Page 73 of Reaper Released

“Fuck, Ray, Steel’s gonna shit a brick!” Beauty gasps.

“Is that good or bad?” I question.

“Fuck, that’s good!” she exclaims.

Tali looks in awe. “When I grow up, I wanna be just like you; you're beautiful and badass!”

I give her a face-splitting smile.

“Hermosa, perra loca. Te amo!” “Beautiful, crazy bitch. I love you,” Carmen says.

I smile. “Thank you, but less of the crazy, okay? I love you too!”

I suddenly feel a little shy when I look at Demi. “So what do you think, Sis? Yay, or nay?” I glance down at my dress and smooth out the imaginary creases.

Demi shakes her head. “I can’t right now. I’m barely holding it together. If I start saying what I think, I’m gonna cry and ruin my face, then you’ll ruin your face, and… not happening!” Grinning, she just gives me a thumbs-up.

I laugh and shake my head at her. “Thanks, Demi. You all look fucking beautiful. Right, let’s take some quick photos before we head out!”

We get outside the clubhouse, and Scar stands front and centre, Beauty and Demi behind her, and Carmen and Tali slightly behind and to the side in an arrow formation.

“Ma, will you walk me down to Pa?”

“Really?”

I smile and nod. “I can’t think of anything more perfect.”

“I would love to!” She gushes. Pa Bernie is giving me away as my other pas can’t be here.

Apparently, there’s a photographer and a videographer, so they won’t miss anything. Taking a breath, we walk around the side of the clubhouse towards the green out the back. The girls are covering me from view, they really do look stunning, and Ma… she looks hot as hell. She has a fitted red and white flowered dress, with the same shoes as the girls, a black bolero jacket with a black and red fascinator and as Scar has done her make-up, she has the same shade of lipstick as the rest of us. As we turn to go around the building, I glance over to my right, and I can see Steel at the end of the aisle.

“Holy fuck!” I gasp as I meet his gaze. His smile widens, and his eyes shine. His dimples melt my fucking heart. My breath stutters and I feel like I’m floating. His raven black faux hawk is styled but still has that look I love, like I’ve run my fingers through it. His grey eyes twinkle even from this distance.

Fuck, this man is handsome. It’s then and only then that I realise he’s wearing a suit, a fucking suit. I was expecting jeans and cuts, but he has on a black tailored suit showing his body shape with a black shirt and a red rose for his buttonhole. Ares’s standing next to him in the same suit with a white shirt and white rose buttonhole. Pops is behind them with a book in his hands. Wait… is Pops officiating the ceremony? Well, fuck me.

Steel tosses a wink in my direction, and I melt. That's when everyone looks around. There are a few gasps and mumbles, but I can’t take my eyes off him. As we step forward, the rest of the guys are waiting to escort the girls down the aisle.

Dane steps forward and takes Scar’s hand, and then Beauty steps forward to be greeted by Dozer, who gives her a kiss on the cheek and links arms with her. Bran greets Demi, Carmen’s collected by Viking, and he leans in and kisses her telling her she looks beautiful.

Then he glances over her shoulder and winking at me, mouthing, “You look fucking amazing!”

I smile as I feel my heart swell with all the love I feel at this moment. Tali’s met by Roach. He looks really handsome and is really growing into his features. Gone is the weird kid with a scrawny gangly body. He’s filling out nicely, he’s never gonna be massive, but he’s gaining an athlete’s physique. Tali blushes.

He lifts her hand into the crook of his elbow and leans over. “I’m Roach. You look beautiful!”

She smiles a shy smile and looks away slightly, shy and a little embarrassed. He glances at me, almost as if he’s asking if he’s doing okay, and I give him a smile and a wink. They do look cute together. As Ma and I get to the front, Dice, Tank, Blade, and Priest step forward.

Blade leans in and pulls Ma’s hand to his mouth, giving it a kiss. “We would be honoured to escort you to your seat, Marie!”

Dice takes Marie’s other hand and kisses it too. “Marie, you are a vision of beauty!”

She smiles at them both as Priest gives me a wink, and Tank gives me a smile.

“You all look so handsome,” I whisper. They’re all dressed in matching suits, white shirts, and white buttonholes as they move away. Pa steps forward, but there’s movement to either side of him, and my jaw falls. My eyes glaze over, and I blink and blink again as I try to focus.

Standing there are Pa Cade, Pa Bernie, Pa John and Pa Steven. My lip starts to tremble, and my hands start to shake. I’m trying to hold my shit together but losing it by the second.

Pa Cade steps forward as I reach for him, “Hold it together, Squirt, we got you. You look fucking beautiful! I’m so proud of you.” He kisses me on my cheek, his eyes glazing slightly too, as he stiff upper lips it, and drops to the side of me. Pa Bernie falls into the other side, squeezing my hand, even though I have hold of my bouquet. It still feels surreal, like they're not actually here.

---