Three Years Later

by Casey McMillin

  In the interest of trying to be a good sport, I waited another full minute. I literally counted to sixty on my head. I heard the door swoosh just as I was about to give up and open my eyes.

  I knew someone was on the balcony with me. I figured it was Gretchen, and I tried to ask her what was going on, but she wouldn't answer me. I didn't get the point of all this. I decided I didn't care if it ruined their joke… I was going to open my eyes.

  And all of a sudden I could feel a presence behind me. It was a comfortable, friendly presence. I certainly didn't get the feeling that I was about to be thrown from the balcony or anything. For some reason, the warmth that came with this person standing behind me made me okay with keeping my eyes closed. I was so relaxed I sort of wanted to keep them closed.

  I thought I felt the person behind me brushing my arm. That probably should have concerned me, but it didn't. I just took a second to bask in the unexplained comfort I felt. It was such a nice evening. I breathed in the cool crisp air of Las Vegas in September. I caught a whiff of something. It was familiar. I knew that smell from somewhere. I smelled that smell earlier tonight, wait, that's not… Collin. My eyes sprang open and I whirled around to stare right at his face.

  "Collin," I said, suddenly unable to get an adequate amount of air in my lungs. How had I been so relaxed only seconds before and now be instantly wound so tight? I read romance novels where women swoon, and I always rolled my eyes at the notion, but the sight of him so overwhelmed me that my knees buckled slightly. He caught me up in his arms, and I relaxed into his embrace.

  "Rachel." My name came from his lips on a raspy breath. I knew by his voice that he was just as desperate for the feel of me as I was for the feel of him.

  In the back of my mind it registered that we were out here alone, and this had obviously been a big set-up. I glanced to my left, through the floor to ceiling windows of the suite, and could make out faces trying not to be obvious about staring at us.

  I had never cared about anything less in my life. They could look all they wanted. I was in Collin Blake's arms.

  I looked up at him. He pulled back just far enough for his eyes to focus on my face. He drank in my features as if he was learning them, memorizing them. I remembered his lips on mine at the banquet earlier tonight, and desperately wanted to feel them again. We just stared into each other's eyes. So much communicated without a single word.

  His stormy blue eyes almost looked violet in the dark of night. A countless number of emotions flashed across each of our faces during those long seconds, but the one that took the forefront for each of us was relief. I felt oddly like I just had a huge weight lifted off my chest.

  I let my eyes drift from his eyes to his lips, his wonderful, chiseled lips. That was the only hint he needed. Within two seconds of me glancing down at his mouth, he was kissing me.

  He gripped my face in his hands, holding me at just the right angle for him to access my mouth. He kissed me over and over again with a gentleness that drove me crazy with desire. He put his lips onto mine with a feather-light touch. It teased my senses in a way I'd never experienced before. I wanted him so badly I couldn't think straight.

  I let out a frustrated moan. He groaned in response. A groan that told me he was about to tear his lips from mine before he did something that might embarrass us both. I didn't want the kiss to end, even at the risk of us making a spectacle of ourselves out here.

  "I need you," I whispered, hoping to make him reconsider stopping the kiss.

  "I know."

  "What do you mean, you know?"

  "I know you need me. I think we might need each other."

  "Yea, you think so?" I asked in a half teasing tone. I smiled at him. A true smile that, I hoped, conveyed just how happy I was to be in his arms.

  "Marry me Rachel." I knew he was serious. I could just tell he wasn't saying it lightly. "Marry me tonight. Or tomorrow maybe, I don't know, but say you'll marry me." He paused to smile at me. "I hate to tell you but you're stuck with me whether you like it or not. Meeting you three years ago created a void inside me. I knew it was there, but I didn't realize until tonight how bad I needed you—"

  "Yes."

  "You have to understand. I knew I needed you from the… what'd you say?"

  "Yes, of course. Yes."

  He lit up like a kid at Christmas.

  "You will? Are you serious? Wait, hang on a second, I was planning on doing this right… or at least a little less wrong."

