CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 33
He closes the distance between them and puts his hands on her hips. "I'm telling you, you look so sexy that if I wasn't dying to hear you promise, I'd be dragging you back to the hotel room to fuck you right now."
"Okay," Sarah says cheerfully. "It's time to go."
I smile, watching Kamila try to hold back her smile as Sarah leads me. “Hey, I wanna see where that takes me.”
She laughs and then says, "I'm sure if you want to hear dirty words, there are two men more than willing to give them to you somewhere around here."
As if his words evoked them, the moment we turn the corner, there are those two men. My two men. Both wearing button-down shirts—Ezekiel's gray and Jeremiah's white—and both wearing black pants. They laugh at what Law says, but then their eyes shift to me at the same time, as if whatever their glances make me notice when they're around also affects them.
It's the first time they've seen me in my bridesmaid dress, and the look on both of their faces tells me how sexy they find me. Jeremiah scans me with his eyes before licking his lips. Ezekiel bites his lower lip.
“Focus,” I scold myself as we walk toward them. This is still a wedding I planned, and it’s not the place to do exactly what Jackson just mentioned to Kamila: find a room where Ezekiel and Jeremiah can ease the growing tension between my thighs. I swear they know exactly what I’m thinking by the smirk that spreads across Jeremiah’s face and the arch of Ezekiel’s eyebrow. Both look like invitations. Shawn tries to wriggle out of Law’s arms at the sight of his mother.
"I'm really starting to wonder if I should be offended by how he practically jumps out of my arms when he sees you," Law says as we reach them.
"Oh, he only knows who did the work to get him here," Sarah whispers as she takes Shawn from her arms.
"Not all the work," Law murmurs. "If I remember correctly."
—Keep talking like that and it will be nothing more than a memory.—
I press my lips together to stifle my laughter, though Ezekiel and Jeremiah don't mind throwing their heads back and giggling. Just then, Sarah's words before the joke hit me hard, and a thought silences me completely. And, of course, Jeremiah and Ezekiel notice. Sarah starts talking to Law as they move away from him and toward me.
"What's going on?" Ezequiel asks. "Something's not going according to plan?"
"Did Kamila come to her senses and become a runaway bride?" Jeremiah jokes.
"I'm... late," I say slowly.
Jeremiah frowns. “Don’t we have half an hour left?”
"No woman says 'I'm late' in that tone unless she's referring to her period, idiot," Ezequiel says.
Jeremiah starts to frown at Ezekiel, but then he has to understand what we are both really trying to say.
He suddenly says, "Are you pregnant?"
I cover his mouth with my hand as my gaze shifts to Law and Sarah. When they don't seem to hear, I turn my gaze to Jeremiah.
"I'm sorry," he murmurs against my fingers.
I don't know if I am. I just know I'm late. And neither of us will say a word because it would distract us from Kamila and Jackson.
"But they'll test us before we go back to our room," Ezequiel tells me as I finally release Jeremiah's mouth.
Of course, he kisses my fingers as I pull them away. I nod at Ezekiel and swallow before asking him the same question that's been on my mind.
—What...what do you want the test to say?—
Jeremiah is the first to speak, though he begins with a question of his own: "Do you really need to ask? I want her to say yes."
I look back at Ezequiel, and he gives me a puzzled look, frowning. "I want her to say yes, of course I do."
I chuckle, releasing the tension. "I don't think they've done any tests that say yes or no."
—But most importantly—, Jeremiah begins, —what do you want me to say?—
I honestly wasn't sure, but then I realized how much I wanted you guys to say yes, so I think my answer is the right one. We just... we never talked about all of it, beyond saying we all wanted kids in the future. I barely moved into your house when I already have ten events scheduled for the next twelve months, and you guys are opening another gym. Add a baby to that, and we suddenly have a lot going on.
—So, I guess it's good we have three people doing all that instead of two, Jeremiah smiles. —But, uh... let's focus more on the part Law and Jackson told me. The pregnancy hormones.
I laugh, and as I punch him in the arm, he grabs my wrist and pulls me toward him. His hands cup my cheeks, lifting my face. Ezekiel comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, wrapping me in them, where I always feel safe, secure, and loved.
"If you're pregnant, we'll figure everything out," Ezequiel says softly in my ear.
—I know we will.—
"And if you're not pregnant, I say we're ready for that," Jeremiah adds.
I narrow my eyes, though I smile, and ask, “Did you put me between you two just to make it more likely you’d agree?”
—Is it working?— He smiles.
—You know it is. Only because I'm thinking about all the positions you and Ezequiel could put me in while you cum inside me.
Ezequiel bites my earlobe and I tremble against him as he whispers, "You know how it turns me on when you talk like that. Don't think I'm above fucking you in a bridesmaid dress, Laury."
“The officiant is ready,” Heather says through my earpiece.
“Oops!” I yelled as I slipped between them. “Duty calls.”
I wave my finger at them as I walk toward Sarah. When I reach her, I tell her it's time to head back to Kamila's room. Pressing the receiver, I tell Heather to find Jackson and tell him it's time to start the ceremony, but he comes toward us at that exact moment. His smile spreads from ear to ear.
"Is my sister completely convinced she's the most beautiful bride who ever lived?" Sarah asks.
—Oh, you no longer have any doubts—, he smiles.
"You two...?" he stammers.
She laughs. “Don’t ask me questions you don’t really want to answer. I just want you to know that she’s getting her hair and makeup done right now, and technically, it’s your fault for bringing me to see her.”
