Page 16 of Rebel Bride
When she asked me to help her out of her wedding underwear, I almost walked out of there. Touching her was so wrong and completely unfair to Carter, who must be feeling so low right now. Yet here I was playing his part, undressing the man’s bride. The pearls of her spine bulging so prominently, her skin red raw from the tightness of the underwear, that butterfly tattoo—all had combined to make my heart beat madly.
This whole thing was mad.
During the journey down, I’d left my phone off, and now I checked it, bracing myself for drama and accusation. Plenty of messages from family and friends, but I focused on the wedding party group thread, absurdly named “Carter’s Cool Crew,” like we were in middle school. Created by his best man and cousin, Saxon Carter the Third, it fortunately did not include the groom, which gave leave for everyone to gossip away to their hearts’ content.
Peyton Bell, aka Dingaling, got the ball rolling.
D’s freaking me out.
NoBo
Man, he must be crushed.
Jakey
Yeah, I can’t imagine getting dumped like that. Pretty hard core when your girl would rather escape out of a bathroom window than marry you.
Dingaling
No, that’s just it. He’s kind of okay with it? Like this is just a hitch in an otherwise regular run of events.
I tried to understand Carter’s thinking here. Why the hell would he think of this as a “hitch”?
NoBo
So he’s gonna talk to her? Change her mind?
Dingaling
Maybe? He said something about how she’s flighty and indecisive. He thinks his mom scared her off and that she just needs time to think it through.
Jakey
Not sure I’d be that understanding.
NoBo
Not sure it sounds like Carter.
Carter Goon 1
C-Man rules!
Carter Goon 2
Fuck that bitch!
The inestimable contribution of a couple of Carter’s douchey cousins, whose names I never bothered to learn. They’d obviously decided the champagne shouldn’t go to waste.
NoBo
KJ’s being awfully quiet. You still with us, man?
KJ was me: Kershaw Junior. A few more texts followed, mostly speculation on what Summer was thinking and why she’d handled it that way. The thread had been quiet for the last thirty minutes, so my contribution was due.
Sorry, guys, I was driving and had my phone off. Figured I’d hit the road as soon as I saw it was a bust.
NoBo
