Three Years Later

by Casey McMillin

  "Are you okay with this?" I asked. "I know it's probably not what you dreamed of when you were—"

  "I'm so okay with this," she said, beaming. I couldn't believe she was so easy going with everything tonight. I couldn't believe she was mine. Which reminded me…

  I wrapped my arm around her waist and turned us both in the direction of our friends. They'd been watching my reaction to her dress and the conversation that followed. They were still looking at us. I was staring into the faces of Bryce and Chris from Arizona, Ethan and his showgirl date, Kyle's girlfriend Cassie, and Rachel's assistant Gretchen.

  "Okay, guys. Here's how it's gonna go down. When we're done with this ceremony, Rachel and I are going to come back to this room. We are going to lock that door, and not come out of it for two days. Gretchen, if you can just take care of covering for her at work, and Ethan if you'll talk to Coach for me." I looked at each of them for assurance and they both nodded like it was no problem. "We won't be answering the phone, we won't be answering the door… not for our mothers, or our sisters, or the President of the United States. If that holds anybody up I'm sorry. Ethan, I know you weren't planning on staying past tomorrow, so you can take my truck back home if you need to. Gretchen, if you need to get back to L.A., I can buy your plane ticket, I'm sure you could take Rachel's car, or you can all just hang in Vegas and wait for us, I don't care. But, after the ceremony, when this door is locked, we'll be unavailable for questions or comments on anything. Two days. Everybody got it?"

  Chapter 19

  Rachel

  The chapel was perfect. It had a rustic quality that I hadn't been expecting in the middle of Las Vegas. The website claimed there was seating for fifty, so I figured it would be about half full. We had a few options like music and lighting (which Gretchen chose because she knew my taste), but otherwise the ceremony would be pretty standard.

  When I entered the room to walk down the aisle, I was astounded. Every seat in the house was occupied, and there were at least fifty more people crammed in, standing against the wall.

  I was overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of so many people here to watch us say our vows. I had to tell myself to keep it together. I looked around at some of the faces in the crowd just for a distraction. Everybody was still dressed in evening attire from the banquet we had gone to earlier.

  I found Cassie in the crowd and we shared a knowing smile. She was wearing my black dress and shoes. I must be slightly bigger than her, because my dress hung on her slightly and hers fit me like a second skin. Silver was totally acceptable for a bride, I thought. I was just thankful to get closer to white, if for no other reason than for the sake of the pictures my mother would be seeing later.

  We purchased a basic wedding band for Collin, but decided to just use the plastic one for me. Thinking about that plastic ring made me smile. Even when we did purchase a replacement, I certainly wouldn't be throwing away the one he'd given me tonight. The guy who officiated our wedding looked just like Ryan Seacrest, which made the experience even more surreal.

  Collin and I opted for a standard Christian ceremony, and everything went off without a hitch. Gretchen stood up with me, and Collin's good friend Josh stood with him. Within a half hour of our arrival at the chapel, we had already exchanged vows.

  Afterward, we took some photos and opened some champagne. Gretchen and Josh made toasts. Ethan did an impromptu pass the hat for donations toward a wedding present. The guests threw everything into a big paper gift bag the people working at the chapel dug up. I didn't even look inside. I was curious, but I wanted to save it for later.

  Collin drove us back to the hotel in my car. Before we even got in, he reminded everyone that we would be off the grid for two full days. I was so excited. I couldn't help but feel like these were about to be the best two days of my life.

  Collin had to make major adjustments to the seat position, but after he got that all figured out he decided he loved my car.

  "I might have to get one of these," he said, pushing the gas pedal a little for effect.

  "I'll buy you one," I said. "What color do you want?"

  "Are you trying to tell me I married rich?"

  "I have a pretty good job," I said.

  "Good enough to seriously buy me one of these if I wanted you to?"

  "Definitely. We can go by the dealership now if you want to."

