Chapter Thirty-Five

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Chapter Thirty-Five

It had been a while since Skylar had attended a wedding. The last time had been for one of her sister's wedding. She and Ian had been together at the time. The bachelorette party had ended up with her getting drunk, then having Ian pick her up because she really wasn't having a good time being drunk off her butt. And she'd also met Gregg after years of successfully avoiding him. That had called for Ian breaking his nose, and then some steamy lovemaking that had ended up with Skylar being impregnated. Then a breakup, then a miscarriage, then some more emotional moments. Quite a ride, actually.

None of that was going to happen for Kyle and Sarah's wedding, thankfully.

For her bachelorette party, Sarah had not wanted to do much. So instead of male strippers, clubs, and countless alcoholic beverage, they'd gone to a spa, then a fancy restaurant, and then a romantic comedy. And by "they", that just included Sarah, Skylar, a sister of hers named Angelica, and a cousin named Gina. Turned out that Sarah didn't have a lot of female friends, but that was okay.

It had been a pretty tame night.

Kyle had had his own bachelor's party, where, yes, a lot of his friends had joined him, including Ian. Knowing that he was in town made Skylar's insides warm up. Knowing that she would be seeing him in a matter of hours made her feel nervous to the point where she kind of wanted to throw up.

Being the maid of honor meant that she would be spending some time with Ian, who was the best man. It kind of sucked to have fallen in love with the cousin of her best friend. That was bound to lead to unavoidable moments of awkwardness.

It wasn't even her wedding day, and she was already feeling butterflies. There was no reason for her to be more nervous than the bride herself. She just had to suck it up and deal with it. She was a grown woman after all. They were both adults that could act like exactly what they were.

Skylar's dress was pale pink that Sarah had picked out for her bridesmaids. It wasn't super shirt, falling two inches above her knee. The sweetheart neckline made the dress even better. She loved dresses, and this one was a keeper. Her hair fell down in soft curls making the balayage look she'd gone for recently look even better. Minimum makeup was required, and none of the bridesmaids wanted to upstage the bride either way.

"You nervous?" she asked Sarah.

The bride looked at her with the calmest of looks. "No. All my life I dreamed of my wedding day, it's finally here. There's no reason to be nervous at all. I am the happiest person right now!"

If only she could steal a bit of her confidence to use on her own.

Turned out that going through an entire wedding ceremony while your ex is in close proximity wasn't that hard. Sure, she was so tempted to look at him, but her best friend was getting married. She couldn't have been happier for Kyle and Sarah. They were perfect for each other. Opposite personalities, but perfect nonetheless.

Skylar had always thought that Kyle would never settle down. She had thought she'd already be married and have two children by the time Kyle married someone. She had been wrong. Oh, so wrong. No, he was the one getting married. She was the one as single as ever, still in love with a man she had not seen in a long time. There was no way to have predicted her life would turn out that way.

Kyle and Sarah both said "I do" and they were officially husband and wife.

And Skylar was tearing up.

As everyone congratulated the happy couple, she went to the back to control herself a little. She had not cried in a long time, so why was she doing that now? Oh, right. Because she was a hopeless romantic who wished could have what Kyle and Sarah did. Of course she was also crying because she was happy for them, but also because she wished it was her wedding day. And maybe she was PMS-ing, but anyway...

"I didn't think you'd get so emotional tonight," a very familiar, very missed, voice said,

Her heart almost stopped.

"Ian," she breathed out as she turned to him.

Yes. There he was in all his glory. And, sure, she'd seen him earlier, but they hadn't been this close to each other. Hadn't even spoken to each other because the chance never came.

He didn't look that different except for the stubble on his chin, he used to make sure to shave that all the time. A couple grays in his hair. But he was just as beautiful as ever. She hated herself for not having gotten over him. She still wanted to run into his arms and kiss him. She couldn't do that, though. He probably got over her a long time ago.

"Hello, Skylar," he said. "Sorry I couldn't say hi earlier. It was chaos."

Skylar nodded. "Definitely chaos," she agreed. "But, hey, the happy couple is married now." By now her tears had dried up and she was too distracted by Ian to think about anything else.

