A/N Ehh... I'm sorry? I started rereading some fanfictions of mine that I want to finish and I read that I had already written 9 of this and I was like WHERE'S THE REST? So I looked through a bunch of notebooks and my current computer and Pages on my phone and google drive but it was nowhere to be found. But then I looked through my old computer, which is a laptop where the screen has been broken off from the keyboard, and takes forever to start. But there it was! The rest of this. But it wasn't 9 chapters so I'm wondering if I've hidden the last one somewhere else.
Anyways, here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 4
They had booked a ballroom as a venue for the reception and everything in that room felt grand and expensive. The middle of the room was left empty for the dancing, but the floor was framed by round tables for the guests and one long table for the newlyweds, their parents and the people who had played an active part in the wedding. Valerie and David walked together to find their seats and were happy to find that they had been seated next to each other. Neither one of them brought a date so they were happy to at least have each other. There were so many people here who they'd never met. Though Kelly and Brandon had been kind enough to place only familiar faces at their table. Brenda and Andrea, with her new boyfriend, arrived soon after they did, claiming their seats. The rest of the seats belonged to Mrs. Teasley, her husband, Felice Martin, Gina, and Gina's plus one. Valerie had only briefly met the former ice princess during the thanksgiving dinner she'd hosted just before she left for Buffalo, but from everything she had heard, she was surprised the woman had been invited to this wedding. David had confided in Valerie about the crush he'd had on her and how she had kept going back to Dylan, even if Dylan was not really interested in a real relationship. So, being David's friend, Valerie had secretly hated Gina for hurting him so bad, but according to David, after Mr. Martin passed away, they had pretty much accepted Gina.
"So where is the heavy stuff?" Valerie asked, swirling the champagne on the table in front of her. They had planned to drink shots to feel less tired, not champagne.
"Didn't you get enough last night?" Andrea asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's the problem. I feel exhausted from the lack of sleep and I desperately need something to wake me up," Valerie said and leaned back in her seat. "Hi, by the way." Valerie extended a hand to the man next to Andrea, realizing she hadn't even introduced herself. "I'm Valerie Malone and I'm not an alcoholic."
"Hello, Valerie, I'm Chris," the man greeted, shaking her hand. "Very nice to meet you."
Looking around, she could see the other tables filling up quickly and the rest of their table soon arrived, passing around hugs even if they all didn't know each other very well. They sat down again and Valerie took a much needed sip from her champagne. Like she had done all day so far, she only half listened to what was being said around her, the pleasantries exchanged, the talk about how things had been. She didn't participate much in the conversation, just slowly sipped her champagne and thinking about crawling into the cozy, warm king size bed back at the hotel and finally getting some shut-eye. Her stomach grumbled in protest to that thought. Right, first she needed to eat because when was the last time she did that? Now, she couldn't remember if she had picked the lamb or the fish, but anything would work just fine right now.
Stay until they cut the cake, David had said, and she intended to do just that.
The brunette was relieved when waiters finally started to hand out dishes with some amazingly cooked halibut or a delicious rack of lamb. The fish was served with a potato purée, steamed vegetables and a dill sauce while the lamb was served with potatoes and a cauliflower purée. The smell was divine and probably made every mouth in that room water.
A plate with the lamb was put in front of her and she looked to the side to see what protein David had picked.
"If I let you try my lamb, can I taste your halibut," she said, quietly, leaning into him.
"Just what I was thinking," he replied under his breath.
It was painful to wait until everyone had gotten their plate before they were allowed to dig in. Valerie tried not to throw all of it in her mouth at once as she cut into the tender meat. She cut a piece for David and put it on his plate.
"This is amazing," Brenda said, taking a bite of her halibut and potato purée.
"So, Brenda," Mrs. Teasley started, cutting into her lamb. "Tell me about that play you're doing in London."
Brenda held up a finger to let herself swallow the fish before answering the question. "We're doing Shakespeare's A midsummer night's dream. We actually only have a few more shows and then I'll move back here."
"A dream play for any actress," Mrs. Teasley smiled, warmly. "What about you David? How is the music going?"