  He dropped to one knee, looking up at me. My heart started beating even faster as I understood the gravity of what was happening. He's on his knee. This is real. He's really proposing.

  His hair was cropped close on the sides, but had grown out a bit on top, and a blond curl fell over his forehead. He was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen. I hadn't had time to appreciate how handsome he looked earlier. He had loosened his tie, and taken off the tux jacket, revealing the fitted vest underneath. He was huge, even on one knee. I took the in the sight of him. He was my very own prince charming. I sighed, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

  "It's plastic," he said, bringing me back to the present.

  "What?" I asked, confused.

  "The ring. It's plastic, but it's just for tonight." He pried a woman's ring off of his little finger and held it out for me to take. The stone was huge, like something you'd imagine Wilma Flintstone wearing.

  What happened next was so fast, it seemed like a big blur. Just as I reached out to take the ring from him and put it on my finger I risked a glance at the people who I assumed were still watching us from inside. I could see Gretchen standing at the door with her hands over her mouth, a look of shocked excitement on her face.

  Then, all of a sudden I was smiling and putting the ring on my finger and Collin was on his feet gathering me into his arms.

  Gretchen must have taken my glance toward her as a green light to join us, because the patio door flung open. The sounds of cheering and applause filled the balcony, and I glanced toward the windows again. There must have been fifty people standing at the windows watching us. All of them were smiling and clapping. Some of the couples were even celebrating by kissing each other like it was New Year's or something. Gretchen led the way and a handful people poured out onto the patio to congratulate us.

  "I can't believe it! I can't believe you seriously did it." One of the guys I recognized from earlier tonight was slapping Collin on the back.

  "Oh my God, let me see the ring," Cassie said, holding a hand out to me.

  And at the exact same time, as if they planned it, four or five of the guys said, "It's plastic."

  Everyone laughed, but the statement made Joel ask, "Was the proposal real?" He wasn't trying to be rude. It was a fair question since, as far as he knew, Collin was fresh off a breakup, and this was all happening really fast. I actually thought it was a little sweet that Joel was being protective of me, but in this case, it was totally unnecessary.

  Collin put a possessive arm around my shoulder and looked at Joel square in the eye. His serious face broke into a grin when, (after a good, hard guy-stare) he realized Joel's intentions were good.

  "The proposal was very real," was all Collin said. Again, he looked at me. My gaze met his, and he put his lips to mine with a sort of finality that everyone around us understood.

  Chapter 18

  Collin

  Obtaining a marriage license was a piece of cake in Clark County, Nevada. They basically sold them on street corners here. Maybe not street corners, but the process was extremely easy.

  Rachel's assistant, Gretchen, actually took care of it online beforehand and all we had to do was go pick it up. Finding a chapel to have the ceremony in was easy as well. We just chose the most expensive one that was still open, hoping to avoid getting stuck with a bad Elvis impersonator.

  Roughly thirty people who had been at Paul Smith's party were planning on coming to the ceremony, the rest of them were already too drunk to make it safe
ly to the chapel. I was glad we'd have an audience. I wanted Rachel to feel like she experienced at least some semblance to a real wedding.

  I told her we could have another wedding, a real one, once we settled into our new lives. She said we could talk about it, but as of now, she didn't feel like she was missing out on anything.

  We would meet our friends at the chapel in an hour, but for now we came back to our rooms at the Oasis to get a few things squared away. Rachel and I had already stopped by the County Clerk's Office, so all we had to do now was freshen up and call our families to let them know.

  Rachel's room was on the nineteenth floor. I knew she'd be getting out of the elevator before me since I had to go up to my room on the twenty-eighth floor to get my tux jacket.

  Rachel looked at her phone to read an incoming text, then she said, "The girls are already in my room. Gretchen has Tara and Cassie scouring the city for fresh flowers. I wouldn't be surprised if she pulls off catering and a photographer too," she added, laughing.

  We hadn't been in the elevator long so I knew we had a minute before we reached her floor. I was holding her hand, and I used the contact to pull her into my arms.

