by T. Anthony
“Stop shaking, Samantha. This is the most wonderful moment your life has encountered to date. And there will only be more of those days to come with Marcus. Here, turn,” I said and handed the veil to Samantha’s mom to help her place in into her perfectly curled golden strands. “You are a vision in white, and I can only dream of looking this beautiful when my time comes.”
Samantha’s lips trembled, and her eyes gave way to subtle tears, but I couldn’t let her, even for a moment, think of anything else but Marcus standing at the front of the altar.
“Don’t you let one tear slip from those angelic blue eyes of yours. Come now. The photographer is ready for you, and we only have an hour before the ceremony,” I said, pushing her through her emotions.
And so we proceeded.
I wouldn’t be surprised if brides have fits and beat up their wedding photographers. The end results are always magnificent, but the process of smiling bigger and brighter and turning and leaning is just excruciating.
And after an hour and fifteen minutes of gawking at Samantha in her glamorous wedding couture, we headed off to the church. But not until the limousine pulled up in front and started to play the wedding march did I feel a tremendous ache in the chambers of my heart.
Alexander was inside. He would be standing beside Marcus. And knowing this moment to be the first I would see of him in a week, I quivered to walk down the aisle toward him. I wasn’t the one in white today, but the vision of walking to him at the ceremony unhinged me.
“Are you all right?” Samantha asked.
“Yes, stop it. I am fine. I am so happy for you…I love you both,” I said and kissed her hand.
“It should be just that easy for you to tell Alexander how much you love him. Make that my wedding gift,” she said as her father helped her out of the car.
The church pews were draped with white satin swags dripping with white calla lilies and pale pink roses. The place was warmly filled with family and friends as the coordinator arranged us into single file. Samantha decided to only have two attendants: her four-year-old godchild as flower girl and me as her maid of honor. So the procession to the altar fast approached, unlike most weddings where there are twenty people in the procession and then the bride.
I stood at the edge of the white runner that led to the front, and before the coordinator signaled me to begin walking down, Marcus and Alexander appeared to take their places. I quickly glanced down at my tight floor-length satin dress and ensured it lay perfectly. And when I looked up, I gasped.
And there he stood, gallant and as dashing as ever. The pinstriped suit made him look broader, hugging his body in excellent fashion. The thick tie matched the bronze-colored dress I wore, and his expression mirrored the nervousness in my heart.
This wasn’t my first time in a wedding party; I had been in several weddings of my friends and family. But it was my first time walking toward what could be my own future. I couldn’t help my stare. But as I walked, the only thing in front of me was Alexander.
The tops of his cheeks bared his excitement as they changed in color the closer I approached. His eyes were reddened and glassy yet again, but this time it wasn’t due to sadness; he was experiencing the same emotion I was—love!
I reached the front, and we both turned our attention to the lady of the day—Samantha. She made her entrance in a glorious and enlightening fashion. She glowed as she approached us in her strapless Vera Wang; she was brighter and more breathtaking than the sun that shined through the stained-glass windows.
And as much as the bride is the focal point of all weddings, sometimes the groom can steal the attention of a few glaring eyes. Marcus’s eternal devotion shown through the single teardrop that he couldn’t stop from trembling down his cheek as he watched her take every step, slowly walking toward the rest of their lives. It was the most endearing and heart-warming moment I had ever witnessed.
Samantha reached Marcus gracefully with her elegant lace train following her. Her father gave them his blessing, and Marcus took her hands in his for forever. He raised Samantha’s hands and kissed them and then walked her up to seal their destiny.
Alexander and I peered back and forth at each other as the priest went through the ceremonial readings. And when it was time for the bride and groom to say their vows, Samantha and Marcus were speaking to us as well as each other.
“Marcus, please say your vows to Samantha,” the priest instructed.
“Samantha, you are the dearest and most precious of beings to me. You have shown me that love is unfounded with just anyone but the validation and fulfillment of love can only be realized with the right one, the truest of loves. I promise to protect you, to grow with you and not a moment without you. I promise to love you unconditionally and endlessly for the rest of my days on Earth and in the afterlife. I promise to try to make only a few mistakes throughout our marriage, but even when I do, I swear to you that my heart’s desire will always be that of loving you. And with this ring, I give you my life for safekeeping until the end of time.” Marcus placed the ring on Samantha’s left ring finger, but his eyes never left her gaze.
Samantha sniffled through her tears of joy as the priest nodded to her to proceed.
“Marcus, from the moment I saw you, I knew that the feeling inside me wasn’t that of just any love.”
I could feel her words as she spoke them, and it took me back to the day when she had first met Marcus—and the night that had progressed for me with Alexander. And my eyes met his in a truthful and all-encompassing connection. Samantha continued as tears rolled down her face and mine. And my eyes carried the words she spoke to Alexander standing only a few feet across from me.
