Nothing Like the First Time (16 page)

“I’m sure she’ll say yes!”

We sat talking things through a little more with Naomi and Tim. I chose purple as the main color
of the day. It had been my favorite color since I was a little girl, after all.

I could see myself getting married in a deep purple dress and the bridesmaids being in lavender. Now I had to choose the bridesmaids.

Of course, it was up to Grey to sort ushers out. He wasn’t going to get away with not helping with the planning and he didn’t want to—he wanted it to be perfect and I knew he would help me organize much more than just the ushers.

We stayed for another couple of hours, ate a great lunch
that Naomi whipped up, and then we left to go and tell Katrina the good news.

I called Aunt Lizzie on our way to Katrina’s and asked her to meet us there. She was only too happy to be getting together.

We arrived at the Sterlings’ home and were greeted with hugs and kisses from Katrina and Lizzie. We sat in the living room and told them about our engagement. To say they were happy for us was the understatement of the century. They both squealed at the sight of the ring.

“You’ll have to have an
engagement party!” Katrina said joyfully.

“Of course
, Mother,” Grey said.

We both knew that Katrina would want to
organize the party. She always loved entertaining. I didn’t want to make a cake but knew Katrina would insist we had one.

“You would be most welcome to host it here, you know. I would be more than happy to make the necessary
arrangements and get the caterers in.”

“That would be wonderful, thank you
, Katrina,” I said as I looked at the beaming smile on her face.

“Wonderful, that’s agreed then!”

“Would you like me to bake a cake?” Aunt Lizzie asked.

“Would you
, Aunt Lizzie?” Grey asked.

“But of course. I may not be as good as Carly but I can still bake
, you know!”

“Thank you for the generous offer
, Aunt Lizzie, we’d be very grateful,” I said.

“Then that’s settled. Leave the rest of the
arrangements to Katrina and me.”

“Thank you
,” Grey and I said at the same time.

“Mother, there was something else we wanted to ask you,” Grey said tentatively.

“Oh?”

“Yes, it’s about the reception. Carly and I have been thinking of places for it and I wondered if you’d let us have it here?”

“But of course!” she squealed.

Katrina was more than excited by this prospect, I could tell by the look on her face.

“I thought we could hire a tent for the back lawn, I know you have friends in high places.”

“I can certainly call in a few favors, it won’t be anything but the best. I wouldn’t let you down on your big day!”

“Thank you, Mother,” Grey said as he hugged her.

“
Yes, thank you, Katrina,” I said with a huge smile on my face.

“Well
, we’d better get going, Mother, but Carly and you can make arrangements for the reception over coffee or something. Let’s get the engagement party out of the way first, plan one event at a time.”

“Safe journey home
, both of you, and Carly, we’ll get together soon, yes?”

“Of course, Katrina.”

She pulled me in for a hug goodbye and then so did Aunt Lizzie.

The two women smiled at us.
I knew they’d start their planning as soon as we left.

There wasn’t much of the day left by the time we left Katrina’s so we went back to
my place and I cooked my signature dish, lasagne with a touch of Tabasco sauce to add a bit of a kick. We ate at the kitchen island and talked about the wedding. We decided on an early night after a tiring day, but I wanted to shower first.

Grey turned my iPod dock on and joined me in the shower. I handed him the shower gel and he worked some into a lather before helping wash me down. First he washed my back, then down to my legs. Once he had done that, he turned me to face him and washed down from my neck—the soap ran down my chest and Grey caught it as it ran a trail
between my breasts.

After washing the soap off me, he followed the water’s trail with
feather-light kisses. He started at my neck, then traveled lower to kiss his way between my breasts. My breathing hitched and I swear my heart skipped a beat—Grey always could get my heart to beat in an irregular pattern, or was that my imagination?

“Open your legs and brace yourself,” came Grey’s husky yet commanding voice.

I didn’t trust my voice so I just complied. I braced myself against the rail in the shower and watched as Grey kissed slowly down my torso, my navel, and then stopped.

“Already so wet and inviting,” he said as he touched me.

Again I didn’t respond, just let him do whatever he was going to do.

He used his tongue and fingers to work me into a frenzy. I was breathing more heavily and could feel the warmth pooling in my belly. Grey must’ve known I was ready to climax because he moved his hand and used his tongue to take me higher to reach that sweet release.

My body shuddered with aftershocks and Grey stood up to kiss me. The kiss was passionate and I could taste myself on his lips. I could feel his arousal pressed against my belly as he pulled me in close. The one thing to be said about Grey is he isn’t a selfish lover, he always makes sure I climax. Now it was my turn to return the favor.

“Brace yourself against the rail
, mister,” I said as I swapped positions with him.

He did as he was told and I knelt in front of him. I flicked my tongue over the top of him and his breath caught, as mine had minutes before.

His hardness was a sight to behold. I wanted to savor every moment we had together, so I knelt looking at him for a few seconds before I licked him from the base to the tip, making him breathe heavily in anticipation. I did this another couple of times before taking just the tip in my mouth. Grey’s body shuddered as I took him in my hand and knelt a little higher so I could take him into my mouth fully. I felt a hand in my hair as I worked him slowly, teasing him.

A few minutes later, Grey’s body language told me he was about to come, so I worked him harder and faster until he exploded in my mouth and shouted my name.

I stood up and kissed him—the taste of both of us mingled in our kiss and I wanted more. I turned the shower off, handed Grey a towel, and got out to dry myself quickly. I took his hand and led him into the bedroom.

