by Jenny Wood
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, products, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This story is also set in a southern state; please keep in mind that accents are different all over the world, especially mine. It isn’t a typo or a lazy way of typing. It’s how it’s spoken. While typo’s and misspellings do sometimes occur, I do try my best to find them all. Negative comments and remarks will not effect this in any way. In saying that, I hope you love these guys as much as I do.
Enjoy : )
Contents
Kingsley
Conner
Kingsley
Jody
Kingsley
Joker
Kingsley
Finn
Kayson
Kingsley
“If you had to pick, like… if you just had to pick one; which one do you think would pull a “runaway bride” and leave one of these guys at the alter?” I ask Jase who’s sitting in the back seat with me, while Jody drives Kayson and the rest of us to the chapel so he can get married today. It's been four months since these guys proposed to their fellas on the exact same day, at Jase’s welcome home barbecue.
“That is a terrible thing to say.” Jase scolded me, and I watched Kayson almost swallow his tongue in panic. Serves him right, he dished out plenty of bullshit on my wedding day, the fucker.
“I mean, we know he’s probably going to be there; but just if he wasn’t. Kayse, what would you do?” I tease again to watch him squirm for good measure.
“Knock it off, King. He’s nervous enough already.” Jody tries to hide his snicker and just about pulls it off, but Jase hears it and whack’s him on the back of the head.
“Hey, I’m driving up here! Do you want me to kill us before we even make it to the church?” Jody gripes, for something to do. He didn’t even swerve.
“Just remember, old man; you’re next. Do you want us giving you this much shit on your big day?” Jase asks Jody reasonably. Sometimes I wonder who the adults are in our family because surely none of us qualify.
“I feel like I’m going to throw up.” Kayson murmurs as he cracks his window for some air. I reach over the seat and squeeze his shoulders, hoping to release some of the tension that I know is what’s making his shoulders bunch up around his ears like they are. I shouldn’t razz him on his special day.
“Relax, he’s already there, I just got a text from Morgan. Everything’s going to be fine.” I assure him, feeling just a little bit bad about it now. I feel his shoulders relax and he reaches up and pinches my arm.
“Ow!” I laugh, rubbing my abused skin. “Foul! Girl move! We don’t pinch, sissy!” I poke him in the neck and then keep my hands to myself.
“Do you have the rings, King?” Jody asks me. I pat my jacket pockets and then pretend to frantically look around for the boxes that are tucked away, in my breast pocket.
“Oh, shit!” I whisper a little too loudly. “Oh, fuck,” I say again, feigning panic. Kayson jerks his entire body around to look at me, and his face is ashen and sweaty.
“Kingsley.” He almost whimpered. Damnit, I was going to have to knock it off. Otherwise, my big brother wasn’t going to make it to his wedding without expiring from heart palpitations. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Kayson, this is the most important day of your life,” I say seriously, after laughing for a solid minute at his reaction, that is. I reach into my breast pocket and pull them out. “I wouldn’t be the one to fuck this up for you.” He breathes a sigh of relief and slides down in his seat, facing forward. Now I really feel bad for being such a dick. I rub his shoulders for real this time and keep my hands on him to try and calm him down a little. It seems to work this time.
“What really has you nervous, Kayse? This has been a long ass time coming; the man is just as obsessed with you as he was the day he met you, four years ago. After today, he’ll be a Kennedy.” I finally smile at the small smirk on my brothers’ nervous face.
“I’m not nervous really, just anxious. I want to get it done and over with.” He tells us.
“Well, be a dear and don’t say that out loud to him. He’s been bridezilla the last four months!” I tell them honestly. Conner, Morgan, Cameron and even Jase have been busting ass all summer trying to find the perfect venue, the perfect flowers, the right minister that would cater to a same-sex couple; songs, food, and liquor. He’s been a pretty, little, nightmare.
