The One (4 page)

~Chapter 7~

Victoria
led me through the hotel down towards the back exit onto the beach. It
wasn’t difficult knowing where to go because as soon as we reached the
downstairs lobby a trail of white and fuchsia flower petals pointed the way
outside. The flower petals continued out over the sand on the beach down
towards the water.

Victoria and I walked along, arm in arm, while
the three small dogs kept up behind us.

As soon as I stepped outside, I felt the hot,
sticky air on my skin. The sun shone brightly even though there was a gathering
of dark clouds throughout the sky. The humidity in the air hung wet on my skin
and my mouth became moist. I was glad my wedding dress was light enough that I
was comfortable.

Walking further, we came into view of the arch
by the water. As I got closer, I noticed a number of people sitting and waiting
for me. As I got closer, I noticed familiar faces. Ellie and Ty were the first
ones I saw. Ellie was in a breezy summer dress and her hair was piled in a
messy bun on top of her head. She waved at me and mouthed the word ‘beautiful’.

As I stood on the path of petals, the music
began. I couldn’t see where it was coming from, but someone was playing the
ukulele while another person played the maracas.

Looking back up
I
saw
him. Jason stood at the end of the path, as handsome as I had ever seen him. He
was painfully casual wearing his navy blue suit (with no tie) and his bare feet
in the sand. He was handsome, fresh, and waiting for me.

My heart skipped a beat and I swallowed.

“Ready?” Victoria asked.

I nodded.

We began walking down the aisle.

For some reason, I assumed that while walking
down the aisle, I would think about my future with Jason. But as I walked down
the aisle, I was living in the moment, looking around at the familiar faces.
Julia Stein and Simon Trotman both leaned in and whispered
‘Congratulations’
.
As I walked past them, I saw my co-worker, Casey who was standing with her
girlfriend. I waved at her as I walked by. After, I saw Kathleen and Earl,
Jason’s parents. With them was Jason’s grandmother, Nana. They were smiling as
they watched me make my way down the aisle.

As I reached the end of the aisle, I noticed
our large golden retriever, Destroyer, sitting patiently next to Jason.

They’re all here,
I thought.
Everyone I loved was here.

I looked up at Jason, who was now right in
front of me, standing under the archway.

He reached for my hand as I made my way by his
side.

“You look gorgeous,”
he whispered. I smiled.

“Gorgeous for you.”

I couldn’t even describe what the officiant
looked like because I was too lost in Jason’s eyes to notice. Even as the
officiant spoke I was too busy to listen.

Jason’s gaze burned into me. He looked calm
and cool, as he usually did, and even now, at our wedding on the humid beach,
he wasn’t breaking a sweat.

Mr. Cool,
I thought.
Well, I’m about to become Mrs. Cool.

“Sophia, please take this opportunity to share
your vows,” the officiant said.

Still looking at Jason, I took in a deep
breath.

“Jason.” I squeezed his hands. “I love you.
When we’re together, you make me feel alive. When I wake up in the morning, I
look forward to my day because I know I’ll get to see you. It’s my mission
during my lifetime to make sure that as long as we’re together, we’ll live wild
lives side by side.”

Jason caressed my hands with his. The
officiant nodded at him.

“Sophia,” Jason stated. His full voice sent a
wild thrill through me. “When you came into my life you brought a sense of
purpose and a source of support. I remember, when I met you, I thought
‘I
finally found her’
. That’s why, from this moment on, I want to cherish you
and support you just as much as you’ve done for me. I promise to grow with you
and hopefully teach you just as much as you teach me.”

I smiled.

“Sophia.” Jason looked lazily into my eyes. “I
love you.”

Forgetting where we were and what we were
doing, I leaned in for a kiss, and so did Jason.

“Hold on you two lovebirds,” the officiant
boomed, pushing us back apart. “We’re not at that part just yet.”

The crowd laughed softly.

“Put this ring on Jason’s finger and repeat
after me.” The officiant handed me Jason’s ring.
“I, Sophia.”

“I, Sophia.”

“Take Jason Powers to be my husband.”

“I, Sophia take Jason Powers to be my
husband.” While maintaining eye contact with Jason, I slipped the ring onto his
finger.

“Jason, you’ll do the same.” The officiant
handed Jason a sparkling diamond ring which he slipped onto my finger.

“I, Jason take you, Sophia Fletcher, to be my
wife.”

A hot thrill rose up through my body,
flustering me. I bit my lip.

I wanted to kiss him so bad.

“By the power vested in me, I now proclaim
you, Jason, and you, Sophia, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Jason whipped back to look at me. My heart
raced in my chest. A devilish yet charming smile appeared on his lips. I
returned the sentiment. Hesitating no more, Jason wrapped his arms around me
and kissed me softly on the lips. Feeling Jason’s lips on mine intensified
every emotion that was rushing through my body. The kiss wasn’t even over and I
already wanted to kiss him again.

