It had taken me a while to actually calm down from crying enough to make myself look presentable. What Kris had said to me had just sent me into another fit of sobs. Max never deserved me? I think he had it backwards, I never deserved Max. Sure, he made his mistakes, and yes, cheated on me, but I had never in my life felt as wanted and loved as I had when I was with him. I was starting to wonder if I ever would again.

“Taylor, please don’t cry,” Kris had begged repeatedly when I’d sunk to the floor and pulled my knees to my chest. But I couldn’t stop. What did this man see in me that for some reason caused him to think I was so great? Max was one of his best friends, how could he come in here and sympathize with me when I was the one that had made a scene at his engagement party? Why would he even begin to make Max out to be the bad guy? It wasn’t like I was perfect anyway.

Hell, I was just as guilty as Max was for our relationship falling apart. I’d never cheated on him, no, but I could have done better. I was too argumentative sometimes. I’d pick a fight just for the sake of arguing with someone. It was never a hurtful argument really, but enough to frustrate most people. I was too loud and brash, and I had a horrible mouth. I was shocked that Max had ever introduced me to his parents actually. I didn’t always make myself available to him either. I worked two jobs a lot of times, and went to school full time. And when he had asked me to move in… I’d said no.

What the fuck had I been thinking? Why should I have denied that man anything? I was lucky that he had wanted me when he had, but I had to go pushing limits like that? I was lucky that any guy wanted me, I wasn’t the prettiest of the bunch. Sure, I looked much better now, but I still wasn’t exactly a super model. I was too tall, too broad, it takes next to nothing for me to put on weight.

Oh, and in the words of Sammy, I’m well on my way to becoming an alcoholic. As if anyone would want to deal with that bullshit.

And here Kris is, talking to me like I’m the victim. Sure, Max cheated, but I must have given him a reason to, right?

“I told Tyler to tell Sam not to worry, we’re just cleaning up your dress so it doesn’t stain,” Raychel announced as she quietly slipped back into the bathroom. She’d left Kris and I alone in here for a few minutes to do damage control, realizing that the longer we were in here, the more likely Sammy was to ask questions. “He said he’d throw in a joke about you being clumsy for good measure, so I’m sure she won’t suspect anything.”

“Thanks,” I croaked. My eyes had finally dried, and I was just leaning my head on Kris’s shoulder. I may think he’s being a fool, but I am grateful for the support he’s giving me. He doesn’t have to do this, but the fact that he is anyway makes me appreciate it even more.

“Your makeup held pretty well, considering how hysterical you were,” she commented off hand, kneeling down to swipe her thumbs under my eyes to clean up any smudges. “Just tousle your hair a bit and no one will notice a thing.”

I nodded, stretching my legs out a bit and preparing myself to go back out there and face the music. After all, I had to leave my toilet sanctuary sometime. Kris stood up before me, and helped me up.

“Thank you,” I whispered, looking up at him gratefully. “I really appreciate this.”

“I know you do,” he smiled back at me before looking at Raychel. “I’m going to slip out before you two do. Hopefully no one will catch us and think we were in ‘ere doing something dirty.”

Raychel snickered, while I blushed at the thought.

“Trust me, Tyler would be the first one to correct them,” she assured him. “Though everyone might think you’re a dirty pervert for sneaking into the women’s restroom.”

“Maybe I am,” he grinned, managing to make me giggle. I had a hard time picturing Kris as a pervert. Well, not a dirty one anyway. Not saying that he couldn’t get dirty. I mean, I man with a body like that would have to get dirty at sometime. I just… He doesn’t seem like the creepy dirty pervert, you know?

“Get out of here Letang,” Raychel chuckled, throwing the wet napkin at him. He ducked just in time to avoid it landing on his head and pointed a finger at her in warning before departing. “Are you going to be alright?” she asked me, looking concerned as I tried to fix my hair in the mirror. I took a deep breath and nodded.

“I’m going to have to be. It’s not like this will be the worst of things,” I reminded her, feeling the pang in my gut as I realized it. “We’ve barely begun wedding planning. It’s all downhill from here, Ray. I’ve just got to learn to suck it up,” I shrugged, opening the door to the bathroom.

It wasn’t as silent and happy as it had been when I had gone in. People were mingling now, but it just felt tense. Just when I was starting to wonder why, I heard, raised voices coming from around the corner. Raychel groaned from behind me as I followed the voices, determined to figure out what was going on.

“That was bullshit and you know it! How could you just publicly announce that shit?”

“I didn’t see anything wrong with it! It’s the truth! Not many people knew about us anyway, so why should it matter?”

