Wedding Bells Part 2: The Reception

[Rachel Shale]

Rachel didn’t have time to smile before Cruz kissed her, but felt her lips move to one as he did. She returned his kiss with fervor. Rachel could feel her heart pounding with excitement in her chest. People maybe looked at them a little bit, but Rachel didn’t care. It was a wedding, passionate kisses would help. She would keep her clothes on.

When Cruz moved to stop the kiss, she pulled him back. All that time apart had added up, and she needed more. She finally broke the kiss, breathing heavily as she did. She still held Cruz close, feeling his warmth. She held on for the rest of the dance. She had barely heard Cruz’s wallet buzz, but she had marked it. And she had marked that he had ignored it.

The song ended and Rachel held on longer, only letting go reluctantly, and only because she was thirsty. It was getting warm in that room. She kissed him again before letting go. ”I need a drink. Do you want something?”

[Cruz]

He could have danced a lot more but it was hot and he was thirsty too. His wallet had continued to buzz in his pocket but he ignored it until Rachel started off the dancefloor. He was here at a party and he intended to take advantage of it. Rachel had plans and Cruz was all the more willing to help finish those plans.

Cruz followed Rachel grabbing his wallet from his pocket as he walked behind her. "I'll just take a water, but I'll go with you." He wanted to turn his phone off but he did glance at the messages that were present.

A group message of important details about a project that was now currently going south. It was his department. There were fire trucks and ambulances and a whole sort of mess and his grandfather wanted him to handle it now. Cruz sighed, he took Rachel's hand and turned her towards him. "Rach, I gotta go. There's this thing and Jivana I have to go handle right now. My grandfather is in Madrid and he can't, so I have to. It's my job anyway. I'm so sorry. Can I take a rain check on all this?"

[Rachel Shale]

Rachel turned around as Cruz talked to him. The smile changing to a look of concern and disappointment. She understood. She’d seen similar things happen with Emily. She knew that he had to take care of this. It still didn’t stop her heart from wrenching at all of her excitement going away at an unexpected moment.

”Of course,” she said, keeping the disappointment out of her voice, but not out of her eyes. ”I understand. Do what you need to do.” She reached up to kiss him and they said their goodbyes. She’d call him tomorrow.

Rachel stood in place, watching as Cruz left. She wouldn’t cry. Not yet. When he left she went to the bar and ordered a mai tai, and then walked out of the room. She needed some time alone. She found a place where she could sit by herself and there she let the tears fall. She had understood, but it still hurt.


((OoC: sorry for the quick posts - Cruz needed to leave and wanted to get done))(

[Jay Carpenter]

He was checking his wallet for messages from Natalie when dinner was called. It lured him to a table, which meant he was forced to chat with a few other guests, but the prime rib was worth it. He even dredged the asparagus spears through the sauce simply for the excuse to slurp up the rest. This was probably too fancy a gala to pick up the plate and drink it like soup.

After service ended, he ordered a second beer (he still wasn’t back to drinking the hard stuff yet), and kept an eye out for an opportunity to corner Vanders. He didn’t see much of his family as far as he could tell, but it seemed Emily came from quite a large one. They all flocked around her like seagulls, and he could see what Vanders liked so much. She seemed sweet, kind certainly, and her smile was warm and friendly - even to a stranger.

It only made him think of Natalie, and he pulled his wallet, considering what kind of message to send her when a young woman approached.

She was - frankly - adorable. Her smile was bubbly and her invitation was the perfect mix of forward confidence and hopeful expectation.

“Pleasure, Kiriena,” he replied with something of a sheepish smile of his own. “Uh, sure, why not.”

He escorted her to the floor, “I’m Jay,” he said as he swept her into his arms. It was a polite distance with which he held onto her. She was tiny and flexible and easy to lead as a result. He was a good dancer; the former prom king certainly had to be, after all, but he was restrained, somewhat. Like a weight was carried that was too heavy to abandon for the whims of a mere dance.

“So which side of the aisle are you? Bride guest or groom guest?”

[Kiriena]

Kiriena gave Jay a cute smile as he escorted her to the dance floor. He held her at a respectable distance during their dance. He seemed to be a kind a respectful man, and Kiriena was glad she had taken the chance to ask for this dance. What really surprised her though was that Jay could dance.


”Its not often I get to dance with a man who actually knows how to lead,” she said honestly. She was more than happy to follow. ”Where did you learn to dance.”

