Having Her

Chapter 2

Cole and Sia never had a wedding rehearsal. 

Aliyah was still young and got tired too easily, and in all honesty, they never wanted a proper wedding. They had been living together since college got over, permanently since they found out Sia was pregnant after their engagement, and marriage just kind of sat back. They didn't want this, just a simple court signing to register their wedding, but then decided to go all out last moment. Something about Sia's mum throwing a fuss over her only daughter having a court marriage.

That is how we arranged an entire wedding in one month. It isn't difficult really, especially when your brother (the groom) is a billionaire who has all contacts on his finger tips. 

But yes, I played a pivoting role in setting up their wedding day, looking into as many little details as I could, but the one thing I couldn't do was come for the run-through they had in place of the wedding rehearsal. I did have to shift from Paris to New York while arranging their wedding.

Hence, I didn't remember that Caleb Miller was the best man. And that it was tradition for the maid of honor to dance with the best man.

At least not until after Cole and Sia were done with their first dance and I found myself face to face with Caleb in the middle of the dance floor.

We hadn't spoken a word since I first laid eyes on him, but locking eyes with him now passed the same chill down my spine that it had an hour ago. 

As the music played, he held his right hand up to me, and I did the same, gulping.

Quick information on Caleb: We used to go to the same school. And we learnt this same dance there. So guess that was going to be our dance now since we clearly had no practice. And oh, we used to date. 

Our fingers were supposed to brush, just to look as if they were touching, but not really touch. Except, he leaned his palm on mine, making me press my eyes shut upon feeling his skin on mine. That same electric touch I remembered.

"Your hand is not supposed to touch mine." I mumble, pulling a smile as I look at everyone else, not at him.

"I know." He answered, a similar smile on his lips, but instead of retracing his hand, he holds mine, making my breath hitch.

"What can I say?" He added, "I am quite the rule breaker." 

"Oh trust me, I know." I mimicked his arrogant tone, and before I could add anything else, he spun me. That wasn't a part of the dance. While I regained control of myself, I realised I was already in his arms looking up at him.

And those eyes. Those forest green eyes I had once loved so much. Those same forest green eyes that broke my heart.

One of his hand makes it's way to my waist, and the other entwined with one lose hand of mine. My second hand reflexively makes it's way to his shoulder as I let him lead our dance.

"This is not how it's supposed to go," I whisper, trying so hard to not let the smile falter off my face. This is not how Maid of Honor and Best Man dances are supposed to be, is it?

"I know," he replied again, the smile on his lips only inching further as he looks down at me, spinning me again, only to pull me closer.

Jay. My boyfriend. He was here, and he was watching me dance with his cousin.

"Caleb," I breathe, "What are you doing?"

"Dancing." He answered, "What are you doing?"

Trying to get away from you, I wanted to answer. But I kept my mouth shut until the music slowly faded and he let me go, pulling away from me as so many others- the entire entourage- joined us on the dance floor.

Yet, there was something unexplainable in the way that his eyes still held mine as he bent down to place a kiss on my knuckles that made my heart palpitate faster, the feeling of his lips on my skin making me want to curl away as fast as I could and run back to him both at the same time.

"Dais?" Someone called for me from behind making me pull back my hand as quick as I could as reality set in along with the guilt of letting myself slip away for a small moment. 

And now, that moment had ended, and if there was one thing I was sure about more than anything else in my life, it was that me and Caleb Miller were never sharing such a moment ever again.

*

"That was a pretty good dance." Sia's voice was smug and I rolled my eyes as I turned to her, prepared to see that smirking smile I hated.

And oh, there the smirk was.

"Hey," I fake-glared at her.

She chuckled, her eyes then softening. "Are you okay?"

"Of course," I nonchalantly replied, "What's there to not be okay about?"

"I don't know... maybe the fact that you just came across your ex after years and had to dance with him while have to keep that smile on?"

I glared at her.

"I'm just here to say sorry," She sighed. "You should not have had to dance with Caleb-"

"Shut up." I tell her, "Caleb is Cole's best-friend since they were in third grade and your constant since so many years, even in the ones that I couldn't be there. He deserved to stand there as the best man. You had asked permission for Caleb to be the best man weeks ago, and I'd agreed. I was just... startled, because I had forgotten." I sheepishly accept.

"Of course you had." She chuckled.

I laughed too, "Besides, it's your wedding. It had to go your way."

