Forever (Empire High Book 8)

Chapter 43

Friday

Brooklyn

Matt had loosened his tie and abandoned his jacket somewhere. The combination of his shirt sleeves rolled up and his vest did something to me. And that smile. God I loved when he smiled at me like that. He had this way of making time stand still. And for someone who was always worried about running out of it, his smile calmed me.

He pulled me back in close. “Today has been perfect,” he said.

“So perfect.” I reached up and wiped a little icing off the side of his jawline. I wasn’t even sure how I’d gotten it there. I’d done my best to smash the cake right against his mouth.

We started dancing slowly even though the song was fast.

I looked around at everyone else dancing. Pretty much all our friends were very drunk. It actually reminded me a lot of homecoming. I smiled, the old memories swirling with the new ones as my hips swayed to the song.

Matt had wanted to right some wrongs from our past today by reading me his original vows. And there was something I’d always wanted to make right too. I should have run to him when I’d gotten in trouble after homecoming 16 years ago instead of running to James. I’d spend the rest of my life running into Matt’s arms. Or maybe just not leaving them at all.

Starting tonight.“Truly magical,” I said.

“Mhm,” Matt said with a smile. “Enchanting.”

“Fantastical.”

He laughed. “I’ll come up with synonyms for how perfect tonight is all you want. But I feel like maybe something else is on your mind?”

I bit my lip and looked up at him. “I just wanted you to know how much I loved today. But do you maybe want to get out of here?”

His smile grew even bigger. “I thought you’d never ask.”

I tried to pull him off the dance floor, but he didn’t budge. I looked up at him.

“There’s just one small problem,” he said.

I looked down at the front of his pants.

“What?” He laughed. “No. As fun as grinding all night with you has been…”

I hit his arm.

“…I wouldn’t refer to that as a small problem.”

“Fair,” I said with a laugh.

“The problem is that I don’t think we can go to the beach tonight.”

James and Penny had been kind enough to offer us their beach house for the weekend. I hadn’t been to Rehoboth since I was a kid. We were going to take a limo down and spend tonight and all day there together tomorrow. And then all our friends were going to join us on Sunday. Jacob had been so excited about getting to have a sleepover with Scarlett before joining us there.

“Why?” I asked. I’d kind of been thinking about limo sex for the last few hours.

“I don’t know if you’ve looked outside recently, but the snow never stopped. It’s a mess out there.”

I smiled. “Snow is never a mess. It’s one of my favorite things.”

“I know. Nevertheless, it’s not safe to drive all the way to Delaware tonight. I-95 is definitely a mess, even if the snow isn’t.”

I looked out the window. It was really coming down. “So should we just go home?”

He slowly shook his head. “I have a better plan. Do you trust me?”

“With my whole heart.”

He smiled. “Give me one second. I need to go talk to Nigel.”

Before I could protest, Matt dropped my hands and disappeared off the dance floor. I wasn’t sure what our evening had to do with Nigel…

“May I have this dance?” Tanner asked, stepping into where Matt had been standing.

“Yes you may.” I laughed as he pulled me in a little closer. He put one of my hands on his shoulder and grabbed the other before guiding me around the room.

Dancing with him felt like I was in a Disney princess movie. I loved dancing, but I didn’t know any fancy dances. But it was like I did when I was dancing with him.

“He’s going to love you for a thousand years,” Tanner said.

“A thousand?” I laughed. “More like…sixty.” I pressed my lips together. I didn’t ever want to think about losing him.

Tanner cleared his throat. “Right. Hopefully longer than that though.”

“Hopefully.”

He spun us around the dance floor. “I just want you to know that I’m always here if you need a shoulder to cry on.”

“I know, Tanner.”

“When you first came to the city, I know you flirted with me quite a bit but…”

I laughed. “I never flirted with you.”

“You asked me out on several dates, Brooklyn.”

“I did not…”

“You asked me to go to a high school homecoming game with you. If that’s not a date…”

“You asked me.” It had been a ploy to get Matt and I back together. He was remembering it all wrong. “You’re ridiculous.”

He smiled. “I try. But seriously, I’ll always be here as your friend. Forever. A thousand years,” he added with a laugh.

“Thanks, Tanner. Honestly if Matt hadn’t asked you to be a groomsman, I certainly would have asked you to be a bridesman.”

He smiled. “Even though I brought the two of you together and it’s not technically my match, I feel like a billion bucks tonight.”

“I think the saying is a million bucks.”

“For commoners, maybe.”

I laughed. “You are definitely not a commoner.”

“No. I’m ridiculous.” He winked at me and spun me around again. “I know the two of you are heading to the beach, but my offer still stands. I can have a private jet ready for you to go to my private island in just a few minutes if you want.”

It was very sweet of him to offer. But I’d been looking forward to a simple trip to Rehoboth. Although I doubted that James’ beach house was simple. It didn’t matter now anyway though. “It’s snowing too much for us to leave the city.”

