Chapter 1
The woman said something in Chinese to Alex as she pulled the strings tight at the back of Alex's dress. "Babe! Come translate!" Alex yelled through the changing room's curtain with her last breath, right before she was strapped all the way in.
"Sorry" Chaoxiang slipped through the slit in the curtain. "I was talking to Wenyen about your schedule tomorrow."
Chaoxiang was a handsome man. He was 26 years old and every bit of him looked strong and manly. He was broad shouldered and just under 6 feet tall. He had larger eyes than the average Chinese man and a strong jawline. Thanks to his high school and college athletics career and his rigorous lifting regimen after college, he was also very well built. Alex's knees went weak every time she saw him dressed up (as well as undressed for that matter). But not this time. Because he kept abandoning her at this stupid dress fitting for his stupid brother's wedding and she couldn't speak stupid Chinese.
"Will you ask her what she said? And tell her I can't breathe." Alex whined while the woman tied the dress off. Chaoxiang translated and Alex watched as they went back and forth, not having a clue what they were saying. They had been together for just over 3 years and she still hadn't learned Mandarin. Not for the lack of trying, but just a pure lack of talent and aptitude.
"Uh... she said she has to pull it tight so you look, uh, smaller," he said carefully.
Alex spun around. "Did she call me fat? For fuck's sake I'm not fat just because I have an ass!" She knew that's what the lady was thinking since she had clicked her tongue at Alex when she wasn't able to step into any of the dresses and pull them up (they all got stuck at her thighs or butt) and instead had to go over her head and be pulled down (and some still got stuck at her chest).
"She didn't say 'fat'!" He assured, throwing his hands up with his palms out. "She said big," he ignored Alex's snarling and pressed on. "You know how petite girls are here. And the other bridesmaids are really small too, just like Wenyen. Babe, you're not fat. You are beautiful and curvy and sexy. Southern China just isn't used to that."
Alex turned to look in the mirror at herself. She wasn't fat, at least not in the United States. But she would admit that she was bigger than the average girl in the South here. She had a flat stomach and muscular thighs, a large and perky behind that stuck out thanks to playing volleyball and running track in high school, and a full 34 D cup chest. Her body blossomed when she hit 18, and now at 24 years old she had a body that most women could only dream of. She went to the gym with Chaoxiang for 2 hours a day, five days a week to make sure of it. She was incredibly happy with herself, she had worked hard for it. But being 5'8" and curvy in China had her rethinking it.
At least no matter the country she was in she was always happy with her face. She had light green almond shaped eyes, long lashes, full lips, and a cute little nose. With long honey brown hair, she really stood out in China. It wasn't hard to miss most
lao wai
but Alex, in particular, stuck out.
"Okay," Alex said. "This is fine I guess. But I'm losing this dress as soon as the wedding is over!"
Chaoxiang chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. She turned and kissed his cheek. "good couple, very cute" the woman said in a thick accent while giving a thumbs up before motioning for Alex to take the bridesmaid dress off.
* * * * *
Later in the car Chaoxiang gave Alex a rundown of the schedule in the back seat. "So tonight we are all going to KTV. It's gonna be basically Chan's bachelor party but Wenyen is going to be there too with her friends. So we're combining the bachelor and bachelorette party, pretty much."
"And don't worry," Chanming said from the driver's seat. "A lot of my friends who are coming I met at UC, so plenty of them will speak English!"
"Oh really? Who all is coming?" Chaoxiang asked. Chaoxiang and Chanming grew up in the United States together and were as inseparable as brothers could possibly get. They even went to the same university together, University of Colorado in Boulder.
The Groom smirked and began listing off his friends. "Max, John, James, Donghai, Fangxin, Winston, Deshi-"
"Deshi? THE Deshi?" Chaoxiang interrupted, erupting into laughter. "Oh my god, this is going to be one hell of a party!" Chanming laughed as well, agreeing with his little brother.
Alex tipped her head at Chaoxiang questioningly as she pulled a bottle of water from her the pouch on the back of his seat.
"Oh, you'll see. The guy is legendary." Chaoxiang exclaimed.
"Yeah, his name literally means 'man of virtue' but this guy is anything but." Chanming laughed. "He's a rich pretty boy who is known for being an insane partier!"
Chaoxiang leaned back and sighed. "But my god can he pull girls. He's the textbook definition of a playboy. What was his count at in college? Like 150?" He asked Chanming. Alex choked in the middle of her drink, sputtering water on herself.
"He's slept with 150 girls? Oh my god!" She managed to cough out.
Chanming smirked again. "Probably way more than that now. The kid is pretty good looking and not to mention he's our wealthiest friend. You thought our family had money, this guy puts our parents' fortune to shame!" Alex couldn't even imagine. She already couldn't wrap her head around Chaoxiang's parents' money (mostly because Alex and Chaoxiang never see any of it since they live in the US) so she definitely couldn't comprehend this Deshi guy.
She only half listened as her boyfriend explained the schedule for the next day. Traditions, pictures, wedding ceremony, reception, bar. She had the gist of it.
* * * * *
"You ready?" Chaoxiang yelled through the bathroom door. Alex and Chaoxiang were back at Chanming's place getting ready for KTV, karaoke in private rooms with dressed up girls who are paid to drink and party with you. Chanming's place was nice. His parents bought him a few apartments and one house in China, all expensive. It was one of their ways of trying to get Chaoxiang to move to China. They let Chanming live a luxurious life in here, but wouldn't fund the same for Chaoxiang in America. If he wanted a slice of the pie he had to move to them.
Alex and Chaoxiang didn't care though. He had started a company shortly after they started dating and she worked for it. It wasn't even three years old yet but was growing incredibly fast. They didn't live luxuriously, but they definitely lived well.
"Ready." Alex checked her makeup in the mirror one last time. A dark smokey eye look to really make her green eyes pop. Her brown hair was in waves. She was wearing a black sleeveless shirt covered in silver studs, it's neckline just low enough to show the curve of her breasts but not low enough to show cleavage. The shirt was tight at the bottom to show her trim waist and flat stomach (she'd be damned if anyone else thought she was fat) and looser at the top to allow room for her bust. Dark-wash skinny jeans that hugged her hips and ass with silver zippers on the pockets. Finished with black heeled boots with green and sliver studs. She wasn't one to brag but she looked damn sexy tonight. She opened the door.
"Shit," Chaoxiang breathed. She smiled and kissed him. "I fucking love you."
She smirked. "I love fucking you." He chuckled and kissed her again before Chanming called for them. They both left the private bathroom that was in their room, walking into the marbled hallway to head to the front door.
"WOW" Wenyen exclaimed. "American girls sure are different!" she had been learning English for the last two years but still had an adorably thick accent.