Going to the Chapel
Part 4
The dinner goes well. Everyone just sits around laughing and talking, and it isn’t weird at all. Which is nice, considering these are the people who will be spending all of tomorrow together. Of course, our friends usually get along, but you never know with Brooke and Jake, and Peyton and Luke have their weird thing now.
“This food is so good,” Luke marvels, shoving a forkful of baked ziti into his mouth, “Peyt, let’s make sure to come back here, okay?”
“If you’re going to get fat off this food, we aren’t coming back,” Peyton warns him, rolling her eyes when he ceremoniously stuffs another huge forkful into his mouth, “God, you are such a pig. You could at least pretend to have some manners now that you’re a father.”
I roll my eyes at Nathan, but I think we’re all still relieved that they’re just back to sniping at each other. It’s a definitely improvement from where they were before James was born. Brooke is across the table from me, glaring at the two of them, just as annoyed as Nathan is beside me.
“Can I make a toast?” Dan asks, standing up. Nathan nods, giving him permission. “I’m pretty sure that I’ve already said this, and even if I haven’t, it has been true for a long time now, but I just want to welcome you to our family again, Haley. You make my son very happy, and I’m proud that he has such good taste.”
Everyone laughs at that, and I can’t help but blush. “Thank you,” I smile to him, “I really appreciate that, Dan.”
The only person who doesn’t look pleased is Peyton, but there’s really nothing to do right now but ignore that. If she’s never going to confront Dan, then she’s never going to gain his respect. There will always be drama in this family, I’m convinced.
“Do the rest of us get to make toasts now?” Lucy pipes up, holding her glass of wine in her hand expectantly, “I have a few things to say to Hay and Natie boy.”
“Call me that again, and I’ll flash around those pictures – “
“Nathan!” I interrupt, glaring at him. There was a night a few weeks before graduation where Lucy and I went out with some of the girls we were friends with. A lot of drinking was involved, and skinny dipping also came into play. Nathan found the disposable camera that I’d brought with me and got the pictures developed. “Ignore him,” I mumble to Lucy.
“Right,” she agrees, her eyes narrowing at him, “So is it okay?”
“Yeah, go right ahead,” Nathan agrees, smirking at her. Great, now these two can get into it.
“Nathan, I don’t know what you have pictures of, but it is highly unlikely that they’ll bother me even in the slightest,” she tells him, sitting back down, “Someone else go first.”
“Oh, that is so my cue,” Brooke grins, standing up and raising her glass. “Okay, I’ve known you both for a long time now, and I consider you both – yes, even you, Nathan – to be among my best friends. And all I want is for both of you to spend the rest of your lives being deliriously happy. I love you both, I’m proud to call you my friends, and I just know that you’ll have the happiest marriage ever.”
“Aw, thank you, Brooke,” I smile, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. “We love you, too.”
“Yeah, thank you,” Nathan agrees, smiling widely at her. “Okay, who gets to lavish the love on us next?”
“That’s my cue,” Jake says, standing up, “Congratulations. It feels like this day is a really long time coming – I’m still sort of surprised you two didn’t get drunk and try and elope in high school.” Brooke smirks at me. “No, really, I’m thrilled for you both, and after everything we’ve been through together, I can honestly say that I have no doubt in my mind that you will, like Brooke said, have the happiest marriage ever.”
“My turn,” Lucy announces, jumping out of her seat, “Okay, I always like to tell Haley that the very first time I saw her and Nathan together, I knew that they’d end up together. Married. She still doesn’t believe me, but it’s true. The way he stared at her, the way she looked like she would’ve paid me big bucks to get me out of that dorm room. It was obvious. And the sweetest part? It still is.”
“Lucy!” I exclaim, “I think I’ll believe you now!”
“Because I’m always right?”
“No, because that’s the nicest sentiment in the world! And I would’ve handed over my life savings if that was what it took!” I laugh.
“Would’ve been good to know,” she smiles and everyone else laughs.
“Damn, if I’d have known you only wanted to get in my pants,” Nathan starts, laughing when I elbow him in the ribs.
Peyton stands up, James in her arms. Nathan stands up, too, reaching across the table to take the baby from her. “This kid’s feet won’t hit the ground until he’s five,” Dan predicts from where he’s sitting.
“Well, when I first found out about Nathan and Haley, I was pissed,” Peyton starts, “Maybe not pissed, but I was worried that Haley would get hurt, and that’s the last thing I wanted for her. I was wrong, though. Ever since you two got together, you’ve both been so obviously happy that there is no doubt in my mind that I was completely wrong in my assumptions. And I’m really happy for you both, and I’m really happy that my son will have you two in his life, together.”
Even Nathan looks touched by that, and when I go around the table to hug her, he follows, hugging her – without giving James back – as well.
“Great, I have to follow someone who got hugs,” Luke pouts. “I’m not really sure where to start. I guess that I want to follow Dad’s lead and welcome you to the family, Hales, even though we’ve all thought of you as a part of it forever. When we were in junior high, if we came home without you, Deb would ask us where you were, if you were alright. None of us needed you to have some official or legal tie to the family, but it doesn’t hurt that you will. Now you can’t get rid of us as easy,” he winks.
“She can still get rid of you,” Nathan tells him, “She’ll just have a harder time getting rid of me.”
“Maybe I won’t want to get rid of anyone,” I laugh, taking my turn and standing up. When Nathan remains seated, baby James tucked safely in his arms, I motion him up, too. “We just want to say now, thank you all so much for your support and love. You are the most important people in our lives, you’re our family, and we don’t know what we’d do without you all.”
“Yeah,” Nathan agrees, “Thank you for everything. Even Brooke and Lucy.”
“Hey!” they both exclaim simultaneously.
“No, really, we’re lucky that we have you all, so thanks.”
“I wanna say something!” Jenny whines from where she’s sitting between Brooke and Luke.
”Of course,” Nathan smiles at her, “What do you want to say?”
“I want to tell my daddy and Brooke to get married, too so I can be a flower girl again!” she exclaims, smiling proudly at Nathan. I wonder if Brooke bribed her into saying that.
Jake’s face turns red, and Brooke just smiles sweetly at him. “Uh, yeah, Jen, we’ll talk about that later, okay?”
Brooke rolls her eyes, leaning over and whispering something in Jenny’s ear, causing the girl to giggle and nod. “Thank you for making me the flower girl, Nathan and Haley.”
“You’re welcome, kiddo,” I smile at her, beaming when Nathan reaches across the table to give her a high five. It’s so strange, but he’s so good with kids. It makes me wish for our own now, which is weird because that always seemed like something so abstract, so far in the future. I guess the future really is now.
“I can’t believe tomorrow is the big day,” Peyton comments, shaking her head, “It feels like forever since we went shopping for your dress.”
“Brooke tried to kill me that day,” I tease, laughing with Peyton and Brooke’s shocked expression. “What? It’s true!”
“Oh, you two are so full of it!” she exclaims, laughing with us, “Neither of you would know good fashion if it jumped up and bit you in the butt!”
“Brooke, that dress was about seven times her size!” Peyton protests, “It was so fluffy that you wouldn’t have even seen her. It was trying to swallow her, I swear.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Brooke pouts, “It was very fashionable, anyway. Romantic.”
“I think the dress that you ended up with is very romantic,” Lucy promises, smiling at all of us, “And my dress is drop-dead gorgeous on me, thank you very much.”
“As if we expected anything less,” Brooke winks.
Peyton, however, just groans. “Let’s can this talk of dresses and how great you all look. Remember, one of us just gave birth, and is really not looking forward to suiting up to walk down an aisle in front of all of Nathan’s basketball friends.”
“Oh, no, you look so wonderful in your new dress!” Lucy insists to her, “I’m serious, it’s great on you, Peyton. No one would ever know you’d just have a baby.”
“Why does it matter what Nathan’s basketball friends think, anyway?” Luke asks snippily, “Shouldn’t you be concentrating on our son?”
“Stuff a sock in it, Scott!” Brooke orders, glaring at him. Peyton is glaring, too, but hers is worse and obviously what makes Luke back down.
“Who wants dessert?” Dan asks, looking up and down the table warily. I’m guessing he has no desire to be in the middle of a Peyton/Luke fight, of which he has probably witnessed many lately.
“Cheesecake,” Jenny enthuses, “Daddy, I want cheesecake. I saw it on the menu!”
“One cheesecake,” Dan smiles at her, all of us trying to ignore Peyton and Luke and their glaring and huffing and squinting. “Anyone else?”
