Page 23 of The Puck Decoy

“You didn’t care that you were ruining my hockey game, and have pretty much been a pain in my ass ever since, but you’re still my best friend in the whole world,” I tell her truthfully, because outside of my sister, she is the one other person I truly care about and the only person I could picture myself doing this with. “You’ve been by my side for ten years, and I can’t think of another person I would want to take this journey with.” Iensure to choose my words carefully given the extra guests in attendance, but I hope she knows how much I mean them.

“Joshua,” she all but whispers, her knuckles white as they fist around mine, but I squeeze them right back, letting her know that no matter what, I will always be there to hold her hand.

“I mean it, Hals, I’ll always be your best friend. No matter what.”

I hear a sniffle from behind her, and my gaze flicks to my sister who has tears streaming down her face, and I watch as Daemon silently hands her a tissue. Yet when I hear another sniffle, I look behind me to find Nova handing Reign a tissue too, while Archer grins like an idiot.

When I turn back to Hallie she is watching them with a smile, but when her eyes flick back to mine, I find them glossy with unshed tears of her own. Then she exhales a slow breath as her thumb works back and forth over the top of my hand.

“Josh, you’re my best friend too, and it feels special to admit that to you when we are standing somewhere I consider to be our spot,” she admits softly, before turning to my sister and adding, “Sorry, Mads, you know I still love you.” Everyone laughs and when she turns back to me, her eyes are shining bright. “I still don’t know what I was looking for the day I met you. I think I was just anxious about moving to a new town, and wanting somewhere quiet to clear my head. I guess I know you well enough now to realize you were doing the same.” Her smile is sad now, as she no doubt thinks of the parents I grew up with and the reason we are truly here. “You’ve always been a lost boy to me, the Peter to my Tinkerbell, and well, I guess I just want you to know that from the moment I found you I knew that you were special, that you would be important to me, I just never imagined how much, and I’m glad we get to take this journey together too.”

A choked sob leaves Reign now, which has Archer cackling even more, much to the minister's dismay, as he huffs at them both before focusing back on us. Yet my eyes remain on Hallie’s, on the way she is looking at me, and not just looking, but seeing me, all of me. The good, the bad, the awful, and yet still, deep down I can tell she meant every word she just said, and it should make me feel good inside. I should be thankful to have someone like her beside me, but all it does is remind me of what a dick I’ve been to her for the last few years.

The Peter to my Tinkerbell.

Stupid, childish nicknames that I used to detest, yet now they remind me that no matter how bad my father and mother might be, I still have a sister who loves me, and a friend–and almost wife–who would do anything for me.

“Now for the exchanging of rings,” the minister declares, interrupting my thoughts, and I turn to Daemon who is already holding the ring I got for Hallie between his fingers for me.

I take it from him and focus my attention back on my bride. We let the minster speak and repeat the words after him, me going first and slipping the matching band I got with her engagement ring onto Hallie’s finger. Then she goes next, surprising me with a ring of my own which is a simple platinum band with a small emerald strip down the center. It matches hers perfectly, and as rings go, it’s one I won’t mind wearing everyday. The feel of it is a welcome weight as we hold each other's hands and wait for this whole thing to become official.

“By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

“You may kiss the bride.”

Five words. Five simple words that have my heart thundering in my chest. And not just the words, but everything else too. The groom, this place, the dress. Oh the dress. It’s so beyond perfect that I can’t even begin to describe it. Then this place, the place where I first saw him, first met him, first heard his name, now scattered with flowers and candles that led me straight to him.Him.The boy. The perfect boy with the broken smile, now looking at me like I have just given him everything, and just like the first day I met him, all I can do is smile back.

You may kiss the bride.

Five simple words and the first of our rules goes right out of the window.

Without hesitation, Josh pulls me in until I am flush against him, then reaches up and gently cups the back of my neck, his thumbs tipping my chin back towards his full height, as he whispers with a smile, “It’s okay, Tink, we both know you love breaking the rules anyway.”

Then before I can even bother denying him, his lips are on mine and every other thought apart from how he tastes evaporates from my mind. The kiss is soft, yet insistent, dominant in a way I have never experienced before, and probably never will again, as Josh ruins me for everyone else, just like he always does. His mouth moves against my own, his tongue gently teasing the seam of my lips, and just as I’m about to open and grant him access, he pulls away, his breathing heavy as he stares at me in wonder. His eyes are glazed and a little unsure as we both ignore the hollers of congratulatory cheers around us.

Josh is looking at me like he has never seen me before, and it unnerves me enough to make a joke. “Well that was about as awful as I imagined.” I tell him boldly, lying through my teeth as I try to get my heartbeat to return to a normal pace. One more kiss from him and I might just be ruined forever.

Josh just smirks. “Oh yeah? Imagine me kissing you often, do you?” He is still holding me against him, and with the noise everyone is still making, the only one who can hear him is me.

“You wish. I never think about such things, which is good because I would be greatly disappointed.” Another lie considering I can still feel the warmth of his lips against mine, and it’s taking every ounce of self control I have to not lean in and kiss him again, just for one more taste.

“You’re a terrible liar.”I am.

“And you’re a terrible kisser.”He’s not.

“Well, anytime you want to test that theory, Mrs. Peters, all you have to do is ask.”Mrs. Peters.Be still my beating heart.

Ignoring his attempts to rile me up, I take a step back from him and square my shoulders as I quietly toss back, “I wouldn’t hold your breath, I’d rather choke.”

His fingers slip between mine, and we turn towards where everyone is waiting to congratulate us as he softly adds, “That could also be arranged, there is no rule against that after all.”

Heat engulfs me at his words, and I force myself not to react as I look towards my best friend who is smiling wildly at us both.

“You guys, that was so beautiful,” Maddie sniffles, wiping another tear from her eyes, and I stare at her confused considering she knows this whole thing is fake and I know she isn’t that good of an actress. So why the hell is she crying? “Here, I brought your ‘something old’,” she adds, pulling a polaroid picture from her purse and handing it to me.

The picture is of me and Josh when we were kids, taken by her in this very spot as we played one of our many hockey games together. “Maddie, I can’t believe you still have this, it’s perfect.” I remember the summer she was obsessed with taking pictures with that camera, no activity of ours was safe from her lens.

Maddie shrugs with a smile. “Maybe I always knew you guys were meant to be,” she tells us, as Josh moves to hand me something else.

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