Dopplebanger (Meet-Cute #5)

Chapter 23

TWENTY-THREE

“Let her handle it,” Madison said, her grip turning iron. Not that I couldn’t break it, but damn, the girl must’ve worked out a lot before her wedding.

“I told her I’d be here for her, whatever she needed.”

“And right now she needs to know that she’s strong enough to stand up to him and speak her mind, even without you by her side.”

The smile Gwen gave me was clearly supposed to be reassuring, but I didn’t feel assured. Madison did have a point, though, one I’d tried to make on the drive here. I wanted Gwen to know that she’d be fine with or without me. Which was true.

I just wanted her to be fine and with me.

I forced myself to keep swaying to the beat. “I know. I even told myself that once we got here, I’d let her work it out for herself, too. It’s just harder to watch it go down without interfering than I thought it’d be.”

“I get that.” Madison readjusted our dancing stance and blew her blond bangs out of her eyes. “You know, when Gwen first started talking to me about you, I kind of thought you sounded like one of those handsome, self-centered guys who wasn’t smart enough or good enough for her.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’m not good enough for her.”

A smile spread across her face, the pride in the curve seeming to say I’d given the right answer to a test I didn’t even know I’d been taking. “No one is, but honestly, I haven’t seen her so happy in a long time.” She bit her lip. “Look, I probably shouldn’t tell you this. I take girl code very seriously, but I’m super invested in Gwen’s happiness, and I’m the bride, so I get to do and say whatever I want today.”

“With a preamble like that, I gotta say I’m a little scared of what’s coming next.”

“As you should be,” Madison said with a laugh. Then her expression grew serious. “One, Gwen’s been hurt enough.”

A pang went through my chest. “I know.”

“Two, she thought about dumping you before bringing you to the wedding. She’d texted me and said she didn’t know if she should bring her ‘plus one’ anymore.”

Panic bound my lungs. She’s going to dump me. A second or so later, I realized she was going to dump Evan , not me. There was something freeing about the knowledge, regardless of the fact that it didn’t let me off the hook for the mess I’d made. But I couldn’t stop obsessing about when she’d changed her mind.

Was it the instant I’d taken his place?

When she’d touched my hand at Sacred Grounds? Had she felt the jolt I had?

Madison tugged on the train of her dress to keep it from getting stomped on by the people dancing around us. “She wasn’t sure you were that into her, or that you guys had what it took to work long term…”

From the first moment Gwen and I met, electricity had crackled the air between us, coursing down my body and leaving me revved and ready for more. I’d never felt a connection so strong in my life.

Then we’d shared that kiss… Maybe that’d changed her mind. It’d definitely changed mine.

After the kiss we’d shared the first morning of our road trip, she’d asked me “Has it always been like this?”

That must mean she’d sensed the difference between me and my brother, and I wasn’t lying when I’d replied “It’s never been like this.” The same electric charge I’d felt during that kiss coursed through me as I glanced across the dance floor, my center of gravity shifting to all things Gwen.

“But I can see by the way that you look at her that you care about her,” Madison said, pulling my mind from the future I wanted and grounding me in the unsteady present. “So if you don’t want to lose her, you better step up your game.”

“I don’t want to lose her,” I said, my words filled with the resolve that’d set up residence inside of me.

“Good. Then don’t be stupid enough to take her for granted like that last idiot—I know, I know, I’m now part of his family, but I’ve called him an idiot to his face, so that makes it okay.”

I laughed, despite the weirdness of the situation. I could see why Gwen liked Madison so much. Also understood the fox thing. She’d orchestrated this whole thing, and I had no doubt it was partially so she could make her warnings and threats to me while Gwen could prove to herself that she was strong enough to deal with her ex-boyfriend.

“Consider this my way of repaying you for making sure she came to my wedding,” Madison said. “After the honeymoon and things settle down, I plan on coming down for a visit, so I’ll be checking in on you.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” I desperately hoped I’d be there for it, too. The song came to a close, and I quickly moved to collect my girl.

She met me halfway.

“Well?” I asked.

Gwen shrugged. “He didn’t suddenly make an impressive transformation or anything, and honestly I feel kind of stupid for ever thinking he was my soulmate, but I guess I have more of a sense of closure.”

“But not with Paige,” I said, noticing the steady stare aimed our way. Paige tried to play it off, but she wasn’t fast enough at averting her gaze.

“No. I don’t know if that’s something I’ll ever feel with her.”

“You want to talk to her?”

