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You are invited to the wedding of Lilly and Dale.
We ask that you dress in all white.
Please RSVP before the date noted below.
SWIFTLY, I crumple the card in my hand as I sit in my car, glaring at the venue where my ex is about to marry another man. I never thought it would bother me. I’ve been busy and being busy keeps my mind occupied. But right now I have the inclination to walk in and shoot up the place.
So why the fuck am I still sitting here?
Dress in white, it says.
Hmm, sure.
My head has been all types of fucked-up lately. And I can’t seem to calm down. Gripping my leg hard to get it to stop it from bouncing, I look up. There are a few people I recognize, mostly members of her family. I’m not entirely sure why I decided to come, maybe to convince myself I don’t need this; who would want this life she’s chosen when they could have one like mine.
Somehow the lie doesn’t sit right in my head.
My eyes scan the area outside; the wedding party’s cars decorated with white bows, the moss-covered building, also flush with floral arrangements, and guests filtering in, all dressed in white. An odd choice in my opinion, but what do I know?
And who am I to judge, especially with what I do for a living. I tend to stick to black attire.
We didn’t end on bad terms, Lilly and I, but nevertheless, we did end.
And that part was all me—absolutely no denying that fact.
Stepping out of the car, the man who has been patiently waiting so he can valet my car smiles as I hand him the keys.
Zuko, my older brother, told me not to attend.
I didn’t tell Kenzo, my twin, as I didn’t want to listen to the unrelenting backlash.
So here I stand, watching as guests file inside the venue. I stay until the last one is seen, and then I stand there a little longer than necessary.
The ceremony is about to begin, and I’m a little late.
Grinding my jaw, I turn back and think, fuck it, I’m out, but my car is gone, and I’m left standing there staring at the doors as the air conditioning from inside hits my back when the doors shut behind me. I haven’t managed to make it all the way in, the doors just there waiting for me to go in, the white carpet under my black boots is nice, and I bet by the end of it, it will not be as white as it is now. Flowers
are everywhere; red, white, and more white. Grinding my jaw, I stand there unsure what I should do.
Should I go in?
I shouldn’t.
It seems everyone is inside waiting for the ceremony to begin, bar one, who doesn’t look up as she approaches. She’s small, tiny even. Her dress is too big for her, and yet she doesn’t seem to care as it drags on the ground behind her. Don’t women usually lift their skirts when they walk? I watch as she pulls a small flask from between her tits, puts it to her mouth, and takes a swig.
Fuck, she has the right idea.
Now I wish I brought some hard stuff of my own.
The tiny thing stuffs the flask back between her tits just as quickly as she tore it out before she walks up the stairs and pulls open the massive door. Then she’s inside and out of my view before I can blink—without even glancing at me once. Can’t say that happens often; women like to stare as much as men do but they can be more subtle usually. Yet this one didn’t even glance in my direction. Managing to walk in after her, I pull the very same door open and let it shut behind me. I spot a few of the bride’s friends, the bridesmaids, straight away. One of them looks up, and I can’t even recall her name, but I’m sure I’ve met her once. She scrunches her nose toward me as the doors open, the bridal party getting ready to start walking in.
“Sir, I must ask you to take your seat.” Glancing to my left, I see a man standing there with a walkie-talkie in his hand. The bridesmaids begin walking as music starts to echo through the venue.
I hear the music immediately and pause.
Heels click on the stone floor, coming up behind me, and there she is…
Lilly.
Beautiful as always, wearing a white sleeveless dress with a lace skirt and a massive train. She spots me, pauses, and locks her emerald eyes on me. “Kyson.”
I remember how she used to whisper my name from those plump, luscious lips.
“You aren’t supposed to be standing there.” As she says it, the man who ushered me in walks up and reaches for the door; it must have closed after the bridesmaids.
“You look beautiful,” I tell her, because she does. Stunning. She is getting things from this man I would have never given her. It’s why I ended things. Lilly deserves so much more.
“Sir, you need to move
out of sight.”
I step back as the doors are opened. Lilly’s father is on the other side, and his eyes narrow at me, surely not expecting me to be here, before I smirk at him. Then they land on his daughter. Amicable or not, no father is going to be happy seeing the guy who broke his daughter’s heart. And I did break her heart. Lilly loved me more than I could ever have loved her. It’s just how some things go. He offers his arm, and she takes it with one brief glance back at me.
