The sun beating down the top of my head and shoulders shifted as I scooted closer to my car, every single guests are already driving to the reception. I breathed deeply. My palms were dry. The heat forming on my temples would not subside, I had never been in this kind of situation before. Should I take the gamble and trust my gut?

I looked down on my wrist, it's already past five o'clock.

Well it doesn't matter if I'm a little late anyways. It's not like I'll be missed, No one seemed to want to speak to me other than my cousin, It's never going to make a difference now even if I don't come, but this situation is definitely shitty.

I brought my dainty fingers to my forehead and deferentially wiped away a nonexistent bead of sweat as I continuously ogled the man below me.

An hour had already passed since I found Sebastian, drunk and passed out in the middle of the parking lot. I already thought of leaving him here and forget everything that happened, but a small part of me wanted to know more about him and my sister.

Should I just throw him in the middle of the wedding reception and let him wreck havoc? It would have been a night to remember, I thought to myself.

"Don't be crazy Ann" I snorted, that won't do anyone good...even for me.

I puffed another cigarette and sigh internally, the smell of alcohol still lingered the air.

Underneath Mark and Amy's picture-perfect fairytale, a little voice inside my head knew something was up. It couldn't have been all rainbow and sunshine, right?

I tensed up by the thought of my sister keeping a huge secret from Mark, though I never understood Amy.

Gazing my eyes back at him again, I wouldn't blame my sister if she did have an affair with him, I smirked.

Everyone can agree he's fine as hell.

Fit, tall, broad-shouldered. A bit unkempt for my taste but everything else that usually made me  tounge-tied, which is rare.

The glaring sunlight--- or maybe the tension in thinking to deeply about this—shoved pinpricks of pain behind my eyes, I gazed my eyes at the mysterious man once again.

I was getting overly invested in this.

I bit my lip and grabbed my phone, glancing at the screen and suddenly realized they're late.

Maeve and Paul were supposed to be here by now. Everyone was already at the reception but a quick and sudden jolt of relief gushed through me, as much as I love to go back and join my family.

I would rather have my Dad nag me through a phone than be there and suffocate.

"Hey, are you dead?" I poked Sebastian's face once again, anticipating he would respond.

I grunt in frustration, I don't think I can carry him over to my car by myself and I also can't leave him in the middle of a parking lot.

What if he has too much to drink and has alcohol poisoning, shouldn't I be calling 911 right now?

There were too many scenarios playing through my mind and I wished I wasn't sober enough to deal with this crap.

I looked down, but before my eyes could even fall on his shadow, my heart stopped.

For the very first time since I found him, his eyes fluttered open and finally met mine. It was cold, tired, indifferent yet beautiful.

Seems like poking someone's face repeatedly works.

His eyes roamed from my neck to my hair and finally came resting on my face, heat flooded my cheeks, we did that thing where we looked in each other's eyes a fraction longer than was considered comfortable than two strangers should be.

"You're not...Amy"

"...No shit Sherlock" I grimace

I shake my head instantly, something crossed his face, an expression I couldn't decipher but before I could even open my mouth to reply, he dazed back to sleep, his chest rising and falling in a slow rhythmic pattern. I didn't know if I was meant to hear the words, he'd gone bobbing his head back and forth, then finally rested his head down and face hidden behind the curtains of his blonde hair. 

"You didn't have to remind me that" I muttered and rolled my eyes...

"It's seems like everybody loves to rub it in my face today"

Great, now I feel shitty than before.

I began to sigh deeply, over and over throughout the course of one minute.

Ten feet away from me, a car abruptly honked. I jumped in surprise and immediately looked over my shoulder. It was familiar classic powder-blue Mustang.

I licked my bottom lips in relief, a habit I did when I was still young.

As soon as the car stopped, a bronze haired girl popped out of the door and I already knew who it was. Down from her preppy skirt and colourful cardigan, only one person came to my mind and it was Maeve.

I noticed Paul also slid out of the driver seat after, his height and blond hair reminded me of Mark.

Everything reminds me of Mark .

