Serendipity

Orin:  

“Hey”   

“Hello” her sultry voice floats in the air.  

I don’t take my eyes off of Nash as I setup on to the rooftop terrace. She sits, legs folded beneath her on an antique sofa perched a little too close to the edge for my taste.  Her thick curls are coiled in a loose bun at the top of her head, tendrils sweep her shoulder where the strap of her tank top has slide down her arm.  I take a second to catch my breath from the sight before speaking.  “I... uh...We have been looking for you everywhere.”  She lifts a bottle, the clear liquid sloshing with her movements.  “I found Tequila” her voice is soft as she slurs the words, placing the bottle delicately to her lips.  I twitch as i watch her grip the neck of the bottle and wrap her mouth around the opening.  Can’t keep staring like this, i scold myself as I ease into the empty spot on the opposite end of the couch.  “I see that. You find it up here?” I scan the ground noticing several empty bottles.  “Nope in my car” she winces against the burn in her throat as she hands me the bottle.  The eagerness to grab the thing and wrap my mouth where hers was floods my senses.   “How’s it going down there” her tone is sour as the crease between her eyes deepens. She has been worried about this night for weeks, planning everything to a science for her sister's bridal shower and now she is sitting alone on a roof drowning herself in spirts.  I sigh “It’s wonderful, Nash.  Everyone is having a marvelous time, and the cake looks lovely” I take another sip to hide my cringe.  I know I am overselling it but her brief exhale of relief is worth it. Silence falls around us for a moment as we watch the sun level with the horizon, the sky moving slowly into twilight.  The last rays of orange and pink glow behind Nash’s head like a halo, illuminating the copper in her hair. She is radiant and all i want is to touch her tanned skin.  She stretches her arm towards me, wiggling her fingers for the bottle. As I hand it to her, I notice the raised goosebumps on her skin. I have to take care of her, now. As she takes another sip, I lay the fleece blanket that has been warming at my back around her legs pulling it up to her waist trying, in vain, to hide my trembling hands. “And what is my sister doing” she continues the conversation as if no time has passed. I sigh, “Smiling, talking, eating, being Ainsley” I don’t care how her brat sister feels today. She should be grateful, should be bowing at Nash’s feet for all the work she put into this party; the truth is she has been pouting all damned day like the insolent child she is. I down a heavy glug of Tequila from the bottle in anger allowing some of the mouthful to slide down my chin. Our eyes meet for a moment, all I want is to kiss her...so I drink.   

Nash: 

 A soft, breathy laugh escapes me as i watch Orin.  He pauses mid swallow turning to look at me; the chilled liquid cascading over his bearded chin. His watery eyes sparkle in the dimming light, as I slide to sit next to him, his movements frozen.  “Thanks for lying to me. ” I say through slurred words as I wipe the remnants of liquor from his chin before scooting closer, our knees touching under the blanket. “I didn’t lie” the deep rasp in his voice sends a warmth through me. I push it away narrowing my eyes.  “Of course you did.  Anisley doesn’t have fun at parties, especially not her own.  Ainsley takes notes and complains; passively.” we roll our eyes at the same time.  “It’s why this place is here” I move my arms in a sweeping motion to show off the terrace I built.  “I come here, look at the city scape, and pretend that I don’t have a sister.” We sit in silence as the last dregs of sunlight lapse into inky dark before he clears his throat to speak.  “We should leave” his voice is a sudden shout in the still night.  “Okay, where would we go?” mine is a lilting by comparison. “Anywhere, out there” as he moves his arm to point at the city below us, I realize how drunk he is; with the movement to look at him, i realize that i am not the most stable at the moment either.    “We’ll walk.” He whispers, “The great thing about living here is nobody looks twice at two people just strolling down the street; holding a liquor bottle.” “Strolling” I affect my best South London accent mimicking his with sly smile. “Yes, a stroll” he teases, nudging against my smooth bare shoulder with his. The weight of him starts a parade of tingles across my skin.  I wonder for an instant what the rest of his body would feel like on mine. I move away for him swiftly to stop the thoughts.  “Let's do this” I yelp overenthusiastically as I press my body against the door leading to the stairs. In seconds he is beside me holding the door open. I slip past him, brushing my fingers across the skin on his chest exposed by his open shirt. He feels like warmed stones and I want to touch him again.  I focus on the party in full swing as we tip toe past apartment 143.  I see Ainsley scowl as she walks past the cake I made her. My spirit falls before I feel Orin’s lips rest against my ear.  His whispered breath is warm on my neck “Coast is clear”. He holds my shoulders to coax me forwards and I linger in the feeling of his hands on me and relax into him as we descend the stairs. I loop my fingers around his, pulling us into the night cooled streets.   

