�Thank you for staying away from the bright girly colors. They scare me.�
Angie laughed, shaking her head.
So my tomboy-ishness is family wide knowledge.
�No problem. Plus that looks good on you. And lavender is still a girly color.�
�Yeah, but it�s not pink. Or yellow. Or orange� Oh! You should have chosen orange and black as your colors! A Halloween wedding!�
I grinned cheekily as I watched my cousin crack up.
Being family entertainment cheers me up.
�I think you should do that for your wedding!�
�Nah, I don�t think I�ll get married. I really doubt any man would willingly commit themselves to me for the rest of their lives.�
And if they did, they�d be insane.
*
What the fuck?
I�ll marry you. I�ll marry you right now if that means you�ll stick around this time.
�Oh come on Kara. Not all guys are evil jerks. Look at Michael.�
There was silence in the room I stood outside of eavesdropping on Kara and Angie even though every part of me wanted to just rush in and steal Kara away to hide with me somewhere.
�Okay, bad example. Why don�t you like him anyway?�
*
I sighed, not wanting to go into it with her. She is marrying the guy after all.
�Ang, you�re marrying this guy so obviously he has some redeeming qualities. Maybe I just haven�t spent enough time with him to find them yet. This is the week before your wedding. I�ll play nice as long as he doesn�t try to provoke me.�
She nodded, accepting the peace offering on Mike�s behalf. If he actually accepts it, it will be a miraculous achievement.
�I appreciate that Kar, but seriously. Not all guys are jerks, and yes, I automatically exclude the army of boys who accept you as their sister.�
I winced as the lady pricked me with a needle in the hip.
�What about that guy Xander was telling me about? The one you keep running away from?�
The tears immediately pooled in my eyes as I attempted to swallow around a growing knot in my throat.
�He��
*
I�m biting my lip.
Goddamn it. I missed her so much I picked up her habits.
�I��
Her voice cracked as I leaned my back against the wall next to the doorframe and slid down to the floor.
�See? Not all guys are jerks. And what�s with that guy anyway? I can never get a straight story out of anyone. Why do you run away from him? Xander said he�d never seen you so happy or� in love even, than when you were with this nameless guy everyone refuses to identify.�
I felt my own eyes fill with tears as I heard her sniffle inside.
�Please��
�Hey��
Angie�s voice was quiet and soothing.
Signs that either Kara is on the verge of tears or is already crying.
Damn it. I hate myself.
*
I closed my eyes tightly as I felt Angie clasp my hand in hers. My clinched jaw wasn�t doing enough to stop the burning tears that slowly trickled down my face.
�I can�t. Not right now. Please� some other time we can talk.�
Pulling my hand from hers, I rubbed the salty water off my cheeks angrily, ashamed for still crying over something so stupid.
It was my fault I left him.
Both times.
I deserve this. He probably won�t even talk to me this time around.
*
Shirts are nice towels.
Nick Carter�s useless fact of the day.
Standing up and hoping my eyes weren�t red, I gave the girls a few minutes before just walking into the room.
God she�s beautiful.
Even with the dress half missing, she�s beautiful.
Especially with the dress half missing.
Insert a kick to my head.
�Nick!�
I turned to where Angie, with a notebook in her lap, sat on the other side of the room, somehow managing to tear my eyes away from where Kara was speaking quietly to the woman trying to fix the light purple dress.
�What are you doing in here?!�
Uh oh. Made the gonna-be bride angry.
�Uh� Mike sent me� to check on you� guys.�
My eyes traveled on their own free will back to Kara, who was now staring at me via the mirror in front of her. Her face was pale and her eyes a little red, but the moment hers met mine, I felt a shiver threaten to overcome me.
�Could you have at least knocked? Kara is half-dressed!�
Angie tried to push me out of the door, but, being even smaller than Kara, she wasn�t too successful.
I was too caught up with my drooling to notice she was even there.
�It�s okay. It�s not like he�s seeing anything more than if I were in a bathing suit.�
She was right.
For some reason, her dress was in two different parts and currently the top part was missing, revealing a pale blue strapless bra with her once-again brown hair falling halfway down her back.
God I need to touch her.