Strong Enough

Five shots of tequila later, I was sure I could conquer the world. I found my seat, somehow, and laughed with Mia about something the bartender had said. Soon the DJ was getting everyone’s attention for the bride’s daddy-daughter dance. I smiled and swayed as Lee and her dad moved to the music. A few other dads pulled their daughters onto the floor too. My dad soon found me and pulled me onto the dance floor and I couldn’t help but smile at him.

“You look beautiful, Darlin’.” My dad grew up in California, but he’s a cowboy at heart and he never ceased to talk like a Southern gentleman.

“Thank you, Daddy.” The music guided our movements. I missed being able to just be with my dad. I was a daddy’s girl, no question. Of all the things I missed about home, He was probably the things I missed most.

“Are you going to come to the ranch this week? I know Cooper misses you. And that horse of yours is too picky about riders.” I laughed and thought of Cooper, the Golden Retriever our family got when I was in middle school, and my black mare, Gadget.

“I can come out on Monday. I’m supposed to help Rylan and Tommy with something for the Studio tomorrow. But I miss that ranch. I’d love to come spend the day out there with you. Though, I don’t know if I can convince Mia’s city-ass to come with.”

“Leave her at home. She can entertain your mother. Or maybe Tommy will kidnap her. That boy needs a good girl in his life.”

“I have a feeling she wouldn’t complain if Tommy kidnapped her for the day. I’ll have to hint to Tommy that he could have a shot with her.”

We swayed back and forth talking about life and joking about the people around us. Soon the song ended and I saw Alex leading my mom toward the dance floor for the father-son dance.

I watched them moving together and smiling, a tear falling down my mom’s cheek. As much as she made me crazy, my mom was amazing. She’d always been around to wipe a tear or listen to a problem. I really should give her more credit for what she’s done for me.

The song ended, and the party music started. Mia grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd to the dance floor. The alcohol in me didn’t waste a second before telling me to dance with her. We moved and jumped and sang along with the music being the awesomely annoying wedding guests we were.

We danced to the cheesy music for a while, Emma joining in at one point. I was so lost in being happy with my girls, I didn’t realize the boys had shown up too. Of course, in true wedding fashion, a slow song came on and the boys pulled their respective bridesmaid into a dance.
Bryden’s hand found mine, twirling me into his arms. I rolled my eyes, allowing him to pull me into a dance. I’d definitely had a little too much to drink.

As we moved to the sultry tones of the music, I did my best not to look into his eyes. It was difficult being this close to him, especially knowing his eyes were glued to my face. I became fascinated with the boutonniere on his lapel. It was a lovely shade of white. I mean, as far as white goes, it was dazzling.

“Jax, I know I’m not your favorite person, but you could at least pretend like you’re not having a root canal done.” I could hear the amusement in his voice.

“I might as well be.”

“Am I really that bad?”

“You tell me.”

“It’s been five years. I tried to explain. I’ve told you I’m sorry. I don’t know what you want from me.”

I withdrew from his grasp and looked at him like he’d just slapped me. That’s what it felt like. Being emotionally slapped and having an old wound reopen. What did I want from him?

“You know what I want? I want you to turn back time and un-suck that girl’s face. I want you to have followed me. I want you to have fought for me. I want you to have not given up. I want you to have done something—anything!” I paused throwing my hands in the air and shrugging. “Beyond that, I want absolutely nothing from you. Excuse me for not forgiving you the moment you rattle off a half-hearted apology after five years.”

I turned on my heel and strode away, once again finding the bar. I downed another shot and grabbed a beer before walking to the balcony off the side of the banquet hall. I leaned into the cool night air as I took a sip from the bottle in my hand. Soon, another presence joined me outside.

“You look like you could use some company. Do you mind if I join you?” I lifted my eyes to see a tall man, about 27, holding his own beer and gesturing to the spot next to me.

“Whatever cooks your chicken my friend.” I took another sip, staring out to the ocean I couldn’t really see. I saw him out of the corner of my eye as he leaned against the railing, trying to see what I was looking at.