Orin: 

A Karaoke bar and a liquor store later we sit together on a park bench eating fancy pasties from brown paper bags both still very drunk. We sit outside a line of brightly lit stores; I watch as Nash stares at her vegan roll, fingering the contents after every bite.  “What’s wrong?” i ask she looks at me like she has just seen a ghost.  “Hmmm, this stupid wedding.” I inch closer to her on the bench.  “It’s planed down to the minute; everything is beautiful and I still can’t help but think how pointless it is” her voice trails off at the end as if she is afraid to offend someone.  “Everyone’s going to love it, Nash.  Your sister will still have a face like a slapped ass but deep down it will be the happiest day of her life.”  A deep belly laughs escapes from Nash as she wraps her arms around my neck. I reciprocate the hug, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her as close to me as I can. “It’s not that” she breathes still chuckling. “It’s the whole damned thing.  A wedding should be two people, in desperate love with each other, by a lake; done.  Not nearly $30,000 for one day of stress.” My body tenses “Is that what you want?” I try to keep my composer as she slides out of the hug.  “Mm, yes.  If I get married it will be just us two” the muscles in my stomach contact ‘us two’.  I run my fingers across her exposed side, reveling in the warmth of her skin, the scent of lavender and rosemary from her hair intoxicates me.  She either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, either response hursts.  “Let’s walk more, its’s getting cold” I offer, standing in front of her and extending my hand with a bow.   Her somewhat greasy fingers loop in mine as we begin to walk.    

Nash:  

The glowing bulbs illuminating the store hurt my eyes but I don’t care, it is still here.  I kneel in front of the display case smudging the glass lazily with fingerprints.  The case is filled with diamond rings of every shape and size that blur in my vision as I focus on the silver Cameo ring in the center of the case. The turquoise background contrast against the pale wildflowers on its face. The ring is oval and tiny amongst the bobbles surrounding it.  I hum loudly as my head swims with alcohol and the giddiness of seeing this trinket.  “Nashy, you're getting prints on my case” Aggies sing-song voice breaks through the haze.  I smile up at her and she shakes her head knowing what I'm going to ask.  “It is a special ring,  Nashy. Meant for true lovers, you don’t even have a boyfriend.”  I scowl at her before turning back to the ring.  She’s right of course, I can’t blame her for not selling it to me especially after hearing the story of her great grandmother in a field of wildflowers when her great grandfather proposed.  It did not, however, stop me from coming back to the store once a week for the past year just to make sure nobody had “earned it”.  “Nash, dalin’” my stomach clenches as Orin’s smoldering voice sounds from overhead. I can feel him towering over me, his warm skin radiating against my bare shoulders.  The clench in my belly turns to a liquid heat running through me as he crouches beside me, a hand on the small of my back.  “We should go.” he slurs gruffly in my ear. “But look at the pretty” I whine mocking as I poke the glass case hard with my fingernail finally looking at him.  His eyes soften as he looks from me to ring then back to me. Lifting me gracefully to my feet, he wraps an arm around my waist to steady me. “It is gorgeous” he breaths as he sweeps a curl off of my face, green eyes sparkle through the haze and suddenly the air is thin around us “I need chips”.   I don’t stop my laughter as I place my hands on his cheeks.  The feel of his soft beard makes me shiver.  I could kiss him, right now, with our hands on each other. His pink lips pout slightly towards mine and I force myself to pull away.  “There’s a chip shop next door, let’s go.”  He spins me towards Aggie for swift goodbye then we are out the door.   

My face is warm as I shift my body around soft fabric. The heaviness in my head is quickly being eclipsed by searing pain as light streams against my partially open eyelids. I open them as much as they will allow to scan my surroundings.  The room is unfamiliar but cozy.  The sheets around me have a distinct smell of firewood and musk that intoxicates me.  Sitting up my gaze landing on a shirtless Orin dancing with a slice of toast. I curl my legs to my chest watching Orin butter a stack of toast as he pumps his arms to an unheard tune.  He is adorable and I allow myself to keep watching him as I curl my arms around my legs gripping my knees.  Pressure pulls around one of my fingers and I look down expecting to see an injury; I shriek when I see what is there.  “Hey” Orin smiles as he sees me, the smile fading from his lips as he takes in my shocked expression. “You alright?” he says slowly.  “Orin, what is this” I hold up my hand, my left hand, where a silver Cameo ring with wildflowers sits.  “Oh” his lips curl around his teeth as he takes my hand.  “About that, Aggie gave it to you... well us, really” I pull my hand slowly from him.  “Why would Aggie give us an antique Cameo that symbolizes true love.”   