"I did," She cut me off, "Still couldn't help feel the guilt though."

"Don't." I re-assured her. "It was just a dance. It is not like I am going to cross paths with him every day now."

"Actually, with him living in Queens and you shifting here, I think you might cross paths after all."

"Not helping." I huffed some air from my mouth.

"Sorry," She mumbled.

I shook my head. "At least I wouldn't have to dance with him again?" 

"Of course." She grinned, making my face brighten up to.

"Now go, it's time for your honeymoon." I nudge her, and her cheeks still tint red.

"Please take care of Aliyah?" She tells me for the tenth time today. Sia and Cole both hated this- the idea of going for a honeymoon leaving their daughter here, but we had assured her that we would take care of her. She loved me anyway.

"I will." I promise her, "Now go."

"Come along," she says, "I'm throwing the bouquet."

"Oh no." I shake my head, picking my glass of champagne again, "That is not my cup of tea."

"You even have a boyfriend now." She glared at me.

"Yes, but we are just starting our again and I don't want to freak Jay out by catching the bouquet." I try playing in casual.

"You mean you don't want to freak yourself out by catching the bouquet?" She looks at me crossly and I raise my shoulders in a dismissive shrug, making her sigh.

"I promise I'll do this for... Anna's wedding." I say, "Just excuse me this one time?"

"If it makes you happy..." Sia finally smiles as I hug her.

"Don't worry about Aliyah. Have fun with your husband at your honeymoon, but not too much fun. Okay?" I mumbled in her ear teasingly.

"Okay." She broke away from me with a grin and a smile persisted on my lips too as I watched her disappear ahead and throw the bouquet, but didn't really see who caught it because my mind got deviated mid-way in looking for my boyfriend.

I hadn't seen Jay through most of the ceremony. I did catch a few glimpses of him in the reception and he was always busy talking with Zach and Justin. However, I could see that both of them were back with their partners now.

Jay, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen...

"Searching for me?" I heard a cocky voice next to me and didn't even have to turn my eyes towards him to know who it was. Even if I ignored his warm voice, it was the arrogance in every sentence that he uttered that have it away.

"You, Caleb," I give him a smile of sarcasm, "Are the last person I would be searching for."

"Ouch." He commented dryly and I had to control the urge to roll my eyes as he leaned in on the table next to me just like I was. "So, heard from your brother you're shifting to Queens?"

Damn you Cole.

"I am." I answered, my voice full of disinterest. 

"Did you know there are 15.528% chances that you run into someone you know in Queens?" 

"No I didn't, actually. But well, to think of, I know plenty of people in Queens," I reply, "Mom. Aliyah. Cole and Sia. Zach and Anna are just an hour away too. And then there is Tara and the boys, who come to Queens very often. I don't think I would mind if I run into any of them."

"You know, like me or not, you still know me, right?" I hated that smug smile on his lips. "So that 15.528% chances includes me, like it or not."

"What are the odds." I comment.

"If you know about 15 people in Queens, give or take a few, the chances are still quite high. Say.. 13%." He answered.

I scrunched my nose. It was a rhetorical question that was not supposed to be answered. And still.. big, was I glad I didn't go to college to major in Economics. So content as a model here.

"I'd like to take my chances." I tell him.

He raised his shoulders, pressing the glass of rum to his lips. "You may find me." 

I actually roll my eyes this time about to retort, but relax when I see the face I was first searching for make his way to me.

"May," I repeat, "But for now, I found him."

"Found who?" He sounded genuinely curious.

"Him." I point at Jay walking towards us, not bothering to say bye to Caleb as I walked ahead to my boyfriend, meeting him mid way.

"Hey, I was looking for you." He tells me with a smile as he bent down to place a lingering kiss on my cheek and I didn't pull away.

I hated PDA, especially because being a celebrity there was someone always ready to click pictures of you in your private moments, and so I preferred saving them for indoors. Jay was still wrapping his head around that and often slipped.

I don't know why I didn't move away from Jay like I would have otherwise.

Maybe because I knew that Caleb didn't know I was dating Jay and I wanted him to know that I was. And maybe, just maybe, it was because from the corner of my eyes, I knew Caleb's eyes hardened on us and he clenched his whiskey glass a little tighter, and even though I knew it was morally wrong to think that way, in matters like this, the heart always wins, doesn't it?

*