Chapter thirty-seven: If you say so (Nick's POV)

"Whoa, sorry," I slurred when I crashed into a waiter, causing him to knock over a tray of drinks. I heard him mumble curses while he crouched down and began collecting the broken shards of glass. 

"I am so sorry on his behalf, please excuse him," Emma came over, placing her hands on my chest and pushing me back, steadying me. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she mumbled while scanning my face. 

"He bumped into me," I glared at the waiter. 

"No, he didn't. You bumped into him, Nick. I'm really sorry," she said to the waiter once again before pulling me out of there. "How much have you had to drink?" she questioned while speed walking us to the women's bathroom. We went inside and she checked all the stalls before locking the main door shut, seating me on the couch. 

"One," I mumbled while leaning back and against the wall. She turned to me and gave me a pointed look. "One bottle," I admitted while loosening my tie, throwing it off. 

"What are you doing?" she looked at me in confusion. 

"I feel suffocated," I mumbled while unbuttoning the first two buttons of my shirt and rolling up the sleeves to my elbow. 

"Well, you're not suffocating," she rolled her eyes while grabbing a hand towel and running it under cold water. 

"If you say so," I huffed while leaning back, resting my head against the wall while staring at her. 

"What did you have to drink, Nick?" she sighed while walking over to me. 

"Bacardi," I ran my hand through my hair. 

"Jesus Christ," she mumbled while standing in front of me and running the cold towel over my eyes. "Can you just wash your face?" she asked while stepping away. 

I stood up with a sigh almost falling over before making it to the sink. She sat on the armrest of the couch, watching me as I splashed water over my face before grabbing a towel and patting my face dry. "Now what?" I held the sink for stability while turning to face her. 

"Any closer to being sober?" she asked. 

"Yeah," I nodded while walking over to the couch, tripping over my own feet. 

"Right," she nodded while I sat on the couch. We just sat in silence, staring at each other. 

"God, I love you," I mumbled. 

She let out a dry chuckle while shaking her head, staring at her hands that rested in her lap. The hands I really wanted in my hair right now. I put my head in her lap while wrapping my arms around her, letting my eyes close. She stiffened before her hands fell into my hair.

"Sober up, Nick. Come on," she said softly. 

"If you say so," I mumbled. That seems to be catchphrase for tonight. 

"Where's your suit?" she asked. 

"I'm wearing it," I mumbled. 

"The jacket, Nick. Where is it?" she questioned. 

"I don't know," I shrugged. 

"Nick, we have to head back out," she said while pulling her hands away. 

"No, we don't," I pouted. 

"Yes, we do. Come on, get up," she sighed. I slowly pulled away and stood up while she did too. She stood in front of me before slapping me right in the face. Hard. 

"Ow, what the fuck?!" I exclaimed, my hand immediately going to my cheek. 

"Slapping someone can sober them. Did it work?" she asked while shaking her hand. 

My head spun while I slowly sobered up. "Yeah," I mumbled while rubbing my cheek, "You slap hard," I sighed. 

"It had to be done," she shrugged. "Clean up," she nodded at me. 

I left the first button open this time and left the sleeves rolled up. "I still feel suffocated," I slurred just a tad bit. 

"Nick, you are not suffocating. Where is your jacket?" she questioned while throwing her heels off and standing on the couch, looping my tie around my neck and tying it for me. 

"Um-" I thought hard. "I think it's at the bar, I might have left it there when I stole the bottle," I sighed while running my hand through my hair, fixing it. 

"You stole it, great," she mumbled while rolling her eyes. She straightened out my tie and shirt before glancing me up and down. "Close enough, we need to find that jacket," she mumbled. She stepped right to hop off but I stood in front of her and blocked her way. Neither of us said anything, we just stared at each other. 

A knock on the door broke us out of our trances and I stepped back, holding my hand out. She grabbed it and stepped down, slipping her heels back on. She opened a stall door and pushed me inside. I locked it while she went and opened the main door. 

"I'm so sorry, for making you wait, there was a slight issue with the dress," she chuckled, lying smoothly. 

"Oh, it's no problem," someone laughed. I think that's my grandma. "Sweetie, have you seen Nick?" she asked Emma. 

"No, sorry. The last time I saw him was at the beginning of dinner," she lied again. 

"Oh, it's all right," my grandma said before I heard a stall door closing. 

I opened the door and Emma and I ran out of there. 

"Go get your jacket and go back to being sober," she mumbled before walking away, disappearing into the crowd. 

I sighed while walking over to the bar, grabbing my jacket from the last seat. I grabbed it and turned around to see my dad and Landon both standing there, glaring at me. "What?" I asked in confusion. 

They seated me down between the two of them and turned to me. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" they asked in sync. 

"What?" I asked again. 

The next thirty minutes went by in my interrogation. They asked why I asked her to be my girlfriend, why I refused to wait, why I think she said no, what I should have done in their opinions, what I would do if she said yes, why I wanted her to say yes so desperately, why I made it now or never. 

Everything. 

-----<3----- 

I was dancing with my mother at the moment and there were many others dancing around us as well. 

"What's wrong, Nick? Is it Emma?" my mom asked. She knew because there's no way my dad didn't tell her but she hasn't said anything. 

"It's nothing mom," I shook my head, spinning her around before everyone switched partners. I was now with Allison. "Hey," I nodded. 

"Hey," she nodded back, "So I hear you and Emma have been stealing kisses," she chuckled. 

"Elijah told you?" I asked and she nodded in response. "Well, nothing of that sort is going on, Allison. Not anymore." Before she could say anything else, I spun her around and our partners switched again. I got Zoey. "Hey," I nodded.

"Asshole," she smiled at me sarcastically. 

"What did I do?" I looked at her in confusion. 

"Really?" she deadpanned. 

"Wh- I- Why is everyone acting like this is all my fault?" I questioned. 

"It's not all your fault but a fair share of it is," she shrugged, "You should have waited for her Nick," she sighed. 

"Well, if she didn't want to be my girlfriend then she shouldn't have told me that she loves me," I huffed. 

"Was she not supposed to say it back after you said it to her first? Or was she supposed to say she doesn't love you at all?" she arched an eyebrow at me while I sighed in defeat. "She's told you before that she's not ready to be your girlfriend yet, right?" she questioned. 

"Yeah, but that was when we just started fixing things between us. After spending all this time together on this trip, I thought she would have changed her mind," I explained. 

"You guys started talking like two, almost three weeks ago. How much can a person's mind change in that time?" She gave me a pointed look. 

"A lot, Zoey. She was planning on never speaking to me ever again but I kept trying, that's why we were talking," I huffed. 

"Yeah, and now you've said you're not gonna try. Isn't that right?" She looked at me questioningly. "You've said you're not going to wait for her. You're just going to leave because you deserve someone that chooses you instantly. And she did, Nick. She chose you. She just needed five days. Five days, Nick." 

I was forced to spin her on cue and she went over to Landon, leaving me to my thoughts of regret. Maybe I should have been more understanding. 

Maybe I should have agreed to wait for her. It was just a matter of five days. I think I let my emotions get the better of me. Obviously, no one likes it when you ask someone to be your girlfriend or boyfriend and they say no. It's an instant feeling of rejection and insecurity and thinking the problem is with you. And I let that morph into anger and get the best of me. The best of us.

I snapped out of my thoughts when my next partner was handed to me. I looked up and my eyes met hers.

"Hi."

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Chapter thirty-seven

We out here slow dancing

Next Chapter: Speeches

Sneak peek: Of course, there are the speeches that everyone gives at rehearsal dinners, but there are also some wise words about love from none other than Matt Heartwell... let's see what he has to say