“I thought the phrase was, ‘Whatever floats your boat’.”

“Ah, but why follow the crowd when you can make your own waves?”

“Valid point.” He turned, leaning his backside against the rail and looking down at me. “So what brings you out here? The party is inside.”

“I could ask you the same thing.” I finally looked back to his face, noticing the warmth in his brown eyes.

“Well I noticed the gorgeous girl I’d been watching all night come out here, so I figured, why not take a chance?” His unbelievably white smile was almost hypnotic. “Your turn.”

“I’m trying to escape the confusion of my life.” I let out a small chuckle. “You might not really want to take a chance on me. I’m not exactly an easy person to get involved with.”

“I’ve always liked a little adventure.”

“What’s your name, stranger?” I turned to face him.

“Paul Cooper.” I stuck my hand out, offering a hand shake.

“Jaqui Walker.” I smiled at him politely. “You seem like a really nice guy, but the only thing I can offer you is a wedding one-night stand. I don’t want to crush your heart, so I’m going to do you a favor and leave you before your hopes get too high.”

I patted his shoulder as I walked past him back into the celebration. I noticed a crowd of people doing the Cupid Shuffle and rolled my eyes trying to find Mia.

The night wore on. After an hour more of party dancing, the bride and groom moved to cut the cake. Alex fed Lee tamely, only placing a small amount of frosting on her nose. Lee on the other hand shoved the cake all over his face, getting a significant amount up his nose. He retaliated by rubbing his face on hers. The cuteness of it all brought me close to gagging, but I smiled and cheered nonetheless.
Once they cleaned up, it was time for the bouquet toss. Mia and Emma yanked my arms to the dance floor, where a small crowd of crazy, single females were waiting in hopes of catching the flowers. Yeah, catch the flowers. See how many guys talk to you afterwards.

As Lee got into place, I could feel the collective tension building. Not seconds after the flowers left her hands, the ladies went crazy. In the chaos of it all, Emma and Mia ended up on the floor, one of Lee’s cousins had her hand on them, but they somehow bounced out of reach. And, by some horrible act of nature, I found myself holding a less-than-pristine bouquet of flowers.

Next it was time for Alex to remove the garter and let the boys fight over it. This was much more entertaining for me. I stood to the side and watched as Alex disappeared under Lee’s skirt to find the lace band. Once he emerged, he stood back and fired it into the cluster of men. They fought almost as hard as the ladies. And somehow the garter ended up in Tommy’s hands. I wasn’t surprised really. He’s taller than everyone and he’s also completely nuts. He’d ended up on the ground, wrestling one of Alex’s coworkers.

We got pictures (me with the bride, Tommy with the groom, and Tommy and I together) and laughed at the circumstances behind the pictures.

The night was just about over. The bride and groom disappeared and we all gathered with bubbles to bid the bride and groom farewell. Lining the walkway outside, it was pretty exciting seeing Lee and Alex walk hand-in-hand to the decked out getaway car. As soon as the car was out of sight, we all journeyed back inside to finish out the night and gather our belongings.

I was laughing with Mia as we found our purses when I noticed Bryden flirting pretty heavily with a girl near the bar. I’ve no idea who she was, but it really lit a fire under my ass. The jealousy I was feeling only pissed me off more. I was over him. He couldn’t make me jealous. That was my job.

Not too far away, Paul was pulling on his suit jacket. I made my way over to him and smiled. He returned it rather quickly.

“I see you caught the bouquet. You know that means you need to start looking for a husband, right?” A small smirk graced his lips.

“I guess so. You feel like trying to make an honest woman out of me?”

“Nah.” He let out a small laugh. “I’d rather take you up on the previous offer.”
He placed a light kiss to my lips and his arm wound around my waist before he led me outside. As we walked through the door, I glanced behind me to see Bryden watching intently as I left with Paul. I smirked to myself as I got into his car. At least I wasn’t the only one who’d been jealous tonight.