We all give our orders when the waiter comes over, even Peyton and Luke can the glaring long enough to tell him what they want. Dessert goes by quickly, and when we’re getting ready to leave, Peyton pulls me over to the side.
“I can’t take this any longer,” she sighs, looking like she’s on the verge of tears.
“Can’t take what?”
“This – this whatever it is that is going on with me and Luke right now. Half the time I want to kill him, and the other half I want to run away with him. I don’t know what to do, Haley,” she whines, falling into my arms.
“Oh, honey,” I sigh, rubbing her back, “Peyt, just give it time. You guys have been separated for about seven months now, and before that, you had been having major problems. Why are you trying to rush this one way or another?”
“I just want things to be settled, I guess,” she shrugs, looking miserable, “For James’ sake, for mine, for everyone’s. But then I think, no, that’s the stupidest reason in the world to get back together with someone.”
“What do you want?” I ask her seriously.
“I want to trust him again.” She shakes her head, tears filling her eyes. “I want to know that he isn’t just with me because of James. I want to know that there is something more there for us, and that he isn’t going to meet someone new and leave me again.”
“Just take your time, Peyt,” I advise her, not sure what else to say, “You can’t rush into it, but you can’t write what you had off, either. Let him show you what he wants. We both know he will; Luke was never good at concealing his feelings or subterfuge.”
“No, he wasn’t,” she agrees with a small smile, “I guess you’re right. That’s about all I can do right now, isn’t it?”
“As far as I can see, yeah,” I nod, “Unless you already know with a certainty what you want. But since it doesn’t seem like you do, then I say go slow.”
“Thanks Hay. I’m sorry, too, about getting nasty with him here.”
“If it makes you feel better,” I smile, “I think he deserved it.”
She laughs at that. “Yeah, it does. A little bit, at least.”
“I’m sorry you’re going through all this, Peyt,” I tell her, “I really am. You two, you deserve better than this, you deserve better from him. I think he’s realizing that, too.”
“Well, I hope so,” she smiles, “I just don’t know. We’ll see, though. Maybe I’ll get my happy ending, too. Maybe next time we have a wedding, you’ll be my matron of honor, and you’ll give birth a week before you have to walk down an aisle in a dress that shows off your big, huge boobs and your not flat stomach.”
“Bitter much?”
“Yeah, much,” she agrees, laughing. “No, really, Haley, thank you.”
“For what?” I smile.
“You’re my best friend. I know you said in the hospital that Luke is mine, but he isn’t. Maybe he was awhile ago, but not now. You are, you always have been. I love you so much, and you know that you’re about the only person I trust, right?”
“Oh, Peyt,” I sigh, pulling her into another hug, “I love you, too.”
“I know,” she nods, “And I know Nathan is your best friend, you know that’s okay. I just wanted you to know that you’re mine.”
“For now,” I laugh, pulling back.
“For now,” she agrees, winking at me. “So, what do you say we go rescue your husband-to-be from my son?”
“Ha, I think it’s the other way around,” I sigh, rolling my eyes, “You do realize that he’s going to be demanding children soon, right? And it’s all your fault!”
“Don’t blame me, getting pregnant wasn’t really my first choice in how this was all going to play out,” she reminds me, “It isn’t my fault that I’ve produced an awfully cute kid.”
“He is cute,” I agree, “Gorgeous. I can see why Nathan fell in love with him so fast.”
“What about you? Aren’t you going to want to make a little playmate for James soon?” she asks, smirking at me.
Shrugging, I pick at a piece of imaginary lint on my shirt. “I don’t know. I mean, I definitely want babies with Nathan. No doubt about it. But our life is just starting, and maybe I just want it to be me and him for awhile, you know?” I ask, sighing, “And he has this crazy idea that we have to plan it down to the month we try and make the baby, and it sounds so clinical and not fun.”
“It won’t be like that,” she smiles, “Face it, you two are going to figure it out, and you’ll both be happy when you have them.”
“I know,” I agree, “I just don’t want to disappoint him if he wants to start right away. I just don’t know that I’m quite ready yet.”
“I wasn’t ready at all,” she points out, “But things do have a way of working out, Haley!”
“Ugh, you’d have to throw that in my face,” I laugh, shaking my head, “Okay, let’s go rescue your kid from my husband.”
“Your almost-husband,” she corrects with a laugh, “Don’t go getting ahead of yourself there.”
Yeah, whatever she says.
~*~
“Happy one month anniversary,” I purr into Nathan’s ear from my perch half-atop him.
“Back at you,” he smiles, turning his lips to mine. “Feels like I’ve been waiting forever to hear you say that.”
“Yeah? A month is what we’re calling forever now, huh?”
“I’ve been waiting longer than that,” he corrects, “And I know you have, too. I’ve wanted you to marry me forever.”
“Liar. Not forever,” I tease, “Just since college.”
“No, that’s when I knew you would marry me,” he corrects me again, “I’ve wanted to marry you since I first met you.”
“Aw, I love it when you get sappy and romantic.”
”Hey! I’m not sappy. Romantic, maybe, but not sappy,” he growls out sexily, ruining the effect by pulling away from me, “I’m not sappy.”
“Babe, you’re a tough guy,” I tease, “But you also have a sappy streak.” When I try and pull him back to me, he resists, sitting up and swinging his legs off the side of the bed. “Nathan, where are you going?”
“Somewhere with someone who doesn’t think I’m sappy,” he mutters.
“Oh, come on,” I sigh, not wanting this to turn into some random first fight as newlyweds, “Are you seriously getting bent out of shape because I called you out for being sappy? It isn’t a bad thing, I don’t know what your problem is!”
“You’re calling me soft, Haley.”
“What? No, I’m not,” I argue, climbing onto my knees behind him, “That isn’t what I’m saying at all! You aren’t soft, nothing about you is soft.”
“This is stupid,” he mutters, and I don’t disagree with him. I’m not even sure what this is or what it is about, but I know that it’s stupid.
“Why are you so upset?” I ask quietly, not wanting to push him further away.
“I – I don’t want to be one of those whipped guys that gets totally wrapped up in his wife,” he gruffly explains, “And God, I’m so that guy already. I always have been, I think.”
“Nathan, that doesn’t make you sappy,” I whisper, laying my cheek against his back, “Besides, it’s mutual, I’m completely wrapped up in you, too.”
“Why does that not make me feel much better?”
“Gee, thanks,” I pout, sighing deeply.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” I nod, my face still pressed against him, my hands on his hips. “I love how you love me. And I love how I love you.”
“Then what’s the problem?” I question softly.
He shakes his head. “I don’t know, I guess. It just – you consume me, Hay. You’re all I think about most of the time, and I – is that even normal? Is that how it is for other people?”
“It’s how it is for me,” I admit, “I think about you all the time, too.”
“I’m just afraid that – God, I don’t even know, Hay. I don’t even know.”
“But something is bothering you,” I press, leaning against him, “You don’t have to tell me about it, but I’d like it if you would.”
“What if loving you this much makes me soft?”
“Love isn’t a weakness, baby,” I assure him, “It’s a strength. This, what we have here and now and always, it makes us strong. That’s why we’re together. That’s why we couldn’t stand waiting any longer and just had to get married. We’re strong, so much stronger than we would be apart. I really believe that.”
And I do believe that, with all my heart. It hurts a little that he doesn’t always automatically recognize it for what it is, but that’s Nathan. It’s part of who he is to hold a little skepticism, especially about the important things. Plus, the good thing about Nathan is that he always comes around to the right side.
~*~
Today is my wedding day. Well, today is my second wedding day, I guess. Maybe Pastor Joe was right; this will get weird, having two different wedding days. It doesn’t matter, though; I wouldn’t trade how we did this for anything in the world.
I can hear everyone else in the house moving around, so I just snuggle closer to Nathan, who snuck back in here last night after being kicked out by Lucy and Brooke. “Today’s the big day,” he murmurs sleepily.
“I know,” I grin, raising my head to look at him, “Excited?”
“Sure,” he agrees, “You?”
“Not as excited as I was on that plane to Vegas,” I tell him, lacing my fingers with his, “But yeah, I think this is going to be a really great day.”
“Me, too,” he yawns, pulling me closer to him, “I should get out of here before Lucy and Brooke come barging back in. Those two are the last people I feel like getting screeched at by today.”
