Wet Part 3 (6 page)

“I could’ve
sworrrn
I heard you call me
pa-ritty
.”

“I called you pretty beautiful, like
kinda
beautiful.”

“Pfft,” he said at her term and then laughed. “Good night,
Princess
.”

It was her turn to scoff. “Good night.”

They both waited.

“Hang up, Paul.”

“You first.”

“No, you.”

“No.”

“I love you. See you tomorrow.”

Chapter 4

“W
e’re here, Baby.” Paul softly kissed each of Rhees’ closed eyelids. “I can’t believe you can sleep right now. You’ve slept almost the whole way.”

He’d waited until the last minute to wake her, after spending the last two hours and forty minutes furiously bouncing his leg and tapping his thigh with his fingers. The anticipation of their destination, his plans,
their
plans, made him wish he could get in a good session of hard, physical exertion to work off his nervous tension.

The bus he’d chartered to get everyone from the capital, pulled through the gate of the Historical Park. The ruins where they planned to have the wedding loomed ahead.

“Hmm?” Rhees stirred, raising her arms up, over her head, in a long stretch before she smirked. “I didn’t sleep well last night. My snuggle buddy wouldn’t snuggle with me, and to top it off, he shook his leg all night, vibrating the bed—kind of like he’s doing now.” She opened one eye, her gaze going directly to his bouncing leg.

“Sorry, I couldn’t sleep, and I couldn’t chance touching you.”

“Hmm?”

“Snuggling—I couldn’t chance it. I’ve been a little wound up, but now I’m just so relieved I didn’t screw it up.”

The bus came to a stop and the driver opened the door. The people in the seats ahead of them, all friends from the island, and a few from the States, made their way off the bus.

“Mmm . . . it’s close.” She looked up at him and smiled adoringly. He kissed her cheek.

“Yeah, I know.” His lips made their way to hers and he kissed her passionately.

“Wow. That’s some kiss,” she said breathlessly when he finally pulled away.

“I’ve been holding that in for a while, my promise always in the back of my mind. But I figure I can’t get too carried away—well, I fully intend to get too carried away later tonight,
after
I make you a new promise—my vows.”

He kissed her again and they both moaned deliciously, pawing at each other as much as possible with a bus seat armrest between them. She finally sighed uneasily, and Paul pulled back to check on her.

“You’re scared.”

“No.” She dropped her gaze. “I’m not freaking out, I promise, but maybe—
maybe,
I am a little nervous.”

“I know, and that’s okay.” He put his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her forehead to his lips. “We’ll take it slow. We’ll go at a pace you’ll be comfortable with.” He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “It’ll be my first time, too.”

Her confused eyes darted up to meet his. “Liar.” She smiled like she thought he’d only said it to tease her.

“Serious. One hundred percent.” He gave her a little more time to be confused, taking a second to enjoy watching her try to figure it out before sharing his recent thoughts.

“As in, your first time in months?” she attempted to clarify.

He shook his head, still with a look on his face to suggest he had a secret.

“What is on that brilliant mind of yours?”

“Okay.” He grinned. “I’ve had a lot of sex with a lot of women. You know that.”

“I don’t care about that. You know I don’t.”

He nodded in agreement.

“I’ve had
sex
, but that’s all it’s ever been. Tonight will be the first time—” He pressed his lips to her forehead again. “I plan to
make love
to you. It’ll never be
just sex
between us. I love you too much.” He paused to clear his throat, and then panted out a laugh, surprised at himself for getting emotional.

“I can’t wait to have every part of you, take my time with you,
for
you. I plan to make tender, adoring, glorious love to you, as my wife, my partner for the rest of my life, the most exquisite woman I’ve ever known, the only woman I’ve
ever
loved. So yes, my beautiful Danarya, it will be
my
first time, too.”

She blinked a few times, never taking her eyes off him. She took a breath, and opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. Her eyes welled up instead, as she nodded in understanding, before she buried her face into his neck.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

She shook her head against his shoulder, trying to get a hold of herself. “You’re so perfect,” she choked out.

“God, I’m far from perfect.” He glanced down, uncomfortable with the description. “I got that out of a fortune cookie.”

She let out a half-laugh, half-sob and they gazed at each other for a second, smiling giddily like two kids overcome with puppy love.

“Not perfect, but I’m better than I was. You’ve made me a better man than I’ve ever been.”

She reached for his cheek when Taylor’s voice broke the spell. They hadn’t noticed he’d boarded the bus again, and stood, looming over them.

