Wansmut Hotel. At the wedding banquet. After a few dances.
"Adam, help us out here!" 😩
Lily and Matthew approached with forced smiles, their voices low but practically screaming with frustration.
"What's wrong?"
Adam reluctantly let go of Heather, whose killer curves he'd been holding onto.
"We're starving!"
Lily snapped, "We had the hotel prepare tons of delicious food, but we haven't even had a bite!"
"We haven't eaten all day," Matthew chimed in. "Every time we try to grab something, friends or family pull us aside, and then it's just cocktail after cocktail." 🍸
"If I hadn't stopped him," Lily added, "Matthew would've grabbed food off a napkin some kid spat out while chatting with someone."
Her words painted a grim picture of their current crisis.
"Alright, I'll sort it out for you," Adam said, noticing how shaky they both looked. They were clearly beyond hungry. He quickly moved to guide them toward some food.
Lily, the bride, was hit hardest. Her eyes had that wild, almost possessed look from sheer hunger. No surprise there—much like actresses on the red carpet who skip food, water, and bathroom breaks to fit into their gowns, Lily had gone all out for her stunning wedding dress. 💃
"You guys are here!"
They'd barely taken two steps when someone called out.
"Grandma!"
Lily and Matthew groaned with weak smiles.
"Sweetheart, you look gorgeous!"
Grandma beamed at Lily in her wedding dress, then turned to Matthew. "And you! You're like a movie star from the '40s."
"You look like a roasted lamb chop sprinkled with pepper and served with mint jelly…" Matthew mumbled, his mind clearly drifting.
"Okay!" Adam cut in, clapping his hands. "Let's get some food, huh?"
Ignoring Grandma's puzzled yet delighted expression as she patted herself down, Adam dragged Matthew away before things got weird.
They sat down, and Adam waved a waiter over. The guy jogged up, nodded eagerly at Adam's instructions, and bolted off. Soon, plates of mouthwatering food were set in front of Matthew and Lily.
"Dig in!" Adam grinned.
"Oh my gosh, finally!"
Matthew and Lily were practically tearing up, hands itching to grab the food and scarf it down.
Then—ding ding ding!
The clinking of forks on glasses rang out, followed by the crowd's cheers: "Kiss! Kiss!" 🥂
Matthew and Lily froze, exchanging a helpless look. Under the spotlight, they couldn't just ignore it and chow down. With a quick glance at each other, they leaned in for a fast kiss to get it over with.
But mid-kiss, a waiter swooped in, reaching to clear their plates!
Adam's hand shot out, stopping him. "Who told you to take those?" he asked, eyeing the guy sharply.
"There are only these two plates left on the table," the waiter stammered. "Everyone else is done, so I thought…"
"New guy?" Adam raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, yeah," the waiter nodded sheepishly.
"Alright, we've got this covered," Adam said, waving him off. Another waiter, who'd been keeping an eye on things, hurried over and pulled the newbie away.
"Thank God!"
As the cheers died down, Matthew and Lily broke apart, immediately checking their plates. "They're still here!" they cried out in unison, pure joy in their voices. 😭🎉
"Go on, eat!" Adam laughed.
"Mmm, yes!"
They grabbed their forks and knives, ready to dig in.
"Lily! Matthew!"
Of course, someone else popped up, showering them with blessings.
They shot Adam a desperate look, practically on the verge of tears.
"How about this?" Juno piped up with a grin. "The instruments are over there. Let's play a song, draw everyone's attention, and give them a chance to eat in peace. Fruit Hard Candy hasn't jammed together in ages!" 🎸
"Fruit Hard Candy is just you and me…" Adam started, but then he caught Juno's confident smirk and followed her gaze to Karen and Heather.
"I'll take the keyboard," Karen said coolly. 🎹
"I can handle the drums!" Heather added with a smile. 🥁
"See? We've got a full crew!" Juno laughed.
"Alright, fine," Adam said, giving Juno a weird look. "But what do we play?"
"Anything's good," Juno replied, her smile widening. "Though I'd say go with your big hit, Don't Cry. You pick!"
"Don't Cry?" Adam hesitated. "That doesn't really fit a wedding vibe."
"That's the point," Juno explained. "We're here to steal the spotlight. If we play something too wedding-y, people will still focus on the bride and groom. Plus, we all know Don't Cry inside out."
"Yeah!" Heather nodded. "We've sung it together a million times."
"Fair enough," Adam sighed. Juno clearly had this planned, so he just went along with it. "Ted, we'll take the stage and grab everyone's attention. You make sure Matthew and Lily eat, okay?"
He gave Ted a quick heads-up, then led Juno and the others to the stage.
"I'm in too!" Tatiana shouted, raising her hand.
"You can dance up there," Juno said, pulling her along. "Just move however you want!"
A super cute kid with killer looks like Tatiana? She could flail around any way and still charm the crowd—no technique needed! 😍
Once Adam and the gang hit the small stage, all eyes were on them. Hard not to be—they were a ridiculously good-looking bunch.
Adam didn't bother with any grand speech. Juno grabbed her bass, Karen settled at the keyboard, Heather took the drums, and Tatiana stood in front of Adam. With a quick nod to Juno, he strummed his guitar and started singing.
The pros showed their stuff right away. Juno, a core member of the original Fruit Hard Candy, hadn't played with Adam in years but still synced with him perfectly. What shocked Adam, though, was how seamlessly Karen on keys and Heather on drums fit in. They'd clearly done this before—Juno must've been the glue holding it together. The revived Fruit Hard Candy was smooth as butter, no awkwardness at all.
Back in the day, Adam had a decent voice and solid skills, but his fame came mostly from tweaking classic songs. Eight years later, after seeing life, death, and all sorts of wild stuff, he'd gained a deeper take on emotions. Singing those old tunes now, his perspective had totally shifted.
A song reflects the heart. Singing with real feeling versus just tossing out lyrics for the sake of it? Night and day.
With their stunning looks and Adam's next-level performance, the group blew everyone away, pulling every single gaze.
Well… almost everyone.
Matthew and Lily, still starving, weren't exactly captivated. Earlier, Matthew had yelled, "Where's my pepper-sprinkled roast lamb? You should be here with me on my wedding night!"
Lily, fighting her own hunger, tried to comfort him. "Don't be sad, you've still got me."
Matthew just shrugged. "Yeah, okay."
Lily's glare could've killed. If she weren't so drained and surrounded by people, she might've ripped him apart right there.
Now, finally free to eat, no performance—however epic—could top the roast lamb in front of them.
"So good, oh my gosh!"
"Smells amazing!"
While Adam and the crew rocked the stage, Matthew and Lily dove into their food like it was the best thing they'd ever tasted. 🍽️
(End of Chapter)