Forgotten Awakenings (Awakenings #2)

by Lisa Bilbrey

  Helina followed Elle into the bathroom and unzipped the white dress bag, revealing a beautiful, A-line, strapless gown that had a delicate lace overlay. It was simple and perfect.

  “You’re not like Ivy,” Helina said, pulling her attention away from the dress. “I knew you wouldn’t want a huge, fancy dress. When I saw this one, I knew it was meant for you.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Elle whispered, letting her fingers graze the fragile lace. “Will you help me put it on?”

  “Of course.”

  Helina carefully slipped the dress out of the bag and off the hanger. Elle could feel her fingers trembling as she untied her robe, letting it slide down her arms and fall to the floor. Helina’s eyes traveled to the scar in the middle of her left thigh, her lips curving downward.

  “I hate it,” Elle whispered. “It’s like a constant reminder of how close I came to losing everyone I love.”

  “Or how strong you were to fight for them,” Helina argued.

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  Elle braced herself on the vanity as she carefully stepped into the dress, holding the front up while her mother managed the buttons. The dress fit perfectly and as she stood, staring at her mother’s reflection in the mirror, she knew without a doubt that her mother truly loved her.

  “I love you, Mom,” Elle said, causing Helina to look up at her.

  Helina smiled. “I love you, too.”

  A knock on the bathroom door pulled both of their attention away from the mirror. A moment late, Ivy pushed the door open and smiled.

  “It’s time,” she said. “Are you ready?”

  Elle nodded. “More than ever.”

  James was waiting for them outside of a small ballroom off the left of the lobby. He tilted his head back and smiled as she walked to him. It was the first her father had looked at her and she hadn’t seen disappointment.

  “You look beautiful, sweetheart,” he said, quietly taking her hand. He held out a small, black velvet box. “This is for you.”

  “What is it?” she asked.

  He laughed. “Open it.”

  Elle pried the box open, gasping as she looked down at the small diamond pendant inside. “Oh, Dad.”

  “I know it’s not much,” he said, taking the box back from her and slipping the necklace out. He tucked the box back into his pocket before he moved so that he was standing behind her. “I’ve been blessed with two beautiful and strong daughters.”

  “Thank you, Dad.” Elle turned and faced him. “For everything.”

  “You’re welcome.” He shifted his eyes behind her and smiled. “I believe she belongs to you.”

  Elle turned and looked toward the staircase leading downstairs, feeling her heart begin to race as Bruce led Sadie downstairs in an empire waist bridal gown made up of dozens of layers of lace. Wrapped just under her breasts was a gold satin sash. Yet it was her smile that had Elle rushing across the room to embrace her.

  Their lips met in a fiery explosion, the need to reconfirm their love for one another was overwhelming. Sadie had been hers in every way since they were sixteen, and today, they’d make their love official.

  “You’re gonna make me cry,” Sadie giggled, bringing her hands up to Elle’s face. “Looking all sexy and ready for me to eat.”

  Elle’s cheeks warmed. “You look stunning.”

  “I feel pretty,” Sadie murmured. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “Girls,” Bruce called. “It’s time.”

  Entangling their fingers together, Elle and Sadie turned and walked to their fathers, each sliding their free hands around the top of their fathers’ arms. The soft, delicate sound of a guitar playing trickled out from inside the ballroom as the doors opened, and Elle once again had to stifle her gasp.

  Thousands of candles lit up the room and dozens of yellow and blue roses lined the aisle. On either side their friends were gathered, along with people they worked with. Leigh, Thomas, and Tyson, Lucia and Aaron, Jonas and Abe, who had been seeing each other for almost two years. Elle was surprised to learn the men were gay, yet the more time she spent with them, the clearer it became that they were very much in love.

  Nick’s mother Regina stood with Greta and Gabriel Alvarez, who smiled as he looked from the girls to the front of the room.