  "I still can't believe it's real. You're real." I said. "I want you like I've never wanted anything else. It kind-of scares me. I'm not used to things I can't control."

  "For what it's worth, I'm scared too," she said. Then, she quickly amended, "I'm not scared that this is wrong, though." She gestured back-and-forth between herself and me.

  I smiled, I was totally confident that she didn't think we were wrong. There was absolutely no room for doubt. We were right for each other… meant to be together. "I know you're not scared," I assured her. "But it's a lot to take in, for both of us. We're going to have some changes here soon. It'll all work out, though."

  She took a deep breath. "Let's not think about any of that right now," she said. "I say we just enjoy our wedding day. My future self will deal with that stuff another time."

  I barely had time to put my lips on hers again before the elevator dinged and opened onto the nineteenth floor. "Nineteen twenty-two," she said, giving my hand a squeeze. "I'll be waiting."

  I wanted to say, to hell with the tux, and the friends, and the ceremony period, I'm taking you to bed, but I told myself to be patient… that I'd only have to wait for a couple more hours.

  It was the first time since I'd found her on the balcony that she'd be out of my sight, and even though it would just be for a few minutes, I hated to be apart from her. The debacles that ensued the last two times she'd been out of my sight made me a little reluctant to leave her at all.

  "I love you," I said.

  The elevator doors had just started closing when she registered the words. She sprang back into the elevator car in the nick of time for the doors to miss her.

  "I'll drop you off at twenty eight and ride back down," she said, momentarily breathless from the jump. I smiled. My arms felt so much better with her in them. The elevator car shook to a start, headed to my floor.

  "I wasn't planning on jumping back in," she said, a little shyly, "I just thought you said—"

  "I love you?"

  "Yes."

  "I did."

  "You did?"

  "Yes."

  "I do too. Love you, I mean." She was smiling.

  "You do?" I was smiling back.

  "Yeah, I do. I really do. It's still kind of weird that I can say that since we barely, well, you know, since…"

  "I know there's nothing normal about what we have together. But I love you and everything else will just fall into place accordingly."

  "I think so too," she said.

  The elevator door opened. This time, it was my turn to step out. I promised her I'd come to her room as soon as I could.

  I put on my tux jacket and ran a comb through my hair. I got a text from Josh saying Joel drove him to the chapel, and everything was on track to have the ceremony as soon as we could get there. The chapel was a couple of miles from the hotel, but Josh said it was really easy to find. I told him we'd be there within the hour.

  I would be in some really deep water with my mother if I got married without at least telling her first. So, despite the late hour, I sucked it up and called her.

  Mom (in a sleepy voice): "Is everything okay?"

  Me: "Everything's fine mom. I just have some good news I wanted to tell you about."

  Mom: "What baby? An endorsement?"

  I had to wonder why I was hesitant to tell her. I cringed a little bit, but decided to get to the point.

  Me: "No, I'm getting married."

  Mom: "Yeah?" (a pause) "Beth's a nice girl sweetie, but are you sure you—"

  Me: "It's not Beth."

  Mom: "What do you mean it's not Beth?"

  Me: "The girl I'm marrying, her name's Rachel Coleman."

  Mom: "I don't understand what this is, Collin. Some kind of joke?"

  Me: "It's not a joke mom. I'm sorry. I know it comes as a shock. It was a shock for me too. I met Rachel three years ago at the NCAA Showcase, and she's here in Vegas."

  Mom: "Oh, God, Collin. I forgot you had Vegas this weekend. Please tell me you're not talking about getting married to this girl while you're there."

  Me: "Yes mom, that's what I'm talking about."

  Mom: "Collin James Blake, listen to your mother… Are you drunk right now?"

  Me: "No, Mom. I promise."

  Mom (with no remaining sleepiness in her voice): "Collin this is a decision you need to take some time with. If you're supposed to be with this girl, you'll marry her eventually, okay? I know you're probably feeling like you really want to do this right now but it's much better for both of you if you don't do something crazy like this."

