God, I Hate That Man

by Rose, Iona

  Ashley looks at me questioningly.

  “My grandpa’s lawyer,” I whisper.

  “Excuse me sir, you can’t just come in here like this,” Kevin says, trying and failing to remain serene.

  “I apologize for the dramatic entrance, but I’m a lawyer and something of the utmost legal importance has just been brought to my attention,” Andrew announces.

  I glance at my mom.

  She’s stone white and looks ready to pass out, kill someone, or both.

  “Finn, listen…” Andrew gets closer to me, talking in hushed tones.

  I know everyone in the room is straining to hear what’s being said.

  “Your grandfather made a new will. It’s just been brought to my attention and the marriage clause is gone. You don’t have to marry Ashley to inherit your grandfather’s shares in the company.” He at least has the decency to shoot Ashley an apologetic look as he finishes up his revelation.

  “Yes, I do,” I declare.

  “No…” Andrew starts.

  I reach out and take the envelope. “Yes, I do, because I’m in love with her.” I pull the new will from the envelope. “You don’t have a copy of this right?” I ask.

  “No,” he replies looking so confused, I almost pity him. He doesn’t know he’s making a scene at our wedding. He thinks he’s saving us from making a massive mistake.

  I hold the will in both hands and look at Ashley who nods. I rip it in half and in half again. I keep ripping it until it’s in tiny pieces and then I drop the torn pieces into his palm. “Thank you, Andrew. That will be all. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served on the front lawn in a little over thirty minutes if you’d like to stay.”

  He just stands there, his mouth open, looking from me to Ashley to the torn up will and back at me again.

  “Mr. Garfield,” my mom calls from behind Andrew.

  “Ah, Helen. I was just explaining to Finn that—”

  “Your services are no longer required Mr. Garfield,” she snaps.

  Andrew finally starts to move away from us, still looking confused.

  My mom turns to face the guests who are all whispering amongst themselves. “It would appear that my father-in-law’s lawyer has some serious boundary issues,” she says in a measured voice. “But please don’t let him ruin this day for my son and my new daughter.” She turns back to me as the guests settle down and she smiles.

  I smile back at her. I know this is going to be talked about in the society for years to come. Not so much Andrew’s appearance, as legal matters aren’t talked about, but his outburst, because no matter how controlled it was, that’s what it will be seen as. And in that moment, my mom didn’t care about her society friends and what they might think – she only cared about Ashley and me.

  My mom heads back to her seat, but not before Ashley clasps her hand quickly and squeezes it. My mom is beaming when she sits back down.

  Kevin seems at a loss for how to get things back on track.

  Ashley smiles at me, and then in a voice that is soft yet carries across the whole hall, she says her vows, starting over again from the beginning, “I, Ashley, take you, Finn, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death parts us.”

  I’m impressed at how composed she is, but mostly, I’m impressed she still remembers exactly what she’s supposed to say.

  This gets things moving again and Kevin quickly recovers himself, asking for the rings. We exchange rings and Kevin reads another poem.

  This time, I do listen to the reading and it’s a captivating poem about love and living a life together with someone, two hearts living as one.

  When he’s finished, I have to blink quickly to remove the haze of warm tears settling in my eyes. I hope the words are enough to remind everyone why we’re here today and to have them forget about Andrew’s interruption. I know it’ll be talked about; I just hope it’s not today. Because today… should be only about love.

  “I now have the honor of pronouncing you two husband and wife,” Kevin exclaims with a big smile. “Finn, you may kiss the bride.”

  I cup Ashley’s face in my hands and kiss her full on the mouth. My whole body lights up as we kiss, Ashley’s arms slips around my neck. I move my hands away from her face to put my arms around her waist and dip her slightly.

  As I dip her, the guests start to clap and cheer… then I remember where I am. For a moment there, it felt like it was just the two of us, like we were the only two people in the world, let alone in this room. I quickly pull Ashley back upright when I remember myself and move my lips back from hers.

