Page 1 of F Buddy

Chapter 1

Scarlett

“Come on, Scarlett, this is the last wedding of the year!” Zach said as he swung me in his arms, his blue eyes gleaming at me under sparkling lights.

I giggled like a school girl, squirming a little. “Stop, Zach, you’re making me dizzy! Besides, I paid a lot for this hairstyle and you’re going to mess it all up!”

He laughed and swung me around more, and I couldn’t help but laugh along. Zach always seemed to be upbeat, no matter the situation. Of course, everyone is supposed to be upbeat at weddings, but I knew if I weren't with Zach, I wouldn’t be this happy. He was the joker in our small circle of friends from college.

“You need to let that dark hair of yours down a little more often, anyway, Scarlett. It’s too lovely to have piled on your head like that.” He waved at my hair and I tried a bit of deflection.

“I still can't believe this is happening,” I murmured when he let me down, looking at the festivities going on around us.

“I’m more surprised they took this long. They’ve been engaged for ages.”

I looked up at Zach with brown eyes full of badly hidden sorrow because watching everyone else felt a little bit painful. No, I didn’t begrudge the bride and groom their day. I was happy for them, but... I was not entirely happy about being at another wedding.

“Does anything faze you?” I asked, curious about how we were the only two in the group that hadn’t even gotten engaged, let alone married. I brushed a lock of blond hair out of his eyes as we stood there.

With any other man, a man as handsome as Zach, I’d feel awkward. At 25 we were both young, single, and he was hot as hell. He was also one of my good friends, so the moment was easy, carefree.

He shrugged and let me fix his hair. “I don’t see why this has to.”

I sighed. Of course, it wouldn’t. I was probably the only one even a little bothered.

I smiled as he pulled me into another spin, but even without seeing it, I knew it was less happy than before. I tightened my arms around his neck.

Fuck, this was getting way too depressing for a wedding.

The song we were dancing to ended and I pulled away. But Zach tightened his arms around me and grinned.

“How about another dance?”

He didn’t even wait for an answer, but spun me into the next song. I went with it and resolved to forget my problems.

If he weren't one of my closest friends, then I would end the night with him for comfort. The four Musketeers; me, Sasha, Donny, and Zach were coming to a dramatic end. Just two of us were left out of our little group; even our other friends had all married or settled down.

I should be happy for them. I glanced at them out of the corner of my eye as we spun on the dance floor, and a small smile crossed my lips. I could honestly say I was happy for my friends.

“God, I’ve been a bridesmaid how many times this year? This must be the fifth time, and we’re only in March. I’m happy for them, I am. But I just want to get out of here.” I looked up and noticed Zach watching me with a troubled expression on his face.

I smiled a little sadly. “What does it matter?” I shrugged. “They wanted me here, so I came. I’ve smiled. Cheered, cried. And now I want to be done.” I shut my eyes and leaned closer into Zach, burying my face into his shoulder. “It would be so much better for everyone if I just left…”

But I didn’t make a move to pull out of Zach’s arms, and I wasn’t sure if I imagined him tightening his arms around my waist to keep me in place.

I’d been drinking just before he came and dragged me into a dance. I might have had too much and would probably have had more if he hadn’t stopped me, and that might have turned into a disaster. He’d dragged me to the white tiles without so much as a by your leave, and suddenly we were dancing. The constant movement had helped me a bit, but it didn’t completely stop my thoughts.

In my mind, I’d rather be anywhere but here. The wedding was nice, but why did I need to stay for the whole reception? It had been hours already, the speeches had come and gone, but no one seemed to be ready to leave, and I couldn’t bring myself to be the first.

Maybe I was feeling down, seeing my old friends finding happiness and settling down when I couldn’t seem to hold anyone down, but the last thing I wanted was to create a scene and ruin what was supposed to be a special day for the couple. So, in a way, I owed Zach.

Besides, he was a good dancer. And I had to admit, dancing with him was the most fun I’d had all day. It helped me to de-stress, from dealing with Sasha when she had a little freak out in the morning, to all the hours I’d had to be on my feet because I was a bridesmaid, to being forced to act all happy when I couldn’t say that I was.

Hell, I had to run away from giving a speech, because I was pretty sure I would have broken down crying on the microphone and everyone would have known how I really felt. It would have been so embarrassing. Not to mention I might have lost a few friends.

Except maybe Zach. He was a good guy like that.

“Don’t worry about them. If you really wanted to be married then you would be by now,” Zach murmured into my ear, his cheek pressed against my temple. “They’re happy, and you will be too when a knight comes and sweeps you off your feet, and you let him date you for more than two minutes.”