  Me: "Mom, I know you're just trying to help, but I'm not asking for your advice, or for permission. I'm marrying her. I love her. She's the one, Mom. I think you'll love her too when you meet her."

  Mom: (After a resigned sigh.) "Collin, when are you planning on doing this?"

  Me: "Now. I just wanted to let you and Dad know. You should be happy for me, trust me. It's the best choice I've ever made."

  Mom: "Hold on a second baby. I'm going to wake your father. You need to talk to him before you do anything."

  Me: "Mom, I don't have time. I just called to let you and dad know so you could be happy for me. Give dad my love… I just don't have time to talk right now."

  Mom: "Is there anything I can say to make you reconsider this?"

  Me: "No. But I love you Mom."

  Mom: "I love you too sweetheart. I want you to be happy, but are you sure you're—"

  Me: "This makes me happy, mom. She makes me happy."

  Mom: "Okay. But, I'm worried about you. Please call and let me know what's going on."

  Me: "That's what I'm doing."

  Mom: (After a chuckle.) "Okay well, thanks for keeping me in the loop then, I guess. I love you Collin."

  Me: "Love you too. Bye Mom."

  Mom: "Bye honey."

  By the time I got off the phone with my mom, Ethan, Chris, and Bryce were in my room, along with the showgirl Ethan picked up within the last hour. I assumed she was planning on coming with him to the wedding since she was here now. At Joel's party, she was wearing the swimsuit style outfit with the big headdress, but she toned it down a lot since then. She had a matching wrap thing that she wore as a skirt, making her show outfit look more like a dress. Also, the majority of the headdress must have been removable, because while she still had something on her head, it was simple and understated. She was a really pretty girl, and I gave Ethan a hard time (in front of her) for how smitten he looked.

  "I think your guests are on their way." Bryce said. "I talked to Kyle. He said Cassie and a few others are with Rachel, but he's with the rest of the people from Paul's that left for the chapel."

  "Yeah, I talked to Josh. He's already up there."

  "You're really doing this, man," Ethan said. "I can't believe it."

&
nbsp; "I can't either. It's the right thing, though. I hope you know that." I guess I felt like I needed to justify it because of the phone call with my mom.

  "Hey," Ethan said, raising a hand in surrender. "I'm behind you dude. I think you'll be good together. I mean, she's obviously hot, so that's a plus." I gave him a fake punch on my way past him.

  "Let's go," I said.

  ****

  "You better not be peeking!" Gretchen had her hands wrapped around my eyes.

  "I just saw her thirty minutes ago, remember?"

  "A lot can happen in thirty minutes," Gretchen assured me. I opened my eyes expecting to see Rachel in the same black dress she'd been wearing earlier, but what I saw was entirely different. She apparently traded dresses with another girl, so instead of black, she had on silver. The dress fit her like a glove. It molded to her body like liquid mercury. Something in her hair was sparkly, like a headband or a tiara. She looked like an angel.

  "Is it okay?" Rachel was looking a bit self-conscious as if she thought I might not like it. "Cassie and I are about the same size, and it's just that, well, I didn't want to get married in black."

  I wanted everyone except her to disappear from the room so I could peel that dress off of her, very slowly. I had an animalistic urge to claim her in some way, like tattoo my name across her back or something.

  "Collin? You think it's okay?"

  Instead of saying actual words, I think I moaned in front of all those people. This girl brought me to my knees. I had to remind myself there were people waiting for us at the chapel.

  "It's beautiful… you're beautiful." I said. Beautiful was not even close to adequate, I just couldn't think of any other word. I could hardly think at all.

  "It's not white, but at least it's not black. I didn't want our wedding pictures to look like something from a Tim Burton movie."

  Suddenly I felt guilty for springing this whole thing on her. I wanted her to feel like she had a proper wedding. I closed the gap between us and reached for her, pulling her next to me with an arm around her back. I looked down at her and waited until she was looking at me, making sure I had her full attention.