“The love I felt for you that first day was real and palpable, but I never could have imagined it would grow to the intensity and enormity that exists within my heart today. I promise to hold you always as my one and only true love. I promise to only fear losing you and nothing else as long as you are by my side. I will follow you to the ends of the earth and to the depths of the seas as long as you hold my hand as we voyage together. Most of all I promise to tell you every day for the rest of my life and in the hereafter simply that I love you!”
And as she finished sliding the ring on Marcus’s finger, there wasn’t a single person left who wasn’t in tears, including myself and Alexander.
It’s funny how men try to hide their tears, blotting the sides of their eyes the minute it feels damp. And women, even the strongest of women, can weep in public with not a second thought about it.
“You may now kiss the bride,” the priest announced, causing us to shift our locked gaze to Samantha and Marcus.
We welcomed the new couple and applauded their love as they made their way back down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs.
Alexander joined me in the center of the alter, and as I went to place my arm into his, as is customary for the maid of honor and best man to do, he took my hand and raised it to his lips. “I love you, Evangeline.”
And I took all the air that existed in the world in to me before responding.
“I love you too, Alexander.”
Only now there was no stopping his tears. Alexander’s chest grabbed all the air that was left in the room to keep himself from passing out. He tightened his hold on my hand, and we proceeded to walk up the aisle together.
The wedding continued in delicate and elegant fashion; with the usual dances, cake cutting, and long lines of goodbyes. The reception was spectacular in a vineyard out on the far east end of Long Island, but the ceremony had been my all-time favorite. We danced into the night and enjoyed every minute together. All of the bullshit and anger put aside, there was no place for it on such a day in a room filled with so much love and happiness.
“May I have this dance?” Alexander asked, extending his hand to help me up.
I nodded.
We walked onto an empty dance floor, and the band began to play “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith!
“Did
you plan this?” I asked him in a soft giggle.
“Sometimes I plan things, and they go well. And other times I plan things that don’t go so well. But whether it’s simply having a song played for you or planning the rest of my life with you, I need you to know that none of it is ever done without your heart, your mind, and your body’s best interests. I need you to take my love and do with it what you will, for without you I can’t bear to hold this love within me,” he confessed.
“I don’t know how I feel about everything that has happened. I am consumed by all of this joy right now, and all that is apparent is that I want to share this joy with you. I’m sorry for never having said I love you. I’m sorry for the pain I have caused you and for the love that I made you hurt for. I see now that true love is difficult to hold on to. But if love is true, it will surpass even the most difficult of moments and shine through the darkest of nights. I want to be with you, Alexander. You are my heart’s one and only desire. But I can’t go back to LA, and I won’t leave my job. I tried for you, and now I need you to try for me.” It took all of my strength not to fall to the ground from the intensity of emotions that filled my veins, but I remained strong—strong for the love that was testing me.
“I have already started trying for you,” he explained as he placed my arms over his shoulders and held my chest tightly against his. “I sold the contract back to Tom. I told him that I couldn’t stay in LA, and he was good with that. I would rather not mention her in this moment, but, I fired Chloe. She no longer exists in our lives. And I am here now and forever professing my love and devotion to you.”
“Thank you. I can only promise you that I will love you for as long as my heart allows me to,” I said, sealing my words with a kiss.
“We made it,” he said, smirking.
Confused, I lifted my eyebrows. “Made it where?”
“We made it through the second stage of love: the attraction or power struggle stage. We learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we fought through the obstacles of finding a middle ground,” he said.
I had to laugh. Through all this he still had that damn article in mind. “Well, you are wrong about one thing: we haven’t found a middle ground, so maybe we didn’t make it past stage two yet?”
“No, we haven’t found it yet,” he agreed, “but we have both agreed that we need a middle ground, and that is half the battle.”
“I’m willing to battle with you by my side,” I attested.
“As am I, my great love, Evangeline.”
And as the song ended, Alexander escorted me out of the restaurant’s double doors and through the vineyard, up to the suite he had reserved for the evening.
We walked hand in hand into the suite and immediately hung on to each other as if it were our first and last embrace.
“Take me, Alexander, and fill me with all the love you hold within you,” I begged, needing him near.
“I want to take you. I want to fill you. I want to live eternally within your soul.” His words were muffled through his kisses and maneuvers to unleash me from my dress. The dress fell to the floor, and Alexander scooped me up and laid me on the bed.
He is my knight!
Slipping my panties off, he kissed me voraciously, tasting every part of my mouth. I tried to reach my hand for a feel of his cock, but he slid down between my legs and latched onto to my clit in a moment’s time. My body spasms jolted me immediately as the screams that made their way out of my throat rang through my body.
“How does that feel, my love?” he said, lifting his eyes to watch me jerk through his lapping of my sex.
“Don’t stop, Alexander, please,” I begged him, craving all he could give me.
He widened my lips and exposed me fully, taking his mouth back onto me in a suckling motion as he penetrated me with his fingers. He licked his fingers over and over as I continued to wet him for the celestial orgasm he was taking me to.
“Cum for me, Evangeline,” he commanded.
But all I could think about was him fucking me. “Please, Alexander, cum inside me. I need you inside me, fucking me like you never have before.”