“Oh, and screech they will,” I agree, stifling a laugh, “Don’t leave yet, though. This is nice, being in your arms.”
“Hay? You’re in my arms every night and every morning,” he points out wryly, “Cutting it a little short this morning isn’t too big of a deal, is it?”
“I suppose it shouldn’t be,” I agree, smiling to myself, “But I still like it. And we are getting ‘married’ today. Is it so wrong that I want to spend some more time with you before the tradition Nazis keep us apart for the rest of the day?”
“You make a great point,” he concedes, “So, I really won’t be able to see you until the ceremony starts, will I?”
“Nope, you know that they’ll make sure of it,” I sigh, “Probably even Peyton will be in on that one. No one will let us sit around and hang out today.”
“Then I guess you’re right, we’ll just have to stay in here for as long as we can.”
“I like the sound of that,” I grin, rolling on top of him, “Good morning, Mr. Scott.”
He returns my grin. “Good morning, Mrs. Scott. Hey, pretty soon we’ll be able to take these rings off of our necks and put them where they belong.”
“I know,” I giggle giddily, “I’m so excited about that.”
Just as I’m moving to straddle him, the door flies open behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I groan to see Brooke. “I knew it,” she smirks, “Hot shot there wasn’t in his own bed, and he wasn’t with Jake and Luke at the gym, so it was pretty obvious where he was. Out.”
“This is my room,” Nathan gripes, “I shouldn’t have to leave.”
“Oh, fine,” she agrees, sweet as pie, “But that just means that we’ll have to move you, Haley, and all your stuff. Which is about twice as much stuff as Nathan’s, but hey, who’s keeping track?”
“Obviously you,” Nathan grumbles, kissing my cheek as he moves out from under me, “Fine, I’ll go. But you aren’t keeping us apart all day, Davis. This is our wedding, and we get to do it our way.”
“This is your second wedding,” she retorts, laughing delightedly when his eyes widen in surprise, “So we’ll just do this my way.”
“How – what – you don’t know what you’re talking about!” he sputters, looking at me for help.
Shrugging, I admit the truth. “She figured it out yesterday at the rehearsal.”
“When you dragged her off,” he sighs, glaring at Brooke, “You better keep your big mouth shut, Davis.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anyone. But come on, face facts: I might know, but no one else does. And they’ll be expecting me to keep you two in line. So, release and separate already.”
“Of all the people to find out,” Nathan grumbles, still glaring, but this time it’s evenly split between me and Brooke. I just shrug at him.
“Well, it looked like a nice wedding,” Brooke smiles at him, “I’m happy for you. Oooh, can I be the first to offer my congratulations?”
Even Nathan has to smile when she gives him a hug. “Thanks, Davis. You’re annoying, but at least you’re usually annoying on our behalf.”
“That’s the benefit you get of her being on our side,” I laugh, winking at Brooke.
“That’s right,” Brooke agrees, moving to jump on the bed next to me, “Now, just fair warning, Luce is on her way up here. You might want to scram, Nathan.”
Sighing, he nods, grabbing his shirt from the floor and pulling it on. “Call me, Hay. Whenever you get a few free minutes. And Brooke, don’t let her freak out about the details, okay?”
“No problem,” Brooke readily agrees, lying down beside me, “Now, really, get the hell out of here. We’ve got a whole lot of girly things to do.”
He leaves, but not before blowing me a kiss and flipping Brooke off. I lay back next to Brooke, trying to calm myself a little in the face of all this excitement.
“So, you ready?” she asks.
“Ready for what?” I ask skeptically, “The wedding isn’t until tonight, I don’t think it would be prudent to start dressing now.”
“Of course not,” she agrees, “But Peyton and Lucy are on their way up with a totally awesome looking breakfast. Lots of carbs and everything. Oh, and Lucy made it, don’t worry. You know neither Peyton nor I can cook at all.”
”Yeah, I know,” I laugh.
“Anyway, Lucy went all out, with Dan’s help. I know he’s been cooking for a few years now, but still, weird. But it looks really good, and I for one am totally going to break my diet for it,” she rambles, sounding suspiciously like me when I’m nervous.
“What’s going on?” I ask curiously, “Is something wrong?”
“No, why would you think that?” she giggles, and I know without a doubt she’s nervous about something.
“Brooke, just tell me what’s going on, okay?”
Sighing, rolls onto her side, facing me. “Peyton and Luke had a big, knock down drag out this morning. They were so loud they not only woke up James, but Jenny was pretty startled, too. How you slept through has something to do with how tired you probably were from whatever you and Nathan were doing last night.”
“Damn, what was this one about?” I sigh.
“She told him she doesn’t want him in their lives, and that she was going to get an attorney so they could resolve James’ custody.”
“What?” I gape, “But I talked to her last night, and things were going better for them! She was going to take things slowly, not make any rash decisions. Did something happen?”
Brooke sighs deeply again, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know. Not that I can tell. Everything she was screaming about was old stuff. The thing is, Luke was devastated. He didn’t see it coming, Haley. He was crying.”
“Oh, God,” I sigh, biting my lip, “This – this is not good.”
“No, it isn’t,” she agrees, “It was so out of the blue. I don’t even get where Peyton is coming from right now.”
“Are they really coming up here with food?” She nods. “Good, I’m starving. And damn, what are we supposed to say to her?”
“Well, she’s doing a kick-ass job of pretending that nothing happened, so I’m following her lead. You’re free to make your own bed, though.”
“Ugh,” I groan, staring up at the ceiling, “Think that there is even the slightest chance in hell that they’ll play nice?”
“Oh, nope, absolutely not,” she giggles with false enthusiasm, “Luke is pretty pissed by the change of attitude. He’s not going to put up with this.”
“Just another day in the life, huh?” I joke futilely, “Well, I guess it wouldn’t be our little gang if there wasn’t some kind of drama, huh?”
“Nope, probably not,” she smiles, “But hey, it’ll be okay. They’ll just do the deep freeze thing on each other. I’m sure there won’t be any throwing of cake or stemware.”
“Reassuring,” I laugh, looking towards the door as it enters, and Lucy and Peyton come in pulling a service tray that must’ve been left around from Deb’s days of parading caterers through the house.
“Surprised to see you in bed with someone?” Lucy quips, “Not really. Surprised that it’s Brooke instead of Nathan? More than a little.”
“Hey, I give good bed,” Brooke promises, winking lecherously at Lucy.
“You’re dirty,” I laugh, giving her a shove. “Okay, let’s eat, I am so starving.”
“Of course you are,” Lucy grins, “I’m sure Nathan was in here all night, right? Nice of you to cover for her, Brookie.”
“What can I say, I’m a nice girl,” Brooke agrees, smiling unabashedly. The rest of us just kind of laugh at her for that. “It’s true!”
“So, you ready to get married?” Peyton asks quietly, passing around plates and silverware, “You look ready.”
“You mean the lolling around in bed thing passes as ready?” I laugh, getting up and heading for the serving cart, “God, this food looks good, Luce!”
“Darlin’, of course it does,” she nods, “My mama did not raise a slouch in the kitchen!”
“I’m getting fat just smelling those grits,” Brooke sniffs, pouting, “Diets out the window today, girls.”
“Damn right,” Lucy agrees, “Today is a day for celebration! Oh, I’m so excited for this wedding!”
“Me, too,” I chime in, “I am so excited for all of this. God, and I can’t wait to wear that dress! Or see the flowers. All of it, I’m excited for all of it.”
“You should be,” Brooke says, “This is your wedding! And your best friends are here with you, and this is going to be a perfect day.”
A perfect day.
~*~
“Your dad called earlier,” Nathan tells me as I walk in the door from work. Blinking rapidly, I stare at him, trying to put the words together and see if what I think he said is really what he said.
“He called. Did you two fight?” I ask with a sigh.
“Nope, it was actually pleasant, if you can believe that.”
“Well, I’m not sure I can,” I smile, walking past him towards the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge, I come back out, finding him in the living room, and I unceremoniously collapse on his lap. “I missed you today.”
“Have a bad day?”
“Just long,” I yawn, snuggling into his lap, “Sometimes I really miss the community center.”
“So do I.”
“Yeah,” I sigh, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Life has changed a lot lately, huh? In a good way, I mean, but things have really changed.”
“You mean like being married?” he asks, his fingers running lightly over the back of my thighs. “Or moving here?”
“Moving here is more of an adjustment than married life,” I smile, kissing his neck, “Not a bad adjustment, either.”
