He led me to a cocktail table in front of the windows. “I’ll be right back.”
I looked down at my short, black dress; the one I’d picked because I knew Jasmine would have demanded that I show off the cleavage she’d always envied. I glanced around at the other women, now wondering if it was too much for this crowd, given they were in formal evening wear that looked more conservative than what I was wearing. Kayden came back to the cocktail table and passed me the wine glass.
“Thanks,” I said. “Okay, be honest with me. As my plus-one, do you think this dress is too much?”
His eyes trailed down the length of my body and he blushed slightly as he seemed to think carefully about his words. “Can you please definetoo much? That feels highly subjective.”
I laughed and took a sip of my wine. “Is there too much boob showing?”
Kayden choked on his drink and glanced at my chest again. “Oh, um, no. Definitely not too much. Just the right amount. I mean, still just my opinion I suppose. But you look very nice.”
His nervous energy at having looked at my boobs when I asked him too was adorable and I wanted to hug him for being so sweet.Guess there are still sweet guys.
“What are you drinking?” I asked, gesturing to his clear, bubbly drink.
“Tonic water with lime,” Kayden said.
“You don’t feel the need to get buzzed to get through a wedding like everyone else?”
He looked down and swallowed. My stomach dropped as I realized I’d made him uncomfortable. He looked back up and tentatively met my eyes. “I absolutely see the appeal, but I’m sober.”
“Oh,” I said, eyes wide. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said, reaching his hand across the table for me. “It happens.”
“I’m sure it does,” I said, looking down at his hand covering mine. I met his eyes again. “I’m still sorry for the shitty joke and it’s not your job to make me feel better about it either.”
His eyes narrowed as he seemed to parse out what I meant.
“Do you want to talk about your sobriety?” I asked. “Absolutely no pressure, of course, but I’m more than willing to listen if you do.”
His head tilted to the side and I could see him weighing his options again. I’d never met anyone who I could see thinking the way I could when I looked at him. It was fascinating. “I don’t generally like to talk about it, but I think I’d like to tell you.”
I smiled, feeling the sincerity in his tone pull at my heartstrings. “Okay.”
“I’ve been sober for three years. I drank in college just like everyone else around me and didn’t think much of it. I was still top of my class, so I figured it was fine if I needed a drink in the middle of the day to get through. It helped me feel less anxious in social situations and drowned out a lot of other fears and concerns. It wasn’t until about a year after college when I was working on my master’s in architecture and barely making it through the workday withoutneedingthat next drink so badly that I’d start sweating by lunch that I realized I had a serious problem.”
I squeezed his hand, and he continued. “My dad’s a horrible, mean alcoholic. Worst of the worst. I looked at myself in the mirror one day, and I saw him looking back at me. I checked myself into a ninety-day rehab facility in Phoenix that night. I’ve been living there and sober ever since.”
“Wow,” I said. “Good for you, Kayden.”
He shrugged. “It’s hard sometimes, but it gets easier every day.”
I took a sip of wine. “Does it bother you if I drink? Because I don’t have to. I’m already flirting with a hot guy at a stranger’s wedding, I can take it from here sober.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “No, it doesn’t bother me. I invited you up here for a drink. Besides”—he crinkled his nose—“wine is the least tempting thing you could ever drink in front of me.”
I laughed heartily, dropping his hand and enjoying the smile that spread across his face as he slowly took another sip of his tonic water.
“So, how often do you pick up women at weddings?” I asked.
“In general? Or specifically women who show up to the wrong wedding?”
I swatted his wrist playfully. “If that’s happened to you before then I have a lot of questions about the kind of women you attract.”
“I don’t pick people up at weddings. I usually sit at the singles table, struggle through a painful amount of small talk, regret that I’m sober for a least a half hour and then go home alone, dreading the days until the next college friend gets married.”
“So, what you’re saying is, I’m doing you a favor tonight?”
