8
Elvira
THE DRESS I CHOSE was a simple, off-the-shoulder, white satin mermaid-style dress with a folded neckline and a sheer bow in the back.
Something good enough for a court wedding, but can also be worn at a dinner party.
I would have been fine with simply signing a document, but Levi had insisted on a court ceremony.
And when I said I didn't have money to buy a wedding dress, he gave me his platinum card and told me to 'go ham'.
I ended up picking three dresses: a simple shift dress, this one and a much more elaborate dress than had been chosen by Jess.
After I applied my makeup, I assessed myself in the mirror. The white satin was a beautiful contrast to my chestnut brown skin. The roll and tuck chignon I had done with the help of an online tutorial seemed tight enough not to unravel. All in all, I looked like a typical bride.
I had woken up at four and spent the majority of the early morning doing a silk press.
A mistake to leave it until the day of to do it instead of going to the salon yesterday like a normal person.
The thing is, I didn't want anyone to know, least of all my chatty hairdresser.
The college town was small. If I mentioned an event, wild rumors would spread.
Levi wanted me to dress up, but he also wanted our marriage to stay a secret. I did too.
A knock rapped on my door. It must be Jess. I had asked her to be a witness, and she had said yes before I could finish. She was more excited about this than I was.
"Coming!" I called out.
My new apartment was small, and a few short steps I was at the door. The person standing there was not Jess but Levi. My breath caught in my throat. He looked well-groomed and even more handsome in a dark blue suit, a navy bow tie, and a yellow pocket square.
He stood stock still, staring at me. Glaring. His gaze scanned my entire body. I pressed my hands down on the dress. "It's too much, isn't it? I'll go change."
He shook his head as though coming out of a trance. "No. It's per—" He cleared his throat. "It's good. It'll do." He adjusted his lapels, a gesture I would have thought to be borne out of nervousness if I didn't know any better. Nothing made this man nervous. "Are you ready?"
I nodded. "Let me call Jess."
He frowned. "I thought I told you not to tell anybody."
"Too bad Jess knew before I even agreed to it. She was the one who came up with the idea."
His face darkened. He did not look happy. "You didn't have to tell her when we were getting married."
"She has to know, she's going to be our witness."
His frown deepened, but I ignored him as I went back inside my apartment and went to look for my phone.
"There will be witnesses there. We don't need to bring an extra person!
" He shouted after me as I went into the bedroom.
I left him in the tiny living room, and when I got back, he was standing in the space between the living room and the kitchenette.
"I want someone I trust, just in case you don't end up human trafficking me or something."
He snickered. "And what would Jess do? Drop kick me?"
I nodded as I listened to Jess's phone ring.
"Yeah. She does kickboxing as a workout.
" At that moment, Jess picked up the phone.
"Sorry I'm late! I'm already at your door!
" She ended the call, and a few seconds later, the doorbell rang again.
Jess entered without waiting for me to open it, like she always does.
"Sorry! Sorry!" She was wearing a long yellow and blue floral dress paired with wedges and a reed purse.
She had ditched her signature glasses for contacts.
"Oh wow," she said when her eyes landed on us. Levi and I were now standing next to each other. "You look like an actual couple. Are you sure this is not for real?"
Levi rolled his eyes. "Tease me one more time, and I'll push you out of the chopper." He checked hisPatek Philippe watch. "Let's go."
"Chopper as in helicopter?" I asked.
"Yes," he said nonchalantly. "I am not going to endure a two-hour drive with her.
" He pointed at Jess. Odd, since he didn't think she was coming, but I let it slide.
Jess didn't seem offended one bit and bulged her eyes at me, awed by the prospect of flying to New York instead of driving or taking the train.
We arrived in the city in thirty minutes, after which a driver named Bradley Jones, Levi's brother's driver, whisked us to the courthouse.
I didn't ask which brother, but I assumed it was the eldest one who was in the news all the time.
Bradley was to be the second witness, and he did not seem surprised by it when Levi made the odd request. Like, he fulfilled odd requests all the time.
Come to think of it, didn't one of Levi's brothers get married at the very courthouse we were going to, only for the marriage to be deemed fake?
Or was the bride fake? I don't quite remember the details, but it was a huge scandal at the time.
Big enough that it reached someone like me, who does not spend her time in the gossip blogs of New York's elite.
But it all happened before I started my Northride PhD, and long before I was working with Levi.
The ceremony was shorter than I expected.
But I guess wedding ceremonies are brief if the bride and groom are not exchanging page-long vows and there's no preachy priest to give a long sermon.
The pastel pink room, paired with the wooden podium in front of where the officiator stood, demanded minimalism and efficiency.
Levi came prepared with rings, which I didn't think we were going to exchange.
Wasn't this supposed to be a secret wedding?
Why would we need rings? But I didn't say anything.
I took the white gold band he handed me and slid it down his ring finger.
Then he brought out a white gold band with a one-carat diamond ring out of his pocket.
