A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) (46 page)

“You have no idea
, come lets mingle” I take his arm and cling to him for various reasons I don’t need Ian going ape-shit-bananas on anyone here and gosh Ian and Tristan are in the same room together I don’t know who is charging me up more the fact that I am on Ian’s arm or the fact that Tristan has me fined tuned to his presents.

I play coy
, I am not going to make a scene I just want the two men to stay at bay, I mean they have never even met before, I am the common thread that binds and it’s wearing quickly.

We walk around and check out the food, Ian was quick to notice the food was provided by
The Theatrical Grill, their calamari is amazing he loves it too, if he only knew who made it.

We walk around and meet a lot of the heavy hitters that are my
elite clients.

Such as the Cleveland Indians financial department representatives, not to mention The Head of the Federal Reserve Bank, and the Owner of the Cavs Dan Gilbert
. He and his son are very good customers they are like two kids in a candy store when it comes to bow-ties, just adorable; we gotta have a winning season soon. 

Ian was impressed at who I know and what I know. For as long as we have known one another Ian and
I really know next to nothing about each-others work or career. Ian teacher’s history, Ethics, and I think he is a member of the art association here in Cleveland as well as he sits on the board of the art council for ‘Art in Urban Areas’, he loves to inspire the youth.

We mingle and make the rounds so we are both scene and photographed for the event.

Ian stays by my side, we mix and mingle and he sees some of his colleagues from CWU, I have a feeling the ladies were quite impressed with the way I dressed Ian, he did not look like the wayward college professor, he looked hot like a model. I even told him not to shave and it gave him this ruggedly handsome look that is very hot on him but I am still not wet for the man, I gotta do something about that.

I see
the girls as we make our way around and they all have this look on their face like
we need to talk and now.
Suddenly music fills the air,
‘
What now my love’
,
the band started and the male singer Gerry sings it proud.

“
Aria dance with me?” Ian takes my hand and kisses it as he leads me to the dance floor, I nod yes and shrug to the girls, the pursing of their lips is not a good sign but what can I do I am my own worst enemy.

“Aria you are amazing”
Ian holds me close, he is a good dancer, he is tall over six feel so I am always in heels next to him just to see his face for goodness sakes.

“Why thank you”
compliments from him are special, that I impress him, I guess I always look for his approval, he is so much smarter than I am and it make me feel inferior to him at times, so when he is impressed it is a rather colorful feather in my cap.

“It’s wonderful
what you have done for yourself” yes in two years look how we have grown both personally and professionally.

“I couldn’t
do any of this without Oliver” that is the truth

“You are too humble, this is all you, I remember in school you taking sewing classes you have a
lways been in pins and needles, you really have turned your passion into a career.”

“Well I can say the same abo
ut you Mr. history professor, you were forever the history buff, dragging me to exhibits and museums and watching independent films, you made me read the newspaper because you said this is history in the making, and look at you now”

“When you put it that w
ay I guess we were meant to be together”

“
Touché”

The song ends and we walk back over to our friends.

“Shall we eat?” Erika suggest as we all get in line. Ian and Christopher walk over to the beer garden that is set up and Christopher yells to Erika

“W
ould you make me a plate babe?”

“Ian can I get you one too?”

“Sure that will be great” he kisses my hand as he sits with Christopher and the rest of the guys who are catching the last of the Indians game.

S
o the guys are set in the beer garden we will feed them and then I got a feeling that the girls are planning my much needed
intervention
...hmm

Oliver comes down and
settles in with the guys at the beer garden they are all chatting away, now I just have to assess the girls glaring at me. We stand in line with the others and the interrogation begins.

First and foremost I love them all
, we have been friends since high school, Ian and Christopher always played basketball together, Erika and Sabrina and I all met in English class we all bonded over
‘The Tale of Two Cities’
then it was ‘
The Scarlett Letter “A”
’ fond memories back when all of us were innocent and naïve, at least that’s what I was up until a few weeks ago. Jeez I don’t know if I can handle them tag teaming me!

“Ok Aria what is going on?” Sabrina
the child psychologist is not forceful, but she sure as hell is stern and quite direct this evening, so I am surprised by her scolding tone, which eludes to the fact that she is worried about me and I am sure she is not too happy with what she walked in on, well I really can’t blame them
coitus interruptus
, is not how one should greet their friends. Shit I am mortified as the look on their faces are now forever burned into my permanent memory file of my brain.

And before I can
even get out one word she has a verbal thought …

“Aria
, holier than thou,
since when have you become the sex pistol? Wow she is more agitated then I imagined going for the act more than the crime.

“Tristan came to see me last Friday at my store
” Erika knows this because of our talk in my closet on Monday, but dear old Dr. Sabrina Shaw is shocked because she had no idea I would ever be involved in something so what is the word… wrong, illicit, deceitful? But I need to tell them the truth I need them to help me out of this because I am a repeat offender and it is getting harder to cover it up, hell I can barely keep myself covered up when I’m around Tristan Bach.

I stand
back and watch as I can tell their wheels turning, I see where they are going and we’re off.

“So Friday was a one night stand what the
hell do you call todays activities?” Shit Erika is cutting to the chase her self-righteous indignation is just what I need to set me on the straight and narrow I love her to death but when she yells hell and holy beast she scares me.

