Part 5/8
the Best Man
Author: Brown Eyes Parker
Artist: Caitriona
Link to art: coming soon
Word Count: 10, 718
Rating: K+
Summary: She wasn’t like other women. She could play the smiling best friend, pretending that she wasn’t in love with him.
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.
Notes: This story started out as a one-shot, but it didn't want to be a one-shot. So, it turned into the multi-chapter it is now. I have to thank Nerwen Aldarion's encouragement or my cousin, who kept me company on Skype chat while I wrote and rewrote this, and made a million different soundtracks. Also, I have to thank the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, because the awesomeness between Lizzie and William the last few epiosdes was TOTALLY my inspiration to get the last of this written. And as always, thank you to my parents who let me be who I am and allow me to have access to their laptop so I can write my fan fiction.
How can I learn to love someone new, someone who isn’t you
Two Months Later
Lisbon was in the middle of finishing a crossword puzzle and her second cup of coffee when her cell phone rang.
She picked it up without bothering to check the ID. “Hello?”
“Teresa, thank goodness I got a hold of you!”
“Erin?” Lisbon asked, frowning slightly. “Is everything okay?”
“Oh, everything’s fine. . .” Erin trailed off. “Except for one thing, I got a call and I need to go into work today. A case just came in with seven kids; all of them abused, the baby a crack addict-”
“I understand,” Lisbon interjected, capping her pen and putting it down. “But I don’t understand, why are you calling me?”
“Because Patrick and I were supposed to look at hotel ballroom this morning in Napa and the situation at work throws a wrench in our plans. But I don’t want to cancel the appointment, because it’s murder to reschedule. So, I was wondering if-”
“Sure,” Lisbon answered, without thinking.
“Thank you!” Erin squealed. “You are a LIFESAVER! I’ll just call Patrick and tell him to come and get you. And I’ll see you later; I’m hoping that I’ll be able to meet up with you guys this afternoon sometime.”
“Okay,” Lisbon agreed, getting up and dumping the rest of her coffee out into the sink before starting for her bedroom to get ready for her day.
“Well, I have to go now. Thank you again! I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you for everything that you’ve been doing for us.”
“I’m happy to help,” Lisbon said sincerely. “See you later, Erin.”
“Okay. ‘Bye, Teresa.”
Twenty minutes later, Lisbon was dressed and sitting in the front seat of Jane’s Citron.
“I’m glad you agreed to come and help out,” Jane said, taping his fingers on his steering wheel.
“What are best men for?” Lisbon replied, smiling slightly as she took in the sight of him tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, perfectly in-sync with the classical piece of music that was playing on the radio.
“Indeed,” Jane answered, jerking her attention back to his face. “You are the best man among best men, Lisbon.”
She laughed. “Thank you, I guess.”
And for a second, it was easy to forget that Jane was engaged to somebody else. For a moment, she was able to pretend that it was still just the two of them again without Erin even being a thought in either of their minds. For a second, she allowed herself to entertain a couple of the hopes and dreams that had died just a little bit the afternoon that he had announced his engagement.
“I’m Michael Drake, the hotel manager” a portly, balding man said as he led them through a spacious lobby and towards a vacant ballroom.
“Usually, we’d have you meet with our event planner but since you’re still shopping around, I’ll be in charge of your tour this morning.”
“Thank you,” Jane replied winking at Lisbon as Michael stopped in front of a ballroom that was buzzing with activity.
“This,” the older man said, sweeping his hand in the air, “is one of our most popular ballrooms. Since it is in high demand, I don’t know if you two would be able to get it in time for your wedding though. When did you say your date was?”
“Oh, we’re not together!” Lisbon answered quickly.
“Really?” Michael asked frowning slightly. “Are you sure you two aren’t getting married. In all my years of managing this hotel, I’ve never seen two people who complement each other more than you two do.”
“Nope,” Lisbon answered, shaking her head forcefully. “I’m just the best man. . . woman, er, person. I’m standing up with him on his wedding day.”
The hotel manager looked at a loss for words and then he shrugged as if to say to each their own as he cleared his throat almost awkwardly.
“Well, Mr. Jane, I’ll just leave you and you’re, um, you’re best man to discuss things then. I’ll be back in about ten minutes to check on you.”