  She smiles as we look into each other’s eyes. I feel like I am looking into my future. And it’s going to be a bright future indeed.

  * * *

  We sign the marriage license with Toby and Sophie acting as our witnesses, and now, we walk down the aisle together as a married couple. Mr. and Mrs. Jagger. I love how that sounds.

  As we leave the hall, I get a quick glimpse of the grounds set up for our reception. Wooden tables and chairs are scattered across the perfectly manicured lawn and flowers are everywhere. Each table has a stunning floral centerpiece. A large stage has been erected alongside the hall for the band and later on, for the DJ. Wait staff dressed all in black are milling around with silver trays waiting for their roles to start.

  We are approached almost instantly by a waiter who smiles at us, congratulates us and then hands us each a glass of champagne. I gulp mine down gratefully and I bite my tongue to keep from laughing when I see Ashley doing the same thing beside me.

  I have barely finished it when the glass is whipped out of my hand as Ashley and I are led away from the reception area followed by the wedding party and our parents for the photographs. We’re taken to a beautiful lake on the grounds of Melbourne Hall. Then we spend the next hour standing in various combinations and poses. I’m sure the photographer is world famous, although I have no idea who he is, and he certainly seems to know what he’s doing. He won’t take a shot until the lighting and everything is perfect. I think this will start to irritate Ashley, but when I look at her, she’s beaming so wide it must be hurting her cheeks.

  For perhaps the first time since I arrived at the hall this morning, I relax a little bit. Ashley is here. She’s my wife. My actual wife. She looks so happy, today wasn’t just about her not wanting to make a scene, but about us being together. We have a lot to discuss, but the fact she came at all tells me she sees a future for us. She wouldn’t have come here and married me if she didn’t. I see that now.

  The photographs are finally all taken and we move to the reception area which is now filled with our guests. The band starts playing as we appear and a cheer goes up from the guests. I smile at Ashley and she smiles back at me. I lead her to the head table and we sit down to a wonderful three course meal. We talk through the meal, of course we do, but it’s light chatter and I’m starting to feel the weight of the real talk we need to have pressing down on me. Once the meal is over and the speeches are all done, I take Ashley by the hand and lead her away from the crowd. She follows me without question, and I think she knows as well as I do, this conversation can’t wait any longer.

  I lead her back to the lake where we had our photos taken. I remove my jacket and spread it on the ground for Ashley.

  She smiles at me and sits down on it, protecting her dress from any tell-tale grass stains. I sit down beside her and for a moment, we’re quietly content in each other’s company, looking out over the lake, each filled with our own private thoughts.

  Now I have her here and I don’t know where to start, but it’s clear to me that she’s not going to be the one to start the conversation. So eventually, I blurt out the one thing I’ve wanted to say to her all day, “you came.”

  “It looks that way.” She smiles.

  “I didn’t really think you would come,” I admit.

  She smiles again. “Honestly Finn, I didn’t really think I would myself,”
she mutters in a voice so quiet it’s almost a whisper.

  I swallow hard. Is it all just a dream? Did she do it just to save face and now, she’s going to tell me it’s over between us anyway? Surely, she wouldn’t be so cruel. She takes my hand in hers and squeezes it gently and I think maybe I’m right and it’s not that at all. She turns her head to look at me and I shuffle slightly, so I’m facing her.

  “I was so angry with you for not telling me the truth about the will. I told myself I hated you and I never wanted to see you again. The thing is though, it wasn’t true. I don’t hate you. I love you, just in case you haven’t guessed that part. I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t take a chance on us, because both of us kind of fuck everything up pretty regularly. But we’re good together and to be honest, I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

  “We do have a habit of fucking things up, don’t we?” I chuckle.

  “Yes,” Ashley deadpans, while looking me square in the eye. “And it has to stop. We can’t live the rest of our lives in uncertainty, or running through a constant series of misunderstandings and fights. Although… the makeup sex is kind of worth it.”

