Saturday
“Don’t you dare do it, James.” He was holding the piece of cake close to my face and it was way too big of a piece for me to eat.
“Do what?” He smashed the piece of cake against my mouth.
I leaned forward so it wouldn’t get all over my dress and laughed. I immediately grabbed his piece and shoved it against his lips, smearing the icing across his cheek.
He laughed. “Delicious. You have a little something there,” he said and touched the tip of my nose with his hand that was covered in icing.
I laughed and grabbed a napkin. “Chocolate cake was a terrible idea,” I said. I licked the corner of my mouth. But he was right, it was delicious.
“But it looks so good on you.” He handed me a cloth that a waiter had just given him.
I quickly wiped away the mess along with most of my makeup. Luckily most of the pictures had already been taken. “You missed a spot,” I said and wiped my finger across his cheek. I put my finger in my mouth and licked off the icing.
“Are you just trying to make me forgo the hotel again?” He raised his left eyebrow and snatched the cloth back from me.
***
The song had slowed down and I was swaying in James’ arms. I had been staring into his eyes the whole time. I couldn’t seem to stop. He was my husband. James Hunter was my husband. It was hard to wrap my head around it. I was married to the man of my dreams.
James smiled. “What are you thinking?”
“That I can’t believe I married my professor.”
“Any regrets?”
I shook my head. “None.”
The song stopped. I thought another would start up, but instead, I heard the thump of the mic.
“It’s time to see who’s wedding we’ll be celebrating next!” the D. J. said. “Someone get a chair in the middle of the dance floor.”
Rob dropped Daphne’s hand and pulled a chair up to me and James.
“This should be properly embarrassing,” he said with a wink.
Embarrassing? There was nothing embarrassing about this. Unless I threw the bouquet too hard or something. I had seen someone throw it into the rafters before. But we were outside. I’d be fine.
“Mrs. Hunter, take a seat and let your new husband find your garter.”
I laughed and sat down in the chair. James kneeled down in front of me and lifted up my skirt slightly. He bent down and his head disappeared beneath it. I hadn’t even thought about how horribly awkward this would be. God, Rob was right. This was definitely embarrassing.
James kissed the inside of my knee and then my thigh. He was purposely taking a long time just to mortify me. He knew exactly where it was from earlier.
I felt his fingers slowly wrap around the garter and he pulled it gingerly down my thigh. He reappeared a second later and made a face like it had been hard work.
He laughed and smoothed my dress back into place.
Everyone seemed to think it was hilarious. “Ow, ow!” all the groomsmen yelled.
James winked at me and stood back up.
“All the single men please make your way to the dance floor,” the D. J. said.
“All those sexy bachelors!” Justin said and clapped his hands.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“And all the single ladies, stand on the other side of the dance floor,” the D. J. said.
I saw all my friends make their way to the dance floor.
“You or me first?” James asked.
“I’ll go.” I turned away from the group of girls. I threw my bouquet behind my back and immediately turned around to see who would catch it. It landed straight in Melissa’s arms without her even trying to grab it. She laughed awkwardly and tried to hand it to Bee, but Bee shook her head.
Melissa shrugged and smiled at me.
As soon as I was back from my honeymoon, we could have that conversation I promised her. Just thinking about it made my stomach twist with guilt. And not just because of the fact that Tyler had left her because of me. It was also because this was the first time all day that I had even thought about Tyler. But it was better that he wasn’t here. It wouldn’t have been right. Maybe one day we could be friends again. The way I thought we had been this whole time.
James shot my garter belt into the group of bachelors.
Matt jumped up and caught it. He smiled as he walked over to Melissa. He grabbed her waist, pulled her in close, and kissed her.
A few people gasped. They were suppose to share a dance, not a kiss.
But in a few seconds, Melissa grabbed the back of his neck, ensuring that he wouldn’t stop.
“Wow, I did not see that coming,” James said and put his arm around my shoulders.
I smiled. “I think they’d actually be really good together.”
“Yeah? They’re both such strong personalities though.”
“I’m just saying I could see it.”
Melissa laughed as Matt kneeled down in front of her. He lifted up her skirt and slid the garter up to her thigh. She put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself and squealed when he kissed her thigh.
“Now it’s time for the bride and groom to go get busy!” the D. J. said.
“Oh God.” I put my hand over my face and James kissed my cheek.
When I opened my eyes again, everyone had formed two lines for us to walk between. And everyone was holding sparklers.
I thought the night already looked magical. But with those, it was just perfect. James grabbed my hand and we laughed and ran through all the smiling faces. When we reached the end of the line, James grabbed me and kissed me. Everyone cheered. It felt like I would never stop smiling. Like life could always be this perfect. James let go of my waist and we turned to wave to everyone.
I heard a loud boom. Fireworks! I turned to look up in the sky. But nothing was there. Just the stars that had magically appeared for our wedding. I felt James’s hand on my shoulder. A second boom rang out before I had even turned back toward him.