My Only One (one shot) - English

The reunion

"The expected is only the beginning, the unexpected is what changes our lives forever."

Facing the mirror in the room reserved just for the groomsmen, Jay Halstead was checking if his hair looked the way he wanted. The ceremony would start soon, and he still had only one question on his mind:

"Are you serious? You really don't know her? You have no idea who she is?" Jay asked Kevin.

Kim and Adam were finally getting married and had asked Kevin and Jay to be their groomsmen. The only problem was that they didn't know who the bridesmaids were, and what surprised them was that they would walk in pairs, not individually.

"I think it's one of her high school friends. I met them a few years ago, and they seemed close."

"If they're that close, why haven't I met them?"

"Well, you don't hang out with Kim that often. Besides, it's different groups. When she's with us, it's just the work friends; those friends are from another time," Kevin replied, and Jay nodded. His friend was right; he didn't always hang out with Kimberly, much less with her closer friends outside of work. If Jay thought about it, the only close friend Kim had at work was...

"No, don't go there..." he whispered to himself.

"If you and Hailey weren't a thing, maybe you could have some fun with the bridesmaid. Maybe a double date if we hit it off," Kevin suggested.

"I'm not involved with Hailey," Jay focused on the first part of the conversation.

"Well, she sure makes it seem like you are, or at least wants it that way."

"But we're not. And you're thinking about the bridesmaid? I thought you were more into Vanessa..." Jay said, eyeing his friend.

"I don't know, man, I haven't even met her, and you know how Voight is about relationships..."

"Yeah, so strict that Adam and Kim are getting married..." Jay quipped. This time, it was impossible not to think about her, but the conversation with Kevin was keeping him entertained enough not to get lost in his thoughts.

"I don't know, man, let's see," Kevin said, and they were finally called.

Jay wasn't invited to many weddings as a groomsman, but he had been to enough to find it strange that Kim wanted them to walk in pairs.

"Don't you think it's weird that we're walking in pairs and not solo?" Halstead asked his longtime friend.

"Well, I guess she thinks we're the single guys and wanted to give us a little help," Atwater joked.

"I don't need help, I'm fine as I am..."

"Seriously, nothing ever happened with Hailey, not even once?" Kevin asked, suspicious.

"We went out once," Jay replied, and Kevin grinned mischievously, knowing that something had actually happened between them. "But it wasn't serious; we were stressed, and she asked me to grab a drink, but that's all."

"Well, let's bet: that's not going to be just a drink for long," Kevin joked, believing his own theory. But his thoughts changed when he saw the woman in front of him. "Or maybe it really won't..." Kevin said, with a shocked and surprised look at the same time.

Jay, curious about his friend's sudden change in demeanor, turned in the direction Kevin was looking, only to be just as shocked and surprised as Kevin—no, actually, far more than his friend could ever be.

Wearing a long red dress with thin straps, a high slit, and long brown hair, more natural and longer than he had ever seen before, stood Erin Lindsay. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered, something he thought would be impossible, but it wasn't.