The Boy Next Door

by Heather D'Agostino

  Everyone’s glasses pointed toward the ceiling as Katie turned to Hannah and said, “I love you, too.”

  Next Matt stood. “I’m not sure I can follow that, but I’ll try. So, Patrick and I met at the ice rink during practice one day. We were fifteen and cocky. After racing around the rink and getting in a fist fight over who cheated who in the hockey game that day, we finally decided to be on the same side. One game in particular, these two,” he pointed to Hannah and Katie, “decided to come watch Patrick play. I remember seeing the goofy grin on his face every time he scored. You could tell he was putting on a show for his audience. After that game, he stayed and skated on the ice with the girls. He made a big announcement to the rest of the hockey team that the girls were to be left alone or they’d deal with him.” Matt put his hands up like he was defending himself, “Later I asked him about Katie and his response was “back off.” I knew even though he claimed that they were just friends, there was something else there. Little did I know it’d take him two years to acknowledge it. So I hope you keep your eyes open buddy because you’ve got quite a woman there, and you’re lucky to have her. To the best days,” he lifted his glass.

  “To the best days!” the guests chimed in.

  ***

  Patrick shook his head chuckling, “I’m gonna get him the next time I’m at the rink.”

  Katie reached under the table and offered a gentle squeeze to his thigh, “He is right you know. You did take forever to ask me out.”

  Patrick rolled his eyes, “You didn’t act like you liked me. I figured you wanted to be with someone else.”

  “I always wanted you, it just took me awhile to realize it,” she leaned in and whispered into his ear as her hand slid a little higher on his thigh.

  Her warm breath tickled the hairs around his ear and sent a tremor down his spine. Tonight was not going fast enough to suit him. The teasing that they had done back and forth had his senses on high alert. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take. At the moment, all he could think about was getting her back to the house and locking them inside.

  ***

  The dinner dishes had been cleared, the cake had been cut and distributed, and Katie was currently being led to the middle of the dance floor for the bouquet toss. All the single ladies were asked to come to the center of the room. Katie looked over at Hannah and glared at her, giving her the silent message that this was her chance. Once everyone was in place, Katie turned her back to the crowd. She tossed the flowers high into the air. The bouquet broke apart as it hit the crowd and women scrambled to grab a piece. Hannah, however, was able to claim most of the arrangement. She held it above her head in victory as Katie broke out in laughter.

  Next, a chair was brought to the center for Katie to sit on. The deejay began to play “Wild Thing” as Patrick approached her. She giggled uncontrollably as he wagged his eyebrows and crouched in front of her. He lifted the edge of her skirt and gave a devilish smile.

  “Behave yourself!” she commanded.

  “Oh, I’ll try,” he smirked.

  Without pausing, he dove under her dress. Katie wiggled when she felt him run his hand up her leg and let it rest on the inside of her thigh. Some of the guests were yelling for him not to use his hands, that that was cheating. Never one to back down from a challenge, Patrick placed a kiss to the side of her knee as he gingerly nipped at the blue and white lace band that graced her lower right thigh. Katie felt heat rise up her and rest in her lower belly as Patrick began to tug the garter down. It seemed to take hours for him to return from under her dress. When he emerged with the object of his treasure hunt clamped firmly in his teeth, he lifted his hands above his head in victory as the guests cheered. Katie blushed as she tried to calm herself from her rising desires.

  The nerves and fear she had felt the last few days were slowly dissolving and turning into uncontrollable desire. She wanted him, badly!!!

  Patrick tossed the garter over his shoulder. It flew through the air and smacked Matt right in the forehead. Hannah looked over and her face went ghostly white as she swallowed.

  When Katie saw what was happening, she gave Patrick a gentle shove. “Do something,” she hissed.

  “What do you want me to do?” he turned in her direction with his hands out. “I can’t control who catches it.”

  Before Katie could utter another word, she saw Hannah’s retreating back as she dashed out of the tent.

  “I’ll be right back. Don’t let him follow us,” she pleaded.

  “I’ll try,” Patrick sighed. “You can’t protect her forever, you know.”

  “She’s my sister. I have to talk to her. We can leave as soon as I get back, ok?” Katie leaned in and kissed his cheek.

  “See you in a bit,” Patrick offered a gentle smile.

  ***

  “Hannah wait!” Katie called as she ran after her sister, doing her best to keep up with her in her wedding gown.

  “I’m sorry, I need to get out of here. I thought I could do this…but I can’t,” Hannah sobbed.

  “Please?” Katie stopped and waited for Hannah to face her.

