Here she was, sitting silently in the last row of pews, waiting for the whole dreadful ordeal to be over. It was her ex-best friend's wedding and she wanted to be anywhere else but there in that moment. Andrea's invitation had been a sort of olive branch meant to show that there was no ill will on either side. And despite how much she didn't
really
want to be there, Kori came anyway. She wanted to show that she had gotten over it but as she sat there watching Andrea and her husband to be, Kori felt herself begin to get sick. She shouldn't have come.
"Whore," muttered her other best friend, Garment, under her breath next to her. Kori smiled and rolled her eyes. What would she do without Garment?
They both knew the answer to that. She'd probably have a quiet breakdown in the back of the church and then run home to her pint of caramel cone Haagan Daas ice cream and listen to sappy heartbreak songs all night.
"And her dress is ugly as fuck," Garment hissed loudly. Kori hid her face behind her right hand as a group of old women looked back at them. Garment sent them a sneer and smiled in triumph when they finally turned back around. "This is bullshit. I don't even know why we came here," Garment muttered. Kori sighed and shook her head. This was not going to end well. And sure enough, just as the preacher got to the part in his longwinded speech where he asked anyone with objections to step forward Garment stood from her spot like a fire had been lit under her butt.
"I've got an objection," she said sternly. Kori slid as far down in her seat as she could, willing herself to disappear. Of course, just like every other time she had tried the same thing, it didn't work. She was still there being watched as her best friend stood determined to cause a scene. Instead of focusing on all the eyes on them she focused on Gar's pretty purple dress and how it swished around her bare ankles. She looked like she belonged in the wedding and technically she did.
"I don't know how anyone of ya'll can sit here and watch this shit silently. This is some bullshit. Why are we all pretending like Andrea didn't sleep her way to the alter?" Garment asked defiantly. Andrea's high yellow cheeks blazed red as she stared the taller woman down. Garment just flipped her the bird and continued on her tirade.
"I'm not one to police anyone's body, I always say fuck who you want when you want, but I can't excuse this. You do not
ever
fuck your friend's man. That is the lowest thing you could do. Worse is that we're family and you still had the gall to pull this shit. But you ain't alone. Oh no, Steven Michaels is a dirty fucking dog just like you. You know what's not okay, pretending you care about someone. Asking that same someone to marry you just so you could get to her loose ass cousin. Well fuck ya'll. Every single one of you motherfuckers are on my shit list as of now."
"When you need Ms. Gar for anything, remember this moment. Remember sitting here like wasn't shit wrong. Remember the names on the wedding invitation. They said Kori Ann Tyler and Steven Michaels. But ya'll all show up and congratulate this... piece of shit like it was always meant to be her day. Fuck that. I usually wish the best for my enemies but not today. Uh uh, ya'll deserve every bad thing coming to you. I hope you fucking choke on the cake Kori paid for when you're celebrating your stolen wedding tonight. I hope your tits sag and your balls fall off. Every single motherfucking one of you!," Garment shouted, her head held high. Kori stood quickly and tried to pull her out of the church. Having finished what she had been holding in for the last three weeks Garment offered little resistance and followed after her youngest cousin and dearest friend.
Once they reached the bottom of the steps leading to the church Garment allowed herself to smile brightly. They were lucky she hadn't gone all out and mentioned things that had no place being spoken in company. They deserved it though, every single word.
"How could you? Things were fine, I was fine," Kori whimpered indignantly as fat tears began to roll down her dark chunky cheeks. Garment frowned and took Kori in her long arms, stroking her thick hair as she cried into her chest. She whispered comforting words and waited until she felt Kori's hiccuping sobs die down before she moved to look at her. She smiled and kissed Kori on her forehead before leading her to her beat up purple ford truck.
Kori's shoulders slumped as she took one look back at the church. There was no way she could ever go back there. Not after today. Garment quickly turned her around to face her and placed her cool palms against Kori's hot cheeks.
"Hey don't do that. This is not over. Not even a little bit. You're not defeated by this, not by them. You are too strong to just let something like this break you, you hear me? From here on out things will only get better for you. You thought you had peaked in life when you found Steven but you were wrong. He peaked when he found you and now that you're out of his life he's got nothing but shit to look forward to," Garment assured her. Kori took in a deep breath and nodded. Gar always knew what to say to make her feel better. It had been that way since they were little. No one knew Kori like Gar did and no one accepted Gar like Kori did. There were things they knew about each other that they would never tell another soul. Even if Kori had married Steven she would have never been as comfortable with him as she was with Gar.