  We laugh at this as we both think of the amazing angry sex we’ve shared.

  “Seriously though, Finn, we need to learn to talk to each other. About the big stuff as well as the small stuff,” she continues. “Even if it seems scary or we know it will make the other angry. We just have to suck it up and do it.”

  “I know,” I agree. “And I know how close I came to losing you and I won’t let that happen again, Ashley. I swear from now on, I won’t keep anything from you ever again.” I think of the envelope in my pocket, the one I haven’t told her about yet, and I look away from her for a moment. Here I am promising not to keep anything from her again, and already I’m lying to her. I think she might forgive me for this one, when she finds out what’s in the envelope.

  “Let’s just start over from now,” Ashley beams. “No dwelling on the past.”

  “That works for me.” I grin at her. “So helping Gemma really did impress you.”

  She laughs softly.

  “It did. But it didn’t make me want to marry you. I already wanted that.”

  “So you don’t think marriage is just a contract anymore?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

  “I kind of liked how Kevin put it. A contract between two hearts.” She nods.

  “Me too,” I agree.

  “Speaking of Gemma, you’ll be pleased to know I’ve found her a family. She’ll be moving in with them sometimes next week. She’s so excited Finn and I’ve met the family and they seem really nice. They’re an older couple with plenty of experience of fostering kids and they’re really excited to have her move in too. I think they’ll get a pleasant surprise when she does move in. They’re used to dealing with problem kids, but Gemma was never the problem in her home.”

  “That’s amazing news,” I whisper as I lean in and kiss Ashley. I feel fire flood through my body. What started out as a tender kiss is fast becoming something more and I feel my cock hardening as Ashley runs her hands over my body. I pull back from the kiss and smile at her, shaking my head. “We have to stop,” I breathe.

  “Why?” she questions with a teasing smile.

  I glance down at my crotch where it’s clear my cock is ready for her. “We’re kind of in a public place,” I caution.

  “Ooh… you’re a prude!” Ashley laughs.

  “Not at all.” I smirk. “But the thought of getting grass stains all over your dress and then going back to the party doesn’t really feel like a good plan.”

  Ashley smiles at me, her head down, then she peeks up at me through her long eyelashes. She bites her bottom lip for a moment. “Well, we could always slip away to my room for a bit,” she suggests.

  I get to my feet and lower my hand to help her up. “I thought you’d never ask!” I laugh.

  We move towards the building, slip in a back door so none of our guests will see us sneaking away. We get into the elevator, giggling. We barely manage to keep our hands off each other the whole way up, so by the time we reach Ashley’s room and she pulls a key card from the bodice of her dress, I am almost delirious with lust for her.

  I pull her into my arms before the door to the room has even closed behind us, my lips seeking hers out and finding them smooth, moist and eager for mine. I kiss her hard, passionately, hoping my kiss shows her that I know how close I came to losing her and that I am so happy to have her back.

  She pulls my shirt out of my slacks and begins to open my fly. She reaches in as she pushes the slacks and my boxers down slightly. She grabs my cock and begins to move her hand up and down it.

  I feel fire flooding through my body and I begin to walk Ashley towards the bed. We reach it, but she hangs back and I move my mouth from hers. “Is something wrong?” I ask. Her hand on my cock doesn’t feel like anything’s wrong, but I can’t understand why she doesn’t want to get on the bed.

  “I don’t want to wreck my dress,” Ashley warns quietly, looking self-conscious, her cheeks turning red.

  I can’t help but laugh, after the way she protested against having a designer wedding dress at all, she’s now worried she might wreck it, but I guess I understand. I move around her so I’m behind her and slowly unzip the dress. She makes a gasping sound as I run my fingers over her bare shoulders after unzipping the dress.

  I lower it to the floor and she steps out of it. I take it and lay it carefully over the chair in the corner of her room. “Is that better?” I turn back to her and she takes my breath away with her in lacy white panties and no bra.