“I will eventually—that was part of what Kyle wanted to talk to me about. When she and I do finally hash it out, it’s going to be one of those emotionally draining talks with lots of tears, and I just…” Gwen’s hand came up on the side of my face. “I want to enjoy being all dressed up at this fancy party with you. Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay.” I tapped my chest. “Here for whatever you need, remember?”

“In that case, I could really use a drink.”

“Done.”

I grabbed us a couple of drinks and then the food arrived. I grilled the server about their use of peanuts, and while Gwen looked at me like I was being over-the-top, I didn’t care. Once they’d double checked with the kitchen she was safe, we dug in.

The courses came in waves, as did the accompanying speeches from people in the wedding party. Paige told a story about how she, Madison, and Gwen had gone for a joyride in Madison’s dad’s new truck. They’d gotten stuck in a muddy field and Kade and Kyle came to bail them out in the middle of the night.

“The sparks were flying as fast and high as the mud,” Paige said. “And I knew right then they were meant for each other. Knew just like her dad somehow knew we’d taken his truck, in spite of us scrubbing it down till three in the morning. Kade had to wait an entire month for Madison to be ungrounded so he could ask her out, and she told him that she was already booked for a month solid.”

People chuckled, and Gwen squeezed my hand under the table.

Then she downed her drink and chased that with mine, so I went to get us another round.

“Ooh, thank you!” Gwen said when I handed over the drink. Her cheeks were flushed pink and her words were starting to slur together. “Cheers!” Her glass clanked against the one in my hand, and then she tipped it to her lips. When I didn’t copy the move, she frowned at me. “You know ‘cheers’ means drink, right?”

I leaned forward, sliding my hand around to cup the back of her knee and locking eyes with her. “Just making sure you’re good.”

“I am. Open bar rocks, am I right?” She patted my thigh, rather high, and I was acutely aware of her leaving her hand there. “Usually I’m the one who’s cautious and responsible and you’re the one drinking too much.”

“Tonight I’ll be the responsible one.”

Her lower lip stuck out in an over-the-top pout. “I want you to go on a brain vacation with me. Let’s get a little sloppy. Thanks to the fact we get to stay in a room at the resort tonight, we don’t have to worry about a designated driver, and it’s the closest to an all-expenses paid brain vacation we can get.” Her fingers twitched on my thigh, causing another part of me to twitch, too. “I want to take that vacation with you. We have to get serious about life and jobs and your career and all that other shit as soon as tonight ends, so let’s make this last night of our road trip an epic one.”

How could I argue with that logic when it fit so well with what I wanted? I lifted my glass. “To an epic night!”

With a tiny squeal, Gwen clinked her glass to mine, and then we both downed the contents of our glasses…

A light buzz was my original goal, but Gwen and I came up with a game that involved drinking whenever someone said the words “bride”, “groom”, “connection”, or “perfect for each other” and things turned slightly out of control.

Our tablemates joined in about halfway through, Gwen’s bubbly, giggly demeanor drawing them right in. Soon people were casting longing glances our way, as if they regretted not being at the fun table.

Okay, we got a few admonishing glares as well, but we were too drunk and laughing too hard to pay them much mind. At one point, the bride and groom even came over to do a shot with us.

Madison insisted Gwen try to catch the wedding bouquet, and I about fell to the ground laughing when her not-even-close attempt to catch the bouquet sent several women down like bowling pins.

Apparently, we were on the same wavelength, because when she spun to face me, she threw her fists in the air and shouted “Strike!”

“You forgot a spare,” I said, jerking my chin toward the woman who’d caught the bouquet.

Gwen shrugged, then threw her arms around me—nearly knocking me over—as she fused her mouth to mine. Desire and alcohol were the perfect combo to get rid of those pesky thoughts I’d been having. I couldn’t quite remember what they were, but I remembered they were a buzzkill, so good riddance.

We were coerced into doing the chicken dance with the bridal party, where I mostly watched Gwen do a version that involved half the regular steps, plus occasionally using my body as a stripper pole. She slid up and down and worked me into a lust-fueled tornado—when the girl let go, she really let go.

Honestly, it’d been a long time since I’d let go, too. I let myself touch her as much as I wanted to, whether it was winding my fingers through her hair, or dragging my fingers across the line of her collarbone, or letting my lips do the touching.

Of course, even though there was plenty of other types of touching I wanted to do, I wasn’t wasted enough to ignore social etiquette and breach PG-13 levels. My mind constantly spun with images that pushed into R-rated territory, though.