The design of the ring was deceptively simple and could fool anyone into thinking it was a fairly affordable piece of jewelry.
However, as a child raised in a pawnshop, I know an expensive ring when I see one.
My hand shook slightly as he took it. All this suddenly felt more real than I expected.
He squeezed my hand lightly as though to reassure me, but I could be reading too much into a simple gesture.
He said his vows and slid the ring down my finger.
"You may kiss the bride," the officiator said.
I glanced at the officiator. Kissing? Of course, we were going to kiss.
Why didn't I think of that? Levi drew me to him, his hand still held mine, and his lips touched mine, his tongue brushing lightly, leaving a slight minty taste, only to dart back.
The small kiss lasted probably asecond, but it turned my insides into mush and my feet light as though I had floated to heaven. My cheeks heated.
"Wooo!!!!" Jess threw flower petals at us. Levi glared at her, his hand, which was still holding mine, tightening.
"We are husband and wife now," I said to him. "Isn't that weird?"
"Do you think marrying me is weird?" Levi asked.
I shook my head. Any woman would think she was lucky she was his wife, but I knew better. At least I would be a wife in name only and not have to deal with his quirks.
We walked out of City Hall, still hand in hand. His large hand covered mine almost completely. Bradley had gone on ahead of us to fetch the car, and by the time we reached the bottom of the steps, he was standing by the car with the passenger door open.
With one sudden move, Levi yanked me backwards and began climbing back up the stairs.
I hiked my skirt up, afraid of tripping on the concrete stairs.
"What is it?" I asked with bated breath.
He didn't respond, but only increased his steps and whisked me back inside the grand building.
When we were in the foyer, that's when he released my hand and glanced outside.
"Are you going to tell me what the sudden rush is all about?"
"The dean just passed by."
"Oh, shit."
If there was anyone who was not supposed to see us getting married, it was the dean of the humanities.
The stout, bald man looked out of place in the city in his light blue shirt, a sea green cardigan, brown scotch pants, and glasses that dangled on his nose.
As though he were a nineteen-forties British character transported into the modern-day concrete jungle.
And he just happened to walk by as we were getting out of City Hall?
Talk about shit luck. I went to the entrance to see if he was still there.
Unfortunately, he recognized Jess and was now talking to her.
Jess was gesticulating wildly, making me wonder what she was saying.
I hope she was telling a damned good lie.
Her clothes and the petals in her hand were a big tell as to why she was here.
"Oh, shit!" I said again as Jess, and the dean began climbing the steps.
"Professor Thompson is coming here," I said to Levi.
He grabbed my hand again and marched me over to the steps.
Then thought again and whisked us to a pillar where we went to hide behind it.
Like kids in a Disney show. But there was nothing juvenile in the way we embraced.
My hands were imprisoned between our chests, while his were down my waist. I trained my eyes to stare at his chest and not wander up to his face.
Afraid to see what I didn't want to see. But that didn’t matter.
Even seeing his sharp suit and crisp shirt made my mind race with wild thoughts.
My hands rested on the lapels of his jacket, adding to the thrill.
His hands tightened around my waist as Jess's voice trailed to where we were hiding.
"Yes, a wedding," she said. "I'm just waiting for the bride and groom to finish paperwork and, you know…
off to the reception." Her voice was so shaky, she did not sound convincing.
I looked up at Levi. He was staring at me.
His lips looked inviting up close. His scent, which I had been ignoring, filled my nostrils, like a drug intended to make my body sensitive to his every move.
And when his leg shifted, rubbing against mine, my breath caught in my throat. "What are you doing?" I whispered.
"Shhh..." He placed a finger on my mouth.
"…friends of mine," I heard Jess say, her voice now closer to where we were standing. She chuckled at something Professor Thompson said. His voice was usually low, and in the busy hall, it was unintelligible. "You wouldn't know them," she replied.
"They're getting closer," I whisper-yelled.
Levi remained silent. But his hand trailed to my cheek, and he brushed it. Unhurried. Unbothered. As though we were in a world of our own. As much as my body liked it, my much more panicked mind was freaking out.
"What should we do?" I said again. Maybe if I could peek and see where they were, I thought.
But when I tried to lean over, Levi pulled me back and placed his mouth on my lips.
This kiss was different from the quaint, chaste kiss he gave me a few minutes ago at the altar.
This one was more explosive. It turned me inside out and made me hungry for more.
So much more than what he could give me at that moment.
His hands went to my face, caressing my cheek as he deepened the kiss.
I held onto him for dear life as I let him assault my senses.
My hands clung to his jacket lapels as though they were a rope to sanity.
This was more than I expected. Than what I thought it could be.
It was better. And then, just like that, he let go of me.
My eyes fluttered open, disappointment replacing the euphoria I was feeling before. Why did you stop, I wanted to ask, but he answered the question before I uttered it. "They're gone. Let's go."