by J. C. Allen
We agreed that, even with how fast we went, we shouldn’t get married right away or even have more kids. We needed to know each other as we were now. Even though I was sure she would be my wife, I was just happy to seize every moment I could with her for now.
I looked into her perfect green eyes, forgetting the day she left me and only the day she came back to stay forever.
“I love you, Simon.”
She smiled, kissing me with everything in her, with every ounce of her love.
“I love you too, Ella.”
“Forever?” she said, smiling against my lips.
I smiled and held her so close I could feel her heart beat.
“Forever. I promise.”
Matthew
1
Matthew
“I bet you a hundred bucks you don’t make it.”
I stood on the edge of the bay liner by our shitty old boat that had been in the family forever. We were out for Simon’s bachelor party, which by itself was cause enough to wonder if the world had lost its mind.
I personally had never thought he would get married, as he had been moody and withdrawn since he was eighteen. But then, a few months back, his high school sweetheart came back, and she more or less brought all her trouble with her—but also a sense of calm, happiness, and peace to Simon, not to mention his son, Michael.
Since then, the club has been thriving, we have new prospects on board, everyone has been in and out of the bar, and a full two years since dad passed. I miss him a little less with how things are going.
But right now, though I just needed to win a goddamn bet with one of my other brothers.
“Is that it? A hundred bucks? You buy a house and then go broke, I see,” I said with a grin at Jaxson, looking smug as hell.
“I’ll never be broke, that’s just what you’re worth.”
He laughed and got the others, Zeke and Simon, to join in. Suddenly, this became a gang up very quickly.
“Are you planning on doing it or you gonna pussy out?” Zeke said, laughing his annoying ass laugh, the one he used all the fucking time.
He was always smiling with a new joke to tell. It was nice sometimes when you didn’t know you needed it. Other times, he just didn’t know how to be serious.
But what could you expect from the youngest member of the club?
“Fuck off. I want to at least make some money out of it.”
“That water is freezing cold, I don’t recommend it,” Simon said.
I rolled my eyes. Of course Simon was the softie. Rosella had done him a lot of good, but turning him into a little weak boy was not one of them.
“It can’t be that cold, we aren’t even off the docks.”
I stared down at the whipping water, hitting the side of our old white boat. Admittedly, it looked a little cold…
“Whatever dude, your funeral.”
Not going to let them win. Not especially Zeke.
I turned back to him, gave a middle finger salute, and hopped off the edge of the boat to meet them in the circle of chairs around the fire pit. Holy fuck, it was freezing out, and I didn’t particularly like the cold despite having grown up here.
But I proved my point.
“You won,” Jaxson said with a simple nod.
I nodded back and grabbed myself another beer, my second, and twisted it open. We sat in a semi-circle, viewing of the choppy waters. It wasn’t nearly as pretty as most views can be, but it was home. And while home may have been cold as fuck sometimes, it still was something meaningful to me.
“Where are you going for the honeymoon?” Jaxson said.
Jaxson had had his own fake honeymoon when him and Isabelle got hitched and went to Vegas last year. It pissed off Mom and made Zeke laugh. Simon took copious notes.
As for me, I just went with the flow like I always did. It was a lot easier to enjoy life when you weren’t stressing about everything being perfect and you just let the chips fall wherever they may.
“Chicago. Ella likes pizza.”
Simon then tossed his empty beer can back in the cooler with a small smile. This very scene—the four of us hanging out in a group, chilling—was remarkable.
I still couldn’t believe he was even getting married. I knew he liked Rosella back in high school, but I didn’t expect it to be that deep. When she left, he just wasn’t the same person anymore.
Now that she had come back, I did feel like it was the old him… but with something added to him. Maturity, I suppose.
“Plus she doesn’t want to be gone too long because of Michael.”
Michael, who was downstairs sleeping in the cot, had recently turned ten and had a bravery and charisma to him that belied his age. Sometimes, I worried it had come on too soon—no kid should have had to go through the things he did before Simon permanently came back into his life—but he wasn’t allowed in the club much by Rosella anyways. Hell, it was a bit of a fight just to get him out here, but it was his Dad going on the party.
I didn’t know I wanted a nephew until he turned up, but now it was like having a kid I was only halfway responsible for—or, perhaps better phrased, I got the perks of hanging out with him but not the negative side effects of having to be a harsh dad. Simon, meanwhile, took to fatherhood faster than I expected. His life now had order and structure… and it was weird. Besides being vice president of the MC now, he ran a reputable construction business here that also just finished building Jaxson’s “love house.” It was almost as big as our family home now, something I noticed at his party last week to celebrate Isabelle finishing her MFA.
It was possible because we all got a pay out from the city after the mayor tried to illegally push our club out, resulting in a massive settlement. Simon used the money to raise his business. I was pretty sure that Zeke just blew his, although I was making more of a conscious effort not to get so involved in his finances.
As for me? Well, I didn’t have a fancy girlfriend or secret kid, so my money was in the bank where it would probably stay. I wish I could say that was because I was responsible or growing up, but really, it was just because I couldn’t think of a goddamn thing to spend it on.
