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Vince and I were inseparable.  Suddenly he was calling me five times a day, picking me up for lunch, taking me out to dinner every night, and coming over every hour on the hour.  (So I exaggerated a little.)  I didn’t quite know how to feel about this, but it was helping keep my mind occupied so I would think of Aiden less and less.  The business was still running slow, so I didn’t have much work.  That gave me lots of time to spend with Vince.  The rest of February flew by as I encountered new experiences like the ballet and a Bulls basketball game.  I was actually having lots of fun with Vince.  We were clicking together like never before.  “Hey, babe?” Vince called as he sat on my couch watching a Bulls game with Lindsay’s new boy toy, Steven.  “Yeah?” I called from the kitchen.  “Your partner is on the TV,” he stated.  I froze in mid-cut of the celery.  I dropped the knife and walked back into the living room.

Sure enough, there on the jumbotron was Aiden, with Maria.  When Maria noticed they were on the jumbotron, she planted a big kiss on his lips.  (He didn’t seem to mind that…)  I cringed at the awful sight.  It was enough that I had to see them together on Valentine’s Day, but here they were, showing the whole world how much they love each other.  It made me sick.  I rushed back into the kitchen; I didn’t want to watch it anymore.  Lindsay followed after me.  “Hey, kid…  Are you okay?” she asked as she leaned up against the countertop.  I shrugged my shoulders.  “Why wouldn’t I be okay?” I stated.  Lindsay rolled her eyes.  “Those guys out there might not be very observant, but I could see the pain in your eyes as you watched that,” she replied.  Why was Lindsay so perceptive and smart all of a sudden?  I shook my head.

“I’m fine, really,” I assured her.  Lindsay knew that line wouldn’t work on her.  “What are you doing?” she asked.  I looked down at the table.  It was obvious what I was doing.  “I’m cutting the celery,” I stated.  Lindsay shook her head.  “No; I mean, what are you doing with Vince?  Don’t get me wrong; he’s a great guy, but it’s so painfully obvious that you’re so in love with Aiden.  Why are you killing yourself over this?”  I didn’t know how to answer her.  Lately I couldn’t answer questions like this.  I didn’t know why I was putting myself through this.  I didn’t know why I told Vince that I loved him; I obviously didn’t.  I just didn’t want Aiden to realize I still had feelings for him.  “I am not in love with Aiden.  Please stop talking about it.  I would really appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention him in front of Vince anymore,” I replied as I went back to cutting the celery.  Lindsay shook her head.  “I don’t want to see you unhappy,” she muttered.  “Who’s unhappy?” Vince asked as he walked inside and grabbed a celery stick from the counter.

Wedding number 396…  I couldn’t believe it was all ready April.  It felt like March had just started, and here we were, finishing off plans for another wedding.  But this one was different from all the rest.  This wedding wasn’t going to take place in a church, or even on the beach; it was going to take place in the air.  Yes, Louis and Daphne were getting married, parachuting from a plane.  When I heard this news, I was a bit uneasy.  I had been in a wedding like this before; I never made it off of the plane.  I just wasn’t that type of girl…  I didn’t have the adrenaline rush that this couple had.  Their plan was to jump out of the plane, get married in the air, and land at the reception.  It all sounded really cool, but I didn’t see myself jumping out of a plane with them.  That’s when Aiden opened his mouth.  “Anne might not be able to handle it, but I am willing to be right there with you, celebrating your joyous occasion,” he stated.

I looked over at him in shock.  “Are you trying to make me look bad?” I whispered harshly.  Aiden shrugged his shoulders.  “I don’t have to try…” he muttered.  Ouch; below the belt…  He was really becoming nasty sometimes…  Especially when Vince comes by.  “Aw, Anne…  We want you out there too,” Daphne stated sadly.  I looked over at Aiden in anger.  “It’s all right; she’s just afraid…” Aiden replied.  That made me angry.  “I never said I wouldn’t do it,” I stated defensively.  Aiden turned to me in surprise.  “So, you’re going to do it then?” he asked, waiting for my response.  As I looked at him and Daphne, it made me angry, but also determined to prove them wrong.  “Yes; I am going to parachute out of a plane…” I managed to say.  Daphne and Louis were so happy; Aiden seemed pleased that he had managed to control me into doing something I didn’t want to do.  It made me angry that I had given in to his stupid little game; but I had to show him that I wasn’t afraid; that I could do anything he could do…

