9| Wedding Crashers Can't be Caught
ONCE upon a damn time, I dated my sister's closeted and then un-closeted ex-boyfriend while I was, in fact, closeted. And in that particular once-upon-a-time story, I also happened to foolishly fall in love with said boy who was incredibly cute, painstakingly talented, and way too fucking tolerant towards me. Oh. And he got a record deal. Because he was literally so goddamn talented. On top of that, the record deal was the reason we had to break up. The whole long-distance super-busy thing just didn't work. And that was okay.
Like I said. I got my closure.
But the one detail of being with him that really didn't offer any sort of closure was this:
The song he wrote. The one he wrote for me. The one that I could barely listen to without thinking about the fact that once upon a goddamn time, I was in love and blah, blah, blah, blah blah...
Oh yeah, so the point was that when that particular song came on, I like, needed to turn it off asap. But the problem about being in a gay club where the music blasted super loud was that I didn't have the ability to switch off my radio or skip the song on Spotify. Cause the DJ was in charge, not me.
So the other night, right when the song switched, I recognized it. And when I realized there was no way in hell I could listen to it at such a loud volume with so many people around, I made up an excuse and ran out of the club and walked back to my apartment.
I felt shitty for abandoning Cayden and the others like that. So randomly. And I felt shitty knowing that Clay had shown up and I hadn't even stayed to see if I could have a moment to talk to him. I also felt shitty for ignoring Cayden's texts the next day, asking me if I was all good. I needed a day to myself. That song, as stupid as it was, really effected me. I felt like a dipshit because of it, but uh, what can you do?
So I let a day pass before going to the café, hoping that Cayden was working and also kind of hoping that he was alone, so I could explain some shit.
"Ty Ham!" Cayden exclaimed the moment I walked in the door. I was kind of glad he didn't look upset at me or anything for ignoring his texts.
I walked over to the counter and sat on one of the barstools. "Hey, Cayden. I, uh–"
He held up his hand. "Before you say a thing, I must get one thing off my chest..."
I gulped. Oh damn. Maybe he was actually mad at me for ditching and ignoring him.
"You look like you are in dire need of some coffee," Cayden said, winking at me. "Are we feeling something lavender or something new?"
I exhaled. "Lavender, of course."
"Right on it!" Cayden exclaimed, and he got to work mixing together a lavender latte.
I couldn't tell if he was just acting nice and secretly mad at me, or if he was just genuinely nice. I was never good at reading people. I was especially never good at being able to trust people so easily. So it was likely I was just paranoid. But I stayed quiet while Cayden finished my latte and then brought over a blueberry scone.
"On the house, as well," he said, leaning up against the counter.
"Seriously?" I asked, eyebrows raised.
"Well, duh. I only say things if I mean them."
I shook my head. "You're being too fucking nice to me after what I did."
"What you did?" Cayden asked, then his eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh, you mean the other night."
"And I kind of ignored your texts," I added. "Which I feel like a real cuck about, so if you're mad at me or something or want to mildly poison me with a blueberry scone, let me know."
"Jesus, you really must have a storm cloud in your brain half the time. Number one, I'm not mad. Except you definitely should have responded to my Taylor Lautner gif. And number two, you can't poison a blueberry scone. That's just rude."
I sighed. "I just feel like shit for bailing. But good to know you wouldn't kill me by scone."
"Don't feel like shit. We all have our reasons, don't we?" Cayden said, then leaned forward. "Why did you go, though?"
I took a piece of the scone and popped it in my mouth. It was fucking heavenly. "I really liked it there, at the club. It was cool. I felt included with everyone that was there, you know? I've never been somewhere so inclusive and welcoming and dope all at the same time. I just–"
"–got overtaken by that storm cloud in your head?" Cayden said.
I shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much. Can I be completely real with you? Like, no-bullshit completely real and genuine?"
"As far as you're concerned," Cayden hopped up onto the counter, "I'm your new BFF, therapist, and mentor."
"The cloud in my head. It's like, kind of always been there. It was really bad back in California when I was going to UCLA because I just felt so trapped. Stuck in some shitty place with shitty people that reminded me of shitty times," I admitted. "And the cloud the other night wasn't because I felt shitty. It was because it reminded me of... someone. And the something shitty about us."
"Oh?"
"My ex-boyfriend. Alexander. He kind of... uh... he was the guy who helped me get out of the closet. He also dated my sister."
Cayden raised his eyebrows. "Oh."
I nodded. "Oh is right. And uh, so we were together for a while. He meant a lot to me. Still does. Except we don't talk anymore. And the problem with that is the fact that at the club, his song started to play."
