“I still can't believe this is happening,” I muttered under my breath.Rachel, who was by my side with her arm wrapped around mine, smiled up at me. “What? That you’d get an excuse to dress in a dashing suit again? That we’d be here in the same place with your brother and you both aren’t being such damn grouches about it?”I frowned at her. “Noah getting married,” I emphasized. “And us being so friendly that I’m joining the wedding after receiving an invitation.”She gave me a curious look. “Why is that?”I opened my mouth to give her an answer, only to stop and snap my mouth closed. Exactly what could I tell her, anyway? Noah and I…used to get along as kids. We were twins, after all, and spent most of the time together. I couldn’t remember when we’d drifted apart, and somewhere in between, I’d grown to distrust and dislike for my brother, and he the same.But, why did I dislike him in the first place? I couldn’t pinpoint a reason. Had it… Been some stupid sibling thing for all those

I snapped awake in my bed, and for a moment I was confused. I didn’t know where I was. My heart was beating too fast in my chest, but my breathing was coming out calm. Then I looked around and remembered.Right. Shit.I was back home, in my little place at the hotel. Still, I didn’t calm down immediately, and I closed my eyes to take a few deep breaths, getting my heart to return to normal.I shook my head and got out of bed, heading for the showers. It took exactly five minutes before I was done and drying myself out. I picked an outfit for the day, then debated whether or not I should leave my room.You should, I thought to myself. You can't keep yourself locked in here forever.But the thought of leaving had my heart beat coming up again, and I knew I needed to stay calm.I wasn’t quite fresh out of the Navy. I’d been back for some time, though I mostly kept to myself, shit, I barely left the hotel. The only reason I even came back here instead of drifting, was because of my injury

I watched Ginger walk away from me, my hand rising automatically to hold her back. But I stopped before I could touch her.She was doing her best to act strong, to act like she wasn’t bothered. But it was hard to miss how tense her shoulders were, and it was enough to let me know she was putting up a brave act, not feeling brave. My heart ached that this was what our relationship had come to, but I had no one to blame but myself.So I just watched her walk away until she disappeared into the back of the salon, and I turned around to leave without a word to anyone else.Shit.I walked slowly back to my car, opened the door and got inside. Then I just sat there for a few minutes, fighting the urge to cry.“That could have gone better,” I muttered to myself, rubbing my eyes.I drove back to the hotel, back to hiding away. On the drive, I debated about whether I should bother going back. Ginger was mad at me, obviously, and she had every right to be. The only question was whether I had th

“Ugh.”It was morning, but I wasn’t snapping up in attention when I woke up. Instead, my mind and body felt heavy, and I rolled over in bed, trying to get comfortable so I could fall asleep and get back to my wonderful dream. This was why I drank, I didn’t think too much while I was drunk, and I didn’t wake up ready to be attacked.That dream though…where I saw Ginger, and she was talking to me. She was still glaring, but it wasn’t the same dismissal I’d gotten when I went to her place. And then, after that, where she wasn’t even glaring. That had to have been a dream, right? Because there was no way Ginger would have been in my room last night.I rolled around in bed for a few more minutes, then frowned when I figured I wouldn’t be falling back asleep. I groaned as I rose up, throwing a hand up to hold my head.“Shit.” The part of drinking that I didn’t like. The hangover, and feeling so disoriented when I did wake up.I slid out of bed and went to the bathroom. I had some meds in th

I woke up early, as usual, snapping awake and feeling alert. Only, instead of being anxious to face the day, there was this huge grin on my face.Last night, I’d fallen asleep and dreamed of the moment Ginger, and I had shared at our spot. Hours later, and I was still feeling the effects of it. After we’d kissed, and I’d driven Ginger back to my place to pick up her clothes, then walked her down to her car so she could leave. There hadn't been a single awkward moment between us. It was more progress than I’d hoped in such short time.I jumped out of bed and went to take a shower, humming to myself the whole time. I got dressed quickly, picking out my one good pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. I went to my little kitchen and looked around, to see if there was anything to eat. My cereal was all gone, though, and I’d used up my last carton of OJ with Ginger yesterday. Just the reminder had me grinning again.“I’ll need groceries later,” I muttered to myself.At the moment, though, I nee