the winter i turned intelligent: chapter 14

Important Note from Dreamy Plots & Story Talks: This story contains suggestive language and sexual content and is only suitable for readers that are 18+.

Chapter 14:

JEREMIAH’S POV:

The travelers at the airport most likely assumed that Belly and I hadn’t seen each other in years with the way they were staring at us. To be fair I would have felt the same if I saw two strangers near baggage claim hugging each other for a good five minutes without letting go. I couldn’t help it though. The past three months felt both long and short at the same time. Working during the day luckily made it move faster, but as soon as I would get back to my apartment in the evening, it felt like time froze.

That’s when everything I missed about home would come rushing back to me. But now the person who I missed most was back in my arms. And it occurred to me that I wasn’t just homesick.

I could have been the one back in Cousins Beach, while Belly was in London. I may have missed home, but I missed her more. For me she was home.

I would have argued that I was more excited to see her, but given how tightly her arms were wrapped around my lower back, it was probably a close tie. And instead of letting go from the hug completely, she cupped my face and added, “You look so good.” As she brushed over my stubble, I shivered at her touch and how desperately I missed it. My disappointment when she finally let go was met by her sudden expression of excitement. It wasn’t until now that I noticed the small paper bag she was holding. As she gestured it towards me I asked in amusement, “What’s this?”

She frowned playfully, “Don’t you remember?”

The fatigue from the flight was still weighing down on me since I had forgotten all about the blueberry cupcake she had mentioned she’d bring until after opening the bag. “Oh right. You’re the best. Thank you.”

As I kissed her cheek, she explained, “There’s actually two of them in there. Well...one and a half. I was stressed trying to find parking and may have taken a bite or two.”

I laughed while adding, “Even if you had finished them both it still means a lot that you drove all the way there this morning to get them for me.”

She clarified while noticeably trying not to smile, “Actually I knew I’d either barely get any sleep last night since I was so excited to see you today or worse sleep through my alarm if I were to make it in time there first. So I got them yesterday. Oh and they only had one blueberry left by the time I got there so the other one is lemon. And I may have taken a bite of the blueberry...”

After listening to her talk as we walked out of the airport I expressed, “God I missed you.”

When we got home, Hazel’s bark was loud enough to completely wake me up. I picked her up immediately and could already feel how much she had grown in just the past few months alone. “Haze! Do you know how much I missed you? Do you know how much?” I repeated as she looked at me wide-eyed before licking my cheeks. I giggled at the gesture as I sat down on my favorite navy couch. Hazel followed and sat right beside me while I told Belly, “I think I’m going to lay on this couch for the next week.” When I heard Belly snort as she organized my luggage, I added, “Babe I’ll get it. Just give me a few minutes.”

She quickly replied, “No it’s okay. I know you’re tired. I got it.” Before I could argue she approached me by the sofa, “Taylor and Steven wanted to get dinner tonight, but I told them I’d wait to ask you in person since I assumed you might be tired.”

I wished I could but revealed, “Yeah I think I’m just going to rest tonight. You should go though if you want.” I brushed her hand and added, “I promise we can do anything you want tomorrow.”

“Okay,” She smiled and kissed my forehead before disappearing into the kitchen. I must have passed out shortly after since she had already left when I woke up around 5 pm.

BELLY’S POV:

It was hard to focus on anything at this restaurant other than how ecstatic I was now that Jeremiah was back. But seeing Taylor and Steven look just as enamored with each other as when they got engaged made it easy for me to be temporarily distracted by this feeling. They looked almost a little too excited if that made any sense. Before I had a chance to wonder what this was all about, Taylor revealed, “So you know how we’ve only been engaged for a few months now?”

I pretended to be shocked, “Really? You two are engaged? I had no idea.”

Steven looked like he wanted to throw the piece of bread that he was holding at me. Instead he explained, “We’re getting married the weekend before the fourth.”

“Like the fourth of July?” I was shocked.

Steven scoffed, “No, the other fourth. The fourth of August.”

