Page 21 of Need for Speed

“You should!” she exclaims. “What color?”

I shrug. “I’ve always changed my hair color, but I think I’d like to try a golden brown. It’s been one of my favorite colors I’ve had.”

“That’d be really pretty.” Christy appears and calls Londynn’s name. “Do you want Sadie first she’s thinking of changing hair color if you can?”

Christy pops the bubble gum in her mouth. “I brought color with me just in case. Come on Sadie.”

Christy gets as close to the color as I wanted that she could manage. I’m sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine when my phone alerts me of a text. I look at it and see it’s from Axell. Just seeing his name on my screen still gives me butterflies in my stomach. Londynn comes out of the bathroom looking more like herself and a big smile on her face. Christy motions back to me so I promise to meet Axell at the wedding, as if I’d be anywhere else.

Christy gives my hair a beautiful curled updo with a few strands framing my face. I slip on the bohemian maxi style dress with the red heels Kynlee picked. I’m not sure how we are going to walk in the sand in these, but I put them on anyways. We’re all waiting for Kynlee when she appears looking like a Greek goddess.

Kynlee’s hair is all pulled up and cascading down her back in long curls. There are red tiny jewels woven in throughout her hair. She has a white lace crop top paired with a high waist flowing skirt. The skirt hangs to the floor with a slit on one side going up to her mid-thigh. It looks perfect for both Kynlee and this beach wedding. She has on simple jewelry that add pops of red throughout. “You guys all look so beautiful!” she exclaims as tears start to form in her eyes.

Christy swats her arm. “Don’t you dare mess up my masterpiece by crying.”

We all laugh at that then Kenndrix, Kylee’s best friend, steps forward. “We look like a whole bunch of nothing compared to you. Ace is going to go crazy!”

We disperse to head to the wedding and nervous jitters settle in my stomach not because of the wedding, but because the time to tell Axell is getting closer and closer.

Chapter 8

Axell

I’m standing with my brothers in a circle waiting for the girls to arrive. Ace is the only one missing since he’s waiting at the altar for Kynlee. The limo pulls up and the girls start to file out. You would think that after all this time I’d be used to Sadie’s beauty but I’m not. Her beauty still pulls me and takes my breath away. I don’t know who I would have been or where I would be if it hadn’t been for her coming into my life, but I’m glad I didn’t have to find out.

I take in her lean legs in the high-low dress Kynlee picked out. The heels remind me of those shoes fromWizard of Oz. I love Sadie in red, I always have. Her hair is swept up and away from her neck and face with the exception of a few loose strands. She smiles when she sees me, and it almost feels like our wedding all over again. Seeing the bouquet of red and white roses brings the memory back.

Sadie and I were finally doing it. We were getting married and it was about damn time. We had been saying for years that when the time was right, we would get married. Then we realized that if we kept saying that there’d never be a right time, so we picked a date a month ago and planned the damn thing. Sadie wanted small and, in the park, where I first brought her to. It had a tiny worn gazebo and that’s where we would stand and say our long overdue vows. Only our closest friends and family were here.

I hadn’t been sure what to wear so Sadie had picked out my outfit. It was simple just like me, but I was worried that I would be underdressed compared to her. The simple navy slacks and baby blue button up shirt seemed dressed up for me on mostdays. However, today is far from most days. Today, Sadie will walk down an aisle in a white dress and take my name. She will no longer be Sadie Rogers, she’ll be Sadie James. Just like she should have been so long ago.

Lyndsay, Londynn, and Kynlee had decorated the gazebo for us and made sure the aisle was created. Seth would be walking Sadie down the makeshift aisle. Sadie’s dad was out of town on work, but he already considered us married so he told us not to postpone it until he could be here. There were white and blue hydrangeas bordering the entire railing of the gazebo. They were also tied to each chair at the end of the row and linked together with ribbon. I knew Sadie would love it. They were her favorite flowers.

I sent Lyndsay with the necklace I bought for Sadie to celebrate this day. It was a white gold, three drop diamond necklace to symbolize our past, present, and future. I was hoping she’d like it.

My palms were sweating not because I wasn’t sure about marrying Sadie, but because I was worried about her realizing she deserved better than me. Way before I was ready it was time for me to take my place. I stood there and waited until I saw Sadie. She was breathtaking. She looked like an angel in her white dress. It was lace and fell off her shoulders. I could see the necklace around her neck from here. Her hair was left down and simple with a blue and white flower crown.

As she approached me the world fell away. My palms dried, and I let the air I had been holding out. She was perfection, my perfection. She saved me before I ever knew I needed saving. She loved me when I was convinced, I’d never need anyone. She showed me light out of the darkness. She showed me it was okay to be weak because she’d be my strength in those moments. She taught me everything I know about love. I want to make her smile like this every day for the rest of her life.

When she took my hand and stepped in front of me nothing ever felt more right in this messed up world. We said our vows, we exchanged our rings, and we kissed to seal the deal but in the end none of that mattered. That piece of paper that came with marriage didn’t change us. Sadie had been it for me from the moment I met her. Sadie had been my wife since the moment she moved into our house and took on a role she never had to. The only thing that piece of paper gave us was Sadie legally having my last name.

After the ceremony we had a small reception at JamesTown. We ate, drank, sang, and danced and I fell more in love with Sadie in every moment of it.

Sadie approaches me with a smile. “Hey hot stuff,” she says with a laugh. Once she’s close enough she reaches over and pulls me toward her. “I love this on you.”

I chuckle. “I love you,” I tell her before pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “By the way I like the hair.”

She beams at me. “Good, I was worried you wouldn’t.”

I caress her cheek. “You shouldn’t worry. I always love everything about you.” She tilts her head into my hand and I notice the flash of sadness in her eyes and the heavy sigh, but before I can ask about it we are being ushered to take our spots.

Sadie wobbles and I reach out to catch her. These heels that she has on and this sand do not go together. “These damn shoes,” she whispers.

I nod then turn around toward Kynlee. “These shoes are not going to work very well in this sand.”

“I’m noticing that. What if the girls take them off and the guys carry them?”

We all nod in agreement. The girl’s hurriedly slip their shoes off and hand them over. I often find myself forgetting how short Sadie really is next to me. She’s always been one of those girlsthat loved heels and wedges and at 5’1” she liked the extra height. The only time she wears flats is when she’s heading to work.

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