“As a wedding present” 

 “Who’s?” I think I’m going to be sick.  

 “Ours” yep, sick.  

 I push passed him as I run to the bathroom, heaving the contents of the night into the toilet before splashing cold water from the sink onto my face.  The ring scrapes the thin skin around my eyes as I run my hands over my face.  He said wedding, meaning married, I heave again.  No, this is a joke.  I’ll take the ring back to Aggie now, maybe scream at her for her cruelty.  

Orin: 

I sit at the dining table watching Nash as she exits the bathroom. We have to talk about last night, but my words stop in my throat as she stands in front of me, confusion etched on her face.  Her phone rest in my right hand as I cup a mug of coffee in my left.  “Your sister buzzed, nine times this morning.  Something about a fitting.”  Every muscle in my body clenches, she is going to leave. “You could just ignore her, stay here, talk” a heavy silence blankets us before she whispers “Wedding prep, sorry” before she’s put the door. 

Nash: 

Minutes later, I lean against the warmth of his front door; head still throbbing. I close my eyes against the pressure and I am filled with visions of Orion's smiling face, beautiful greens eyes, curly dark hair. My eyes fly open and I wince, staring at the ring on my left hand. There is no way we got married, no way we can stay married...right?  My phone buzzes pulling me from my thoughts.  I know in a second who it is, seeing as though I am twenty minutes late to pick her up.  I pose myself to text a lie, then freeze.  It's not from Anisley.  "I can still drive you, if you need me" I catch myself smiling at Orin's text before I can stop. Looking up at the window over my head just as the curtain flutters closed, I stare at the text for another second before replying with a waving emoji. 

An hour later, I am sitting in a dressing room the size of my apartment watching my sister try on her wedding dress for the fourth time in as many weeks. The ring, now flipped around on my right hand, feels heavy as the raised flowers press into the palm of my clenched fist.  Memories of the previous night flash like a movie in my mind and I smile to myself at each one. Orin’s smiling face, a fountain in the park, and Aggie officiating as we drunkenly speak vows that i can’t remember.   The bellow of my name brings me back to the present, as an elderly woman hands me a glass of champagne, that I refuse vehemently.  Anisley’s scowl deepens as she studies me.  “Are you here for me or no, Nash? I need you.” Crossing the room to her, the words wash over me. Ainsley needs me for her sake, but Orin was there if I needed him. As i watch Ainsley preen like a peacock in the mirror, I pull out my phone texting Orin “talk?” the response is immediate “Of course.”    

Wedding Day:   

I stand at the entrance of the chapel, fanning Anisley’s face with one hand while adjusting her dress with the other. “No crying Ainsley” I mutter like a mantra not really paying attention to her hysterics.  Instead, I focus on my phone lying beside me on the bench.  Orin and I agreed that we would take things slow, his idea was to revert to high school dating.  So, for the past three weeks the only contact we have had is through text.  A picture of cuff links is frozen on my screen but i barley see them, rather i focus on the hands they are attached to, heat coiling in my belly. The message under the picture simply says “cuffed and ready”, his not-so-subtle reminder that we agreed to make a decision about our marriage tonight. I mull over our situation for the millionth time.  He is my husband legally and I obviously like him.  I shoot another look at the picture before dabbing sweat from my neck, he is very lovely.  Does he even want to be married to me?  I look up suddenly as I feel eyes resting on me and gasp. Orin is dressed in an all-black suit staring at me.  Smiling, he runs fingers through a mass of dark curls at the top of his head. He steps close to me as the group of bridesmaids and groom's men gather for the processional. "You look lovely" he says licking his lips, I mutter a quick thanks before looping my arm in his. He is warm everywhere our bodies touch and I want there to be more areas covered with him.  As we line up i catch a glimpse of us in a mirror. Him in his suit, and me in the yellow slinky bridesmaid’s dress, we look all together the married couple. As the first notes of Musetta's Waltz play, Orin escorts me to the entrance of aisle. While we wait, I take everything in.  The aisle is lined with red and white rose petals, two arches covered in Ivy stand at the top and bottom of the aisle and Orin is standing with me his arm and fingers looped in mine. Maybe weddings are not so bad after all.  As I look up at Orin our eyes meet, he leans close to me our nose’s almost brushing. In a low whisper meant only for me Orin speaks “So, what do you say, little mouse. You want to stay married?”  A river of emotion courses through my body as I hold his gaze, but only one thought hits my brain. I raise on my tip toes so we are eye to eye “You know what... I do”.