Page 5 of Accidental Wedding

Chapter 5- Shane

At first, I don’t realize that I’ve woken up. It’s been so long since I’ve slept without nightmares that a deep, relaxed sleep feels foreign to me. But I must have been asleep because I have no idea where I am.

I’m in a bed, but the room doesn’t look like the hotel room I checked into yesterday. Speaking of yesterday… last time I checked, it still was yesterday. But the light coming around the partially pulled drapes tells me that it is definitely morning. I just have no idea how I got here. The last thing I remember is… huh. Was it ordering at the bar?

There’s a surprise waiting for me when I roll over. A woman is sleeping in the large bed next to me. It takes me a moment but looking at her beautiful hair jogs my memory. The hotel bar.

April.

Cautiously, so as not to wake her, I sit up and rub my face. My hands rasp against stubble and I quickly realize that I’m mostly naked under the crisp sheets. A quick glance and good—I’m still wearing my briefs. April doesn’t seem like the type of girl to go for a one-night stand, and quite frankly, I’m not the type of guy to go for them either. When I was first starting out, and younger—oh hell yeah. I can remember some great nights out at bars when I was on leave with my team that ended with the majority of us going home with women we had just met, no expectations of ever seeing them again. But now? I couldn’t do it, be that carefree guy who is only worried about getting laid and who’s turn it is to buy the next round of beers.

No, I haven’t been carefree for a long time—before my team was killed, even. I’ve gotten more serious, more focused with each mission. That’s great for my military career but has sucked for my personal life, according to my friends and teammates. Now, that doesn’t really matter since they’re not here to give me crap about it. They’d especially find my current predicament amusing.

I really hope I didn’t have sex with April last night. Not that I wouldn’t want to have sex with April—she’s incredibly attractive, and from what I remember of our conversation at the bar, is very engaging. I just haven’t had sex with anyone since the accident. Between the emotional trauma of all my friends being killed and the physical injuries, it hasn’t been high on my list of priorities. But after seeing and talking to April last night, it just might be working its way back up.

Feeling like a perv, I take a quick glance under the sheets and see that she still has her bra and panties on. The presence of underwear doesn’t count out us having had sex, but it sure lessens the likelihood.

Well, that’s one less thing to worry about.

Now, to figure out how we got to sleeping in the same bed, in a different hotel room. I slip out from under the sheets and pad my way to the bathroom.

After using the facilities, I take a look in the mirror. I was right about the stubble.

As I turn to grab a towel from the rack so I can wash my hands, something dark flashes out of the corner of my eyes. I turn around and look over my shoulder to see the word “April” freshly tattooed across my left shoulder blade in a swooping cursive font, the black lines dancing above a patch of scar tissue.

With a sinking feeling, I glance down at my hands to see a new addition.

A wedding ring.

I take my time washing my hands, thinking about the situation I’ve found myself in. As I run my hands under the warm water, memories from last night start to come back to me.

April and I had wandered into a casino where I taught her how to play roulette. She’s smart and caught on quickly. We won, so we played some more, wandering to other games as the mood struck. We kept winning. To celebrate winning, we started drinking. After that, things are still a little blurry, but it is slowly coming back to me.

The sound of rustling sheets in the other room grabs my attention. April must be waking up. I step out of the bathroom grab a t shirt from my duffle bag sitting in the corner of the room. She’ll find out that we got married soon enough, but the tattoo might be a bit more of a shock. Throw the shirt on quickly and lean against the doorway, watching as she slowly rolls over in the tousled sheets. Not to be sappy, but she looks almost angelic. She’s a study in light, with the sun caressing her skin. Her hair is spread all across the white pillowcase. In the morning, it’s settled into gentle waves.

A smile slips onto my lips as I watch her start to wake up. We may be married, but I do not know all that much about her. I must say, I’m looking forward to remedying that.

Chapter 6- April

Oh, no more cosmopolitans for me. If the way my head feels is any indication, they were more vodka than anything else.

I roll over, intent on going back to sleep and ignoring my potential hangover as long as possible. That’s when I freeze. The sheets are cool against my stomach. I don’t sleep in anything that shows my stomach.

My eyes fly open and I stick my head under the covers to confirm that yes—I’m naked. Well, not completely. I’m down to my strapless bra and panties, but that isn’t much better.

I slowly lean back against the pillow and stare up at the ceiling, one thought in mind: Did I have sex last night?

No, I couldn’t have… could I?

Despite Kim’s gentle teasing, I’m not saving myself for marriage or anything like that. I just don’t know a lot of people and dating isn’t something I’m interested in right now. Even if it was, I hardly have the time for a boyfriend. That doesn’t mean that I wanted my first-time having sex to be in a hotel room with some random stranger though! I did want it to be meaningful!

A soft chuckle comes from across the room. I peek over the edges of the sheets to see Shane. Oh, that’s a relief—Shane’s… well, while not my boyfriend, also not a complete and total stranger. At least my first time was with someone insanely attractive.

Now I’m kind of upset that I can’t remember anything!

“I can tell by the look on your face that you had the same thought that I did, and I’ll put you at ease. We didn’t have sex last night.”

“Oh… how can you be sure?” I want to take his words as the truth, but I have to check. How am I supposed to know?

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