"Wait. His song?"
"Alexander, aka Alexander Taylor, aka touring the country being a singer with amazing pipes and catchy ass songs," I said.
Cayden gaped. "No fucking way. You dated a famous person!"
"I mean. Yeah, I guess. He wasn't famous when we dated. He was a transfer student in his senior year when I was a junior. And then we dated for a while. Then, we broke up because he got his record deal and long distance was... not it," I told him. "On top of that, he was just so damn busy. It was hard to even get a text back."
"Damn," Cayden muttered. "So his song played and you..."
"I had to run out of there," I said. "I can't listen to that song without almost completely breaking down. And then there's the fact that I texted him for the first time the other day. So far no response, though."
"Oh, you texted him?"
I nodded. "I just... We used to be so close. Even before we dated, we were tight friends. And I guess sometimes I miss having the conversations I used to with him. But I feel stupid for even texting because he's always so busy. He plays venues almost every night, and I'm sure his rehearsal schedule is wacky. I don't know. So... that's why I left. Just so you know how fucked I can be in the head."
"Tyler," Cayden said softly, "you don't sound fucked in the head. Every single person on this earth has had moments like you did at the club. We all have things we can't exactly face. You're not fucked in the head. You're just twisty."
"Ah, twisty. I'll add that to my therapy vocab."
Cayden laughed. "You don't need to be so hard on yourself."
"You sound like Jesse and Alex," I muttered.
"Sugar daddy Jesse and your sister?" Cayden asked and I nodded. "Well, they both sound right to me."
"It's because they are," I said with my mouth full of scone.
Jesse and Alex were undeniably always right when it came to me. That didn't mean I wasn't still predisposed to being hard on myself. Because I totally was. I was just used to it. And if I wasn't being hard on myself, that was when it transferred, and I was hard on everyone else around me. That was when it got bad. That was when the anger poured back in.
"Can I ask you a personal question about this Alexander?" Cayden asked.
"Shoot."
"Do you, like, want to get back together with him? Is that why you texted him?"
My eyes widened. "No, no, I don't," I admitted, and it felt like the complete truth. "I just... want to talk to him, hear from him, anything. It's just been a while since we last spoke, and I don't know... We have a lot of history. We were friends before we dated, and I don't know if we could be legit friends again, but I'd like to think we could have a healthy semi-friendship."
"So... You just want to talk to him?"
I sat up. "You're asking me this because of Clay."
Cayden held up his hands defensively. "I'm just curious! You said you wanted to see Clay, but you texted your ex, so I just wanted to check–"
"I do want to see Clay. Not just see him, I want to speak to him," I said.
"I'm just making sure, you know. Porkchop's a great guy. But he's also a sensitive little puppy," Cayden told me. "I just want to check and make sure you're not going to see him and then lead him on. If it gets to that point."
"I won't lead him on if it gets to that point," I promised.
Cayden looked around the cafe and then sighed, meeting my eyes. "I get off work in 3 hours. If you have the patience in you, or if you want to come back then, I'll take you somewhere."
"Where, another club?"
"Nope. Just stay here or come back in 3 hours. Do you own a tux?"
"Uh, there's one in the closet for basketball season," I said.
"Great! Wear your tux and I'll take you somewhere. But we have to be discreet, and we cannot be seen or I will be murdered," Cayden said, jumping off the counter. "Now. Back to my actual job of coffee making."
✿✿✿
Putting on a suit before having to do any basketball PR was weird as fuck, and I still had no idea where Cayden was taking me. It seemed like a running theme in our friendship so far, and I didn't exactly mind.
I ended up staying at the coffee shop until Cayden's shift was up, and we walked back to my apartment so I could get in the damn suit. Yes, the suit that my sugar daddy purchased for me. Because he was amazing. And treated me like the queen I was.
And speaking of queens, when I got out of the bathroom and needed help with my tie, Cayden was looking at one of the framed pictures on the bookshelf in my room. I walked over and noticed it was the photo of me and, you guessed it, Alexander. Prom night from my junior year.
Good and bad memories all at once. I hadn't planned on going to prom that year, but when Alex was planning her grand gesture for Jesse Campbell, I kind of got a little bit of motivation from her. Alex had been afraid of commitment from the moment we got to middle school and everyone started hitting puberty. So if my sister who was terrified of commitment could make a grand gesture to tell her boyfriend she loved him... then why couldn't I show up to the dance and surprise Alexander, the boy that I'd loved?
She gave me the courage. Then, Jesse gave me the courage to actually walk on stage when I was announced the prom queen. It felt humiliating, and I didn't want to do it. But I made it work.