So here we were; the day of Daphne and Louis’ wedding, and I was shaking like crazy.  I told Vince about the plan, and even he thought I was crazy.  “You can back out of this any time, babe,” Vince assured me as I waited by the plane in my little jumpsuit.  I shook my head as the rest of me shook along.  “It’s for their wedding,” I stated.  Vince began to rub my arm.  “You are terrified; don’t do it,” he replied.  “Vince, you just don’t understand; it’s not my wedding day.  It’s Daphne’s…  And she wants me to jump out of the plane right along with her…” I exclaimed.  At that moment, Aiden appeared, white as a sheet, pouring with sweat.  I had forgotten he was terrified of flying.  And here he was, about to jump out of an airplane…  That made me feel better.  It actually made me feel really good…  I walked over to him with a smug smile on my face.  “You thought I was going to chicken out; you were going to tell them that you would stay with your partner… but I said yes…” I stated happily.

Aiden rolled his eyes as Maria emerged a few feet away.  I became stiff as I stood there.  “It really isn’t funny,” Aiden muttered.  I shook my head.  “Actually, it’s more hilarious…  So let’s just stop the game right now,” I suggested.  Aiden hesitated for a moment.  I knew he was thinking.  “I’m going up in that plane, whether you’re there or not,” he finally stated.  I rolled my eyes; he was so stubborn…  Kind of like me…  Daphne and Louis emerged; Daphne was wearing a veil that was strapped to her helmet.  They both looked pretty stupid, but it was what they wanted.  Who was I to argue?  I had all ready learned my lesson about that…  If it’s what they want, it’s what they get.  “Are you ready?” Daphne asked as she came and stood next to me.  I turned back to look at Vince.  He told me I could back out…  But when I looked at Aiden, I knew that I couldn’t.  That would make me the loser.

I pasted on my fake smile.  “I’m ready,” I stated.  Aiden just nodded his head; he could barely talk.  The pilot motioned for us to enter the plane, but it took Aiden the longest to get on; he was frozen in place for a few seconds.  We sat down on the jump seat, waited for takeoff, and closed the cabin door.  “You can back out now,” Aiden muttered to me.  I shook my head as I kept a stupid grin on my face.  “You back out; I never back out…” I replied.  Aiden scoffed at me.  “You mean how you didn’t back out when you told me loved me?” he spat.  I was in shock—for two point five seconds.  “Or how about when you backed out when I tried to kiss you?” I spat right back.  Suddenly the plane began to move.  We rose into the air and were soon high above the trees.  Everything looked so small.  Daphne turned to Louis as the minister smiled.  “Shall we begin?” he asked.  They both nodded as they took hold of each other’s hand.  I was in shock as the door was opened and a huge gust of air engulfed the whole plane.

“We’ll see you out there!” Louis exclaimed to us as he jumped out with Daphne and the minister.  I couldn’t believe they jumped out!  It was the most horrifying thing I had ever seen in my life!  They just jumped off into the air; what if their chutes didn’t open?  All of these thoughts began to rush through my mind…  I began to think about Aiden and Vince, how I met them, how I kissed Aiden, how I kissed Vince…  I was comparing them.  Which one made more sense?  Which one fit with me the most?  The plane began to jerk about.  “Are we going to die?” Aiden asked as he grabbed my arm.  A thought popped into my head.  If I were going to die, who would be the last person I would want to see; the last person I would want to be with?  I had my answer right next to me.  I wanted that person to be Aiden…  “You have to jump out,” yelled the pilot.  I nodded as I stood up and inched over to the open door.

Aiden followed after.  “This is crazy; we can’t jump,” I stated.  Aiden shook his head.  “We have to; or we’ll never know what could have been.  We just have to let go of everything…” he stated.  The plane began to shake again.  I grabbed a hold of Aiden and we were suddenly in an embrace.  “I’m terrified, Aiden,” I muttered.  He looked down into my eyes as he held me tight.  “I am too…” he replied.  Suddenly, in a burst of emotion, I cried out, “I still love you, Aiden!”  Aiden looked down at me in surprise.  I was surprised with myself.  But if I was going to die, then what did it matter what I said?  “I love you too,” Aiden replied.  Wait; what?  Did he say what I think he said?  He just told me that he loved me too…  He loved me!  “All right, you’ve got to get out of the plane,” the pilot replied as he suddenly pushed us off.

