Unofficial First Girlfriend

CHAPTER 2

We lined up as the wedding coordinator instructed us. It was a garden wedding, and the venue looked lovely. There was an arch covered in dainty white cloth and decorated with white and pale pink roses. The aisle was lined with little pots of the same flowers on both sides. The processional started, and I watched as the entourage walked down the aisle by pair. I linked arms with Nick as we both walked down the aisle, following the other bridesmaids and groomsmen.

"So, how long have you been back home?" I whispered.

"Three days. Sorry for not calling you as soon as I get back."

"I'm used to it."

"Come on..."

Nick reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'll make it up to you. Promise. I'll be staying for two months so that will give us enough time to catch up."

"Yes, catch up for the last two years you haven't been around."

I spotted Sabrina along with our other former classmates. Nick released my hand and I gave a low wave to Sabrina.

"Sab gave me the same speech yesterday. She sent me the message, and I wasn't able to reply to her. I guess I'll have to make it up to both of you."

We reached the end of the aisle and we parted as I took a seat on the left side with the other bridesmaids.

I watched as the other members of the entourage walked and took their respective seats. Finally, the wedding singer started a new song and the bride appeared under the arch. She began walking, taking her sweet time as everyone's attention was on her.

I took a glance at Lucio, and he was wiping his eyes with a white handkerchief. I was genuinely happy for him. He truly deserved this.

It was almost 5:30 when the ceremony ended. We all walked to the reception area. It was one of the most stunning wedding set up that I had seen in my life. Not that I'd been to a lot of weddings, but still. The trees were decorated with lanterns and fairy lights. Under it was several long tables for ten persons with vases of white and pink roses along the center of the table. There was a seat and table on the front with a white backdrop decorated with tiny fairy lights for the newlywed.

"Oh. My. Gosh," Sabrina gasped beside me.

"It looks romantic, isn't it?"

"Like straight from a movie."

We found our seats on table three. Luckily, Lucio did a good job planning the seats. Sabrina and I got to sit with our friends from school. I took a seat beside Nick and Sabrina sat across from me, in between Bryce and Aaron. A few others from our class were also at our table.

The program hadn't started yet because we were still waiting for Lucio and Ana.

"I feel so old," Lizzie murmured.

"Who doesn't?" Aaron asked. "It's the first wedding from our class."

"And it's very thoughtful of Lucio to invite us tonight. I mean, I hadn't talked to him for quite some time. I honestly thought he's forgotten about me."

"That's the good thing about him. He doesn't forget," Nick explained.

"Yeah, unlike some people," I added.

Nick furrowed his eyebrows at me, confused. I just shrugged.

"Anyway, how are you guys?" Aaron asked. "What are you up to these days?"

"I'm doing good. My parents are insisting that I should work abroad but I don't want to go. I like it here in the Philippines," Lizzie answered.

"You don't want to leave?" Sabrina asked.

A waiter approached our table and filled our glasses with water. I mumbled a 'thank you' after my glass was full.

"I like traveling but I don't want to live in another country."

"Why is that?" I asked. "When other people have the chance to leave, they grab it immediately."

Sabrina gave me the look. I lightly shook my head.

"I don't know. I just want to stay. Also, my boyfriend doesn't want to go."

"Ah..."

We all nodded, understanding the situation.

"How about you Bryce?" Lizzie asked. "How's the life of a medical technologist?"

"Well, it's good and exhausting, but I like what I do."

"Are you dating someone?"

He shifted in his seat and gave us a small smile before responding, "Yeah, I have a girlfriend of four years now."

I exchanged glances with Sabrina who bit her lower lip before giving us a fake smile.

"I guess we know whose wedding's gonna be next," Nick joked.

"No, I know I'm not ready yet," he responded, looking a bit uncomfortable as he shift beside Sabrina.

"How about you, Sab?" Lizzie asked. "Haven't heard much about you. You dating someone?"

Sabrina toyed the table napkin in front of her. "Oh no. I'm still single."

"You're still single?" Bryce asked, unable to mask his surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mr. I Have A Girlfriend Of Four Years Now. Some people are not lucky when it comes to relationships."

"What? I just assumed you have a boyfriend. Nick told me you were dating someone."

"Bro..." Nick was cut off by Sab's glare. "What? It wasn't a secret, wasn't it?"

Bryce faced Sab whose eyebrows were still furrowed. "I didn't mean to be rude, alright? Sorry."

I felt Nick's knee bumped into mine. I glanced at him and he pointed to Bryce and Sabrina with his eyes and smirked.

"I was just curious. Why are you still single?"

Sabrina scoffed. "Your second question didn't sound any better than the first one, but I'm single because I haven't found the right one."

"What's wrong with the last one?" Nick asked. I remembered Sabrina still hadn't told Nick about the last guy she went on a date with because they hadn't talked to each other in months.

"He doesn't know the difference between 'your' and 'you're'."

Before anyone could react, we were interrupted by the wedding host's voice booming from the speakers. She announced that the newlywed is about to make an entrance, so she encouraged everyone to stand up.

We all obliged and stood up. The DJ played a piece of happy, upbeat music as we all welcomed Lucio and Ana. The couple were both laughing and grooving to the music as they walked to the center.

The host asked them to kiss, and we all counted up to ten, slightly stalling at nine and nine and a half. Then, out of the blue, I started to wonder if Lucio and Ana were each other's first kiss.