Page 25 of For the Love of Lily

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Does it make it better if I admit to being a bit obsessed with you too?” I smiled and stroked the soft skin on the inside of his wrist, loving the feeling of his hand on my waist. I was determined to not lose another moment of my life to the past.

“Let’s take a picture.” He led me towards the window. We took selfies in our finest clothes, drinking champagne in a castle, as if this was an everyday occurrence. I looked at the last one. I was smiling so happily at the camera, with the gorgeous garden and sunlight behind me. I thought Zack had been focused on the camera too, but his eyes were only on me as his lips grazed my cheek. It was simply beautiful.

“Do you mind if I post some of these?” Zack asked.

“Go ahead,” I nodded in agreement, noticing him tag me. Just for a moment I felt a pain in my stomach as I realised Luke would therefore see them.

The bride and groom, Becca and Lewis, looked over the moon with happiness. The ceremony was beautiful to see, with Zack holding my hand, his thumb stroking over my skin. For the wedding breakfast we were seated on a large, round table, decorated with beautiful, bright summer flowers and tall, elegant candles. You could tell straight away it was going to be the rowdy table as Zack led me over.

“Lily,” he gestured to the table. “I’ve asked them all to behave. This is the bunch who dragged me through Uni and four years of hangovers. Although thinking about it, they caused most of them. It’s a wonder any of us got degrees. This is Samira, Maddy, Tom and George, plus their respective girlfriends, boyfriends, spouses – it will all become clear, Ben, Emily, Chris and Jay. Everyone, this is Lily.”

I sat down, immediately feeling welcomed and instantly getting names muddled up. “I’m Samira. It’s so good to meet you. We thought he was making you up.” Her laugh was loud and genuine as she stuck her tongue out at Zack.

A man opposite me with long, blond hair in an impressive man bun that I had envious feelings about, joined in. “Yep, when he mentioned you for the millionth time, we definitely thought he was making it up. I’m George.” He held his hand up in a short wave and smiled.

“OK, you don’t have to humiliate me.” Zack held his hands up, but he couldn’t hide the slight blush to his face- adorable! He turned and looked at me as he replied to George. “Nobody could keep quiet about a girl like this.”

“Can’t believe you bumped Adam as your plus one though,” laughed a sporty looking, tanned man, who I assumed was Tom. “I wanted to ask him about that new expansion.”

With the ice broken and the champagne flowing, the whole meal was an absolute hoot. I learned about all of Zack’s friends, and each of them told me a different embarrassing story about him. From waking up on a bus two towns away after a night out, to failing miserably at joining in rugby with Tom. The five friends at the table, plus the groom, Lewis, had lived together throughout Uni and all studied Law. They were friends for life. Their partners all seemed used to the camaraderie, and it was warming to be included. Many more pictures were taken, online friend requests sent, as they made me feel truly part of the group. Zack had gone to the bathroom, when Maddy took his chair and sat close to me. She was stunning with long, auburn hair and intense, green eyes.

“I just wanted to say, we’re so glad you’re here. I know we took the mickey out of him, but he hasn’t stopped talking about you. Not seen him like this before,” she smiled, her eyes tipsy and unfocused. “He deserves to be happy, he’s one of the best. Look after him.” She gave me a clumsy hug and hiccupped, moving back to her seat as Zack returned.

As we listened to the hilarious and heart-warming speeches, Zack slipped a hand under the table and ran his finger against my upper leg, creating a delicious sensation. I fanned myself as I smiled, my mind conjuring images of what the rest of him could do if one finger was distracting me so.

The whole day flowed perfectly. We spent time with so many people, and I felt like Zack’s friends were my friends too. The evening was hilarious. With a live band and so much dancing I was sure my feet would never recover; they burned from the beautiful shoes, but I was having too much fun to stop.

We’d all been drinking for hours now, a warm and relaxed sensation filled my mind. With perfect timing the band moved onto slow songs. Zack transitioned instantly. His arms slipped around my waist and pulled me close as we danced together. I leaned my head against his and sighed as he kissed my forehead, then his breath tickled at my ear.

“I wanted to talk to you,” he said, as his hand stroked the bare skin of my back, holding me close to him. Just one more reason to love this dress.

“Is everything OK?” I wondered what this might be.

“Everything’s perfect, maybe that’s why this is worrying me. I can’t believe it’s only six weeks since we met. I feel like I’ve known you forever.” He brushed his lips against my ear before continuing. “I normally wouldn’t worry about saying this, but if I scared you away, I couldn’t ever forgive myself.”

I moved my hand up and stroked his neck. “You aren’t scaring me away, the opposite in fact, you’re drawing me in. You have been since day one. Trust me, nobody is more surprised than me.”

He took a deep breath, and his hand slid inside the back of my dress, his fingers gentle on my skin. “I love you, Lily.” His words gave me goosebumps as they travelled through me. “I love you so much, it’s driving me crazy.”

I turned his face towards me. “I love you too, Zack. I love you.” I leaned against his chest and closed my eyes as the dance continued. I was exactly where I should be, and I didn’t want anything to change.

As the night drew to a close, full of drunken goodbyes, we headed upstairs to that magnificent bedroom. All of a sudden, I felt cold stone sober and nervous as hell. Zack held the key card up to the door but paused a moment as the sensor flashed green.

“I wanted you to know, there’s no pressure tonight. I don’t mind waiting for you.” He kissed my hand, always the gentleman.

I dived on him in a deep and fiery kiss as we tumbled through the door together, the kisses growing more urgent as we moved towards the bed. The curtains were wide open, and the whole room was now illuminated by moonlight, giving it a soft glow.

“I don’t want to wait one more minute, Zack.” My fingers stroked rough patterns through that gorgeous hair. Zack was kissing me with such need, I wanted more. His hand slid firmly up my back as the other stroked the back of my thigh, rubbing across the lace of my underwear; it sent shivers through me. This carried on for a couple of minutes and delicious as it was, I couldn’t help but wonder what the next move was going to be, when Zack laughed, full of nerves.

“We aren’t doing just hands again, are we?” I teased.

“I don’t want to look like a complete amateur, but I’m so sorry, I need help. How the hell does this dress come off?” I rested my forehead against his, our eyes locked together, our mouths millimetres apart.

I reached around and undid the strap across the top of my shoulder, then took hold of his hand and moved it to the base of my spine, where the bow was. “Zachary. Feel underneath the bow, there’s a clasp.” My lips grazed against his as I spoke. I sensed a subtle shift in his breath. “Now, feel at the side here, there’s a zip.” He pulled it down. His eyes never left mine for a second. My heart thumped faster and faster, followed by a swish of silk as the dress fell to the floor. I was standing there with him, in nothing but black lace underwear, which I really hoped he liked. I don’t think he paid much attention, however, as they dropped to the floor with everything else. His lips were on me again in an instant as I undressed him.

He pulled me close so our chests were squashed together and stroked the side of my face. “I really do love you.” I tried to respond, but his mouth covered mine once again as his hands slid under me and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his hips and kissed him back with every ounce of wanting in me.

“Tonight is special, I so want to be with you.” He bit my bottom lip again. “Inside you.” One finger slipped within me and I gasped for breath again. “Completely a part of you.”

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