I made that disaster my bitch.
"You were the prom... queen?" Cayden asked.
I shuddered a little. "Yeah. That night kind of sucked at first."
"What why? This is Alexander, right?"
"Yeah, that's him," I said. Perfect soft hair, winning smile and all. "Uh, but the guy who announced prom king and queen kind of was an asshole. And it was embarrassing at first, too. I don't want to get into it, but can you help me with my tie?"
Cayden set the picture down and turned around to help me with my tie.
"You do have a grey cloud, Tyler Hamilton," Cayden observed. "Just know that you don't have to tell me now or anything cause I get we're kind of still new to each other. But I am fully assuming the therapist-mentor position while you're here and your sister and sugar daddy aren't. So... just keep that in mind. I'm a great listener and I have my own past demons and experiences."
I smiled. "That means a lot, really."
I wasn't good at emotions, or being real with them. Especially with people I didn't know all that well or for that long. But it was comforting knowing that Cayden cared and was willing to listen.
"Let's get a move on. And remember, we have to blend in and be discreet," Cayden said, shoving me out of the bedroom so we could leave. We made our way down the elevator and outside to his car. Once we were in, he sped off immediately and Ariana Grande played through the speakers.
"Where are we even going?"
"Porkchop's wedding he planned."
I widened my eyes and looked over at him. "A wedding? Do you know who's getting married?"
Cayden grinned. "Nope," he said, pulling over onto the side of the road. To the right, there was a brick building that was lit up inside and out with white pendant lights. "We're just showing up."
"We're crashing a wedding?" I asked, and I could feel the smirk pulling up my lips the moment Cayden nodded and got out of the car.
I followed him, and walking to the building's entrance, I couldn't help but grin.
"You keep getting better, honestly," I told him.
"That's what people tend to say about me," Cayden said, then motioned for me to follow him past the front door of the venue. "There's a back entrance that'll be more discreet. Wedding crashers can't be caught."
Around the back of the building, there was a small courtyard decorated in the same white pendants and rustic wood decor. It was fairly crowded, which made it easy for the two of us to blend in with the actual guests. We walked through the courtyard towards the back entrance and I snatched a mini-cupcake on our way.
"Oh shit," I moaned when I finished the cupcake in one bite. "Does he pick the cupcakes, too?"
"No, but he helps the bride and groom choose them. I cannot believe you took one!"
I shrugged. "We're guests! Aren't we supposed to enjoy the delectable desserts chosen by the newlywed couple?"
Cayden shook his head at me. "You're ridiculous. Come on, he's probably inside. And I mean it when I say we have to be–"
"Discreet," I interrupted. "Yeah, yeah. We can't be seen or whatever."
"We can't. I don't think Porkchop would mind, but like, we cannot for the life of me ruin this wedding reception," Cayden said.
"Trust me, Cayden, if I'm going to do anything at this wedding reception, I'm going to enhance it," I said, a wide grin spreading across my face.
We stepped into the venue; dark granite floors and ceilings with exposed beams gave the rustic feeling I assumed they were going for. Big white curtains cascaded down from the ceiling and surrounded the supporting beams while vines I assumed were ivy leaves dipped down from the ceiling. Vintage lanterns in gold and silver were placed around the room on decorative white pillars alongside cork-topped bottles filled with dim yellow string lights.
If one thing was true, it was the fact that Clay was great at his job. The atmosphere of the wedding was unmatched, everyone was dancing and laughing and chatting, and the decor created the most beautiful rustic feel. I could hardly imagine how many hours he'd spent working with the bride and groom to make this wedding reception what it was today.
"There he is," Cayden said, and he pulled me lightly by my arm so we were standing off in one of the corners of the room. He pointed and I followed the direction with my eyes until I caught sight of Clay talking to the bride and groom towards the middle of the room.
I felt myself smile watching Clay talk to them, gesturing around the room and smiling widely. He spoke animatedly, and maybe it was just the environment of the wedding, but every bright thing about him seemed enhanced.
"This is one of his favorite places," Cayden told me.
"What? This exact place?" I asked.
"No, but any wedding in general. Especially any wedding that he planned or had part in planning," Cayden said. "He's like... radiant in these settings. Even more than usual. He's always such a bright guy, but right now, it seems like he's–"
"Illuminated," I interrupted, eyes set on Clay.
"Exactly!" Cayden exclaimed. "I felt like you should see him in one of his favorite places. The natural habitat of our favorite Porkchop. Just because, I don't know... I want to root for him and he's kind of lonely right now. He has all of us, his friends and stuff, but I think it's obvious that he's missing the romantic aspect that the rest of us have."