“He’s been thinking about this forever,” Kayson tells us, softly. “When other people dream of big, important jobs with nice houses and expensive ass cars and shit; Conner wanted this. A family. He wants the fairytale with the white picket fence, the yard, and the kids. We’ve started all that, and we’re continuing it today. Do you know what I want? Do you know what I think about? What I’ve been thinking about forever?” He turns in his seat and asks each one of us directly. “I want him,” he shrugs. “I want a lifetime to make him happy, that’s all I want. I’ll take the house, the yard, the kids and that ridiculously fat cat that wakes me up, bellowing for souls to feed on every morning. I’ll be beyond lucky to have it all, but all I require is him. I’m getting that today.” He grins and damn if I didn’t get a little misty eyed. I notice Jase does too.
“You should’ve saved that for your vows.” I scoffed to try to hide my moment of emotion. What an asshole.
“My vows are going to kick your vows out of the water; you might have to remarry Morgan to top them.” He winks at me and turns around, ignoring the scowl of a thousand deaths I send his way.
Pulling up to the church, we all take a collective breath and make our way to back room where we’ll stay until the minister comes to get us. Kayson is going to take his place with the minister, and then the rest of the guys are going to couple up with our men and walk down like a traditional wedding. Jase, me and Jody on Kayson’s side and Joker, Morgan, and Cameron on Conner’s side. Then, Conner will walk down the short aisle by himself to meet Kayson.
“Now that we’re here, I just feel excited,” Kayson tells us, smiling from ear to ear. We all straighten our ties and pace back and forth, waiting for our cue. I peek out the back doors into the chapel and see some of our friends and family. Kady is sitting in the front row, bouncing like the little hellion she is. She was meant to be Kayson’s flower girl at her insistence, but three days ago, she sprained her ankle while out fishing with Jody and Cameron. I would’ve guessed cheer camp, I’ve seen the flips that girl gets up to, and it’s enough to make me prematurely gray; but nope, she twisted it in a mud-hole and went down on it wrong. She was not happy about sitting this one out, but the guys agreed to let her play the piano and sing at the reception. She was okay with that since she could do it sitting down.
Kady’s mom, Merissa, and her new husband Gary were also here; as were some of our regular clients and some of the people that we’d gotten to know around town over the years. Conner’s employees from the library and his mother were also mixed in with our loud, crazy, bunch. We had a nice little turnout, and I was happy to see that so many people came out to support them, I knew it’d mean a lot to Conner. He was born and raised in this town.
Knock, knock-- The minister knocked and peeped his head in…
“Are we ready?” He smiled hugely at all of us. He’d been so great the last couple weeks, answering any questions we had and helping everyone prepare for this big day.
“So ready!” Kayson grinned, and we all followed him when he almost mowed over the minister to get out front. We gave him slaps of encouragement, and I pulled him into a fierce hug and whispered that our
mom would be proud of him if she were here and that I knew she was watching him today with a smile. Then, I left him at the alter and the rest of the gang and I went around to meet the guys we were walking with. There were large, purple and white roses on the outsides of every pew. There were candles lit everywhere and it the sun was shining brightly in through the stained-glass windows. It was a gorgeous setting, and I was glad that Morgan had hired a photographer for the entire day to take candid shots of everyone throughout.
“Hey, hot stuff.” Morgan winked and blew me a kiss until I sided right up to him and took his mouth in a real and mildly inappropriate kiss, given where we were. It all reminded me of our wedding day, and it was hands down, one of the happiest days of my life.
“Today is a beautiful day, but I’m still the luckiest man in this building,” I say as I kiss him quickly one last time. I see the other guys huddled with their men, having their own little moments and I think of how far we’ve all come since moving to Edgartown almost five years ago. I can’t imagine not having each of these men in my life. We were all pretty damn lucky.
“Lookin’ sharp, Conner. You nervous?” I ask, pulling him into me for a hug; he looked a little rattled and I wondered if he had any of the anxiousness that Kayson did earlier.