”It’s weird, though. Not bad, like you said, just weird. I sort of miss college life, being on campus, the center especially. All the kids.”
“Me too,” I sigh, tightening my hold on him when his fingers glide up over my rear end, “But being here with you is something that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world, Nathan. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” he smiles, cupping one of his hands behind my head, pulling me to him for a sweet, soft kiss. His other hand has moved up under my shirt, and is toying with the clasp on my bra. “You are wearing way too many items of clothing, wife dear.”
“Ugh, when you say it like that, we sound like some old couple from the fifties or sixties!” I exclaim, wrinkling my nose at him.
“Oh, so sorry,” he smiles, kissing me again. This time I let myself melt against him, my hands moving back to help him with the hook of my bra. “I could’ve done that,” he smirks.
“Not one handed,” I wink, “And I happen to like where your other hand is.”
He gives me a smack on the rear, and I laugh at his playfulness. “You like that, huh?”
“Let’s just say that you won’t hear any complaints from me,” I assure him, capturing his lips with mine, “Mostly because I plan on kissing you senseless and otherwise occupying my mouth.”
He grins at that. “Speaking of something that won’t prompt a whole slew of complaints; that would be your mouth on me. All over me.”
“High hopes, huh?”
“Damn right.”
~*~
Just a half hour to go. One half hour until the wedding starts, and then not long after that, we can wear our rings on our fingers and not have to worry about what we say in front of everyone else anymore.
“Haley?” Peyton calls from the room where I’m getting ready, “Your parents are here.” She gives me a sympathetic look, and I groan aloud, half afraid that it is more than residual from the crap they’ve pulled lately and that they’re being jerks today. So it is a pleasant surprise when they come in, Mom smiling widely and Dad not looking like he’s completely disgusted with the whole thing.
“Mom, Dad, hi,” I greet them, standing up to hug them both. Brooke is behind me, straightening out the dress as I get to my feet. “I’m so glad you’re here!”
“Haley!” Mom exclaims, rushing forward to hug me, “Oh, honey, you look so beautiful. Jimmy, doesn’t she look beautiful?”
He clears his throat, nodding at us. “Yeah, you look really beautiful, kiddo.”
“Thank you,” I beam at them, nodding to Brooke when she points to the door, smiling gratefully when she pulls the other girls out of here with her. “I’m sorry you missed the dinner last night. You’ll love seeing Peyton’s son, he’s so precious.”
“She told us that she named him after you,” Mom smiles, brushing a hand over my cheek.
“Me and Nathan,” I nod, “Although, the latter was probably more Luke’s influence. But he’s a sweet baby. Everyone is just crazy in love with him already.”
“So, everyone else is here, too,” Dad says gruffly, “Everyone packed, and the whole James family enchilada is here for the big day.”
“Really?” I gasp. Some of my siblings had scattered to far away corners of the country, and no one was sure if they’d be able to make it or not. “That is so great! I knew Taylor would be here, but she was the only definite.”
“Well, everyone is here,” Mom smiles, “I’m sure it will be an interesting evening.”
“You mean that in a good way, right?” I ask, laughing nervously, “No one is here to cause trouble, are they? Because I get that you guys don’t fully approve of this, and I can live with that if I have to, but this is really important to me.”
“Haley, relax,” my mom shushes me, “No one is going to do anything that will hurt this evening at all, I promise.”
“Okay, okay, good,” I grin, hugging her again as the dress swooshes around me, “I’m really happy that you’re both here. You look so nice in your tux, Daddy.”
“Thanks, honey,” he finally smiles, “Not half as pretty as either of you two, though.”
“Ah, Jimmy, flattery will get you everywhere,” Mom grins, “So, I hear that there is a limo of some sort waiting to take us over to the bluff. What’s this about everyone else taking buses?”
Grinning, I shrug. “They’re nice buses. A/C and everything.”
“I don’t suppose you two have finally figured out that just because you have money, doesn’t mean you have to spend it,” Dad says mildly, but my hackles go up immediately at the criticism.
“Jimmy,” Mom cuts in noting my defensive posture, “This is their wedding, of course they want to go all out and make it fabulous.”
“Well, still,” he gripes, “Scott won’t always have a basketball player’s income to fall back on. It wouldn’t kill either of you to spend a little less.”
“Frankly, Dad, you have no clue what we spend,” I mutter, grabbing my dress up, trying to storm out. Mom puts her hands on my shoulders, forcing me to stay put. “Look, I meant it, Dad, when I said that if you don’t want to be here, you don’t have to. M – Mom will give me away on her own, if necessary.”
“No, of course it isn’t necessary,” he sighs, instantly contrite, “And I’m sorry for butting into your business like that. Now isn’t the time, and perhaps it isn’t my place at all.”
“Its fine,” I excuse him, “I just really want you to be happy for me and for Nathan as well. We’ve both worked hard for this, and we have something special. Maybe if you came around a little more often you’d see how much he gives me, how happy he makes me.”
“Well, Jimmy, I don’t know about you,” Mom starts, obviously intent on playing the diplomat today, “But I’ve never seen anyone glow as much she’s glowing right now. So it’s pretty obvious how happy you are, and if Nathan is to thank for that, then we’ll both give you – and him – our blessings.”
“She’s right,” Dad agrees, taking my hands, “I guess it is just a little harder than you’d imagine giving away your baby daughter. Sometimes I still look at you and see the little girl who used to cry because Taylor would cut her Barbie’s hair. Sometimes I wish you were still that little girl, you understand?”
“Yeah, I understand,” I whisper, smiling tremulously at both of them. It’s hard not to fault them sometimes, but if they’d stayed, who knows how my life would’ve turned out? And since I’m so pleased with the end results, if they’re willing to make a tiny bit of effort, then I’m going to take it at face value and be happy with it. For me, if for no one else.
“Well, then, are you ready to go?” Mom asks, helping me with the dress.
“Oh, I am definitely ready,” I grin, practically bouncing giddily in the heels that were specially made to match the dress.
We go out together, and Brooke, Peyton, Lucy, and Jenny are all waiting for us, jumping out of their seats when we come out. We all ooh and ahh at how great everyone looks now that we’re all completely put together, and we hustle out to the limo. We’re a little ahead of schedule, but since I’m so anxious for this, I don’t mind that a bit.
Everyone gathers to the back near the doors, so I move up closer to the driver, needing a few minutes to myself. My vows aren’t complete, and I’ve decided to go up there and wing it, just saying what I feel. Nothing was coming out the way I’d wanted it to on paper, and so I’m hoping that when I see him, I’ll know exactly what to say.
If not, I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t leave me at that altar.
There are so many thoughts rushing through my head, things I’m trying to remember to say to him, that it is almost overwhelming. This is one of the main reasons that having two weddings seemed so important – being able to stand up in front of our friends and family and tell each other how we feel, how we love each other. And now I’m terrified I’m going to biff it.
I know that wouldn’t matter to Nathan. I could stand there and start babbling like a lunatic and he’d still love me, but I want to do this right for him. He does everything for me, he makes my world a better place, and I need him to know that. I need him to hear it through more than just ‘I love you’. I need him to know and understand some of the thousands of reasons why I feel this way.
Peyton comes back, sitting down beside me. “Now, I know you aren’t having second thoughts, so what’s up, buttercup?”
Smiling at her, I shake my head. “I’m just trying to write my vows in my head. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?”
She grins at that. “What happened to my tutor friend that used to be over prepared for everything?” she teases.
“Nothing sounded good enough,” I admit, sighing, “Everything I put down on paper just paled in comparison to how I actually feel about him. I’m hoping that some miracle will happen and – “
“And the teacher will postpone the test?”
“No! Shut up,” I laugh, “That wasn’t what I was going to say. I guess that I’m hoping – and praying now – that when I see him, it’ll all come to me.”
“You know what I think?” I raise my eyebrows questioningly at her. “I think that you will absolutely know what to say when you see him. And hey, I’m a mother, I’ve got that intuition thing now.”
“For James,” I laugh, shaking my head, “Thanks, though. It means a lot.”
“Well, you mean a lot, so you know.”
“Oh, no, is this where we get sappy?” I demand, trying not to laugh any harder.
“Not without us!” Lucy calls from where she’s passing around empty champagne glasses, “But it is time for the toast.”
“Ooh, goody!” Brooke exclaims, rubbing her hands together eagerly, “No, Jen, you can’t have any, sweetie.”