  Samuel and Carlos stood behind their sons, prideful smiles on their faces. Lydia and Felicia stood next to one another on the left side of the aisle, tears already filling their eyes. On the other side, stood Helina and Claudia, who were beaming with a happiness Elle never expected to see on their faces. Ivy stood ready to be their matron of honor, a decision that Elle knew Sadie would agree with. Ivy had always been their biggest supporter. Nick was perched up behind her, a guitar across his lap, his fingers gliding along the strings.

  However, it was the two men standing at the other end of the aisle that drew their attention. Derek and Callum were side-by-side in matching black tuxedos, smiles the size of Texas on their faces. Like Sadie and Elle’s were, they were holding hands, just one more way they were lovers, too.

  “I wasn’t sure I could do this,” James whispered just loud enough for Elle and Sadie to hear. “Give my girls away, but I know they’ll never stop loving you.”

  “They won’t,” Sadie said.

  “And we won’t stop loving them,” Elle added. She looked up at her father. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t your girls anymore.”

  “I know.” James smiled and covered her hand. “And that’s why I know I can give you to those men, because no matter what, I will always be your father.”

  Tears flooded her eyes as they slowly walked down the aisle. Soft murmurs of how beautiful they looked, how happy people were for them, followed every step they took.

  As they approached the end of the aisle, Derek and Callum stretched their hands out to them, yearning for them to hurry. Sadie took Derek’s hand while Elle took Callum’s, both laughing when their lovers pulled them into their arms, placing kisses on their lips.

  “Uh, fellas, we’re not at that part yet.”

  “Sorry,” Callum and Derek murmured as the four of them turned and faced the man who’d be marrying them.

  The young pastor, who was wearing a dark suit, laughed as he opened his bible and placed one hand on top. “Are we ready to begin?”

  The four of them nodded, causing his smile to grow.

  “It’s not every day that I find myself asked to perform wedding ceremony such as this,” he started. “When Samuel and Lydia reached out to me, explained the unique and precious love the four of you share, I’ll admit to being leery, but as I listened to them describe you, telling me stories that had them laughing and crying, sometimes both, I knew I needed to be a part of such a special occasion. I’m blessed to stand before you as you commit your lives to one another.”

  The young pastor cleared his throat. “We’re gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Elle, Sadie, Callum, and Derek in matrimony. If there are any present here today that object to the union of these four, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

  Elle held her breath, waiting for someone to scream that they objected, but nobody did. Releasing her breath, she smiled. Maybe they were finally free to just love each other.

  “Sadie, do you take Elle, Derek, and Callum, to be your lawfully wedded wife and husbands, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, through good times and bad, until the end of your days?”

  Sadie’s lips trembled as she said, “I do.”

  The pastor smiled and looked at Elle. “Elle, do you take Sadie, Derek, and Callum to be your lawfully wedded wife and husbands, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, through good times and bad, until the end of your days?”

  “Yes,” she cried. “I do.”

  The pastor’s smile grew as he turned to Callum.

  “I’ll save you the trouble, sir, of having to ask. Elle, Sadie, and Derek are my everything, my reason to live and breathe. I will take the
m as my lawfully wedded husband and wives and I will love them for all of eternity,” Callum declared.

  “Smooth, young man, very smooth,” the pastor laughed before turning to Derek. “And you?”

  “Well, I’m not as smooth as Callum, but I second everything he just said. I take Elle, Sadie, and Callum to be mine, to protect and love. I will never stop loving them, never stop needing them. They are my wives, my husband, and they always will be.” Derek looked at each of them. “Forever.”

  The sheer intensity in the simple word had Elle shivering.

  “Do we have rings?”

  “Yes,” Lydia chirped, pushing over and placing the four simple white-gold wedding bands on top of the pastor’s bible. She smiled at the four of them as she took her place next to Felicia, sliding her hand around the other woman’s.

  “These rings, much like your love and devotion to one another, are never ending and unbinding.” The pastor paused. “By placing these rings on each other’s fingers, you’re making a commitment, not to just yourselves, but to your spouses.”

  The pastor turned to Derek and picked up one of the smallest of the four rings. “Take this ring and place it on Sadie’s finger as a sign of your love and commitment to her, Elle, and Callum.”

