The Unpredictability of You and Me

thirty - party

three months later
lake tahoe, california

"May I have this dance?"

I look up from my glass of apple cider and see Adrian holding a hand out for me. "You dancing? I can't imagine that."

"You have three seconds before I change my mind."

I giggle and stand up, taking his hand. We make our way to the slightly crowded dance floor. My parents are dancing in one corner, and Aunt Emma and her newly wed husband are in the center. She looks gorgeous in her white dress and her smile is so wide, it lights up the whole room. The diamond necklace, identical to the one my mom has worn for as long as I can remember, gleams at her throat.

I rest my arms around Adrian's shoulders as he draws me in closer by my waist. "I'm so happy they let you come."

He rests his forehead against mine, smiling softly. "Me too."

"You need to dress in suits more often," I whisper, tugging on his tie.

"Never going to happen," he says, trying to lean in for a kiss.

"Hands to yourself," Dad interrupts, appearing out of no where.

I roll my eyes. "We're dancing, Dad. How could we possibly do that and keep our hands to ourselves?"

Adrian gives me a sly grin and winks. "Don't worry. We can sneak off to my apartment when we get back to the city."

Adrian had gotten a paid internship working with my dad at the social work office, and he had saved up enough money to rent a small apartment he shared with two roommates just a few streets down from our place in Manhattan. Mom and Dad offered to help multiple times, but he refused. Luckily, he has his own room there, so we got some privacy. Mom and Dad know about us now, but they still kept all eyes on us when we were at our apartment.

"Seems like a plan," I say as I hear Carter's infectious laugh from one of the tables.

He's sitting with his grandma and some of my distant family members at a table. They just signed the official papers last week, and now his grandma is his full time legal guardian. It's a little sad that he has to move to Connecticut, but luckily, we'll still get to see him almost every weekend.

I turn back to Adrian with a small grin. "Do you want to sneak off to the lake tonight?"

He raises his eyebrows. "Midnight swim?"

"Yes."

He reaches a hand up to brush a strand of hair off my shoulder and fixes the strap of my bridesmaid dress. "Do you even have to ask?"

"Adrian, Jade. Come here for a second," Mom interrupts with a big smile on her face.

Adrian and I share a suspicious glance as she leads us away from the loud music and crowds. Dad is already standing there waiting for us.

"What's going on?" I ask warily.

"Nothing bad," Mom reassures. "We just wanted to give you some gifts."

Dad gives me and Adrian both a velvet box. The one handed to me is long and thin, while Adrian's is small. I open my box first. Inside is my mom's diamond necklace. I gasp and look back up at her.

"You're giving me this?" I breathe.

Mom nods with a grin. "Your dad's mom, Grandma Melissa, gave it to me when we were seventeen. We were both going through a tough time and it was kind of a reminder that we weren't alone. I figure now is a good time to give it to you."

Dad places an arm around her shoulders and my face lights up. I pull them both into a hug with each of my arms. "I love you guys."

"Adrian, have you looked at yours?" Dad asks when I pull away from my parents.

He shakes his head and opens the box. There's the gold ring my dad always wears. I had been too busy and distracted with Aunt Emma's wedding to realize they weren't wearing their signature jewelry.

Adrian raises his eyebrows at the ring and then back up at my parents. "I can't take this."

"Sure you can," Dad says. "You and Carter are the closest thing we've had to sons."

"We're supposed to give it when you guys get married, but-"

I nearly choke and flush. "Mom, Adrian barely turned eighteen and we've only been dating for a few months. Isn't it too soon to think about marriage?"

Mom and Dad exchange a look that I can't make out. "Maybe," Dad finally says. "But, if you marry someone else, I won't like him better than I like Adrian, so I'm giving it to him."

Adrian laughs softly and I smile up at him. In the sun, his hair looks a soft brown color and his eyes are thoughtful as he looks over the ring. He doesn't look as hallowed out as he used to, probably because he's finally eating more than one meal a day. I watch his long fingers slide over the ring before he puts it on his middle finger on his left hand.

"Thank you," he says softly to my parents.

Grandma Melissa's voice cuts through the air. "Alex! Nikki! We need you!"

"Wedding emergencies never stop," Mom says. She places a kiss on both mine and Adrian's cheeks before grabbing Dad's hand. "We'll see you at dinner."

We watch as they hurry off towards the tent and Adrian puts an arm around me. He squeezes my shoulder and says, "Your dad already likes me better than your future husband."

I frown and glance up at him. "What makes you think I'll marry anyone besides you?"

Adrian's face splits out into a grin as he turns and tilts my chin up to meet his. "I was hoping you'd say that."

I wrap my arms around him as he kisses me, but we're quickly interrupted.

"Get a room," Tyler's voice cuts in.

I look over Adrian's shoulder to see my friends. "Glad you all ripped yourselves away from the food table long enough to notice what's happening."

Liam shoves a mini croissant in his mouth and says, "I'm about to go head right back over there."

We all laugh and I break away from Adrian, but his hand never leaves my the small of my back. I look up at the beautiful trees in Tahoe and smell the fresh water and crisp air.

Lesly leans over and whispers to me, "I'm happy you and Adrian found each other."

I look up at Adrian. He's laughing at something Liam and Tyler are saying, and it's beautiful. I smile at Lesly. "Me too."