The Wedding Date

I Won't (J)

Joe scratched his scalp as he ran his hands through his hair for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour. Maybe if he pulled the strands tight enough, his head would hurt more than his heart currently did.

"What if I can't?!"

He heard Dianne's voice in his head, on repeat, almost as if he had a broken record player in his brain stuck on the most devastating loop. Over and over and over...

Breaking him out of his thoughts, he felt a vibration in his pocket. Not ready to talk to any of the Buswells, who were the most likely to be calling, he pulled it out, prepared to hit the "decline" button. His eyes widened slightly when he checked the Caller ID.

"'Ello?" he answered quickly. "Rose?"

"Hiya love, how are ya?" his boss's warm voice crackled through the phone line.

"I'm...uh, fine," Joe managed to lie.

"Really?" Rose asked, her voice skeptical. "You sound rotten."

Joe let out a hollow laugh, "Cheers, Rose."

"Well you do!" the elderly woman shot back, "And that's a bit confusing to me, because the reason I'm calling is because I just got the notice that you're extending your trip and rescheduled your flight."

Joe closed his eyes, sighing, "Oh, yeah, sorry I meant to call you about that--"

"Oh no worries honey," Rose laughed, "I'm not calling to reprimand you, clients needs change all the time."

Joe swallowed thickly at the way she emphasized needs. If only she knew...

"Which speaking of...how is Dianne?" Rose asked coyly.

Well shit...maybe she did know.

"Er, I'm not sure," Joe tried to evade the question, as he stared up at the dark sky, the sound of the ocean echoing in front of him on the beach down the street from the Buswell's house. This had been the first place he'd thought to go when he'd called an Uber after storming out of the wedding.

"Joe," Rose's frown could practically be heard through the phone. "I know tonight is the wedding."

"Then why are you calling me in the middle of it?" Joe shot back, not in the mood to get a talking-to.

"I figured I'd get your voicemail," Rose replied, "Just wanted to tell you that I'm waiving the flight change fee, so you don't need to ask Dianne to cover it."

Joe sucked in his lips, resisting the urge to explain he was never going to charge her for it in the first place.

"Wait," his eyebrows suddenly furrowed, "Why not?"

Rose let out a nonchalant hum, "Just seemed like the right thing to do. It's not often that one of my escorts falls in love on the job."

Joe felt his jaw drop in shock, no words coming out as he tried to figure out how to respond to that bomb she'd just dropped.

"Wha--um--I don't--" he rambled, feeling his cheeks burn.

How the fuck did she know?!

"Calm down honey," Rose chuckled to herself, "I was just taking a guess, but sounds like I was spot on."

Joe glared at the sand underneath his feet, trying to even out his breathing.

"So what happened?" she spoke again, her voice quiet.

"It's nothing," Joe muttered.

"Really sounds like nothing," Rose replied sarcastically. "Come on. Spit it out."