Not trusting herself to actually form words, Alex simply nodded, and rewarded Jesse with a warm smile when the bride looked up to see her and Linda enter the room.
“Oh my, Alex... You make a tux look good,” Jesse said before Alex could even compliment her on the gorgeous dress.
Yes, she does!
The errant thought came from Linda, and another one that followed nearly caused Alex to blush. She had no idea Linda thought of her that way, and wished she could bow out of the private thoughts.
A woman in a tux...not even a ‘woman’s’ tux. Who does she think she is?
The more venomous thought came from Danika, who moved herself between Alex and the bride. “Let me just adjust...”
“Danika, stop fussing, and step aside. I was talking to Alex,” Jesse countered, though her mood didn’t waver. She offered Alex a warm smile. “Thank you again for agreeing to give me away. I know there are a few people who think it is insane, but aside from Jim, you know me better than anyone, Alex. We both want you to know we consider you very much a part of our family.”
Once again, Alex found herself at a loss for words. “If you are not careful, you’ll get me crying, which will get you crying, which will get these three crying. I don’t think your makeup artist, or the photographer, would appreciate the smudged makeup.” She flashed a smirk, hoping humor would deflect from her just a bit.
Before anything else could be said, it was time. One by one, Penny, Linda, and Danika left the room, leaving Alex and Jesse alone. Jesse smirked. “I think Linda likes you, Alex. She’s single, you know.”
Alex couldn’t help the blush. “I was wondering...on both counts. Let’s see where the evening takes us, hmm? Besides. Today is not about me, but about you and Jim. Let’s get you hitched, eh?” The grin Jesse flashed warmed her heart.
On hearing the start of the bridal march, Alex offered Jesse her arm and the pair walked down the aisle just as they’d practiced the night before. The minister looked at the pair of them. “Who presents the bride?”
“I, Alex Randolph, present the bride to her future husband,” Alex replied. The minister nodded and Alex released her ex’s arm before approaching Jim. She offered him her hand, but he pulled her into a huge bear hug and whispered, “Thank you.”
Alex wasn’t one to cry at the drop of a hat, but she couldn’t keep the tears from flowing freely through the rest of the ceremony. A small part of her might have been sad, but she felt joy for everything else.
The venue for the wedding reception was the Audubon Tea Room. It was a building Alex had often seen from the outside whenever she visited the zoo, but tonight was the first night she’d gotten to see inside. It was huge, but Jesse and Jim had invited far more people to the reception than to the ceremony. It was an elegant venue, and the catering had thus far been superb. Alex was doing her best to relax and mingle, but there were a lot of minds and a lot of random noise buzzing around her head. It made it hard to concentrate. It also made her head hurt.
The telepath was thinking of calling it a night soon when a random thought caught her attention and made her blush. Not a second later, a hand appeared on her shoulder as Linda leaned down and whispered, “Jesse told me this might be the time of night you think about making your exit. I hope, for both our sakes, that is not the case.”
The bridesmaid was leaning over Alex and pulled back so she could look her in the eye. The smirk on Linda’s face was enough to hint that she might want more than just a dance from Alex. The string of very personal thoughts confirmed what had become Linda’s agenda for the evening.
Alex found herself smiling almost shyly as she looked at her lap. “Well, Jesse would normally be right, but perhaps you could convince me to stay.” She didn’t need convincing, but figured she’d play the game. The blush on her cheeks, though, was very real. She’d always liked Linda, and found her attractive, though she hadn’t thought Jesse’s friend was into women.
Without skipping a beat, Linda pulled Alex’s chair out just enough so she could slide onto her lap and let one arm casually hang around Alex’s neck. Her smirk didn’t waver as she leaned down and placed a gentle, yet sensual, kiss on the other woman’s lips. It was the briefest of kisses, but enough to get Alex’s heart nearly pounding its way out of her chest. Linda pulled back, her smirk replaced with a warm smile. “Convincing enough, elusive one?”
The butterflies in Alex’s stomach were doing flips, but she managed a warm smile of her own as her arms went around Linda’s hips. “I’d say it’s a good start.” She gave the bridesmaid a cheeky grin, and was about to say something else when the DJ put on Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper.
Linda jumped off Alex’s lap, took her hand, and exclaimed, “I love this song! It was my anthem when I was a teenager!” She didn’t give Alex a chance to protest and dragged her onto the dance floor. They half-stumbled onto the parquet wood floor, both already laughing up a storm as Linda started dancing. Alex did her best, but she wasn’t a big dancer, at least not to fast songs.
There was such joy and happiness throughout the room. Even though there were a ton of random thoughts that crossed Alex’s mind, the convergence of so much happiness, combined with Linda’s pure glee, was intoxicating. Alex found herself smiling bigger and laughing harder than she had in a long time, and it felt good.
As the song came to a close, Alex started to head back to her table. The lights on the dance floor went low and the DJ put on Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. Alex got one, maybe two, steps in before Linda grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
When Alex turned to face Linda, the bridesmaid’s green eyes met her brown-eyed gaze. There was something solemn in the way Linda looked at her, but what impacted her more than the look was the feeling coming from the other woman. There was a sense of longing, and it was one Alex felt as well. Linda slid her arms around Alex’s neck, and Alex found herself embracing Linda as the two began to dance to the song, which Alex had never given much thought to until that moment.
Part of her was terrified at the feelings rushing towards her. The feelings she picked up from Linda, along with her own. They seemed to become so intertwined so quickly, it was hard to differentiate between who felt what. Halfway through the song, Linda pulled her head back, locking her gaze on Alex’s once again, and then kissed her. This wasn’t a brief kiss, though it was just as sensual as the first kiss shared moments ago.
When they broke the kiss, Alex took a shaky breath and felt herself blush. The song came to an end all too soon, and she hadn’t yet recovered enough to have her wits about her. Fortunately, Linda wasn’t quite so distracted, and escorted Alex back to their table. It was time for the bride and groom to cut the cake.
No one seemed surprised when Jim was polite and fed Jesse her piece of cake, nor was anyone surprised when Jesse took advantage of the moment and rammed the mostly icing covered slice all over Jim’s face. After that, there was the usual delay in serving out pieces to the guests. Linda took advantage of the time to, in her mind, put Alex at ease. “Just so you know, I do like you, but I’m not expecting anything. If you might want to give me a call, perhaps go to dinner sometime, I would most likely say yes,” she said, offering a warm smile.
“You would most likely say yes? I don’t know. There’s still a chance for rejection,” Alex teased.
Poking the other woman, Linda laughed. “It’s no fun if it’s a sure bet, is it? We can keep it simple, if it puts you at ease, Alex.”
Tilting her head slightly, she looked at Linda with an arched brow. “Why would I need to be put at ease?”