Epilogue

SIXTEEN MONTHS LATER, JANUARY 12

Jack

I stood at the end of a makeshift aisle in Gran and Gramps’s lush backyard. It had been transformed into a light-filled wonderland. Every tree, bush, and branch was covered with tiny bright white lights. I waited underneath the large tree where lanterns flickering with candlelight hung from the branches. Oversized Mason jars were lined up in two rows, forming the aisle, and each jar was filled with a few inches of quarters to hold up the white candle burning inside. I glanced at the few round tables decorated all in white and smiled. My eyes grazed past my old teammates from Fullton State, Melissa’s parents, Cassie’s parents, Gran, Nora, and, finally, Matteo and Trina, who started dating pretty soon after Trina and Kyle broke up. I found myself smiling at our group of friends and family filling the small space, excited to share our intimate moment with us.

I loved the fact that Kitten and I shared the same views when it came to today. Thankfully, neither one of us needed a large formal wedding to mark the special occasion. Although in all honesty, I would have given her anything she wanted, we both craved the privacy and security that only our close friends and family could provide. So we opted for a more casual setting and dress code. I looked down at my charcoal gray suit and adjusted my black tie.

Where the hell is Dean?

I smiled at Gran, who was already holding a tissue to her eyes, as I stepped away from the altar. She dropped her hand and asked, “Jack? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to find Dean.”

I stormed into the house, trying not to accidentally see Cassie while I looked for my brother, who just happened to disappear minutes before I was supposed to get married. I peered into the empty kitchen. Glancing in the front yard and the living room and finding them empty, I made my way back toward our bedrooms.

Both of our bedroom doors were closed. I knew Cassie was in my room, so I knocked on Dean’s before turning the handle. I didn’t wait for a response before I opened the door and barged inside.

“Shit. Really?” I eyed my brother, lying on top of a partially clothed Melissa, his tongue down her throat and his hands who knows where.

“Get out, Jack. Jesus,” Dean shouted, covering Melissa’s body protectively.

“Do you think you two could figure your shit out after the vows? I’d like to get married sometime today,” I shouted, my patience wavering.

I slammed the door and knocked on the door to my old bedroom. “Kitten?”

“Don’t come in here, Jack!” she yelled, and I laughed.

“I’m not. I just wanted to say I can’t wait to see you. Make sure those two actually leave the bedroom, please. Tell them they can fuck after the vows.”

“Oh my God,” she called out through the door. “Is that where Melissa is? I’ve been waiting for her to come back for like half an hour!”

“Well you’re going to be waiting forever if you don’t go drag her out of there. I’ll see you soon,” I said, leaning my cheek against the door.

With another hasty knock on Dean’s door, I yelled, “Today little brother! Let’s go!” Since he obviously couldn’t be trusted alone with Melissa, I waited for him to come out of his room before I walked back outside. I nudged him as we headed down the aisle toward the tree. “Really couldn’t wait until later?” I whispered.

“You kidding me? With her, later might mean never. I gotta take what I can get.”

I shook my head. “I do not envy you, brother.”

“Yeah?” He gave me a look. “Well, I sure as shit envy you.”

“You should,” I told him and I meant it.

If I weren’t me, I’d envy me. I shifted my weight between my legs as I waited for the best day of my life to begin. People always talk about being nervous on their wedding day, but I wasn’t. If any emotion surged through my body, it was excitement. I couldn’t wait to make this girl my wife and spend the rest of my life making her smile.

The processional music started and everyone rose to their feet. I stared at the back door as if my life depended on it. Melissa walked out first, a huge smile on her face. I noticed that she locked eyes with Dean and never stopped looking at him her entire walk down the aisle. She wasn’t fooling anyone.

All my thoughts disappeared, my mind going blank, the moment I saw Cass in the shadows. When she stepped out of the darkness and into the backyard, my heart jumped from my chest and flew into her hands. She looked so fucking beautiful walking toward me in that strapless white dress. I grinned like an idiot. I know because my cheeks burned, and I couldn’t stop the feeling if I tried. Not that I wanted to try.

Her hair was pulled back, revealing her delicate neckline, and my mind raced with dirty thoughts. All the blood rushed from my body and into one place the second I started thinking about all the things I wanted to do to her. Shit, I couldn’t get married with a fucking hard-on. Think about something else; think about anything else. Think about baseball.

Fuck.

When she finally arrived at my side, I reached for her hand, caressing it with my thumb as she gave me a subtle squeeze. “You look beautiful,” I whispered as I leaned toward her.

“You look hot,” she whispered and gave me a little wink.

Gramps cleared his throat, and I glanced up at him. He stood before us with a businesslike expression on his face. After he’d gotten ordained online with Dean’s help, Gran told me he took his role in the wedding very seriously. “I have the most important job of all. I have to get it right!” She told me, he said.

Gramps swallowed once before asking, “Shall we begin?” He started reading the first few lines of the ceremony, and I struggled to keep my impatience in check.

I was standing before my family and friends, marrying the only person in the world I’ve ever wanted to marry. There would be no annulling this marriage. No end to this beginning. No trade for this team.

People spend their lives searching for their one true love, their other half. I found mine in college, dancing in a fraternity house driveway. Lucky for me, she found me right back.

I can’t wait until she’s knocked up.

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 647