Marriage of Unconvenience

“You just look really great, that’s all. And I’m really excited to be your wife, Loren.” Everything stopped. I froze and couldn’t stop looking at her.

She looked incredible. Honestly, I couldn’t look at her or I’d get completely and totally distracted and want to spend the rest of the day staring at her instead of marrying her. I also knew that once we added the dress and the bouquet, I was definitely not going to be able to focus on anything else. She took up all the space in my head, and she was doing it now.

“You look amazing. And I can’t wait to be your wife,” I said in a voice that didn’t sound like mine. Cara held her arms out and I walked into them. She held me tight, like she was worried I was going somewhere.

I held her back, and not just because she wasn’t letting go. I didn’t want to let go either. I could smell her hairspray and light perfume and just the tiniest bit of sweat. I knew I wasn’t smelling all that great right now. The stress sweat was real.

I ran one of my hands up and down her back, hoping I could soothe any kind of anxiety she might have. I used to do that when we were kids. Cara would get so stressed about school projects and I would always rub her back to make her feel better. I didn’t know if that would still work now, but I was going to try.

“It’s going to be amazing,” I said, speaking about the wedding, but I was also talking about moving in together and our life going forward. Cara was going to get everything she wanted, and I was going to see to that. I was going to be there for every step, making sure she knew she could do it, and that she deserved it. My mom’s words came back to me. That we both deserved to be happy. Making Cara happy made me happy, bottom line. Honestly, even if I wasn’t getting any money out of this deal, I would have done it for her. Always for her.

Cara let out a little sigh and finally ended the hug, but didn’t pull away. Our faces were so close I could count every one of her eyelashes. They were so long she didn’t even need extensions or falsies. I’d been jealous of them for years.

My face went hot and cold and there was a squeezing sensation in my chest that I’d never had before. Cara leaned forward just a little.

Was... was she going to kiss me?

No. Impossible. Cara was my best friend. She was also completely and totally straight. I knew her and I knew that was true. There was no question about that. I blinked and then my phone went off, scaring the shit out of both of us. I tore my eyes away from her face and looked down at my phone.

“My parents are wondering where we are.” We were totally off schedule, but I didn’t care anymore.

“Oh,” she said, her voice a little dreamy. “Then we should probably go.” I realized I needed to step away from her so she could get off the counter and leave the bathroom. I did, moving mechanically through the apartment to make sure that I wasn’t forgetting anything. Not that my brain was even working. It was all muddled and fuzzy and confused.

Cara grabbed my makeup bag and a few things from her bag and we rushed downstairs to the car that had been waiting for us. I gave the driver the address of the courthouse and sat back, not looking at Cara.

“You okay?” she asked. I nodded and gave her a smile.

“Yeah, I’m just thinking about stuff. Wedding stuff.” That was a good enough excuse and it wasn’t that far from the truth.

“It’s going to be fine. It’ll be over in a few hours and then we get to go to your parent’s place and have a great time.”

This time she reached for my hand, but she didn’t let go. Not until we got to the courthouse and got out of the car with all our shit. We found my parents in the lobby, both dressed as if they were going to a real wedding. My dad even had flowers pinned to his jacket and my mom had a corsage with pink flowers on it that almost matched our bouquets.

“Mom, I told you not to do this,” I said through gritted teeth. Ansel came around the corner in his classiest pinstriped pants, black jacket, blue shirt and a light pink skinny tie.

“All of you were supposed to wear regular clothes,” I said, but no one was listening to me.

“You knew we weren’t going to do that, right?” Ansel said and then he looked over his shoulder and motioned to someone down the hall. “So, I know this was all secret and shit, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.” He turned back to me and gave me his adorable sheepish smile that he could use to get out of (or get into) any situation he wanted. Many a lady had been seduced by that smile.