Chapter 10 #2
I chuckled and reached out for him. He settled on my hip, something he only tended to do these days when he was tired.
Since he’d found his feet when he was fourteen months old, he’d turned into a wriggle monster whenever anyone tried to carry him.
“A very quick game of B-ball before bath and bed sounds awesome. Nana and Papa are going to put you in bed tonight, though, so just one game, okay?”
His pouty bottom lip puffed out.
“We’ll have a great time, won’t we, Mikey?” Pop tickled Mikey’s tummy. The giggle spilled from my boy, wonderful and contagious. “Maybe we can read one of your basketball stories for bedtime. How’s that sound?”
At the mention of story time, Mikey’s eyes lit up. “Cass weads me.”
“Hmm, you know your dad and Cass have a big party to get to, right, Mikey?” Pop smiled at me, shooting me a wink.
His ease settled a tightness in my chest I’d been actively ignoring.
While he and Cass’s mom had been surprised at our announcement, they’d also been supportive, Mama T joining Cass in the hectic last-minute planning.
But still, I was marrying their son.
While they treated me like one of their own, it hadn’t stopped the nerves from forming, wondering how they’d react and take the news.
“’Kay.” Mikey bobbed his head, then wriggled in my arms, making it clear he wanted to be put down.
Pop’s “Mikey” grabbed his attention. He peered up at the man who was the closest thing to a grandfather he’d ever had. The thought had my eyes widening. Once Cass and I married, it would make that connection finally official.
Fresh emotion bloomed in my chest. This was what I’d always wanted for Mikey. Today, I’d be giving it to him.
“Remember your super important job, Mikey?”
Confusion scrunched my kid’s forehead.
“The ribbon on your wrist.” Pop indicated to the yellow-and-blue ribbon—the Eagles’ colors—tied to Mikey’s wrist.
“Yes!” Mikey bounced up and down, excitement pitching his voice loud and high. “I’s gots wings for Dada and Cass.”
“Good job. And you’re going to hold your dad’s hand all the way until you reach Cass. Then you can come and sit with me and Nana, okay?”
“’Kay, Papa.”
My heart squeezed, and I took a deep breath. I turned my attention to my soon-to-be father-in-law. “Thanks, Pop.”
“Anytime, son. You know how much Mama T and I love you.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
“You sure you don’t want me to walk on down that aisle with you? Nothing would make me prouder.” He chuckled. “Just don’t tell Cass that.”
I appreciated his soft laughter. It helped cut through the emotion clogging my throat.
This day was turning out to be a lot. I hadn’t expected the swirl of sadness from losing my sister, even though the feeling was never far away. I certainly hadn’t expected the pain whenever thoughts of my own parents tried to sneak in.
Not a chance that I’d let them steal any more energy or happiness from me, though.
“Thanks, Pop,” I finally managed. “Mikey and I have got this.”
In fact, Cass had already said he’d wait for me and the three of us would walk together. Damn him for his thoughtfulness. Maybe he had an inkling I’d lose my nerve and not make my way down the aisle by myself.
“Sounds good. In that case, I best get to that son of mine. Check he’s all right, then find my seat.” He leaned forward, hugging me hard. “I’m proud of you, Dylan.” With that, he pulled away and left me alone with Mikey.
I was pretty sure I was running late, but I needed a moment. Just me and my boy.
“Hey, Mikey.” I crouched down, not too worried about wrinkling the pristine suit. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah.” He bobbed his head.
“And you know that Cass and I are getting married?” I’d discussed it with him a few times, but honestly, Mikey wasn’t even three, so who the hell knew how much he really understood.
“Yeah. We’s famwy.” He shrugged, his telltale nose-scrunching action quickly following. “But we’s famwy now.”
“I know we are. Just think about this as a way for us to have fun and tell everyone what a great family we are, okay?”
“’Kay. We go?”
My lips twitched. “I think that’s a great idea.”
With every step I took, I focused on Mikey. Focused on the way I felt about Cass. How I cared about him. How we always—through sickness and in health, apparently—would have each other’s backs.
The dozens of strings of lights caught my attention first. A quiet chuckle spilled from me as, hand in hand with Mikey, we followed the twinkling pathway, complete with pink and cream flowers that I had no idea the name of, toward the beginning of the aisle where our fifty or so guests stood.
This was real.
My pulse spiked, fast and loud, filling up my ears.
Then there was Cass, a huge-ass grin aimed my way. He winked as I stopped beside him, and he reached for Mikey’s hand. The three of us walked past our guests toward where the officiant waited for us.
“You okay?” His voice was quiet, words just for me.
“Yeah,” I croaked. “Not sure why I feel so nervous,” I admitted, just as we stopped at the front before Leroy, a friend of Cass’s folks who was a registered officiant. I turned to look at Cass, still holding Mikey’s hand.
A soft smile played on his lips, completely at odds with his whispered “Don’t panic about our wedding night. I got you.”