  We were stopped at a red light, and he glanced over the console at me with a look of slight skepticism, unsure of whether or not I was joking around.

  "I do have a good job, but I don't have to do things like buy you a car if that makes you feel weird."

  "It doesn't make me feel weird at all. I'm glad you'd be my sugar mama if I'd let you." He was looking at the road but there was a huge smile on his face as he shifted into first gear and took off at a good clip. "I'll just drive your's for now, though."

  ****

  Even though it was past midnight, there were several other people in the elevator with us on the way up to my room. We were both facing the elevator door, but Collin had his arms around me, holding on for dear life. The older couple remarked on how cute we looked together and Collin told them we'd just been married. Everyone was still congratulating us when the elevator made it to our floor.

  Room nineteen twenty-two was quiet and dark. We were truly alone for the first time. I'd read enough in books to be quite familiar with what was supposed to happen tonight, but I still felt a little nervous. I couldn't think of a better way to lose my virginity than with Collin Blake on our wedding night, so I tried to tell myself to relax and enjoy it.

  "What is it?" Collin asked, seeing that faraway look in my eyes.

  "I hope you're okay with me not knowing what I'm doing."

  "How so?"

  "You know. In bed."

  "There's not much to know," he said, reassuring me. "I don’t want to hear about it, but I'm sure whatever experience you've already had will suffice. There's no reason to worry."

  "That's the problem. I don't have any experience." He gave me a confused look like he didn't understand what I was saying. Was I going to have to spell it out? "It'll be my first time," I said sheepishly.

  "You're a virgin?" He still had that confused look like he heard me, but he thought he must be mistaken.

  "Yeah, I mean I've had boyfriends, and I have a good idea what's going to happen, but uhh, I just never—"

  Collin stopped me with a hand in the air. He had that look in his eyes again, the one that made me feel like he didn't want to be held accountable for his actions. He took a deep breath. I could see the rise and fall of his chest under the fitted tux.

  "Rachel, you have no idea how it makes me feel knowing I'm going to be the first and last man inside you." (Another deep breath.) "I just hope I can be gentle enough with you. I hope I can, you know, hold back enough to avoid hurting you. Will you tell me if I hurt you?"

  "I don't want you to hold back, though." I said, reaching up to run my nails through his hair."

  "Oh my God, Rachel, you have no idea what you're saying."

  "Yes I do. I'm a virgin, but I'm not naïve."

  "Please understand… talking like this makes me want to do things to you that aren't very gentle, and I want to be gentle with you." He gave me a pleading look. "Help me out here."

  "Collin, we have two days to do nothing but learn each other, then we have the rest of our lives to do more of the same. I want you to have me gently, and I want you to have me not so gently. I want you to have all of me, any way you want me."

  His expression turned feral, and just like that, I was underneath him on the bed. He was over me in a push-up position. He placed gentle kisses all over my face. Then he sprang up onto his knees, still straddling me. He made quick work of removing his tux jacket, shirt and tie, throwing them on the floor.

  The sight of his beautiful, broad shoulders made a rush of heat flood my body. He was still on his knees straddling me, and my hips rose underneath him. I wanted him inside me
so badly. He fell on top of me again, still catching most of his weight with his arms. I needed more. I wrapped my arms around his back and pulled him tightly to me, forcing him to be heavier. I wrapped my legs around him too, and the sound he let out was almost a growl.

  His voice was hoarse as he said, "Rachel, I can't. I might not be able to go slow if—"

  "Don't go slow, Collin. We can go slow next time." He sprang onto his knees again, and then flipped over next to me in a seated position so he could get his pants off. My eyes widened at the sight. I was sitting up on my elbows and he rolled over onto his side next to me, propping himself up next to me. Okay, even though I'd read a lot of steamy novels, it was a whole different thing in person.

  "We'll go as slow as you want," he said, seeing the brief second of wide eyes.