His smile slowly faded into a more serious look. "I missed you, Skylar."

She couldn't even explain how happy those words made her feel. "I missed you, too, Ian."

"How have you been?"

"Great. Being done with school feels awesome, and actually working now feels even better."

"I knew you'd do great things, Skylar. I always did."

"H-how about you? How are things back in San Francisco?"

"Great. I've mostly just focused on the firm."

"And Emily?"

"She's great. She's doing excellent in school. Misses you a lot. She actually wanted to come so she could see you, but Christina and her husband wanted to take her to Disney World."

"Well, when you see her, tell her I miss her, too," she said earnestly.

The wedding celebration was going very well. Everyone was having a good time. Unfortunately, she and Ian couldn't talk much due to the celebration. She had a good time, though.

Kyle and Sarah had their first dance together. It was the cutest thing ever to watch Kyle try to dance and Sarah lead the dance itself. What she did not like was when Kyle to get her on the dance floor.

"No, no, no," she pleaded. "You know I don't dance."

"Sure you do!"

And with that, she was in Kyle's arms – dancing! Her best friend was a terrible dance already, but both of them together? Well, that was quite a show. She was so embarrassed. She could already feel her cheeks getting red.

"What the hell, Kyle?" she demanded.

"You and I, my dear, are the reincarnation of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers," he whispered in her ear.

"Then they must be rolling in their graves," she responded, rolling her eyes.

"By the way," he added, "how was your little conversation with my cousin?"

"Not bad," she admitted. "We can both handle this like adults."

"Good, good."

The celebration and the food was great. Skylar was truly having a good time. Sure, there were way too many couples happily dancing on the dance floor or indulging in PDA. That was fine. She wasn't jealous, not at all. She was happy to be sitting at a table, by herself, indulging in the wonders of cake and wine.

It was at that moment that a certain someone decided to sit across from her.

"I've seen you eat like four slices of cake already," Micah said, shaking his head.

She had not noticed him before, but there he was. The asshole Micah that turned out not to be so bad. He looked good. A little bit more mature, a little bit more attractive.

"Holy crap," she said. "You're still an asshole. Thanks for shaming my eating habits!"

He grinned. "No problem. Just saying it like it is, babe. You're hot, but if you keep on going like this then, I don't know what to tell you."

Skylar rolled her eyes and sighed. "What else in this world is better than cake and wine?"

Micah pretended to think about it for a second. "Hmm. I don't know, sex?"

"Of course."

"Wanna go at it in the bathroom?"

"That's gross," she said. "And having sex in a public bathroom is trashy."

"Let's get a room then," he suggested.

"I'll pass."

"Your loss."

"I think I can live."

"How have you been doing, Skylar?" he asked.

And their conversation matured from there. Micah let her know that he was now working at firm in D.C., and he planned to run senate as soon as he was able to because he wanted to be involved in big-league politics.

"You have an ambitious life-plan," she said.

"And by the time I am 38, I will run for office. Play your cards right and you might be my First Lady."

Now she scoffed. "Good luck. I hope you become president, although I think it's highly unlikely. But, if it does happen, I will not be your first anything."

"Okay, good talk, Grant," he said, patting her hand. "It was honestly nice to see you again."

When the festivities ended, Skylar was not ready to go home. Kyle and Sarah were definitely ready to leave for their honeymoon, but as more and more guests left, she decided that she didn't want to end the night just yet. Apparently, Micah was on board.

"So I did my research and I found the best nightclub," he said. "The night is young, baby, let's do this."

"I can't believe I'm going to go party with you of all people," she admitted.

"We're gonna have a great time," he encouraged her. "Plus, after tonight, we can go back to our amazing jobs as top-notch lawyers. We have it great, Skylar!"

"Whatever, let's do this," she said before she could change her mind.

"I invited a few female guests as well," he said, pointing to the two girls standing by the exit with huge smiles on their faces. They seemed quite drunk.

"Of course."

She grabbed her purse and started to make her way to the exit. The wedding had been great, but now that the newlyweds were off to embark on their journey, it was time for her to let loose because she had not done so in quite a while.

"Skylar, wait!" Ian called out as he caught up to her.