“Glad you two are blissfully in love, but that selfish sentiment has made you oblivious to the rest of us.” Taylor and Paul locked eyes as Paul tried to decipher how much his friend had heard. Taylor gave nothing away, but the somber look in his eyes didn’t match his words. “We have needs, too. We’d just like to get this mushy stuff over with so we can get drunk and work on finding our
own
destinies. I’ve seen at least four of the local girls out there, waiting for me to declare my undying love for them . . . behind the storage shed.” Taylor laughed.

Rhees made a disgusted noise and Paul rolled his eyes.

“I’ll go take care of the last minute details.” Paul leaned over to give Rhees a quick peck on the lips. He looked her over, as if taking her in for the last time, but then smiled so big, he worried he’d pull a muscle in his cheek—but he couldn’t stop. “This is it.”

“Yeah,” she said back with her own excited smile.

“I’ll tell the girls to come and help you get dressed,” Paul said as he ushered Taylor off the bus. 

oOo

Paul, Taylor, David, and Bryce, made their way to the tourist administration office to pay the head curator his bribe money for allowing the wedding to take place at the top of one of the pyramids. Tourists were not typically allowed to climb the structures. Claire, Tracy, and Regina boarded the bus a minute after Paul and Taylor stepped off.

“It turned out beautiful, Rhees.” Claire’s mouth hung open in admiration when they finished getting Rhees into her wedding dress.

“Think Paul will like it? He’s been so worried about my ability to make it myself.”

“Paul will love it. You could be naked, and he’d love it—wait, this is Paul. Of course he’d love to see you naked.” They all broke into laughter. Tracy and Regina didn’t quite get it as much as Claire and Rhees, but they laughed all the same.

“I’m getting married! I’m marrying Paul Weaver.” Rhees suddenly felt weak in the knees and had to sit in one of the seats. She took a deep breath and then looked up at Claire with desperation in her eyes. “Am I doing the right thing? What if he realizes this is all just a big mistake? He’ll resent me.”

“Not going to happen.”

“You an idiot or something?” Regina asked, livid. “Go out there and get yourself married to that beautiful man while you can. Who cares if he changes his mind, it will be too late. I sure as hell would not never let him off the fishhook. I would squeeze every second I could possible squeeze out of that man.”

“Possibly squeeze,” Tracy corrected.

“Oh, Regina. I love you. I hope you know that.” Rhees jumped up and gave her a hug, imagining how Regina must feel to know she’d be watching Rhees, her own friend, walk down the aisle to marry the man of
her
dreams, the man Regina wanted but could never have.

“Of course I know that. I am not a stupid girl. Even I can see you are better for him . . . than even I could be.” Regina gave her a sly smile. “If it was not the truth, I would have poisoned you long ago.”

“Thank you for looking out for him all this time, before I got here. It means a lot to me to know you’ve always been his guardian angel.”

Regina’s eyes grew teary. She nodded and her lips quivered before she boldly stated, “But now you had better take care of him. I still have poison. And, just so that you are guaranteed, if I ever have the circumstance to have an affair with your husband, you can bet your ass I will unquestionably be going to do it.”

“You will unquestionably do it,” Tracy corrected again. “And if you ever have the opportunity to have an affair—”

“Shut up your big mouth, Tracy. Rhees knows what I mean.”

Rhees opened her arm to invite Tracy into the hug.

“Me too,” Tracy said. “I’d have an affair with Paul, too, if the opportunity ever presented itself.” She eyed Regina with a shrug. “Putting it out there, just in case.”

“Understood,” Rhees said, giving them both a squeeze. “But keep in mind. I can probably get a hold of some poison too.”

“If I ever catch him having an affair with anyone,” Claire cut in, “I’ll be poisoning
Paul
.” They all giggled and hugged each other.

“She does not have nothing to be worried about,” Regina said. “Paul’s eyes are only for Rhees now. I have pictures of him, the way he looks at her. He’ll never want anyone else again.”

Regina reached for her camera. “I will add those to the wedding pictures, the ones of you looking at him too.” She made a googly-eyed face, poking fun at Rhees, and they all laughed, knowing how often they’d seen the two lovebirds stealing glimpses of each other.

“I’m going to let everyone know you’re ready.” Claire sighed with resignation. “I say it’s time to make this happen . . . Finally!”