"Hey guys...over here!" I called out and waved my hands above my head to catch their attention, my voice was both scratchy and strident.

Maeve waved back right away and practically sprinted to my direction, she stopped a few feet away at me but before she could take a puff air into her lungs,

I interjected, asked them about our project without missing a beat "Do you have the drafts?"

"Who's that?" Maeve uttered, eyebrows creased and completely ignoring my question, she pointed her fingers at the drunken man sleeping beneath us, she almost shot me a dubious look.

"Oh!" I drew a long breath, trying to stall her while I think of a logical excuse.

"He.."

"He...is one of my cousins, had too much to drink... I volunteered to help him out"

fuck, like she would believe that , I groaned to myself.

Paul, like clockwork popped next between Maeve and I, slowly leaning in towards me and I could already tell he looked interested although a bit skeptical with the whole scene but skepticism was a regular look for him.

He started to shake his head to push me to explain myself but before he could open his mouth, I cut him off.

"Enough about him, did you guys have everything I asked?" I said and casually waved my hands in front of his face, trying to distract him from the drunk man sleeping underneath us.

And to my relief, Maeve yanked the drafts out of Paul's hands and gave it to me "We have all the papers, also you don't have to worry about Davenport" she said cordially "Paul convinced him to move it to tomorrow and we can still plan and revise"

Paul snickered and folded his arms "albeit I had to exchange my two days off for it"

I glanced at his frowning face and I can already tell this will be a one hell of a presentation, Paul can get grumpy when he misses his weekly trip, which he religiously goes.

Moreover, Davenport is a jerk and that is something everyone can agree on.

"Don't worry, I'll try to convince him without sacrificing your very much earned day off" I said and tossed the almost forgotten cigarette between my fingertips, it immediately formed a gold like sparks before it hit the concrete floor.

Paul looked over me, his frown and drawn eyebrows expressed his consternation. "You're already busy as is now, don't you have wedding to attend to?"

"It will be fine, I'll just give him a quick call later... plus I need the distraction"

He looked as if he would protest again.

"Oh shush now, go have fun with whatever you do in that cabin of yours" I rolled my eyes " I will take care of everything"

I don't need an annoyed partner for tomorrow or any day for that matter, I thought to myself.

"Anyways, help me carry this guy" I said, included both of them in my command.

Now Maeve crossed her arm over her chest, like a little kid.

As much as I wanted to tell them the situation I'm in right now, it's my private dilemma until I figure out a plan.

"You can guys come to my sister's reception after we take care of this" I offered, waving my hands at the drunk man as I emphasize the word this.

"Deal" Maeve instantly agreed, her eyes sparkled " I can't wait to finally meet your sister"

I hummed in response until I reached out and clutched the first thing I thought was the easiest to lift, which was Sebastian's legs.

Paul didn't say a word and grabbed the opposite side while Maeve decided to lift his shoulders.

The scene felt like we were mobs trying to dump a body, which seems like we don't have a knack for.

A muscle twitched beneath my palms, but he remained still and silence reigned the back of my car as we strapped him up, getting ready to drive to a nearby hotel.

"Not that I'm interested or anything..." Maeve went on "...is your cousin single?"

"You're not getting his number " I responded, settling myself at the driver seat while Paul decided to drive his car and trail behind me. 

I didn't quite know how to answer her question, was it only me who felt stupid and as lacking as a puff of dandelion blowing in the wind?

I shook my head slightly and turned on the engine "Maeve, can you not mention about my cousin being drunk or about him at the reception later?"

"Why not? Is he like the black sheep of the family? You know, I can also relate to that, I have this Aunt, which is fyi my mom's sister and she -"

"Maeve, all I need is a yes from you" I huffed and interrupted one of her stories, sometimes she talks too much, it's hard to keep up a conversation with her most of the time.

She shrugged her shoulders "Fine but your giving me his number later"

After endless eternity of talking, I never would have thought I want to jump out of the highway. Until this very moment, Maeve's endless chatter and mixed with Sebastian's vomit and smell, it was a death trap.