Page 33 of Embrace

“Yay!” We stood up and left our picnic to go play volleyball with another couple.

I hadn’t played volleyball since I was in high school. I felt like playing volleyball was like riding a bike; you could never forget how to. It might take me a few rounds to get back in the swing of things, but I knew I’d have a lot of fun playing with Blaze.

“Hey! Do y’all mind if we join y’all?” I asked as we made our way over to them.

“Not at all!”

“Couple versus couple? Or do y’all want to do ladies versus men?” Blaze quizzed.

“Let’s have an old fashion ladies versus fellas match!” the older man suggested. He was about six foot even because Blaze was a bit taller than him. He had golden skin with salt and pepper hair covering his head and chin.He wore blue and white swim trunks that complemented his wife.

“Sounds good to me. What’s your name?” I addressed the woman. She had golden brown skin and flowing curly hair. She wore a blue bikini with a white mesh sundress styled cover-up.

“My name is Helena. The brooding looking man is my husband Freddie.”Helena introduced them.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’m Suvi, and this is my husband Blaze,” I introduced us.

Once we’d gotten the introductions out the way, we separated and went to our designated sides of the net. Freddie and Blaze were up first to serve. Freddie hit it over the net and the game got started. For the next thirty minutes we’d played an intense game. We were all very competitive and gained the attention of some of the other beach goers. At the end of the game, Helena and I won.

After the match, we all sat on the bench and drank water bottles.

“What brings you two to the resort?” Helena asked as she fanned herself with a handheld, electric fan.

“We’re celebrating our honeymoon,” I explained.

“Aww! I remember when we first got married. We’re here celebrating our thirtieth anniversary.”

“Thirty years?” I repeated.

“Yes, ma’am,” she answered.

“Wow. I pray our marriage has longevity like that.”

Helena smiled at Freddie who had already had his eyes locked in on her. It was beautiful to see how in love they were with each other. Their love was present in every word they spoke, in every action they made, and every glance they stole. To be so old with so much youthfulness in their spirits spoke volumes about their love.

“How long have the two of you been married?” Helena asked me.

I laughed. “What is it, ten days? Definitely not a full week yet.”

Freddie guffawed. “You two are newlyweds for sure. How’s marriage been so far?”

“It’s been cool. We were best friends before we met at the altar, but he wasn’t who I was expecting,” I confessed.

Helena’s eyebrows rose in shock. “What do you mean?”

“Long story short… I got my heart broken by my ex and decided to sign up for an arranged marriage service. The company I went through was Arranged Hearts. They have locations all over the country, but at the Houston location, I met with Lamya. She filled out my questionnaire and started the process with me. As a great best friend, Blaze signed up too. I doubt he was actually going to marry anyone. He was basically there to support me.”

“I told you if she was a Houston Hottie, I would have given her a shot,” Blaze joked.

“Anyway! We both got a call shortly after saying our perfect match was found. I was hurt because she said our weddings were on the same day but turns out he was the man waiting for me at the altar. In all honesty, we probably would have embraced the feelings sooner or later, but I was glad they matched me with him,” I concluded.

“I’ve never heard such a unique story,” Helena explained.

“I commend you both. So, if the company would have hooked you two up with strangers, do you think you would have been able to live happily ever after with them?” Freddie asked.

“I don’t think we’d have had any other choice. Since I was born, we had our parents stating our friendship was created by the gods. Speaking for me, I never would have looked at Blaze in a romantic light because I wouldn’t have wanted to ruin the friendship we’d built together over the years,” I explained.

“Fear is a mental block. Freddie and I grew up in the same neighborhood. When we stumbled across each other… I knew. My heart skipped beats, my palms got sweaty, and my lower regions danced… My soul sings when Freddie is in my presence. I love him so much.” Helena reached over and kissed her husband.

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