  “You don’t understand,” Hannah swiped at her eyes. “This,” she held up the bouquet that was still firmly clasped in her hand, “was supposed to be a good sign. We were supposed to be next,” she dropped her shoulders and sat down in a nearby chair.

  “I know,” Katie whispered. “I know…” she repeated as she moved closer to her sister. She wanted to comfort her but she really didn’t know how to. She knew having Matt around would be painful, but he was Patrick’s best friend.

  “When I saw him catch that…that garter,” Hannah ground out as anger began to take her over, “and I saw that look of excitement on his face…all I could think about was…he didn’t deserve it.”

  She tossed the bouquet to the ground and stood as she began to pace. Katie’s eyes quickly shifted back in the direction of the crowd of guests to make sure they hadn’t been followed then turned her attention back to her sister.

  “It’s just not fair,” Hannah huffed. “I want him to feel bad about what happened, but he seems content. I’m sorry,” she leaned over and hugged Katie, “I gotta get out of here. Are you ok with that? I don’t want to leave you here, but I just…I gotta go.”

  “Sure, sweetie. We’ve spent the entire day together. I get that you need to get away from him. I’ll call you when we get back from the honeymoon and we can hang out…ok?” Katie offered a half smile.

  “Yeah…sounds good. Can you let Mom and Dad know that I’ll see them at home? I think I’m going to take a drive and clear my head.” Hannah sighed as she turned to exit the yard.

  “I’ll tell them,” she nodded. “And Hannah…don’t let him have any more of your thoughts. He doesn’t deserve them,” Katie added.

  ***

  Only moments after Hannah had left, Matt came wandering over to where Katie was standing.

  “Where is she?” he begged.

  “Not here!” Katie shook her head. “She doesn’t want to see you…I thought that was obvious by the reaction that you just witnessed.”

  “I need to talk to her,” he begged. “Where did she go?”

  “Away from here…and if you knew what was good for you, you’d leave her be,” Katie rolled her eyes. “You hurt her Matt. My sister is a very forgiving person, but I don’t see her getting over this anytime soon.”

  “She has to,” he raised his arms and then dropped them in defeat. “I...” he trailed off.

  “What?” Katie rolled her eyes.

  “Nothing,” Matt mumbled. “Can you just tell me where she went?”

  “No,” Katie stated pointedly as she turned and headed back in the direction of the guests and Patrick.

  ***

  As Katie saw Melanie and Austin approaching, she leaned into Patrick, “After we say bye to our parents, let’s get out of here.”

  “Sounds good to me,” he grinned.

  Melanie, Austin, Jason, and Suzanne al
l came over and wished the couple well. As they were approaching the gate, Anna came up, and offered her well wishes.

  “Thank you for everything Grandma. It was beautiful,” Katie hugged her.

  “Yes, very beautiful,” Melanie echoed.

  ***

  When the limo pulled up, Patrick and Katie climbed in and offered a final wave as they pulled away, heading back to their new house.

  “Finally,” Patrick sighed as he pulled her toward him.

  Once she slid over as close as she could get, he lifted her into his lap.

  “I’ve been waiting all night to get you alone,” he mumbled as he leaned in to kiss her.

  “Then what are you waiting for?” she teased.

  Needing no invitation, Patrick leaned in, and placed a kiss to her lips. It was deep and conveyed all the pent up feelings he had kept down all day. His tongue snaked out and parted her lips. Katie gasped and pressed herself into his chest. When she rocked across his lap to get closer, he groaned. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her chest to his. Both were breathing frantically and trying to hold onto control until they got home. The limo soon stopped moving and Patrick chanced a glance out the window, only to see that they were indeed at their destination.

  “What do you say we finish this inside?” he groaned as she shifted again.

  She nodded and began to move away only to be gripped harder to him.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he cocked his head to the side.

  He swung the door open, turned to swing his feet out the door, and lifted her effortlessly into his arms.

  He leaned in next to her ear and whispered, “I plan to take care of you tonight.”

  As a shiver ran up her spine, she smiled, and placed a kiss to his lips while he made the walk to the door.

  Chapter 26

  May 2019- Wedding Night

  As he carried her up the walkway and to the front door, she continued to ply soft kisses to his neck. Patrick’s breathing was coming in gasps and pants as he fumbled to get the front door open.

  “Need a little help here,” he groaned as he shifted her in his arms.

  Katie glanced up and reached down to turn the knob, all the while giggling nervously.

  “Thanks,” he grinned and connected with her lips once again.

