Play On - Michelle Smith Page 0,81
my time with a Southern guy who hates the letter G. It was bound to happen sooner or later.” She glances at Jay and Brett out the corner of her eye. “They’re officially my favorite people ever. I’m so happy for them.”
Glass clinks at the front of the hall, and as Felix stands with a microphone, the music and motion come to a standstill. Beaming, he raises his glass toward our table. Toward Jay. And I’m pretty sure Jay’s about to stop breathing. I’m definitely not doing mouth-to-mouth on him here. Right as I’m about to start looking for a doctor, Jay lets out an oof.
“Damn, girl,” he mutters to Marisa. “You didn’t have to kick me.”
Suppressing a laugh, I squeeze her hand, which is resting in my lap. The girl’s resourceful.
“I can’t thank you all enough for joining us today,” Felix begins. “To my parents, my family, and Lana’s family: your assistance in bringing this day together was outstanding. It’s been perfect.”
He lowers his gaze, seeming to be in thought, before looking to the crowd once again. “Today’s about love. About finding that one person your soul loves and can’t thrive without. And it doesn’t matter who that person is—man, woman, or what have you. What matters is how you feel with that person, and, well, how she makes you want to be better. For her.”
The guy hit the nail on the head; the hand in mine right now is proof of that. The rose in my coat is practically screaming at me, but it needs to wait a little bit longer. Felix smiles down at Lana, who looks at him with a gaze so warm I don’t know how he isn’t melting.
“Lewis Creek has its downfalls,” he continues, “but there’s one thing that brought me back to this town after college: the love each of us shares for one another. So let’s celebrate love tonight. Let’s party and raise some hell until the cows come running.”
He raises his wine glass and takes a gulp before slamming it down on the table. The room erupts into applause and cheers while Felix holds his hand out for Lana’s. The music resumes, and as they head for the dance floor, Felix winks in our direction. Instead of bordering on passing out this time, Jay nods back with a slight smile. And if I didn’t know any better, I’d say Brett’s skin has moved up from Casper to eggshell-white. It’s a start, anyway.
I turn and catch Marisa staring at me with a smile even warmer than Lana’s. The difference between me and Felix is that I think I am melting. Reaching into my coat, I pull out the hollerin’ flower and hold it out for her.
Her face softens as she takes the long-stemmed purple rose and twirls it between her fingers. “It’s gorgeous,” she says. “Flawless, actually. Where’d it come from, though? We don’t have any purple ones at the shop. And I should know since I was there all day yesterday.”
Taking a deep breath, I say, “Well, here’s the thing. I ordered some, like, three weeks ago for the shop, but our usual supplier was out, so I had to track down another one, who told me it’d be two weeks, even with extra shipping. So I broke down and paid thirty bucks to have them overnighted to my house from a shop in Alabama.”
“Austin?”
“Yeah?”
“Breathe, honey. You’ve got to breathe when you talk.” She smiles down at the rose. “Easier question for you, I hope: why purple?”
That is easier. I shift in my seat, facing her. “I never really knew what being nuts about someone meant until I knew that I’d do anything to make you smile. To make you happy. To make sure you’d never feel any pain again. And now I know that I can’t always take the pain away, but I hope I’ll be the one you come to when it’s there.”
Her lower lip quivers as her eyes well up with tears. “But why purple?” she asks, that little voice of hers trembling.
Chuckling, I grab her hand. “Because it’s your favorite. And because purple roses mean love at first sight or enchantment. What you did to me? That’s the reason they came up with a rose to define it. It’s not just friendship; it’s being absolutely enchanted by the girl who knocked you clean off your feet the second you met her. And I can’t believe I just used the word ‘enchanted,’ but—”
Tears spill onto her bright red