Chapter 24 #2
“Oh please,” Stella replied with a nonchalant wave. “You’re going to give my brother a heart attack, and I can’t wait to see that.”
She echoed Nikki’s words from when I bought the dress, and I couldn’t pretend that didn’t sting a little. I wished Nikki was here to see it herself, and I wished I didn’t feel so guilty that she wasn’t.
“Are you two ready yet?” Brooklyn’s voice came from the other side of the bedroom door.
“You can’t rush perfection,” Stella snapped back.
“I’m not rushing perfection, I’m rushing you,” he retorted.
I tried to stifle a laugh as Stella huffed out a sigh. “I guess we have to go now.”
Stella strode into the common area of the suite, the chunky six-inch heels of her fuchsia satin shoes clacking against the tile floor. I followed her, in my less impressive three-inch gold sandals that I had borrowed from my sister (because I’d learned the hard way that size did not always matter).
Brooklyn was leaning against the back of the couch in the living room of the suite, wearing gray pants and the navy paisley patterned jacket I had seen in the closet earlier.
Anyone else could have worn that and looked ridiculous, but he looked amazing in all his wild, unkempt glory.
I smiled so wide I felt my cheeks ache. His face flushed, and he ran his tongue over his bottom lip.
He kept opening and closing his mouth, as if the words were on the tip of his tongue but wouldn’t come out.
We drank each other in for what seemed like hours.
“Wow,” he whispered. “Wow. I, uh—” He reached down and brushed his fingers over my cheek. “For once in my life, I’m at a loss for words.”
“I consider that an achievement in and of itself,” I said with a soft smile.
He smelled like a sweet mixture of vanilla and sandalwood, and I wanted to bathe in it. Even in heels, I had to lean forward on my toes to kiss his cheek.
Stella made a gagging noise in the background.
“Oh my god, I’m gonna be drowning in this today, aren’t I?” Stella groaned.
“I’m sorry, were you not aware that we’re going to a wedding?” Alec asked, and there was enough upward pitch in his tone to distinguish that he was in fact trying to make some kind of joke.
“You know what? You’re almost funny,” she huffed, and she and Alec made their way outside.
Brooklyn offered his arm to me. “My lady.”
I took his arm, feeling my heart continue to swell in my chest.
The wedding was held down in the extravagant gardens by the main estate, and most of the sun had set behind us, keeping the crowd cool between the shade and the salty breeze.
Rows of white chairs were lined up in front of an altar draped in white tulle and vines of red and orange azalea flowers.
The bay served as the backdrop, calm and quiet as night approached.
It reminded me of something my sister would rave about on Pinterest, or something that should be photographed in those wedding magazines that sat in dentist’s offices.
“Weddings are so boring,” Brooklyn muttered as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and lowered himself into a chair. “At least the wedding ceremonies are.”
“Guess it’s a good thing it’s not your wedding,” a deep voice behind us said.
Brooklyn’s parents sat in the seats behind us. His father wore all black and large sunglasses even though it was almost dusk. Brooklyn’s mother put her hand on my shoulder.
“You look fabulous, Natalie,” she offered.
“Thank you.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “So do you.”
She tilted her head in Brooklyn’s direction. “Keeping him out of trouble?”
For a moment, I caught myself wondering how much Brooklyn’s mother really knew, and if she was good at masking her worry. “Of course.”
She gave my shoulder an affectionate squeeze before sitting back in her chair.
The wedding ceremony couldn’t have been longer than fifteen minutes.
Their friend Kayleigh’s gown was fully adorned with lace, and the train that draped off of her dress was probably five feet long.
The officiate was a gangly, quirky kid who tried to crack jokes, but wasn’t very funny.
I exhaled, and felt at ease as I leaned into Brooklyn’s shoulder.
I was never one of those girls who fantasized about their wedding when they were fifteen.
I didn’t have Pinterest boards of all the dresses and rings I liked, and I never really had any friends I swore would be in my bridal party.
But sitting there listening to Kayleigh and Jackson exchange vows, and the smell of the flower petals as they danced through the air filling my nose, I thought maybe I could see myself doing it all.
I’d wear a dress, and I’d carry lilacs in my bouquet, and I’d exchange vows with someone I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.
Without thinking, I reached down and laced my fingers between Brooklyn’s.
The reception was held a few feet away from the ceremony gardens, up on the main deck of the estate.
We were seated at long white tables that were dotted with candles and the same azalea flowers from the altar.
Stella and Alec sat across from us, and I lost track of how many Oh my god I haven’t seen you since middle school people came up to Brooklyn, or how many people he proudly introduced me as his girlfriend to.
“Are you going to sit there and nurse your vodka tonic or are you going to dance with me?” Stella called to me over the table.
I opened my mouth to protest, but Stella darted around the table and pulled me up, nearly yanking my arms out of their sockets.
I looked back at Brooklyn and mouthed Save me, but he chuckled and shook his head.