We got to the bed and I pushed Grey gently down onto the mattress. He smiled at me and I was
momentarily lost in the look in his hooded eyes. I straddled him and kissed him, hungry for the taste of his sweet lips. I rubbed myself against him. I was still wet and he was nearly ready for me. A few moments of kissing and touching and he was standing to attention once more.

I lowered myself onto him gently, feeling every inch of him fill me up. There was nothing better than languishing in the feeling of my fiancé inside
me. I moved slowly, building a steady rhythm as I went. My hands were on his chest, then I braced myself against his legs to give me more friction. That warm feeling was starting inside me again and I knew it would be over too soon if I sped up any. Grey’s hands were roaming my body, teasing my already taut nipples. He matched my rhythm as he moved inside me. I knew that I couldn’t hold off much longer, so I lowered myself to him for a kiss, then increased my speed, my body needing to take what it could get. A few moments later, I came undone in an explosion of lights and colors. This heady feeling had me breathing heavily and coming hard against Grey.

As I lay down beside him, Grey turned on his side to face me. He cupped my right cheek in his palm and leaned in to kiss me.

The iPod was still playing quietly in the background and “Then” by Brad Paisley began to play. Grey sang along.

A stray tear made its way down my cheek and Grey wiped it away with the pad of his thumb.

That night we fell asleep snuggled up to each other.

***

The next morning, Grey got a phone call and I decided to take a shower and leave him to take his call in private.

I turned the shower on hot and went about my morning routine. I was so happy and in love. I could never have foreseen what was to come next.

**
*

Jodie and I went shopping for wedding stuff. We’d chosen the style for the invitations. We’d made a seating plan in 3D so we could see the tables and plan where to put people. Today we were meeting up with Naomi so that we could shop for dresses for my maid of honor and bridesmaid. I had chosen a couple of girls for flower girls and boys for ushers—I’d have to get their outfits another day. Hopefully I’d be able to get Grey his engagement ring, too.

Naomi met up with us in a little café in the mall.
We all had coffee then got on with our shopping.

“How about this dress?”
Naomi asked, pointing to a strapless lavender dress that was  absolutely gorgeous.

“Try it on. It looks perfect but it needs to feel right, you both need to be comfortable on the day.”

Naomi and Jodie each took one in their size and went to the store’s changing rooms. I waited outside to see what my girls would look like.

A couple of minutes passed and then they both emerged. I was blown away. Talk about the perfect dress. This was the most gorgeous one I had seen out of all the
dresses the girls had tried pointing out to me.

“You both look…” I started to cry and couldn’t finish my sentence.

Jodie wrapped her arms around me while Naomi searched her bag for tissues.

“You ladies look fabulous. I know you probably
think I’m saying that because it’s my job, but really… wow,” the shop assistant—Natalie according to her name tag—said.

“Don’t they just?” I said as I dried my eyes.

“They certainly do,” Natalie replied with a smile.

“How does it feel on?” I asked the girls.

“It’s so comfortable, Carly. It flows perfectly, there’s room to breathe and room to dance,” Jodie said.

“I second that!” Naomi said, smiling brightly at me.

“Then this is the one?” I asked.

“Yes!” came their reply in unison.

I was beyond pleased. They looked amazing and felt good, this was one of the happiest moments I would feel in the next couple of weeks, though I didn’t realize it at the time.

We
paid Natalie for the dresses and thanked her for her assistance. The bridal shop was next on our ‘to do’ list.

I walked in and was surrounded by so many amazing dresses. I had already chosen my dress
online and was coming in for my first fitting.

“Ms
. Summers?” the assistant asked.

“That’s me,” I said, shaking her outstretched hand.

She was a beautiful woman, older than I was but finely dressed with perfectly manicured hands. I liked her warm tone of voice as she introduced herself to the girls and me.

“I’m Ms
. Gunn, though you can call me Carole.”

She shook hands with the girls and smiled kindly at them.

“Let me get your dress, Ms. Summers. I’ll take it to the fitting room and help you into it. The girls can sit on the armchairs just outside the fitting room.”

“Thank you
, Carole.”

She strode off and found my gown. When I had first laid eyes on it, I knew it was ‘the one
.’ It had everything I was looking for. It was deep purple—I’d never been up for getting married in white, cream or ivory—it had a sweetheart neckline and a fitted bodice. The bottom wasn’t puffy and outlandish, unlike some dresses I had seen—instead it flowed beautifully and had a small train. There were some sequins along the neckline and around the waist was a thin lavender colored sash that tied into a bow on the back.

“It’s ready
, Ms. Summers,” Carole said as she made her way back to us.

“Please, call me Carly,” I said, following her to the fitting room.

The girls sat outside and waited for me to try my gown on for the first time.

Carole helped me into the dress and tied the sash after buttoning up the back.

I stepped out and heard a shriek.

“Oh my god
, Carly, that is perfect, absolutely perfect!” Jodie said as she took in the detail of the dress.

It was simple but that’s what made it so beautiful.

“She’s right, Carly, it’s amazing. You look so…” Naomi said as she stood up to hug me.

“So
…?” I questioned.

“Magnificent!” both the girls chimed.

“Thank you.”

I hugged them both to me and we all shed a couple of tears.

I took the gown off and Carole told me that it actually fit perfectly so it didn’t need any adjustments. I paid her and she told me I could pick it up the day before the wedding rather than try to hide it at home. I thought that was a good idea so I left it in her capable hands.