I heard the crowd clapping and hollering
,
following by the sound of a loud thunder clap. A light
sprinkling of rain started coming down, but it was barely a mist. The cold
droplets provided a welcome release from the dreaded humidity.

Jason tightened his grip around my waist,
kissing me one last time. I felt his smile against mine and I closed my eyes,
enjoying the moment. We pulled back and took the opportunity to get lost in
each other’s eyes. The light mist clung to my veil and Jason’s shoulders
looking like small droplets of liquid diamonds.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce, Jason
and Sophia Powers.”

All our friends and family stood on their feet
and applauded our union.

I looked back at Jason. I couldn’t keep my
eyes off him.

“Mrs. Powers.” My husband put his arm out so
that I could take it, which I did. We walked down the aisle as husband and
wife.

~Chapter 8~

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to
introduce the newlywed couple, Jason and Sophia Powers!”

As Jason and I walked into the room, hand in
hand, the room erupted into applause. There were many more people here than
there were at the wedding. I recognized some as Jason’s business partners and
employees. I recognized Diego from my clinic and a couple of extended family
members of ours.

The room was a large party hall with over
sixty tables set up along with a dance floor and stage where a band was getting
ready to play.

Jason squeezed my hand as we walked towards
the head table which faced everyone. Standing in our spots, we looked out
towards the crowd. It was difficult to see everyone since the spotlights were
fixed on us.

Jason picked up a microphone.

“I want to thank all our family and friends
for coming out and sharing this special day with us. It means so much that you
came out so we could share our love with all of you, and for that I hope you
enjoy all the food, drinks, and dancing you could possibly fit into one night.”

The crowd cheered. Jason picked up his glass
of wine.

“I invite all of you to raise a glass so I can
make a toast.”’

Everyone picked up their glass and raised it.
I did the same, noticing my new ring sparkling in the light.

“To friends and
family.”

“To friends and family.”

Jason turned towards me, looking at me with
his seductive, dark eyes.

Oh my.

“And to my wife, Sophia,
for making those things important in my life again.
Cheers.”

“Cheers!”

The music started and people began chatting
again.

Jason and I sat down and exchanged a
love-filled look.

The clinking of a utensil against a glass
startled me, and soon the entire room broke out into a chorus of forks and
knives tapping gently against glassware. People hooted and hollered when they
saw they had our attention.

Jason let out a soft laugh and got up,
buttoning his jacket.

“Ty.”
He pointed his finger at his friend who was sitting in the front row.
There was a mischievous grin on his face. There was laughter in the crowd. No
doubt Ty was the one to start the glass-chiming ritual. I let out a laugh at
the absurdness of it all.

It was my wedding day.
How surreal!

“Each time you chime your glass,” Jason
continued, “you volunteer to pay an undisclosed amount of money to the charity
of my choice.”

The grin did not disappear from Ty’s face, but
instead he tapped his knife unapologetically against the stem of his wine
glass. The whole room joined in and began hollering for us to kiss already.

“That’s twice you’ll donate,” Jason said.

“I’ll only donate twice if you kiss her
twice,” Ty chirped back.

Two kisses?
I hoped so…

Jason turned to me and smiled. “We’ll be doing
a lot of this tonight.”

I smiled back. “Good.”

Jason pulled me in close and tilted me back
dramatically before he sealed his lips over mine. The room full of people began
cheering and whistling out loud, but I could barely hear them because I was so
absorbed in Jason. I focused on the softness of his lips and the slight poke of
his tongue against mine. His hands pressed into me, securing me in his embrace.
I breathed in his clean, masculine scent.

Keeping it classy, we pulled away from each
other and dizzily stared into each other’s eyes.

“Again!”
Ty shouted.

“Come here, you.” I grabbed Jason’s collar
with both hands and pulled him in for a deeper, more luscious kiss. Now the
room was really hooting and hollering. The energy in the room was nothing
compared to the buzzing that occurred when Jason’s skin touched mine. His
electricity energized me as I pushed against him.

Pulling back again, we stared at each other.

Whoa.

I had to catch my breath.

Jason leaned in and whispered,
“I can’t
wait to do that again.”

Excitement shot up my spine.

The band started up and people were chatting
with each other once again.

Jason and I took our seats.

I was glad the spotlights were off us because
I was sure my cheeks and lips were pink.

I felt like I just had sex!

I calmed myself down and contemplated having a
sip of my wine, but decided against it. The euphoria I was experiencing was
already enough to make me feel tipsy.

The table cloth draped over my legs began to
move and I felt something brush against my leg.

“Jason,” I said, catching his attention. “Do
you really think we should do that at our wedding? I mean, if you can’t wait,
we have other options…”

“Do what at our wedding?”

I looked down at the table, where I felt heat
against my leg. Jason pulled the table cloth up to reveal Destroyer, our
retriever, sitting between us, pushing against both our legs.