She gave Rhees a wink. Tracy and Regina had no idea just how
finally
it was going to be.

oOo

The setting didn’t allow for Rhees to be unseen by the groom before she actually walked down the aisle, or
up
the pyramid in this case. Claire improvised by gathering everyone around the bus door as though Rhees coming down the steps would be like her appearing at the door of a chapel. She lined everyone into two rows so Rhees would have to walk down an aisle made of guests, to reach Paul at the end.

Tracy opened the bus door and all eyes turned to Rhees, but her gaze went straight to Paul, waiting for assurance he approved of her dress. He didn’t show any reaction for several seconds and Rhees started to worry. They locked eyes while her fingers fidgeted with the fabric on the skirt of her dress.

Paul stared expressionless until his eyelids seemed to grow heavy for his glazed-over eyes, his lips parted with a quick brush of his tongue and slowly cracked into a pleased, reverent smile. He closed his eyes as if committing her to memory and she couldn’t help but smile when it looked like he grunted his signature, “Mm!”

When he re-opened his eyes, a dazzling smile spread across his beautiful face and he mouthed a kiss to assure her he approved.

The bodice of her white dress fit perfectly snug, embellished by a scrolling white on white pattern, almost sleeveless with only a hint of a cap sleeve hanging just over her shoulders. The neckline scalloped from her shoulders and cut down to just the top of her cleavage. Soft, flouncy fabric draped from her waist as it fell to just above her knees in the front but tapered longer, mid-calf in the back. She wore white sandals and even though she would have preferred a heel, Paul wouldn’t let her risk climbing the steep steps of the pyramid in anything but flats.

Her hair had been styled simply. She’d twisted two strands of hair at her temples and tied them in the back with a thin white ribbon. Small white flowers weaved into the twists making the whole sum of her appearance simple but classic. She made her way to him, through the gauntlet, it seemed, but she stayed focused on her man to keep the jitters to a minimum.

Paul wore black dress pants that hung ever so nicely on his tall masculine frame, a suit coat to match his pants, and white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, tucked in. She always thought she liked it un-tucked, but he looked so good. He wore black dress shoes, no belt. Casual for the rest of the world, but for Paul, he looked a little too civilized, but she wasn’t about to complain. He could have worn the bundling bag he always joked about, and he would still be beautiful.

Mrs. Michaels reached out and drew her in for a hug just before she reached the groom. Rhees still couldn’t believe Paul had arranged for her to be there. He’d asked David to come, via Utah, and accompany the old woman on the trip. David had not only agreed, but he and Bryce had started a friendly banter over who she should prefer as company, both of them treated her like royalty, escorting her everywhere, tending to her every need, and making her laugh like a schoolgirl with the way they playfully flirted with the old woman. Taylor had shared his prediction with Paul; that they were looking for a connection to Utah. They were hoping Mrs. Michaels would be their ticket to finding their own Rhees-like girls.

“I’m so happy for you, and this is the best darned wedding I’ve ever attended,” she whispered into Rhees’ ear. Rhees squeezed her back and then turned to get to her awaiting man, who took her into his arms and kissed her, forgetting where they were.

“Hey! You can’t do that yet!” Taylor yelled.

Paul grinned sheepishly, Rhees blushed, and they both looked down, embarrassed, but stealing glances at each other. He set her hand in the crook of his elbow and led the way to the pyramid with everyone following a few steps behind. On the way, he pulled the ring box from his pocket.

“I want to show you the rings now—so you aren’t taken by surprise during the ceremony.” They’d originally decided to return to the jeweler a week later, to try again to find something they could agree on, but they never did. Paul announced he’d decided to go with plan A.
‘I’m choosing the ring, and you’ll have to pretend to like it’.
She never did see what he’d picked out. He nervously opened the box.

“Paul, it’s huge.” She stopped walking and stared at everything she’d said she didn’t want. She looked, not only disappointed, but heartbroken, and he knew she thought he’d totally disregarded her feelings on the matter.

“Give me a second to explain.” He stopped too, and everyone behind them paused, trying to pretend they didn’t notice the bride and groom having a bit of a problem. Paul leaned down so his face touched hers while he held the box in her line of vision.

Two rings sat nestled in the velvet-covered foam. The enormous one, her ring, had three bands. The two outer bands were simple strands of smooth platinum. The center band, also platinum, was wider with a line of small square diamonds inset along the top half of the band. It ran under a ridiculously large, square, French cut diamond solitaire with a halo of diamonds, which matched the inset row of gems in the center band.

“Look. Before you freak out, let me explain what I was thinking.”