CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 35
Alone now, I sit at the vanity and open the black box Jackson brought. We agreed to attend the ceremony with the rings we bought. A sigh escapes me when I see the ring inside. I put it on, my vision blurring with tears for a moment, until I close my eyes and hold them back. Then, I admire the ring on my finger. Half open at the front, it circles the back of my finger until it ends in a diamond on the left. On the right, the white gold divides into bands, ending in a diamond above and another below the center one on the other side. Perfect for representing us.
I take a deep breath and stand up, ready to leave when Heather comes in to tell me it's time. Following her through the different rooms of the botanical garden, I'm surprised Heather was able to get this spot on such short notice. The only thing I specifically said I wanted was a garden. A beautiful garden. She got me a building full of them. Since it's been raining all week, we can't have the ceremony outdoors, but with how beautiful everything is inside, I don't regret it at all. Since we decided to enter the ceremony together, when Heather leads me to the room outside the main garden, Ezekiel and Jeremiah are waiting there. They're standing sideways, their heads turned away as they look around the room and talk to each other, so I can watch them for a moment without them noticing.
Both wearing all-black three-piece suits, black shoes, and rose gold pocket squares in their jackets. Jeremiah wears his hair down, more groomed than ever, with freshly trimmed beards. My God, they look like so much more than I deserve, and so much more than I ever dreamed. And on their fingers are my rings. Ezekiel's is black with a titanium outline around it. Jeremiah's is the same colors, but the other way around: titanium with a black outline. Both with our names engraved inside. I'm not at all surprised that their gazes find me at the same time.
Jeremiah gapes as Ezequiel covers his mouth with his hand. I chuckle after a few moments of silence.
—Well, someone tell me I look beautiful, I joke.
As they both walk toward me, Heather says she'll be on the other side of the doors, opening them when it's time. I don't see her walk through them, with Ezekiel and Jeremiah blocking my view. I crane my head back to look at them.
—Beautiful is too small a word to describe how you look—, says Ezequiel.
"Beautiful, stunning, a masterpiece. None of those things seem enough to me," Jeremiah adds. "Let's just say... you look like something out of a dream."
"I accept," I smile. "Now, kiss me."
Jeremiah kisses me first, but I feel Ezequiel's lips move up to my neck, because he never waits to see if he wants his mouth on me. Jeremiah's tongue slides between my lips, but just as I moan, he pulls away.
—Not in front of the flowers—, he jokes.
"Fuck those flowers," Ezequiel says before crashing his mouth against mine.
My laughter quickly turns into a gasp as he circles my tongue with his. Jeremiah's fingers trace the deep slit in my dress to my lower back, and I tremble between them.
—The things we're going to do to you when we take this dress off tonight—, she promises.
I'm pretty sure Ezequiel interrupts our kiss just so he can see how nervous I am.
"Why do you want me to blush at my own ceremony?" I accuse him.
"I told you a long time ago," Ezequiel smiles. "Pink looks good on you."
"It's time," Heather whispers.
I feel like we all take a collective deep breath and laugh when we notice each other doing it.
"Are you ready?" I ask.
"I've been prepared," Jeremiah replies, while Ezekiel says, "More than ever for anything before."
So, we each take one of my hands, and we walk through the door. For once, probably because it's my own ceremony, and because Ezekiel and Jeremiah are by my side instead of freaking out from across the aisle, I take in what's around me. Flower upon beautiful flower. All different colors and sizes. Tall orange flowers lining the aisle. Small pink flowers creating arches overhead every few feet. Yellow ones hanging from vines above us, and red flowers peeking out from green bushes between the arches. I don't think it could have gone any better. We reach the officiant, and I try hard to focus on his words instead of the feel of Jeremiah and Ezekiel's hands in mine. Both warm, both comforting, and both strong. Both fit perfectly in mine. Both men are perfect for me.
“Laury?” the officiant asks in a low voice.
My eyes meet his, and I realize I've lost the battle to keep my attention on him. He simply smiles at me.
—Everyone is saying their vows at the same time, right?—he continues.
\-Yeah.-
—Then you can all repeat after me.—
We say the words in unison, promising to be respectful and kind, loyal and patient, uplifting and compassionate. We swear to trust and forgive each other, care for and encourage each other. To love each other. Always love each other. We swear to be together forever, and whatever comes next. He announces us as soulmates and they both kiss me on the cheek, and I'm sure I blush again when they both squeeze one of my butt cheeks too. At least, only the officiant can see them do it... I think. Our mothers run to hug us first, but little Shawn, barely walking—or rather, waddling—pushes his way between them to wrap his arms around my legs. I pick him up as his mother and aunt come to hug me.
“I always knew we’d end up here,” Kamila says. “Since the first time I saw them interact.”
"Well, you could have told me." I chuckle.
“Um, we tried,” Sarah laughs. “Several times, but of course, you had to see it with your own eyes.”
"God, I'm so glad I did," I admit.
Law and Jackson hug me afterward, congratulating me before Law takes Shawn and we walk to the next room. There are only ten seats and one highchair. Space for everyone, which I needed that day. I ask Heather to take off her headset so she can sit in the tenth seat. While we finish dessert, Heather asks for someone to bring in the gifts. The only part of the wedding planning I was involved in, a part I could do from my bed. The wedding gifts that Ezekiel and Jeremiah helped me make.
"Open them now," I tell them all. "And you better not have peeked, Heather."
"I didn't do it," he says, laughing. "Especially after you threatened to cut off my hand if I did."
—What?— Jeremiah chuckles.
—It's the hormones' fault.—
Sarah and Kamila stop digging into the gift bags, staring at me with wide eyes. And I realize what I just said, what I just revealed.
“The... what?” Kamila asks slowly.
"Hormones!" Sarah almost screams. "She said hormones."
I sit down with a huff. “Just open the presents.”
With much more vigor, they pull out their gifts, instantly smiling as they look at the photos. One that says, “Baby Wright Coming Soon,” with our baby’s photo barely visible, the size of a jelly bean, and the doctor’s words, a sonogram underneath. As our mothers already knew, their gift is one that still has the photo and a message that says, “Soon to be a Grandma!” The screams make me close my eyes as I laugh. When I open them, I see Shawn, confused, looking around.
"You'll have another cousin soon," Sarah tells him.
“This feels so surreal,” Kamila adds, rubbing the back of the hand Jackson is holding on her belly. “We’re all with great guys, and none of us have let it go to our heads. Sarah has Shawn, and we’re expecting babies. None of us thought we’d be here two years ago.”
"Those men were smart enough to take advantage of a good thing as soon as they saw it," Sarah laughs.
Law grabs her to kiss her, although Shawn tries to push him away, and I look at Ezekiel and Jeremiah's hands, one on each of my thighs.
"Are you happy?" Jeremiah asks in a voice so low that only Ezequiel and I can hear him.
—Happier than I ever thought I could be—, I reply.
—Hmm, I still want to make you even happier—, Ezequiel adds.
—Just love me. That's all I'll ever need.—
His hand tightens on my thigh, and when I look up at him, he licks his lips as he slides his hand higher under the table.
—Well...maybe that's not all I need, I say hoarsely.
"You know you're not going to sleep tonight, right?" Jeremiah asks, making me look at him.
—Promises, promises.— I smile.
But I know he'll keep that promise. Both he and Ezekiel will. They always will. Every promise they've made to me inside and outside the bedroom. Every whispered word they've said in the dark, silent night as they held me. Every promise they made to me today.
My future with them is certain. And my love for them is absolute.