“How much trouble do you think I’ll get in if me and Ella skip town tomorrow?” Simon said with a groan. “I’m imaging all the shit Mom probably set up. I don’t even want to think about it anymore. Fuck, I just want to go with Ella!”
We all laughed at him. We all understand why Jaxson skipped town for his wedding, even if none of us had gotten married at the time. Mom was sweet and we loved her, but sometimes… well, sometimes, Mom tried to act like we were still in our youth, needing help along every step we took.
“A fuck ton of trouble,” Jaxson said with a snort, leading us to all laugh. “I don’t recommend it.”
We were there when they came back and waited in the living room while Mom yelled at him so loud in the kitchen, we could all hear. We didn’t need Jaxson to confirm it was a bad idea to mess with Mom to know it was a bad idea.
“I don’t want to mess things up, you know. I can’t walk away from this—I mean I don’t want to. But I also can’t.”
Poor Simon. He had become so much more cautious—and, well, he’d had to.
After everything happened with Rosella’s mafia uncle and father, Simon had been different. We had had to pull out all the stops to keep Rosella and Michael safe, and while there hadn’t been any threats recently, the events had probably given him an overly paranoid sense of caution.
I was just glad I didn’t have anything like that.
“You won’t. Just don’t start scheduling sex, then it’s over.”
Oh, Zeke…
A few moments later, shuffling footsteps came out of the darkness. Under the dim lights of the boat, Michael appeared with ruffled hair and a rumpled pair of blue pajamas. Apparently, his favorite color has changed, but what was I supposed to do, take copious notes on a kid that wasn’t mine?
“Hey kid, I thought you were asleep,” Simon sa
id as he leaned forward in his chair, ruffling his hair.
“I heard you guys laughing,” he said with a casual shrugs. “Hey, uncles.”
Michael had definitely gotten more comfortable around all of us. He was never shy per se, but there was definitely a feeling that he wasn’t ready to take us in like he had with Simon. But think about all of the male figures in his life, and it kind of makes sense.
“It’s late. You know your mom can tell when you don’t sleep.”
Simon, though, wasn’t speaking as a stern father—he was speaking as almost an older brother who was pretending to be a stern father.
“She’s not going to tell, it’s her wedding day.”
“Smart kid,” Simon said, rustling his hair.
This was his idea to have the “bachelor party” the day before the wedding. It wasn’t much of a party—the four of us and Simon out. But, to be fair, who else was he going to invite? And Simon wasn’t a massive partier to begin with—it almost made too much sense for him to be as reserved as he was.
In any case, Simon let Michael sit with us until he fell asleep again. Unfortunately, we were right behind him—we had to stop drinking beer if we wanted to be in any sort of respectable state for the wedding tomorrow.
Well, Simon did, at least. Some of us who regularly attended the club could better handle it, but for once, we weren’t going to be stubborn assholes.
Eventually, Simon took Michael back to bed. We had our last beers and convinced Simon he wasn’t going to fuck anything up. When we all went to bed—very early for a “bachelor party,” but, then again, it wasn’t my party—I felt sure that Simon would at least go to bed happy and calm, able to enjoy his day without worry.
Then his wedding day came, and we had to do it all over again.
“You look so handsome, Simon.”
Mom hugged my brother, careful not to wrinkle his suit though. We’d tried to keep her out and keep it a boys only room, but, well, Mom was Mom.
“Just make sure you boys are downstairs on time.”
She turned to face me with disappointment on her face. It was obvious why. “You didn’t do your hair, Matthew? Goodness.”
She came over to me, ready to try and fix it herself. I sidestepped her easily. I deliberately went for something of a mussed… OK, that wasn’t true, I was just being a bit lazy.
“My hair is fine.”
But just because I respected her, I went to the bathroom and tamed it down with water. I probably did need a little bit of work, but it wasn’t exactly like I looked like I’d woken up hungover.
One fucking beer wasn’t going to knock me out that bad. I had women at the party I had to hit on, anyways.
When I returned, Mom was gone and Simon was fidgeting with his tie. I walked up behind him and clapped his shoulder, meeting his eyes in the mirror. Still jumps like a hissing cat.
“It will be fine, bro. Rosella loves you, you love her. All that good stuff.”
“Thanks, man,” Simon said with a smirk. “Just, uh, don’t lose the ring.”
I laughed, still wondering how the fuck I got picked of all of us to be the best man. We smiled at each other, and he finally stopped fidgeting with his tie… but then I tried to walk away, only to notice that his expression turned right back to angry.
“What?”
Don’t you tell me to fix my hair as well.
“Grace is Ella’s maid of honor.”
Oh. Shit…
“Oh.”
“Yeah…”
I forced a smile, not wanting to ruin his day by making it awkward with my personal business. I wasn’t going to let Simon’s wedding day get fucked up by this.
But… when I did stand face to face with a one-night stand from high school I couldn’t ever forget, one that I saw in every one of my memories, over and over… well, we’d see if it would turn awkward or if I could somehow save face. It was going to be a lot harder than I wanted to admit.
