I play along and clear my throat. “Nope, I only see a dashing gentleman on this porch.”

Granny walks to Sarge and steals a kiss from her all-too-eager husband. “He is dashing, isn’t he?”

I gather my purse and quickly duck inside to get my dress. Granny helped me out of a pinch, and the dress looks to be the perfect length.

“Thank you so much for your help, Granny. And, as always, thank both of you for the company.”

I give each of them a tight hug. These visits mean the world to me, and I don’t know what I would do if Cain ever asked me to stop seeing his family. It may very well be my breaking point. To a girl with no family, an evening with Granny and Sarge is priceless.

As I walk down the porch steps, Sarge’s rocker begins to creak, and his gentle whistle fills the air. I reach my car and turn to find Granny following closely behind. She crosses her arms and leans against the side of my car.

She gives me a knowing look. “Are you ready for tomorrow night, sweet girl?”

I release a sigh and give her a grim smile. “I guess I have to be, right?”

“Yes, I guess you do,” she says, brushing my hair behind my ear. “When you see my grandson, I want you to remember something.”

“What’s that, Granny?”

She stands and holds me by my shoulders. “You’ve left him with no other choice, my darling. I love you like one of my own, but the truth is the truth. You’ve left him no alternative but to move on with his life. Please remember that.”

I give her a quick nod, knowing she’s speaking the truth. No matter how seeing him with Kimberly makes my gut twist, I have no one to blame but myself. So I square my shoulders and swallow my fate.

So tomorrow, I’ll watch Alex marry the love of her life while seeing Cain happy with the love of his.

“Still” by Matt Nathanson

Present Day

KIMBERLY’S NAILS RUN up and down my sleeved arm as she clutches on to me for dear life. I chalk it up to nerves. She’s out of her comfort zone with my friends. She’s pretty clingy normally, but she’s reminding me of a damn octopus today. For the hundredth time, I regret my decision to invite her.

We sit under a massive oak tree on Alex’s family’s golf course, bathed in twinkle lights and the scent of wildflowers. Adam softly strums the guitar from the front of the makeshift altar as we wait for the bride to arrive. Come to think of it, we’re still waiting for most of the women. No doubt, they’re all crowded together pecking and squawking like a house of hens.

Alex and West have waited what I’m sure feels like a lifetime for this day. I watched them struggle and claw their way through setback after setback to be together. I sat back as they duked it out from the beginning, and it’s been quite a show. What started out as a weekly golf game between Alex and me quickly evolved into a threesome. It’s humbling, to say the least, getting my ass handed to me by a girl and a one-legged man, but the company makes it worth the shame. They are two of the coolest people I know, and I couldn’t be happier they found their way back to each other.

“Psst,” Adam whispers to get my attention. “What if Lily and Gage are holding up the show? Go check and see if they need to wait for the ceremony out here. I don’t want them causing trouble.”

I shift uncomfortably in my seat. No way do I want to walk into a crowd of women with wedding on the brain. There’s also a certain fairy I haven’t seen yet, and I’m feeling the need to postpone the inevitable pain that always comes with that. Lily and Gage are also part of the wedding party, and I’m sure they’ll be just fine staying with the girls. At Adam’s insistent glare, I sigh and roll my eyes, trying to think of another way.

“How much longer?” Kimberly pouts. Her whiny voice brings my attention back to her and gives me an idea at the same time.

“Kimberly, will you please check at the main house for Lily and Gage? I’ve got one set of balls too many to crawl up into that hen house. The kids can wait for the ceremony out here with us.”

“Of course. I’ll be right back.”

She stands and smooths out her mini dress, and I do mean mini. I’m not up to date on all the fashion shit, but I’m willing to bet her get-up is not appropriate wedding attire. She bends down, giving me a blatant shot of her Grand Canyon cleavage, and kisses me. Just like the dress, the full tongue kiss in the presence of God and everybody seems over the top. She sashays down the aisle, hips swinging too much to be natural, with a smug smile planted on her face.

I catch Adam’s rolling eyes, and I shrug. He hasn’t outwardly expressed a dislike for Kimberly, but it’s not hard to read him. Truth be told, she’s not at the top my list of favorite people, either. It’s funny how after a couple of dates here and there, she and I are right back on opposite sides of the fence. I’m just looking for an occasional date, and she’s ready pick out fucking china patterns.

Honestly, things are even more awkward between Kimberly and me now than they were the first time we dated. She offered up the goods that very first night when she spotted me at the bar, and she’s had her pussy on a platter ever since. The more I say no, the shorter her skirts get. Every time I duck her advances, she puts more cleavage on display. If her dress cuts any lower, there’s gonna be a nip slip. I’m running out of excuses. If I postpone sexy time much longer, she’ll for sure think my dick’s broken.

The old saying, “Love the one you’re with” … Yeah, I’m failing that shit in grand style. Whether or not Celia wants me, deep in my gut, being with Kimberly feels like betrayal. I can push through the hand holding, hugging, and occasional kiss, but anything more than that? I can’t go through with it. I keep waiting for it to get easier, for the edge to dull with time, but … I’m still waiting. I won’t force a relationship with Kimberly if I’m not feeling it, and I don’t feel a damn thing. No woman deserves to be second best when she’s in a man’s bed. That being said, I have a picture in my mind of Kimberly’s impatient vagina with its arms crossed and toe tapping, waiting for me to get my head in the game. The image isn’t helping matters.

After a few minutes pass, Kimberly storms back down the aisle and throws herself into her seat, crossing her arms. Her chest heaves with each breath, and unshed tears swim in her eyes. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and squeeze.

“What’s the matter, babe?”

“Sara said she had the twins under control.” She breathes a sigh and presses her fingers into the corner of her eyes to stop the tears. “Why do they always have to be so mean to me? What did I ever do to them?”

I catch Adam’s attention and shake my head, silently telling him to leave well enough alone. I inhale a deep breath in a feeble attempt to get my temper under control. They don’t have to be her best friend, but there’s no excuse for being bitches. Maybe they aren’t the people I think they are.

“Fuck ‘em. You don’t have to take that shit, Kimberly, and neither do I. We’ll take off as soon as we can,” I say, running a hand through my hair in frustration.

I feel her relax in my arms, but rustling from behind catches our attention before she can respond.

Lily and Gage stand together at the far end of the aisle, stock-still and petrified as all eyes turn to them. Sara places a kiss on top each of their heads before taking her seat next to the rest of the gang.

That’s when I see her.

Celia kneels next to Lily and Gage and whispers something. Whatever she said causes giggles to erupt, and she places her finger over her lips to quiet them.