“
Um I don’t know, I got carried away, I gotta work it out!” I utter as I bite my lower lip.

“
Aria by the looks of you two this afternoon you were both getting quite a workout!” ok Erika’s sarcasm is worse than mine…you’ll get use to it.

“Erika your wit never ceases to amaze me” I sip my champagne and look over at Ian and
Christopher, they are sipping their beers just enjoying themselves and Oliver is watching the game.

“Aria don’t y
ou think this is getting out of hand?” Arms crossed and agitated I am the child to be dealt with, they both narrow their eyes and I see their anger, the only anger I have seen in days is Tristan’s and to see theirs well it’s reality.

“
Erika I know, I know, I know!” I am kicking myself inside as I see what an ass I am making of myself, I mean the way I have behaved with no shame with no care and with no remorse I am out of control and this is never me.

I look at their
faces as they are etches with worry and laced with doubt that this can go no place good with Tristan. I get it, they are looking at me to do the right thing, they have been through the Tristan Bach portion of my life far too many times to deal with it again, they have witnessed every tear, every lie every downward spiral all at the hands of the sexy beast, blow by blow it was knock out, drag out torture, makes me wonder how I put up with it myself come to think of it. For them to see me with him is not easy. I can’t blame them, they have cleaned up Tristan’s mess far too many times to recall.

“Aria do you love Ian?”

“Yes of course I love Ian!” I don’t even take a moment to think it over it just comes out like I am programmed to say it on command.

“You gotta a funny way of showing
it Macy!” The judge Erika, assess me well I have no argument, I have no shame, and I have behaved like an adolescent with Tristan, but in my defense

“Look I told him goodbye last night and I ended it”

“So what happen today?” Sabrina asked with arms crossed as if I am the irate child in her office.

“W
hat always happens I felt bad that I yelled at him, so I called him, he showed up and one thing led to another …”

“Aria you have to stop! Do you understand?”

“Yes Sabrina, I will put an end to this, you two are right. I will tell Ian tonight when we get home.”

“Wow wait a minute there
scarlet letter
, what if he calls off the wedding?” Erika is now my advising attorney as she goes for the bottom line.

“Then he calls off the wedding” I shrug
and sip my champagne as we etch closer to the food that Tristan has prepared, gosh can this be any more crazy?

“Wait a minute there missy, you want Ian to dump you so you are free to be with Tristan?” Sabrina is a child psychologist so she knows childlike behavior wh
en sees it. I look at both of them as they say what I am too afraid to admit to myself.

We are now
by the hot plates I grab some and pass them down to them.

“I don’t know Sabrina”
they both look at me troubled frightened and just as dumbfounded as ever.

Er
ika and Sabrina hug me hard, they are such good friends. I must look lost because that is how I feel, if I stay with Ian I loose what is my hearts-desire which is Tristan, if I go to Tristan and chase after the love of my life I hurt a good man for my own selfish wants, I can’t live knowing that I hurt Ian, I can’t, I won’t hurt Ian. 

We are now by the buffet tables,
the aroma does things to me; their lobster bisque soup is to die for in little terrines I take one for Ian and some of the calamari and he has to try the lobster mashed, it is so delicious. I make a plate for him and Oliver gosh that poor man has handled this whole show practically by himself I load up two plates for my men.

Erika makes a plate for
Christopher and their crab puffs we load up on them as I glance over to the window I see Tristan behind the wine bar with a crowd of people, we lock eyes on one another. And I am pulled away by Erika as she jerks my arm.

“Look Aria women need a reason to have sex
, men they just need a place, whoa. well I can see the reason” just as Erika take a gander at dear Mr. Tristan Bach they are star struck. Sabrina and Erika just gawk at him, fuck yeah he is sex on fire, they really can’t blame me, they are both checking out the sexy son of a bitch…he is hot. I guess they now get why they caught us um ya know…

“Come ladies I expected more from you two, jeez your two are as bad as
Me!” We all giggle like the school girls we still are when we’re together.

Well
now that they got a better look at my
magnificent obsession
, let’s see how it goes from here.

“Shit Aria he
didn’t look like that two years ago?” Sabrina the teenage flirt has just shown up, she may be a child psychologist but she is still a woman.

“No Sabrina he sure as hel
l didn’t” now Erika is also eyeing up the goods as well.

“Well now I see the reason you and he um ya know”
well it’s comforting to know that they see how I went so willingly into his gentle goodnight.

“Yes Erika he is easy on the eyes”

“Aria as your council I would go with the temporary insanity plea, look at him he is crazy hot”

“Oh you two are funny I knew I could count on you for support and guidance”

“Aria all I have to say is if that man showed up in my office looking like that I sure as hell wouldn’t be here talking to you two” we all laugh at Sabrina’s comment, they let me know that they understand but sure as hell want it to stop.

“Sabrina you are too much”
we walk over to the guys with their plates.

I hand Oliver a plate and
I walk behind Ian and snake my arm around his neck.

“Y
our meal sir, have fun boys, the girls and I are down there” I place his plate in front of him. He pulls my face and kisses me, taking me by surprise, very un Ian. I kiss him back just as sweetly, no deep kiss, and no tongue just a sweet kiss on the lips we kiss like friends in public.

I
make my way over to the wine area where Erika and Sabrina nabbed us a table.