95. Kai
Kai
“So, do you want to explain to me why you all of a sudden care about New Year’s Eve and why the party you coerced me into throwing at our apartment had to be black tie?” I grouse while I pull into the underground resident parking lot.
She sighs, “We have been through so much in the past year. I just thought it would be nice to have family and friends over and host a party. Have all the people that love and support us in one place, you know?” Ken replies, her stunning hazel eyes gauging my reaction.
I’m not sure how I’ll ever be able to say no to her.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I was fine ringing in the New Year with just the four of us. Quietly. In solitude and going to bed by ten,” I tease. Slowly, over time, I’ve grown to love our small, steady, peaceful life and the comfort it brought me.
“Can you just try to have a good time?” she pleads before kissing my cheek and giving it a firm pat.
“I’ll try,” I grumble.
As soon as we open the front door, I know something is amiss.
For starters, the kitchen smells amazing and there are people I don’t know or recognize hustling back and forth between our bedroom, the living room, and the dining area.
Our wide open concept apartment has been transformed into a… wedding venue?
I stare at Kendall in shock and awe, unable to process what I’m witnessing.
“Ken, what's going on?” I ask, my voice unusually high.
She swiftly drags me into our bedroom by my arm and shuts the door behind us.
Her hands are clasped underneath her chin.
“I wanted to surprise you with a grand romantic gesture. Our own little elopement ceremony. If you’ll have me…
” tears start building in my eyes. This beautiful incredible intoxicating woman, I can’t believe she’s mine.
“We can also wait. If it’s too much, we can just have a huge party tonight and continue planning like we have been. Honestly, no pressure,” she stammers.
Jesus, she’s nervous; she doesn’t actually think I’d reject her, right?
“Of course I’ll have you.” I shut her up by taking her in my arms and kissing her long and deep, begging for more. “The party and black-tie dress code make a lot of sense now,” I comment and smile against her mouth. My body is buzzing with uncontainable happiness and anticipation.
“Surprise!” she half whispers, half yells. “I didn’t want to wait one more day to be your wife,” she explains, rubbing her nose against mine.
“My wife, huh?” I smirk. My wife. She nods, shedding a few happy tears.
Our love had been resurrected from the ashes, forged from blood, tears, and sacrifices.
Our relationship built and reconstructed over time.
This life we’re carving out together has been hard fought and hard won.
And I can’t wait to call myself her husband.
My heart is thrumming with a wild, manic energy.
Never mind a ceremony, I want to consummate this marriage right here right now.
She’s wearing a red long-sleeved V-neck sweater that displays generous cleavage and skinny jeans that accentuate her fuck me hips.
I pick her up swiftly, my hands gripping her ass and place her on top of the dresser.
I step in between her legs and press myself against her, wanting her to understand how much I need her.
How irresistible she is to me. I band one arm around her waist and pull her hips towards the edge of the dresser while the other tangles in her hair.
I tilt her head back and brush my lips against her throat again and again.
“I need you right fucking now, Mrs. Matsumoto,” I murmur, sucking on her pulse point.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” she replies, wagging her finger. She leans back to look at me, her lips plump and swollen and her face flushed. “I’m not Mrs. Matsumoto yet and there’s still a lot of work to be done before the wedding,” she cautions.
I groan dramatically. “Fine, fine. But I can’t be held responsible for what happens after I see you in a wedding dress. A man only has so much restraint, Ken.”
“Kai, as soon as we have some real time alone, I promise to show you just how happy I am to be your wife,” she says, her voice low and sultry. Her tongue is warm and wet as she licks a path from my collarbone to my chin. Her teeth nip at my earlobe and tug sending shivers across my skin.
“Goddamn it, Ken, you aren’t playing fair,” I growl as I rearrange myself in my now tight fitting jeans. She smirks mischievously, her bright eyes shining as she plants her palms on my chest.
“I love you, Kai, but you need to back up before the entire catering staff, florists, and planners hear us knocking boots.”
“It’s not my fault you're so vocal,” I reply and trace her jaw with my nose.
“I think it’s entirely your fault,” she purrs, her breath hitching. I could feel how turned on she is. I know if there weren’t thirty people behind our bedroom door, I’d be railing into her so hard she’d be begging, the dresser knocking against the wall and being emptied of its contents.
“Plus, it’s bad luck to see each other on the wedding day,” she adds, her tongue darting out to wet her lips.
Kendall is trying to put space between us but her nails digging into my pecs and rooting me to the spot claim otherwise.
Her brain is sending a message that her body is not picking up.
But her dilated pupils, rapid pulse, and the goosebumps covering her arms leave no room for doubt.
She may not want people to hear us but she definitely wants me.
She gives me a small shove. “Go on, I have to get ready and so do you. I’ll meet you at the altar at 7. I’ll be the one in white,” she says smiling.
“Okay, okay,” I retreat a step and hold my hands up in surrender. “What about a tux?” I wonder.
“All set. Jonah took care of it,” she confirms.
“Rings?”
“Got those too.”
“I haven’t written my vows yet…” I say, starting to panic a little bit.
Why do I do that now— always look for holes? Why do I feel the need to shadow perfectly good things with doubt?
My therapist says it’s part of the grieving and healing process. That eventually with time, I might be able to look at the world with more optimism.
“Well, good thing you have two and a half hours,” she grins “But seriously, we can do our vows privately if you want. There’s no pressure.
This is our day. It’s not meant to be stressful.
Just happy. Only good things,” she comments, squeezing my hand and giving me the reassurance I need.
“Now go get ready, handsome. You’re all set up in the guest room.
Jonah, Ryo, and your dad should be here soon to join you. ”
No matter how many times I envisioned marrying her, dreamt about it, I never could have imagined this.
Our home transformed into an elegant, winter fairytale, the promise of forever in every corner.
Two rows of silken black chairs adorned with white bows make up the seating area.
The makeshift aisle—our hardwood floors sprinkled with delicate white rose petals—gives everything an earthy feel.
The altar is simple and understated, a small platform made of darkened wood.
There’s just enough room for both Kendall and me to fit.
It’s all framed by a white circular arch that has been decorated with sprawling flowers and greenery.
In two hours, I’m going to marry the woman of my dreams.