“Thanks, King. Not nervous, ready.” He grinned, pulling back and straightening his suit jacket. We were all similarly dressed in tuxes with matching purple and white ties. He took a deep breath, and we all moved to take our places.
“Proud to gain another brother, Con,” Jody said as he passed and hugged Conner before stepping in his place, in line.
“Same here, Conner. Wouldn’t be the same without ya.” Jase commented, and the other guys followed suit, and we all teased him for tearing up.
When the music started playing, Morgan and I walked first. My brother looked excited as hell at the end of that aisle, and I couldn’t wait to see his face when he got a glimpse of Conner. Watching him drop his chin to his chest to hide his tears, had me choking up my damn self. Damn weddings.
Conner’s smile was radiant, and he only had eyes for Kayson. He didn’t look at anyone else or seem to notice anything else at all. The second he reached Kayson they grabbed each other in a bone crushing hug. It took several nudges and some throat clearing from the officiant for them to let loose of one another so we could start this thing. The minister read a passage about all-encompassing love and how life has no meaning if one has no one to share it with. He spoke of long-lasting eternity kind of love and binding of two souls as one for all of eternity. Kayson and Conner never broke their stare; I’m not even sure they were listening. When it was time for the vows, Kayse went first. The room was not prepared.
“I had a good life before I met you,” Okay, starting off kind of rocky. Not something you admit, bro, I thought to myself. “I had my brothers, and we had our own business, and I was happy. You know these guys can make any day bearable. But, when I met you, it was like… I suddenly knew what I’d been missing, and my life wasn’t so bearable anymore. Not unless you were with me. I can’t imagine a second without you, baby, and I wonder how I got on from day to day, not even knowing that you were out there waiting for me. What if I missed you?” He whispered, pulling Conner closer and wrapping his arms around him tightly. He leaned his forehead to Conner’s and took a deep, calming breath. Conner was a lost cause; the man could not hold it together. I couldn’t help but smile at the love between them.
“Thank you for being patient with me and putting up with me and my rowdy, obnoxious family. Thank you for loving me and accepting me for who I am and the grief I undoubtedly cause you on a daily basis. Thank you for sticking with me, even when I give you reasons to want to send me far, far away.” Conner and the rest of the crowd giggled, but I had a feeling that Kayson was serious. It was sweet and just another reason they worked so well together.
“And thank you for agreeing to spend your life with me. I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure you never regret a single day with me. I’ll love you forever as much, if not more than I do at this moment and I’ll never take for granted the miracle that you love me too. Thank you for picking me.” Kayson smiled and gave a quick peck to Conner. We all laughed at the tut-tut he got from the preacher; it was with a smile though, so we figured it wasn’t a rule too badly broken. Then, it was Conner’s turn.
“You’re everything to me,” He whispers to Kayson, arms still firmly around each other. “I love you so much, that sometimes I can’t breathe with it.” He closes his eyes with that confession. When he opens them, he smiles a smile that lights his whole face. “I’ve loved you since the minute I laid eyes on you, did you know that? I’d sit in the bookstore and pray for glimpses of you. I’d imagine scenarios’ where you’d notice me, and we’d run off into the sunset together, and we’d be happy and healthy and in love. Fairytales, you know? But life with you has been better than anything I could’ve dreamed up, anything I could’ve imagined and I thank my lucky stars every single night that you saved me. You’re my dream come true, how lucky am I?” He questioned, not expecting an answer. “We’re living our fairytale, and it’s only getting started. This, is our happily ever after and it’s the best damn story in the world. I’ll never make you regret you picking me either. Thank you for being my hero. I love you so much.” He finishes, and Kayson gave a warning glance to the minister, and we all laughed at the unspoken heads up. Kayson grabbed Conner’s face and sealed their vows with a semi-pornographic kiss for the world.
