Ch. 27

A/N: Just wanted to give a shout out to my commenters... I thank you for really getting into the story as much as I'm into! It truly makes writing that much easier. Our story is winding down as some of you have probably already imagined... but no worries, I am already in the process of starting a new one and I have a bunch that I've already written and am willing to post on here.  I will post a poll within the next day or two to find out who you might be interested in reading about next! As for now, enjoy the first part of the highly anticipated "wedding."

I love you more than songs can say
But i can't keep running after yesterday

Why you wanna break my heart again
Why am I gonna let you try

When all we ever do is say goodbye

John Mayer – All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye

Ch. 27

"Oh Steegey, I still can't believe I'm your date for the wedding," Janell crooned as she walked up to the tent to be seated.  It was a beautiful setting.  Dawn always talked about an outdoor wedding and Trevor did not deny her.  Not that I would have denied her that either, I was a sucker for the romantic settings.  Too bad my date looks like a complete skank.  I cringed when she came prancing over in the clear plastic platform shoes, the ones you see the hookers from the Bunny Ranch running around in.  Her dress was this tight, bright red thing that totally clashed with her red hair.  She was obviously going to be the one girl that was found at every wedding; the one that thought she had to make a statement when all the statement said was, "Look at me, I'm trashy."  Fuck me.

"Hi, Janell," I said politely, leaning in to give her a quick peck on the cheek as Bryce was elbowing me like crazy and sniggering loudly.  Janell had to have heard him, but she played the deaf role well and just smiled sweetly at him.  "Bride or groom side?" I asked through a fake smile as I offered her my arm to usher her to her seat.

"Groom of course," she said as if it was something I should have known, but then I remembered that Trevor had been one of the guys that had gotten with her when we were still in High School.  This could be a long night.  "You look totally hot," she whispered into my ear as we walked slowly down the aisle, so that she wouldn't trip and make a fool of herself.  "I'm totally looking forward to the dancing tonight," she continued in a voice that told me she was looking forward to a lot more that I would prolly need a ton of alcohol to even begin thinking about.  Something tells me that no amount of alcohol could get me that stupid.

"Yeah, for sure," I grinned through my teeth while unlatching her death grip from my arm.  "Well, here we are," I said politely.  "See you after dinner," I added, holding back the "that is if I don't run away before then."

I practically ran down the aisle to get back to standing with the guys once more, it was then that I realized Mitch hadn't shown his face since we got ready this morning.  "Dude, Freddy, where the fuck is Mitch?  He's supposed to be here helping us," I growled while looking around the landscape for my middle brother.

"I actually just got a text from him, he's going to be here in a minute," Freddy said as if it wasn't a big deal that Mitch was late for his job.  It is one thing to be late, but it's a totally different matter when you are late to anything at a wedding, it is just disrespectful.

5 minutes later, Mitch came strolling across the grass with a big shit-ass grin on his face.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late, my date was a little late in getting ready.  She's nervous," he continued with a wink of the eye.

"Who is this date of yours anyway?" I asked, not totally caring.

"She's not from around here.  I met her during the season at an away game…" he said, seeming to skate around the full answer.  "I left her in the bathroom because she was still fussing over her hair, despite the fact that she looks fucking amazing," he continued, practically drooling over his thoughts.  "She's a little high maintenance."

"I'll trade you," I said quietly as I nodded my head over for him to look at Janell.

He looked over, shivered dramatically while making some sort of mooing noise.  "Yikes, that's just fucking scary," he said honestly while Freddy and Bryce chuckled.  "Sorry dude, she's all yours."

"I hate you all," I grumbled, suddenly feeling quite irritable.

Dawn was kind enough to allow me to finish getting ready with her and her bridesmaids.  It wasn't very convenient to fly into a strange place and expect to get ready and look good all in the same breath.  One of Dawn's bridesmaid's even helped me with my hair.  It had grown out quite nicely over the summer and it was now down to my shoulders.  I had it dyed back to my original dark brown, with golden highlights through out, so it looked totally awesome when we curled it into spirals, pinning just a few pieces back off my face.  My dress was a pale yellow, gauzy, strapless number with an empire waist that came down to my knees.  I finished it off with a pair of silver ballet-flats.  It was fun and flirty, but perfect for an outdoor wedding.  With the tan I acquired from spending my lazy days by the pool, I thought I looked pretty stunning.