A moan came from a couple near them, and Kiriena looked briefly to see her former table partner getting rather seductive kisses from Emily’s sister. He was getting lucky tonight. Kiriena kept herself from looking. It really wasn’t an odd thing to see at a wedding, but staring would be rude.

She turned back to Jay. ”I met them both a few months show, but have spent more time with Emily. I actually did the flower arrangements.” It had earned her an invite to the wedding, and she was having a good time. ”How about you?”

[Jay Carpenter]

Her question made him laugh. "YouTube,” he explained quickly, nodding as though that might help convince her.

"It's true. I asked this girl—Anne Marie—to homecoming, wanted to impress her.” As he spoke, memories flickered to life, like embers in a fire he’d thought long extinguished.

The last time he’d seen Anne Marie had been at the casino. Even now, his expression dimmed as he recalled the despicable, dishonorable things he’d done to her. But she’d be alright. Better for her to finally see him for what he was, to let go of any illusions about a future together. A long-term relationship between them would’ve been doomed anyway.

Kiriena was nothing like Anne Marie, though. Well, maybe the hair color—but Annie's was thick and bouncy, while Kiriena's fell sleek and refined. Still, the ghost of old feelings lingered, dredged up by his own careless words.

He looked back at her, forcing himself to shrug it off, as if plunging his head into cold water. A change of topic was welcome.

“I know Wiz—Jared. We served in Legion Premiere together. Fought in Africa. He saved my ass more than once.”

Unlike Anne Marie, whose sudden appearance in his mind had caught him off guard, Jared was a memory he’d been bracing himself to revisit all day. He’d practiced compartmentalizing those memories from Africa, readying himself for questions, rehearsing answers that wouldn’t conjure the ghosts of the past.

But of course, they came anyway.

[Emily Shale-Vanders]

A second dance and this time other people joined the dance floor.  Emily allowed herself to notice the others around her.  She had her moment with Jared alone - now this was a party for everyone.  Emily took the time to look around.  She saw Cruz take Rachel to the dance floor and they started talking.  Mara had begun dancing with her girlfriend. She also saw Kiriena approach Jay then they began to dance.  Emily smiled at that.  Kiriena always had seemed a little shy, but still she had asked Jay - a Dominion - to dance.  She didn't know if either were seeing anyone, and judging from their distance it was only a friendly dance.

Emily began to survey the rest of the room, but that ended when she saw Rachel and Cruz.  She had whispered in his ear and was...

Emily turned so she could avoid watching. "Just gonna turn you around here."  Jared gave her a quizzical look. "My sister is - being very affectionate with Cruz right now.  I'd rather not see that now.

Jared chuckled. "She's an adult and it's a wedding."

Emily nodded, "I know - it's just - she's my little sister!"

Jared seemed to understand, and Emily understood - she had to trust Rachel's judgement.  The song finished, and the couple separated.  Emily looked towards Rachel, hoping they had separated.  They were heading towards the bar, when she saw them have a brief discussion.  Cruz then left and Rachel was left looking upset.  She got a drink and left the room.

Well, shit! Emily thought.

She kissed Jared. "We should mingle a bit.  I think something just happened and I'm going to check on my sister.  You good?

Jared nodded, "I'm gonna go get a beer, see some people.  You'll be back soon?"

"Hopefully - it depends on what happened. Love you!

Jared reciprocated, and Emily moved to follow her sister.  It wasn't long before she found the spot.  Her sister was sitting in a chair, a mai tai in her hands and tears in her eyes.  Emily embraced her power and grabbed a chair bringing it close and sitting across from her sister.  She put her hand lightly on Rachel's. "What's wrong? What happened?" If Rachel had given him that amount of affection and Cruz had dumped her, heads would roll.

[Jared Vanders]

Jared had enjoyed his dances with Emily. He wasn't much of a dancer himself, but the swaying slow dances he could keep up with. That just meant he got to hold her close and look into her eyes. That was enough. Jared had to laugh though when Emily wanted to avoid seeing his sister being affectionate with her boyfriend. He was able to see himself when he had turned around. Their kiss was pretty passionate. Emily tended to be overprotective of her sisters though. That was probably the cost of her having to take over after her parent's death. Emily cared deeply for her sisters, and Jared knew she wasn't too fond of Cruz - mostly because he was friends with a guy named Nox. Jared had been told the whole story.

