I didn't want to ruin the moment but this felt larger than anything. He'd given me something of his family's and even though it was proof of a love greater than I could understand, the tiny nugget of curiosity that had always nibbled away at me needed to be answered. "Tristan? Can I ask you something?" He groaned something out that sounded like a bear's growl. "Why did you start talking to me?"
He was quiet, only breathing loudly through his nose. "At the convention?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know," he said in a low voice. A kiss planted itself on the crook of my neck. "You were digging in your butt, and then you were so goof— I don't know. You made me laugh." He was quiet, but I could sense that he was still deliberating with an answer. "I guess I wanted to understand this pretty girl who could make me laugh."
I wormed a hand through his sweat soaked hair, raking my fingers over his scalp. "I'm glad you think I'm funny."
"Kat," he murmured against my ear, taking the box from my hands and placing it on the bed behind him. Tristan moved his hips and hardening cock in me, slowly. "I'll never get tired of laughing at you."
Chapter 59
"I'm gonna cry."
"Be quiet."
Hiccup. "I'm not kidding. I'm gonna cry."
"Josh, shut up."
"This is a big day," his voice trembled, eyeing Nikki as she made her way down the aisle.
"For Nicole," I whispered into his ear.
"For all of us," he hissed back.
I couldn't disagree with him there.
I'd spent the night with my three best friends, leaving Tristan alone in the room we'd agreed to share during our stay. Since Nikki had opted not to have a bachelorette party, we'd deemed the night our own to say our goodbyes to the single life of Nicole Jonasson, She-Who-Hath-Slept-With-Gay-and-Straight-Men-Alike. Zoey had claimed the night before when we huddled in her room that she felt like she was getting married, too. I was nervous and excited, and Josh was just an emotional wreck. Even though it was always Nikki who took care of us emotionally and physically, I likened the feeling to having my own child getting married and starting her own life. I knew it was part of growing up and all but it was still bittersweet.
It seemed like the last two weeks leading up to Nikki and Calum's wedding had come in a flash. It was my birthday, and then in no time, we were flying out of Miami to Vegas for the wedding. Now, we were standing in a garden while our resident badass and her dimpled, donkey-sized love waited to exchange rings and promise each other forever.
When I'd first found out that they'd decided to get married in a garden in Las Vegas, I'd laughed. If they wanted to get married in a garden, I could've hooked them up with Tristan's pretty stellar backyard. Later on, he had explained to me that Calum had been pleading his case to have the ceremony done by an Elvis impersonator or on the Treasure Island ship. Nikki wanted to do it in Las Vegas just because. So, they compromised on a garden not too far from the Strip after extensive debating. Mag and I laughed and agreed we'd totally do either the Elvis impersonator or the ship before the garden wedding, but to each his own.
Zoey was the first one to burst into tears during the ceremony; she'd dropped her bouquet of flowers on the floor and covered her face with her hands. She murmured something that sounded strangely like, "So beautiful," but with Zoey you could never know. She could have been referring to Calum's sister sitting in the front row.
Josh was next, sobbing through the second half and earning a middle finger from Nikki in the covert way of an eyebrow scratch.
I was the only one who burst into tears. Looking at my closest friend and seeing the elation on her face, and then catching the same emotion reflected in her soon-to-be husband's eyes made me so happy. It wasn't until the very end when they were exchanging rings that one fat teardrop escaped, leading a short and suicidal life halfway down my cheek before I caught it. Looking up then, I saw Tristan's green eyes on me, a small smile crossing his face.
He was standing directly to the right of Calum since he was the best man, but each time I'd look up to see what he was doing I found him staring in my direction. Over the course of the last three days, we'd only seen each other on the flight since we had seats next to each other. In the days prior to that, I saw him every other day. Half of our time together was spent naked; which was absolutely fucking wonderful if those words alone were enough to describe it.
I tried to push the memory out of my brain when Zoey's shoulders started twitching with tears again right before the end.
"You may now kiss the bride," signaled for Calum's loud family to burst into cheers.
After what I considered to be the Clash of the Tongues in the form of Calum and Nicole's mouths meeting for the first time as a married entity, we all screamed in joy. Tristan caught my wrist as we followed the newlyweds down the aisle, making our way to the small reception hall across the compound. He wrapped a heavy arm over my shoulders, pulling me in close to his side. His hand hung over my collarbone, lazily brushing his fingertips across the fine chain of the necklace he'd given me for my birthday.
"I think you're one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen," he said while we walked.
I snickered and tilted my head to look him in the eye. It was a testament to my love that I didn't nut-punch him right then. "I'm pretty sure you should only tell someone that theyarethe most beautiful thing you've ever seen. Oneofthe most isn't exactly a compliment."
He squeezed me tight, laughing. "The only other person just as beautiful as you is—," he let the words hang in the air. "My mom," the asshole had the nerve to snort. "This girl I used to like on those Spanish soaps is my number three."
I couldn't help but laugh in response to his admission. "You're lucky it's your mom, jackass," I said, elbowing him in the ribs. "I'll give you your number three since I'm sure she was probably the first girl you jacked off to."
"She was!" Tristan was laughing hysterically, pulling me tighter and tighter against him with each heave of his chest. "So many times you have no idea."
