Fifteen-Day Flash Marriage

Sean and I had been together for eight years, but our relationship had never been made public within his fraternity circle.

At the Thanksgiving Eve party, I was dragged into that blindfolded guess-who icebreaker game.

When it was his turn, I stretched my hand out straight.

But the moment he took off the blindfold, the hand he was holding belonged to Hayley — the former cheerleader every guy in school had wanted, who had just returned from finalizing her divorce in Los Angeles.

The private room instantly erupted.

"Damn! Way to go, man! After all this time, it's still you two. You found each other blindfolded — that's true love right there!"

"The Prom King and Prom Queen are back together!"

Hayley blushed and leaned coyly against his shoulder.

Sean smiled and didn't pull away.

I looked down at the back of my hand. The raised scar there was from eight years ago, at a party, when I took a broken beer bottle for him that a drunk had swung.

In the emergency room, he had grabbed my hand and sworn he would never mistake this hand.

Turns out, the word "forever" could be so short.

...

There were more single girls than guys at the party. After the game, fueled by alcohol, everyone paired off a few couples from the laughter and teasing, and a few were left out. I was one of them.

"Hey, that game was just to give you singles more chances. It was a joke, don't take it seriously!" Marcus, who had been student body president back then, said loudly, raising his craft beer glass.

A few scattered laughs came from the booth.

Among those couples was the one the whole class had been rooting for all these years. So the laughter carried a hint of satisfaction at a successful matchmaking.

"Come on, maybe some people just need a little push like this. How can you not take it seriously?"

Marcus laughed and waved his hand. "Fine, fine, take it seriously then — but you have to down this bourbon for me, so no one gets upset."

"Come on, have some snacks, don't just drink!" someone chimed in.

"Is Marcus feeling sorry for us single folks, afraid we'll be too hungry to stomach all the public displays of affection?"

Another round of laughter.

The whole table was buzzing.

I speared a piece of Caesar salad with my fork and chewed slowly. The dressing was a bit sour, leaving a tingling numbness on my tongue.

It also suppressed that unidentifiable thing rising in my throat.

Out of the corner of my eye, Sean leaned back, his gaze casually sweeping over the booth before pausing for a moment.

I knew he was looking at me.

I didn't look up. I lifted my sparkling water and took a sip. Only when his gaze moved away did I gently set down the glass. The faint ripple in my eyes had completely chilled.

"Oh, by the way," Marcus suddenly turned to me, a warm smile plastered on his face. "What about you, Vanessa? Any plans lately? I heard from Brad you're still on Hinge — I can't believe it!"

The corner of my mouth curved into a cold arc. "I'm not on any dating apps. And I'm not single."

The booth fell silent for a second.

Sean's hand, holding his whiskey glass, froze mid-air, and he jerked his head up to look at me.

For a split second, his gaze went blank. Then I saw him pull his iPhone from his suit pocket, his thumb hovering over the screen.

My phone buzzed.

I didn't need to look to know who it was.

Eight years, and he only messaged that frantically when he was afraid I'd "talk nonsense" and ruin his single image.

I didn't look down or touch my phone. I just found it a bit funny.

"Oh yeah? When did this happen?" Brad's loud voice chimed in. "Who's the boyfriend? You have a guy and still played that singles matching game? You've been hiding him pretty deep!"

"Him," I met Brad's gossipy eyes, my tone calm. "He's a good guy. Reliable. Treats me well."

"How'd you meet? How come we've never seen a photo of you two on Instagram?"

Before I could answer, a light cough came from across the table.

Sean lifted his glass and said lazily, "Brad, are you a TMZ paparazzo? If she doesn't want to talk about it, drop it."

Brad awkwardly rubbed his chin. "Alright, alright, I won't ask. Cheers, cheers!"

Sean tilted his head back and downed the whiskey in his glass in one go.

I lifted my sparkling water and took another sip. The ice had melted, leaving the water tasteless.

The topic quickly shifted from me to Sean.

Brad was the first to pipe up.

"Hey Sean, speaking of which, you're the one who should be interrogated. What's the deal with you, Chicago's most eligible bachelor who's about to make partner at the firm?"

"Exactly!" someone immediately chimed in. "Back in the day, the line of people chasing you stretched from the football field to the parking lot. How come you're still single now?"

Sean leaned back against the leather sofa, that usual smile tugging at his lips, and didn't respond.

"Could it be—" Brad dragged out his words, his eyes darting between Sean and Hayley, "that you've been saving a spot in your heart for someone, so no one else measures up?"