Chapter 5: Glances and Stares
"So here's the vineyard!" Carls squealed excitedly as she took the majority of the people in her wedding through the area. She explained how it was going to be decorated in dark and light shades of pink. I'm glad she chose pink, because one day when I was feeling extremely girlie, I'd told her of my desire to use purple as my weddings theme color. She led us all down one of the paths that would be used during the ceremony. They all led to the center where the actual ceremony would be held. There was a beautiful fountain that would serve as the backdrop to the whole event. The whole group walked to center where the ceremony would take place and took in the atmosphere. Carls had most definitely picked the perfect spot.
"I would have still preferred if you'd gotten married in the family's church Dylan," Mrs. Scott still protested even though the wedding was a week away.
"Carly and I both wanted an outside wedding," he countered, putting his arm around Carly, and then he kissed her cheek. "Besides, aren't we having the reception in one of your most favorite hotels mother?" He teased and his mom rolled her eyes.
"I wanna do something different. I was thinking about the different paths to the center in the ceremony. I'm not quite sure what to do with it though." Carly mused as she looked around the area. I looked around too. I wasn't visually creative, not in the way that Carly was. I could draw and come up with pranks but I wasn't good at making things pretty. I glanced over at Freddie, he'd put his thinking face on. I knew he would jump into action. I knew Freddie wasn't attracted to Carly, not physically anyway, but he never got over his obsession with being her hero. "I was thinking that the groomsmen could come down one side on at a time, wait for their partnered bridesmaid and offer her a kiss on her hand or something." Carly shrugged at her idea, I hoped she didn't use it. It seemed a little corny.
"Or he could offer her a single rose," Mrs. Scott offered. "That would be romantic." Maddy frowned at that one. The ideas seemed to be getting cornier by the second, I sighed as Carly and her future mother-in-law tried to figure out the mechanics of the event.
"This is not your cup of tea I assume?" Adam whispered, his warm green eyes smiled at me.
"Uh, no, I'm not picky over this kind of stuff. If I ever go through all of this drama I will most definitely be using a wedding planner. It will probably be Carly." I laughed.
"That makes sense to me. So you said 'if' about marriage, it's not a definite on your list of things to do?" He pried.
"No, no where in the near future anyway, I guess I haven't been putting enough effort into finding the right guy to be worried with that stuff." I sighed again, this time because I was bored with this conversation. I liked Adam, but wasn't it a little soon for him to be drilling me about my views on marriage?
"Me too. I don't think much ahead of the clients we work with and the work on my agenda." He confessed. "You and I Samantha Puckett are two very similar creatures." He inched himself closer to me. His movement made me uncomfortable. I couldn't tell if I was really attracted to him or if I was just on edge by his proximity.
"I have an idea," Freddie spoke and all of my thoughts shifted. "I think you ladies are missing the obvious. The paths cross at the middle and merge with the center path," he explained the obvious, which is something that he's always been known for.
"Spit it out Benson!" I snapped and everyone looked at me. I had to frown myself. I didn't know where that came from.
"I'll show you." He grabbed my hand and led me back up the path, to the beginning. He pointed to the side he wanted me to walk down, and sprinted to the other side. We walked back down the paths meeting at the center, he offered me his arm and I looped my arm in his. We made the rest of the journey down the aisle this way until it was time to separate and stand in the appropriate places. I had to give it to him. I liked his idea a lot better than Carly or Mrs. Scott's brain child.
"Awww, Freddie it's so simple yet perfect. I love it!" Carly clapped in excitement. The rest of the day we spent practicing for the ceremony. Instead of walking down the aisle with Freddie, I was paired with Adam, since he was the best man. The feeling was nowhere near as comfortable, but I tried to shake the feeling. Should I be comparing Adam to Freddie? Freddie isn't an option. He was a guy, an old friend, which I desperately needed to get over. I didn't know what I needed to do to get closure but I needed to think fast.
After the rehearsal, Dylan and his brother went back to work, his mother went back to wherever trolls like her dwell, and the rest of us we out to lunch. Carly, Freddie, Maddy, and I sat at a table at a Happy Friday restaurant. When I was younger I loved this place. The last time I was at one with Freddie I'd embarrassed him horribly, even though it was years ago, and he probably didn't remember, this was the perfect opportunity to show how much I'd grown since then. Instead of the delicious ribs they served, I ordered the grilled chicken salad. Last time I was here with him I'd order the ribs and ended up covered and barbeque sauce.
"No ribs, Sam?" Carly questioned as she handed the waiter her menu. I shook my head and tried not the think about the missed opportunity. "What are trying to watch your figure?" She teased.
"Why would she? She looks incredible!" Maddy really needed to simmer down. Her constant compliments were becoming more than a little weird. "I always wanted to ask how you stayed so skinny when you eat SO much." Freddie smirked at his little assistant's question.
"Well, I have two theories, the first is that I have really good genes, and the second is that most skinny girls are evil and I'm not different." I teased.
"Hey, I'm skinny and I'm not evil!" Carly protested as she took a sip of her lemonade.
"Don't act so innocent Shay, you know you've got it in you." I laughed.
"Does the same rule apply to men?" Freddie asked. "Am I evil?" The look he issued me was weird. If I didn't know any better it was the same way he looked at me when we were dating. The same look he issued me before he'd try to kiss me. I quickly diverted my attention from his stare.
"I don't think so. Even if it did, Freddie, you're not skinny. You're actually sort of beefy in a nubby sort of way." I glanced at Carly who was grinned so hard her face was bound to hurt.
"So what does nubby mean anyway?" Maddy questioned me again. God, being around her was like conducting an everlasting interview. I sighed and gave the question some thought. I'd been calling Freddie a nub since before I had boobs. I don't think I ever really defined it. It was just what Freddie was. He was nerdy, short (at the time), geeky, and kind of …
"Sam?" Carly said curiously I must've been silent for too long.
"It means nerdy for the most part." I mumbled and then looked around. When was our food going to get here? Maybe if our food would get here Maddy, would stop asking so many questions.
"Oh." Freddie frowned at me. "I always thought it meant something else."
"What else could it possibly mean, Benson?" I arched my eyebrow as I waited for a response.
"I don't know, just not that." He didn't seem put out. Actually he seemed kind of amused, which only made me more curious.
"Did you still call him a nub when you two were dating?" Maddy continued to be evasive. I grumbled under my breath, Freddie and I hadn't even addressed our past relationship. If I wasn't ready to discuss it with him, I knew good and well I wasn't ready to discuss it with her. I shrugged off her question.
Thankfully, the food came and distracted her long enough for Carly to change the topic back to her wedding. I'd never been so thankful to discuss the different shades of pink in my life. Every now and then I'd lock eyes with Freddie. Each glance that allowed myself made me wonder if maybe, just maybe, he still had feelings for me. This small speculation excited me inside, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. Freddie and I now had separate lives and lifestyles, there was no way our lives would merge together that way again.
Author's Note: I know this chapter is not Seddie filled, but I was thinking about the two of them having another nightcap in the next chapter. Please read and review … and I'll try to have the next chapter up by the end of next week! Oh and no flames.