Tanner looked out the window. “Oh no.”

“Matt said he had an idea…” I felt a tug on my dress and looked down at Jacob.

“May I have this dance, Mommy?” Jacob bowed.

And I realized where he’d learned that from. It was 100% a Tanner move. “Yes you can, sweet boy.”

“I’ll leave you in my grandson’s care,” Tanner said. “I should go help Matt with the arrangements. Congratulations, Brooklyn. Thank you for coming back. Thank you for making my friend smile again.” He kissed my cheek and then placed my hands in Jacob’s.

I blinked away the tears in my eyes and smiled down at Jacob. “You’ve been dancing quite a bit tonight.”

He shrugged. “Scarlett likes to dance.”

“And so do you.”

“But even if I didn’t, I’d dance with her.”

God, he was the sweetest boy. I lifted his hands into the air and we both shook our hips.

“Jacob, Jacob!” Scarlett said and ran over to us. “Can you dance with me again? Sophie stole Axel. And I like this song too.”

I looked over at Sophie and Axel hopping around the dance floor. It actually looked like Axel did not want to be dancing. But Sophie kept pulling him back onto the dance floor. They were so cute.

“Duty calls, Mommy.” Jacob dropped my hands and practically sprinted off.

I laughed. He was so smitten with her.

“So I took into account that you love snow,” Matt said.

I spun around and looked up at him.

“Close your eyes, baby.”

I shook my head, but closed my eyes anyway. He guided me off the dance floor and helped me into a chair.

His hand fell from mine and then I felt his fingers slide down my ankle.

“Matt.” I opened my eyes to see him kneeling in front of me right off the dance floor.

“You said you trusted me.”

“I do.”

“Then keep your eyes closed.”

I smiled and closed my eyes again. My breath caught as he undid one of my high heels and then the other. And then I felt the most comfortable slippers replace my heels. I sighed. So much better.

“Okay, open your eyes.”

I opened them. Matt was still kneeling in front of me. But he hadn’t put slippers on my feet. I was wearing snow boots. My eyes met his.

“We are going to go for a snowy walk to a very nice hotel that overlooks Central Park. If that’s okay with you.”

“How on earth did you get snow boots here that fit me so well?” I stared at the pile of jackets on the table next to me. “And where did all those jackets come from?”

He shrugged. “Nigel sorted out the logistics.”

“We helped too,” Mason said as he joined us. He and Bee were already in winter coats and snow boots too. “You’re staying with us tonight.”

“Oh.” Umm. I loved Mason and Bee, but I didn’t exactly want to spend my wedding night with them. I was thrilled that all of our friends were going to join us at the beach on Sunday. But I wanted some alone time with Matt right now.

Bee laughed. “Not with us. He meant at the hotel we live in. A separate hotel room. The honeymoon suite, actually. The owner owed us a favor after he took a week to fix…never mind. Not important. Are you guys ready?”

“Absolutely,” Matt said and kicked off his dress shoes. He pulled on a pair of snow boots too.

“This is going to be fun,” Rob said and walked over in a big puffy jacket.

“You’re coming too?” I asked.

“Not yet.” He winked at me. “But I’m sure Daphne will have me cumming soon enough.” He slapped her butt.

She looked truly horrified for a second and then laughed. “I have had too much to drink. And I get very handsy when I’m drunk. Wait, where did Sophie go? She was right here a second ago…”

“Don’t worry,” Penny said as she grabbed one of the jackets off the table. “We’re still on kid watching duty. But we figured it was safer to stay at the hotel than drive…crap, you’re right. Where did Sophie go?”

“Got her,” James said and pulled out her chair. Sophie had been sitting there pushing icing off her cake. She grabbed the cake in her hand as James picked her up.

It was like a big sleepover. But in separate rooms. And I could definitely get down with that.

“Is this okay?” Matt asked as he pulled me into his arms.

“It’s perfect.”

“Magical,” he said.

“Enchanting.”

He laughed. “Fantastical. Let’s find you and Jacob jackets that fit.”

It didn’t take long for us to all get bundled up. Nigel had even gotten us handmade mittens somehow. They were so warm and cozy.

“Wait,” Matt said. “We almost forgot something very important.”

He dropped to his knees again in front of me and started to lift up my skirt.

“What are you doing?” I tried to put my hands on his shoulders, but his head disappeared beneath my dress.

And then I felt his kiss on the inside of my thigh.

Jesus.

He grabbed my garter with his teeth and slowly pulled it down my leg.

Rob whistled as Matt’s head reemerged.

Matt winked at me and then turned around. He shot the garter into the air and even though Tanner tried to sidestep it, there was no room for him to move. It landed against his chest. He grabbed it, shook his head, and then handed it off to Rob.

“Dude, I’m married,” Rob said with a laugh and tried to hand it back.

