a/n: hello everyone and welcome to the first chapter of 'always a bridesmaid'! i got this idea while thinking of 27 dresses, its one of my favorite movies and i was thinking of Steve Harrington (oops he's always on my mind). so i decided to write a short series inspired by the film. this is my first time writing a series and i’m extremely nervous but also excited! also im still trying to make my chapters long, so i apologize if they're short :( and im sorry if there are any mistakes. but i do hope you enjoy and thank you so much for reading, i really do appreciate it. -🍒<3
this is for my sweet baby, I love you so so much <3
The loud horns and voices of New York City are heard from the opened window, letting in a cool breeze into your small bedroom.
"Hey, can you zip me up!" You shout to your friend Emily, who's sitting on your couch, drinking the wine a bride gave you as a thank you gift that you haven't drank yet.
You hear the couch shifting as she gets up, her sock covered feet drag to your room. You flinch as her fingers cold from the chilled wine bottle accidentally touch your back. You walk in front of your mirror, the ruffled pink midi dress with puffy sleeves staring back at you.
"It's better than last weeks." She says.
"It's so..." You pause trying to find the right words without using insulting words.
"Ugly?" Emily finishes your sentence.
You clench your teeth, "Yeah." You say through them.
"At least it's not like the Johnsons wedding. Those were awful! I just can't wrap my head around neon orange for a wedding." She flops back onto your couch.
You walk out of your room with your heels in your hand taking a seat next to her.
"I wish you were coming with me, I have no one to talk too!" You lead down to put your shoe on
"James said you'd fit into this wedding more than me," She put her feet on the ottoman.
"besides, I don't even think I can do another wedding." She rubs her eyes then runs her fingers through her hair. You stand up and look at her.
"I can," You smile, stepping over her feet looking in the mirror in your hallway, fixing your hair.
"They're my favorite thing ever. Lovers wanting to be together forever. I love it!" You smile, feeling a rush of excitement.
Emily looks at you over the couch, squinting and shaking her head.
"I don't understand you sometimes."
You roll your eyes and open the door, "Bye Em, I'll see you tomorrow!"
You walk out of your apartment building and hail a taxi to take you to the wedding venue.
The reception wasn't really much of the party scene you usually see at the weddings you've been too. The speeches, first dance, and bouquet toss was already done. The music loud enough the feel it under your feet. Most people are chatting around tables, except for the drunk uncles who are taking up the dance floor.
You lean against the bar, sipping your vodka cranberry you ordered a few moments ago.
"Bride or groom?" You hear a voice next to you.
A musky vanilla sent takes up the space around you. You look to the side of you to see a tall man with brown full hair styled with a strand falling over his face, his jawline chiseled, and has a sharp nose. His musky vanilla cologne enters your nose.
"Uh, the bride." You set down your drink.
He nods. "Sorry for asking, but why aren't you mingling and talking with anyone." He rests his elbows against the bar top.
"Uh I don't really know anyone here. And I'm talking to you aren't I?"
He orders a drink, whiskey on the rocks. You watch as he takes a swig of the smokey tasting alcohol. He sets the glass onto the napkin the bartender gave his drink on.
"I guess that's true," He pauses, "Sorry I thought you knew the bride?" His brows furrow and he takes a sip of his drink.
You take a sip of your drink before speaking, "She hired me."
He raises an eyebrow, "Hired?"
"People can pay me to be a bridesmaid, the brides cousin got sick and didn't want the wedding party to look uneven, So yesterday she called and asked if anyone could fit in the dress, I could, so now I'm here." You take another sip of your now water downed drink.
"Do you like weddings?" He asks.
You turn your body fully towards him. "I love weddings!”
You watch his eyebrows furrow and his lips contort into disgust .
“You don't like weddings?" Your eyebrows shot up, looking at him in disbelief.
"Not all all. I think they're a waste of money and everyone sets these high expectations for them then get disappointed when it doesn't turn out the way they wanted them too." He expresses while gesturing his hands.
"You should've talked to me sooner! I promise you I could change your mind about weddings." You point at him.
"No one ever can change my mind about them." He smirks at you.
"I have a wedding in a couple days, I have a plus one. You should totally come with me!" You smile up at him, trying to convince him.
"You don't even know my name and you're asking me to be your date to a wedding?" He teases.
You introduce yourself, holding out your hand for him to shake. He looks down at your hand then looks back at your eyes.