They separated after the dance and Emily apparently had clocked a reaction in Rachel and went to douse the fire. Jared moved towards the bar, noting that Jay had joined the dance with the flower girl, and for the first time wondered where Natalie was. Natalie and Emily had met, and he was sure Natalie had been sent an invite. He wondered why they hadn't come together. It appeared that Kiriena and Jay had a good time though.

Jared went to the bar, ordered a beer and turned around, surveying the scene and sipping at his drink. He was sure someone would come to bother him sooner or later, but it was his day too (okay - it was Emily's day, but he got some of the backsplash), so he could take a few moments to relax.

[Kiriena]

Kiriena laughed. "YouTube. What did we do before YouTube."

Kiriena noticed the shift in her dance partners mood as he mentioned his old girlfriend. She didn't know the memories behind them, and she didn't have to. She could notice, however, that these memories were not good ones. She was glad she had asked him something else. Kiriena wouldn't press him.

Kiriena wasn't surprised that Jay had served. It made a lot of sense. She knew Jared was a soldier, and Jay was a Dominion, so he likely had a military background as well. Jared had saved Jay multiple times. They likely had a deep bond. "I don't know Jared very well yet, but I can tell he's a good man. You said Wiz - like Wizard? A nickname because of his magical abilites? What do they call it in the military - a callsign?" Kiriena hadn't known that Jared and Emily had been channelers. Like many others, she had found out tonight.

The song came to an end, and the DJ announced a faster song that began to play. "I think I need a drink!" she said with a smile.

[Rachel Shale]

A chair came over, dragged over by and unseen power and Emily sat down in front of Rachel, asking what was wrong. Rachel wanted to say all, but she struggled to find the words, instead finding an excuse. "You don't need to - this is your wedding - I'll be okay." Rachel could feel the gaze coming from her sister. It hadn't worked. "I'm not sure this is something you'll want to talk to me about, Em."

Emily sighed. "Maybe not, but you're hurting, that's clear. Please let me help you."

Rachel took a deep breath. "It's been hard. We've both been so busy and working so hard. I got to see him today, we danced, and it was wonderful...I..." she stalled. "Are you sure?" Rachel waited and Emily nodded. "I got the hotel room tonight and I invited him because I'm ready but now he has a work emergency and I'm upset." The last words came out fast, and Rachel could feel herself blushing. This was the part she was sure Emily didn't want to talk about. Emily wouldn't want to hear about her sister's sex life.

There was silence for awhile, and Rachel could feel herself getting angry with herself, but Emily finally broke the silence. "It's okay to feel upset about that." Rachel looked up, not expecting that response. "Yes it's a little awkward talking to you about this, but you need to talk about it, I'll power through." Emily gave her an encouraging smile. "It's also not what I wasn't expecting to talk about - you caught me a little off guard. Thought I was going to have to beat Cruz up for breaking up with you after you made out with him on the dance floor."

Rachel laughed. "It wasn't making out - no tongue was used."

"We can talk about this - boundaries thought - I don't need to hear specifics." it was said in a joking manner.

Rachel sighed, turning serious again. "It's not that I'm mad, I'm just...

"Disappointed" Emily joined in on the last word. "Now who sounds like dad." This brought a smile to Rachel's face. "Sounds like you understand he had to leave, he's upset about it too, and if you're ready - it will happen. It's hard when you're busy - but you'll make it though this. And I'm always willing to listen - no matter what. Okay?"

Rachel felt a little better and nodded. "Thank you. I'd like a few more minutes alone and then I'll come back in."

"Take all the time you need. I will tell you your make up needs a little bit of a touch up though," Emily leaned over and hugged her sister. "You good?" Rachel nodded. "Good - I'll be in the reception hall. You still owe me a dance."

Emily turned to leave. "Hey Em - can I say something honestly." The statement had been burning in her mind for awhile, but she had put it off. When Em gave her a nod, she continued. "I know you don't like Cruz a lot, and honestly, I don't think you've given him a fair shake. I think it's a little unfair of you." Rachel could see Emily's gaze shift. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that today. It's just...it hurts a little."

Emily returned to her and sat down, taking one of Rachel's hands. "You have nothing to apologize for. You are right - I haven't and it is unfair of me. You need to say that, and I need to hear it. I'm sorry - that I've hurt you and that I've not been fair to him. You're an adult and I need to trust your judgement. I'm sorry - I truly am. And I'll try to do better."

They hugged again, and Emily returned to the reception. Rachel wiped her eyes and drank her beverage before heading to the bathroom to fix her tear streaked make up. Everything would be okay - and there was still more fun to be had tonight.