My parents and their generation of friends and relatives retired around midnight, but the wedding party and some good friends of Anna and Ethan’s hung out for a while longer. At almost one in the morning, Anna and Ethan got ready to say farewell and head to their hotel room.
Before leaving, Anna came over and gave both Ryan and me a hug. When she hugged me, she whispered, “Julia, you should see the way he looks at you.”
I blushed and told her to not speak so loudly, but her comment made me feel warm and tingly inside. Ethan grabbed her hand to finally pull her away for the next part of their evening. She gave me a knowing smile before she left the ballroom with her new husband.
It went without saying that Anna was thrilled to see me walk into the ballroom holding Ryan’s hand. She was quite pleased with herself for having put aside a place setting for him at our table.
“Here, I have a souvenir for you.” I rummaged through my purse and handed him his name card.
He looked a little confused. “What’s this?” he asked.
“Anna included you in our seating arrangements. I couldn’t bear to throw it away, I guess.” I looked down at the card, remembering my earlier sadness.
“I’m glad you didn’t throw it away,” he said softly. He rubbed my hand gently with his thumb.
I knew his comment had double meaning and I have to admit that hearing him say it gave me a little thrill. I’m glad I didn’t throw it away, too. So glad.
He grabbed my name card from the table. “So, if you have my name card, then I’ll take yours. It’ll be our little party favor to remember from the wedding.”
“Aw … Who knew Ryan McGraw was such a romantic?” I teased.
“Fine, give me my card. I’ll take both of them.” He actually pouted as he reached for the card between my thumb and index finger.
I pulled it away before he could grab it. “No! I want it!” I exclaimed with innocent alarm. I quickly hid it back in my purse before he could object.
“Okay, okay,” he laughed.
I noticed he had my name card in the pocket of his jacket for safekeeping. I did mean to keep it, though. I wasn’t going to scrapbook it or anything, just put it with my other miscellaneous keepsakes. You know, my high school class ring, my old diary key, concert ticket stubs … that kind of “stuff” that wasn’t particularly important to anyone but me. I didn’t know if he would do the same; maybe he would take it out later and put it somewhere safe or maybe he would forget it was there until he took his suit to the dry cleaners.
For me, this was a night that I would never forget; not only because it was my sister’s wedding, but because this was the true start of my relationship with Ryan McGraw. Ten years from now (I’m assuming we would still be together), we would tell the story of tonight as the night Ryan and I chose to be together. Only time would tell if he’s the love of my life or if he’s the one (like Anna thought), but I knew that this was the start of something significant. I could feel it in my bones, in the butterflies in my stomach, and in the peace and calm of my emotions. Everything seemed right, for once. And Ryan’s name card was my memento.
The next thing I knew, Ryan was pulling me in close, his breath tickling my ear. “Can I take you home or do you have your car here?”
Why did that sound so sexy? I got goosebumps from the warmth of his breath near my ear. “I’m staying here at the hotel tonight; everyone in the wedding party booked rooms.” I leaned into him and looked him straight in the eye, still sober enough to know exactly what I was about to do. “Stay with me tonight?”
His eyes became hooded and he nodded in response. He placed his hand on my lower back, guiding me to the elevators. I felt shivers go up my spine and a nervous buzz of anticipation hum through my veins. The elevator arrived and as soon as we entered and the doors slid shut, he pushed me against the elevator wall and kissed me passionately.
I grabbed his head and fisted his hair, keeping his mouth on mine, our tongues entangled. I had been longing to kiss him again all night and the wait was so. worth. it. I was so in the moment that I didn’t noticed that I hadn’t pushed the button to my floor. The elevator door opened again and Ethan’s younger brother, Chris, and his wife stood there in surprise. Chris feigned a cough and then chuckled. We pulled apart quickly once we realized we had an audience.
“We’ll take the next elevator,” Chris suggested. His wife had a huge smile on her face.
I blushed, embarrassed. I remembered to push the button this time and the door closed. We leaned into one another and his hand rested on my lower back again, rubbing up and down in a soft, comfortable rhythm. Since there were only a few floors in the building, it was a quick ride.