“Because she knew! She was at the table right next to you Max! God you’re fucking stupid! She didn’t know what you had done, but now she does. You broke her heart all over again you prick!” I stopped in my tracks when I saw that Jordan had Max cornered out of the way of the party. What the hell were they doing? Why were they arguing at his engagement party? Couldn’t this have waited? “You say she’s one of your best friends, but you don’t even fucking think about her feelings. You don’t care if you hurt her, or if she’s in pain. All that matters is that your stupid ass is happy.”

“That’s such fucking bullshit, Staal!” Max growled back at him. “I love Taylor to death, and you know it. She’s fine with me being with Sammy, we’ve been over this. She’s in the bridal party, she’s helping, so why don’t you just mind your own fucking business. If she had a problem with something, she’d come and tell me.”

“Are you a fucking moron?!” Jordan nearly yelled. Fuck, I was going to have to step in. “She-“

“Are you two done fighting?” I said loudly, grabbing the attention of both of the red-faced men. They stared at me with bright, wide eyes, shocked that they had been caught. I think what shocked them even more was who had caught them. Yes, I knew they were fighting about me, but no, I wasn’t going to make any comment on it. It wasn’t either of their business how I was handling things. It was my own. And that’s how it was going to stay.

“Taylor-“

“You’re both being idiots, you know,” I cut Max off, giving the both of them a scathing look. “Tonight is really important to Sam, and instead of making sure it goes as smoothly as possible, you’re fighting and making the whole atmosphere tense. Seriously, grow up. You don’t need to throw your testosterone around to show that you’re men. We get it. Now go out there, sit down, shut up, and smile like you have rainbows coming out of your ass, understand?”

Neither of them could come up with anything to say to that, and they were both too smart to try to anyway. They knew that when I was pissed, I was a force to be reckoned with, especially if it was because one of my friends was threatened. And right now, Sammy’s happiness was incredibly threatened. If people noticed, or God forbid heard, their fight, this whole evening would go tumbling down in a ball of flames.

“Why are you still standing here?” I asked harshly when both Jordan and Max just blinked at me. At that, they both seemed to jump a bit before heading back out to the party, looking considerably less angry. Either they had cooled down really quick, or the two numbskulls had gotten better at acting.

“Well, there’s one crisis averted,” Raychel sighed from next to me. She had to deal with everyone’s shit, and I really felt bad for her. I’m honestly not sure how she’s put up with it without killing somebody. “Come on, we better go talk to Sammy for a little bit.”

“But-“

“You can drink later,” she cut me off. “I’d prefer if you didn’t try to associate with Susan drunk. Your comments are just never as harsh, and that just totally ruins my buzz.”

I couldn’t argue with that, so I had to concede. I really was much better at shutting Susan up when I was sober. It’s probably because I was pissed that I had to be around the bitch while I was sober, but that’s beside the point.

“Fine,” I groaned, following her over to the table that Sammy was sitting at with her mother and the other bridesmaids. I have to say, I now know who was keeping the tanning bed industry in business. Don’t these girls know that it’s winter? In Pittsburgh?! No one has natural tans that dark here right now! “Do you think I’m too pale for them to accept me?” I asked Raychel quietly as we neared the table.

“Probably,” she snickered as she put on a winning smile and took a seat. “Finally got Taylor’s dress clean.”

“Was it really necessary to get up in the middle of Max’s speech for that?” a redheaded bridesmaid asked as I took my seat between Sammy and Raychel.

“Libby, that’s a Dolce & Gabbana dress,” Sammy commented, sounding appalled before I could even say anything. “Of course it was necessary! Could you imagine if that had stained?”

“A Dolce dress?” Susan asked, looking quite interested as she studied me. “How on earth did you afford that, Taylor?”

“Oh, Jordan got it for her at Christmas,” Raychel explained for me, noticing the already angry look on my face. I haven’t been at this table for thirty seconds, and already I want to rip out the cuntasaurus’s throat.

“Jordan? That tall blonde one?” another bridesmaid spoke up. I nodded. “Oh you two are together? I had no idea…”

“We’re not together, just best friends,” I clarified. “He just likes to spoil Raychel and I, since he doesn’t have a girlfriend at the moment.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?” the girl sitting on the other side of Sammy asked me. At least these girls were trying to be friendly, I had to give them that. I shook my head, but Susan was the one that spoke.

“No, Taylor doesn’t have a boyfriend. She just can’t seem to catch one, can you Taylor?” she smiled at me wickedly. What the fuck is this woman’s problem? I mean really? “It must be difficult for you though dear, I understand. Not many men want a woman as manly as you.”