I should have seen that one coming. I rolled my eyes and focused on the unexpected news instead, “That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you both. That’s a pretty short engagement though. Is there even enough time to arrange everything?” I wasn’t trying to sound skeptical, but both Taylor and Steven weren’t the best at time management, and a wedding seemed like a pretty challenging task to take on with this short notice.

Taylor defended, “I’ve got it covered. I already found my dress. I know a good florist. Trusky and Matt said they want to DJ. It’s all taken care of.”

“You already told Trusky and Matt but not Jeremiah and me?” Then I realized, “Wait you picked your dress without me?”

She clarified, “No you’re the first person we’re telling. They just told me they wanted to work on the music when they heard that we were engaged. And I wasn’t expecting to find the dress. It just happened. You know I wouldn’t buy it without knowing what you think of it first. Can we go tomorrow though? I don’t want it to sell out.”

I was glad to hear her say all of this since I was starting to feel a little left out as her best friend. I agreed, “Of course. I can’t wait to see it.”

When I got back at night I couldn’t contain my excitement when I made it into the front door, “Jere! You can’t believe what just happened.”

Jeremiah quickly turned around with his finger pressed to his lips motioning for me to reduce my volume.

When I moved closer to the couch, I realized that Hazel was sleeping in his lap. As she gently snored, I whispered to him, “Taylor and Steven’s wedding is going to be during the last weekend of June.”

He whispered back, “So basically next month? That was fast.”

“Right? That’s the first thing that I thought as well.”

“I mean I’m super happy for them, but yeah I’m a little surprised.”

“I guess it means that they’re sure about each other,” I didn’t mean for that to come across the way it probably did. As if I was suggesting that him and I weren’t.

“Yeah or rushing things,” His tone implied that he was hesitant on whether or not I directed that towards us.

I tried to make it sound better, “It could be a bit of both. But they’ve been dating as long as we have.” I might have just made it worse.

He turned towards me, “What are you trying to say?”

My subconscious got the best of me. I didn’t want to admit that hearing that Taylor was going to get married before me when I was engaged longer than her had me a little annoyed. It had nothing to do with her, but I couldn’t deny that it still stung. I didn’t know how to respond so I tried my best to prevent this from turning into something I wasn’t intending it to, “Nothing. I think I chose the wrong words. I was just trying to say that maybe it’s not as rushed as it might seem since they’ve been together for a while. That’s all.”

He understandably didn’t sound convinced, “If anyone wanted to get married first, it was me.”

Even though I may have upset him, now I was annoyed by his words, “Why does this need to be a competition?”

He shook his head slowly trying not to wake Hazel up, “You’re the one who brought it up. I know what you meant by ‘being sure about each other.’ I can read between the lines Belly.” I thought about defending myself but instead realized that it was pointless. Mostly since I couldn’t argue with what he just said. He continued when he noticed I didn’t have a response, “You and I both know I’ve always been sure about you.” His voice softened, but the air felt tense. I went to get ready for bed since I had an early start the next morning to help Taylor get her dress. It looked like this would be a second night of not getting much sleep for a completely different reason now.

I wasn’t going to ruin my best friend’s day just because of how Jeremiah and my conversation ended last night. Taylor was beaming to the point where I wasn’t sure how she’d process the actual wedding. I thought I’d seen her the happiest back in Paris when Steven proposed. This made it seem like that was nothing. I drank my glass of champagne in one large gulp while waiting for her to try the dress that she had insisted was ‘the one.’

It's a good thing that I had already finished my drink and that my glass was empty. No one could have prepared me for seeing my best friend wear the wedding dress of her dreams for the first time. My tears blurred my vision for a moment as Taylor walked outside of the dressing room wearing the most beautiful ivory strapless silk dress that had the daintiest crystals near her waist. I immediately got up from my chair and leaped into her arms, “Taylor you look stunning. This is the one. I don’t need to see the rest.”

“Did I fucking not tell you? I knew you’d agree.” After hugging me she moved in front of the mirror and kept twirling around while adding, “Like this is so not me but it is at the same time, you know?”

