Beautiful Mistakes

"I'm thinking I should suffocate you with a pillow," he stated.

She cracked a smile, and she was glad that her back was to him so that he couldn't see. "Murderer, too. Why didn't I think of that?"

"You need to recalibrate your good-idea settings," Aaron stated.

"And you need robes of a monk so as not to confuse people," she muttered. "I mean, heaven forbid if you imbibe a little alcohol and flirt! Things could be awkward the next day, because I've never had a drunken guy flirt with me before."

"It's not flirting with you I'm worried about," he told her.

"Well, it's your light flirting that I enjoy once you've tipped the elbow a little bit, and I'm getting totally ripped off," she told him.

He paused, then he said, "You know, I almost argued with you, but it's better if I don't. Just pout, go to sleep, and when you wake up the wedding will be here and it will all be almost over."

And she would get to see Matt and Emma and Shannon all at the same damn location while Aaron stayed as far from her as possible.

Sounded like a fantastic day.

"I can hardly stand the excitement," she muttered, wishing she could join the fray and imbibe alcohol to get through the wedding.

"You'll thank me someday," he told her.

"No, I'm pretty sure I won't," she said. "I've never once said to a man, 'Hey, thank you so much for not flirting and being nice to me when you were drunk last night, that would have made things really awkward.' Because, you see, that's part of the fun of drinking. I have had multiple male friends come on to me while drunk. In fact, I have had multiple male friends try to have sex with me while drunk, and never once has it been awkward the next day. That's the beauty of being drunk—no matter what you do, you don't have to feel stupid, because you can just shrug it off, saying, 'Oh, I was drunk.' I say okay, and we go about our normal lives. I am not the delicate flower that you seem to think I am, Aaron Turner."

"No, delicate flower is probably the wrong terminology," he stated.

Just then, there was a light rap on the door.

Frowning, Julie pulled back the covers. "Who the hell would be knocking on our door this late?" she asked, looking at the clock. It was only 10:32, technically, but with the wedding the next day and the fact that they were staying at a hotel, it didn't seem like anyone should be paying a visit.

"I don't know. Stay there," he said, standing up. "I'll get it."

Julie listened, and she sat at the edge of the bed as Aaron approached the door. He cracked it open just so that he could see the person on the other side but not Julie. She craned her neck to see as he got a bored expression on his face and asked the person what they wanted.

"I just wanted to say I was sorry… about everything, Aaron."

Rolling her eyes, Julie had to fight the urge to go shut the door in Shannon's face.

"All right, good night," Aaron said, stepping back to close the door.

"Would you listen to me? God, I'm trying, and you won't even… I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I just… need you to listen to me."

He said nothing, which she must have taken as acquiescence.

"I made a mistake, Aaron. I did. I screwed up. I was young, I was overly ambitious… I was fucking stupid, okay? I threw away the only thing that ever meant anything to me—you. And I know that you felt the same way, Aaron. Why has it taken you so long to move on?"

"Okay, good night," he said.

"Just talk to me," she pleaded, catching the door when he went to shut it. "Please, just… can we go for a walk? Just listen to what I have to say. I know that I hurt you, Aaron. Trust me, I hurt myself with what I did, too. I've been paying for it for years. And… I'll never love someone as much as I loved you."

He fell silent then, and Julie shifted, itching to go shut the door and push him away from the temptation of listening.

Oh no, he wasn't shutting the door.

"Just… a walk," she said quietly. "What harm can a walk do?"

He hesitated, then said, "I… have been drinking."

"Even better," she said, and Julie could hear a little smile in her voice.