"I'm Steve." He shakes your hand.
"Now that we're not strangers, will you be my plus one to the wedding?”
His tongue pokes the inside of his cheek, pretending to think for a moment.
"I guess I'll go with you. You promise you'll make it fun? If not I'll have to reach out to your boss and complain about you." He nudges your shoulder.
"Great! Now, Steve, give me your number." You reach into your bag and pull out your planner and a pen. You open up the planner and Steves eye go wide.
"Holy shit, how many weddings do you do." He grabs your planner looking at the marked weeks.
"About four a month? And not all of it are weddings. I mark all of my events in here." You snatch your planner back.
He scoffs, "Why don't you use a normal calendar like everyone else?"
"It's easier to have it on me." You look at him, giving him a tight lipped smile and click your pen. "Number?"
He clears his throat and leans in closer, "867-5309" He leans back.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Jenny." You roll your eyes and bite the inside of your cheek trying not to crack a smile.
You hear him chuckle from beside you. You look up to see his perfectly straight teeth as he smiles.
"Okay, okay fine." He gives you his number and you tell him you'll call him tomorrow before walking out of the venue.
You get home, heels in your hand. You walk over to the couch and see Emily deep in sleep. you chuckle to yourself then walk to your bedroom.
After your shower, you lay in bed with your favorite part of the newspaper, vows. This has become a weekly routine since you were little.
You read the article by your favorite writer.
Steve swiftly walks through the busy office, the sounds of many printers and keyboards fill the room.
He opens the door harshly to his bosses office.
He hold his hands out in front of him dramatically.
She looks up from the papers on his desk.
"Harrington, if this is another story like the one on what hotdog stand in Central Park is the best, I don't want it." She looks back at her desk.
"No! Not at all. I met this woman last night who works at a company where they "rent" her out to be a bridesmaid, and she's done like a whole bunch of weddings."
She looks up from the papers once again and sits back in her chair. She looks at him while fixing the sleeves of her cardigan.
"Okay, fine. As long as this doesn't affect your wedding stories." She gets up from her desk
He rubs his hands on his pants, “Also, I told you to call me Walter Stuart here." He says quietly.
"Sorry, habit." She shrugs before opening the door to her office and walks out, her permed curls bouncing as she walks away.
Steve walks quickly out of her office and sits at his desk so fast the papers setting on top of it move with the wind he created. He grabs his pen and gets to work right away.
You walk back to your apartment after work. You close your door, toe off your shoes, and toss your keys in the little pink bowl by your front door.
Walking toward the couch, you spot the phone hanging on the wall toward the left. The reminder of calling Steve pops into your mind, you grab your planner, flipping through the pages until you spot the series of numbers you jotted down last night.
The phone rings a couple of times before a loud voice comes through the other end.
"Hi is this Steve? its the girl you met at the Harrisons wedding last night."
"Oh, It is Steve. Hey, how are you?" His tone shifts to something more friendly rather than professional.
"I'm good! Just wondering if you're still down to come to the wedding with tomorrow?" You ask, playing with the curled chord that's connected to the phone.
He pulls a sharp breath between his teeth, making a sound like he's wincing.
"How do I know you're not lying about making it fun?"
"Okay first, I never said I'd make it fun, I said I could change your mind about weddings. But if you want fun, I'm the life of the party."
"Oh says the girl who was sitting at the bar for half the reception last night."
"That playlist was god awful!"
He chuckles on the other end, "Okay, I'll give you that one." He lets out a sigh, "Yes, I'll come to the wedding."
"Great! Don't wear something like you wore yesterday, this one is a bit fancier."
"I'll have to go last minute shopping then, come with me?"
"I have to pick up my sister from the airport tomorrow morning, I can't. you don't have a black suit you can wear?"
"Oh my god, write this down." You say a phone number into the phone, "That's a tux rental place, go first thing in the morning and they should have a tux for you."
"You're a pro at this wedding stuff huh?" It's like you can hear the smirk.
"It all comes with the job. Anyways, I'll call you tomorrow afternoon to check up on you."
You say you goodbyes place the phone down, hearing a soft click.
The cold airport air hits your face as you walk through the sliding doors. Before you could process anything, you feel a force hit you.
"Oh my God! I missed you so much." Her arms tightly squeeze around your body."
You let out a small laugh, "I misses you too, vi." You hug her back.
