redamancy (a sequel) // c.b

iii. champagne, anyone?

harlow and carter arrived at elton and ginger's engagement party forty minutes late. the traffic between harlow and carter's apartment to elton and ginger's house was heavy, and it didn't help that harlow basically forced her boyfriend to take around two hundred pictures of her before they even left.

so by the time they had even got into the neighbourhood, they were thirty minutes late. but the block was basically full of vehicles, so it took another ten minutes to find somewhere harlow could park her jeep.

"i forgot to ask, but d'ya think you're drinking?" harlow asked her boyfriend as she unbuckled her seat belt.

"i don't think so, i work the early shift tomorrow," he replied with his hand hovering over the door handle. "why?"

harlow opened the door and hopped out of the vehicle, straightening her dress and then grabbing her purse from the back seat. "was just wondering if we needed to call an uber back, is all. if you do drink, we could get the jeep tomorrow."

"alright,"

what a domestic conversation, was all harlow could think.

as she rounded the corner of the jeep to meet carter who was standing on the sidewalk, she peered down the road to elton's house. even though they were at least fifty feet away from the house, harlow caught a glimpse of a familiar side profile.

she knew that he was, at a minimum, invited to the party, though she couldn't help but hope that something was going to come up and he wouldn't make it. it seems that luck wasn't on harlow's side, though, because there stood colby, dressed casually with a lit cigarette placed between his lips.

the panic began to set in then because she still hadn't managed to tell carter that colby was going to be at elton's. she'd like to think that it entirely slipped her mind, but she knew deep down that she was simply just avoiding the discussion to spare her own feelings.

but with colby a mere fifty feet away, harlow had to tell carter now. she was left with no choice.

"lovie," harlow began as sweetly as she could, "i forgot to tell you something."

carter's blue eyes met her's with concern, "okay," he replied hesitantly, cautious likely because of the combination of harlow's loving tone and the pet name.

"please don't be upset with me, i meant to mention it to you but i forgot until just now,"

carter couldn't help but laugh at his girlfriend, simply because he could never be upset with her. he had learned that early on in their relationship. to reassure her, he wrapped an arm around harlow, bringing her to his chest and placing a kiss on her temple. "what's up, harls?" he asked, words mumbled into her temple where his lips were still placed.

harlow snuggled further into carter's chest, loving the affectionate act. "well elton asked colby to be one of his groomsmen, which means that he'll be at the party today," she paused, distracted by carter's warmth. "actually, he's outside currently. the one smoking."

harlow winced in anticipation of carter's response, glancing up at the beautiful boy holding her. he was watching her with his eyes all crinkled, making harlow's heart melt. "alright,"

in an attempt to snuggle closer, harlow placed her chin on carter's chest, so she was looking directly up at him. "you're not mad at me?"

carter chuckled a bit, then shook his head. "never mad at you, sunshine."

she couldn't help but pout in response, "stop being all cute and shit,"

"what do you want me to say? there's no reason for me to be upset over it. i know that elton is best friends with your ex, so it's to be expected. it doesn't fall on you."