On our way back to the table, we grabbed more drinks to go with the cake they’d set out.

“I wonder why Madison chose roses.” Gwen gestured toward the red-rose centerpieces I’d only vaguely noticed before she pointed them out. Come to think of it, the bouquet she’d tried to catch a few minutes ago matched. “They’re super pretty and all, but we had a conversation once about how everyone always equates roses with romance, which leaves other pretty flowers totally underutilized. Flowers I think would be more romantic. Personally, I like tulips. No thorns, just these sweet flowers that are the first to pop up and announce spring to the world. Like trumpets of awesomeness.”

“Personally, I like your lips,” I said—apparently drinking brought out my super cheesy side. Since she kissed me again, I decided to mark it as a win anyway. She tasted like cake, too, so double bonus.

The world grew hazy at the edges over the next several drinks and minutes, and then suddenly Gwen was standing and tugging me to my feet.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“The photo booth! Finally there’s not a line anymore, and I want to take some goofy pictures in there with you. Capture this night in one of those cute film strips.”

The second the curtain to the booth closed, we went from a fancy event with a crowd to a cozy space with just the two of us. The same way it’d been on the trip here; the way I wanted it to be forever.

“Ready?” she asked, her finger hovering over the button.

“Ready.”

The first picture we pulled goofy faces. The next, I pressed my lips to hers. Everything I’d been holding back surged forward at once, the current so strong I was drowning in it, and more than that, I longed to go under. A disjointed voice in the depths of my mind whispered that I needed to stay in control, but I couldn’t remember why, and then I was pulling Gwen onto my lap and sliding my hands up her smooth thighs.

She rocked against me, and I groaned and kissed her again. Flashes went off. I wasn’t sure how many. Seconds blurred into minutes as one kiss bled into another.

“Wow, you’ve really got a hold of my ass there,” Gwen said.

Somewhere during the making out, I’d moved my hands to the ass I’d been obsessing over since the moment I laid eyes on her in this dress. “Sorry, I?—”

“Don’t be sorry. I like it.” She bent over me, her curves pressing against my chest, and grabbed my ass. “Remember how we’re letting go for the night? Stop holding back.” She kissed me, rolling her tongue over mine, and my fingers dug into her ass, squeezing and kneading as I took control of the kiss. I notched her higher in my lap so that her damp heat lined up with my rock-hard cock.

Her moan left me completely undone, a man now driven solely by baser urges. A ragged groan ripped from my throat as I arched against her. She shuddered against me, and the last of my self-control snapped and unraveled at her feet.

The knock made both of us jump.

“Shit.”

“Oh, I didn’t know someone was in there,” came a muffled voice.

Gwen giggled, the sound coming out more as a snicker since she was trying to keep it quiet.

A regretful noise sounded in my throat as she climbed off me. We straightened our clothes and hair the best we could in the tiny space, and I knocked my elbow on the side.

“Ouch.” I was still rubbing it when we exited the booth, and Gwen grabbed my arm, lifted it, and kissed my elbow. Then she slid my arm over her shoulders. We took two steps away from the booth before she abruptly spun around. “Our pictures!”

She picked them out of the slot where they’d printed, and I studied them over her shoulder.

Us making a goofy face—Gwen won that one.

Us kissing—I won that one because I got to kiss Gwen.

And in the third… well, she’d said I really had a hold of her ass and now we had the photographic evidence.

I reached over her and yanked the strip from her fingers. “I’m keeping this. Hell, I’m hanging it on the fridge. Some people brag about their kids’ art; I want to brag about my girlfriend and her nice ass.”

The elderly couple passing by us widened their eyes.

“Sorry, Mrs. Miller,” Gwen said, a blush sweeping across her cheeks. Then she smacked my arm. “That was my second-grade teacher.”

“Don’t worry. I’m relatively sure she can’t give you detention anymore.”

She laughed and then her eyes met mine. An intoxicating cocktail of hunger and heat flickered through her multicolored irises, and I had to remind myself I couldn’t back her up against the nearest surface and have my wicked way with her. As our last interrupted session proved, there were too many people around for that.

I practically saw a lightbulb go off over her head before she leaned in and whispered, “I have an idea.”

“The lawyer in me is already going to advise this is a bad idea.”

“Counting those chicks a bit early, aren’t you?” She trailed her fingertips down my arm and then grabbed my hand. “You’re not a lawyer yet, so tell that buzzkill to shush up and come with me. Trust me, it’s a very good idea.” She slid her fingers between mine, and then I was useless to do anything but follow.