"Well…" David grimaced slightly. Valerie knew he hadn't been very successful in that department and had instead decided to review music and teach piano. He'd only had one hit, but Valerie knew what an amazing songwriter he was. In fact, he had finally written one for her that she just hadn't been able to stop listening to. "It's kind of on the shelf at the moment. I've started to teach kids piano instead and it's very rewarding too."
Mrs. Teasley nodded with a smile and continued to eat her food. The people around the table started chattering with the people they were closest too and Valerie was happy that the awkward small talk was over.
Food had been exactly what they needed they realized as they were suddenly filled with renewed energy. The warm bed had now completely left her mind and she was actually looking forward to dancing all night.
A knife clinking against a glass echoed through the room and Steve stood up from his seat, prepared to give his toast.
"I have known Brandon for ten years now and Kelly for even longer. Both of them are my best friends and I couldn't be happier that the two of them found each other. It's about God damn time you tied the knot. I think I speak for everyone when I say that this is the day we've waited for. To the bride and groom!" Steve raised his glass and the entire ballroom followed him.
"To the bride and groom," they echoed.
"It's now time for the first dance," Steve continued, and the newlyweds stood up, walking around the table to get on the dance floor.
It always felt strange watching another couple dance and steal the occasional kisses, but that was the tradition of a wedding and she had to admit that it was beautiful. They danced to the song 'The way you look tonight' and Valerie could tell Brandon had taken lessons to prepare himself for this particular moment. He wasn't much of a dancer, as she recalled.
Soon the song changed, signaling to everyone else that the dance floor was now open to everyone.
"How about a dance?" David asked, holding out his hand.
"How could I say no to that?" she took his hand, downed the rest of her champagne and walked with him. This song was more upbeat and she was lucky to have a good dancer like David as a partner.
She laughed out loud as he spun her around and moved to the music, always holding at least one of his hands. Looking around she could see more of their friends dancing around them, all just as happy as she was at this moment. Her gaze landed on David again and she twirled, away from him, but always coming back.
"So when are you leaving?" he yelled over the music.
"Tomorrow at noon," she said back, her smile faltering, not really wanting to think about leaving everyone again. Especially David. He also seemed sadder by this fact and looked down to the floor.
"You should come visit," she said, though she couldn't help but to wonder what Matthew would say about that. Who cares what he thinks anyways?
"How does next week sound?" he asked over the music. "My schedule is pretty flexible so I'm sure I can spend a week or two in Buffalo."
"Really?" she hadn't expected him to actually agree to her proposal, and so soon too. "We have a guest bedroom so you won't have to pay for a hotel."
Oh, Matthew would definitely not be okay with that.
They barely slept anything that night either. Somehow David had convinced her to come back to his apartment since it was closer to the venue than her hotel, and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible before her flight. Even if they'd already decided he would visit her soon.
It was safe to say that paying for that hotel room was a waste of money since she hadn't slept there any of the nights.
David had offered to give her a ride to the airport so two hours before the flight they went by the hotel to pick up her things and then headed for LAX. She had said her goodbyes to the rest of the gang before she left the party and she felt like that was enough. She was glad she had come back this weekend to attend the wedding and that she was on good terms with everyone, even Kelly.
As they reached the short-term parking at the domestic airport, David parked the car, insisting on going with her inside. Valerie grabbed her carry-on bag and walked side by side with David. This would be so much harder on her if they hadn't known they were soon seeing each other again.
"So are you sure you have everything?" he wondered as they stopped by the check-in. She only had that one carry-on bag since she'd only stayed for two nights.
"I'm sure and if I forgot anything you will bring that next weekend," she said, smiling as she typed in her booking number to get her boarding pass. "As long as I have my wallet and phone, I'm alright."
Shit. That reminded her. She had removed her battery during the ceremony and hadn't put it back in or returned Matthews calls. She would just have to explain to him when she got home, after he was done with work.
The boarding pass was printed out and she grabbed it. "You may leave now." She said as she turned to her best friend.
"I'm following you as far as I can," he said, leaving no room for arguement, and she wasn't about to anyways.
"As you wish," she said and walked the last couple of meters to the entrance of the security line where only those who had a plane ticket could enter. "So this is it."
David didn't hesitate to wrap his strong arms around Valerie, pulling her into a big hug. "See you in a week."
