CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 

Slade

We hit the waves the next day and I applied extra sunscreen like Trinity told me to. Her annoying voice played in my ear but I knew she was right. If I didn’t apply it, I would burn then look ridiculous on my wedding day.

We skipped lunch because we were having too much fun. Cayson couldn’t stay on the board for long but he kept trying. Now that Roland was gay I wondered if it would change the dynamic of our group. Surprisingly, it didn’t. It was like nothing had changed.

We stayed at the beach all day before we finally turned in and showered in our rooms. I was rooming with Cayson, like usual, after we scrubbed the sand from our hair and ears we headed to the restaurant and took our seats.

“Dude, I could eat this table,” I said. “We shouldn’t have skipped lunch.”

“You do get angry when you’re hungry,” Cayson noted.

“Trinity says the same thing,” I said.

“So,” Conrad said. “Ready to get married? It’s only a week away.”

“I’m ready,” I said with no hesitation. “The wedding was rushed but when we get married doesn’t matter to me.”

“No doubts?” Conrad asked with a raised eyebrow. “The infamous Slade isn’t freaking out?”

“Are you hoping I’ll bail on your sister?” I snapped.

“No,” he said with a laugh. “I’m just surprised. Really surprised.”

“I’m not,” Cayson said. “I think it’s pretty obvious that Slade can’t live without Trinity.”

I shrugged. “I guess I get scared sometimes…” The gin was getting to me.

“Okay,” Conrad said. “That’s more realistic.”

“There’s nothing to be scared of,” Cayson said.

“I’m not scared about marrying her or spending my life with her,” I said. “I guess…I’m scared of myself.”

Dad watched me with knowing eyes. “Meaning?”

“We all know how I am,” I said. “I’m never going to be the perfect husband. I just hope I don’t fuck it up too bad.”

All the guys turned serious.

“Why do you think that, Slade?” Arsen asked.

“I don’t think that question even deserves a response,” I said.

“Are you saying that people can’t change?” Arsen said. “Because I changed—more than anyone. If I can do it, you can do it.”

Dad nodded. “He’s got a point.”

“Yeah, but you’re different,” I said.

“Not really,” Arsen said. “I fell in love with a girl and didn’t treat her right. Then I lost her and realized it was the biggest mistake of my life. That turned my life around pretty quick.”

“The situations still aren’t comparable,” I said.

“You want to know a story about your mother and I?” Dad asked.

I shrugged. “As long as there’s no sex involved.”

He smirked slightly. “A week before our wedding I left her.”

All the guys stared at him with surprised expressions.

“Damn, she must have beat the shit out of you,” I blurted.

“She did,” he said. “But she understood why I ran. My love for her was never questioned. But I wasn’t sure if I was good enough for her, if I could provide the type of life she wanted. I was afraid I would be a terrible father. There were a lot of doubts I had.”

“I can’t believe Mom forgave you,” I said.

He shrugged. “She understands me. She hunted me down at Scarlet’s and slapped me hard across the face. I had a mark for over a week.” He rubbed his cheek like he was remembering it. “And then we went home and talked it out.”

“Trinity would kick me in the balls,” I said. “Hard.”

“I believe that,” Cayson said before he took a drink.

“My point is, don’t be scared, Slade,” Dad said. “Because everyone is scared to get married. I promise you, she’s scared too. She probably won’t admit it but that doesn’t mean she isn’t thinking it.”

“You think?” I asked.

“I do,” he said. “And if marriage gets too hard you always have me to talk to. And you got your uncles. They’ll always be around for advice.”

That made me feel a little better.

“Just don’t stress about it,” Dad said. “Because in the end you love Trinity. And that’s all that matters.”

“I don’t know,” Arsen said. “Only having sex with one woman for the rest of your life sounds pretty hard.”

Everyone looked at him with cocked eyebrows.

Arsen sighed. “I couldn’t pull that off, could I?”

“Not even a little bit,” I said with a laugh. “You’re so sprung on Silke. Shit, you’re a bigger pussy than Cayson.”

“Whoa,” Cayson said. “Conrad is the one who couldn’t say goodbye to Lexie before we left.”

Conrad wore a prominent scowl. “I had to tell her something.”

“That you want to marry her, maybe,” Roland said.

Now Conrad’s scowl was reserved for Roland.

“Stop picking on him,” Ryan said. “Pick on Slade. This is his party.”

“Well, if your dad says we can pick on you, we have to,” Cayson said.

“He didn’t mean it literally,” I said.

“No, I think he did,” Cayson said. “And I’ll pay someone to give you a lap dance.” He searched around the bar to see if there were any loose girls around.

“Don’t even think about it,” I said. “I haven’t had sex in almost a week and my cock is out of control. Do not send any skanks over here.”

“Out of control?” Roland asked. “As in, it’s just dancing around in your pants?”

“It never relaxes,” I said. “Put it that way.”

Ryan left the table. “I’m going to get another beer before my son says something even dumber than the last thing he said.” He headed to the bar, and once he was there, a blonde made her way over and touched him on the arm. She had to be at least twenty years younger than him. But she either didn’t care or didn’t realize it.

