Compromise

“No, we can't have more girls than guys. You've got to cut the list down.”

I looked over a list of bridesmaids and groomsmen that Kadie had compiled. We were sitting in the middle of an upscale restaurant lounge waiting to taste test the food for Kadie's impromptu wedding.

She kept scrolling through her iPhone as she responded. “It's not my fault I have so many friends.”

“Doesn't mean they all have to be bridesmaids.” I shoved the paper towards Kadie and she finally looked up from her phone.

“Jeez, Lynn, it was just a joke.” She took the paper and began examining the list.

Kadie and I had spent most of the weekend planning out her wedding. She could have gotten a wedding planner, but there wasn't anyone willing to work on such a short notice. So being the maid of honor that I am, I stepped in.

There were too many things going on in my world. My final semester in the classroom before clinicals had just started, my boyfriend and I were figuring out how to co-exist, and now my best friend and her fiance decided to live spontaneously by having a wedding in two weeks. Someone please call an ambulance! I think I'm having a heart attack!

I flipped through the stack of papers in front of me. “I don't like this color scheme. It washes you out. Are you planning on getting a tan before the wedding?” I grimaced as I looked at Kadie.

She looked down at her pale arms then rubbed her hands over her face. “I mean, yeah...” she furrowed her brows as she looked back at me.

“Good” I went back to look at the list. I grabbed a few color swatches that were taped to the sheet and played around with them. “Definitely need gold as an accent. I feel like that's your “thing”. Oh, and pastel pink would really compliment your blonde hair.”

“Lynn!” Kadie smacked her hands over mine. “I think I got everything covered.”

I looked up to see her begging for mercy.

“You can help me with my third wedding when I'm completely over all this planning.” She smirked and went back to typing on her phone.

I pushed the binder of papers away. “You have a really sick twisted sense of humor you know that?” Kadie grabbed the binder and put it away in her tote bag.

“Excuse me, are you Kadie?” A young gentleman in a chef's suit approached us. He'd pronounced Kadie's name as caddy, like a golf caddy. She rolled her eyes as she corrected him.

“It's Kadie, like Katie but with a d.” She stood up from her chair and shook his hand. “This is my maid of honor, Lynn.” She gestured towards me.

I jumped up from my seat and shook his hand.

“Will the groom be joining us today?” The chef asked as he held his hands together.

Kadie looked down at her phone. “He should have been here by now. I don't know wha-”

Kadie was interrupted by Adam. “I'm so sorry I got caught in traffic” He kissed Kadie on the cheek and introduced himself to the chef.

“Very well. If you could please follow me to the private dining hall we can get started on the taste testing.”

We were seated at a table for three. The chef excused himself as he went back into the kitchen. A few minutes later his staff came out to present us with a variety of options.

The chef explained each meal as the plates were changed in front of us. After we tried everything the table was cleared and the chef and his staff excused themselves to give us some privacy.

“I kinda like the Mediterranean chicken with the sauce.” Adam wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin before he set it down on the table.

Kadie scrunched her nose. “Well how much is ' kinda'? Because I was hoping you'd say the Chilean Sea Bass with the mango salsa.”

Adam tilted his head, trying to compromise, but still firm on his pick. “I'm pretty solid with the chicken.”

“Lynn” They both turned and looked at me to give the deciding vote.

“Don't hate me, but I liked the steak the best.”

They both sighed. Adam rubbed his forehead and Kadie rested her fingers over her lips, both in a deep thought.

“Let's just go with the Chilean Sea Bass.” Adam finally mumbled.

“Really?” Kadie jumped forward with excitement.

“Yeah, it'll go better with the steak anyway.” He shrugged. “Besides I can just do the Mediterranean chicken at my second wedding.” Adam and Kadie both laughed.

I shook my head. “There's something wrong with you two.”

Once Kadie and Adam made their final decisions I headed on my way back home.

“Hey, J” I called out into the apartment as I walked in. Sometimes Jonah would come home early and sometimes he'd come home late. There really was no telling, unless I called out for him once I got home.

“Hey babe, I'm in my office.” I heard him call back.

I dropped my things on the kitchen counter and stood by the door to his office. “You're home” I smiled.

Jonah stood up from his chair that he'd been lounging in and walked over to give me a kiss. “I am” he smiled back. “I haven't seen much of you so I thought I'd cut things short at the office and finish up here instead.”

“Nice.” I kissed him again. “Well, I went for taste testing after class so I'm not too hungry. Have you eaten yet?”

“I haven't, but don't worry about dinner. I'll just order pizza or something.”

“Are you sure?” I raised my brows “I can cook a mean pasta.”

Jonah laughed. “No, really, it's fine.”

His hand slide behind my neck and his thumb caressed my ear as he pulled me towards him. I wrapped my arms around him as we began making out. 

His hands grazed down my body and I felt a chill. 

“Ohh” I whispered. “Someone's been missing me.”

“That's such an understatement.” His kisses trailed down my neck. “I've been thinking about what I wanted to do to you all week.”

“Oh, is that so?” I whispered back while smirking.

“Mhmm” He mumbled between kisses.

Jonah pulled me up into his arms and carried me to our bedroom. He laid me down as he took his shirt off before climbing over me.

“Soo...” I whispered. “How was your day?”

Jonah laughed. A soft subtle laugh at first, but eventually it grew louder as he fell over onto his side of the bed. We both laid there staring up at the ceiling.

“I'm sorry” He said as he finally caught his breath. “I kinda jumped at the opportunity didn't I?”

He was referring to the fact that we'd barely seen each other these past few days and his first reaction wasn't to catch up.

I rolled over to my side and rested my head on my hand. “It's okay. It's only been a week, Jon.”

He sighed. “It was just so much easier before.” He put his hands behind his head. “Like, if we were hanging out, we knew it was because we had time to hang out. Now if we see each other there's no telling.”

My phone began vibrating. I pulled it out of my pocket to check it. “It's Sarah. We're video conferencing the group study today.” I sat up and answered the call. “Hey. Okay, I'll be on in a second.”

Jonah looked at me as I hung up. “Promise me we're going to figure this out.”

“I promise” I tossed Jonah his shirt as I walked out the room.