“Hi.”
“Hey,” she says. “I hope it’s okay that I’m here.”
“I did invite you.”
Her hands are twisting together, like she’s nervous. “I’m not with Wyatt anymore,” she says. “He left. Someone new, I guess.”
I reach out and put my hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“You shouldn’t be,” she says, “I’m the one who needs to apologize. I was an ass. I was so caught up in what I thought was love that I couldn’t see what an idiot he was or what a terrible sister I was. I’m sorry that I had any part in hurting you like that.”
“Thank you,” I say. “But I’m okay. Really. Obviously,” I grin. “Try to think of this as a lesson learned and a bullet dodged that you’re not with that asshole.”
“God, he really was, wasn’t he?”
We both laugh, and for the first time she meets my eyes. “I’ve missed you.” I pull her in for a hug. “I’m glad you came. Try to have fun. Try to forget for a little bit, okay?”
“Okay,” she says.
I glance back and see that Will has our food. “I’m going to go because I’m starving, but I’ll see you on the dance floor in a little while.”
The food is delicious, and it feels like everything is playing in fast forward. We cut the cake and I manage to get a little bit of frosting on Will’s nose before he catches my wrist. I throw my bouquet, dance with Will and my father, and then my mother and my sister. Then it’s dark outside and I’m starting to fade.
Will appears behind me, pulling me back against him. “Want to get out of here?” he asks.
“Yes please,” and just like that, all of my tiredness is gone. Even in the months that we’ve been together, our hunger for each other hasn’t faded. Will looks damn good in his tuxedo, and I’d make him wear it forever if I didn’t know what was underneath that tux.
“Do we make an announcement, or just disappear?”
“If we make an announcement,” I say, “there will be another half hour of goodbyes.”
He nods. “That’s a good point.”
“And I know you can’t want to see what’s underneath this.” I’ve been teasing him for weeks about my wedding lingerie—a confection of silk and lace and a corset that make my boobs look twice as big and my waist twice as small.
“No announcement it is.” He grabs my hand and tugs me through the doors of the ballroom before anyone has a chance to notice. We run like maniacs across the lobby of the hotel, laughing, my dress flying behind us. We slip into an open elevator, and Will presses the button before he kisses me. Just like the last time we were here, we fog the mirrors.
The room we walk into has walls of windows, and a giant bed, and a table… “Is this the room?”
Will grins a little sheepishly. “I thought it would be fun to revisit it, since it was technically our first wedding night. The second wedding night should be here too.”
I laugh. “That’s oddly sweet.”
“Now let me help you out of that dress.”
I turn, and he starts to work on the many small pearl buttons that line my back. Little by little the dress loosens, and then collapses into a giant pile of white silk. I step out of it and turn to face Will where he’s frozen in place, staring at me. I have sparkly heels on. The corset is attached to lacy garters and stockings, and just like he prefers, I’m not wearing any panties. “Worth the wait?”
“Hell yes,” he says, shrugging out of his suit jacket and then his shirt. “You know what else today means,” he says.
I shiver with anticipation, “Yes.”
We agreed that after the public marriage, we’d start to go without condoms. I haven’t forgotten the way he felt in that shed, the skin-on-skin friction delicious in an entirely different way.
Las Vegas is laid out in front of us and it’s beautiful. I didn’t get to enjoy the view last time. This time I’m totally sober. I look back and find Will on his knees. He presses me back into the window, spreading my legs and licking into me. “If I had known you were wearing this without any panties we would have left a lot sooner,” he says between licks on my clit. I can’t respond. He knows exactly what I like, and how to make me come, or hold me on the edge.
I melt into the glass of the window, feeling vertigo from the pleasure and the fact that there’s nothing but air behind me. His tongue is magic, working me in circles until I’m panting, forcing my hips closer to his mouth, but he doesn’t let me come. He strips the rest of his clothing off and stands. “Not yet, I want Las Vegas to see my filthy, slutty wife.” The smile on his face is nothing but love and mischief. Hands on my waist, he turns me to face the window and places my hands against it. “Now everyone can see if they look up.”