Sarah looks horrified, but I laugh. “So you’re going to use the “you couldn’t resist” defense?”
\-Absolutely.-
I laugh and say, "We're ready to go, so you two better not do too much damage."
Yes, I just saw the officiant. He told me to let you know he's open next Sunday, whatever that means.
I nod and Sarah and I continue walking.
“Open for what?” she asks.
—He, uh... he was telling me he does commitment ceremonies when I spoke to him earlier. So I asked him if he had any openings coming up.
He stops, grabbing my forearm, so I'm forced to stop too. "For you, Jeremiah and Ezekiel?"
—I don't even know if you want one, or feel the need for some kind of ceremony, so calm all the emotion I see bubbling in your eyes.
He looks at me with exasperation. "If you want it, it will become a necessity for them. That's how it is with all our boys. With one word, they achieve it."
"I've noticed it a lot. They're planning a complete bathroom remodel just because I said I like clawfoot tubs."
"See? Well, you better book it. Kamila and Jackson just got back from their honeymoon, and that gives your moms time to buy a dress and everything."
"And me?" I laugh. "Maybe I want a dress too?"
—That's why I'd be calling myself to make sure you're shown the best dresses in town.
—Ah, those benefits for the rich are starting to kick in.
She lets out a laugh. “I use them when I can.”
We arrive at Kamila's room, and I tell Sarah not to say anything about it. Just like my possible pregnancy, I don't want any news to ruin her day.
Kamila is indeed doing her makeup and hair when we enter the room. We snicker, trying to contain it when she orders us not to say a word. However, she radiates much more confidence when she's standing, so whatever Jackson said or did, it worked.
Sarah walks down the aisle with Law, one hand in the crook of his arm while the other hugs Shawn tightly. Then, Ezekiel and Jeremiah are on either side of me, holding an arm out for me to take. I put my hands in theirs, and we start walking down the aisle as well, in time to the slow song that was playing. Then Kamila appears, her soft pink dress billowing in the grass as she walks toward Jackson. He watches her like she's a moving work of art, and then they're standing opposite each other, the setting sun illuminating them with the most beautiful colors. Once again, the vows escape me because I can't stop thinking about the words I would say to Ezekiel and Jeremiah, and them to me. What scenario would I want if I promised them forever? Could I make it happen in a week?
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the officiant announces.
The small crowd applauds as Jackson's hands reach Kamila's cheeks, lifted by her smile, cupping them as he brings his lips to hers.
The dimly lit, tented outdoor reception is chaotic, with only two hiccups, thankfully. Then, Kamila and Jackson board a private jet to Italy. Ezekiel and Jeremiah keep a wary eye on me as I fulfill my final wedding duties. But as soon as Heather tells me for the third time that everything's ready, they practically force me out the door—and take us straight to the pharmacy. I don't think I've ever seen someone in and out so fast. Jeremiah's grin as he shakes his bag back out the door makes Ezekiel and me laugh out loud.
“Are you both making fun of my excitement?” he asks as he returns to the passenger seat.
—Yes, but I'm also a little worried—, I admit. —Maybe I'm not pregnant, and this is all for nothing—.
"It wouldn't be, because it's been clear to all of us that we want a child," Ezequiel points out.
"Is it strange?" I ask with a giggle. "That we're considering having a baby so soon?"
"Who cares what other people think?" Jeremiah asks.
Of course, Ezequiel says it much more harshly: "To hell with what other people think."
I smile in the backseat, knowing they're right and that the only opinions that matter would be those of those who are happy for us.
—Well, we probably know two people who think a baby can't come soon enough,—I add.
Ezequiel laughs. "What were we thinking, putting those two together?"
I met Jeremiah and Ezekiel's mother a week after the charity event. They met my mother two weeks later when she returned from her cruise. A few days later, we introduced them to our mothers, and they've been best friends ever since. Their mother was teaching mine to be more independent, and my mother was getting hers more open to the idea of love, or at least dating. Almost every time we called them, they were together, and somehow, every conversation revolved around them eagerly awaiting their grandchildren. Plural.
"Our mom already said that the moment we tell her there's a baby on the way, she'll move into the same block as us," Jeremiah says.
—And my mom would probably be her roommate—, I laugh.
"Well, at least we'll always have babysitters," Ezequiel adds.
We arrived at the hotel room, and they followed me into the bathroom. They stood in the doorway while I took the test out of the box and read the instructions. Then, I looked at them and then back at the test. One more time.
—I know neither of you think you're going to see me pee.
"What's the problem?" Ezequiel shrugs.
"We've already seen everything else," Jeremiah smiles.
—Well, you won't see this.—
I press against their chests until they move far enough away for me to close the door. Then, I take a deep breath, though I don't feel it enough, and urinate on a test strip that will determine a lot. A small hourglass appears on the test strip when I replace the cap. By the time I wash my hands, the countdown has begun. I open the door and find them in exactly the same place as before.
“Three minutes,” I tell them. “And I guess as good a way to pass the time as any is to mention something I’ve been considering today.” At their silence, I continue, “I was talking to the officiant, and maybe he was just pitching his services or maybe he saw us together at rehearsal yesterday, but he told me he offers a commitment ceremony for couples who can’t legally get married… and he has an opening to perform one on Sunday.”
No one said a word. I opened my eyes wide, waiting, urging someone to speak.
Jeremiah shrugs. “I’m just waiting for you to tell me the time.”
"And I'm waiting to hear if they want to do the ceremony," I point out.
"Why wouldn't we?" Ezequiel asks.