Could I have changed for Lilly? Possibly.
She wanted me out of the life I am in.
Back then, I wasn’t willing.
But lately, I’ve been thinking differently.
I’m not sure this is the life I want forever.
In fact, I’ve already told Zuko I want out.
I’ve earned enough money to never have to work again.
Contract murder pays well.
Extremely well.
I stand there for what feels like an eternity until the music stops. After stepping in through the open doors, I find the closest seat at the back and slide into it. I look up, and Lilly’s smiling at her soon-to-be husband, and my leg starts bouncing.
Do I want this?
The white wedding.
A bunch of hypocrites smiling with false congratulations when they’re either envious or there for God knows why, like me.
I want what Zuko and Alaska have, but let’s be real, what are the chances of falling in love with a woman who’s going to be content to be in a relationship with a contract killer, let alone marrying him?
Movement next to me has me turning to see the little bird, who obviously likes to drink, throwing back another swig from her flask.
Who is this woman?
“Care to share?” I ask her, nodding to her flask.
She pulls it away from her mouth and wipes her pink lips.
Fuck! They are some good cock-sucking lips, that’s for sure.
“Fuck off.” Her voice is sweet. So sweet I almost miss the words that actually came with it. She faces forward and slides the flask back down her dress top and looks at the happy couple exchanging vows.
“Dale, I take you, and only you, to be my husband. If I ever get feisty…”
That’s all I hear.
I’m standing before I can stop myself, my hands fisted at my sides.
A few people turn back to see what the commotion is about, and Lilly looks back over her shoulder.
She fucking knows.
Of course, she fucking knows.
Dale, on the other hand, looks around with confusion etched in his forehead. He has no idea what she just did.
She smirks before she spins back to Dale and continues her vows.
What a cunt.
“Yo, sit the fuck down so people stop staring this way.” The little bird next to me pulls at my jacket, and I go willingly back to the seat.
“Give me some of your drink, or I’ll reach between your tits and grab it myself.”
“That’s assault, dick.” She reaches in, screws off the top, and I go to take it, but she puts it to her lips and chugs the last drop. When she pulls the flask away from her lips, she turns to me. “All gone. Now fuck off and find your own.”
Goddammit! I look back to Lilly.
Her vows are finished, and Dale is now saying his.
How could she?
Who the fuck does she think she is using that word in her vows? Especially knowing there was a chance I would attend the ceremony.
“You’re grunting. Stop it. People are looking.”
Fuck, this bitch is annoying. I turn and notice her white dress is way big. I mean, I saw the length when she walked up the stairs, and it was dragging behind her, but damn, it swims on her.
“You couldn’t find something that fits?” I grumble at her.
“You can’t shut your fucking mouth long enough to have a sensible thought, can you?” she grumbles back.
Touché.
I hear that word again, and my eyes fly to the front of the room. Lilly only glances my way one more time, her eyes checking the room to try to hide the fact she is staring at me for my reaction, and before I know it, I’m standing and walking out.
She used that word.
A word that meant something to us.
Did she invite me to do this and rub it in?
What a bitch.
While walking, I check back over my shoulder and know the moment Lilly’s eyes find mine because she smiles, then she beams at her now husband before he kisses her.
No one notices me leave.
I wonder if he knows he’s kissing the mouth that just uttered our safe word.
She always was a cunning little minx.
But this is a whole new level of deviousness.
I SHOULDN’T BE HERE.
I should leave.
But…food. And I’m more than a little drunk.
What can I say? Weddings do that to me. Maybe it’s all the organza and champagne-colored table clothes, crystal glasses, and shimmering silverware. Or the fake smiles of the guests who are offering their congratulations, but in their own lives, they are fucking the secretary or drinking gin at ten in the morning just to get through the day. It could also be something else I don’t want to dwell on.
The waitress is weaving through the guests while holding a tray full of food, so I reach over and take more than a couple of shrimp canapes before I turn around. And that’s when I spot him again. He’s standing in front of the bride. The squeezed fists by his sides are at odds with the slightly disinterested, slightly polite expression on his face. I get the distinct impression he has a mouthful to say but is keeping quiet either for the bride’s sake—there are a bunch of people standing around waiting to congratulate the bride—or because he’s waiting for the right moment. Good or bad. Somehow, he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who will take anyone’s feelings into account. ...