  Once he carried her through the door, he kicked it shut behind him with his heel and deepened the kiss, but before he headed for the stairs, he heard a thump that broke him out of his haze. Katie didn’t seem to notice as she continued to tighten her arms around his neck and shift slightly in his arms. Only when he broke the kiss off did she question him.

  “What’s wrong?” she cupped his cheek and looked in his eyes as hers darted from side to side.

  “I thought I heard something,” he shrugged.

  Then another thump sounded, and he turned toward the direction it was coming from.

  “It’s my shoes, silly,” Katie giggled as she pointed to where she had kicked them off. “My feet hurt, I pushed them off with my toes,” she pouted.

  Patrick rolled his eyes and chuckled, “Sorry. I just want tonight to be perfect, for both of us. I guess I’m on high alert.”

  “It will be perfect because it’s you,” Katie smiled softly and ran her fingers lightly along his jaw.

  As Katie leaned in to give him a reassuring kiss, Patrick headed for the stairs. When they arrived at the door of the master bedroom, Patrick pushed it open and carried her just inside the door before putting her down. Katie stood and surveyed the room.

  “Wow, when did you have time to do all this?” she glanced at the new king-sized bed against the wall.

  “I ordered it after I bought the house. It came yesterday,” he shrugged. “Do you like it?”

  “It’s beautiful,” she wandered over and ran her hand along the cherry finish. “It goes with the feel of the house.”

  “I haven’t slept in here yet. I’ve been using one of the guest rooms where my old bed is set up. I wanted tonight to be the first time it was slept in,” he crept up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck. “You’re not the only one who’s nervous you know,” he murmured as she trembled in his arms. “Remember what I said, slow as you need,” he kissed her again, and she began relaxing in his arms.

  She turned to face him and rose up on her toes to whisper in his ear, “We’ll set our own pace.”

  Just then he leaned forward and claimed her lips in a fiery kiss. She groaned and deepened it as she reached up to tug at his tie. As it came loose, she tossed it behind her and began working the buttons on his shirt. Each time she freed a button, she leaned forward, and kissed the exposed skin. As she got closer to his waist, Patrick let out a quiet groan and his stomach muscles quivered. Once she finished, she yanked it from his pants and pushed it off his shoulders to watch it fall to the floor. Her hands trembled as she reached up to caress his bare chest. He looked her in the eyes, his blazing with desire as he let her explore. Trying with all his might not to rush her, he leaned in, and claimed her lips again.

  Katie could tell he was restraining himself. She wanted to let him know that he could reciprocate. She turned in his arms and pulled her hair over her shoulder, exposing her corseted back. Patrick fumbled for a minute as he began to untie the laces. As the dress loosened, it began to slip down her body. He leaned forward and placed a kiss to the newly exposed flesh. Katie gasped and shook with pleasure as a chill ran down her spine.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. “I’ve never wanted to be with somebody as badly as I do with you.”

  “I love you so much,” she whispered back as she turned to face him again.

  With the movement, the dress slipped down and hung on her hips exposing her bra.

  She rose up and leaned closed to him whispering, “Keep going…please don’t stop.”

  Needing no more encouragement, he closed the space between them and crushed his body to hers. She wiggled the dress down and slowly stepped out of it.

  As they moved closer to the bed, Patrick clasped her hands in his and brought them to the button on his pants. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and carefully released the clasp. They fell to the floor, and he kicked them to the side.

  Standing only in their undergarments, he backed up slightly to take in the sight of her. He couldn’t help the growl that rose in his throat as he gazed at the white lace that covered her. When she saw where his eyes were focused she blushed, but then noticed his dilated pupils and knew he was hanging by a thread.

  They’d been like this before, but it had always been dark or a blanket had covered them. Never had they undressed each other where light of any kind had been present. The low glow of lamplight cast just enough light in the room to illuminate their bodies perfectly for one another’s scrutiny.

  He stepped closer, enveloping her in a tight hug. As he ran his hands up and down her back offering reassurance, he slowly unclasped her bra. Katie felt it pop loose and quickly craned her neck, begging for a deep kiss to quell the nerves. She was ready for this. She wanted this, but actually doing it was harder than she thought.

  She took a step back to let the bra separate from her and fall to the floor. When she began to close the gap between the two of them again, Patrick stopped her.

  “Wait,” he mumbled as he broke the kiss and leaned back. “I wanna look at you.”

  Her face flamed red, and she fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest. Conflicting feelings were swirling in her head. Desire to please him and embarrassment at his seeing her like this.

  “Stop,” he whispered as he watched her face. “You are beautiful, everything about you.”