I am walking back towards the bar again on shaky legs as the adrenaline zings through my body, when Caleb catches my eye from a tall bar stool situated near the dance floor, he nods his head at me but I point to the bar. He holds up a beer, silently asking me to get him one.
Thankfully, they have started delivering hors d'oeuvres and I catch Caleb's attention as the waiter gets nearer to him. I watch after grabbing our drinks, walking towards him as he smiles then speaks with the waiter while collecting a few nibbles for us to share. Caleb reshuffles the seating so that we are sitting next to each other. Nearly on each other’s lap.
"This fucking night," I say quietly, as I pass over his drink to him. He places it on the table and wraps his arm around me, kissing me lightly on the head.
"You are doing great. Told you Drew is still pissed," he speaks while grabbing a couple of nibbles off of his plate. The sushi looks tempting, so delicate, perfect. "Personally, I'm surprised you were gracious enough to show up. These assholes don't deserve you after what they did," he spat out venomously.
"Caleb, sssh. Seriously, I am so over it. They happened, what, six years ago now?" I turn to look at him.
"Fucking hate cheating. I mean you want to do it, go right ahead. Just don’t drag everyone else into it," he says before putting his arm around my shoulder again, pulling me in for another hug. "Chicken shits they were. He broke your fucking heart Ginny, even now he toys with you. You know what I am talking about," he growls.
"Did you know Hunter is here?" I hiss at him getting quickly to the issue, politely through a smile, of course. I eye off the little canapes before selecting one off of our share plate.
"I can't believe you didn't even contemplate him being here. I wasn't going to bring it up. You were already walking into the viper's nest. We had enough shit to deal with. Besides, who really would have guessed he would be here. He loathes this crowd and these prats almost as much as we do," he leans into my ear, so no one will hear our gossiping.
“We shared a drink on the balcony,” I say quietly.
“Thought you looked flushed,” is all he replies before laughing evilly into his beer glass.
We sit there together, his arm slung over my shoulders, as we enjoy each other's company, and their expensive selection of alcohol.
"God, I hope she doesn't ask me to be her bridesmaid," I smirk into my glass, a little while later. The strung up fairy lights provide a pretty backdrop now, they sparkle and glitter around the whole room.
"Oh Ginny, she fucking will. You watch," he laughs and we tink our glasses together in cheers again.
Caleb and I spend the rest of the evening on our perch, watching the engagement party around us. The noise picks up, and the string quartet get lost in the sea of drunken giggles and rowdy discussions.
"We should go soon, before the speeches. In case she does decide to ask me. I am starving anyway. We could drop in for a quick bite of Italian before we go home," I say as we watch the evening progress.
"Hmm, sounds good," he responds a little distracted. I look to see what has caught his attention and unsurprisingly, it is his brother.
"Go talk to him, don't let me stop you guys," I lean in so that I can whisper into his ear. My hand running over his shoulder encouragingly.
"Yeah, no, sweetie. Idiot can suffer my wrath for a bit longer. It was a shitty move. Come on Gin, this night is all sorts of fucked up, we have done our duty. These people suck, their faux politeness makes me sick. I want pasta, wine and then bed," he leans his head close into mine before sitting up finishing his drinking then walking behind me, ending up in front of my stool to help me down. We have sat for a bit and enjoyed a few drinks. He pulls me in for a hug as I stand, kissing my head before leading the way to the door, holding my hand the whole way.
We make a quick detour to the happy couple, correct etiquette inbred into both of us unfortunately.
"You're going already?" Hartley gushes at us, her face alight with her happiness and the lingering effects of a few glasses of champagne.
"We've been here for hours Hartley, you are just busy hosting. Congratulations again," Caleb replies dryly, dropping his hand to my lower back, steering me away.
I lean into Hartley, "Congratulations again," I offer along with a quick kiss and a hug. I turn to Dom and offer him a congratulations handshake, which he returns.
"Thank you both for coming," he offers as he steps a little closer, like he is going to kiss me. But I take a pretend stumble back, out of his reach and Caleb takes the opportunity to extend his hand instead.
"Ginny, I was going to ask...." Hartley interrupts, but Caleb just turns us, a little rudely, and I stop him with a hand.
"Sorry Hartley?" I say over my shoulder, my eyes on her only. I try to not look at Dom anymore than I need to, probably a juvenile coping mechanism, definitely petty, but I really don't give a shit. I need to look after me these days.
"No, look, I'll give you a call in the next couple of days," she responds, looking little relieved at the same time, but we are all interrupted by Dom's parents, who usher the happy couple away whilst throwing a damning sneer my way. Hartley leaves with a small backward gaze and an apologetic grin on her pretty face. Maybe to get ready for speeches. Either way, Caleb and I take our leave and all but sprint out of there.
We are getting closer to our escape, when a shiver passes over me. All the hair on my head stands up and little goose bumps dot down my arms. I slow our pace and turn my head almost in the opposite direction. Of course it is Hunter I feel. I am pretty sure I could always find him in a crowd. Unsurprisingly, his eyes are glued on the hold that Caleb has on me, before his eyes find mine, holding them for the longest of seconds before he tips his drink at me, a small smirk gracing his lips.
I return his attention, offering a cheeky wink before turning back to Caleb and walking out.