I shook my head knowing exactly what she meant, “It’s perfect.”

The first thing that Taylor brought up during lunch was the topic of her bachelorette party. “As my maid of honor, I’d like the most insane bachelorette party please. This is our last chance to be wild,” She added while taking a sip of her iced tea.

I was so grateful that I was going to be her maid of honor, but her words reminded me of the more recent conversation that this afternoon had distracted me from.

She noticed something was off even though I didn’t want her to, “What’s wrong?”

Now that she knew something was different, there was no point in denying it. “I didn’t want to take away from your day. But basically Jere and I argued about our own engagement when I got back last night.”

“What happened?”

“I think he got the impression that I think that we’re not as sure about each other given how we’ve been engaged for a while when you two are getting married a lot quicker.”

“Is that how you feel though?”

“No. Of course not. I just thought that we would have been married by now.”

She rationalized, “I get that babe. But you two were going through it last year so maybe it’s a good thing that it was delayed a little bit.”

“I know. You’re right. If anything, this past year made us even closer. I guess it was just a moment of frustration then more so at how I wished it could have happened sooner.”

Taylor comforted me, “I know you do. And that’s totally fine. I would just maybe let him know that as well.”

“I will. Thanks.” I raised my lemonade glass towards her drink and redirected back to the previous topic, “Okay so where are we having this bachelorette party, and what are we wearing?”

When I got home, Jeremiah had just gotten back from a run and seemed to be in a really good mood since he kissed my cheek as soon as I walked in and added, “How was everything?”

It was almost as if last night didn’t even happen. “Everything was great. Taylor looked so beautiful in her dress. And now I’m apparently in charge of throwing her bachelorette party.”

He laughed, “Good luck with that.”

I smiled, “You’re in a good mood.”

He sighed, “Yeah. I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have assumed what you meant.”

It brought me comfort knowing how for the most part we were always on the same page with each other. I replied, “I’m sorry too. I’m just excited to plan our wedding so it kind of got to me a little.”

He pulled me in as his sweat touched my skin, “Not as excited as I am.”

I smiled at his words and kissed him before he groaned, “Shit. I’m sorry. I must stink. Let me go take a shower first.”

“I don’t care.” I giggled into his lips again, “Come here.”

THE FOLLOWING MONTH:

It was the weekend before the wedding, and Taylor decided to have her bachelorette party at this nightclub by the beach. She wanted it to resemble the one from the original Mamma Mia! movie. So we were all told to dress up in the most sparkly and beachy outfits. I chose a forest green dress that was covered in sequins that felt shorter than I remembered it being. I matched it with my black leather heels and a shimmery emerald green cat eye paired with a glossy nude lip.

My hair was wavier than usual not only since I curled it but more so since I was running all over the place trying my best to make sure everything for the event would go as Taylor hoped for. Before running out the door, I went to kiss Jeremiah goodbye. He was reading a book when he looked up at the sound of my heels pressing against the wooden floors.

He put down his book as I moved in closer to him, “Excuse me while I pick up my jaw from the floor.” I giggled before he teased, “When are you coming back again?”

I brushed my fingers through his hair, “Soon.” I briefly worried about ruining my lip gloss, but I didn’t care. I kissed him without a second thought.

When I let go, he smiled, “Have fun.”

Taylor was already pretty buzzed when we got inside our Uber, so once we finally got to the club, and she saw all her friends, she could no longer contain her excitement. She was dancing one minute and then telling the DJ to change the music the next.

I hadn’t had a chance to join in on the fun yet since I wanted to make sure everything went smoothly. So I was a little startled when a stranger at the bar approached me. Even though I was engaged, I could still admit that he was very attractive, tall with light brown hair and green eyes.

He must not have noticed my engagement ring or ignored it when he asked, “Do you wanna dance?”

Jeremiah and I had actually previously discussed how we would react at our own bachelorette parties. At the end of the day we both trusted each other, and we didn’t want to make the other person feel bad for engaging in harmless behavior like dancing with someone else for fun as long as it wasn’t anything explicit. After all, every couple could have their own boundaries and hold their own opinion on this, but for us, dancing wasn’t off limits for example.