“We’ll do the rings when you’re ready, then.” I taunted their impatient-ness to wrap it up, but we had a little bit more to go. They contained themselves for several more minutes, long enough to repeat the traditional, do you... Blah blah blah take, so-and-so to be yours, they said I do, they exchanged rings and then when our officiant pronounced them man and husband, they sealed it with a quick kiss for once, and Kayson flung Conner over his shoulder and walked out of the church. They were at least a half hour late to their reception… It was their day though, so no one complained.
Conner
Watching my new husband as he stood around a desert table with his little sister and all of his brothers; I twisted the ring around my finger and couldn’t believe my luck. I was married to Kayson Kennedy; the man I’d crushed on for months as he worked across the street from my bookstore. The man whose had my heart for the last, almost, five years. I’d always wanted this life; being married and blissfully happy with a man that I adored, one that adored me. I never in my life would’ve imagined that I’d be standing here, married to a guy like Kayson Kennedy, though. God was smiling down on me today.
“You look so happy, honey.” I look over to see my mom standing next to me. I wondered how long she’d been standing there watching me admire my new husband. Husband. It would take a while to get used to that. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face for all the money in the world. I’m surprised Kingsley isn’t giving me shit about it.
“Nothing in this world could make me happier,” I replied, honestly, taking my eyes right back to my husband. I was surprised to find him looking back at me because everyone else was still standing around, teasing and bickering back and forth. Kady was looking annoyed and ready to maybe kick Jody in the shin. I couldn’t imagine what it was that they were giving her a hard time about. Kayson only had eyes for me at that moment though.
Love you. I mouthed to him and watched him wink back. Seeing him in his t-shirts, blue jeans and biker boots were sexy any day of the week. Seeing him nothing at all was even sexier. But today, seeing him in his suit, waiting at the end of an aisle for me… It’s an image I’ll never forget.
“Don’t be gettin’ any idea’s darlin’. Don’t think nobody noticed your half hour “disappearing act” before you got here.” Mom teased and nudged me. I reluctantly looked away from the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen.
“Traffic was held up.” I lied. Traffic wasn’t a thing in a town this small, and she knew it. Still, she just
rolled her eyes and didn’t call me on it.
“I’m proud of you, baby.” She whispered in a moment of seriousness. “You’re good for him, and I have no doubt, you’ll have a lifetime of him being good to you, too. That’s all a mama ever wants for her children. Their happiness. I’m glad you found it.” She tells me, causing us both to tear up as she hugged me.
“You’re not makin’ my man cry, are ya Ma?” Kayson said, sliding his hand around my waist as he sidled up to us. The last several years, she’d broken him down, insisting that he call her that. He was her son now, that was true; but to my mom, he had been a part of our family from the moment he saved me.
“He’s my only child, and I gave him away today, you’ll just have to deal with a little boo-hooin.” She sniffed and swatted at him lightly as she backed up and let him claim me.
“It’s time for speeches, baby,” Kayson told me softly as he leaned forward and kissed me. I wondered how kissing him felt different, now that he was my husband. He’d kissed me like that a million different times for a million different reasons over the last several years, but now, it felt somehow….more. I nodded and took my mom’s hand, escorting her to her table as we made our way to ours, front and center. Everyone was slowly making their way over to the seating area; there weren’t many people here but enough to fill a decent banquet room. We’d had twenty tables sat up, and everyone just sat wherever they wanted. Everyone practically knew everyone, so there was no use in assigning anyone to any certain place. Kayson and I sat front and center though, and I couldn’t imagine what speech time was going to entail.
Jase and Joker spoke together. Jase and Joker done just about everything together, actually, since they’d gotten together about six months ago. I was happy to see them so happy; I knew their relationship was one to last. Jase was mature for his age, and it showed when he spoke of love and finding someone who made you better and bettered your life in ways you never could, had you not found them. He was wise about such things, and I was incredibly proud of him. Joker was quieter, but he thanked us all for accepting him and giving him something to live up to. “A love to look up to and learn from,” he said. He wished us all the love in the world, and it was heartfelt and sweet; something I wouldn’t have been sure he was capable of before he met Jase.