“Oh, I brought her cider, Brookie, no worries,” Lucy assures her, handing Jenny back the glass Brooke ripped away. “It was beginning to look like it was for Peyton, too, but she took care of that.”
“Would I have had to sit at the kiddie table, too?” Peyton jokes.
“You bet,” Brooke grins, scooting back to pass us filled glasses, “Okay, so I don’t think that I have anything sappy left in me to say, so I’m just going to say that I’m so damn happy for you. You and Nathan are so great, and I know you’ve waited a long time for this. I just – I love you guys, and this is so wonderful.”
“Thank you, Brooke,” I beam at her, taking a sip of the champagne, “Oh, my gosh, this stuff is good!”
“Woah there,” Peyton cautions as I take a few more sips, “That’s not going to help the on-the-spot vow writing.”
“Hey! It can’t hurt it,” I smirk at her, shrugging as I down the rest of the glass, “More please!”
“Great, Nathan lets us borrow her for a few hours, and Brooke turns her into a lush,” Lucy teases, passing the bottle back my way, “He’ll never let her out to play again.”
“Shut up!” I laugh with them, carefully accepting the glass that Peyton has poured for me, “You guys are mean. But I’m so glad that you’re all here.”
“Of course you are,” Brooke smiles, “Because we are the prettiest friends anyone could ever want, right?”
”Oh, right,” I agree, stifling my laugh, “You guys are beautiful.”
“We’re here!” Jenny squeals, bouncing in the seat, “Oh, it’s time to get married, Haley!”
“I know, kiddo!” I laugh, letting Peyton fix my veil for me. “I am so ready to do this.”
“Then let’s go!” Brooke enthuses, as excited as Jenny and me. “I’ll go find Pastor Joe and see if there isn’t any reason to get started a little early, okay?”
“Thank you!” I beam at her, as Peyton and Lucy help me out of the limo, hefting the dress up over my knees so it doesn’t drag on the ground.
“You look hilarious like that,” Peyton laughs, smirking when the photographer comes over and starts clicking pictures of all of us standing together, the girls fussing over me. “You dress all hiked up over your knees.”
“Don’t laugh at me!” I order, laughing with them, “You’re not the one in a dress that seems to weigh eight tons trying to hold it up so it doesn’t drag in the dirt!”
“Well, here, let us help,” Lucy insists, grabbing up one side, “Peyt, get the other side.”
“Where are the flowers?” I ask, looking around nervously.
”Brooke will bring them, don’t worry,” Peyton insists, “Everything is here, everything is ready, especially Nathan. It will be perfect, Hay.”
“I know,” I nod, taking a deep breath.
Brooke comes bounding back to us, grinning as the florist follows her with her assistant and our bouquets in tow. “He is ready to start whenever we are.”
“Well, then we should get this started,” Mom suggests, taking my free hand and squeezing it, “Would you like a moment with your friends?”
“No, I mean, I just want to do this!” I laugh giddily, squeezing her hand back. “Why wait, right?”
“Yeah, why wait?” Brooke agrees, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” She starts ushering us to our places, and when we get to where we start our walk, I pause, looking around.
“Oh, my gosh, it’s perfect,” I gasp, “It is exactly how I pictured it would be. Did – were you guys here this morning?”
“Guilty as charged,” Lucy admits, Brooke nodding beside her, “We just came and made sure everything sounded like it was just how you wanted it. We know how important this is to both you and Nathan.”
“Oh, you guys,” I sigh, trying not to cry and wreck the makeup that Brooke and Lucy spent an hour fussing over, “You’re all so wonderful to me. What would I do without you?”
“Run off and marry in a cheesy Las Vegas drive-thru ceremony,” Dad cracks, Brooke choking on air at the words.
Rolling my eyes, I play it off. “No way, nothing cheesy for us.”
“Bullshit,” Peyton laughs, “If it meant getting married, you and Nathan would opt for the cheese so damn fast no one would know what hit them.”
“She’s right,” Lucy grins, “But that doesn’t mean we love you any less.”
“Oh, be still my heart,” I quip, winking at Brooke. Taking a deep breath, I wave my arm toward the aisle. The photographer motions that we’re ready to go. “So, I guess that’s our cue.”
“You ready, Jen?” Brooke asks, pushing her gently towards me, “Give Hales a hug, and then you remember where to walk, right?”
“I remember, Brooke!” she practically yells, glaring at her father’s girlfriend, “You’ve asked me a million times now.”
“Okay, okay, just give the hug and go,” Brooke sighs, and as Jenny starts her walk down the aisle dropping the petals from the basket she’s holding, Brooke rolls her eyes. “How are we going to survive her teenage years if she’s this much of a terror as a six year old?”
Lucy ignores her, throwing her arms around me. “You look beautiful, Hay. The vows will go wonderful, you’ll see. Love you, pretty.”
“Love you, too,” I smile tearfully at her, blowing her a kiss as she turns to make her way down the aisle, pasting that big Lucy grin on her face that could charm the pants off of a snake.
My parents are standing behind us, waiting for their turn, so for a minute, it’s just Peyton and Brooke with me. I open my arms, and they both put theirs around me. “Oh, Hales, I’m so happy for you!” Brooke coos, kissing me on the cheek.
“I love you, Brookie,” I whisper in her ear, hugging her tightly, “You’re the greatest friend, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” she winks, pulling away from Peyt and me to head down the aisle.
“And then there were two,” Peyton notes, again nervously playing with my veil. “I think my sap quotient has been filled over the last few weeks. Dang, this last week, actually. Everything is changing.”
”Change isn’t bad, Peyt,” I assure her, “You know that.”
“I know,” she nods, “Especially this for you and Nathan. This is really good change, and I’m so happy for you. He’s a lucky man.”
“I’m a lucky woman,” I counter, laughing when she rolls her eyes. “You better go,” I nod, pointing that Brooke has reached the end of the trees and has turned the corner to walk down between the rows of chairs.
“Yeah, I better,” she agrees, kissing my cheek as Brooke did before she turns to go. “You are so going to knock them dead,” she winks.
“Thank you,” I whisper, smiling gratefully at her as my parents appear at my sides.
“You ready, kiddo?” Mom asks, smiling at me with tears in her eyes, “Oh, I promised I wouldn’t cry, but that was just silly. Of course I’ll cry.”
“No, you don’t have to cry,” I laugh, knowing that tears will definitely be present on my face tonight, “This is good, it’s happy.”
“I know, darling, but you’re our baby. You’re all grown up, and we have to officially, ceremoniously let you go.” She brushes a hand over my cheek. That calls for a few tears, baby.”
“Oh, Mom,” I sigh, hugging her quickly. I smile at Dad, still not sure how well he’s taking all of this, but he smiles back at me, picking up my hand and tucking it into his arm. “I’m ready now.”
“Haley, before we go, I have to tell you what I told each of your sisters,” Dad starts, causing Mom to groan, “If you want to change your mind, you just say the word. Don’t worry about it for a second, we’ll get you out of here no problem.”
“Dad, I promise, there is nothing I want less than to change my mind,” I smile at him, “I want to have this wedding as much as anything.”
“Then let’s go get you married,” he smiles, acceptance written on his face.
“Thank you, Daddy,” I whisper, leaning up to kiss him. “This is what I want; this is where I belong, with Nathan.”
“I know,” he nods, “And I’m happy you’ve found someone who gives you so much and makes you smile like this, baby.”
Mom squeezes my arm, and I look over to find her smiling as widely as Dad and I are. Until this second, I didn’t let myself recognize how important their approval and support were in all of this. But the second I had it, it became clear that I really do want it, that I need it.
We walk through the trees, and I let myself relax as I breathe in the cool, fresh air as the feeling of complete happiness washes over me. When we get to the top of the aisle, we pause, and the string quartet starts to play the bridal march as I stare at Nathan and he stares back at me.
We didn’t invite everyone that we’ve ever met; there are only about a hundred people here. It’s nice, and despite the fact that we’re outdoors, it feels intimate and close. I can see Nathan’s eyes the second we turn the corner to face him. It’s actually a little hard in an embarrassing way to maintain the slow and steady pace that this type of walk dictates. All I want is to run to him, to get this done with.
He’s staring back at me, not even taking his eyes away from mine when Luke leans forward, clapping him in on the shoulder and whispering something in his ear. He nods, though, and grins, but his eyes remain fixed on mine.
