folklore; conrad fisher

46: one single thread of gold

Last night was the first time Conrad and I had sex.

We never meant for it to happen, but the course of events led us to do so. After years it only felt right to give into one another. I watched him come undone as he brought himself into me forcefully. By the end of it we were exhausted and dishevelled. I laid in his arms and we fell asleep almost immediately.

We had a moment of weakness but we wouldn't forget our promise to one another. That next week we didn't allow ourselves to engage in that sort of behavior again. It was the most difficult thing I'd ever brought myself to do. Every time I was within arms reach of him, I just wanted to repeat that night all over again. But I knew I'd have to be patient.

Distancing ourselves helped. It was done with no malintention, we just knew each other too well. One prolonged stare, or a brushing of fingertips would send us crashing down once more. We held our breath around each other, and devoted all of our time to preparing for the wedding.

It was easier when everyone finally arrived for the bachelor and bachelorette parties.

Belly and Jeremiah's friends got to the beach house in the afternoon. Before then, Conrad and I spent the morning decorating the house, filling the kitchen with alcohol and colorful, plastic margarita cups. I put on a light pink bikini and white tank top. The group arrived in swimsuits and cover ups, and dildo-headbands on top of their heads. Taylor gave Belly a costume veil while Belly's other friend, Anika, handed me one of their matching headbands.

The boys pushed in from behind them, heading up the stairs with the groom, as well as Conrad. Taylor led us girls over to the kitchen, complaining about her mother the entire walk there.

We helped ourselves to the drinks on the table when the boys joined us. One of Jeremiah's groomsmen came in with a joint, handing it to Anika. It was then that Jeremiah introduced her to Conrad, and as he spoke to her, she looked him up and down.

I hated watching it happen, but even more so, I resented the fact that I couldn't say anything to stop it. I was happy to exit the room when Belly forced us all to go outside, not wanting the weed smell to take over the house.

Jeremiah fired up the grill as the boys started up a game of cornhole. Belly, Anika, Taylor and I remained by the pool, sipping on our drinks and gossiping.

Taylor laid out her plans for the night. I let her take the lead with that, seeing as she was more of a party-girl than I was, and would definitely have better input for giving Belly a great night. She told us that we'd be going on a 'debauchery-forward' bar crawl.

"We're getting lit, bitches!" She exclaimed, the rest of us laughing.

Anika nodded her head, now staring at the group of boys across from us, "Uh, by the way, which one of these guys is single? 'Cause, I need to at least make out with somebody this weekend... Please?"

Belly eyed them, "I think Ethan is. Blake is Jere's ex, and Redbird's got dibs."

"Hold up," Anika said, scrunching her face, "You're okay with Jere having his ex at his bachelor party?"

"It's super ancient history," Belly said, though the look on her face wasn't quite convincing.

Anika continued, "You guys never told me how hot Conrad is."

Taylor snorted, "You got that. Conrad's been trying to catch a bone for years, ever since––"

I gave Taylor a mortified look that immediately made her stop talking. I couldn't believe she ever remembered Conrad and I were a thing. Luckily, the entire interaction went unnoticed by Anika, who was still fixated on Conrad.