After I left his hotel room the next morning, any passerby who saw me would know exactly what fueled my power walk. Luck was on my side, and the corridors and elevator were empty. Either people had partied too hard last night, or they were still partying.

I slid into my room and locked the door with a sigh. The exhaustion was deep in my bones, which felt like jelly. My head pounded something fierce and my stomach was queasy, but I had to keep moving. All the way back to Miami.

I shimmied out of my dress and took a shower so cold that my teeth were clattering once I stepped out. Unfortunately it hadn't erased the hickeys I found around my neck. Or chest. Or the one on my inner thigh. As I turned I confirmed a certain bite mark that had sent me over the edge during round two.

Miguel had marked me everywhere as though I were his apple. His skin was darker and maybe it wasn't as notorious, but so had I.

I groaned. Why couldn't the earth open up and swallow me whole, forever? I couldn't possibly join the brunch that Estelle scheduled to bid our farewell to the couple. Everybody and their mom probably saw what Miguel and I were up to on the dance floor last night and connected the dots to our sudden and prolonged disappearance.

Shit, I couldn't believe I'd done something like that during my best friend's wedding. I also couldn't believe what I was about to do.

I grabbed my phone, found a couple of missed calls that I ignored, and went straight to texting Page.

I'm sorry, I feel really bad for ditching your reception but I can't possibly make it to the brunch either, I sent.

I figured she'd be asleep or doing who knew what at this early time in the morning, but her reply came back right away.

Why not?

I read the two words, breaking into a sweat. Was she mad? She had every right to be. How could I repay her for this? There was no way I could in my entire lifetime. Oh God, I was so sorry.

I waited so long, thinking about what to say, that she started calling me.

My phone nearly nosedived into the toilet but I caught it in time. My poor heart was almost bursting as I picked up the call.

"H-Hello?"

Her cackling greeted me.

"Damn, girl. I was hoping something would happen between the two of you last night," she said, despite the fact that she could barely breathe. "But you guys really went for it. I mean, all night. Are you still going at it?"

"No!" I screamed. "Are you crazy? I'd never call you if we were, you know."

"Fucking each other's brains out?" A snort from her end of the line. "C'mon, you're a big girl. You can say it."

This big girl found herself blushing from head to toe in the mirror. My skin matched my hair to the exact hue.

"So you put us at that table on purpose?" I asked, my voice a few octaves higher. "What happened to the apologies of the previous day?"

Something in her voice made me imagine her shrugging. "Well, you had that old unrequited crush you told me about after college and he suddenly RSVP'ed. I thought it'd be awkward, you know? But then-" She started giving me a laugh that sounded a lot like Santa's. "Then, I saw the way he was looking at you on Friday night and even I started to sweat. So then I thought-"

"You shouldn't have," I mumbled.

"And I was right," Page finished. "Because you guys did bang, right?"

"Yes, we did," I whined. "Damn you."

"Was it good?"

Good didn't begin to describe the night. Good was supermarket ice cream in a summer day. Good was cancelling plans and staying home in pajamas to catch up on Netflix. Good was waking up late on a holiday after a solid night's sleep.

Last night had been like a million stars had aligned and pointed a bright path leading to each other's happiest spots and to multiple, consecutive big bangs that evaporated every molecule of our bodies until they reformed to do it all over again. Last night had been a wonderful cosmic fluke that shouldn't have happened, because now that it had I didn't think anyone else would ever live up to it.

I started sobbing.

"Oh, Page. It was amazing."

"Then why are you crying sweetie?" She gasped. "Did he run away before you woke up? That a-"

"No, it's me. I'm the one who ran away."

"But why?"

I blew my nose on a tissue before replying, "Because I want to have sex with him again. And again. And maybe go on walks on the beach, hold hands, have ice cream, have fights and fall asleep in each other's arms. But he lives in freaking Canada."

"Oh, sweetie..."

I put the phone on loud speaker as I started to get dressed. One look at my ruined gown set me off again.

"I'm so sorry," she said, fretting with the way her words started to jumble. "I just thought it'd be fun if you could scratch your itch. I didn't think-"

"I scratched it, alright. But now I itch even more." By that point I was returning everything to my jumbo suitcases, trying to clear the room as efficiently as possible. "So you see, this is why I can't make the brunch. I can't face people's knowing glances... or his."

The knock on my door startled the lights out of me, but from the other side I heard Page's voice. Once I opened the door she jumped me with a hug. She was wearing her bathrobe and slippers, her hair still a mess and makeup running down her face. But instead of being with her husband she was here for me, and that made me sorrier that I had made a scene at her wedding.

"I'm sorry," we both said in unison, which gave us a sad fit of giggles.

"Sorry for being such a hussy at your wedding."

"Sorry for playing with your tender heart." Page smiled as she pulled a banana out of her pocket. "I got you this since you're skipping brunch."

"Thanks." I took the banana with a sigh and she sat on my bed to watch me pack. "Can you pretend I don't exist if anyone asks you where I disappeared to last night?"

"Oh, honey. Everybody knows." She didn't laugh for my benefit even though I could tell she really wanted to. "Didn't you hear all of us cheering as you dragged Miguel out of the dance floor?"

"Oh my God," I said way too loud. "I did not drag him out!"

Page couldn't contain herself any longer and she started a full blown belly laugh. "Quite a few ladies were cursing your name, but at the end of the night they were happy you didn't catch the bouquet and drag the hottest bachelor out as well. That wouldn't have been fair."