Even though I could have said yes, it still felt a little odd to do so. Taylor must have noticed us when she came over and intervened before I had a chance to respond, “Oooh who’s this?” She was definitely drunk at this point. Then she pretended to whisper to me when in reality she was just shouting really loudly, “He’s so hot. Did he ask you to dance yet?”

I nodded trying not to laugh while the guy was also trying not to. He also looked a little embarrassed too if you asked me.

Taylor added, “Here. We can all dance together.” She took both of our hands, and I didn’t feel the need to object mainly since it all seemed pretty casual now that we would be dancing in a group. I mouthed to the guy, ‘I’m sorry,’ while he nodded. He must have realized my engagement ring soon enough when he started flirting with one of Taylor’s other friends.

Jeremiah was wide awake even though it was around 3 am when I got back from the club. I sat down on the couch and deeply sighed once I took off my heels. I looked at him and noticed he was dressed for bed already. “Taylor had a good night.”

I mindlessly placed my feet in his lap relaxing into the corner of the furniture, while he began massaging my feet removing every bit of tension that had been compressed into my heels throughout the night. I threw my head back, “That feels so fucking good.” As he continued, I smirked, “I love the commitment. I can’t believe you’re still up.”

I assumed he was still awake for other things, but he proved me wrong when he replied, “I wanted to make sure you got home safe.” He kissed the inside of my left ankle and added, “You know I couldn’t sleep even if I tried to.”

This is why I loved him the way that I did. I knew that underneath it all, he never stopped treating me like the best friend that he had first. Through time everything just got better when he became much, much more than that.

THE FOLLOWING WEEKEND:

BACK TO JEREMIAH’S POV:

Today was the big day. Belly per usual was pacing back and forth trying to make sure everything was perfect even though I tried to ease some of the pressure off of her. That didn’t exactly work considering how she still insisted on getting to the venue a few hours before she had originally planned on to help Taylor get ready. This was not my day to argue whether I felt she was being irrational or not. I put on my suit and got ready in half the time I expected so that we would arrive as early as she wanted to.

The wedding ceremony was going to be outside a nearby hotel that had an ocean view followed by a reception that was near a local farm that also connected to the beach. Belly told me how Taylor couldn’t decide on a garden or beach themed wedding, so this was her way of incorporating both.

I waited in the hotel lobby for about two hours before I started noticing some of the other guests arrive. I still didn’t recognize anyone until Conrad luckily got here shortly after. He almost ran inside, “Am I late? Steven told me to get here early, but this was the fastest I could do.”

“Yeah. You’re fine. I heard he’s in the room on the left right next to the sign that says ‘wedding,’” I added as we walked towards the room.

“Is everyone coming?”

“Yeah. The whole group’s on their way. I think Trusky and Jessica will be here soon, and everyone else should be here in about an hour.”

“Shit,” Conrad squealed as he tripped.

“Connie, how are both of your shoes untied?”

“We’re lucky I was able to put them on. They’re a little too tight, and I didn’t realize it until about an hour ago.”

“You didn’t try on your shoes before today?”

“No Jere, I didn’t think to try on shoes I specifically only bought for prom years ago for today.”

Steven interrupted, “Can you two idiots continue this after the ceremony? I can’t find the rings.”

We both turned our attention towards Steven when Conrad almost tripped again. I added, “Please tie your fucking shoes.”

He rolled his eyes and tied his shoes before following us to the room.

Luckily the rings were in Steven’s pants pocket the entire time, and he was just too nervous to realize it.

Right as the sun was about to set, Belly walked down the aisle followed by the rest of the bridesmaids. All I noticed was her though as we locked eyes the entire time. Her eyes sparkled with joy at how happy she was for her best friend.

Then Taylor stood at the end of the aisle alongside her dad, as the music started. Steven quickly wiped one tear away as she approached him. When she was close enough, it was clear that her eyes were watery as well. I never noticed that Taylor almost had a little bit of hazel in her eyes until now. After they both said, ‘I do,’ Conrad and I couldn’t be happier for two of our closest friends.

