top of me, knocking the air from my lungs.
Rick came racing over, scooping her up as she laughed helplessly. I was glad someone was having a good time.
I was left on the floor like yesterday’s laundry, wheezing louder than a pair of rusty bellows.
Suddenly, an angel descended from heaven and passed me a glass of champagne.
“Vince! Are you alive down there?” asked Gracie, half laughing, half serious.
“Oomph,” I huffed, sitting up without spilling a drop.
“You’ve got some smooth moves, mister!” she laughed.
“Yeah?” I asked, wobbling to my feet. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. I’m culturally aware! Watch this!”
And I downed the champagne, leapt into the middle of the revolving dancefloor and started doing the Jewish dance that I’d learned off of YouTube.
“What’s he doing?” Cady yelled to Gracie who shook her head.
“Um, it looks like Riverdance,” Rick shouted over the music.
I kicked my legs up again, wondering if I’d watched the wrong video.
“Did he hurt his head, too?” Cady sniggered.
“You’re doing Irish dancing!” Gracie shouted out, as Rick and Cady laughed their arses off.
It looked like I might have made a small snafu, but since I had an audience, I finished my dance and got a round of applause anyway.
“What did you think?” I asked Gracie, as I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
“You’re crazy!” she laughed. “And absolutely wonderful!”
And because I agreed, I kissed her soundly until I got another round of applause.
Then I offered her my arm, and had the extreme pleasure of escorting her to the top table where we were sitting with Rick, Cady, and their parents, so the meal could be served.
“Shall we chuck these plates on the floor before or after we eat?” I asked. “I guess after makes more sense.”
Gracie slapped my arm and rolled her eyes. “You smash plates at Greek weddings. Please try not to break anything—these dishes cost $70 each: I checked.”
“Oh, okay. Fair enough. Pity, though. I was look forward to a bit more mayhem.”
“You do fine already on that front,” she laughed, which I took as a compliment.
And then I kissed her again. Just because.
The room spun away and the only noise I could hear was the rushing of blood in my head and charging through my body. I could feel every strand of her silky hair under my fingers, and I could sense the heat quivering between us.
Eventually, Cady’s mum coughed, and Gracie pulled away, her fingers trailing across my cheek.
“Wow,” I whispered. “I want to do a lot more of that.”
“We’ll see,” she said, slightly breathless. “You can take your yarmulke off now if you want. I’m amazed it’s stayed on, to be honest, what with all your cavorting on the dancefloor.”
“That was dancing, not cavorting,” I winked at her. “I only cavort in bed.”
She laughed again but turned pink, too. I loved making her laugh. I loved making her blush even more.
“Anyway,” I said, “I glued it on. I’ll have to cut it off later.”
She gaped at me, then snorted inelegantly. “Only you, Vincent. Only you.”
The servers started bringing out the meal, which was great because I was starving. But I lost my appetite a little when I saw the mini lamb cutlets that were being placed in front of everyone else.
I tried not to squint, but Gracie promised me that a vegan menu had been made especially for me, and something with beetroot and tofu was placed down in front of me. It wasn’t bad.
Rabbi Lisa said a blessing, then we all started noshing as the serious drinking began. Gracie laid a gentle hand on my arm as I emptied my champagne glass in one go because I was so thirsty.
“Better go easy on that, champ; we both have speeches to give during the meal—you don’t want to be too slurred!”
I grinned at her. “Nah, I’ll be fine. I’ve been practicing,” and I patted my pocket. Then I patted it again as my stomach dropped through my stylish vegan shoes.
“What’s wrong?” Gracie asked as the MC asked for silence.
“I left my speech in the back pocket of my jeans!” I admitted, horror making me hoarse.
“Is this a joke?” she hissed.
I shook my head, paralyzed with shame as the MC turned to grin at me.
“And now the best man’s speech,” he announced.
“You’ll have to wing it,” Gracie whispered, pushing me to my feet. “Just … oh God … just be yourself, but not too much!”
“You go first,” I begged, pleading with my eyes, “and I’ll nip back to the hotel and get it.”
“My speech isn’t