One Night(3)

“So you’re a friend of Trevor’s?” I tried to remember if the girls had told me anything else useful about William. Besides the fact that he was rich and attractive. Both of those things were blatantly obvious from one glance at his tailored suit and the toned body underneath.

“We’re friendly.” William frowned. “I invested in his business.”

“That technology startup that failed?”

“I didn’t say it was a good investment.” William glanced toward the dance floor which was now beginning to fill with people. Trevor and Lana stood in the very center, staring dreamily into one another’s eyes. “We were in the same fraternity in college and I was trying to help him out.”

“That was nice of you.” Somehow I felt there must be more to the story that William wasn’t tell me. On the other hand, it really wasn’t any of my business. “Are you just in Florida for the wedding or do you live down here?”

“I have a place in the Keys. But my home is in Chicago.” William pointed to my now empty glass. “Another?”

“Please.”

He ordered us another round and then slipped the bartender a twenty dollar tip. “Lana mentioned that you live in Chicago as well.”

“I do.” This was beginning to feel more and more like a setup. Not that I was complaining. “I moved there after college.”

“And you’re a lawyer?”

“Yes. You sure do know a lot about me.” I was beginning to feel self-conscious. I wondered just exactly how much Lana had told him about my past.

“I asked Lana for information.” William wasn’t at all embarrassed by his confession. “You intrigued me.”

“And what did she say?” Lana was hard to predict. One day I was her best friend and she did nothing but sing my praises; the next day she would lecture me about my selfish, immature ways and how I needed to get my act together and settle down. In many ways she was just like my mom.

William’s eyes flicked away from my face as he answered. “Oldest friend. Lawyer. Smart. Available.” His eyes locked back onto mine. “Beautiful. But I already knew that the second I saw you.”

I shrank a little under his intense stare. He had a way of saying more with his eyes than he said with his lips. “Is that all?”

“Something about an ugly breakup and shitty boyfriend. I honestly stopped listening after she said available.” William swirled his drink. “You’re turn. What did she say about me?”

“I didn’t ask her about you.” I tried not to look smug as I took a small sip from my glass. I was less interested in getting drunk now that I had some decent entertainment.

“I’m sure that didn’t stop her. Lana always has something to say.” I could hear William’s phone vibrating in his suit jacket but he ignored it.

Music began playing softly in the background but I barely noticed. “She said you own your own business. She said that you are also available.” I tried to be coy as I added, “She said that we would have beautiful babies.”

William’s eyes widened and I worried that I had misjudged our banter. I had been going for wry humor but it could’ve very easily come off as pathetically desperate. Fortunately, William was quick to recover from his surprise and he laughed. He had a wonderful laugh- deep and warm. “No offense, but I’m hoping we don’t find out if Lana is right anytime soon.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” We clinked our glasses together in solidarity.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen.” The M.C.’s booming voice interrupted us before I could say something else I might regret. “We are going to start with the couples’ dance. We need all couples out on the dance floor.”

“And so it begins,” I muttered subconsciously. I didn’t want to be the bitter single girl, but weddings had that effect on me.

William gently took my drink away. “We are being summoned.”

“What?” I stared at him stupidly for at least ten seconds before I realized what he meant. “Oh. You want to join them?”

“I want us to join them,” he corrected me. He offered me his arm in the old fashioned way, and I uncertainly slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow.

“We aren’t actually a couple,” I said as he led us into the middle of the dance floor.

“Last I checked, a couple means two. We are two people, therefore we are a couple.” William held out his hand and I took it after only a brief hesitation. He pulled me closer and slipped on arm around my waist, resting his hand low on my back. I could feel his warmth through the thin fabric of my dress.