  "I really don't want you to feel like you have to be delicate with me. I want you as badly as you want me. I just had to take a second to see what kind of package I got in the deal. I think I might be a lucky lady."

  He laughed out loud before rolling on top of me again. His face was so gorgeous when it was all lit up like that. He put his knee in between my thighs to part them, which happened easily thanks to a high slit in the silver dress.

  He ran his hand up the length of my thigh until he reached the spot that was burning for him. He ran a gentle finger up the length of my crease. Then, just like that, a finger was inside me. I cried out at the pleasure of it. My hips thrust forward, forcing his hand deeper inside me. He moaned as he pulled down the top of my dress and put his mouth on my nipple.

  The combination of his mouth teasing my breast along with his fingers being inside me sent me over the edge of a precipice. I momentarily lost control, convulsing in waves of unbearable pleasure. Wave after wave of blinding ecstasy hit me until I finally came to my senses again. I should probably be embarrassed about how fast that was, I thought.

  "You feel good?" he asked, smiling proudly. He knew how good I felt.

  "I'll feel better when you're inside me," I answered. Seconds later, I was underneath him, and he was inside me. It was an utter intrusion. The stretching caused a searing pain.

  "You okay?" he asked, looking down at my face. I didn't trust my voice, so I nodded, trying to give him a natural smile. He began to slowly move in and out of me. With each pass, the sensation became less pain and more pleasure. Soon it was feeling so good that my hips were rising to meet him again. I wrapped my legs around him, and we began to rock with each other.

  It was like a switch flipped. He could tell he wasn't hurting me, so he started to come at me a little harder. Again and again he thrust into me like he could reach the very center of me if he tried hard enough. Then he pounded even harder as if he could somehow mark me in this manner. The thought of him marking me as his sent me over another wave of pleasure, and I called his name.

  "Collin, yeeeesss."

  A few more thrusts, then he collapsed on top of me with a long groan. He was still inside me. I could feel the length of him and the warmth of his seed. I wanted to stay like this forever.

  After some readjustments, we held each other for several long minutes. My head was resting on his shoulder, just holding each other in a time of being mutually spent. Finally, he shifted to kiss me on the forehead.

  "I'm sorry," he said.

  Chapter 20

  Collin

  I hurt her. I knew I had. What in the world was I thinking taking her hard like that on her first time?

  "I'm sorry I hurt you," I said. I kissed her, but I couldn't quite bring myself to look at her eyes for fear that I'd see tears. I felt so selfish for what I'd done. She deserved someone who'd be gentle with her. She rose up, resting her head in her hand and looking me straight in the eye. The expression she wore was tinged with anger and I braced myself for whatever she was about to say.

  "Collin, you didn't hurt me. Stop thinking that. Everything was exactly how I wanted it to be."

  "I should've, could've been a lot slower with everything."

  "Well we can do it that way too. I'm not hurt, though." She picked the sheet up to inspect herself. "I'm not even bleeding like the virgins in books." She gave me a smile. "I'm serious, it was the best experience I've ever had."

  "Me too," I said. She no longer wore the silver dress, it had come off somehow during the little session we'd just had. I shifted her until she was lying on top of me, covering me. She rested her head on my chest… the perfect size, and weight, and feel. Her body fit onto mine like a jigsaw puzzle. I smiled at the sensation of our bodies melding together, thinking how we were perfect for each other in every way.

  "You're slick," she said, picking up her head to stare down at my chest. "I thought most guys had hair right here." Her statement caught me as funny, and I rumbled with laughter underneath her. She looked at my face like she didn't see what was so funny.

  "I have hair. Well, a little at least." I chuckled again at the interested expression she was wearing, like I was about to tell her the secret to world peace. "I shave it. Most of us do… swimmers, I mean. It's just a habit." I looked down at my own chest and gave a little rub to see if I could find any stubble. Then I remembered I'd just run a razor over it before the banquet tonight. "There's some hair there, not much, but some," I said. "You'll see it sometime I'm sure."