Raychel spit her wine back into her glass while Sammy immediately balked. “Taylor is not manly, mother,” she said sharply. This was one area where Sam would actually stick up to her mother, when she was picking on Raychel and I. Unfortunately, Susan was such a bitch that it usually didn’t help much.

“She is a bit manly Samantha. She looks like an Amazon in those heels. I think flats would have been more suitable, at least then you wouldn’t have towered over all the men here,” she smiled sweetly, continuing before I could tell her that there were plenty of guys here that were still taller than me. “And you’re still rather… broad… I was hoping you would grow out of that. Apparently I was wrong,” she sighed. “But don’t worry dear, you’ll find a man that will accept that eventually.”

I wanted to tell her that her daughter’s fiancé had not only accepted my faults, but embraced them, but I couldn’t do that to Sammy. Even if it would shut this bitch up, it wouldn’t be worth hurting my friend.

“Oh I’m sure I will Susan,” I said calmly, taking a sip of my wine before continuing. “After all, you managed to find Robert. He looked over your atrocious personality, and he doesn’t have a problem with your obnoxious snoring and wrinkles. It just proves that there’s someone out there for all of us.”

The other bridesmaids looked shocked, and poor Sammy looked conflicted. Raychel, on the other hand looked absolutely elated.

Until it was her turn anyway.

“So Raychel, tell me, where is Trenton?”

“Tyler,” Raychel immediately corrected. She was in a no bullshit mood at the moment. “He’s over with the groomsmen at the moment.”

“How long have the two of you been together?” Libby, the redhead questioned. I think she could sense the hostility between Susan and us, and like Sammy she was working on diffusing it.

“About three and a half years,” Raychel answered, smiling a bit to herself. It was adorable. Raychel and Tyler both got silly grins on their faces when strangers asked them about each other.

“And you still aren’t engaged yet?” Susan questioned, smirking when Raychel didn’t reply. Fuck, I know exactly where this is going. “Do you two have a house together?”

“She lives with me still, Susan,” I cut in. Maybe if I started talking she’d shit talk me rather than Raychel? God knows she really doesn’t deserve it tonight. “Tyler has an apartment with Jordan, but he’s usually at our house, or Raychel is at their apartment.”

“Then why live in separate places?” another girl asked, looking generally interested.

“Yes, why live in separate places?” Susan repeated. “In my experience, men usually do that when they have something to hide. Typically a mistress… or mistresses. It makes it much easier to keep things secret.”

“Tyler isn’t cheating on me,” Raychel snapped, enraged that Susan would even suggest it. I can’t blame her though, that’s bullshit, and one hell of a low blow. I don’t even see why she’s being such a bitch tonight. Couldn’t she be civil for one night for Sammy’s sake?

“Then why don’t you live together?”

“Because we don’t want Taylor and Jordan to have to live alone,” she explained. “And we definitely don’t trust them enough to let them live together. The house would burn down.”

“Mhm,” psychobitch mumbled in disbelief. “And you aren’t engaged… why?”

Raychel fell silent then, and I just knew that Susan was starting to break her. It pissed me off. If she wanted to be a bitch to me, fine. Let her do it. If she wants to make me doubt myself and feel like I’ll be alone for the rest of my life, fine. Fuck, she can attack my religion if she wants! I’ll bite my fucking tongue and take it, but she’d better stop right now with tormenting Raychel. This wasn’t fair.

“Because he hasn’t asked me,” Raychel replied quietly. I could already see the doubt starting to cloud her eyes. She was doubting herself, she was doubting Tyler, she was doubting love, and it infuriated me.

“And I wonder why that is? Max proposed to Sammy after only eight months. You and Tyler have been together three and a half years, and still no ring? I find that… discouraging. You may want to keep a better eye on him.”

I wanted to wring Susan’s throat. The only thing stopping me right now was that there were too many witnesses. She had no right to say this shit! It wasn’t even true! Tyler would never cheat on Raychel. Just because they weren’t rushing their relationship, doesn’t mean that he didn’t love her.

My eyes began to scan the crowd before they connected with Tyler’s. He seemed to have noticed Raychel’s change in posture and looked concerned. I cocked my head toward her, hoping he would get the point. She needed reassured, and right now nothing I could say would help.

“Mother, that’s enough,” Sammy said sternly, casting Raychel a sorrowful glance. “You’re just being mean.”

“No, I’m being realistic Samantha,” Susan corrected with a scowl. “He didn’t even propose when he got her pregnant. But I suppose that doesn’t matter now, since she lost it.”

