Places people, the wedding is about to start.

The big event had finally arrived! Alexa’s and Daniel’s wedding. Of course, Vinny had already had a couple of big events of his own this weekend but he still wanted to top it all off at the wedding. As he primped himself for the nuptials, Vinny made sure to recharge his batteries with a combination of elements that always picked up his energies while training. Banana, coconut water, a zinc and magnesium tablet as well as a little creatine for the blood pump and he was ready for another round.

A final spray of his cologne before he left his room and Vinny was all set. He had just pressed the button for the ground floor in the elevator when he saw one of Alexa’s bridesmaids turn the corner in the hallway and wave for him to hold the elevator. It was Astryd, Alexa’s friends from Barbados who had flown over to be part of the bridal party. Vinny caught the door for her as it was closing, he’d not spoken to Astryd before and could use the time together to make his introductions.

Astryd was a real Caribbean beauty with dark curly hair pinned up, light caramel skin and the biggest green eyes Vinny had ever seen. It was her smile that was the knockout though.

“Hey, Astryd right? I’m Vinny, one of The Groomsman,” he said when she was safely inside.

“I know you. Alexa has told me all about you,” Astryd returned with a beaming smile.

Vinny was confident Alexa hadn’t revealed everything about him.

“You’re the boxer, right?” Astryd said as she hopped onto the toes of his feet and gave him a quick one-two in the stomach.

“Ref! Ref! Low blow!” Vinny played along laughing. In truth, he was happy to start some sort of physical contact between them and he actually found Astryd all the more charming for it. “Shouldn’t you be with Alexa and not beating poor me up?”

Astryd laughed at the thought she could beat up Vinny. “Aww, Alexa says you can take it. And give it. Her hair got a little shaken lose this afternoon. She needed a few bobby pins to hold it all in place and well when you’ve practically got a ‘fro like me you have plenty of pins.”

Astryd has was anything but an afro. It was a curler than most women but hung long and graceful.

Vinny told her this, “your hair is beautiful. You don’t have an afro at all. The hairdresser did such a wonderful job.”

Vinny got another big smile, “careful Pretty-mouth or I’ll knock some more sense into you.”

The elevator dinged open out onto the lobby and Vinny allowed Astryd to exit first. As she did, he took a good lock at her slender hips in the long bridesmaid dress. Tall and lean, just perfect he thought to himself. The two parted ways there, Astryd to join Alexa and the other bridesmaids with the hairclips and Vinny out to the back lawns of The Treasury building where the chairs had been set up for the ceremony.