“You okay?” Candace shouted over the dull roar of the crowd and music and I nodded.
“Be back shortly.” Turning on my heel, I made a beeline for the back door, certain that I was going pass out right there in the middle of the auditorium. My face hit the cold, fresh breeze as I stepped out, sucking in air like a fish out of water. Breathless, I closed the door behind me, slightly muting the sound inside as the silence became heavier. Louder. A small garden table and two chairs sat on the lawn, and I stumbled over, once again going lightheaded and dizzy before I could sit again. With a groan, I folded my arms on the table and rested my head down in them.
“Macey?” a voice said, and Jayce poked his head out the back door, spotting me a second later. At once the carefree, jubilant smile he’d had only minutes ago was gone, and it was replaced by adamant fear. Before I could stand up to reassure him, he’d rushed across the lawn towards me, concern and worry etching the handsome features of his face.
“I’m okay,” I said, putting my hand on his arm before he could completely lose his shit. “I just needed some air. Too much champagne.”
“Sit,” Jayce said, and so I did, settling back down into the chair in exhausted relief. He took the empty chair across from me, holding one of my hands between his. “Macey, what’s going on?”
“I told you. Too much champagne.”
“You had half a glass,” said Jayce, and the worry in his voice when he said this out loud expanded tenfold. “Have you seen the doctor yet? You promised me you’d get in there.”
“I’ve been trying, Jayce, but life keeps happening.”
“You need to promise me.” Jayce squeezed my hand, almost painfully so, and I detected an urgency I rarely heard from hidden in his tone. “You need to promise me that tomorrow before your shift you’ll go get checked out.”
“I will,” I said, and Jayce shook his head, unbelieving.
“If you think I won’t bound and gag you and throw you over my shoulder to take you in myself, you are sorely mistaken.”
“Don’t be silly,” I said with a grin I hoped would put him at ease. “I’m happy to be bound and gagged by you.”
Jayce opened his mouth to reprimand me, and then closed it again, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. But then just as quickly as it was there, it was gone again, and his eyes were burning right through me.
“I’m not kidding,” he said. “Tomorrow.”
“And if I don’t?” Of course I would, just because it meant so much to him, but I was still curious to hear the answer.
“If you don’t I’ll tell Hansen.”
“Dude.”
“So go, Macey. Do you want me to come with you?”
“You have class in the morning,” I said with a shrug. “It’s okay, it won’t take long.”
“Good.” Jayce stood up and leaned over the table, resting his lips on top of my head, allowing them to linger there a second longer than necessary. “Do you want me to take you home?”
“Yes,” I said, as the fatigue and exhaustion overcame me again. Jayce helped me to my feet and then stopped, reaching into his pocket for a folded envelope.
“I meant to do this earlier but I forgot about it,” he said, handing me the envelope.
“Jayce, what’s this?” I fingered the envelope, almost wary to open it. Every time I thought this guy couldn’t outdo himself, he managed to again.
Then again, what if it was bad news and he just couldn’t tell me himself?
“Just open it,” he said, and so I did, ripping the seal on the envelope to pull out the contents from inside: plane tickets. Not one, but two. To Michigan, for the weekend of the wedding.
“What—”
“Before you say anything, let me just say this,” Jayce said quickly, covering my hands with his. “This doesn’t have to happen. I just wanted you to have the option.”
“For the wedding,” I confirmed, holding up the tickets, and Jayce nodded.
“I got two of them, in case you wanted company. It doesn’t have to be me. It can be Hansen or Kylie or Candace or whoever...but I will say that I would really love to meet your parents.”
It wasn’t funny, but I laughed. I laughed out of anxiousness, mostly, because the thought of putting Jayce through the nightmare of meeting my parents was all too real.