Alright, that was it. That was well over the line, and this woman needed to be put in her place.

“You know what Susan,” I growled, shoving my seat back and standing up to glare down at her. “I’m sick and fucking tired of you constantly making digs at Raychel and I. It was annoying at first, but now it’s just uncalled for. Are you so fucking bitter over the fact that your husband loves his job more than you that you have to attack your daughter’s friends to feel gratification? Does it make you feel good to make us feel like shit, Susan? Does it?” I demanded, slamming my fists on the table and glaring her down, bringing the entire party’s attention to me. “Does it make you happy to pick out all of our faults and rub it in our faces because Sammy doesn’t have any for you to pick at anymore?”

I barely registered Raychel and Sammy saying my name before I continued. I still wasn’t finished with her.

“You already broke your daughter, you did it years ago,” I snarled. “And I’m so fucking thankful that she was able to come back a stronger person, because she never deserved the shit you put her through. You’ve come damn close to breaking me, but I don’t need reminded how much of a fuck up I am, or that I’m single and no one wants me. I can get that on my own thank you. But don’t you dare try to drag Raychel down. I won’t let you.”

“Taylor, calm down.”

I finally stopped speaking as I felt a hand on my arm. Jordan gave me a small smile while Pascal began to try to apologize to the bridesmaid table. He turned back and gave me an incredulous look as he and Jordan lead me away from Susan. Oh she was mad. If looks could kill, I’d be vaporized. But then again, I had called her out, in front of everyone. She would be pissed. And I was elated.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to say that to that woman,” I smiled contentedly as Sarah handed me a drink and linked her hand with Duper’s.

“I think we all have an idea now, ducky,” she grinned. “You were just a bit vicious there.”

“Bitch deserved it,” Jordan shrugged, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side. “I’m proud of you. I just didn’t want you throwing a punch and getting arrested.”

“That would have putter a damper on the evening,” Duper snickered as Raychel and Tyler joined out little group. It was easy to see that she was still a bit distraught over what Susan had said, but Tyler had a grin on his face that told me he had something up his sleeve.

“Wha-“

“Shhh. Just wait,” Jordan cut me off before I could even finish my word. Figuring I might as well trust him, I stayed silent. Tyler pulled something out of his pocket and began to unfold it.

“I finished my drawing from earlier,” he told Raychel with a small smile. “Want to see it?”

“Sure,” she said with a half hearted chuckle. She took the paper from his hands and I caught a glimpse of a poorly drawn house and stick figures, but I couldn’t see most of the details. She giggled at first, then became silent. Very, very silent.

Raychel is rarely silent.

“Oh my God,” she mouthed in awe, dropping the paper to the floor and looking over at Tyler, who had managed to drop to his knee while all of us were watching Raychel. He had a small jewelry box in his hand, and I felt like I was going to start crying for my friend.

“Raychel-“

“Oh my God,” she whispered again, tears welling up in her eyes as Jordan picked up the paper and passed it to me.

“No, just Tyler,” he grinned, making everyone laugh. And when I say everyone, I don’t just mean our group. It seems that most of the party had quieted down to tune in on this event. “Raychel, I love you, with all my heart. From the first moment I met you, I knew I had to make you mine. You entranced me, from the beginning, and I’ve never even thought of fighting it. So now I want it to be official…”

“Holy frickin crap,” she cut in as he opened the box, revealing a white gold ring with three large diamonds –the biggest in the center- and smaller diamonds around the band. It was absolutely gorgeous.

“Raychel Lillian Elliot… would you do me the world’s greatest honor and become my wife?”

She stammered for a moment, trying to get a word out, but she seemed to be having problems. Finally, Tyler got his answer, albeit slightly different than he expected. “FUCKING YES! Of course I will!” she squealed, launching herself at him and tackling him right to the ground. The whole ballroom erupted into applause as the two of them had their own little celebration on the floor.

“They’re engaged!” I yelped excitedly at Jordan as I danced around in a circle and clapped my hands. “They’re engaged!”

“I know,” he laughed, grabbing my hand and spinning me around. “Fucking finally, right?”

I nodded eagerly and launched myself at him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him for dear life. I was so ecstatic for Raychel. She deserved this; she deserved that big, beautiful ring. And she deserved happiness.

“You’d think Taylor was the one that just got engaged!” Sidney laughed as he and Lyndsey waited to congratulate Raychel and Tyler. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Shut up Crosby, I’m living vicariously here, okay?” I teased, socking him in the shoulder. He winced and looked to Lyndsey for pity, but she only laughed at him. It seemed like the mood of the room had just lifted. Not only were we celebrating Max and Sammy’s engagement, but now we could celebrate Ray and Ty’s too!

