Chapter 119 First Dance
CAITLYN'S POV
It was time for the dance. Jason held my hands and led me to the dance floor. The song kept playing and Jason kept holding me close. We were moving slowly on the dance floor. Everyone else had joined us now. Tommy dancing with Sarah. Marcus dancing with his wife. Other couples swaying to the music. But I only focused on Jason. On his arms around me. On his heartbeat under my cheek.
"Do you remember the first time we danced to this song?" Jason asked quietly.
"At the bar," I said. "The night you came to see me. The night everything started changing."
"You were so scared that night," Jason said. "So nervous. I could feel you shaking when I held you."
"I was terrified," I said. "I thought Collin was going to find out. I thought he was going to hurt me. Hurt you. But I could not stay away. I needed to see you. Needed to be close to you."
"I needed to see you too," Jason said. "I had been thinking about you for months. Wondering if you were okay. If you were happy. And then when I saw you at that bar I knew. I knew you were not okay. Knew you needed help."
"You saved me that night," I said. "Not physically. Not yet. But you gave me hope. You reminded me that there was more to life than fear and abuse. That I deserved better."
"You did deserve better," Jason said. "You deserved everything. And I wanted to give it to you. Wanted to take you away from Hayes right then and there."
"I wish you had," I said. "I wish I had left with you that night. Would have saved us both a lot of pain."
"But then we would not have this," Jason said. He put his hand on my stomach. On our baby. "We would not have our child. And this baby is worth everything. Worth all the waiting. Worth all the pain."
"You are right," I said. "The baby is worth it. Everything that happened led us here. To this moment. To this life."
The song changed to another slow one. We kept dancing. Kept holding each other. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. Let myself feel everything. The happiness. The love. The peace.
"What are you thinking about?" Jason asked.
"How far we have come," I said. "How different everything is now compared to that night at the bar."
"Tell me," Jason said. "Tell me how it is different."
"That night I was trapped," I said. "Stuck in a marriage I hated. Scared all the time. Living a lie. Pretending to be someone I was not."
"And now?" Jason asked.
"Now I am free," I said. "Free to be myself. Free to love who I want. Free to build the life I want. With you."
"With me," Jason repeated. "Your husband."
"My husband," I said. The word still felt new. Strange. But good. Really good.
"That night I thought I would never have you," Jason said. "Thought you would always belong to someone else. Always be out of reach. It killed me."
"I never belonged to Collin," I said. "Not really. He owned me. Controlled me. But he never had my heart. My heart always belonged to you."
"Even when you were with him?" Jason asked.
"Even when I was with him," I said. "I thought about you all the time. Wondered what you were doing. If you had moved on. If you had found someone else. I hoped you had. Hoped you were happy. But part of me also hoped you were waiting for me."
"I was waiting," Jason said. "I never stopped waiting. Never stopped loving you. Never stopped hoping that someday we would find our way back to each other."
"And we did," I said. "We found our way back."
"We did," Jason said. "And now we get to stay. Get to build a life together. Get to be happy."
I pulled back and looked up at him. At his face. At his eyes. At the man I had married. The man I loved more than anything.
"Are you happy?" I asked. "Really truly happy?"
"I am happier than I have ever been," Jason said. "Happier than I ever thought possible. You make me happy Caitlyn. You and this baby. This life we are building. It is everything I ever wanted."
"Me too," I said. "I never thought I could be this happy. Never thought I deserved it. But I am. And I do."
"You do," Jason said. "You deserve all the happiness in the world. And I am going to spend the rest of my life making sure you get it."
The baby kicked hard between us and we both laughed.
"Baby is awake," I said. "Must like the music."
"Or maybe the baby is celebrating too," Jason said. "Celebrating that mommy and daddy got married. That we are a family now."
"We are a family," I said. "A real family. Not like what I had with Collin. This is real. This is right."
"This is forever," Jason said. "You and me and the baby. Forever."
"Forever," I repeated.
We kept dancing. The song changed again but we did not stop. Just kept moving. Kept holding each other. Other people were leaving the dance floor now. Going to get drinks or food or sitting down to rest. But we stayed.
"I am grateful for the journey," I said after a while. "I know that sounds weird. Being grateful for all the bad stuff. But if it had not happened we would not be here."
"I know what you mean," Jason said. "I wish you had not suffered. Wish you had not been hurt. But the journey brought us here. Brought us together. Made us appreciate what we have."
"Exactly," I said. "I do not take this for granted. Do not take you for granted. I know how rare this is. How special. How lucky we are to have found each other again."
"We are lucky," Jason said. "But we also fought for this. We did not just get lucky. We made choices. Hard choices. Brave choices. And those choices led us here."
"You are right," I said. "We chose each other. Even when it was hard. Even when it was scary. We chose each other."
"And I will keep choosing you," Jason said. "Every single day. For the rest of my life."
"And I will keep choosing you," I said.
My feet were starting to hurt. My back was aching. Being seven months pregnant and dancing for this long was taking a toll. But I did not want to stop. Did not want this moment to end.
"You okay?" Jason asked. He could always tell when I was uncomfortable.
"Just tired," I said. "My feet hurt. But I do not want to stop dancing."
"Then we will not stop," Jason said. "We will dance as long as you want. And when you are ready to sit down we will sit down."
"Okay," I said. "Just a few more minutes. I want to remember this. Want to remember dancing with you on our wedding day."
"I will remember it too," Jason said. "Will remember how beautiful you looked. How happy you were. How perfect everything was."
"It is perfect," I said. "You are perfect."
"I am not perfect,"
Jason said. "But I am perfect for you. And you are perfect for me."
"We are perfect for each other," I said.