Ch 42. Wedding IV
They retrieved their drinks, two fingers of vodka for John and some kind of cinnamon infused brown liquor for Andressa. They carefully made their way across the dancefloor to a table. They sat down and he had a quick sip of his drink and Andressa had a quick sip of hers.
“So…as I’m sure you’ve gathered, I used to date Katrina.”
“I do have eyes that can see, and the ability to sense and eat anxiety. I’d say I was able to put it together pretty easily.” She paused for a moment, stirring her drink idly with a long claw. “Also Mia, Rene, Hilda and Sarah told me.” She took another sip of her drink.
John sighed. Of course they had. At this point they were just as much Andressa’s friends as they were John's. Add that on top of it being excellent gossip and it was bound to reach her.
“I’m not curious about why you dated her. She seemed to be attractive, and smart. I’m wondering why you didn’t tell me… and why you broke up.”
“Because while I tell my clients that they need to work on communication every day, sometimes I suck at it.” He took another sip of his vodka. “She dumped me only a few weeks before we started working together. I thought that you might think that I was only interested in you as a rebound, or that if you knew, you might think I just had a thing for dating my secretaries. You two have a decent amount in common, so I didn’t want you to think you were just a replacement. I also wanted to make sure that none of that was true on my end either. I didn’t want to realize that I was fooling myself in a way that would hurt both of us. I wasn’t going to ask you out at all at first.”
“What changed?”
“Eventually my attraction to you got to the point that I couldn’t ignore it anymore. The longer we worked together and the more time we spent together the more I liked you. I liked that you were so kind to our clients, that you went out of your way to make the office work better. I even, and I really hesitate to admit this, enjoy you teasing me every morning. I don’t want to start the day without that bit of back and forth between us. All that’s not to mention the fact that you were clearly interested in me as well.”
“What makes you think that?”
He raised an eyebrow at her, memories of her drawing him under the mistletoe still fresh in his mind.
She smiled at him.
“As to the reason she broke up with me… She said I was too stuck in my routines. I do the same things day in and day out. Drink the same drinks and eat the same meals every day. I spend all my spare time at work, or with clients, and I never travel or do anything exciting. She gave me an ultimatum to go on a multiversal tour of some of the worlds near to Avalon, but I didn't want to leave my clients, the support group, so I refused. She quit and dumped me.”
She nodded, absorbing what he said.
“Anyway, I’m sorry for not talking to you about it sooner. Part of the problem was that I waited so long it just kept feeling bigger and bigger and became harder to mention. I’d understand if you wanted to slow things down or…. Or even rethink our relationship.” He let that hang in the air, doing his best to keep himself from just downing the rest of his drink right then and there. He had a lot of confidence. With clients, with friends, even with casual relationships, but serious romantic ones were another story.
Andressa laughed. Not just a chuckle, a wry smile, a full bellied laugh so loud it actually broke through the music a bit, drawing some attention to them from the surrounding tables. One particularly curious elf twitched his ears in their direction to listen more closely.
“John, I don’t want to slow down or take a break just because you were nervous about telling me about your ex.”
He blinked, finally allowing himself another small sip of his vodka. Her voice was… sincere and crisp. A tone he rarely heard from her except when she was talking to their clients.
“I’m from Hell. I’ve had boyfriends cheat on me, steal from me, try to eat my father, insult me, and everything in between. This doesn’t make me want to change anything.”
“Not sure I like getting away with something just because you have a high tolerance for bastards.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not a big deal to me. You brought me breakfast every morning even before we were dating. You treat me as a professional and an equal in the office. You’re nice even to people who don’t deserve it and patient beyond just about any man I’ve ever met. Add on the great hair and little things like some hangups over an ex aren’t a big deal.” She took a sip of her own drink. “Also, I really liked what you said about enjoying when I tease you.”
“Will I regret telling you that?”
“Almost certainly.”
“And… my routine. My little rituals and repetitions. You don’t see that bothering you?”
“I don’t, because I’ve already seen you working to improve on that. Even if it’s little things like letting someone else cover for your support groups when you're sick, or having a different flavor of bagel. I don’t need a round the multiverse trip, I just got to Avalon a year ago. If you can manage a trip with me once a year, I’d be happy with that.”
“I can build up to that.”
“Then we’ll be fine.”
John let out a long breath of relief.
Andressa’s redness faded a little until she was more rose than hot rod.
“Finish that drink. I want to dance and I know you move better with more in you.”
John smiled and threw back the rest of his vodka, slamming it back on the table and standing with his arm outstretched to Andressa. She took it in a warm red hand and smiled a fanged grin at him as she stood up.
They moved onto the dancefloor. It was chaos. Elves were trying to line dance with dwarves, humans with no rhythm were letting the drinks dictate their moves, and at least three halflings were accidentally thrown across the dancefloor during aggressive spins. It felt a bit more like a mosh pit pack on Earth than a wedding dance in a fancy ballroom.
John threw away all of his anxieties on the dancefloor and focused on having a good time with Andressa. They were together for most of it, only swapping partners occasionally. John had a few short dances with Krush and Sereniteya, even having ones with Carol and Grailia who both seemed flushed and more than a little out of breath before they even arrived on the dancefloor. Andressa danced with Zak, a handsome elf that got a firm elbow to the gut when he got too fresh, and even another demon she apparently recognized from her hometown, Pandemonium.
Once they were all danced out they went to the buffet to refuel, have another drink, and then do it all over again. This continued through the night and into the morning, the general air of festivity and joy keeping everyone energetic and excited all throughout. By dawn Andressa and John finally decided it was time to go. They made their way over to Zak, Grailia, and Carol to say their goodbyes.
“I just wanted to wish you all the best of luck. I think you’ll all make one another very happy and it’s really a joy to see people so in love as you,” said John.
“Thank you so much,” said Grailia who seemed a bit more on the ball than the other two, who were a bit overwhelmed by the full day of festivities.
Carol got up and wrapped Andressa in a big hug, whispering something to her, then gave one to John as well. Grailia did the same, even kissing John on the cheek and Zak finished off the round by pulling John to the side for just a moment.
“I know we settled things between us pretty well and everything, but would I still be able to see you alone? I mean, if it’s not a bother?
“Of course it’s not! Just send a message and we’ll make it happen. Let the girls know the offer is available to them as well.”
Zak smiled his unassuming smile. “Thanks John.”
John clasped the young man’s shoulder for a moment. It felt a little comical given he was about half the young man’s width, but he was the adult of the two of them just the same. He gave one last wave goodbye to the ladies and he and Andressa made their way out of the ballroom and out into the courtyard.
They climbed into the carriage that was ready for them, and fell asleep on the way back. Andressa curled up against John’s chest as he snored the whole way home.