“Suck on that Susan Bry-“

Jordan covered my mouth before I could finish her last name, but I’m pretty sure everyone knew who I was talking to. She certainly was glaring over at everyone with enough venom to keel us all over.

“Can I interrupt?”

I jumped away from Jordan and smiled happily up at Kris. He looked as ecstatic as everyone else, but he also looked a bit… scared?

“What’s up, Tanger?” Jordan asked, looking between the two of us suspiciously. Oh Jesus, not Staalsy too.

“Just wanted to borrow Taylor for a couple of minutes,” he shrugged, looking over at me with a question in his eyes. Damn his pretty eyes.

“I’m all yours, Monsieur Letang,” I giggled, taking his hand and allowing him to lead me away from everyone else. I don’t know if it was giddiness or drunkenness that was causing my silliness, but I really didn’t care… iness. “So what’s up?” I questioned as he wrapped his arms around me and we began to dance. A couple of people were dancing, but not many, and I really don’t think he wanted to borrow me just for a dance partner. He could have asked someone from the tyrannical tans.

“Stacie has been following me all night,” he confessed, his eyes scanning behind me. “I’m hoping she’ll leave me alone if she sees you with me.”

“You’re using me as goth repellent?” I asked bluntly. He smiled sheepishly at me and nodded.

“Kind of.”

“You’re an ass,” I snorted, but joined him in searching around for Sammy’s sister.

“Its self preservation, okay?” he defended with a laugh. “You’re really excited for them, aren’t you?” he asked, referring to Raychel and Tyler. I smiled and nodded.

“Very, they’re perfect for each other. I just… I’m happy, you know? My two best friends will get the men of their dreams and be happy. Fairytale endings,” I shrugged. So I’m a bit of a romantic, sue me.

“What about you?”

“Not everyone can have a fairytale ending,” I sighed, just as my eyes caught sight of dyed hair and creepy contacts. “Fuck! Stacie is coming this way.”

“What?!” he hissed, looking behind himself in fear. “What do we do?”

“Run!” I giggled, grabbing his hand and dragging him behind me as I took off out of the ballroom. He followed helplessly for a moment, like he wasn’t sure if we were actually going to run, but he quickly took the lead and became the one dragging me.

“Kris?” her deep voice sounded throughout the hallway we were in.

“Merde!” Kris cursed, pulling me around a corner and throwing open a door. He quickly dodged into it, and I fell in right after him. And when I say fell… I literally fell.

“Shit!” I giggled, stumbling over the edge of a mop on the floor just as Kris shut the door. I fell forward, and probably would have hit a shelf, if I hadn’t hit Kris first.

He wrapped his arms around my waist to settle me, while my hands had wound up on his chest in an attempt to catch myself. I quickly took in our surroundings and had to laugh on the inside. He would pick a janitor’s closet.

The two of us stared up at each other, breathless and grinning after our escape. We really were crammed pretty close together in this damn thing. Even if I had wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to move very far away from him. But right now, I’m not going to complain. He has such pretty eyes.

I bit my lip, trying to think of something to say to kill the silence, and then heard Kris audibly swallow. My eyes met his again, and I felt something pulling me forward. He was like a star, and I was just a measly little rocky planet. He pulled me in. It was so strong, I couldn’t resist it. But really, I didn’t want to. I wanted to be close to him, to bask in the warmth and the beauty that he was. I wanted him to pull me in.

He seemed to be thinking the same thing I was and began to lean down. My fists clutched his shirt, fearing that if I didn’t hold onto something, I’d fall away. But the way he was holding me right now, I don’t think it was possible. His eyes left mine to glance at my lips, and I knew what was going to happen. I was helpless to stop it. I didn’t want to stop it. I wanted to taste him. I wanted to feel him.

“I wonder if they-WHOA NOW!”

Kris and I both looked at the door at the same time, finding Sammy there with a shit eating grin on her face. Oh dear God, here we go.

“I found them Raychel!” she yelled, not taking her eyes off of us, even as we slowly backed away from each other, staring at the floor.

“Really? What were they doing?” she asked, her heels clicking against the floor as she joined Sammy.

“Hot, kinky, floor mopping, closet sex!” Sammy laughed maniacally. I groaned and shook my head.

“I am so sorry, Kris,” I laughed as my two best friends began babbling on about something that hadn’t even happened.

I have to say, tonight had been a success… ish.