"I don't think I could pull off that dress with no heels, but you somehow make it work," one of the girls commented as I stood in front of the mirror, finishing up my make-up.

"Yeah, after almost breaking my ankle at the last outdoor wedding I attended wearing heels, I vowed never to do it again."

"Totally agree with you," she smiled as she pulled up her dress revealing a pair of plain flip flops.  We were both giggling when Dawn came over.  She looked beautiful and was radiant as a bride should be on her wedding day.

"You look beautiful, Dawn," I complimented her as I took her hands and squeezed them.  She and I surprisingly became fast friends when she and Mitch spent those two days out in Toronto.  She really had a sweet personality, a little high maintenance at times, but what girl wasn't?

"You are going to make his jaw drop when he sees you," she countered with a wink.  "Get out there and have Mitch flaunt you down the aisle before it's my turn to get all the attention," she shooed me away as the rest of the girls yelled out words of good luck and encouragement.  Before I stepped out onto the patio of the establishment I took a deep breath and sent up a silent prayer to Brendan.

Don't fail me now, Brendan.

I was just walking up the aisle from seating two Great Aunts of Dawn's when I looked up and noticed the pale yellow dressed girl who was shaking hands with the rest of the groomsman.  The boys looked mesmerized, she seemed to be laughing, but I wasn't close enough to hear her; Mitch was grinning like the cat that finally caught the runaway mouse that had been eluding him for so long.  The way she held herself was all too familiar and the closer I got the more my eyes got wider.  Her smooth, tanned skin.  Her perfectly toned legs and arms.  The long, graceful neck I remembered laying kisses on.

It can't be.

She then turned, arm and arm with Mitch.  Oh, it totally is.

"Oh Kris!  This is my date, Abby," Mitch announced happily.  If we wouldn't have been in public and I wasn't so shocked by her being only a few feet away from me, I would have punched him out.  His words were muffled by the blood rushing to my ears.  She looked up at me for a split second before looking shyly down at her shoes.  Before I could get a word out, Mitch walked her past me and down the aisle to seat her on Dawn's side.

She looked perfect.  Hell she looked more than perfect, she looked as if she walked right out of heaven.  I wanted to run down the aisle after them, feeling the sudden urge to take her out of here and…and…well, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do.  Half of me wanted to scream and yell until I was blue in the face; to put her back on the plane to Toronto and to stay the hell away from me.  The other half of me wanted to kiss and touch her until we both couldn't feel all the hurt and anger that had plagued both of us these last few months.  Then there was the horny part in me that wanted to hate fuck her and make her scream out her apologies as I had my way with her. 

Just as Mitch came strolling back up to us, the moms of the bride and groom were ready to be seated, so I was unable to confront him or even begin to ask the questions that would gnaw at me throughout the service.

His hair was perfectly spiked, his blue eyes were sparkling in the sunlight that had filtered into the tent and he looked like something out of GQ.  The baby-blue tux-tie made his eyes look like they were projecting the clear blue sky that was gracing the wedding party today.  Even Jackson in a tux would have not turned me on as much as Kris in a tux did.  He looked fucking amazing as he stood up in front of the friends and family that had gathered for his two friends.  As much as I wanted to pay attention to the beautiful service playing out in front of me, I couldn't rip my eyes away from Kris.  Seeing him live and in person, I instantly realized that watching him on HDTV during the playoffs did him no justice.

I could tell he was either nervous about standing up front or totally annoyed by the fact I was there.  He was constantly clenching and unclenching his jaw.  I was pretty much sold on the latter reason because he seemed to tense even more every time I caught him sneaking a glance over at me.  Luckily the service was short and sweet because I couldn't get out of the tent quick enough.  Despite the fact we were still technically outdoors, I still felt as if I was in a dark, closed room that didn't allow for enough oxygen.  I found myself gasping for air while holding onto a big oak tree on the property when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Abby, are you okay?" Mitch asked quietly as I turned to find him looking at me worriedly.