"For the last time, I didn't drag him." As I said this I closed the last suitcase hard. "He came willingly."

"I noticed. His compass was pointing north and the north was you, if you know what I mean."

Yeah, I knew exactly which compass she meant.

"I love you, but you're making me want to kill you and I don't think Jace is ready to be a widower yet." I gave her a big hug. "Will you tell him I'm sorry for being a coward but that I had to run?"

"I will." Page's eyes watered as we pulled back. "I wish you can get your happy ending too, Addy."

I shrugged. "I got many happy endings last night and that's the most I could ever dream of."

After wishing her a great honeymoon trip to the Seychelles and exchanging more hugs and kisses than we ever had, I checked out of the hotel and jumped into my Jeep. I took one last look at the hotel where a dream had come true, and gunned the engine. I hit my favorite Casual Friday Funeral playlist, starting by their saddest song. I sang along to Vera's voice the entire ride back, which meant that by the time I hit my neighborhood in Miami, my throat was sore and I could barely make a sound. I had no idea how she still sang at concerts and festivals after all these years as if each gig were the first.

I was also hungry and the banana hadn't done anything to repair that. I figured I could make a quick sandwich at least to keep myself alive before hauling the suitcases back up into the apartment.

I opened the door and screamed, before promptly shutting it back.

Inside of my apartment I could hear, "Oh, shit!"

It was going to be hard to erase the mental picture of my roommate and her boyfriend going at it on the couch. I was going to have to wash the whole piece of furniture.

A couple of minutes later, Poonam opened the door. Thankfully she got dressed in record time. The way she put her hands on her hips and tapped her feet showed a whole lot more of irritation than she had a right to feel.

"You're back early," she said. And it sounded like an accusation.

I folded my arms. "You told me your aunt was sick and that was why you couldn't be my plus one at the wedding."

And if she'd been, maybe she would've helped me prevent the heartache I was feeling at that moment.

Her dark eyes rolled. "I lied. I preferred to spend the weekend with my boyfriend than with a bunch of fancy people I don't know."

I shook my head at her. "I hate you, why are we even friends?"

She huffed and her breath blew a strand of hair back. "Because I keep you real. C'mon in, Rakim's getting dressed in the bathroom."

I grimaced.

"Tell me all the surfaces I need to clean."

Poonam snorted. "Now, you're just jealous."

Where I normally would have risen to the banter with some sass in return, I glided to the kitchen like a ghost and started digging for food. I slammed the loaf of bread over the counter like it had committed a crime.

"Wait a second," she said. "Something's up with you."

I pursed my lips as I grabbed a knife. That was when Rakim, her Puerto Rican boyfriend, came out of the bathroom, giving Poonam a kiss to her temple. He turned to me and was about to say something, but he froze.

"Babe, did someone break your roommate?"

The knife fell from my hand onto the counter and I grabbed my face. "Is it that obvious?"

Both of them nodded, giving me the same narrowed eye stare as if they wondered what I was going to do next. Explode into a ball of flames? Scream so loud that the glass would break? Burst into endless tears that would flood the apartment? I was sure Poonam wouldn't want to pay for any of the damage caused by those very plausible options. I settled for flopping on a stool and telling them the whole story. Rakim was sympathetic enough, but it was Poonam who truly understood the relevance of the moment. Her face went from surprised, amused, to a grimace that kept her features frozen all the way to the end of the story.

"At least you won't see him again," Rakim said, thinking like a typical guy.

His girlfriend smacked him. "That's the problem, you gnat."

Rakim's eyes widened. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." I put my elbow on the counter and rested my chin against my fist. "It took me seven years to forget about him after just a peck on his cheek. Now after tonight?"

"Maybe twenty years will do it?" Poonam offered helpfully. She ignored my glare by snapping her fingers. "Why don't we go clubbing again next weekend to find you a rebound?"

"It's not a rebound if there was no relationship to rebound from," I muttered.

"You need rebound sex from awesome, mind boggling sex," she explained, as if I had no idea what the conversation was about.

"I feel like I should be offended, but to be honest I agree," Rakim added.

They started to come up with ideas. Clubbing was something we did together with considerable frequency, but my soul felt so heavy that I couldn't even fathom it. In a very particular way, this weekend had exceeded all my expectations, but I had a feeling that if nothing had happened between Miguel and I, if I'd just drank and danced and ate the night away, woke up late and grabbed brunch with the entire bridal party as intended, I wouldn't be feeling this hole in my chest where my heart should be.

"Guys," I said once they started coming up with color schemes for our outfits. "I don't really want to party next weekend. I don't want to think about men on anything other than TV."

"Bo-ring," Poonam enunciated.

Rakim nudged her. "That's okay, maybe she just needs time to mend her heart until she gets horny again."

He laughed as I threw a balled up napkin at him. Normally he would be right, but this wasn't my standard boo-hoo-I've-been-rejected type of heartbreak. This felt like a hangover of body and soul after having a taste of paradise. And yet I was going to have to move on. Tomorrow I'd be back to work and for the first time in the history of Sundays since I worked for this company, I was looking forward to the drama that came with having a horrible boss. It was sure to distract me from thinking about this weekend.

Maybe if I stayed busy until the end of my days, I'd be able to forget Miguel Bernal. I sure was going to try.

Poonam is back! but is Miguel actually back? 🤔