As soon as the reception began, you could just tell how much more relaxed everyone was. It started with a toast from Conrad, Steven’s best man, who finished his speech with, “To two people that couldn’t be more perfect for each other.”

Once the cheers subsided Belly began her speech, “I won’t take too much of your time, but it wouldn’t be fair if everyone didn’t know how incredible of a person my friend Taylor is. She’s been there for me throughout the best and worst experiences that I’ve had. And she made me a better person for it. I think Taylor makes everyone a better person around her whether or not she realizes it. Just look at what she’s done to my brother.”

Steven shook his head, but couldn’t avoid the large smile on his face as everyone else filled the room with their laughter at her words. Then Belly directed her attention towards her brother before she continued, “Believe it or not Steven, in a really, really weird way, you were my first best friend, and you still are. I looked up to you even if you didn’t know it, and I couldn’t have asked for a better brother. I love you both.”

Steven hugged his sister first before Taylor had the chance to do the same.

I immediately followed with a kiss on her cheek before moving towards the table where all the food was. Conrad joined me and asked with slight sarcasm, “Are you crying?”

I checked to see if I was, but it must have just been a tear or two. “No,” I defended, “Her speech got to me.” We both laughed as we started filling our plates.

Belly joined me at the buffet before I confessed, “Bells, that was beautiful.”

She smiled into our kiss, “Thank you. I’m surprised I could even finish it without bawling.”

“You did great,” I brushed her back as a woman who looked around our age approached me. It took me a second, but I quickly recognized her. It was my ex, Camille, from before I started going out with Belly. We had dated for about a year. I didn’t understand out of all people what she was doing here.

She eagerly greeted me and added. “Hey Jeremiah. It’s so good to see you.”

I had no idea how Belly was really feeling on the inside despite the fact that she was smiling on the outside at Camille. I introduced her right away, “Yeah Camille. Nice to see you too. This is Belly. I’m not sure if you remember her. She’s my fiancée.”

Her eyes grew wide, “Oh this is the Belly?” She exaggerated. “I’m glad to see that it finally worked out.” Then she redirected to Belly, “It’s nice to meet you. Jeremiah used to talk a lot about you. Don’t worry, all nice things,” She laughed. “Well, congratulations to your friend. I’m here with Tyler. Not sure where he went. Maybe we can catch up later?”

Belly replied, “Yeah. For sure. Nice to meet you.”

As soon as she left I mentioned, “Okay, I didn’t know Taylor’s friends with her? How would they have met? You didn’t even go to school together.”

Belly was more curious about what I didn’t realize I had failed to mention a second ago, “I have no idea. But how do you two know each other?”

“She was my girlfriend before we started dating. I don’t think you ever met each other.” When Belly looked confused I clarified, “But I did mention her name back then though.”

She looked like she was starting to remember, “I think you might have. I must have forgotten. The name does sound familiar.”

“Anyways, that was a weird coincidence. Do you want anything else?” I tried to redirect our attention back to the food considering that we were both starving just a second ago before this interruption.

Belly tried to shift her focus again, “No. I think I’m good. Let’s go find our table.”

BACK TO BELLY’S POV:

Not that it was important, but I was still curious as to why Jeremiah’s ex-girlfriend had an invitation to this wedding. After we finished eating I immediately looked for Taylor. “Do you know who’s Camille?”

Taylor looked as confused as I felt, “Camille? No. Why?”

I pointed towards her direction to clarify who I was talking about. “Her. Apparently she’s Jere’s ex, and if you didn’t invite her, you think Steven did? She said she’s here with a guy named ‘Tyler.’”

Something clicked for her, “Oh Tyler is one of Steven’s friends. I didn’t know he was dating someone though. Maybe he just brought her as a date. I doubt Steven would invite him knowing that he’d bring Jere’s ex.”

I clarified realizing how irrational I was starting to sound, “Not that it matters though. I was just curious. Thanks for letting me know.”