She leans away from you, her hands grip your shoulders. She gasps,
"Can we go get those croissants we love?"
"Yes! Of course." You grab her bags and start to walk out of the airport asking her how her flight was, making the usual small convo you would with anyone else.
Vi sits across from you at the bakery, eating the huge chocolate croissant.
"So, how was South America?" You sip your latte.
She quickly swallows the mouthful of pastry.
"It was so much fun, you need to go one day, you'll love it. I met this photographer while I was there, he told me to give him a call when I go back. I might be a model! Can you believe that!"
"That's amazing!" You set down your drink and look up at the line.
Your stomach instantly flutters at the sight. Your boss, James, right at there. God he's so handsome, you could just melt in your seat. Vi pauses and looks at you.
"What's wrong?" Her eyebrows furrow in concern.
"That's my boss." You whisper.
"Oh." She turns around then looks back at you with a smile, "He's kinda cute. Is he single?" She whispers.
Your eyes go wide, and you pause. Shit. You thought.
James grins as he spots the both of you and walks over to the table.
"Hey! I didn't know you liked this cafe!" He says to you.
"I don't come often, It's my sister's favorite place though." You gesture to your sister before introducing them to each other. You watch them talk before excusing yourself to the bathroom.
You wash your hands in the sink with cold water, hoping this is a dream. Your sister can't get with your boss that you're in love with. The pit in your stomach only getting worse at the thought of them giggling to each other out there. You look in the mirror take a deep breath trying to clam yourself down before walking back out. You notice James is gone and that tingling feeling you. felt in your body before subsides
"Where'd James go?" You say before sitting back down in the chair.
"He said he had to go get his dog from the groomers. He gave me his number before he left though!"
"Oh that's nice." You say feeling that familiar feeling in your stomach rises again.
"So tell me about James." Vi rests her elbows on the table and puts her face in her hands, giving you her full undivided attention.
Vi decides she wants to do some shopping alone after getting back to your apartment from the cafe. You tell her to have fun and that you'll probably won't be here when she comes back, so you tell her you have a spare key underneath the welcome mat.
You hear the door shut and flop down on your couch trying not to. overthink the exchange between your sister and James today.
The wedding ceremony was beautiful like always. Your eyes watching the bride and groom, though time from time your eyes glance to over Steve in the pews, his face trying to hide his boredom.
Now the reception is in full swing, you're dancing. You look over and see Steve in a corner. You run up to him,
"Dude this is why you. don't have fun any weddings, you literally sit in the corner." You scold. You grab his arm and drag him to the dance floor.
After a bit of dancing, you and Steve get a drink and sit down at a table.
"Are you having fun yet?" You ask.
"Eh, I could be drunker." He takes a sip of his drink.
"Come on! I saw you dancing with the brides sister, you looked like you were having fun them." You wink at him.
He shrugs his shoulders, "Yeah, I was faking it." He looks away.
"Steve, I saw you at the ceremony today, you're really bad at faking your emotions." You lean in closer to him.
"You should get her number." You take a sip of her drink.
He shakes his head. and sets his drink onto the white table cloth.
"No, it was just for fun."
"So you an admit you're having fun." You raise your eyebrows, tilting your head toward him.
"Fine, I was having a bit of fun."
You let out a short loud cackle.
He smiles while slouching in his chair.
The wedding was starting to die down and you and Steve decided to part ways.
Walking into your apartment, you notice a note on the counter of your kitchen. In Vi's hand writing it says that she went out with James and probably won't be back until tomorrow afternoon and not to worry.
You sigh while crumbling up the piece of paper then throwing it away.
You took a long and extremely hot shower. When you finish your after shower routine you hear the front door open and close. You walk out to see Vi, tiptoeing further into the apartment.
"Hey," You take the towel off your head
"Hey! I didn't know if you were up or not, but I had the best night with James. I went to his house and he cooked. He's so sweet."
You listen to her talk about her night with James feeling your stomach twist and turn.
You smile at her, trying to hide your expression. You didn't hide it well because Vi asked you what's wrong.
"I think ate something bad at the wedding and I'm just a bit tired." You try to come up with excuses.
"You should get some rest, we can talk about this later!" Her faced laced with concern.
"Yeah, alright. See you in the morning." You walk back into you room and get into your bed.
You toss and turn all night, overthinking the devoting relationship between your sister and your boss.
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