  Derek took the ring from him, smiling as he faced Sadie. A tear tickled down his face as he placed the ring at the tip of her finger and slowly slid it to the base of her left ring finger.

  “I love you,” he murmured.

  “As I love you,” Sadie replied, before turning and looking at the pastor. “My turn?”

  The pastor, and all their friends and family, laughed as he nodded and held the biggest of the remaining rings to her. Elle could almost feel Sadie trembling as she placed the ring on Derek’s finger.

  “Forever,” Sadie whimpered.

  “Awe,” reverberated throughout the crowd circled around the four lovers.

  “Callum,” the pastor said, holding out Elle’s ring to him.

  He took it and turned to Elle, a happy smile on his face. “We’ve waited our whole lives for you. With this ring, you’re ours forever.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she murmured through her tears. Callum slid the ring along her finger until it was pressed against the diamond engagement ring he and Derek had given her months ago.

  “Elle,” the pastor said, softly. “You know what to do.”

  “I do,” she murmured, taking the ring from him. Shifting her eyes up to Callum’s, she felt the tears well up once more as she said, “Thank you for loving us. Thank you for needing us. Thank you for wanting us. Thank you for being a part of us.”

  “I can’t live without you,” he said, as she slid the ring onto his finger. He cupped her face, but before his lips could touch hers, he looked at the pastor. “Tell me I can kiss her.”

  The pastor tilted his head back and laughed. “Yes, yes, you may kiss your brides.”

  The second the words were out of his mouth, Callum’s lips found hers. The kiss was simple, yet the passion, the need, the yearning behind it could be felt. As soon as their kiss ended, Elle found herself in Derek’s arms, and then in Sadie’s.

  “It is my honor to announce, for the first time, Elle, Sadie, Callum, and Derek Davis, as husbands and wives.”

  Hand in hand, the four of them made their walk back up the aisle, surrounded by family and friends, accepted and loved for who they were. And for the first time in months, Elle felt hope for a life together.

  Thirteen

  Elle moaned as she stretched, her body sore in a delicious way. She’d spent the last three days in orgasm bliss, loving the way her lovers touched and manipulated her body. A smile pulled at the corners of her lips.

  Her husbands and wife.

  Three days later and she still couldn’t believe they were married. Or that her mother had helped surprise them with a wedding.

  “If you don’t stop making those noises, I’m going to be forced to fuck you,” Callum growled, draping his arm across her waist. His fingers curved around her hips as he pressed his face against the side of her neck.

  Elle smiled. “Force you? I don’t think you need forcing to do anything to me.”

  Callum laughed and leaned up on his elbow. “Touché, baby.” His eyes shifted to the where Derek and Sadie usually sleep. “Where’d they get off to?”

  “I don’t know,” she murmured, but before she could say anything more, Derek and Sadie walked back into the room with cups of coffee and what smelled like blueberry muffins from their favorite café. Unlike the big coffee chains, this was a small mom and pop store that had been owned by the same people for almost thirty years.

  “Guess they went to grab breakfast,” Elle laughed, gesturing to their husband and wife.

  “I was starving,” Sadie cackled, placing the bag of muffins on the bed before kicking off her shoes and sliding her shorts down her legs, kicking them to the side. “And seeing as you two were snoring, Derek and I thought we needed to grab some food.”

  “I don’t snore!” Elle and Callum both insisted.

  “Whatever,” Derek scoffed, ditching his shorts and his shirt before climbing into the bed next to Sadie. He held out two cups of coffee. “Yours is marked, Elle.”

  “Thanks, lover,” she cooed, taking the cup with the X written on the side. She took a small sip, moaning. “Damn, that’s good.”

  Derek laughed. “Sex noises. Coffee always brings out the sex noises from you.”

  “Everything brings out the sex noises in her,” Sadie said, grabbing the bag of muffins and pulling out a large one. “I’m so fucking hungry.”

  Elle bit her lip as she watched Sadie take a chunk off the side of the muffin and pop it into her mouth, her tongue lapping the crumbs off the tips of her fingers.

  Catching Elle staring at her, Sadie smirked. “See something you like, baby?”

  “More than like,” she murmured. “Love. I see someone I love.”

