Marx Girl

Dear God, help me.

The walk up to the church is painful for two reasons. One: these fucking shoes that Satan designed are decapitating my toes. Two: the feel of my impending heart attack when Ben meets Eric.

I have no idea what he’s going to do, but knowing Ben and his inability to play nice I have every right to feel nervous.

I remember back to when Ben and I were sneaking around when we were seeing each other. Carson made a move on me one night when we were out at a party, and Ben grabbed him by the throat so hard that Carson nearly passed out.

Calling him the jealous type is an understatement. My nerves boil under the surface.

The thing is, Eric is just as bad.

They are both strong, dominant personalities, and who knows what’s going to happen…

Maybe Ben won’t even come today. I did give it to him last night, so hopefully he got the message.

As we turn the corner I see Joshua, Cameron, and Ben standing out the front of the church, hands in their pockets and deep in conversation. Joshua and Cameron are groomsmen, each wearing black dinner suits, while Ben is dressed in a charcoal suit.

My heart somersaults in my chest at the sight of him… I mean them.

Cut it out! I feel sick.

Oh, damn it, I should have stuck my damn fingers down my throat to make myself throw up. It would have been a lot easier than dealing with this shit.

Eric squeezes my hand and I squeeze it back. “There’s Joshua and Cameron.” I smile awkwardly.

Eric looks up at the boys. “Where’s your sister?”

I look around for Natasha. Where is she? “I can’t see her.”

Shit, we have to walk right past them. Joshua is the first to spot us, and he smiles broadly then winks at Ben. Bastard.

“Hey, Didge.” He smiles as he kisses me on the cheek.

“Hello.” I smile. “This is Eric, and this is my brother in-law, Joshua.”

Joshua smiles. “Hello.” He nods politely as he shakes Eric’s hand.

“And this is Cameron.” I hold my breath. I swear I may pass out any moment.

“Hello.” Cameron smiles broadly and shakes his hand. I know for sure Cameron will be nice to Eric, because he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” Eric smiles in return.

“And… this is Ben,” I push out.

Ben glares at Eric and holds out his hand. A frown crosses Eric’s face, but he forces himself to smile and shakes Bens hand. “Hey,” he says.

Ben nods in acknowledgement without saying a word.

Oh, dear Lord. There’s no need to act sick now, because I feel sick for real.

I need a distraction. “W-where’s Tash?” I sputter as I look around, pretending not to notice Ben’s arrogance.

Joshua smiles cheekily, standing there with his hands in his pockets. The bastard is loving this. “She’s around,” he replies calmly.

She’s around? He knows where she is every minute of every damn day. Don’t give me she’s around.

“Where, exactly?” I snap. Don’t mess with me today, Joshua, or I will end you.

I grab Eric’s hand. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s go. See you later, boys.” I drag Eric through the crowd.

“Who’s that fucking dickhead?” Eric whispers

My face falls. “Who?”

“Ben.”

The blood drains from my face. “Oh.” I look around for Natasha. “Just a dickhead.”

“No shit.”

This is bad. This is really bad.

Tash and Mum come into view at the entrance of the church, and I find myself smiling broadly. I can’t wait for Tash to meet Eric.

Her face lights up with excitement, and she walks over to us to kiss me on the cheek.

“You look gorgeous.” She beams as she looks me up and down.

“This is Eric.” I smile proudly in return.

Tash smiles and leans forward to kisses him on the cheek. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Eric.”

He chuckles and looks between us. “And you. The resemblance is uncanny.”

Tash and I smile at each other because we get told that a lot. Tash is naturally darker than me, but we do look alike.

Joshua and Cameron walk up behind Tash, and Joshua kisses Tash’s cheek. “See you soon, Presh.”

“Knock ‘em dead, boys.” She smiles.

They then walk through and take their place at the end of the aisle next to Scott and the groom, Wilson. Their brothers.

Eric sees Mum through the crowd and walks over to speak to her. He kisses her on the cheek, and they laugh as he gives her a compliment.

Tash grabs my hand. “Oh, my God, he’s gorgeous, Didge,” she whispers.

“I know.” I smile as I watch him with Mum.

I feel two arms snake around my hips from behind and I flinch, startled.

“Hey.” Adrian frowns. “Why are you so jumpy?”

I shake my head, embarrassed. “I thought you were Ben.”

He and Tash frown. “What happened last night?” Tash whispers. “I’ve been dying to ring you all day, but I haven’t had a moment to myself.”