She froze in her tracks.

Micah sighed. "Well, the two ladies and I will be outside for when you're ready to go."

She approached Ian with a smile. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to say goodbye," he explained. "And tell you that I'm so glad I got to see you again."

Skylar could feel her cheeks getting pink. "It was great seeing you."

He looked out of the glass door where Micah could be seen happily engaging in conversation with the two girls. "Are you going out with Micah somewhere?"

"Yeah, we kind of don't want the party to end," she said. "We're going to a club."

"A club?" He chuckled. "I remember when I had to go pick you up at that club because you were too drunk."

She laughed. "Please don't remind me."

"You had a lot to say," he teased.

"Yup. I know."

"It was adorable."

"No, it was pathetic," she disagreed. "A h.orny drunk, that's what I was that night."

Their eyes locked and they both stopped talking. It was as if they couldn't look away. They didn't want to look away. For a second it seemed like they'd gone back to the beginning of their relationships, when they thought nothing could have made it more perfect.

"Do you wanna go back to my place?" she asked. "We can have a drink."

"What about your plans with Micah?" Ian asked.

"I'm sure he'll have a wonderful time with those girls," she said.

"Them, yes, of course."

She took his arm and they walked out of the venue. Micah could read her face, rolled his eyes, and hailed a taxi cab for him and his companions.

Back at her apartment things seems a little bit...awkward. Maybe it was due to the fact that the last time Ian had been in that apartment there had been a lot of tears and drama. But things were different now. They had both changed.

"Are you in the mood for anything special?" she asked.

"Whatever is fine with me," he said.

Skylar was in the mood for pink moscato. Kyle always liked to tease her by calling it the girliest wine in existence. She didn't care, though. It was her favorite.

"I like your choice," Ian said playfully.

She sat down next to him and looked at him with a smile on her lips. "Look at us," she said. "We broke up and here we are, with me secretly hoping this will at least end with a kiss."

Her statement caught him by surprise, but he liked it. "You want me to kiss you?"

Maybe it was all the wine she had had, but she was feeling brave. Maybe she just wanted to be completely honest. "I'm not over you, Ian."

"Do you still love me?" he asked.

"Of course," she admitted.

It was then that she started to rethink everything. Maybe inviting him over had been a bad idea. Maybe she should have just gone off with Micah. Ian was probably feeling bad for her and was too nice to tell her that he was over her and she should stop saying those things.

But instead he said, "Say it."

"Say what?" she asked confused.

"Say that you still love me," he pleaded. "Because I still do, Skylar. F.uck, I tried to get over you. But I still love you. I still want to be with you. I love you, I love you, I love you." He reached out to take her hands in between his.

Her chest felt tight, not in a bad way like she was about to get an anxiety attack, but out of happiness from the words that had come out of Ian's mouth.

"I love you, Ian," she said.

"We have spent so much time apart," he said. "We promised each other that we would take this break. But we also said that if we were still in love with each other after that then we would start all over."

"I'll do it, Ian," she promised him. "We've had enough time apart."

"No, we can't just go back to dating," he disagreed.

"Then, what?"

She was scared that he would say their love wasn't enough for their relationship to work out.

"I love you and I know that I want to be with you for the rest of my life," he said. "Dating you just isn't going to cut it. Marry me."

She froze.

"Marry me, Skylar."

"You want to get married?"

"Yes. We know that we love each other, even after all this time. We can do this. We can get married. What do you say?" His green eyes stared at her expectantly.

What did she say?

"Okay, yes, of course!" she enthused. "Of course I'll marry you!"

And with that their lips met each other to seal their promise.

HOLY CRAP! THIS IS IT GUYS! THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER. THE EPILOGUE IS TO COME SOON. BE PATIENT THOUGH AS I DO HAVE AN INTERNSHIP TO WORRY ABOUT OTHER STORIES TO WRITE, BUT I WILL GET TO WRITING THAT AS SOON AS POSSINLE. MEANWHILE CHECK OUT IS THIS HAPPINESS  &  AN ITALIAN LOVE AFFAIR. THOSE ARE THE TWO STORIES THAT I WILL FOCUS ON NOW.

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