"Fuck, no," I breathed out honestly.  "I don't know if this was the right thing to do…"

"It was totally the right thing to do.  You need to suck it up here sister and dish out that attitude I know you have," he said with a wink, instantly making me smile.  "Remember what I said, if things don't work out with Kris, you can definitely have me."

I swatted at him and shook my head.  "Don't you have pictures to take?"

"I do, but I wanted to make sure you were okay first," he said in a sincere tone that made me realize the Versteeg boys were brought up the way boys should be brought up.  "Come over and hang out with my mom, she'll talk your ear off and I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you."  I took his offered hand and walked across the lawn with him, feeling a little better after the pep-talk.

"I still can't believe you are here, Abby!" Marilyn exclaimed, "and you are Mitch's date?" she raised a confused eyebrow.

"Yeah," I shrugged as smiled broadly at her.  "Your son is quite the smooth talker," I joked.

"Which one?" she eyed me curiously.

"Um…"

She startled me as she leaned in to whisper in my ear.  "You better be here to fix whatever happened between you and Kris.  You two make one beautiful couple and he's been miserable all summer, despite winning the Cup for the 2^nd year in a row.  If Mitch thinks you are that important to his brother, then I'm all for this.  That is all I will say," she said in a flat tone that told me she would accept me if things between Kris and I did in fact work out, but it was also a warning not to mess with her when it came to the well-being of her sons.

I nodded and smiled nervously at her.  "Thanks," was all I could say and even that sounded strange.  We began some small talk and while Marilyn was in the middle of telling me how she was still in awe that the boys were old enough to get married, a red head came strutting up to us in this hideous tight red dress that clashed with her hair and I couldn't get over the hooker platforms.  Oh my.

"Hi Mrs. Versteeg!" she cooed as she basically threw herself on Marilyn for a hug.  "Isn't this just so wonderful?!"

Marilyn, being the friendly person that she was, smiled broadly and instantly introduced me to her.  I'm not the snooty type, so I just stood there and smiled politely.  However my smile turned into a dropped jaw when she made some remark about being Kris's date.

"Yeah, I'm still so excited that Kris asked me to be his date for the wedding.  I couldn't believe that he would remember little old me from high school," she continued.  "Did you know that Kris just won the Stanley Cup with the Flyers?" she turned to me, obviously having no clue who I was.

Marilyn was going to cut in to correct Janell, presumably ready to tell her that I was already friends with Kris, but before she could, I started in acting completely clueless.  "Seriously?! Well that is just wonderful news," I over exaggerated my surprise, even adding in the higher pitched voice for extra measure.  I stole a quick glance in Marilyn's direction to find her stifling a laugh.

"Yeah," Janell continued, obviously missing the point that I was making an ass out of her.  "We graduated high school together and I always knew he was going to make it big someday," she fawned while twirling a piece of errant hair.  If this is his rebound, then maybe Mitch really is the better choice.  I was in the middle of nodding to her as if I was totally interested in what she was saying when she suddenly squeaked, "Kriiiiisss!!!" she called out, waving hysterically and then deciding to "run" over to him.  I covered my mouth to keep from laughing loudly as I watched him cringe and try to ignore her.  However, Miss Janell was not one to be put off and she instantly glued her skanky-self to his side.

"Well, isn't she just a delight?" I turned back to Marilyn and smiled sweetly once more.

She was still laughing at the little act that just unfolded in front of her.  "Has Kris told you that I'm the fine arts teacher here in the school district?  I've even directed a few plays here in Lethbridge and I'm thinking you would be an awesome actress," she giggled as she wrapped an arm around me and squeezed my shoulder.

"Don't you dare tell me you had something to do with this," I hissed at Dawn while I held her up for the bride and groomsmen pictures.  She was lying across our arms and threatening us all that bad things would happen if we dropped her.

"If I say yes, you won't drop me will you?" she smiled up at me.

"I'm going to kill you and Mitch," I growled.

"Why?  Because you are mad that Mitch and I obviously had more balls than you to go to Toronto to possibly fix this?  Stop being so damn proud, Kris."

"What if I didn't want to fix this?"

"Well then I'm sure Janell would looooove to latch her crusty claws in you all night," she threw back politely, making me cringe at the thought.  "So let's see Steeger, who do you want to save the last dance for tonight; Janell and her hooker platforms or Abby who looks like a summer princess?"

