Mine To Kiss (Southern Wedding 0.50)

"Hey!" I hear Jake shout at us, and I try to look away as fast as I can and then look back over at them. I avoid making eye contact with Travis. "Over here." He stands up on the rungs of the stool to wave us over.

"I’m going to go and get a drink," I say when I get close enough to the table to see that the girl is still standing next to him. "Anyone want anything?" I ask, looking around the table at the other three guys, then finally at him. He smiles at me, and his eyes light up, and I give him a tight smile.

"We got a couple of pitchers of beer coming," Frankie says, and I look at Rachel, who makes a face because she hates beer.

"I’ll go get us something to drink," I say, wanting to get away from the table as fast as I can. I don’t even wait for anyone else to answer before turning and walking to the bar. I make my way through the throngs of people until I see a spot open at the bar. I take a deep breath. Are they dating? I ask myself. I mean, it’s not like we discussed anything like that for fear that he was seeing someone, and I didn’t want to hear it.

I wait for the bartender to see me when I feel someone next to me, and when I turn to look, I’m shocked it’s Travis. "Hey." He leans on the bar with one arm and looks at me. "Figured I’d help you carry the drinks," he says, and I look around to see if the girl followed him, but it’s just him.

"Is your friend staying with us?" I want to kick myself for even asking him. "Did she want a drink?" He looks at me, confused. "I’ll order one anyway, just in case."

"Who are you talking about?" he asks, and he really really doesn’t know.

"The bunny?" I say, not even sure she was a bunny. "Or I don’t know what she was."

He smirks, which makes me just a touch pissed off. "Why don’t you order your drink?"

I turn to look at him. "What are you doing here and not there?" I point over at the table where everyone else is and then put my hand on my hip.

"If you don’t know already, I’m not doing it right," he says, and before I even ask him what the hell he’s talking about, someone knocks into me, sending me into him. His one hand wraps around my waist, and my chest is pressed to his, and with him leaning on the bar, we are almost at the same height. My heart hammers in my chest as he looks into my eyes. "You look beautiful tonight," he says softly. "I mean, you look beautiful every day." There must be about fifty people around us. The sound of people laughing fills the room, but it’s almost as if it’s just the two of us. I feel his thumb rub up and down my back. "But today," he says and licks his lips, "it just takes the cake." He leans in, and my mouth goes dry when I think this is it, he’s going to kiss me, but he moves his mouth to my ear. "You make me want to…" His voice makes my whole body shiver when his breath comes out heavy. "Head to the penalty box." And I can’t help but throw my head back and laugh.

six

Travis

"You make me want to…" I say, my lips almost touching her ear, my hand at the base of her back pulling her even closer to me. I wonder if she could say what she really wants me to do. She has been driving me insane for the fucking last two months. It almost feels like I’ve been friend-zoned, but I’m not sure. I’m also afraid to step over the line with her and then ruin this amazing friendship that we’ve begun to have. But when she walked into the bar tonight, and I took one look at her, I was left with my tongue hanging out. I didn’t even listen to what Katey was telling me. All I knew was that I had to go and talk to her, but she avoided me and rushed away.

She is hands down the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, inside and out. But tonight, she was fucking smoking hot, and I knew it was time to make my move. I knew someone else would be waiting if I didn’t, so I rushed after her, not leaving fate to chance. My heart speeds up so fast as I think of words to say to her. "Head to the penalty box." I close my eyes at how cheesy the line is, but I’m also confused on if it makes any fucking sense. She throws her head back, and her laughter fills the room.