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And that was… it.

I moved on, ignored his texts and calls, telling him my coursework was a lot and needed to focus on my studies. Until I got his wedding invitation.

But I was happy for him.

The party was moved from the wedding ceremony hall to the garden courtyard adorned with floral arches for the reception. It had beautiful arrangements, draped fabrics and ornate centerpieces. Seemed like his mom and dad had splurged a lot for the wedding.

Guests dressed in suits and cocktail dresses laughed, mingling with each other while I stayed in the corner sipping a glass of whiskey on the rocks. I knew it was only two in the afternoon, but I needed it after seeing so much lovey-dovey stuff in one day.

I decided to ditch the entire wedding, but my thoughts vanished when I saw Anna and her small smile as she laughed with the guests. My hand clenched into a fist when a guy her age touched her back, eyeing her lips. I wasn’t surprised she was getting so much attention. It was as if there was a halo of light behind her at how she glowed. Her dark hair was pinned in a perfect bun, which my fingers itched to remove and tug at while I kissed her.

Later. I rubbed my bottom lip and took a deep breath. I will have her later for dessert. I found a few people I recognized and joined them, hugging the guys I knew from college and nodding at a couple of the girls.

“You look different now, Caleb,” one girl commented, her tone sincere.

“I didn’t have as many tattoos or piercings before,” I said, asking her about her internship.

Soon, we were laughing, reminiscing about the college and drunk parties.

“Do you guys remember when Caleb was caught in four-k by the history professor in his class?” One guy asked, swinging his arm around me.

I smirked when others laughed.

“How could we forget? He was having an orgy in a classroom.”

“You are exaggerating.” I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t an orgy. Just a threesome.” And we didn’t even have sex. We were just making out, but the guy and girl had blown the rumor out of proportion, and I didn’t care that everyone thought I had sex with them.

The girls raised their brows. “I’m free tonight if you’re looking for company, Caleb.”

“Aw, damn, Chelsea! You said you’re not free tonight,” the guy standing beside her whined and she rolled her eyes at him.

“I’m only available for Caleb… what do you say, handsome?” Chelsea asked, eyeing me from head to bottom.

13

DANCE WITH ME

CALEB

Thankfully, I was saved from answering Chelsea when we were asked to sit down for the dinner. I didn’t want to disappoint her and say I’d be busy railing Anna all night and morning.

But once again, I was unfortunate enough to sit beside Kyle, his grandma, and a kid.

“Hi!” the kid said, her hazel eyes wide as she stared at my piercings. “Why do you have metals poking your skin?”

God, kids scare me.

“Why do you have sparkles on your eyes?” I asked in a soft voice, pointing out her glittery eyeshadow.

She frowned, looked at Kyle’s grandma, who was smiling at us and then back at me. “Because I like it, and it makes me look pretty.”

I nodded and pointed at my lip and eyebrow piercing. “I like them, and they make me look pretty, don’t you think?”

“Yes!” she gasped and nodded excitedly. “I will ask Mommy to get me these metals as well!”

I cracked a grin at her. She was adorable. We talked more while eating. Her name was Alice. She was six years old and kept asking me about my nail polish, my tattoos and politely asked me if she could touch my glossy, shiny hair. Her words, not mine. I would have let her since I was getting bored, but Kyle kept shooting death glares at me every time the kid opened her mouth to ask me a question. He tried to get her attention as his grandma, Jem—she was Alice’s babysitter and her neighbor—fed her food while Alice rambled on.

I knew Alice was Anna’s daughter. I had heard the name when she took a call in the washroom, and I shamelessly eavesdropped. She had Anna’s dark, thick hair, but her eyes were lighter than her mom’s.