Steffi

14:

Carrie:

As I descended down the spiral staircase in my Gucci dress, all eyes were directed at me. With its gentle ivory hue, low cut back and slender spaghetti straps, it perfectly hugged every curve on my body.

“Be careful babe, you don’t wanna show up the bride now do you? Remember to save me the last dance,” Gary laughed, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“You know, I bet Tom and Mary wouldn’t mind if you came along,” Kevin piped up.

“Naw man, it wouldn’t be right to intrude. Take care of my girl and don’t make a move on her!” Gary joked. Although Kevin and I had both denied our feelings for each other, I knew that Gary thought there was something between us. This wedding date would serve as a test of our true feelings.

When we arrived at the church, Kevin took his place on the aisle as best man, and I silently found a seat. After giving the guests a copious 20-30 minutes to hustle about and find their seats, the ceremony started. An exquisite rendition of the “Wedding March” echoed through the church as a gorgeous bride in a dazzling white gown sashayed down the aisle. After the exchange of vows, all the guests cheered and tossed rice onto the newlywed couple.

Later that night, we all wined and dined at the reception party. When it came time for the newlywed couple to share their first dance alone, I was amazed to see Kevin rush up to the microphone. Tom grinned and rubbed his hands together, assuring the guests that “this is gonna be good”.

“For those of you who don’t know who I am, let me give you a quick intro. I’m Tom’s “Best Man” Kevin Richardson. I’ve known Tom since we were teens. You all might be wondering what I’m doing up here. When Tom and I were young, we made a bet. Whoever got married first out of the two of us, would have the honor of hearing the other sing at his wedding. And since he won the bet, and I’ve never backed out a bet my whole life, I will have the joy of humiliating myself in front of all of his honored guests. Since the Police's "Every Breathe You Take” is their song, I’ll be singing it a cappella."

As the concluding note of the song died down, the guests roared in approval. Although I had known Kevin for so many years, I never knew about his incredible talent. I was in absolute shock as Kevin returned to my side.

“Wow Kev, I never knew you had such an incredible voice!” I exclaimed.

“Thanks, I’m just happy that I didn’t make a fool of myself,” he puffed. “May I have the honor of this dance, Ms. Kensington?” Kevin asked in a phony British accent, bending over and kissing my hand.

“Of course Mr. Richardson,” I replied, and he led me to the dance floor.

After a few dances, we decided to cool off at the balcony. With so many guests dancing in such a small area, it was quite stuffy and confined. However, after a few minutes, the wind gained momentum and it was quite chilly outside. Although I did not bring a jacket, Kevin, being a total gentleman, took off his formal jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. As he massaged my shoulders to keep them warm, his brown eyes gazed into mine.

“Carrie, what would happen if I kissed you?” Kevin whispered, inching his face closer to mine.

“I don’t know. Maybe we’d find out what we’ve been trying to hide all this time,” I murmured, closing my eyes. We were fractions of a centimeter away from each other when someone called our names.

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