  She looked at me like that was an acceptable answer, then she laid her head down on my chest again. After a few minutes of comfortable silence she picked her head up to look at me again. Her expression told me that she'd just thought of something she wanted to tell me about.

  "What?" I smiled at her…that sweet gypsy face. I couldn't believe my Rachel was here with me. And we were married. What a whirlwind.

  "Joel likes you, you know." Her smile was sly like she had a secret, then her expression changed as if she was reconsidering. "I probably shouldn't say anything, but he did say you're one of the ones he's thinking about giving the endorsement to."

  "What did he say?" I asked. I could see her wheels turning like she was struggling to remember a conversation. "I think he just said that he thinks you'll do good in the games next year, and you were on the short list. I don’t mean to get your hopes up or anything, and I have no say in the matter whatsoever, but I just thought you'd like to know you've caught his attention."

  "I do like knowing that. And it's nice to hear he thinks I'll perform next year. I assumed he was already talking to Seth Sparks since I saw you guys come in together."

  "We just ran into Seth in the lounge on our way to the banquet."

  "He and Joel both almost got their noses busted just for walking in with you," I told her. She smiled.

  "Jealous?"

  "Hell yes I was jealous! Jealousy hardly describes it actually. When it comes to you, I can hardly control myself." I tickled her ribs, making her squirm and laugh.

  "No, Collin, no. I'm too ticklish. Collin, no, it hurts."

  She knew what buttons to push. The second she said hurts I took my hands off of her and looked at her face to see if she was serious. She gave me a smile, knowing she got me.

  "You better watch crying wolf like that," I said. "Because I'm an experienced tickler, and if you make me mad, I'll use my tickle powers."

  She was cracking up at the mere threat of being tickled. All I had to do was barely put my fingertips on her ribs and she was writhing with laughter on top of me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly to me.

  "Okay, okay, I'll stop," I assured her. "I won't do it anymore." Her laughter calmed, and she lifted her head to place a kiss on my neck. She looked up at me smiling before she went back to my neck for another kiss. She put easy kisses all over my neck and jaw, making her way to my lips.

  "I love you." She breathed the words into my mouth. Those words marked the beginning of a new round of the best sex known to man. This time it was slow and easy.

  For the next two hours we just explored each other's bodies. Some of the time she would explore me. Some of the time I would explo
re her. We learned each other's likes and dislikes. We laughed, we moaned, we touched, we talked, we licked, we sucked, we kissed, and we did all those things over and over again. Sometime in the early morning hours, we fell asleep. Both of us were utterly spent and beyond exhausted.

  ****

  I woke up the next day at around noon. I was pleased to see the room looking halfway in order despite our little game of tickle chase that took place at one point. Rachel's head was still resting in the crook of my arm, so I tried not to move for fear of disturbing her sleep.

  I must've shifted as I was waking up because I'd been really still for the past few minutes, and she was starting to stir. I could feel her body tense and flex as she returned to the land of the living. She continued to stir next to me for a few more seconds. I marveled at the physical effect this girl had on me. My heart was pounding like I was on the starting block at a race. I couldn't believe I'd found her and she was mine, my wife.

  "Did we sleep all day?" she asked, not even looking at me. I had to clear my throat, which made her head bounce a little. I lifted my hand to the back of her head to steady it.

  "It's noon," I said. "But we can sleep all day if you want."

  "I can't lay in bed all day. I'd get too bored," she said. "We'll at least get room service, maybe even venture to the bathroom for a shower. Oh, and don’t' forget the gift bag we still have to go through from the wedding."

  "That's only if I let you out of this bed."

  "What, you think you could stop me from leaving?" She asked.

  I laughed. "Well, it wouldn't be too hard, would it?"

  "You think I can't resist your charms?"

  "No, I think I could just overpower you physically." I flipped us over with one sweeping motion, putting her on bottom and proving my point. She laughed and clamped a hand to her mouth.