honestly, avoiding eye contact. “Less chance of being disappointed.”
Travis doesn’t reply. Instead, he leans down and captures my lips in his, and I hesitate in surprise. It’s a slow kiss, one I’m positive he’s doing for show. He isn’t the type who likes it when other men visibly look at me, and he likes it even less when they speak to me. Travis has always been possessive like this. I used to find it sweet when we first started dating, but the older I got, the more I realized how much of a red flag it actually is.
“Come on,” I say once I pull away, grabbing one of his hands and lacing my fingers through his to staunch some of his anger. “Let’s go mingle before dinner is served.”
The next two hours seem to go by in a blur. I introduced Travis to a few people, talked with a decent amount of our pairings, and was thrilled to hear all good things. Kirstin gave her introductory speech before dinner was served, and everyone seemed to inhale the steak, chicken, and salmon. Once the plates were taken away, it was my turn to give my speech, and once I was done, the music started.
I dance with Travis, JJ, and Cole for a while, letting the music take over as I move my body in sync with the music. Travis rests his hands on my hips from behind me, resting his head in the crook of my neck as we sway together. JJ is smiling at me as she moves against Cole, a grin on his face as well.
The song switches from an upbeat one to a slow one. I turn around and loop my arms around Travis’s neck as his hands stay planted firmly on my hips. We move together, all the other couples around us doing the same. It’s one of my favorite songs: You Are The Reason by Calum Scott and Leona Lewis. It hadcome on the radio one night when Travis had actually been home sober, and we danced to it in the kitchen.
It has been one of my favorite songs ever since, despite everything.
“Do you remember the first time you heard this song?” I glance up to see Travis staring down at me.
I can’t stop the soft chuckle that escapes me. “I was just thinking about that, actually. It was one of our good nights.”
“I’m sorry, Marlowe.” His grip on me tightens as a quiver enters his voice. “I wish I had given you so many more good days than I have. There should never have been bad days, and that is on me. But I am ready to do the work to get us back on track, to make you and Claire happy.”
“I know,” I say gently, cupping his face between my hands. “I just really hope you still feel that way in a few days.”
Travis frowns. “Look, I know I haven’t always followed through in the past, but this time is different.”
“Travis, I cannot get my hopes up, and I sure as hell cannot get our little girl’s hopes up, either. I have the utmost faith in you. I always have, despite everything. But history of past behavior is the best sign of future behavior. I can cheer you on, be by your side, help you in any way that I can. I just can’t put all my hopes on this working because it never has.”
“I understand, truly,” he tells me with a stern confidence. “And the last thing I want is to hurt Claire more than I already have. But I want to prove to you how serious I am this time. I want to show you I will, without a doubt, make it back to the both of you clean and sober.”
Travis suddenly takes a step back and reaches into his pocket, pulling out a little black box. My eyes widen as I watch in horror, my face going flush as my hands shake. Just as he starts to drop to one knee, I launch forward and catch his elbow, stopping him from doing so before anyone around us notices.