I have a vague awareness of the people around us, the people filling the chairs, and some part of my brain even acknowledges the jaunty twinkle of the lights strung throughout the trees and the sunset filtering in from behind me. The warmth of color that it adds to everything. It’s like I know it’s there, but Nathan is the only thing that I’m truly aware of right now.
There are other things that register slightly; the sound of my mother trying to hold back her tears mixed with the clicking of the photographers’ cameras and the sounds of the orchestra. I register my friends, my girls, off to Nathan’s right, each in various stages of crying. Funny thing is, I know I never look directly at them.
By the time we get to the spot where we stop and wait for Pastor Joe to ask who is giving me away, I’m chewing on my lower lip as I wait to have my parents place my hand in Nathan’s. Nathan is grinning at me, and I know he wants to give me shit about biting my lip, which I’m sure he will later.
“Who gives this woman to this man?” Pastor Joe’s voice rings out, interrupting my thoughts.
“Her mother and I proudly do,” Dad answers him, and I look up at him with a smile as he kisses me on the cheek. I turn to Mom next and she does the same, tears streaking down her cheeks.
Together, they place my hand in Nathan’s, and my father even goes so far to pat him on the back. It’s awkward, and Nathan looks a tiny bit weirded out by it, but it’s a start. A very good start. My parents melt away into the background, taking their seats in the front row and Nathan and I just stare at each other goofily, waiting for Pastor Joe to continue.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony." The whole time that he’s talking, all I do is stare at Nathan, waiting to be prompted to recite my vows to him. We ordered the pastor to keep things short, that we didn’t want a long ceremony, and he’s complied. “Nathan and Haley have chosen to say their own vows to each other. Nathan?”
”Haley, there was darkness in me for a long time and then there was light, and that light was you. Your love has given me life – not just any life, but the best life that I could ever want. More than I even have right to want. I pledge here today, before our best friends and our families, to be your husband from this day forward, forever. I’ll be your best friend, I’ll be your lover, and I’ll be everything that you will ever need. You are my world, my everything. I want you for today, tomorrow, and forever.”
He leans towards me until his forehead is touching mine and our noses brush together. I smile up at him, tears streaming down my cheeks as he brushes his thumb over my lips, causing me to stop biting. When he pulls back, I take a deep breath to prepare myself to speak my vows to him.
”Nathan, I have dreamed my whole life of having someone as wonderful as you love me the way you do. Every day that we’ve been together – before that, really – you’ve made my life better, just for having known you. And you know that I’ve loved you since I was just a girl, and I’m so lucky and blessed that I have your love in return today as a woman. I give myself to you as your wife, and I promise here to treasure for all of my days the love we celebrate today.”
“The wedding ring is the outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond which unites two loyal hearts in endless love. It is a seal of the vows Nathan and Haley have made to one another. Bless O God these rings that Haley and Nathan who give them, and who wear them, may ever abide in thy peace. Living together in unity, love and happiness for the rest of their lives,” Pastor Joe continues.
Nathan turns, taking the ring from Lucas. As he does this, I turn and pass my bouquet to Peyton, smiling at the girls as Brooke unties the ring from the ribbon on her bouquet we’d thought to tie it to, passing it to Peyton.
“Nathan, repeat after me: ‘Haley, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, with this ring, I thee wed.’”
It strikes me as odd for a moment that we’ve done this before as it all seems so new, but I just continue to gaze up at Nathan as if he hung the moon, my eyes only falling to our joined hands as he slips the ring on.
“Haley, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, with this ring, I thee wed.”
“And Haley, repeat after me: ‘Nathan, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, with this ring, I thee wed.’”
“Nathan, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, with this ring, I thee wed,” I murmur as I slip the ring Peyton hands me onto his ring finger, biting my lip again.
“In as much as you have each pledged to the other your lifelong commitment, love and devotion, I now pronounce you husband and wife, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Those whom God has joined together let no one put asunder.
Nathan, you may kiss your bride!” Pastor Joe finishes.
We step closer together, my hands coming up to rest on his cheeks, pulling him towards me. He’s grinning at me, tears in his eyes that mirror mine. There’s no jumping into each other’s arms this time; there is no need for that. This is slow, special, and soft, our breaths mingling as our noses bump just before his lips finally touch mine.
I set the pace; it is my tongue that first comes out to taste his lips, mine that first gains entrance. Again, things other than him are registering – applause and cheering from everyone behind us, Brooke doing that dog whistle thing that no one else I know can do, James crying from Dan’s lap. But mostly, as always, Nathan dominates all those things, and they just fade to the background.
~*~
We spend a lot of time out here in the pool or on the patio around it. We never do the backyard barbeque thing with friends or neighbors – this is our place, and we have an unspoken agreement never to share it.
Treading water in the deeper part, I stare up at his perch on one of the plush chaise lounges, almost ready to get out of the pool and climb on top of him. It wouldn’t be the first time, anyway.
“What do you think it will be like?” I call out as I swim over to rest my arms on the edge of the pool, my chin on my folded hands.
“What?”
“Our life,” I persist, “In say, twenty years, what do you think it’ll be like? What will we be like then when we’re middle-aged and boring?”
“Who says we’ll ever be boring?”
“Well, no one,” I shrug, “But isn’t that what happens?” Lifting myself up and out of the pool, I turn my back to him and let my feet dangle in the water. “So, really, where do you see us? Inquiring minds want to know, Nathan.”
“Where do I see us in twenty years,” he repeats, getting up from the chair he was reclining on to come sit beside me, “I see us here. Maybe not exactly here, but I see us like this. Spending a sunny June Saturday together out in our backyard, embarrassing our kids by making out. And when they go to hide in the house, we’ll slip into the pool and make love. Just like we’ll do now.”
Raising an eyebrow at him, I do as he suggested, and slip into the pool. I float backwards until I’m where I can stand, and then I put my feet down, waiting for him expectantly. “Well, aren’t you coming?”
“Oh, definitely,” he winks, causing me to blush. “First, I wanted to know what you picture for us in twenty years. Turnabout is fair play, Hay.”
Smiling at him, I nod. “Well, a part of me pictures us here, in this exact spot. You might be a little closer to me, of course, but this would do.”
“So happy that this works for you,” he smirks at me, his foot lifting to send a cascade of water towards me.
“I’m sure you are,” I smile back, wiping the droplets off of my face. “You know what else I picture?”
“Me naked?”
“Besides that,” I laugh, this time being the one who sends water splashing towards the other.
“If you say our friends here with us,” he groans, “You’re not getting any for a week.”
”Okay, first of all, that’s a lie,” I laugh, “And of course that’s not it. This is our place, just ours. Yours, mine, and someday, our kids.”
“Just us,” he agrees, grinning broadly at me.
“And the kids?” I persist, “How many?”
“God, Hay, how many do you want?” he asks, looking appalled.
“Not more than a few,” I laugh at the expression on his face, “But more than one. And close in age, too. Not like my family, where we’re all spread out.”
“Yeah? I like that. Before Karen left Luke with us, I didn’t have anyone you know. It shouldn’t be that way for our kids,” he nods, more to himself than me.
“It won’t,” I promise him, “They’re always going to know all the things that you and Luke and even me didn’t always know when we were growing up. They’ll always know that nothing is more important than them, and that we love them so much.”
He nods, pushing off the edge of the pool, swimming silently towards me. “Our kids will be so lucky to have you as their mother.”
“They’ll be equally lucky to have you, too,” I tell him as he reaches me. I’m standing, the water lapping around my belly button, but he stays sunk in the water, only his head and the tops of his shoulders above it.
“I’ll be a good father,” he tells me, so seriously that I move closer to him, needing to reassure him that I know that. “I – it won’t be like Dan, never. I promise you that.”
Frowning lightly, I place my hands on his shoulder, waiting for him to look up at me. “You didn’t really think that I thought that of you?” I question softly.
“No,” he smiles, and I sink down so that I’m at face level with him, “But sometimes I think that. Sometimes I worry I don’t know enough about kids.”
“You’ll be fine,” I beam at him, letting my hands wander down his back, “We’ll be fine. Our kids will be happy and healthy, and if there’s any justice in this world, every bit as pretty as you.”
His hands, which had wandered to my waist, tighten around me as he lifts me out of the water, throwing me towards the deeper end of the pool. When I push back above water, I glare at him, shaking my head.
“I told you not to do that when I was naked,” I pout, rubbing a hand over my stinging ass, “It hurts.”