  In answer to my question, she slips her panties down, steps out of them, closes the gap between us, and throws herself into my arms, her lips finding mine again.

  This time, there’s no resistance when I move her towards the bed. I push her back onto the mattress and take a moment to get out of my own clothes, not being in the least bit careful about where they end up. I just want to be inside of Ashley.

  I push her thighs open and lean towards her pussy, needing to taste her first.

  “Finn, we have guests waiting. I think we just need to be quick,” she insists.

  I run my tongue over her labia and find her clit. I work it beneath my tongue until Ashley is panting and grasping the duvet in her balled fists. I pause for a moment, looking up at her. “Are you sure you want this to be quick?” I grin.

  “Screw the guests,” she moans.

  I’m grinning when I go back to work on her clit. I work her until she comes hard, liquid soaking her thighs. She’s still gasping for breath when I crawl up her body and kiss her lips. Her hands grasp at me, her arms pulling me down on top of her.

  I slip inside of her, her tight little pussy sucking me in and dousing me in her juices. God I’ve missed this. I’ve missed her.

  I begin to move, slowly at first, wanting to make this last, but I’m still fired up from Ashley’s hand job earlier and I know I won’t be able to last as long as I want to. I begin to move faster, spurred on by the fire in my belly and Ashley’s moans in my ear.

  When she comes again, her pussy is clenching around my cock and it sends me over the edge, and we come together, both of us moaning each other’s name. The pleasure spreads through my body, making me feel warm all over. I roll off Ashley and lay beside her for a moment while I catch my breath. I sit up once I feel like I can breathe normally again. “We really should get back to the reception,” I sigh.

  “I know,” Ashley agrees, sitting up beside me. She kisses my shoulder. “We’re like animals, can’t control ourselves for even a second.”

  “Yeah and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

  “Same,” Ashley agrees.

  I get dressed again, and then I help Ashley back into her dress. After I close the zipper, I pull her back against me and wrap my arms around her waist. I press my lips against her neck and then I whisper into her ear, “I love you so mu
ch Ashley. You really are the best thing ever to happen to me.”

  She puts her hands on my arms. “I love you too, Finn.” There’s a smile in her voice when she goes on, “Now enough of this or I’m going to end up crying and wrecking my makeup.” She turns to face me.

  I kiss her full on the lips again.

  She scurries away from me to the dresser and peers into the mirror for a second. She tidies up her hair with her hands and reapplies her lipstick then she turns back to me. “There. No one will ever know where we’ve been now.”

  I refrain from pointing out the post orgasmic glow all over her face and chest. Instead, I take her hand and lead her back out of the room. We go back down in the elevator, laughing about what we’ve just done, then we cross the lobby and step outside. The party is in full swing now with drinks flowing and people up dancing.

  “Where have you been?” My mom calls as she spots us and comes storming over to us. “The band has been calling for you two to do your first dance.”

  “Sorry, Mom. We… umm… got caught up.”

  “Doing what?” She demands as she looks at Ashley and sees the flush of her cheeks then she reddens slightly. “Oh... well, never mind. You’re both here now. I’ll let the band know you’re ready for your first dance.” She flits back away leaving Ashley and me laughing.

  “Well that was embarrassing,” Ashley whispers.

  “But on the plus side, it got rid of her,” I point out.

  “I should have told her we were having sex ages ago and I might have gotten out of all of those planning sessions.” Ashley laughs.

  “About that,” I say. “I’m sorry this wasn’t the wedding you would have chosen.”

  “No, Finn. It’s absolutely perfect.” She smiles dreamily. “Granted, it’s not necessarily what I would have chosen, but seeing it all now, your mom actually has damned good taste.”

  “Well, she made me, didn’t she?”

  Ashley elbows me in the ribs. “Ok, enough of that Mr. Arrogant.” She smirks.

  “Ladies and gentleman,” the singer from the band announces into the microphone. “Please welcome onto the dance floor, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Finn Jagger.”