"Has he dated anyone recently?" I asked.
Cayden shook his head. "Not since just after high school. He was dating a friend of all of us, Gracie."
I raised my eyebrows. "So he's bi? Was the breakup...?"
"It was mutual and not bad at all. We're all still friends with Gracie, him included. She's just got her own life in Montana at the moment and isn't around," Cayden admitted. "Clay was pretty upset, though, at first. Had the biggest crush on Gracie forever. He's way past over it at this point, but the boy feels and he feels hard. He'll always have love for people even if they don't love him back."
"Damn," I muttered, watching as Clay moved away from the dance floor to let the bride and groom take their turn at a karaoke machine set up in the middle. They broke out into song, a duet of "Hungry Eyes".
"Damn is correct. He's got a big heart and he cares about everyone on the entire planet. And he's lethally loyal," he said.
I watched Clay grin and dance along while people cheered for the bride and groom as their duet wrapped up. I could tell that he loved weddings just by how much he was enjoying himself even though he was here by himself, a guest simply because he planned the entire event.
It didn't matter to him because he was here, and he fucking loved every second of it.
An idea took over my mind at that moment and I smiled evilly at Cayden. "What if I... enhanced this reception for him?"
Cayden widened his eyes. "Wait–what are you thinking?" I started to back away and Cayden just watched me, whisper-yelling. "Tyler! Tyler Hamilton! Tyler I-don't-know-your-middle-name-but-when-I-do-I-will-use-it Hamilton! Get back here!"
But I had already backed away and the karaoke machine was open and ready for another use. So I grabbed the microphone, cleared my throat, and spoke:
"Give it up for the bride and groom, am I right!"
The guests cheered and the bride and groom took a bow, grinning while simultaneously either not noticing or not caring that I was a complete ass stranger.
"How about an upbeat song to let loose and get jiggy to, huh?" I said, searching for the perfect song. "Performed by yours truly, of course..."
The opening of "Out of My League" by Fitz and the Tantrums started to play and the guests were already clapping along and dancing. I broke out into song immediately, turning so I was looking directly at Clay.
When he was looking at me, he was red as a beet and I sang (terribly, of course) directly at him while I danced around. I bet I looked kind of like a fool. A hot fool, though.
"'You were out of my league, all the things I believe, you were just the right kind and you were more than just a dream,'" I sang, circling the karaoke machine and hopping up on one of the empty tables, earning applause and whistles from some of the guests.
To them, I was just another guest.
To Clay, I was gonna serenade the shit out of him. Just for the fun of it.
"'Got my heartbeat racing, if I die don't wake me 'cause you were more than just a dream!'" The part of the song where the drums took over started and everyone danced and clapped. I yelled, "Drumroll please!" The majority of the guests joined in, and I pointed at Cayden who reluctantly joined as well, pretending to play the drums while I made my way towards Clay.
I could see him gulp and he looked taken aback. I stopped directly in front of him, moving the microphone away and leaning up to whisper something to him:
"Nice to see you again, Clay," I said. "That tux is doing wonders for you."
I winked, Clay was even brighter red, and the beat dropped, so I continued my song and everyone was jumping around, dancing, looking ridiculous but having the fucking time of their lives.
And I was having the fucking time of my life, too.
When the song ended, I took a bow and needed to catch my breath from all of the dancing and singing I'd just done. I stole one more glance over at Clay who gave me the shyest fucking smile I'd ever seen before I winked one last time, then turned and rejoined Cayden who took me by the shoulders.
"You," he said, "are a madman."
"I," I said, "am a catch."
"Touché," Cayden said, shaking his head and looking over my shoulders. "He's so fucking red. Which means you did a great job, but the poor boy is going to be dwelling over that for the next 72 hours."
I chuckled. "Good," I said, turning to see Clay while he got himself a drink at the nearest table, loosening his collar. "Maybe it'll make him stop ignoring me."
✿✿✿
^^ Y'all at the fact that clay and Tyler still haven't REALLY gotten together yet.
Hehe. Yes. I love to give y'all just a small amount at first. I just love it. Just a little tease.
Anyway. TYLER IS TALKING ABOUT ALEXANDER YET AGAIN. Smh. Do we or do we not approve? Let me know where y'all stand.
Aaaaand of course Mr. Tyler couldn't hold back his karaoke talents. He's pulling an Alex Hamilton with the whole serenading thing, except his method is, well... a bit different.
What do we expect to happen next? Let me know where we at. Maybe it'll finally happen and they'll get together soon... or maybe not.