“Mascara, Adriana,” I gently scold.
She laughs, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “It’s showtime.”
According to Jen, the girls planned a simple wedding. No bridesmaids or groomsmen and a simple, short ceremony. The only thing I have to do, which I couldn’t have wanted any more at this moment, is to walk down the aisle with my dad.
My dad holds out his arm as he whispers, “Charlie, you sure about this?”
Without taking a single breath, I respond, “Never been so sure of anything in my entire life, Dad.”
He pats my arm, a slight build-up of tears in his eyes. I’m so ready. The violin begins to play ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love,’ the sweet melody prickling my skin with goosebumps.
On the cliff top, a place we had called ours, a new memory is about to begin. As I turn the corner, my eyes are immediately drawn to him. His emerald green eyes shine so bright, brighter than any light I have seen, and so without any hesitation, both my heart and feet walk toward him, finding their way to a place called home.
LEX
In life, we strive for perfection. Whether it’s emotional, physical, or material, and time and time again, we are reminded perfection is only momentary. Our natural instinct is to crave something greater, explore our want, our thirst, or our desire to find something superior.
As humans, our brains are programmed to think this way, but tonight at the stroke of midnight, my brain has been reprogrammed because perfection is walking down the aisle toward me like an angel of purity in all its beauty.
Charlotte’s smile radiates. A few more steps and she will finally be beside me.
Mark kisses her cheek before handing her to me and then, as I expected, as I craved, the jolt. Electrifying every single part of me, a constant reminder only she has the power to make me feel this.
I know without a single doubt she feels it too, and I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I lean in and ki
ss her lips, caught up in the moment.
“Charlotte, you are beautiful,” I whisper softly against her lips.
The celebrant interrupts us, and there under the pale moonlight, three minutes past midnight, I begin to say the words.
“Charlotte Olivia Mason, I promise to cherish you and love you unconditionally for the rest of our lives. I vow every breath I take and every beat of my heart belongs to you and only you.”
I slide the ring on her finger, once again kissing it before it’s her turn to speak.
“Alexander Matthew Edwards, I take you to be my constant friend and my loving partner. I promise to be faithful and devote myself to you, only you and our marriage. I give you my hand, my heart, and the air I breathe for as long as we both shall live.”
Charlotte slides the ring on my finger, again.
I don’t wait for the words, I kiss her. Five hours apart feels like a lifetime, and now in front of our family and friends, we are officially Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. There’s a roar, whistling, and clapping amongst our nearest and dearest. A soft violin piece plays in the background, and without warning, a burst of thunder rolls in on the horizon, but Charlotte doesn’t flinch one bit. She used to be terrified of the sound, never giving me an explanation as to why.
“How come the thunder didn’t scare you?”
“Because I have you to protect me.” She smiles, placing her arms around me as we continue to lose ourselves in each other, our lips unable to unlock until Rocky tells us to stop because it’s bordering on pornographic.
We pull away as the music starts, and right here, on our spot, we dance to what was once our song.
“I love this song.” Charlotte rests her head on my shoulder.
“I know… I wasn’t sure if—”
She interrupts me by placing her finger against my lips. “I don’t care what happens after. No one can ever erase the moment in time when we sat side by side playing the piano and singing. Whatever the hell happened after, I don’t care. That moment stuck with me, that song stuck with me, and, Lex, it is our song. It’s not tainted, and thank you for choosing it today for us to dance to.”
Charlotte is eerily calm, a perfect calm, and I feel my body relax, allowing myself to enjoy this dance with my wife.
The girls planned a simple ceremony followed by an even simpler reception here on the cliff top. Our loved ones surround us as they talk to each other and dance beside us. It’s to be followed by cutting the cake, my speech, then straight to our honeymoon where I get to enjoy Charlotte for a month. A month of fucking my beautiful wife all day, all night. Now that is heaven.
During our dance, people congratulate around us, but I manage to hold onto Charlotte tight because my fucking boner is standing out like an eyesore. Eric, the fucking idiot, is obviously amused by it all. I have the right mind to kidnap him and have women rub their pussies all up in his face just to teach him a lesson. The throbbing pain is unbearable, and I need a release, but how awful it would be if I was caught jerking off at my own wedding? For some reason, the others don’t have a problem. In fact, I can’t spot the others apart from Rocky, who looks pretty smug. I suspect he’s had his release already.