“I am most certainly not the next man here to be married. Here.” Tanner grabbed the garter and handed it to my dad.

My dad looked equally bewildered.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Your turn,” Matt said and picked my bouquet off the table.

I looked around for Kennedy. I really wanted to aim it at her, but I didn’t see her or Felix anywhere. I smiled. They must have snuck off somewhere. I didn’t see Justin anywhere either. Or he definitely would have reminded us to do this before we left. I turned around, took a deep breath, and tossed the bouquet over my shoulder. I spun back around just in time to see it land in Scarlett’s outstretched hands.

“I’m getting married! I’m getting married!” Scarlett yelled. The smile on her face was so big. “Daddy, look!”

And now James was the one that looked bewildered.

“Sorry,” I mouthed silently at him.

He shook his head. The scowl he used to wear so frequently back in high school was etched across his face.

I smiled when Scarlett took turns holding the bouquet with Jacob and Axel for pictures. She was going to be so much trouble when she was older.

We said our goodbyes to our parents and other friends and headed outside into the snow. The whole city was hushed in a white blanket. I had a feeling I was really going to love winters here. I smiled and looked up at the sky, remembering dancing in the snow with Miller.

Matt wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided us toward the hotel.

I smiled when I saw Justin and Donnelley chatting by the bridge. As we walked closer, Justin gave me two thumbs up.

Even though it was cold, I felt warm with all the laughter around us.

We made it across the bridge before the first snowball flew through the air. It hit Nigel in the back of the head. I spun around to see Jacob laughing.

“Snowball fight!” Nigel yelled and then immediately got hit in the face with another snowball from someone else. He dove behind a big rock as the kids started pelting him.

I laughed and then screamed when a snowball hit my back. I spun around to see James laughing.

“Oh, it’s so on.” I leaned down and started to make a snowball. But I got pelted with two more before I stood back up. I tossed one at Rob and he used Daphne as a human shield.

“Hey!” Daphne tackled him into the snow in a fit of laughter.

Matt started throwing snowballs at Tanner.

Tanner looked completely shocked.

“Don’t tell me they didn’t do this overseas either?” Matt asked.

“No, they did.” He brushed the snow off his jacket. “I just didn’t think anyone was silly enough to start a war with me.” He made a snowball at record speed and started chucking them at Matt.

It took five seconds before the silent night descended into chaos.

“What the fuck?” Matt said and tried to block them from hitting his face.

I threw one at Tanner to help out Matt.

But Tanner didn’t seem at all phased by the cold snow. He was like a snowball machine.

And then the most shocking thing happened. Rob joined him and started pelting us.

They were working as a team. Finally. But in the worst way possibly for me and Matt.

Matt tried his best to shelter me from the flying snowballs. But they were coming from every direction now.

I tossed one at James.

He tossed three back at me at record speed.

Justin and Donnelley ran across the bridge and joined in too.

All you could hear was our laughter in the swirling snow.

Penny laughed as James took a snowball right in the face.

And Bee kept screaming and trying to hide behind Mason.

“Help me!” Mason said. But then he realized that Bee didn’t have any gloves.

Penny didn’t have any either, but that wasn’t slowing her down. She was throwing them even faster than James.

The kids had started making snow angels, already bored of the snowball fight. But the adults were very much enjoying attacking each other.

I tried to dodge a snowball from Mason and started to slip.

Matt caught me around the waist and somehow we both toppled into the snow.

He moved on top of me to cover me from the onslaught of snowballs.

I couldn’t stop laughing. But Matt silenced me with a kiss. God, I’d been dying to be alone with him all night. And even though it felt like just the two of us in that moment, I knew we were surrounded by people. And snow. So much snow. It fell around us and I couldn’t really describe the feeling in my chest. I felt at home whenever I was with Matt. But I felt it so much in that moment. It was like a piece of the lake house was back here in the city with me.

The tip of Matt’s nose was red. And his cheeks were rosy. And even with all the planning and craziness leading up to this day, I was pretty sure this was what I’d remember most. The snowball fight with our friends.

His lips fell from mine and moved to my ear. “So much for not ruining your dress.”

I groaned. I could already feel the chill seeping through the thin material. “At least it’s just snow. But you do have a good point. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“That we should get you and the baby out of the snow?”

I laughed. “Not exactly.” That was another good point though. I bit my lip, hoping he’d get the message that my thoughts were much more sinful.

He smiled. “Then you’re probably thinking we need to get you out of this wet dress and hang it up to dry. Immediately. So it doesn’t get ruined. Right?” He smiled.

I doubted he really cared about the state of my dress. He was staring at me like he was just excited to get me out of it. “Yes, please.”

He pulled me to my feet.

I took one last look at all our friends playing in the snow. When I was around Matt, I truly did feel like a teenager again. This was honestly madness. And the best wedding ever.

“Ready?” Matt asked.

I squeezed his hands. “I’ve been waiting for this moment all night.”