The Bridesmaid

7|Going Home?

A week later, Natalia found herself back in class. It was back to long hours of studying and, of course, projects. She was happy to say that this was her final set of classes before her graduation.

Yet even with her busy schedule, she made time for breakfast with Kris and Jessie. Natalia had promised Jessie that she would help her with the planning any chance she had, so there she was at 8 in the morning in a cafe.

She stirred her coffee as she skimmed the menu. She only had a few hours before her first class started, so she was hoping they would arrive soon.

Sure enough, Jessie's cheerful voice announced their arrival, "Hey, Nat!"

"Hey, guys," Natalia said as she smiled brightly at the two.

"You seem," Kris paused as he thought of the word, "put together for such an early morning."

"I have class in a bit, so I had to actually get dressed," Natalia laughed.

It was true. Had she not had class, Natalia probably would've shown up in sweatpants rather than her current outfit.

A waiter soon came and asked, "Are you ready to order?"

Before Natalia could nod, Kris said, "We're still waiting on one more person."

When the waiter left, Natalia raised a brow at Kris. "Who else is coming? Mason left already."

"Anthony," Kris said, "He's my best man, so we need him here too."

Jessie looked from Natalia to Kris as she asked, "It's fine, right?"

"Absolutely," Natalia beamed, but inside she was freaking out. She was totally unprepared to talk to him at that moment.
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20 minutes later, Anthony had finally arrived. He seemed apologetic as he took his seat beside Natalia.

"Sorry I'm late. I got stuck in traffic," Anthony explained.

"Don't worry about it," Jessie waved off, "We're not in a rush."

"I actually kind of am," Natalia interjected, "I can't be late to class."

"This won't take long," Jessie assured.

After their waiter took their order, Jessie finally explained why they had to meet.

"We haven't told our parents yet," Jessie confessed.

"Wait, but it's on social media, so how wouldn't they know," Natalia asked.

"They don't have a way to know, but that's besides the point. We wanted to tell them in person," Kris explained.

"Okay," Anthony trailed, "I'm lost here. What do you need us for?"

"We want you guys to come to Vegas with us to tell them," Jessie said.

"Don't get me wrong, I want to help in every way possible, and I know that's part of my job as maid of honor, but isn't that something just you two have to do," Natalia asked.

"We want you guys there more as support," Kris clarified.

"Yeah, plus Nat, you know our parents love you. You're like a second daughter," Jessie said.

"I don't get it. Are you guys nervous about telling them," Anthony asked.

"Slightly," Jessie confessed.