Stella took me to the center of the deck, which served as the dance floor.
Lights danced across the tiles, and upbeat pop music I didn’t recognize thrummed through the speakers.
Every so often I glanced back to the table, where Brooklyn and Alec sat alone, talking with their heads almost pressed together so they didn’t have to shout above the noise and commotion.
Song after song played, and every time I tried to sneak to my seat to give my feet a break, Stella pulled me back in. She finally let me go after retreating to the bar to get another margarita.
I teetered back to my seat with shaky legs. Brooklyn laughed as I slumped into my chair, still trying to catch my breath.
“Where does your sister get her energy from?” I asked, fanning my face.
“Who knows? Sometimes I think she has caffeine instead of blood in her veins.”
I laughed, and felt my cheeks start to ache from smiling so much.
“I’m going to get another soda, do you want anything?” Brooklyn asked as he got up from his chair.
“I’m good. Thanks, though.”
He leaned down and kissed my cheek, and I watched him disappear into the sea of people. My heart jumped when Brooklyn’s father lowered himself into Brooklyn’s chair.
“Having a good time?” he asked, taking a sip of water. Although I’d only been around him a few times, I’d never seen him drink, and I wondered how personal of a choice that was.
“Yes, definitely,” I replied. “It’s beautiful here. The hotel, the wedding, everything. Thank you for including me.”
He nodded intently. I followed his line of sight over my shoulder. He had centered in on Brooklyn, who spoke to an elderly gentleman in a gray suit. The two shared a laugh, and it made me smile.
“He’s happy, you know,” Charlie said. “Happier than I’ve seen him in a long time. Maybe I’m the one who should be thanking you.”
I turned back to him. “Really?”
Charlie said nothing, but pointed to the shadow hovering over my shoulder. I turned to face Brooklyn, who held his hand out to me. A light strum of guitar played through the speakers.
“Will you do me the honor?”
His blue eyes gleamed even in the dim streaks of flickering gold light cast over the darkness of the deck. It was like all of the air had been sucked out of the room and then whooshed back in like a punch to the chest. Just like the day we had met.
Except now, it was more than spilled coffee and hot morning sun and worrying about whether or not any of us would have the summer we wanted. Now, he was everything I never even knew I wanted, in all his grinning, charming, larger-than-life glory.
“I’d like that,” I replied as I slipped my hand into his. He gently pulled me to my feet and onto the dance floor. With his arms around my waist, he swayed me back and forth, like a tiny ship on the vast ocean, feeling every ebb and flow, every dip and curve. Everything else around us faded away.
“I’ve never told you this,” Brooklyn said, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. “But I’m really glad I crashed into you that day at Otter House.”
“Me too. Although I’m sure my tailbone and my T-shirt weren’t too happy at the time,” I added with a soft grin. I sighed and rested my head on his chest, his arms still draped around me like a layer of armor.
The song ended, but I found it hard to pull away from him.
I realized I had been gripping his suit jacket like my life depended on it, and my knuckles were turning white.
He tilted my chin up with his hand, brushing his thumb over my lips.
My insides fluttered like a caged butterfly, begging to be set free.
“Wanna get out of here?” His voice was low. He jerked his head toward Stella, who’d coerced Alec into being her dance partner, smiling and laughing as they nearly tripped over each other. “We could have some time to ourselves before those two idiots come back.”
I didn’t even care about how quickly I answered. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Without another word we darted back to the suite, kicking up dirt as we trekked down to the docks and ducked in and out of the streams of light that came from the courtyard.
Brooklyn pulled me through the front door, immediately bringing his lips to mine.
He kicked the door shut with his foot, and his hands kept me steady as he pulled me farther into the suite without separating from me.
My hands roamed up his chest and rested on his jaw, pulling him closer into me and eliciting a deep moan from him.
I kissed him like his lips were oxygen, and I was suffocating. He touched me like every inch of my skin was an antidote to his poisoned hands. Even when he spoke he kept his lips to mine, breathing life into me so that we didn’t have to come up for air.
“Make love to me,” he whispered, his voice rough as his lips brushed against my ear.
He pulled away from me for a moment, just far enough so that our noses still brushed against one another. His eyes were like a storm, as dark and vast and deep as the ocean, and I was sure I was drowning, but I didn’t care. I’d be content lying at the bottom of his ocean forever. I had to tell him.
“Brooklyn, I—” I whispered, but he put a finger to my lips.
“I know,” he said softly, his breaths heavy on my cheek. His lips grazed against mine. “Me too.”
He moved his lips down to my neck, and hoisted me into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. My entire body was engulfed in ferocious emotion, something that set every nerve ending on fire and ran wild throughout my body.
It was like my soul had left my physical being, and I was watching us from above.
It was love—real love—as pure and as passionate as I could only ever dream of.
“Tell me in the morning.” My voice was raspy as I whispered into his neck.
“I will.”
We retreated to the bedroom, slamming the door behind us.