“No.” I turn to her, hoping she gets the message loud and clear. “You’ve got a problem with my mate, you’ve got a problem with me. Is that clear?”
An awkward tension settles around the table as the servers appear, setting out roasts before us. Nobody answers, but there’s a certain satisfaction to finally saying my piece.
For a moment, I think Maeve might be upset with me for being aggressive, but she just reaches down and squeezes my thigh under the table, and it’s worth the dissatisfied looks on my parents’ faces.
Chapter 15 - Maeve
Felix and I dance together near the center of the dance floor, his hands resting lazily at the small of my back, my arms looped around his neck.
“That was great, back there,” I murmur to him. It’s the first time this entire evening we’ve managed to have a talk out of the other guests’ earshot.
He looks handsome in everything, but there’s something about the sight of a man in a suit that makes my mouth go dry. And there’s something especially pleasing about the sight ofFelixin a suit—his lithe body, the tailoring of the vest, the way he casually draped his coat over the back of his chair.
“I’m tired of people treating you like that,” he says, and it sends another shot of warmth through me.
Focus, my inner voice says, berating me for the way I lean into Felix.Remember what he was like in high school, Maeve.
But it’s hard for me to focus on how mean he was when now he’s defending me. Coming to battle for me like nobody has before.
“I mean, I think it was really convincing,” I say.
He puts his hands on my shoulders, pulling me back and looking at me intently, even as we continue to sway in the middle of the dance floor.
“It was convincing because it’s how I really feel.” When he says it, his voice is deep gravel, rough and smooth at the same time. Like cookies and cream. “I know all the other stuff”—his gaze lands on the bite on my neck—“is for show. But I care about you, Maeve. I’ve always cared about you, and I’m tired of people treating you like this.”
This would be the perfect moment to bring up high school. To mention the fact that Felix, himself, was one of the people making me miserable back then. But I don’t want to ruin the moment. It’s nice, standing with him like this. Dancing together slowly, his arms around me. Now, Felix doesn’t waste a single moment to lay claim to me, and it’s making it harder and harder for me to remember this entire thing is just for show.
“Okay,” I manage, and that’s enough for Felix, who pulls me back into him, continuing our slow dance.
We stay on the dance floor through the rest of the night, moving together, not caring about his parents or other people who might say it’s inappropriate for me to dance like this with him.
“Felix!”
Our dancing stops as we turn and see the bride coming to us. She’s changed into a less restrictive gown for dancing. She’s radiant, with shining cheeks and bright eyes, and it makes me wonder, for the first time, what it would be like to be a bride myself.
What it would be like for this to be my wedding day.
“Hey, Suzie,” Felix says, letting go of me for the first time in an hour to wrap his arms around this woman. I realize I don’t even know his relation to her, or why we’re at this wedding in the first place. “Maeve, this is Suzie, my cousin,” he says as though he can read my mind. “And Suzie, this is my mate, Maeve.”
Suzie’s eyes widen, and she looks between me and Felix with an expression bordering on euphoria. “Felix, is this the same Maeve from when we were kids?”
His blush rises to just under his eyes. “Yes, Suz.”
“Oh my gods,” Suzie says, turning to me, and I realize she’s definitely a little drunk when she throws her arms around me and pulls me in tight. She smells like rich perfume and champagne. “I amsohappy for you two! You probably don’t remember me—I was only around a couple of times. But I remember how much of a crush Felix had on you back then.”
Even though I’m an adult now, and even though it’s beyond silly, the knowledge that Felix had a crush on me back then makes my stomach swoop down low, like it might have when I was a kid.
“Gods, Suz,” Felix says, his face even redder now. “We can keep some things sacred.”
“Oh, whatever, I’m sure she knows,” Suzie says, rolling her eyes and throwing her arms around the two of us, walking us jerkily toward the center of the dance floor. “Come on, I want the two of you to hang out with us.”
In Los Angeles, there are some spaces I feel comfortable in. Plus-size influencer groups. A gym I joined that’s specifically for larger bodies. Places where my body is the norm, rather than the exception.
Right now is—I think—the first time in my life I’ve been pulled right into the center of the party. Suzie laughs and throws her head back, dancing with abandon, her arms around her groom, and it’s hard for me to take my eyes off them.
What would it be like to dance with Felix like that?
We get pulled into the fray, our arms and hands all over one another, lost in the fun of being young and alive with the others in the room.