I stopped her taunting by letting her shoulder drop just enough to make her squeal out in fear.

So far I was able to steer clear from having any sort of contact with Abby, but now that I was basically finished with all my best man chores, I knew there was no way I could keep it up as if she wasn't here.  Besides, I wasn't sure if I really wanted to ignore her the whole night.  She truly was the most beautiful woman at the wedding besides the bride and just like the first time we met, there was something magnetic about her.  I needed to be near her, even if it was just to make smart ass remarks.  Somehow by God's given grace I ended up next to her in the food line.  "What? Is this all you can do to look good?" I chirped her, effectively startling her as I leaned in close to her.

She didn't turn around to face me; instead she kept moving along down the line putting some food on her plate as she spoke.  "I didn't want to waste my best sweats on a function like this."

"Oh, no, definitely not," I mocked in a dramatic lower toned voice.

"So I met your lovely date for the night, you have impeccable taste, Versteeg."

"Don't mock a woman who knows how to wear red.  Red is the color of an independent woman, you know?"

"Mmm, that she is.  I'm sure it took a lot of independence for her not to be glued to your side this minute," Abby said, taking a moment to look around the room, presumably looking around for Janell.

"She's probably in the bathroom fixing her hair and make-up like a good date should do when they are with a professional hockey player," I said haughtily, unable to keep a straight face when Abby snorted.

"Oh, most definitely.  Did she kiss the Audi when you picked her up?"

"Of course!"

"Have fun with that," Abby played coyly as we came to the end of the buffet line.  She turned, sent me a playful wink and walked away leaving me reeling.  How the hell does she think she can come in here and play me like that?  Evil vixen.

"You know, if Kris doesn't take you back after you apologize, I'm single," Freddy winked as we danced one of the slow dance together.  Mitch was helping pour shots for the dollar dance, so he entrusted Freddy with me "for this dance only."  Since I was Mitch's date, I got to sit with the groomsmen, all except for Kris since he was the best man, making him and his date entitled to sit with the bride and groom.  The guys were hilarious and totally brazen, making me less nervous about the whole situation.  I was fairly proud of myself when it came to handling Kris at the buffet table, but knowing Kris I wouldn't get away with that much attitude again.

"Well that's definitely a good thing to know," I laughed easily with Freddy.  "Definitely need to keep my options open…"

"For sure."

Suddenly our swaying was interrupted by a shove and a squeal of laughter.  I turned around to find Janell laughing hysterically as Kris hip checked himself into Freddy, scowling at him.  Freddy quickly pulled me tightly against him, stuck out his tongue and waltzed us in a different direction much to Kris's annoyance it seemed.  These games could get dangerous with more alcohol involved.  Fortunately or unfortunately for me I didn't have to wait for more alcohol to be involved because soon Kris's hand came between us and pushing Freddy firmly away from me. 

"It's time to switch dance partners," he announced simply.  Despite my death grip on Freddy's shoulders, he dropped his hands from my waist and gave me a wink before walking away.  However, no one danced with Janell, she was just left standing in the middle of the dance floor, scowling.  I'm fairly sure I heard her make some unbecoming noise as Kris pulled me close against his hard body, placing his hands low on my waist as I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck.  Everything around us disappeared from my sight at this point; my mind only able to focus on the hurt and wonder in his eyes.  I went to open my mouth to say sorry, but he just said, "Ssh."

My skin prickled from the heat of him.  My mind was reeling from the intensity of his gaze.  He didn't look away for a minute and I cursed myself every time I had to blink, scared to death that when I opened my eyes again he wouldn't be in front of me.  It looked as if he wanted to say something by the way he kept clenching and unclenching his jaw, but instead he held me possessively, allowing the music to take us away.

Unfortunately the spell was broken too soon when the DJ began playing the chicken dance and we had to leave the middle of the dance floor in fear of being stuck in the middle the traditional "make an ass of yourself" wedding song.

He led me off the dance floor but he soon dropped my hand, stood still for a moment and then turned to walk away, leaving me alone as I watched him walk into the dusk.  The unknown hung heavy as the space between us got larger with every step he took away from me.