The week of Meghan and Denny's wedding finally arrived, and I quickly realized Jen was close to losing her mind simply from dealing with Meghan, who was nervous, suspicious, and wound up tighter than a two-dollar watch.
Jenifer had talked me into taking some vacation time to spend with her, a concept I found to be a little tangled since most of our time would be spent with Meghan in her last days as a bachelorette leading up to the wedding.
I did have the time to burn, though, and with the days to Meghan's wedding ticking down, I once again found myself visiting Jen at her office. She'd been wrangled in for a couple of days due to some issues with a project they were working, and her boss had promised to make it up to her later.
I showed up to take her to lunch just like I had previously, and like before, it created a bit of a buzz. Rick avoided me, casting a glare from several feet away, while Allyson again made a point of coming over to say hello.
Jen and I managed to escape after a string of three phone calls in a seven minute stretch, and she took a deep breath as the elevator door closed on us.
"I don't know which is worse right now, Meghan or this job."
"Is she that bad?" I asked.
Jen sighed and looked over at me.
"Remember me telling you about Debbie? "
"The woman Denny used to date with the...?" I held my hands out in front of me as though holding a pair of cantaloupe.
"That's her. Remember me telling you I was pretty sure he was sleeping with her?"
I nodded.
Jen held her hand up to her ear as though talking on a phone."'Listen, Baby, I gotta go now, but I promise you I'll be there later... I love you, too, Baby.'"
"You heard him on the phone?"
Jen nodded.
"How do you know he wasn't talking to Meg?"
"Because she was in the conference room down the hall stuck in a meeting."
"Wow."
Jen nodded as we left the elevator.
"And she hasn't called it off yet?"
Jen shook her head. "She doesn't want to hear it, either. She told me that until she catches him with his dick in Debbie's mouth or any other of her over-sexed orifices, she's staying the course."
I shook my head.
"I can't figure it out, either," Jen said.
A few minutes later, we were sitting in a booth across from Meghan, whose eyes were darting between a series of notes and her phone as she continued what Jen told me was an ongoing vigil to make sure nothing fell through the cracks.
"Shouldn't your maid of honor be helping with some of this?" I asked.
Meghan nodded as she sipped her tea.
"And Kris is doing and has done more than her share. It's just a way to keep my mind off of... everything else."
She shot Jenifer a glance as she bit her lip, and I shook my head.
"Meghan, why don't you..."
Jen slapped my arm and gave me a dirty look.
"Think positive," she said.
Lunch was tense and strained, but then again, the bride was a wreck heading into it all. I remembered Jen being wound up as she got ready to walk the aisle.
I told Meghan to call me if she needed me when we left the restaurant and dropped Jen off at work.
"Want to cook me dinner again tonight?" she asked.
"I think that can be arranged," I replied.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
"Let's see how good you are at following directions."
I unfolded it and began reading.
"So I need to get all of these things?"
Jen giggled and pulled the paper down so she could see it.
"These things here," she said, pointing with her finger. "Everything else is in the refrigerator or the cabinet above the stove."
I was reading how to mix and cook it all now.
"At least get it started," she said, sliding her fingers into mine, "and I'll help you finish it when I get home."
"Okay. I'll get it going, but I think I'll need your help."
"You do a lot better in the kitchen than you think you do."
I looked up and there was something in her expression that I hadn't really seen before; something soft, open and vulnerable, and more, but I couldn't quite read it.
"You like it when I cook for you, don't you?"
She nodded, smiled, and leaned up to kiss me as she slid a hand around my neck.
"I think it's really sexy," she said, kissing me on the cheek and moving her lips to my ear. "It turns me on."
"Really?" I asked as she pulled back.
She nodded, her lips parted, tongue just jutting forward, resting against her teeth as she smiled again.
I kissed her again and felt her tongue brush quickly against mine, and then she turned to go back to work.
I stood there for a moment watching her walk away, my eyes traveling down to the gentle curves of her ass beneath her skirt, down below the hemline to the distinctly feminine lines of her calves.
And I smiled. That was my sister. My beautiful, sweet, hot sister.
I found the items on her list that we needed for dinner, and despite the sure knowledge that I was in over my culinary head, I started for her apartment, counting down the time until she'd be home.
Keys in hand, I came off the stairs four doors from her apartment and almost ran into Mrs. Collins, who was coming out of her apartment.
She opened her mouth as though to say something, stopping short and squinting, trying to jog her memory. I looked familiar to her, but it seemed as though she couldn't quite place it.
"Hi, Mrs. Collins."
"It's Kyhl, isn't it?"
I nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."
She smiled and stood up a little straighter as she pulled her door closed.
"I know Jennifer will be glad to see you," she said, "but I'm kind of surprised you're here so early in the week."
"We're spending some time together before we head to the coast for her best friend's wedding."
"Meghan?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Mrs. Collins nodded. "Delightful young lady. Very sweet, just like Jenifer."
She took a deep breath and scowled.
"Can't say that I care much, though, for that boy she's marrying. There's just something about him that I don't like."
Her expression changed and she reached out with a hand to touch my arm.
"He's not a friend of yours, is he? If he is, I'm sorry for speaking my mind."
"No, Ma'am. I've met him, but I wouldn't exactly say we're all that well acquainted."
Relief swept across her face and she dropped her hand as she shook her head.
"Well, you're a lucky one, then, because, I can't put my finger on why, but I don't trust him."
She took another deep breath and shrugged her shoulders.
"Of course, I'm not the one marrying him, so it's really none of my business," she said.
"Speaking of getting married," she said, tilting her head down to look at me over her glasses, "when are you going to marry Jenifer and make an honest woman out of her?"
I opened my mouth and caught my breath, not sure what to say.
"Well... we haven't really discussed it."
"Not at all?"
"No, Ma'am."
Mrs. Collins closed her eyes and shook her head.
"You young people today," she said, grabbing my arm again. "I know it's convenient to just move in together and live like your husband and wife, carrying on and all, not that the two of you are doing that, mind you, but there's a lot to be said for committing to one another and making it stick.
"Not that it sticks all that well, sometimes," she said. "But don't mind me. She loves you and you love her; that's what's important."
She leaned in and looked up at me. "But I know you'd make her really happy if the two of you were together more."
I nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."
"Well," she said, leaning back, adjusting her glasses and looking at the bags I was holding. "Are you cooking dinner for her again?"
"She told you about that?"
Mrs. Collins smiled and nodded. "She's probably told you, but she really enjoys it when you cook for her."
"She has mentioned it."
"Well, then," she said, stepping back, "off you go, then. I won't keep you. You have better things to do than listen to me rattle on."
"You have a good afternoon, Mrs. Collins."
"You, too, Kyhl."