The Stupid Side of Practical

Chapter 8

Josh shifted on Gina's couch, holding the pack of ice in place on the bridge of his nose. His eyes were closed but he could hear Gina moving around the small loft apartment. He listened as she padded over the thick throw rug and placed a glass on the coffee table.

"You let him hit you, didn't you?"

He open one eye to see her glaring down at him, she had changed her clothes because the previous ones had blood on them. Just when he thought her shorts couldn't get shorter, she found another pair to taunt him with.

"Well are you going to answer me?"

Josh winced as he sat up and placed the ice pack next to his glass. "Yeah, I let him hit me."

Gina stomped her foot. "Why?"

Josh raised his brow even though it pained him a little to do so, "Don't you think it's better if he gets it out of his system now, rather than at the wedding."

"There isn't going to be a wedding," she turned around and began to pace. "We're eloping."

Even though the movement hurt, he couldn't stop from smiling, "you don't mean that."

"Don't I?" Gina huffed, "What are we supposed to do Josh set up a booth and charge 5 dollars a punch?"

"Imagine the college fund we could start for junior."

Gina stopped pacing, her eyes glaring at Josh. "This isn't a joke."

"Then don't joke about eloping," he knew how close the Costa siblings were. They might bicker like the world is ending but at the end of the day, family was the most important thing to them.

"I told you, I don't like being told what to do. I've had it up to here with my brothers thinking they can run my life." She fell back into a chair, her shorts hiking up some and making his breath hitch a little.

"Gigi-" he stopped when her eyes narrowed in his direction. "Dear," he offered. "They love you; they want the best for you and if I was some other guy and not me, I'd want to punch me too."

She made a noise that sounded like a choking growl and slumped back, bending her head forward, her long hair falling like a curtain before her face.

He smiled softly. He liked her hair. The messy wild dark curls suited her.

She tossed her head back and sighed, "I love my brothers, but they have to accept that I'm not a child anymore. I'm an adult. I make my own decisions. They don't have to like them but they do have to at least respect them, and if they can't do that then we have no choice. We're going to have to elope."

"Beautiful," he said quietly. He shrugged his shoulders as he tried his best to explain it. "Our news was a shock to him. He'll come around."

"It doesn't matter," Gina's voice lowered as she placed her hands over her stomach. "I'm the first Costa to be knocked up before her wedding night and I'll be the first one to be married in some cheap Vegas chapel instead of the restaurant. It won't be the end of the world."

Josh's entire being stilled when he heard the hurt in her voice. She was pale, teary eyed and she looked defeated. He would bet that she had already planned her dream wedding at the restaurant. She was the only girl in the Costa family. She couldn't be the only one not married at the restaurant. It would break Maria's heart.

A stab of something that felt uncomfortably like guilt pierced his gut. She hadn't sought this out. His carelessness had thrusted it upon her, the least he could do was make sure she had her way on this one small thing.

"No," Josh said with finality, "You're getting married at the restaurant. Surrounded by your family, in a perfectly white dress."

Gina's eyes slowly looked over at him, "You're just full of promises, aren't you?"