_Carter's POV_
It was getting warmer and flowers were blooming everywhere. I loved spring weddings. The scenery made the whole event magical. My friend from college was getting married soon, like really soon. In a week. I had to have a wedding date, and there was only one person I could turn to.
It had been a few weeks since the Miami trip. We had both gotten busy with work and barely had time to see each other. For each period of time away from him, I told myself I didn't actually like him, it was just the company, but every time I saw him, it became harder and harder to convince myself. I have no idea how to ask him. I know he'd say yes but I'm so worried about us traveling all the time that he's getting bored. I personally love traveling but it's so much and we haven't even known each other that long. I have a great time whenever I'm with him, but what if he's tired of always moving. To make matters worse, they're pushing him harder in football and he's really tired and in a lot of pain most of the time. I wish I could take that pain away, but unfortunately, there's not much I can do except what he asks. I'm seeing him today so I'll ask then.
I'm such a coward. I've been standing in front of his door for like five minutes thinking of what to say. It wasn't like I was taking him to a basketball game. I was asking him as a date.... To a wedding for God's sake. What if he picks up that I have a little school girl crush on him. I hate this feeling. The feeling that everything is changing. I want us to be friends and I don't want that to end but I'm pretty confident that he doesn't feel the same way. If things changed between us in a bad way, my world would fall apart. I finally gather the courage to knock a few times. He opens the door with a gorgeous smile. "Hey, come on in, I was about to make us some Mac & Cheese if you wanna help?" I nodded, not trusting what would come out of my mouth.
In the middle of stirring the noodles, I just came out and said it, "So, my friend, Meah, is getting married and I need a date." He looked at me, put his hand out, closed it, and said "Say no more, I am the perfect wedding date." I laughed, "You think so? I don't know" "I will remind you that I am America's heart throb at the moment. And lucky for you, all of the singles will be jealous of you." "Let's not get too cocky" "You may be right, but so am I," he smirked. I rolled my eyes and went back to stirring our noodles.
_A few days later at the hotel_
We walked into the hotel and I was amazed. The wedding was at the Greenbrier and the groom's parents arranged for the guests to stay in the hotel for the weekend, which, wow. That had to cost a pretty penny to pull that off. When we walked into the room, our jaws dropped a little. It was really nice but everything was so vibrant, it almost gave me a headache. One issue..... there was only one bed. Cheesy, I know. I was exhausted. "So what should we do about the bed situation?" "I mean if neither of us want to sleep on the floor we can just sleep together, unless you're uncomfortable with it of course." "No I'm not, I thought that you would though." "No, as bad as it sounds, I don't want to be alone." That sentence made my heart skip a few beats. I hated feeling this way. When I was in middle school, I thought having a crush was the best feeling in the world, but now it just feels sick. Not the having a crush part, just the weird feeling.
We got settled into bed and started talking nonsense. "Y'know it's crazy, I used to think that in my early twenties I'd be out partying till 2AM and now I can't stay up past 10," I said. "Yeah, there are very rare nights that I can go out and party without being exhausted." We talked like this for another few minutes before he fell asleep. I loved that he looked so peaceful in his sleep. When I was about to let sleep take over me, I felt a hand on my waist. My stomach dropped, but it felt comforting. It was unfamiliar but I felt safe in his arms.
_Joe's POV_ (Ik y'all been waiting for this one, turn it up!!!)
There was an hour until the wedding. I had some time for shower thoughts and I need it. Carter was all I've been able to think about lately. I can't focus in practice. I can't focus in meetings. Hell, I'll be going 80 on the interstate and I'll come back to reality and think 'Holy shit, I'm driving'. I feel so honored that she'd ask me as a wedding date. It probably didn't really mean a 'date' date but it was something. I knew that if we did get together, it wouldn't last long. She had her whole career ahead of her, and me, I'm staying here. She wants to travel and that's amazing, I just wish I could go with her. It sucked because we've been getting closer and closer the more we hang out. I don't want it to end, but sooner or later, she's gonna get her dream job and I'd be so proud of her.
After about twenty minutes of rehearsing the same speech that no one will hear, I finished getting ready and walked out. Carter looked absolutely gorgeous in that outfit, though she always did. "Ready to go," She asked, smiling. "Yeah, let's go." We walked downstairs and talked about the hotel. It really was a beautiful place, but the Mountain View was so much better. The ceremony took place outside and it felt like a fever dream. It was like those rich people parties on TV where everything was white and you were given a glass of wine. Right when we got to the seats, someone offered us champagne. Carter was excited, "I wonder how much they're paying for all of us to drink before noon." "How much you wanna bet?" "I'd say $250 an hour." "I don't know, maybe $175." She rolled her eyes, "Have you seen how expensive this place is? I'm sure they're employees have very high standards." " Yeah, but $250 an hour? I don't know"
The ceremony started. You had the cheesy music and the bridesmaid and groomsmen really milking it down that aisle. Then the bride started to make her way to the altar. Everyone was staring at her and oohing and ahhing, but all I could see was carter. I couldn't take my eyes off her in this moment, I didn't know why this moment in particular. Everything was going by faster than I expected. Before I knew it, we were walking to the reception. That's when the real drinking started. There was an open bar and about all the liquor a human could take and more.
Several hours passed and I was exhausted. Carter was beside me and so drunk, she was about to go steal a sink. I immediately shut it down, we said goodbye to the bride and groom and I helped her walk back to the hotel room. And by helped her walk, I mean basically carrying her by the shoulder. "Can you make it back to the bed?" I asked. She said, "Yeah totally," Slurring a bit. I didn't trust her so I picked her up bridal style and took her back to our bed. She pouted for a minute and then asked me to take her shoes off and tuck her in. I did as she asked and while tucking her in, she asked, "Hey do you wanna know a secret? You can't tell Joe." "I swear I won't," I say, trying not to laugh. "I really like him." "Oh is that so?" "Yeah, and you've gotta see him. He's so cute. And he's really strong. I have no doubt he could throw me through a wall with no effort." "I swear I won't tell him." "Good, you have no choice." This was the cutest experience of my life.
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