  “I love you, too,” she chirped before taking another bite of her muffins. She shifted her eyes from Elle, to Callum and Derek, both of whom were watching her, too. “Stop gawking at me! I’m fucking hungry because I’m growing a human being inside of my body.”

  “Sorry, no can do,” Derek said, shrugging his shoulders. “You’re just too damn sexy when you eat.”

  “Me eating a muffin is sexy?” she asked, laughing, but then said, “Never mind. I walked into that one.”

  “Yeah, you did,” Callum snorted.

  Elle laughed as she grabbed the bag and grabbed one of the muffins. “Do you realize how much we have to do before the baby comes?”

  “You mean like pick a name?” Sadie snorted. “Can’t keep calling her baby.”

  “Well, we could,” Derek drawled, laughing when Sadie glared at him. “Sorry. I couldn’t help it.”

  “Yeah, yeah; whatever,” she scoffed. “Elle’s right, though. We have ten, twelve weeks before she’ll be here. We haven’t bought as much as a pack of diapers. Which room should we use for the nursery? Do we paint it pink? Yellow? Green? We need a crib, dresser, changing table, clothes, bottles, wipes.” Sadie paused, placing her hand on her belly. “Wow. All the sudden the fact that we’re having a baby is a reality.”

  “And it wasn’t before?” Derek asked with a chuckle.

  “No, it was,” Sadie said, softly. “But we’re on the home stretch now, aren’t we? We’re going to be parents.”

  “When you put it like that,” Elle groused, shaking her head. “Okay, so let’s talk names. What are you thinking?”

  “I don’t know,” Sadie murmured, tucking her cup of tea up to her chest. “Melanie?”

  “No!” Derek and Elle shuttered, while Callum hummed and said, “It’s okay, but it reminds me of this girl I went to high school with. She was a whack job.”

  “Did you date her?” Elle asked, casually.

  “Ew, no!” Callum made a gagging sound. “She was crazy.”

  “Okay, okay, sorry,” Elle
laughed putting her hands up. “How about Madeline? We could call her Maddie?”

  “That’s not too bad,” Sadie said. “We can add it to the list.”

  “How about Candy?” Derek suggested, but when Elle and Sadie glared at him, he added, “Or not.”

  “Candy sounds like a stripper,” Sadie told him, her tone sharp and snippy. “And my daughter will not be a stripper.”

  “All right, I’m sorry. Calm down, Momma,” Derek grumbled. “It was just a suggestion.”

  “No, I’m sorry.” Sadie sighed. “I want her name to mean something. Maybe we can, I don’t know, find something that represents the other parts of her family.”

  “Okay, that at least gives us a starting point,” Elle said. “Why don’t we each make a list of our top ten favorite girls’ names and then we can see if a couple of them work?”

  “Why two names?” Derek asked.

  “Well, she’s going to need a first name and a middle name, isn’t she?” Elle pointed out. “Besides, we have bigger issues than her name to figure out.”

  “Like?” Sadie questioned.

  “Like what are we going to do with our baby while we are at work,” Elle pointed out. “We can’t very well take that baby with us, can we?”

  “Well, we could,” Callum suggested. “But we’d have to cut way back on the office blowjobs.”

  Elle and Sadie laughed while Derek groaned, clearly not liking the idea.

  “Daycare is the least of our problems,” Sadie said, smiling. “Lydia’s going to watch her.”

  “Huh? When was this decided?” Elle asked, frowning.

  “While you were in the hospital,” she replied, slowly. “We told you. None of like the idea of leaving our daughter in a daycare, and Lydia offered to watch her while we’re working.”

  “Oh.” Elle shifted to her coffee cup, trying to remember having the conversation that included leaving their baby with their mother-in-law. Just one more way she hadn’t been there for Sadie, or their baby. “Guess that sounds like a good plan.”

  “It’s better than daycare,” Sadie said, sliding her hand over Elle’s arm. “I’ve been doing a lot of research, just in case we changed our minds, and I just don’t like what I’m finding. Too many kids, not enough workers, and the costs are ridiculous!”