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Pocahontas makes a beautiful bride, of course.
To be fair, the baby blue strapless dress which Nakoma has found herself wearing is probably the nicest bridesmaid's dress she has ever seen. Dinner was nice, the music is decent, and there's an open bar.
Thank god for the open bar.
John and Pocahontas dance close together, whispering and talking to each other in between swapping adoring, intoxicated looks. Even as Nakoma watches, John's hand slips down Pocahontas's back, down the exposed line of her spine in her low-backed dress, and presses her closer.
Nakoma downs her mojito in one, and grimaces as she nearly swallows the mint leaf.
"I'd be careful there, sugar," says the girl serving the cocktails. "Those things pack a punch."
Despite herself, Nakoma smiles. "That is the idea."
The girl smiles at her. She's pretty: button nose, blond curls, cute pink dress and matching fascinator. Mixes a mean cocktail, too. "Not a fan of weddings?" she asks, conspiratorially.
"Not always," says Nakoma. She pushes over the empty glass. "Another?"
"Coming right up," says the girl. She sets up the glass, the muddler, and starts mixing. "I like the dress."
"Thanks. Being a bridesmaid is always a fashion gamble."
"My name's Lottie." She adds the ice cubes, slips in a slice of lime, and daintily perches a mint leaf on top. "Here you go, hun."
"Nakoma," she replies. Raising her glass as if in a toast, she lets Lottie slip off to serve another of the customers from further down the bar.
Hell, Pocahontas looks beautiful. And so happy, as well, which had always been what had stopped Nakoma's tongue. Pocahontas was so happy with John, with her life, with this wedding. No point making things awkward by saying things that didn't need to be heard. Nakoma sips at her drink, though, savouring it. Lottie really is good with the cocktails.
Looking round, Nakoma sees the waitress pause at the end of the bar to talk to the head of the catering. Tiana Sweet, her name is; an efficient, well-dressrd black woman with tidy dark hair and a ready laugh. Nakoma had met her a few times during the wedding planning.
She recognises the look on Lottie's face. That adoration, the smile, the hint of longing around the edge. How Tiana can miss it, Nakoma doesn't know, but maybe it's just a straight girl thing. Guys always complain that they can't understand women; as far as Nakoma can see, women can't understand women either.
When Lottie comes back within earshot, Nakoma smiles at her. "You should go for it."
"What?" Lottie looks up, all innocence and confusion, even as her hands keep moving the shaker that she wields. Perhaps someone ordered a martini.
"Talk to her." Nakoma jerks her head towards Tiana, who is now at the other end of the bar and searching for something. "She was smiling at you."
Lottie goes a shade of pink fit to match her dress, and shoots a look at Tiana before leaning over the bar to reply. "She's married," she squeaks.
She really shouldn't laugh. It isn't funny. Pure coincidence, nothing more.
But Nakoma gives an unladylike snort anyway, and has to set her drink down so that she can cover her mouth with her hand. "Sorry," she says, as Lottie gives her that bewildered look. "Join the club."
Lottie's eyes flick from Nakoma, to the dancing newlyweds in the centre of the floor, and back again. "You mean..."
"Who wouldn't fall for her?" Maybe Lottie makes her mojitos strong, or maybe it was the champagne or wine that went before it that makes Nakoma so bold. "Though Ms. Sweet," a nod in Tiana's direction, as the caterer hurried off to do something with the bottle of brandy, "isn't bad either."
"Tiana sure is special," says Lottie, voice softening. "We've been friends since we were kids."
Nakoma nods. "Pocahontas and I were neighbours when we were kids. Went to the same church and all that. Everyone thought that I didn't have boyfriends because they got distracted by her instead."
"Sounds like she's practically a beard," says Charlotte. It's unexpected, and Nakoma starts laughing all the harder because of that. Charlotte's eyes widen, and she claps a hand over her mouth. "Oh lord, that came out!"
"Don't we all?" says Nakoma, and finally the bartender dissolves into giggles herself.
Score one for the mojitos.
"Dance," says Nakoma, firmly. It's much later in the evening by then, and there's a lot of slow-dancing going on the dance floor. She grabs Lottie's hands, despite protests.
"I'm supposed to be working!"
"If your boss is dancing, so can you."
Nakoma jabs her thumb in the vague direction of Tiana, who is dancing wrapped up with a man that Nakoma can only presume is her husband. She isn't sure whether it's the fact that her boss is dancing or the reminder of the fact that the woman Lottie clearly fancies is married, but Lottie's nose wrinkles for a moment, then she shrugs.
"Oh, what the hell."
Lottie is wearing tennis shoes, and blushes to her ears when Nakoma does a double-take at them. She mutters something about long hours on her feet, but Nakoma laughs at nothing in particular and drags Lottie out onto the dance floor. Even if it had only been the hopeless crushes, she would have felt a connection to Lottie, but a couple of hours swapping jokes and talking about random things and she might be tempted to call the woman a friend.
Then again, she might also be tempted to call her cute. Lottie's giggle when Nakoma pulls her in to slow-dance is adorable, and Nakoma really can't keep a straight face when she hears it.
"So," says Lottie. "Who was that charming young man I saw you dancing with earlier?"
"Him? Oh, that's Thomas. Best man," she adds, and Lottie nods in understanding. "Sweet guy. Currently making out with Pocahontas's cousin Kocoum in the corner."
"What?" Lottie's eyes go wide, she looks over her shoulder to see the two men in a rather enthusiastic embrace in one of the not-quite-shadowed-enough corner of the room, and both of them start trying not to laugh. It ends up very inelegant, with the odd snort and many conspiratorial looks, but if anyone notices then they don't say. "Well, looks like someone's in for an interesting night. Do the bride and groom just magically turn everyone around them gay?"
That mental image is even better, and Nakoma has to shut her eyes because if she so much as looks at John and Pocahontas now, she'll be on the floor.
"Maybe I should get them to go round up some lesbians for me," she says. Charlotte shakes with laughter as well for a moment, then they manage to collect themselves.
"We could swap phone numbers," she suggests.
What springs to mind is probably going to be a mistake, but Nakoma says it anyway. "We could swap something else."
Then she kisses the woman. Lottie gasps, but doesn't hesitate about reciprocating, and what the hell. The cliché is supposed to be the best man and the chief bridesmaid falling into bed together, but there are so many levels on which that is not going to happen.
There's a spark with Lottie. Chemistry. She can't see the hurt in giving it a go.
(The hangover the next morning might disagree with her, but mostly she blames Pocahontas for being such a ridiculously morning person as to get up at 7am. And it really does show that she wouldn't kick Lottie out of bed of a morning.
Which is always good to know.)