“Well, besides you, playing professional football has been all I’ve thought about. So maybe that, but if not, I’d work with our dads building an empire. You?”
“I want to be a hairstylist. It’s the only job I’ve ever wanted. Remember when I worked at Vickie’s salon last summer?”
“Of course.”
“I’d like to open my own salon and make it special. I remember being a little girl and going to the salon with my mom; it was such an occasion. It was always special. Hair, nails, the works. It’s not like that anymore. I want my salon to be different.”
“We can do that, baby.”
“Plus, it would allow me to set my own hours when we start having kids, which I feel will be pretty soon,” I say, laughing.
“What can I say, Ren. You are it for me. I want a family with you, a home. I want it all.”
“You have it all, Aaron. Everything I am is yours. I can’t wait to be your wife.”
“I can’t wait to be your husband.”
I’ve loved this man for as long as I can remember and have never felt so fulfilled. We may have had to wait to get to this point, but I am so glad we did. It was beyond worth it.
Epilogue
Aaron
I took the cigar box with all the post-its she saved this morning, the morning of our wedding. I had no idea that she’d save them or that she hoped it was me writing them, but I’ve got a plan for them. I string them up along the gazebo on my parent's property using a hole punch and a piece of twine. This is where she’ll become my wife in less than twenty minutes. Friends and family are gathered in rented chairs, and as terrible as it sounds, I don’t even care that they are here. All I care about is Ren. Finally, the music starts, and Avaline walks down the aisle. Beckett is already to my side and can’t take his eyes off her. I roll my eyes and look back at the other end of the aisle. Ren comes into view, her father by her side. She looks amazing in her short white dress and cowboy boots. She all but runs down the aisle to me and kisses me as soon as she gets there.
“Shall we begin?” Pastor Dave says after clearing his throat. “Aaron Chance Davis and Kerenza Rose Porter, the promises you make today are sacred; they are the groundwork from which your marriage will grow and blossom over time. Though we all know this was a long time coming. At separate times over the years, you have both sought me out to counsel you on your feelings for the other. I advised you then that time was the answer, as it is now. Aaron?"
"Kerenza, today you will become my wife. I promise to love you with all my heart, from now until my last breath, beyond if possible. I cannot wait to begin building our life together."
"Kerenza?" Paster Dave asks.
"Aaron, today, you will become my husband. I promise to love you with all my heart from now until the day I die. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for us."
"Aaron, do you..."
"I do," I say hastily, causing laughs from the congregation.
"Alrighty. Kerenza?"
"I definitely do, too," she says.
"Rings?" Avaline and Beckett pass our wedding bands over to us.
"With this ring, I thee wed," I say, sliding the band onto her finger.
"With this ring, I thee wed," she repeats, putting my band on my finger.
"Aaron and Kerenza, by the power vested in me by Almighty God and the great state of Georgia, I pronounce you husband and wife! Go on and kiss your bride."
And by God, I do. I kiss her like I’ve never kissed her before. The pride I feel because she is my wife is unlike anything I’ve ever known.
Somehow, I managed to make it through endless pictures, the reception, and the flight to Hawaii, but we’re here. Sitting on the beach as the sun rises. It’s been almost twenty-four hours since either one of us has been to bed, but she wanted to see the sunrise on this beach.
“I’m so happy,” she murmurs, snuggling into my side once the sun is up.
“Let’s get to bed, baby,” I tell her, helping her to her feet.
“I’m not tired,” she says as we enter the hotel room through the patio that leads down to the beach.
“Who said anything about going to sleep?” I say, chuckling.
“Oh, good. I’ve got something to show you,” she says, grabbing her bag and going into the bathroom. When she comes back out, she’s wrapped in black lace, and my jaw drops.
“Jesus, baby. Are you trying to kill me?”
“No,” she giggles, jumping onto the bed.
“You are so beautiful,” I tell her as I peel the lace from her body.