Because Grace Walters was the only hook up that I ever wished lasted for more than a night.
2
Grace
I had just lost yet another job, which was not breaking news considering the fact that I was a temp… except the job I lost was with the temp agency that hired me, so now I really was out of luck.
But, my best—and only—friend was getting married tomorrow, so that couldn’t really matter to me right now.
Right now, we were drinking cosmos and laughing it up in the back of a bar. We had driven all the way to the city to find a good place, and I think we had. And as long as Rosella is happy, that’s what matters.
Deal with life after the wedding. Just enjoy the moment for now.
Simon and her as a couple still blew my mind in terms of everything that had had to have happened for them to get back together. But now that they had? Their actual relationship was incredibly cute and romantic. Besides everything that had happened with her psychotic uncle, who had nearly killed her and her son before the Kinsmen saved the day, it was nice that everything worked out between them.
They waited a few months after getting back together, of course, so Michael could adjust to his new life and family. But now they were getting married, and it was still kind of hard to believe. High school sweethearts, getting back together…
Wonder if I could ever have something like that…
“Have another one,” I said, trying to pass her one of the two cosmos I ordered.
“God no. I’d like to wake up tomorrow.”
I rolled my eyes at her. I guess I was going to have to just drink both—certainly wasn’t going to let money go to waste now.
“Did you see the lingerie I packed for you? Just making sure you make Simon a happy man.”
I wiggled my brows at her. She gave me her look of apprehension, which means that she did see it—and it also wasn’t one that actually meant concern. It was her motherly look that had grown over the years, almost an instinctive look as anything else.
Still, that didn’t mean that I liked it. But I accepted it as a part of Rosella.
“Yes, I saw it.”
“I think I did a good job. He’ll like it. Think of it as my honeymoon gift to you.”
It was a cute, white lacey thing with all the right pieces. It wasn’t the most expensive lingerie in the world, but knowing the Kinsmen boys—perhaps better than I cared to admit—I knew it wouldn’t take much to get them aroused and excited.
“He will. Thank you,” she said as she hugged me. “For everything. I didn’t think I could do it, when I left all those years ago. I couldn’t have done it without you, especially when we came back.”
I shrugged. It wasn’t like I could say she was all I have. Even though she is.
Her and Simon were my family. Rosella had always been there for me, and I would always be there for her. The closest family I had was several states away, and they were distant in more ways than just physically.
“You could have, trust me. But I didn’t mind helping,” I said, hugging her back and smiling.
I finished the two drinks—which, thankfully, weren’t as strong as I had feared—and we danced it off on the dance floor. I could easily tell we were surrounded by college students, but I didn’t even give a shit, not on a night like this.
Besides, I was not all that old at just twenty-two. I didn’t think.
You know, despite losing my job, despite having no prospects, despite not having a lot of education…
Stay focused, Grace. Stay in the present.
After we left, Ros dutifully checked on Michael and got a photo back from Simon of him asleep in response. I suppose it was in violation of the “no contacting your significant other while on the bachelor or bachelorette party” rule, but given how these events barely qualified as such parties, I didn’t say anything. There was a lot more I could have said about other things, anyways.
“Let’s get something unbearably sweet,” I suggested. “After all, there’s only so many times you can have a part
y like this in your life!”
“So you’re going to kill me with a sugar hangover instead of an alcohol one?” Rosella said with a smirk.
“I have to give you something!”
We laughed before taking a ride over to the twenty-four-hour Walmart, and we got an oven ready apple pie, the crumbly kind, with whip cream.
Admittedly, I probably should have thought about how this would affect our dresses, but one pie couldn’t possibly cause us not to fit into our dresses. I think.
“You think Michael is okay on the boat?” Ros asked.
“Of course,” I said while internally rolling my eyes at the absurdity of her paranoia. “He loves stuff like that. Let him have fun with his uncles.”
Rosella sighed as called an Uber, preparing to head back to my apartment, which was closer to the wedding grounds and had all our supplies anyways.
“I know.”
I would have left it at that, but I sensed that Rosella needed a little more comfort than normal.
“It’s your first night away from him. It’s OK.”
She sighed in response. The poor woman had become a little more overbearing after everything that had happened with her Uncle Nic, but who could blame her?
“I know. Our honeymoon is only five days… and I already dread it. Well, not the honeymoon itself, but leaving him behind, you know?”
I don’t know. But I’ll play along.
“Aw, Michael will be fine. Especially with Matthew, they’re both kids.”
I paused and found her smiling at me. I was still feeling a bit odd saying… his name again. Even though I knew he had become much more a part of Rosella’s life just by extension, knowing he was around was a bit of a surreal and at times awkward experience.
“You still smile when you say his name.”
“I don’t.”
Liar. Don’t even try to lie on this one.
She laughed and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, as if she can shake off my lies and bullshit off me. This was a conversation that went beyond just one smile or just one laugh, but it wasn’t one that I wanted to have so close to her wedding. I just wanted her to be able to enjoy her wedding experience without thinking about me—I could handle Matthew and anything else that came with it later.
