Page 61 of Fast

I realize I’m still holding Zara’s hand when Chance pulls her by his side, an annoyed look on his face.

My brother isn’t the only one who looks less than pleased, however.

Dad is looking at us with a look on his face that’s far from the happy one he’s had all day.

Chapter 14

Rules Of Engagement

CHANCE

It’s well past midnight when the last few guests say their goodbyes and leave.

“Doesn’t the club have a delivery service for wedding presents?” I grunt, loading a heavy box onto the bed of my truck.

“We do,” Trey says. I played hockey with him at school. He's always worked at the Club in the summer. “But the mayor said he didn’t want to inconvenience us, since the end of the summer is pretty busy for us.”

Typical Dad.

If this was just a ploy to look good in front of his constituents, I could be mad; but Dad is a genuinely nice guy. He’s always been quick to offer a helping hand to whoever needed it, and he raised us the same way.

Case in point, he told us to help Trey load the presents in his car and my truck, and he’s helping, too.

“This is the last one,” I grunt, lifting another heavy box and wiping some not so imaginary sweat off my forehead. “I thought the bride and groom asked for charity donations in lieu of presents, anyway. I’m surprised there’s so much stuff.”

“We did,” Dad says, walking toward his G-wagon. “But most people decided to do both. I’m grateful, but we have every appliance you can think of, so most of these will be duplicates.”

Ares shrugs, clearly unimpressed. “Maybe you can donate the stuff that you already own?”

“It’s an idea,” Dad muses. “But we’ll have to tread carefully. I don’t want to offend anyone who was generous enough to give to charity and still get us a present. I’ll see what Kelly thinks. You can take anything you want for your apartment.”

Ares doesn’t react to the sour note in Dad’s tone when he mentions his apartment. Our father’s disappointment when Ares decided to move out hasn’t lessened with time.

“Thanks Dad. My apartment doesn’t have a ton of space, but I wouldn’t say no to one of those fancy coffee makers with the pods, if someone gifted you one. Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you had booked the penthouse suite here at the club for your wedding night? I was going to ride with Chance and stay at the house tonight. But if you want me to drive your car with the presents, I can do that and come back to pick you up tomorrow.”

Dad unlocks his car. “Kelly wanted a few minutes to get out of her wedding dress and get ready, so I thought I’d drive the presents home, and then come back. Zara can ride with me while Chance takes Lev home. Then the three of us could have a little nightcap, and toast to this new beginning for our family.”

Zara and Lev come out a few minutes later, and I can’t help but throw a wink in her direction. I’m sure Dad won’t keep us too long. If I were him, I would be helping my bride out of her wedding dress, rather than driving home. Fuck, if it was me marrying Zara? I would rip that wedding dress off of her with my fucking teeth.

The thought is quite foreign to me. I’ve never thought about marriage before. As it is, I used to think that Atlas was crazyfor planning to marry Heather the second she turned eighteen. Maybe I felt that way because I hadn’t met anyone special enough to see myself with them forever.

It’s not that I think Zara is that person. We’re both too young to be thinking about marriage. There’s also the fact that we haven’t known each other that long. The point is, though, that if I ever get married, it will be to someone like Zara; she’s beautiful and fun, and I love her wild side. My mind is made up that if Dad hurries up with his night cap, I’m gonna rip that bridesmaid dress off of Zara with my fucking teeth. As a hockey player, I know the importance of practice, so I’m going to perfect undressing my girl.

“Do you guys want any help with those presents?” Zara asks when I park my truck next to Dad’s car in front of our house.

“No, sweetheart. The boys and I won’t be long. We’ve all had a long day. You go to bed. I know your mom is planning to thank you tomorrow, but I just wanted to say how beautiful you were today and how happy you made Kelly by agreeing to be her maid of honor. Thank you for helping make our day absolutely perfect.”

Zara smiles, accepting Dad’s hug. “You’re more than welcome, Scott. I haven’t seen my mom so happy in forever. I hope to see the two of you always so happy and in love.”

I don’t miss the little smile she gives me as she turns to go to her room.

“What would you guys like to drink? Is bourbon ok?” Dad asks, as we follow him to the living room. “I know you’re both underage, even though Ares will be twenty-one in a couple of weeks. But this is a special occasion, and I’m not going to tell anyone if you won’t.”

We both accept tumblers of bourbon on the rocks, and lift our glasses when Dad toasts to “our new family.”

“Sit down with me for a second,” he says, lowering himself onto the armchair on one side of the couch. “I wanted to talk to you both about something.”

Ares and I look at each other. What can be so important that Dad feels the need to talk about right this second?

---