“Destroyer.”
The dog looked up at me as I pet his beautiful golden hair.

“You don’t think I could wait?” Jason raised
his eyebrow.

“I really thought that was you.” I laughed.

“So you believed I would seduce you first?”

Seduce me?
I bit my lip.

“Well, I still believe that, so yes.”

He shook his head but his sly smile remained
on his face. “I don’t believe that my own wife doesn’t believe I can wait until
tonight.”

I smirked at him. “Prove it to me.”

Jason’s smirk widened. “You want me to fail so
that you won’t fail first.”

“Nonsense.”

“It’s true.” He pulled his seat closer to me.
“You want me.”

Holy fuck, my husband was attractive.

“I wouldn’t have married you if I didn’t.”

Jason gave me an amused smile. His brown eyes
were trained on mine.

“We just have five or six more hours until you
can do all the things you want to me.”

“Five or six hours,” I mumbled. “I can wait
that long.”

Could I?
Why did I bring up this stupid challenge in the first place?
Ugh!

Jason smirked. “We’ll see.”

Not before too long we were surrounded by
friends and relatives who wanted to give us their congratulations and
blessings.

“You look beautiful,” Ellie touched my white
dress. “I’m so glad you were able to pick it up before you left.”

“I’m glad you guys were able to come and watch
us get married.”

“Honey, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. The
food, the beach — everything is beautiful. You’ve got me thinking about
throwing my own wedding. Maybe I should propose to Ty.” She laughed, but I knew
she wasn’t joking.

I touched Ellie’s hand. “As long as you’re in
love and that’s what you want, I’ll support you.”

“Wow.
True love.”
Ellie wiped a tear away. “I love you two so much.” She pulled me and Jason in
for a hug, even though Jason was facing away and having a separate conversation
with a business partner.

After Ellie disappeared to find the
appetizers, Nana (all four feet of her) stopped by to congratulate me.

“Bravo, Sophia. Bravo!”

“You liked the ceremony, Nana?”

“I like these drinks!” The old lady held up a
cocktail which had been served in a coconut. “Good job to whoever picked these
out.”

“Ignore her,” Kathy said. Jason’s mother held
my hand in hers. “Welcome to the family. We couldn’t have picked anyone better
ourselves.” She nodded towards her husband.

“You’re already like a daughter to me,” Earl
said.

For some reason, out of all the things that
had happened so far today, this was the one that touched me the most. I placed
my hand on my heart and swallowed back the tears.

“Thank you so much, both of you. I’ll do the
Powers name proud.”

“You already have.”

They squeezed my arm and smiled before
shuffling away.

A few conversations later, I realized I was no
longer at the table next to Jason anymore, but across the room. Jason wasn’t at
the table anymore, either. I scanned the room, trying to recognize faces in the
alternating light and darkness as lights flashed on the dance floor.

Finally, my eyes locked with Jason’s. He was
standing on the other side of the dance floor. That smoldering look in his eyes
was almost enough to melt me into a puddle on the floor.

How long until we would be alone? How long until the
real party started?

A devilish smile pulled at the corners of my
mouth. I thought about what I would do with Jason if I had him alone and naked.
Jason watched me. My fantasies were transparent as they showed on my lips and
my wicked smile. I could tell he knew exactly what I was thinking, because he
was thinking it too.

There was that electricity
—
that chemistry.

We didn’t even need to be touching to feel it.

The lights became dark and the music stopped.

“We’d like to invite the newlywed couple onto the
dance-floor for the first dance,”
a disembodied voice
announced.

Spotlights identified Jason and
I
, pointing us out to everyone. I bit my lip as I kept my
eyes on Jason. We slowly walked towards one another as our thoughts still
rampaged in our minds. As we reached each other, our fingertips touched and
Jason slipped his hand in mine, interlocking our fingers. His other hand slipped
around my waist. I placed my hand on his broad shoulder. We stared deep into
one another’s eyes.

As we danced, it felt like I was standing in a
cloud. The outside world fell away and all I focused on was Jason.

“I can’t stop looking at you.”

“I know,” I said.

“And you can’t stop smiling.”

I bit my smile.

“Don’t,” he said. “It’s beautiful.”

My cheeks burned hot. No matter how many times
he told me I was beautiful, I still felt the blood rush through my body when he
said it.

As we danced my thighs rubbed against one
another.

I wanted him.

I wanted to press my body against his. I wanted
to kiss him until our lips were raw. I wanted to be naked in bed with him for
three straight days — getting up only to open the door for room service and
take a romantic bath together.

I wanted these things now.

“Only four and a half hours remaining,” he
said.

I laughed and pulled him closer. At this
point, couples had flooded onto the dance floor and danced around us.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you too.”

“But I can wait another four and
a half hours
.” I smiled mischievously.