Aaron tilted his head to the side, looking confused. "Do you seriously want to go?"
Want was a strong word, but despite the way Aaron was blowing it off, she couldn't imagine the weekend was going to be easy for him.
"I… think it could be…kind of fun," she said untruthfully.
It wouldn’t be fun for her at all.
But for Aaron, it had to be much worse, and he was there for her when she had a crisis, so as any good friend would, she wanted to return the favor.
"You're sure? 'Cause once I call my mom and tell her to add on a plate, there's no turning back."
"I've been craving chicken piccata anyway—it was meant to be," she returned.
Seeming to consider very briefly, he finally nodded and said, "Okay. Matt's going to be pissed," he warned.
"Ask me if I care," she said, rolling her eyes.
"And Shannon… isn't going to be pleasant toward you if she speaks to you at all, because since you're 'And Guest' she is going to assume we're a couple and therefore she will hate you for ending what she presumes to be my eternity of pining over her."
"I care even less about that," Julie stated.
"Plus there's Emma—I'm sure she'll be a bitch to you. Honestly, I'm probably going to be the nicest person there."
Laughing at the way he was trying to talk her out of going, Julie said, "You make it sound so wonderful."
"It's going to be horrible," Aaron stated. "I think I prob
ably forgot the wedding on purpose, it was just a subconscious thing."
Shrugging, she said, "If you're up for it, I'm up for it. But as I said, I won't be offended if you don't want me to go."
"All right, you asked for it," Aaron stated. "You'll need a dress or some sort of thing like that to wear."
Julie nodded. "I can pick one up."
"I'll buy it for you," he offered.
"No, you don't have to do that, I’ve got it," she said, shaking her head.
"Yes, I'm buying it. It's my sister's wedding and you shouldn't have to pay to go be tortured. If you could, while you're out, do you think you could pick up a gift for my sister?"
Nodding, Julie said, "Sure. Anything in mind?"
Shrugging, he said, "Whatever people normally buy for weddings."
"I'll see what I can find," she told him. "But you really don't have to buy the dress."
Nodding, he said, "I see, you'll accept gifts from Matt but not from me."
"No!" she said immediately, her eyes widening in alarm. "No, not—Okay, you can buy me the dress," she said immediately.
Aaron grinned. "I thought so."
Julie frowned at his grin. Then, thinking about it for a second, she said, "Hey, did you just trick me?"
"Would I do that?" he asked innocently.
"You did!" she accused. "I can't believe you just tricked me."