He swims towards me, an almost predatory glint in his eyes. When he reaches me, he pulls me into his arms and floats us back over to where our feet hit the ground.
“Want me to rub it for you?”
He keeps me in his arms, crouching down as I wrap my legs loosely around his waist, the bottoms of my thighs hitting the tops of his. Moaning at the contact of his bare skin on mine, him brushing against me, my head falls forward to land on his chest.
“I asked you a question,” he persists, “Are you too shy to answer?”
Reaching between us, I relish the way his breath leaves his body in a long, slow hiss when I take him in my hand. “I’m not too shy for anything with you,” I whisper in his ear.
He pulls me closer to him, leaning against the wall of the pool. My arm is trapped between us, my hand still wrapped around him. “You’re killing me, Haley.”
“Oh, well, we wouldn’t want that,” I murmur, leaning in to trail wet, open-mouthed kisses down his neck, “That is the last thing we want.”
“Mmhmm,” he agrees, “Murderess wives usually don’t go over too well with juries.”
He pulls my hand off of him, keeping it in his own as he stands us up, lifting me out of the pool to sit on the edge in front of him. I keep my legs wrapped around him; if he’s going somewhere, I’m going with him.
“I want you,” I tell him, trying to follow him back into the water. He shakes his head, his hands trailing away from my hips to the outsides of my thighs. “Nathan, please,” I moan when his fingers set to teasing between my legs.
“Please what, baby?”
“Damn it, I want you now!” I gasp as his free hand slides up over my rib cage, stopping to rest against the undersides of my breasts. “Please,” I whimper.
“Your wish is always my command,” he grins, before pulling me back into the water with him.
The little startled scream I let out is cut off by his lips on mine, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
~*~
I’m pretty sure that there are people here I’ve never seen before in my life. Nathan assures me that we know everyone here, and that even if we didn’t, it doesn’t matter. It’s that last part that hits home – nothing matters but celebrating our marriage, even if it is months after it occurred. To everyone else here, today is supposed to mark that event.
Everywhere I go, Nathan is with me. The way it is supposed to be tonight. The way we both want it to be. It’s just us showing what a united front we are, even at the time we least need to show it.
I barely eat any of the food as we make our way from table to table, but the girls have the good sense to shove pieces of bread and fruit and cheese into my hand when they get the chances. I smile gratefully at them, noting that Nathan has no problem balancing a plate in his hand. Yeah, it’s not like he has a heavy-as-hell dress to maneuver around with or anything.
Nathan and I first part when a few guys he played with at Duke approach. They all hug both of us, ribbing Nathan mercilessly about having waited this long to marry me. I nod towards my family, gathered together at a few strategically grouped tables, and wander over to face all of them.
There are hugs all around and thousands of questions. I smile and hug them back and answer them all as patiently as I can, watching Nathan joke around with his buddies out of the corner of my eye. I can’t help but rather be over there.
Lucy comes running over to me, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the hall with her. Peyton and Brooke are in the room she drags me to, each holding two bottles of champagne. “Oh, my God,” I laugh, what the hell are you guys doing?”
“Toasting!” Peyton exclaims, winking at me, “Hey, I pumped my breast milk so that I could take part in this. You are damn well going to have a toast with us.”
”A whole bottle of champagne?” I ask, “For each of us?”
“Like old times, baby,” Brooke purrs, popping the cork on the first one and when it stops spilling over, hands it to me. Once the others are open, we stand in a little square, all smiling widely at each other.
“To friendship!” Peyton starts.
“To true love,” Lucy coos, giggling with Brooke as Peyton and I roll our eyes at them.
“To happiness,” Brooke adds.
“To best friends,” I whisper, holding the bottle out to be clinked with theirs before I start crying again.
“Damn right!” Brooke yells, holding her bottle high, “So, let’s make a promise.” The rest of us groan, knowing it will more than likely be something outrageous. “Shush, I wasn’t going to suggest meeting every year to go skinny dipping or something stupid like that. I was just going to say that we should all promise that Jake and I are the next to marry!”
I gape at her for a second before bursting into laughter. It’s just so selfish and so…Brooke. Lucy smirks, but holds her hand out and they seal it with a shake.
“Fine by me,” Peyton tells her, “You know I won’t be getting married any time soon.”
“Oh, never say never, P. Sawyer,” Brooke insists, “And if you must, I’ll let you cut. Just because of that cute son of yours, though.”
“I should get back out there,” I sigh, looking at the door, “Nathan is probably looking for me, and you know, there are guests out there I should be thanking for coming.”
“Sorry to deflate your ego,” Lucy laughs, “But Nathan is not looking for you right now. The guys took him off for their buddy-buddy toast thing. Probably a lot less nice than ours, but still.”
“Aw, don’t pout,” Peyton grins, putting her free arm around my shoulder, “We still love you, Mrs. Scott.”
“Oooh, that’s right, officially Mrs. Scott now!” Lucy bubbles excitedly as Brooke just smirks like she knows a secret. Which she does. Which I know she won’t tell on penalty of death.
“It feels so good to have a wedding band on this finger,” I admit, smiling at them all as I hold my hand up for them to see, “It looks good there, doesn’t it?”
“Come on, let’s get you back out there before someone comes in bitching that all of us are missing,” Brooke suggests, taking a swig from her bottle.
“That’s fine,” I agree, “But you have to leave your bottle here. Out there you can find a glass to drink out of.”
“Oh, always so proper, Haley James,” Peyton mocks, groaning when Lucy elbows her. “What?”
“Haley Scott, now,” is the reminder from Lucy, causing Peyton to blush.
Peyt blinks, a wide smile spreading over her face. “Hell yeah it is!”
“Hell yeah,” I echo, laughing as we make our way out of the room, “And it sounds good, right?”
“It’s really good,” Peyt is quick to assure me, “And it looks good on you, too. I swear, you look even happier now than you did before the ceremony, and that was pretty damn happy.”
“I am happy,” I tell her, taking her hand, “This has been a perfect day. Every part of it. Friends, family, weddings. All of it perfect.”
“Quit waxing poetic and go dance with your husband,” Brooke practically yells from behind me, shoving us through the door, Lucy giggling tipsily beside her.
Indeed, he’s waiting there, and there is music playing and it is time for our ‘first’ dance as man and wife. The second I spot him, I’m again lost; lost in him, and I barely hear the DJ announcing us and our first dance. I don’t even hear the song as we sway together, our lips meeting breathlessly.
I dance with my father after that, and then Dan, while he dances with my mother. He actually looks like he’s having a good time, which surprises me, and Dan again takes the opportunity to welcome me to the family. I guess he’s done it unofficially, officially, and now again that he thinks it has just become legal.
“Does he know how happy his mother would be today?” Dan asks quietly, looking down at me.
Pondering the question, I let my gaze slide over to Nathan, catching his. When he smiles broadly at me, I know the answer. “Yes, I think he does. We both know.”
“Good,” he says lightly as the song winds down, “It – there are a lot of times when I miss her, and to be honest, most of those times are for Luke and Nathan. She and I, well, we were bad together. She loved those boys, though.”
“They both know that,” I tell him as he guides me off the dance floor, “Nathan knows it. It took him awhile, but he knows.”
“I’m glad,” he smiles, “She always knew that you two would end up together. I didn’t believe her, but she obviously saw something there that I didn’t.”
“Thank you for telling me that,” I smile back at him, “But could you do me a favor? Tell Nathan. Sometimes it still isn’t so easy for him, dealing with her being gone.”
He nods in understanding, looking over to Nathan as he approaches us. “I will do that.”
“Thank you,” I murmur, opening my arms for Nathan to step into when he reaches me.
“I hear that it is time for me to shove cake all over that pretty face,” Nathan smirks, whisking me over toward the cake tables.
“You better not,” I counter, “You know, cake is what led to us getting married in Vegas. Maybe we should treat the cake with a little more respect.”
He laughs at that. “You can’t talk me out of this,” he warns, “You’re getting cake smeared all over your face, baby.”
Rolling my eyes, I know he’ll never go through with it. “You talk the big talk, big boy, but I don’t think you walk the big walk.”
He just laughs again, pulling me flush against his side. The photographer is there, and we pose for the various pictures he instructs us to take. It’s sort of like being in a fishbowl since everyone is standing around cooing at us as we follow his instructions. When the posing is over, I pick up a piece of the cake, holding it to Nathan’s mouth, giggling when he nips at my fingers with his teeth.
