Page 24 of Deny Me

I held his eyes the whole walk up, feeling the warmth of the sand shift beneath my feet. As I was about to turn to take my spot on the left, I blew him a sultry kiss and wink.

Juliana fell in behind me and finally, Luella. She was stunning with her long brown hair lightly swept back and blowing in the wind. The whole walk down the aisle, her eyes were glued to Jack. The sun only enhanced the beauty of her dress. We all watched, enraptured, as she approached her groom.

The ceremony was gorgeous and simple. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day with the sun shining and the waves crashing, stirring a perfect breeze to keep us cool along the beach. Lu and Jack both spoke their vows and even Jack started choking up, stumbling through his words.

Throughout most of it, my eyes stayed on the gorgeous couple, but when they spoke their vows of love and devotion, I looked over at Jameson. And he was staring right back at me. Instead of looking away, I held his stare. In that stare, memories from the past ten years stretched between us. While Lu and Jack talked about what they’d overcome to stand before each other, I remembered how we had each stood beside them when they struggled and put our jokes aside to help them get to this moment.

A lot of the memories between Jameson and me were of us at each other’s throats in the best way possible, filled with a familial love. But this moment was peaceful, perfect, and a thread that stretched between us, pulling us a little closer.

It warmed my heart and squeezed my chest to have shared that with Jameson. My sweaty palms clasped together in front of me around a simple wildflower bouquet, as my eyes burned with tears, overcome by the emotion crashing over me like the waves beyond. And yet, I couldn’t look away from his dark eyes. They held me captive, forcing me to keep this connection between us. I didn’t want him to see me break under the emotion, but his look held me together, like he always did, one way or another.

“You may kiss the bride!” The officiant exclaimed. Jameson and I smiled at each other while Jack and Lu kissed. In that moment, I’d never felt as tied to another person as I did to him.

Jack and Lu broke our eye contact when they ran down the aisle lined by stones. Shane and I stepped up to one another, and with a smile on his face he leaned down to carry me in a fireman hold and then ran down the aisle. I hollered and laughed, holding on for dear life. When I supported myself on his butt and looked up behind us, I saw Jameson and Juliana frowning, following down the aisle.

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