Page 76 of Jacked and Jaded

He adjusted the cuff of his white long-sleeve button-up shirt. He and his groomsmen were dressed in black dress pants, white shirts, nice boots and their cuts. He told Calliope he would wear a tux if she wanted, but she said she’d rather have this because it’s the way she saw best. He straightened as the sound of music started playing, announcing the arrival and her bridesmaids.

She’d asked Bellamy and Zoey to stand up with her. The memory of the sound of all that squealing when she asked would forever be embedded in his memory. He swore if he’d been a dog, he’d have been howling. He watched as first Bellamy and they Zoey walked down the aisle, big smiles on their faces. They each had on a slim, form-fitting dress in a pretty purple color that ended just below the knee. He remembered Calliope saying something about the skirt being called a pen, pencil, something. He tuned her out when she started talking about the way the lines would accent their figures, blah, blah, blah. All he remembered about that conversation was she’d eventually felt bad when she saw that his eyes had glazed over and made it right by sucking him off. Yeah, that was a good night.

There was a pause between when the bridesmaids came down the aisle and when it was Calliope’s turn to come down the aisle. His breath caught in his chest as she came to stand next to his dad, her hand hooked through his arm. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Her wedding dress was breathtaking and the only thing he remembered about what she told him about the dress was it was white and belonged to her mom. If his soon-to-be mother-in-law looked half as good in it as Calliope did this very moment, she must have been one hot looker the day she got married. Probably made Calliope’s dad’s throat go dry, too.

Watching as she glided down the aisle toward him, her eyes only for him, gave him such a feeling of rightness, he could’ve fallen to his knees and cried. The feelings he had for Calliope were almost too much to handle. He would never, ever, say that shit out loud. His brothers would give him so much hell, he’d have to move out of Redemption. Or worse, he might have to leave the Sons. Didn’t matter, they’d never know.

She was halfway down the aisle, her smile, already beautiful, went nuclear as she nodded her head. Was she serious? He raised a brow in question, trying hard not to get his hopes up. She nodded her head again.

He let out a whoop and charged down the aisle, picked her up and spun her around in circle. Vaguely he heard the guests laughing and asking what was going on. He didn’t care, all his attention was on Calliope. He was holding her tight to his chest, her feet off the ground, her arms around his neck, as he kissed her. He poured all his love, his hopes, his dreams into the kiss, telling her without words how fucking happy she just made him. “For sure?” he whispered against her lips.

“Yes. April 20.” She giggled as she whispered against his.

His dad cleared his throat and chuckled next to them. “You think you might want to get hitched today?”

“Yes. I definitely do.” He lowered Calliope to her feet, placed a quick kiss on her lips then walked quickly back to the front where he was supposed to be waiting for her.

“What was that about?” Trick leaned over asked.

“We’re pregnant.”

“Aww. Congratulations, man.” Trick placed his hand on his shoulder and jostled Jackson around a bit. He then turned to give Race the good news, too. Race snickered on the other side of Trick. He didn’t know if his president was making fun of Jackson for being so excited that he ran down the aisle or for the way Trick used the word aww. Either way, Jackson didn’t care. Not today anyway.

The next twenty minutes flew by so fast, he was glad someone was video-taping it on their phone so he could watch it later. When the minister introduced them as husband and wife, he’d bent her over his arm and kissed her long enough to earn some catcalls and whistles. He helped her stand back up, then turned to their guests. “We’re having a baby!”

The entire group of family and friends cheered for them, his club brothers being the loudest next to Calliope’s mom.

April 15…

Jackson wasat the clubhouse in church, but his mind was not on what was being said. With Calliope’s due date quickly approaching, the more nervous and excited he got. He worried that something might happen to her during delivery and then he’d think about the baby, and he’d get the feeling of how excited for Christmas morning he’d been when he was a kid. He’d had the same feeling of excitement with Ryker. He did not have the same worry for Zoey that he did for Calliope. Not that he wasn’t concerned for her welfare, it was just different since Calliope was his wife and his life without her was something he never wanted to think about.

“You good with that, Jackson?” Race asked from the head of the table.

“Yeah, sounds good,” he replied without having the first clue what they were talking about.

“So, you’re willing to have Chris shave your balls?” Maverick clarified.

“Yes. Wait. What?” Did they say something about shaving his balls?

“We know you’re excited about the new baby, but you gotta focus. We need your input on whether or not to invest in a tattoo shop with Chris.” Race tapped a finger on the the table, kicked back in his chair, one side of his mouth tipped up.

“Uh, yeah. Definitely. Have you seen his work? He fucking impressive. He’s got a natural talent. We should definitely invest in him. I will, whether any of you guys do or not.” Jackson was happy for Chris. He’d done his apprenticing with a pretty popular tattoo artist. The guys said Chris picked it up amazingly fast. His time for working for free was almost at an end. Jackson had fronted him half the money needed to get started. Chris had to buy equipment, tools, etc. He felt Chris had endless potential and the club would be crazy not to invest in him. He could only make more money for the club.

“That’s quite the endorsement,” Dagger spoke up.

“I agree with Jackson,” his dad, Maverick, put his two cents in. “I’ve seen some of the stuff he’s done and he ranks right up there with the best. If we don’t get him under our umbrella, someone else will. Even though Jackson said he would invest in the kid, someone else might see his potential and steal him out from under us.”

“All right. All in favor?” Race raised his hand in favor of supporting their brother. A glance around the table and everyone was in. “Looks like we’re going to be part owners in a tattoo parlor. Jackson, you can give him the good news.”

Jackson nodded his head, happy the club saw the wisdom in investing in Chris. His phone vibrated on the table. He’d been allowed to bring it to church because of Calliope’s approaching due date. His hand immediately shot out and picked it up. It was Calliope. “Babe, you okay?” His heart rate shot through the roof.

“Yes. I’m good. My water broke and Zoey’s taking me to the hospital. Can you meet me there?” Her voice sounded strained, as if she were in pain.

“Have the contractions started?” He stood from his chair, preparing to leave as soon as he hung up.

“Yes. I’m heading out the door. Hurry up and meet me. I don’t want to do this alone.” He could hear her releasing a long breath.

“I’m on my way.” He started to hang up, then added, “I love you, baby.”

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