Something Awkward Part 2

If Kara had sat down in Dylan's seat with the intent to tell me something, she never had the chance. Like some kind of incredible act of fate, Dylan entered the room with his bridesmaid on his arm, dancing wildly during the introductions. Instead of lining up along the dance floor, each couple was walking over to their seats. Just 30 seconds after Kara had sat down Dylan was lurking over her chair looking perplexed.

"Kara?" he hissed, not wanting to cause a scene right before Erica and Ryan were set to walk out.

She smiled up at him slyly, before shifting down a few chairs. Dylan sat down in his now-empty seat, and leaned over to give me a quick kiss. I gave him a forced smile before fixing my gaze on the newlyweds. 

Their first dance was to "Better Together", which I found adorable since almost every other wedding song I had heard lately was "All of Me". When the song ended, salads miraculously appeared on our plates and I dug in. Our table had filled up and I was dismayed to see that Kara and an unidentified man were both sharing table number 3 with us. 

"What'd you think?" Dylan asked me as I attempted to stab a walnut with my fork. 

"About...?" 

"My entrance!" he said, as if it was so obvious. Clearly he hadn't given the fact that Kara had been monopolizing my attention one ounce of a thought.

"Oh.. right, it was great!" I said, sending him another fake smile. My eyes kept straying to Kara every ten seconds. She was wearing ivory which I found completely tacky, seeing as we were at a wedding. 

The next hour passed in a blur of appetizers, entrees and more wine. Dylan seemed to know everyone at our table but he kept his attention focused on me. When it came time to dance, he swept me onto the makeshift dance floor and impressed me with his moves. I was laughing out loud and covered in sweat, and had almost completely forgotten about Kara until I saw her walking out of the ballroom later in the evening.

"I have to go to the bathroom," I said to Dylan, mid-YMCA song. He nodded and stepped into another group of friends to resume dancing. 

I swung by our table to grab my clutch and exited the ballroom the same way I had seen Kara leave. I don't know what it was that possessed me to follow her, but I had felt like she wanted to say something to me earlier and it was killing me to know what. 

I headed down the corridor, the thick walls muffling the music from the dance floor. As I swung open the door to the bathroom, I heard a few other people in the stalls and saw a brunette reapplying her lipstick in the mirror. I didn't actually have to go to the bathroom, so I stood next to the girl and fussed with my makeup and washed my hands, killing time until Kara emerged. 

A few minutes later, she came out of a stall followed by another girl, wiping her nose. Classy.

I re-washed my hands, pretending like I had just came out of the stall too. I kept my eyes focused down, scrubbing under my fingernails. I felt Kara's cool gaze on me as she approached the sink to my left. 

"Hey Dani," she said, and I lifted my gaze, pretending to act surprised at her arrival.

"Oh, hey," I said nonchalantly. 

"I'm really glad you came, you know, considering," she said. I felt a jolt of confusion rush through me, even though I had been prepared for her to say something like this. 

"Considering what?" I asked sweetly, shaking the excess water from my hands and reaching for a pre-folded towel. 

"Well I just haven't seen you around in a while, and Dylan never mentions you. Honestly, most of us though he had cut the cord," she shrugged before applying a coat of an orange-based lipstick that was completely wrong with her skin tone. I felt the anger bubbling up inside of me as I reasoned with myself. She could absolutely be saying this to get under my skin. But what if Dylan never mentioned me? Not that he had any obligation to, but how hard is it to interject the words "my girlfriend" into conversation once in awhile? 

I took a deep breath before continuing. "We're better than ever," I said, lacing my words with the same sickly sweet tone as she had used with me. 

I sulked past her, both relieved that that was all the ammo she had but also irritated that people thought Dylan and I were no longer together. Fueled by the indignation, I marched onto the dance floor and found Dylan right where I had left him. The music had slowed a bit and I coiled myself around him, as if to stake my claim. I kissed him, long and hard, and I could feel his appreciative response. If anyone in the room had questioned whether or not he was single, they wouldn't anymore.