When he picks up the other piece, he immediately dives it at my face, stopping before the cake hits it. Everyone laughs, and I just roll my eyes, motioning for him to get on with it. It took a lot of time and effort to find a baker to make this huge, amazing cake, and damn it, I want to taste it already. When he moves it towards me this time, he’s slow and careful; until it touches my lips. Then, he mashes the cake against my mouths, taking care to smear the frosting up over my cheek and down my chin.
“Nathan!” I shriek, laughing in spite of myself, “You weren’t supposed to do that!”
“I told you that I was going to!” he insists, laughing with me and everyone else, “You should learn to trust your husband!”
Leaning down, he licks some of the frosting off of my cheek, causing my blush to deepen. Catching him off-guard, I smear my face against his, sharing the frosting facial with him.
”Two can play at that game,” I smirk up at him.
“We’re taking some of this cake with us to the hotel tonight,” he whispers in my ear, winking when he pulls back to wipe the mess off of his face.
The servers come back out, and usher us out of the way so that they can cut and serve the cake. Nathan pulls me off to a corner of the ballroom, smiling wolfishly before leaning down and cleaning the rest of the frosting off my face, using his own special methods.
“You’re a mess,” he comments, his tongue tracing over my jaw.
“Mmm,” I moan, “Wonder why.”
“I should give you a spanking for getting all messy like this,” he practically purrs in my ear, his hand sliding down my back to grope my ass.
“Nathan, wait for the honeymoon,” I murmur, barely able to force the words out, “Not the place, baby.”
“It’s the time, though,” he insists, trying to pull me deeper into the shadows with him.
“Yeah, it’s the time for the bouquet and garter toss,” Brooke’s loud, suddenly very grating voice interrupts us, “Get your sexed up asses out here!”
We don’t protest as she pulls us back out there, although Nathan makes sure to pout at her and call her a few choice words, which she surprisingly ignores like a champ. Sitting me down in a chair, she tells us the garter removal and toss is first.
“Okay, gentlemen!” she orders, getting them all up on their feet with the snap of her fingers, “I need all you single men out here now. That means you, Mr. Scott! And bring James with you. He has a better chance of finding a woman willing to take him than any of you!”
Dan shakes his head, but passes the baby to Peyton and good-naturedly makes his way out to the floor with everyone else.
“Use your teeth!” one of his former Duke teammate’s yells, “Let’s see some leg!”
Nathan flips him off even as he kneels in front of me, his hands on the hem of the dress. Looking up at me, he winks. “You look gorgeous in this dress.”
“Thank you,” I smile, leaning forward to kiss him, ignoring the hoots and hollers from the crowd, “Now you better put on a good little show. We’d hate to disappoint, right?”
He grins at me, slowly sliding the dress up my legs, his hands all over me the whole way up. The garter is high on my thigh, settled there by Brooke because I’d forgotten to put it on before I was in the dress and the dress made it impossible for me to do it myself.
“Higher, baby!” Jake yells, Brooke cheering alongside him. Lucy lets out a wolf whistle, and even Peyton and Luke are standing together, laughing at the spectacle.
“Hands or teeth?” Nathan asks, turning around to wink at the crowd. Rolling my eyes, I let my head fall back as I laugh in mild embarrassment.
“Teeth!” is the overwhelming response, and Nathan is happy to dip his head down, first biting and then sucking the skin just above the garter hard enough to leave a mark and cause me to squirm in the chair before taking the garter between his teeth and pulling it down my leg and over my foot.
Jumping to his feet, he keeps it clenched in his teeth, pumping his fists for the cheering crowd. Clapping and cheering with them, I laugh at his antics as he jumps up on the chair beside, motioning for the single men to gather behind him. Over his shoulder, he flings it, cheering with the rest of us when it is Luke who ends up holding it.
“Way to go, bro!” Nathan laughs, smacking him on the back. Laughing still myself, I pull Luke into a hug as he blushes. “You’re next, man!” Nathan continues.
“Thanks, Nate,” Luke shakes his head, smiling to himself, “Thanks a lot, man.”
“No problem,” Nathan laughs, pulling his brother into a hug, “Thanks for everything, man.” Luke nods, looking a little choked up before he pulls away.
Brooke comes rushing back up to us, clapping her hands together eagerly. “Okay, now it is time for the most important part of the evening!” she announces, “The bouquet toss.” Looking at the crowd, she sighs dramatically. “Single ladies, if you must,” she smirks, emphasizing ‘must’.
There’s a balcony overlooking the ballroom, and instead of letting me toss the bouquet from the chair like Nathan, I’m dragged up the stairs by my mother and one of my aunts to toss it from there. The photographer makes me stop there as he takes a few more pictures from below, before motioning that I can continue with the toss.
Scanning the room, I see my target, and smile to myself. I owe someone big time for keeping a huge secret for me, and not only will she get what she wants this way, but she’ll get some major amusement out of it, too. Only turning half around, I throw it sidearm, pleased when it lands in the grasp of exactly who I was aiming for.
“No! No way!” Jake yells, “Do over! Do over! I'm not supposed to get this!”
Winking at Brooke, I shake my head. “This isn’t hopscotch, Jake, there are no do overs in bouquet tossing!”
Brooke throws her arms around him, laughing as she kisses his cheek. “My beautiful, blushing bride!” she enthuses, not letting go when he tries to squirm away from her.
Nathan stands back up on the chair, quieting the laughing room. “I think now it’s time for the traditional dance between the man who caught the garter and the…man who caught the bouquet.”
Both Luke and Jake turn bright red, and everyone laughs harder at their discomfort. Jake looks like he wants to take Nathan’s head off, and Luke just looks like he wishes the floor would swallow him whole.
“You’re evil!” Jake tells me a few moments later after I dragged him out on the dance floor, “I can’t believe you’d humiliate me like that. Guess you really can hang with the Scott badasses, huh?”
“Oh, I’ve always been able to do that,” I assure him, “I’m probably the only one who can, too!”
“Bragging, very nice,” he laughs, “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this evil and tortuous receipt of the bouquet?”
“Actually, this is about what I owed Brooke,” I explain with a soft smile, “She proved again why no matter how big her mouth is, there is still no one more trustworthy than her.”
“Yeah?” he grins, “So, I get punished for her being a good friend? I’m not seeing how you arrived at this.”
“She wanted to catch it,” I smile, “But I couldn’t aim for her and not Peyt or Luce. You were the next best thing to tossing it to her, Jake.”
“I’m not sure if I’m flattered or insulted,” he sighs, shaking his head. “She did seem amused by it, though. And she would do anything for you.”
“I know,” I nod, “And I’d do the same for her. Hence you getting the bouquet. Plus, you have to admit, not only does this mean you two are next to marry, but it also means she got a wicked good laugh out of it. I think I’ve filled my debt.”
“What did she do, anyway?” he asks curiously.
“Oh, that is one secret that I know you will never, ever find out,” I smile, hugging him before stepping back to go find Nathan again. “Thanks for being a mostly good sport about this.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Nathan suggests the second I’m in his arms again, “And don’t forget the cake, either!”
Laughing, I just nod, knowing that one way or another, we’re going to end up with cake in our hotel suite tonight, smeared everywhere, pissing off the maid staff in the morning.
We run out of the room in a shower of rose petals and bubbles, Nathan bitching when one pops in his eye. We stop and hug our friends and family, Nathan taking special care to lift James into his arm and kiss the forehead of the sleeping child.
“It’s a turn-on, isn’t it?” Peyton asks knowingly in my ear, “When I see Luke with him like that, I forget that six days ago, I was on my back pushing that watermelon out of me without the benefits of heavy amounts of narcotics.”
Winking at her, I lean closer and whisper, “Well, he was already going to get lucky tonight, of course. Now? He’s not going to know what hit him.”
She laughs at that, and as soon as Nathan passes James back to Luke, using my free hand – the one not holding one of the tiers of our cake – shove him towards the elevator, lifting it only to wave over my shoulder to everyone.
Once the doors close behind us, Nathan takes the cake from me, setting it on the ground for the ride, and pulls me into his arms.
“I love you,” he says quietly, for my ears only. If he’s said it once today, he’s said it a thousand and one others. But who would turn down those words? No one in their right mind. Not from Nathan.
“I love you, too,” I whisper back to him, tightening my arms automatically.
“This is just the beginning.”
“I know,” I agree, smiling up at him.
It is definitely a beginning for us, and it is a beginning of many wonderful things. Of that, I have no doubt.
The End