“Not until I taste you on my tongue. Now cum for me.”
And with his orders, he returning to licking and sucking at my pussy like he was starved for it. And when his movement became faster and more forceful, I leaned my body over him to hold on for the release of a lifetime.
“Don’t stop, Alexander. I am almost there. I’m…I’m—ahhhh, Alexander!” My divine cries could be heard from the heavens—exactly where my body was floating up to.
Alexander released my gripped hands from his hair and sat me onto his lap. His back leaned against the headboard as we sat face-to-face in the more emotional and personal of positions. He positioned his massive and wanting cock inside of me as I twitched from the orgasm that was still lingering. I locked my legs behind his back and my arms around his neck while I slid down him euphorically.
The moment was unexplainable. We were consciously and wholeheartedly diving into each other with every part of our bodies and our souls.
“I want to cum inside you, Evangeline,” he requested.
And not thinking twice about the request, I responded, “I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
Alexander groaned enthusiastically as he pressed me to his chest and pushed my hips harder onto his cock. I could feel the wetness form inside of me drip down his shaft every time I stroked him, and it felt amazing!
“Hold on to me,” he instructed.
And as I did, he seemed to have grown inside me, his pounding cock bursting into me with vigor and longing. His fingers burned as he pulled me into him, pulling at my skin and devouring my body.
“Cum for me, Alexander. Cum inside of me.” I pleaded for his release and our mutual fulfillment.
And like honey to a bee, the louder I moaned, the closer he came to a long-awaited release.
“FUUUUCK!” he screamed in a long, extended breath, embracing me as his perspired body attached itself to me. “I love you so much I can’t stand it.”
“I hope you can stand it. Because I can’t love you this much if you can’t handle it,” I giggled, laying into him and resting my head on his shoulder.
“I can handle all that you have to bring at me, my love: forever and always.”
Locking our lips, we threw away the key.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Alexander held me in his arms, breathless. The only things that filled his lungs were pure devotion and love.
He cupped my face in his hand and held my stare. “The morning you left,” he said, sighing deeply, “I headed out early in hopes that I would return to find you still in bed.”
“You went to work,” I said, remembering the sadness that I had held within me when I awoke to find Alexander gone.
“No, I did not.”
Alexander removed his arm from underneath my head and slid off the bed to where he had dropped his tuxedo pants. He fumbled with them, searching for the front pockets, where he then dug his hand searching for something. Through the candlelight he walked toward me and made his way back to my side, sliding his godly body against mine.
“I didn’t go to work that morning. I went somewhere much more important.”
And as he brought his right arm forward, a small box was presented before me. The square, glossy box shook as Alexander tried to steady his hand that held it out to me.
“Alexander…” I whispered, with no other words to say, trembling as I pondered the contents.
“Evangeline, I want you to think about nothing. I want you to say nothing. The only things I want you to do are to feel and to react to that feeling that you hold chained within your heart. You are my existence. You are my summer breeze and winter frost. You hold the desire and the excitement to fill my fantasies for a lifetime. I am humbled by your strength and strengthened by your fears. You are the missing piece to my puzzle that no one has ever had the grace or the capacity to fill. I have t
ill now felt that I’ve lived a full life, but the life I’ve lived with you makes all the years past pale in comparison. I am not certain of how long of a life we will have, but I am certain that there are sixty minutes in an hour and twenty-four hours in a day, and if all I have is one more of those days left, I will gladly accept it as my last as long as it is spent in your embrace.”
Alexander motioned to open the small, glorious box—but I had to stop him.
“Wait, I have to use the bathroom.” I jumped from the bed, feeling the wetness from our lustful and erotic encounter seeping down my legs. “I’m sorry; just let me clean up—I will be right back.” And I strolled past the bed as Alexander watched me in a daze of confusion.
I was uncharacteristically excited, as I sensed that the contents of the small box would cement my life with Alexander forever. The rush of emotions prickled my skin in the most fascinating of chills and wondrous emotions. My exhilaration was clouding me, causing me to stumble as I raced to reach the bathroom down the hall.
I opened the bathroom door and ran my hand up and down the wall, searching for the light switch.
I turned toward the mirror and braced my palms on the vanity as I stared at my tear-filled face. For the first time since I could remember, my tears were joyful and consuming me with love-filled sensations.
I am in love, I confirmed, smiling to the bright-eyed and hopeful stare in the mirror.
And as I immersed myself in my bliss, I almost forgot the reason I had gone to the bathroom in the first place; then I felt a drop of warmth on the inside of my foot.
I looked down slightly disturbed and a little grossed out that I was making a mess of myself.
But what I had expected was not at all what I found. The dark stain that now dripped down the side of my foot was blood and not my sex’s secretions.
As I bent at the waist to examine the liquid, my legs bowed open. But the gasp that escaped my lips wasn’t nearly as terrifying as the shrill cry that then forced itself up through my lungs and out of my throat. I screamed for what felt like an hour as I stared at the blood that stained my inner thighs and my sex. The blood was coming out from my vagina in steady, thick drips.