Conrad moved into the vacated chair. “So, we’re going to be brothers-in-law.”

“Yeah, I guess we are.” I never thought about it before.

“So, maybe we should hang out more,” he said. “You and I don’t really do anything one-on-one.”

“You want a tattoo?” I asked. “I can give you one.”

“I’m good,” he said with a laugh. “But thanks for the offer.”

“We can always go to a game.”

“That never fails.” He played with his glass for a moment before he turned to me and lowered his voice. “Trinity and I aren’t super close or anything but…if you hurt her I will kill you. And I’m not joking.”

“Sounds like you have a lot of faith in me…”

“I’m not assuming you will hurt her. But if you did, you’ll have me to answer to.”

“I would never cheat on her or smack her around or something…”

“I know. But it’s the big brother warning I have to give. I’m sure you’ll give Arsen the same talk.”

“No,” I said immediately. “Arsen would never hurt Silke. He’s stupidly in love with her.”

Arsen heard my words. “Thanks, man.”

“Besides, if Arsen doesn’t take her, who will?” I laughed at my own joke.

Conrad didn’t look amused.

I decided to stay something to put his thoughts at ease. “Years ago she told me she was afraid she would never mean anything to anybody. Every guy would come and go and use her like she was expendable, meaningless. Hearing her say that broke my heart and I wasn’t sure why. Prince Charming didn’t exist and she stopped believing she would find him. I knew I loved her when…I wanted to be Prince Charming for her. And, I want to be that for her for the rest of my life. So, if you ever have any doubt, remember that.”

He nodded in satisfaction. “Trinity does act like a princess sometimes…”

“Because she is one.” And I meant it.

“I’ll drink to that.” Conrad clanked his glass against mine.

***

When the trip was over we headed back to the city. The ride was spent in silence while we listened to the radio. I was a lot more relaxed than I was when we went to Vegas. Not getting arrested and drunk off my ass was a nice change.

“This party must have been boring for you in comparison,” Dad said from the passenger seat.

“No, it was a nice break. I like being sober.”

“I smell like seawater,” Conrad said.

“Have you tried showering?” I said sarcastically. “The rest of the country does it on a regular basis.”

“Yes, asshole,” he said. “But the smell won’t leave my hair for at least a week. I don’t know why.”

“Try shampoo.”

Conrad rolled his eyes and didn’t argue with me.

I dropped everyone off in front of their apartment and said goodbye. Then I dropped my dad off last. “Thanks for coming, Dad.”

He patted my shoulder. “Thanks for having me. You had a good time, right?”

“Of course I did.”

He studied my face. “If you ever get nervous, come find me. Alright?”

“Alright,” I said with a nod.

“And I can give you pointers for the wedding night.”

I rolled my eyes. “Pointers that are twenty years old.”

He laughed. “Your mother and I keep up with the times.”

“I didn’t ask if you did,” I jabbed.

He messed up my hair with his hand then kissed me on the side of the head. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.”

He got out and shut the door. The window was down so he leaned through it. “Tell my daughter I said hi.”

“I will.”

He grabbed his bag from the bed of the truck then headed into his building. Then I drove home, excited to see my fiancé. It was irritating I couldn’t have sex with her. I wanted to be inside her, and not just in a physical way. She and I connected our souls when we made love. Without using words, we told each other how we felt. I loved that. I loved everything about our relationship. But not having sex was killing me. I felt like I couldn’t bond with her the same way I could before. Obviously, I also just wanted to come inside her. But there was a lot more to it.

But it seemed important to her to wait. So, whenever I was around her, I tried not to think about how beautiful she was. Actually, I tried not to look at her at all if I could help it. How did an average guy like me restrain myself around a supermodel like her?

It was impossible.

After I parked, I walked upstairs to the small apartment I shared with her, my bag over my shoulder. Then I entered, expecting to see her reading on the couch or working at the kitchen table.

“You’re home!” She jumped up and ran to me, immediately jumping in my arms.

I staggered back slightly, almost knocked over by her sudden pounce. “Hey, baby.”

“I missed you.” She kissed me hard on the mouth and squeezed my hips with her thighs. “So much…”

She was making me melt. I liked this side of her, the needy and clingy side. “I missed you too.”

“I hate sleeping without you.”

“Me too. I almost crawled into Cayson’s bed so I wouldn’t feel alone.”

It was a testament to how much she missed me when she didn’t laugh or make a joke. “I hugged my pillow and tried to pretend it was you.”

“You want to know what I did?” It was a little embarrassing.

“What?”

“I took one of your shirts…because it smells like you.”

“And you wore it?”

“No,” I blurted. “But I put it on the pillow next to me so it would seem like you were there…”

Her eyes softened and glowed when she looked at me. “You’re so sweet.”

“Just in love.”

She gave me a hard kiss then rubbed her nose against mine. “I can’t wait to call you my husband.”

“I can’t wait to call you my wife.”

“Why can’t this week just speed by?” she asked. “Or why can’t we get married tomorrow?”

“It’s not that far away,” I said. “And after that, it’s forever.”