Taylor advised, “You’re here with him though. And she’s probably just pissed about who she missed out on.”

Given how good Jeremiah looked today, I’d be too.

While I waited to get another drink, Camille came up to me. “So how long have you two been together?”

Not that it was her business, but for my own satisfaction I added, “Almost four years now.”

She looked surprised, “How long have you been engaged?”

I raised my brows at her, “Are you really that curious about how long your ex and I have been together?” Five years ago me would have probably answered her question, but now when I sensed someone didn’t have the best intentions, I made sure to stand up for myself.

She clarified, “No it’s just that’s a really long time. But that’s nice to hear though.” For a second I believed that she was being genuine before she added, “He’s a really incredible guy. You’re very lucky.”

As she walked away her words repeated in my head. Everything she said was fine. In fact, on the surface it might have even sounded nice. But in reality, her facial expressions and tone gave it away that she wasn’t intending to come across that way at all. It felt more malicious than that. Like a phrase meant to build you up while also waiting for you to inevitably fall.

Even though I tried not to let her words get to me, Jeremiah must have noticed that I looked more tense than previously while we were dancing to a slow song, “What’s wrong?”

“Your stupid ex told me how lucky I am to be with you when all I heard was ‘have fun while it lasts.’” In hindsight I shouldn’t have called her stupid even to him, but I was more annoyed than I had previously let on.

“Don’t listen to her. She’s just probably bitter since half the time I spent before we even went out was talking about how amazing you are.”

“Really?”

He explained, “Yes. I knew her since sophomore year, and I thought we were just friends, but after she asked me to winter formal, we sort of became a couple. We didn’t even break up for a specific reason. It just fizzled out. I’m assuming when she saw you, it just reminded her of what happened.”

I heard everything he said, but then got distracted by her, “Now she’s staring at us.”

Jeremiah pulled me in closer and teased, “Would you mind if I kissed you like the first time?”

I wasn’t one who particularly cared for making another person feel jealous, but right now I wanted to. I smiled into his lips as my response. He found his favorite spot on the side of my neck as his tongue slipped into my mouth, gently moving against mine. When his hands moved down my back and rested right above my ass I almost forgot that we were in a crowded room.

He grinned while watching me take in a breath of air, “Yeah. I’m pretty damn sure that I’m the lucky one.”

BACK TO JEREMIAH’S POV:

Our entire friend group got into a circle and started dancing, while Taylor and Steven were crowd surfing. After the song ended, Taylor threw her bouquet, and Belly caught it. Her and Taylor were practically shouting at each other at what just happened.

Before the night was over, Belly and I walked through the field of grass and gardens before making it to the sandy shore at the beach. It wasn’t until now when I realized that she still had the bouquet with her. I joked, “If someone were to come here right now, they’d be so confused.”

She laughed as we sat down on a rock before she took me by surprise, “When did you know that I was the one?”

I glanced at the moonlit ocean and replied, “After our first fight during your freshman year in college.” Then I looked into her eyes, “When I realized that I always felt at home when I was with you.”

Belly smiled wide enough where it made me smile before she quickly frowned leaving me a bit confused, “What?”

She clarified, “Aren’t you going to ask me what mine was?”

“I didn’t know you had one as well. My bad. Let’s hear it.”

“It wasn’t really one moment. It’s more a collection of smaller ones. For instance, when you gave me space if I needed it but never actually left me. When you asked me how I was feeling without me having to let you know. For listening to me when you didn’t have to.”

I sighed playfully, “Okay, you just made my answer look like shit. Thanks for that.”

“No. You couldn’t be more wrong,” She giggled and then looked at the bouquet of flowers again. “You know? I can’t believe I was stressing the other day about how our wedding wasn’t first. Just like you said about home, a wedding won’t change how I feel about you.”

Hearing her say those words finally removed the doubts I felt for years.

She quickly rephrased, “Just so we’re clear, I still want a wedding.”

I laughed into her neck while looking up at her smile from below, “Noted Bells.”