Page 68 of Bullet
“I don’t know, Nicky,” Avery said, “this was a little nuts.”
“Eh, maybe, but I could tell these two were going to continue to be idiots. Hey.” Nick held an envelope in the air, “Iamkeeping this money though,” he said to Celia then looked at me, “and you’re not quitting as VP, so go home and fuck or do whatever you have to do to get over that shit.” He lifted my jacket off the chair and tossed it over to me. “You also owe me ten stacks.”
“I’ll bring it tomorrow,” I grumbled.
“Good. Come on, Avery, let’s go show everyone that video,” Nick said.
“I think I can figure out how to cast it to the television,” Avery said as they walked out.
Fair punishment.
Celia turned and faced me. “Wow. You really ran in here all heroic like and saved me.”
“Yeah, well,” I looked into her eyes, “I’m in love with you, so what are you gonna do?”
“Harry, I don’t expect you to forgive me, but—”
Celia didn’t even get the full statement out before I took her face in my hands and kissed her. For a minute there, I really thought Nick was going to hurt her and I panicked. I was so glad she was okay that it pushed everything out of my mind.
“I love you,” I said. “I’m not sure what all this means for us, but I know I don’t want to give up on this.”
Celia shook her head. “All I’ve wanted is to just be with you without this ugly thing between us. I love you, too.” She kissed me again and then pulled away. “Do we have to stay here?”
“No,” I replied. “I also kind of stole my dad’s car and left him at the bank, so I need to rectify that.”
“Oh, let’s do that,” she said, “then let’s go back to your place so you can re-enact busting in with your gun out to save me, because…” She smiled and licked her lips. “I need to be able to undress you immediately after you do it.”
“Let’s go quickly then.”
I took her hand in mine and dragged her out of the warehouse through the back door, and we smiled, knowing that after the shit we’d been through together in just a few short months, surviving the rest of our lives should be a breeze.
Epilogue
Bullet
For the fact that a courthouse wedding was just that, it was far more beautiful than I expected it to be. Hoppa’s City Hall was nestled right at the base of the mountains, so when standing outside, the backdrop was a picturesque scene of the sun kissing the peaks, and the red sand spanning the desert floor. The sun was setting, and I couldn’t stop myself from taking a thousand pictures as Cameron and Marisha stood face to face, holding hands, and beaming as the pastor performed his small ceremony.
Cameron was wearing a suit and Marisha, a white sundress that was flowing in the evening wind. They looked so in love, it brought a tear to my eye and I was happy I’d met Marisha when I did so that she and my dad didn’t have to spend another single day apart. He’d proposed within a month of my approving of her, moved her in a week later, and just shy of a six-month engagement, the two were tying the knot at the courthouse. They had their license, now they were just exchanging a few vows before making it official.
Celia and I were standing hand in hand a few feet back from where Cameron and Marisha were. Close enough to hear, but far enough for them to have their moment.
“I don’t want to do that,” Celia said. “I want a big, expensive wedding.”
I side-glanced her. “Really?”
“Yeah. I’ve changed a grown man’s diapers. When that day comes, I want it to be all about me and my future husband, and I want it to be the most luxurious thing we can afford.” She looked back at me. “That’s not a dealbreaker, is it?”
I smiled at her. “Nope. If a big, expensive wedding is what you want, a big, expensive wedding is what you shall have. I guess I’d better start saving up, huh?”
“What makes you think I’m marrying you? I barely even like you,” Celia joked, and I rolled my eyes. She laughed. “In all honesty, as corny as it sounds, I wouldn’t really care what we did.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “I’m not going to be able to focus on much else besides you.”
It made my heart skip a beat. “You have traveled far from being afraid of commitment.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have stuck with you for this long if I wasn’t committed to it. It’s not like our one-year anniversary is too far away,” she replied.
