Her Mysterious Ways

Chapter 34: The Wedding Photographer

Stumbling to get a glass of water, I had to sneak into the room Cole, Grandma, and Gracie were sleeping in. Looking over at the clock, I saw it read 4:25am. Nice. But, in order to be semi functional at the wedding, I needed some water. My head pounded and my stomach felt upside-down in a completely awful way. Hopefully, water would help.

So quietly, I opened the door between our conjoining rooms, hoping to not wake anyone. Succesfully, the door opened and and closed while everyone remained sleeping. Now, to get the water. I knew I would have to make noise with the tap, but other than that I could stay relatively quiet. Slowing down my breathing and stepping on my feet lightly, I started on the path toward the sink, not bothering to look anywhere else but my final destination.

Grabbing a glass, I filled up the cup with minimal noise. Silently congradulating myself, I started to creep back to my room when the image of a sleeping Cole caught my eye. Instead of glancing at him for a second, I made my way in his direction, holding the cup in both hands. Then, as I stopped at his bedside, I allowed myself to linger, studying his features. The freckles that hugged his nose perfectly, the distinct line underneath his cheekbone, the way his lips always seemed to smile, even while he was sleeping. Just the way he was, so peaceful and serene, I could've just kissed him...

All of the sudden, I saw the vibrant green of his eyes look alert and confused. With a deep intake of breath, he abruptly sat up, almost hitting my head with his in the process. Then, he looked from me, to his lap, and then back again a few times before finally speaking.

"What?" He whispers, clearly still half-asleep.

"What? Sorry...just go back to sleep." My hand touched his shoulder, and immediately his head turned in my direction.

"Why did you pour water on me?" He asked groggily. 

"What? Oh..." Looking down at his lap, I saw that my water had tipped while I was leaning toward him and spilled. It really was a moment of pure embarassment. "I spilled by accident. Sorry, I'm just going to go back to bed now." 

I looked at him, hoping I could find some kind of reassurance, but all I saw was his eyes widen as I stood up straight. 

"What now?"

"Your..." 

"My what?"

"It's..."

"It's what?" I was getting more anxious the more he trailed off.

"You forgot your shirt." Pointing to my chest, that was only covered by plain white bra, he, looked me straight in the eyes. At that moment I realized that I didn't wear a shirt to bed because the hotel room was too warm, and then my face got hot.

"Oh...um...shit. Bye." And then I ran out of the room. I didn't think I would be able to look at him the next day, let alone dance with him at the wedding. What a mess it was going to be.

*

*

Well, I managed to only have to ask him to pass the syrup during breakfast, but other than that we hadn't done as much as look at each other. With everything that had happened the night before, I knew it was going to be hard to start a conversation with him, especially because he saw me half naked. Of course I was sure he had seen lots girls half naked before, and mostly naked, and fully naked; he was the quarterback. But last night, at least I hoped, was different for him, and not because it was unintentional, but because he had intentions with me that didn't start and end with seeing me naked. Of course he was still a teenage boy, and I knew he was thinking about it, especially after the short-lived make out session that started the evening.