"Now get in the damn car and let's forget those two. Oh and no sad r&b today. We're listening to some gay music," Garment said as they both climbed into Gar's hunk of junk. It still surprised Kori that Gar had kept it after all this time. When they were still in high school all Gar could talk about was how she couldn't wait to get rid of the old heep of metal. It had probably grown on her, though, much like it had grown on Kori who couldn't imagine not seeing Gar drive up in the monster.
Garment squealed in delight as 'Pop Goes The World' by the Gossip came on when she pressed play on her cd player. She started singing off key as they drove towards Kori's apartment. Kori laughed as Garment started dancing in her seat and felt herself get into the music. It wasn't her personal favorite but the song hand definitely grown on her from hearing it so much.
"For once! We'll do what comes naturally!" They both sang as the song blared through the speakers. Kori laughed until her stomach began to hurt as she watched Garment pop lock once they had stopped at a red light.
"Those moves do not go with this song!" she called out as Gar popped her chest.
"Oh please. There's never a wrong time to pop lock!" Garment said back and laughed as Kori began to get into it. Just as the song died down a car pulled up to them. Kori watched as they rolled down the driver's window and groaned as the driver gestured for them to turn down their music.
"What can I help you with, gentlemen?" Garment asked politely. The music must have really made her feel better because even on a 'good day' Gar avoided men who she thought were trying to hit on her. 'No time for fools,' she'd usually say.
The blond driver was pushed back as a good-looking Latino man leaned over and offered Gar a smile. His black hair was curly and streaked purple. He wasn't bad looking at all but he had nothing on the blond pretty boy he had pushed back.
"I heard such a beautiful voice as we drove down the street and I had to see just who had produced such a lovely sound. And here you are, darling. And might I say that your voice did you no justice at all. You are absolutely delicious," the man said with a flirty smile. Gar looked at Kori and laughed at her 'Is he serious?' look. Gar didn't care for men who tried so hard for her attention but usually she could over look that. But pet names where a no go.
"That was a nice try,
darling
. How about we try again next week? I'll be driving my rust bucket and you'll be... walking?" Gar teased. Kori groaned as she watched his face shift into something darker. Did no one know how to take rejection? Well, maybe she wasn't the best to talk about rejection. She had, after all, just attended her cousin's wedding to her ex-fiancé.
"Fuck you!" he shouted. Gar quickly moved back into her seat and gestured for Kori to roll up her window. She skipped to 'Countdown' by Beyonce and turned the volume all the way up, hoping to block out his voice. Kori already knew the drill and had the window up in record speed. Kori rubbed Gar's leg and offered her an apologetic smile to which Gar smiled back brightly.
The men in the other car were obviously trying to calm their friend as he continued to scream obscenities at them. Kori watched the exchange with little interest, it was always the same after all, but gasped when she locked eyes with the man seated behind the driver. He had been silently shaking his head at his friend's tantrum when he caught her eye.
She took in his handsome face and smiled nervously at him. He looked of Asian decent with slanted eyes and creamy skin. She couldn't tell just how tall he was but he looked cramped as hell in his seat, his knees pressed against the driver's seat and his shoulders taking up most of the back seat. And his lips! They were so plump and pink and just so kissable looking. She wanted him.
Garment sped off quickly when the light changed and Kori sighed as she lost sight of her eye candy. She'd probably never see him again. Which sucked because lord knew she needed a good sexing with what she'd been through.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Jonathan Park was not happy. Not at all. First he had stepped on his glasses, which meant he had to use his dreaded back up contacts, which were hassles to put in. And now here he was, sitting in the back of his friend Patrick's car while Pat's friend James made a fool of himself. Today just wasn't his day, it seemed.
He shook his head in irritation as he listened to James spew hateful garbage at the women in the truck next to them. Didn't anyone know how to act like a fucking adult? What made it worse was how Pat and Cade, their mutual friend, coddled James. If it were his car he would have made the loser walk the rest of the twenty blocks to his house.