Reaching the ground gave me a whole other feeling.  Now I had to turn my brain back on and realize what I had just done.  I told Aiden that I still loved him; and it was so easy…  Why was it so easy?  And he told me that he loved me too.  I couldn’t believe it…  Up in the sky, it was just the two of us; there was no one to answer to.  But now, we had landed on the ground, and Vince was waiting.  I didn’t know what to do.  “Babe!  I can’t believe you actually did it!” Vince yelled as he ran to me.  I smiled as I quickly let go of Aiden’s hand so no one would see.  “I can’t believe I did it either,” I muttered.  Vince kissed me and pulled me into his arms.  “I am so proud of you, Anne…” he replied.  I turned back to see Aiden, who was watching us.  Suddenly it felt so wrong to be in Vince’s arms.

“You jumped out of a plane,” Maria stated as she arrived.  “How could you be so stupid?  I could have lost you,” she replied as she grabbed a hold of him.  What a pair we both made; two people in love with each other, but involved with someone else.  I couldn’t seem to understand why we were doing this to ourselves.  We were too much alike…  The reception commenced as we all changed into more formal attire.  Beautiful music was played as people crowded the dance floor.  Vince grabbed my hand.  “Let’s go,” he urged.  I hesitated for a moment as I looked to see what Aiden was doing.  He was all ready dancing with Maria…  I smiled up at Vince and replied, “Let’s dance the night away.”  Daphne and Louis came to give their gratitude.  “I can’t believe you guys would jump out of a plane for us; you are so wonderful…  Thank you for everything,” Daphne replied as she pulled me into an embrace.

Vince disappeared to find me some punch, so I sat back down at the table.  Aiden walked over and sat down next to me.  “Where’s Maria?” I asked as I took a bit of some bread.  “In the restroom,” he replied.  I nodded my head. It was extremely quiet as we sat there in an awkward silence.  “Anne…  We should talk,” Aiden began.  I didn’t know if I wanted to listen to this…  “Maybe we shouldn’t,” I muttered.  That caused Aiden to get angry.  “Can we just stop avoiding this?  It’s obviously out there, and we need to deal with it,” he replied.  “You said you still love me,” he added quietly.  I felt my face turn all sorts of shades of red.  I didn’t know what to say at first.  “I thought we were going to die,” I stated, trying to reason with myself.  Aiden shook his head.  “Those are the times when people are most honest,” he suggested.

I let out a sigh.  “Aiden…  You said you love me too,” I stated.  Aiden nodded.  “I admit it; I do love you.  I’ve loved you since New Year’s Eve…” he replied.  I sat there in shock.  What was going on?  Why was this happening to me?  I was finally in a comfortable place with Vince, and this happens.  What was I supposed to do about this?  “This can’t happen,” I muttered.  Aiden shook his head as he grabbed my hand.  “Why not?  We both love each other.  Why are we making ourselves suffer?”  I couldn’t do that to Vince.  He had been the most wonderful man…  I was also terrified; I was terrified to finally have something real.  Vince was safe; he was stable.  I knew where I stood when I was with him.  But with Aiden, I was terrified; these were uncharted waters…  I wasn’t sure I wanted to cross them.  “I have to go to the bathroom,” I muttered.  Aiden stood up after me and grabbed my arm.  “Don’t; don’t do this, Anne,” he begged.

“Don’t do this to me again…  I won’t stand on your doorstep forever.  I can’t keep allowing my heart to be trampled by you.  Stop being so afraid; let yourself go…” he urged.  I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.  Maria emerged from the bathroom and saw us.  I pulled my arm from Aiden’s grasp.  “Stop it; just stop it,” I warned him as I walked off.  I nearly knocked Vince over as I ran straight into him.  “Babe, what’s wrong?” he asked as he put his hands on my shoulders.  I couldn’t take this anymore.  “I have to get out of here,” I muttered as I ran past him and outside.