Truth or Dare - Danielle Allen Page 0,39

hard. I had a dilemma.

I don’t want to betray Chloe’s trust on her wedding day of all days, but in order to make sure nothing slips out to actually make her mad on her wedding day, I have to tell him.

“You know you can still tell me anything, right?” he prompted gently. His fingertips skated up my arm, giving me a chill.

We both seemed to realize what he did at the same time and we looked around.

I licked my lips. “Remember when I told you that I was supposed to stay away?”

“Yeah…?”

The music started and the partition opened.

“Later,” I mouthed to him, slipping my arm into his.

He nodded but didn’t take his eyes off me.

First walked Tisha and Eli. Kingston and I followed with Corrine and Omar behind us. Maria and Tyler ended the processional. Then the music changed, and everyone assumed the bride was going to come from the ballroom and float down the wide stairs. It would’ve made sense to do that because she could’ve passed through the partition and took the same path as the rest of the wedding party. But when fireworks shot up from the small sand hill nearby, everyone shifted their attention there. Chloe and her dad emerged from over the small hill. It was dramatic and beautiful and absolutely perfect.

As she made her way to the altar, I looked to see the expression on Dom’s face. He was staring at her in awe and I grinned. My focus gravitated to the right and when my eyes locked with Kingston’s, my heart skipped a beat.

I felt something that was completely separate from the yearning he caused my body. Swallowing hard, I tore my eyes away and watched the rest of Chloe’s grand entrance. For thirty minutes, the rain held off and one of my best friends married another one of my best friends.

“…it is my pleasure to be the first to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Dominick and Chloe Love,” the officiant announced.

A rumble of thunder punctuated his pronouncement and the music started. Dominick and Chloe had gotten down the aisle and we were to wait until they made it up the stairs before we started the processional. The second they got to the steps, the sky opened up and rain poured down.

I assumed the guests internally said, ‘fuck the processional’ and took off running toward the steps to the ballroom. I burst out laughing. Fortunately, my hair was braided so I didn’t feel that same sense of urgency. Some of the men made a point to help the women who needed it up the stairs once they got there.

Maria and Corrine walked fast, but because of the type of sandals we were wearing, they couldn’t run. Tisha was laughing with me and Eli was trying to rush her along.

“They all said fuck this and took off, didn’t they?” Kingston pointed out as he offered me his arm.

I could barely hold it together as I held on to him. “But did you see how fast the guests ran? Dom’s cousin with the cornrows tripped up and I just…” I cracked up again.

“Yooooooooo I thought I was the only one who saw that! He was tripping for at least ten feet.”

I screamed.

When we made it to the ballroom, everyone was enjoying happy hour and drying off. Still holding on to him, I made a beeline for the bathroom. Both were packed as people were trying to get themselves together. I turned to seek out a bathroom outside of the immediate vicinity of the reception.

“I guess we aren’t doing pictures now,” Kingston guessed.

I spotted Inez. “Let’s find out for sure because if I can go to my room and dry off for real, I’m not going to wait in line for a bathroom.”

We flagged the wedding coordinator down. She had a no-nonsense confidence about her, and she appeared to not be phased by anything.

“Are we still doing photos now?” I asked.

She looked at me as if her hair didn’t drip water onto her face. “Yes, of course we are,” she answered, she gestured for us to follow her. “I was coming to look for you two. We’re doing the photos on the terrace on the suite floor in fifteen minutes. I already took most of the bridal party up. Have either of you seen Corrine?”

“No,” we answered in unison.

She grimaced and checked her watch. “I need to find her, and she doesn’t have her phone on her.” She pointed to the elevator. “Wait by the