Chapter Text
Aelin flipped through another day’s mail, expecting the usual bills, catalogs, and other junk. She wasn’t expecting to see a fancy cream envelope sandwiched between an ad for a carpet cleaning service and her electric bill. She broke the seal and pulled out an equally fancy card with the words “Save the Date!” printed on it in an elegant font. It was a wedding invitation for one of her cousins.
Aelin groaned. She knew she was expected to go, but she hardly ever talked to her extended family. Spending hours on end with a bunch of people she didn’t really care about sounded far from appealing.
To make matters worse, she didn’t have a date.
She glanced down at the invitation and groaned again.
“Why the hell would someone send out invitations to a wedding less than a month before it was happening?” she grumbled to herself. They’d only given a week to RSVP.
Things like this were just one of the many reasons Aelin didn’t like dealing with her family.
Of course, it would be ten times worse if she went alone.
She supposed she could bring Lysandra, but she quickly realized that would be more trouble than it was worth. No matter how much she iterated that they were best friends, she knew that everyone would assume they were lesbians. Not that there was anything wrong with that; well, other than her extremely outspoken and homophobic uncle. And grandfather. And cousins. They’d make a scene, and she didn’t want to deal with that.
God, she hated her family.
Aelin was tempted to throw the invitation in the trash and act like it never happened, but she knew that her parents would want to see her, and they’d be disappointed if she didn’t go. Aelin sighed. She had to go.
It was going to be torturous, but it would be ten times worse if she went alone. She refused to do that. But there was one small problem.
Where was she going to find a date?