She puts her hands on my arms. “I love you too, Finn.” There’s a smile in her voice when she goes on, “Now enough of this or I’m going to end up crying and wrecking my makeup.” She turns to face me.
I kiss her full on the lips again.
She scurries away from me to the dresser and peers into the mirror for a second. She tidies up her hair with her hands and reapplies her lipstick then she turns back to me. “There. No one will ever know where we’ve been now.”
I refrain from pointing out the post orgasmic glow all over her face and chest. Instead, I take her hand and lead her back out of the room. We go back down in the elevator, laughing about what we’ve just done, then we cross the lobby and step outside. The party is in full swing now with drinks flowing and people up dancing.
“Where have you been?” My mom calls as she spots us and comes storming over to us. “The band has been calling for you two to do your first dance.”
“Sorry, Mom. We… umm… got caught up.”
“Doing what?” She demands as she looks at Ashley and sees the flush of her cheeks then she reddens slightly. “Oh... well, never mind. You’re both here now. I’ll let the band know you’re ready for your first dance.” She flits back away leaving Ashley and me laughing.
“Well that was embarrassing,” Ashley whispers.
“But on the plus side, it got rid of her,” I point out.
“I should have told her we were having sex ages ago and I might have gotten out of all of those planning sessions.” Ashley laughs.
“About that,” I say. “I’m sorry this wasn’t the wedding you would have chosen.”
“No, Finn. It’s absolutely perfect.” She smiles dreamily. “Granted, it’s not necessarily what I would have chosen, but seeing it all now, your mom actually has damned good taste.”
“Well, she made me, didn’t she?”
Ashley elbows me in the ribs. “Ok, enough of that Mr. Arrogant.” She smirks.
“Ladies and gentleman,” the singer from the band announces into the microphone. “Please welcome onto the dance floor, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Finn Jagger.”
I offer Ashley my hand and she takes it in hers as I lead her onto the dance floor that has been laid over the grass.
The guests disperse from the area to stand around watching as I take Ashley into my arms and begin to move her across the floor. Glasses clink all around us.
Ashley smiles at me as I lean in to give the people what they want. Our lips touch and for just a second, I’m back upstairs in the bedroom with Ashley, but this time, I keep my wits about me, keeping it firmly in my mind that we’re not alone and this time I can’t drag Ashley away.
I pull back from kissing Ashley. She’s still flushed and her eyes are shining like never before. I realize it’s going to be hard keeping the promise I’ve just made myself that I’m not going to whisk her back upstairs, especially if she keeps pressing herself against me like this.
I smile and wave my arm, beckoning other people onto the dance floor. Ashley giggles in my arms as I twirl her faster as our guests begin to join us on the dance floor.
This day was always going to go one of two ways. Either Ashley would not show up and it would be the worst day of my life. Or Ashley shows up and it becomes the best day of my life. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I’m so pleased it turned out to be the best day of my entire life.
24
Ashley
It’s getting latish now, almost half past ten, and the party is still in full swing. The drinks have been flowing all day and all evening. Our guests are having a great time, dancing, laughing and chatting.
Finn and I have had to deny several assumptions that our quick wedding is because I’m pregnant which I’m not. The first few times, I tried to explain how it isn’t the seventies anymore and if I were pregnant, it wouldn’t necessarily be a reason for us to get married. The more I tried to explain, the more convinced people became that I was indeed pregnant. I’ve given up now, just letting Finn smile mysteriously and shake his head. There are a few people here tonight who are going to be disappointed in a few months’ time when no baby comes.
I wonder how many of them would have been disappointed if no wedding had come at all. Something tells me only my guests, Finn’s close friends and family would have cared. The rest of the guests would have loved it. It would have given them something to talk about for years to come.