Page 21 of Best Woman
“Oh my fucking god,” she whines, clutching Kim tight. “It feels so real now that you’re here. My maid of fucking honor!”
Kim pulls back and, for all her bluster in the car and over the past few weeks, she looks genuinely happy to see my soon-to-be sister-in-law. “I can’t believe you’re getting married this weekend. Holy shit.”
Rachel grips Kim’s (extremely toned) arms, staring ferociously into her eyes.
“We have so much to talk about. Every day there’s a new disaster, I just found out from the caterers that there’s a cream cheese shortage and they won’t be able to do the mini bagels with lox during the cocktail hour. Is that not apocalyptic?”
“Florida has shit bagels anyway,” I cut in. “Hi, Rachel.”
Rachel lets out another squeal and pulls me into a hug. “Jules, you’re here!” I was right: she is wearing Daisy by Marc Jacobs. She pulls back to take in my outfit. “Oh my god, is that the dress Hannah G wore to Kristen Stewart’s birthday party?” Wow, she really is a Bananah.
“Hey, guys,” Aiden says, sliding into our little circle and slipping an arm around Rachel’s waist. “I mean, sorry, hey, y’all .
Or should I say hey, folks ?” Rachel, Kim, and I simultaneously roll our eyes, although I’m sure each of us for very different reasons.
I know Aiden is probably earnestly trying to phase gendered language out of his vocabulary, but considering what I’ve told Kim, it’s easy to mistake his comment as rude and dismissive, maybe even aggressive.
She certainly doesn’t give him a warm welcome and presses her shoulder against mine supportively.
It makes me feel excited and icky all at once.
I sweep my gaze around the room as they chitchat, taking in the crowd for tonight’s event, the official wedding kickoff for the under-forty wedding guests and any of Aiden and Rachel’s friends who didn’t secure an invite to the actual reception.
It’s a lot of unfamiliar faces, but I smile at a few extended family members, already anticipating a night of stilted, awkward conversations.
And of course, there’s Ben, looking far too handsome in a tight blue button-down that hugs his shoulders and black slacks that cling to his butt. I love his butt.
He looks up and waves hello, and the satisfaction of his eyes widening as he takes in the way Kim Cameron is pressed against me was honestly worth the price of my plane ticket.
I zone back into the conversation, which has moved on to Aiden and Rachel’s favorite date night activities. “One of those places where you can paint and drink wine just opened up in Delray and it’s like, so incredible to be doing something creative.” Rachel smiles at Aiden. “Right, honey?”
“Yeah, I can’t wait to pass some shitty art down to our kids as heirlooms. They’ll break out some sort of futuristic blacklight technology and see that Vase with Dandelions started as just Boobs .”
“You two are going to look so great walking down the aisle together,” Rachel says, smiling at Kim and me. “Things worked out perfectly.”
“I don’t know about perfect,” Aiden says, a pained look on his face.
“Yeah, it’s too bad about Jenna,” Kim says, her tone firm, maybe even combative.
Aiden doesn’t notice, shooting me a guilty look.
I know it’s because he feels bad for how long it took to figure out how serious Jenna’s hostility toward me was, but from the way Kim’s eyes narrow, she must read something else into it.
With the foundation I’ve given her, it must be so easy to interpret how uncomfortable he is as directed toward me rather than on my behalf.
Kim wraps her arm around my waist, mirroring Aiden and Rachel, and squeezes me in a way that would be delightful in literally any other context.
Aiden looks surprised, but it quickly melts into the face I remember from childhood, the one he’d get before my stuffed animals went missing. Devious little shithead.
“I’m sure Jules is much happier walking down the aisle with you,” he says, grinning.
“Well, I do have not being an asshole going for me,” says Kim.
“No, I just mean, well,” he laughs, “she had such a crush on you in high school.”
My brother loves me, but he loves to torture me even more. And now he’s potentially blowing my cover. I expect Kim to shrink away from me, but instead, she smirks. “I know.”
I snort some champagne out my nose. “Excuse me?”
She laughs, and actually tightens her arm around my waist. “You weren’t very subtle. There was this one time I gave you a ride home from school, I don’t know if you remember, I think it was when we did A Midsummer Night’s Dream .” She’d played Titania, of course.
“ Into the Woods, ” I say without thinking. Her smile gets even bigger.
“So you do remember.”
“Maybe.”
“This is incredible,” Aiden says.
“You’re so annoying,” I say, hoping to shift the attention away from my adolescent yearning. “Rachel, are you sure you want to marry him? He’s such a douche.”
“But he’s my douche.” She smiles widely as the rest of us laugh.
The happy couple must return to their duties and mingle with the rest of their guests.
Kim keeps a hand on my waist as we move through the crush of bodies to get to the bar—there’s no way I’m making it through this night with champagne alone—and the heat of her hand through my dress feels so good.
I just have to make sure not to burn myself on it.