The bastard. A snort shot out of me, loud and inappropriate considering where we were. Amusement filled me, warmth spilling into my chest as I grinned at Cass.
One thing was for sure: my best friend knew exactly what to say to get me to relax. I loved the asshole for it.
Mikey’s bobbing up and down drew my attention. “You okay, bud?”
“Needs potty.”
Laughter rippled around the group, and I grinned down at my boy. I knew better than asking him if he could wait. We were in the middle of potty training, so the fact that he remembered to ask was a win.
“I’ve got him.” Pop was there before I even had to ask.
I grinned at him. “Thanks, Pop.”
“We won’t be but a tick.”
The chuckle around our small group continued, and I peered back at Cass. “So, looks like we need to wait a few.”
“Just adds to the memory of the day, right?” He followed up with a wink, his wide smile revealing his pearly white teeth.
The man could have made a killing in Colgate ads.
Maybe they didn’t pay as much as Under Armour, and considering I knew the millions Cass made from an endorsement deal with the brand, Colgate would have needed to pay the big bucks.
“Right. I think this day’s going to be pretty memorable already,” I deadpanned, not even joking, let alone exaggerating. “Mikey doing a wild pee behind the big bush is barely going to register.” There was no disguising the quiet uncertainty in my low voice.
Concern appeared in Cass’s expression. “You still want to do this, right?”
My gaze roamed his face, landing briefly on the small scar above his right eyebrow that was a few shades lighter than his dark skin. He’d done that falling from a tree when we were seven, which he’d originally climbed because my ass had frozen in fear when I’d gone too high.
Unsurprisingly, Cass falling and landing with a thud had gotten me moving so damn fast, I’d been by his side a stumbling heartbeat later. The asshole had grinned at me, blood covering his face, saying, “See, I said you could do it by yourself. You can do anything, Dyl.”
And fuck if he didn’t make me believe it.
For a man who was known as a joker and a pain in the ass, he made the best cheerleader.
“Yeah, I want to do this.” Honesty clamped down tightly on my whispered words. I meant them. Amusement tangled with surprise in my gut, wondering exactly when it was that I’d decided getting married to my best friend was the greatest thing ever.
“There’s no backing down after this, right?”
I startled at the vulnerability in his gaze.
Did Cass want this as much as I did? If he did, I had no idea what that really meant. But I couldn’t leave him hanging.
I reached for him, clasping his shoulder, blocking out the murmuring of quiet conversation while we waited for Mikey to return. “You know I love you, man,” I whispered. “You’re my best friend, and I don’t want to back out.”
His reaction was immediate: the great big grin I was used to seeing aimed my way. “Fucking A. Let’s get this done.”
And damn if his joy wasn’t contagious. My heart flipped as fluttering wings took flight in my stomach.
It looked like we were really doing this.
As soon as Mikey returned with Pop, announcing to everyone that he’d peed on the lemon tree, we got started. Leroy kept the whole affair light and quick, with an added bit of sweetness as he told a couple of stories of me and Cass as kids.
We repeated our vows, going with the standard words. Though, honestly, I could have been saying anything. With my heart once again thudding loudly, it was all I could do to hold on to Cass’s hands as I said, “I do”—and thank god he didn’t let go.
That I was certain about this exchange made everything more real, but there remained a haze of “holy fucking shit, I can’t believe this is really happening” at the edge of my mind.
At Cass’s “I do,” I swallowed hard, my eyes straining with how intently I stared at him. Blinking proved difficult, too wrapped up in the significance of those words.
“Wonderful,” Leroy said, his voice bright and loud, but still, I didn’t pull my gaze away from Cass. “In that case, thanks to the great state of Minnesota, I have the pleasure of announcing you married, and you can go ahead and kiss as husbands.”
The words jolted a reaction from me.
We had not discussed this. Hell, I hadn’t even thought through anything about this moment beyond saying “I do.” Figuring out what to do next had been a future Dylan problem.
We should have gone to city hall. It would have prevented all manner of awk—
My thoughts were cut off by Cass’s lips pressing against mine.
My brows shot high, a gasp shooting from my lungs. The action parted my lips. At the movement, Cass’s eyelids dipped closed, and he brushed his lips more firmly against mine. But it was when his tongue swept across my bottom lip that my own eyelids fluttered shut.
The buzz in my brain stopped me thinking. All I could focus on was the flick of his tongue, the slight hitch in his breath, and the strength of his fingers against my back.
When did he hold on to me?
Awareness stuttered to life, the fluttering wings taking flight for a whole new reason as desire ignited in my belly. This kiss, his touch… combined they turned my limbs to jelly and my brain to mush.
It had been eight long years since I’d felt his mouth on mine. Eight long years since my heart had behaved this way.
The memory hadn’t done it justice.
And then he pulled away, bringing with it the loud clapping and cheering.
Wide-eyed, I stared at Cass. With glazed eyes, he appeared as bewildered as I felt. Thank fuck. Because holy shit. What the hell just happened?