“It’s a nice space; I really think that Erin is going to love it-” Lisbon said, gasping as Jane gathered her up in his arms and started to dance around the room with her. “Jane!”
“What?” He asked innocently as they moved slowly with the faint sound of a pop song from the ballroom across the hall. “I don’t see the sense in wasting perfectly good music and a perfectly good dance floor. We can dance and talk at the same time. So, do you really think that Erin will love this place? “
All Lisbon could do was nod, the close proximity to Jane had made her lose all ability to speak or even breathe. Everything in her was saying to push him away and flee from the scene, but she couldn’t seem to lift her hands to push him away. She was too caught up in the sharp, citrus scent of his cologne, in the sound of his heartbeat, and the warmth of his arms, seeping into her back. His nearness had turned her into a dizzy, thoughtless mess.
She couldn’t help but wonder if he was reacting the same way, or if this was just another meaningless moment they would share.
.
Jane was absorbed with the woman in his arms. He couldn’t get enough of her spicy perfume, the way she was breathing gently in his ear or the warmth from her hands on his neck. Erin wasn’t even a thought as the words from the song filled his mind.
It was as if the song writer had seen him and Lisbon together one day, and then had put everything he had observed to music. For a moment, he wished he knew all the words, so he could whisper them to Lisbon and let her know what he was feeling . . . what he had always felt for her.
He closed his eyes and wondered which one of them was trembling.
As the song ended, Lisbon realized what she was doing. . . what they were doing. She pushed him away and tried to compose herself, only to find
Erin looking at them with partial amusement.
“Erin!” She gasped feeling like the kid who’d gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
“Teresa,” Erin replied, her mouth quirking into a little smile. “I bet you’re surprised to see me.”
“Just slightly,” Lisbon managed, looking at Jane awkwardly.
“Yeah, my boss temporarily took over my case so I could dash out here and take a look around,” Erin said as she came into the room and putting her arms around both Jane and Lisbon. “It’s a pretty space, and the ballroom floor looks spectacular, there’s plenty of space to dance the night away.”
“Yeah,” Lisbon agreed hollowly.
“Do you really like it?” Jane asked, doing his best to keep the tremor out of his voice.
“Well, I kind of have to. The wedding is in two months,” Erin answered. “We’re already way too far behind in booking a ceremony space. I should have done it when we got engaged. . .”
Lisbon fidgeted with her cross necklace, tuning Erin’s wedding chatter out as she wondered if the pretty social worker had caught her and Jane in their less than innocent slow dance. She wondered if maybe she thought it didn’t mean anything to them or if she was jealous and would try to break
up their friendship after all.
But Erin looked and sounded totally oblivious to anything that didn’t include wedding details.
As she exhaled heavily, Lisbon didn’t realize that she had been holding her breath.
“Everything okay Teresa?” Erin asked, stopping her spiel about centerpieces and giving her a concerned look.
“Fine,” Lisbon answered, dropping her necklace and clearing her throat. “Now that you’re here Erin, there’s no need for me to stick around. I’m just going to call a cab and go home.”
Erin frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want to stick around for lunch?”
“Yeah. I just remembered, I need to vacuum my living room-”
“You don’t have to call a cab,” Jane interjected, pulling his keys from his vest pocket. “You can take my car.”
“I can’t-”
“Really, I insist! You really don’t have any need to pay for a cab when there’s a perfectly free way to get home.” Jane said, his eyes pleading with her not to argue with him. “Or you don’t have to go at all.”
“I do,” Lisbon answered, suddenly feeling like a third wheel. “I’ll see you two later. Enjoy yourselves.”
“Lisbon!” Jane called as she started to leave.
She turned to look at him. “Yes?”
He tossed her the keys. “You forgot these.”
“Right,” Lisbon said, avoiding his eyes. “Thanks.”
.
She didn’t realize she was shaking until she climbed into the driver’s seat and tried to put the key in the ignition. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her hands again. But it was no use; the dance she had shared with Jane had really rattled her.
Her mask was gone and she knew that she’d have to try even harder than before to pretend she wasn’t in love with Jane.
It just wasn’t going to be as easy as it was before.
(part 6)