“Well, I haven’t done it without help.Sin is an amazing dad, and my soul sisters have made it a hell of a lot easier.”
“Stop it, Ro,” Aubree gently admonished.“You’re an excellent mom.Not every parent would handle his mental health struggles with the kind of grace and patience that you’ve shown.Sixx is going to turn into a great man, and you are the majority of the reason why.London, Gen, and I are just honored we get to share such a huge part of his life.”
“Donotmake me cry today!”Ro sniffled at her best friend.
When the song ended, Gen was ready to push London out of the way before another began.Sixx didn’t pause before falling into step with his aunt.Out of breath, London joined us at our table, gulping down the beer that Derrick brought her once she was seated.
“That was so much fun,” she gushed, brushing a few locks of hair from her face.“Oh my god, Ro.He cracked a joke.A real, not-dry-humor joke.It was the best moment of my life.He’s such a little cutie.”
“He’s over six feet tall,” Aubree deadpanned.
“He’s always going to be that adorable little boy with a missing front tooth in his first gi.”She pressed a hand to her chest, her eyes going a little dreamy.
The song was only halfway through when I noticed that Sixx was getting wired.All the physical contact was starting to become too much for him.Tension filled his shoulders, and his eyes were taking on that empty quality he got when he was fighting to keep his wall from dropping down.Excusing myself, I weaved through the tables and then the other dancers.
Sixx spotted me coming his way, and I could almost feel the strain begin to ease.Gen kissed me on the cheek as she stepped away, letting me take her place.
“Finally,” he said with a relieved sigh.“I’ve needed this, daisy girl.”
“Me too,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.
Touching a kiss to my forehead, he let his hands settle low on my back.“You look beautiful.That dress is…dangerous.”
“Sammy chose it.”
“Remind me to thank her.”He skimmed his nose over my cheek.My breath hissed out of me, loving the feel of his body pressing into mine, the way he held me like he owned me.His touch was always full of possessiveness and confidence, knowing without a doubt that I belonged to him.Now and always.
“I missed you,” I whispered, scratching my nails lightly up and down the back of his neck.He moaned quietly, losing a little more of the tension that had been gathering from the overstimulation of the day.
“I miss you every minute of every day we’re not together.”Kissing my cheek, he shifted so my head was tucked under his chin.Making sure Dad was busy and not paying us any attention, I pressed my ear to his chest and closed my eyes, listening to the tempo of his heart beating rather than the music.“When we get married, do you want something like this?”
“Hell no,” I said sleepily.“We’re eloping.No one is invited but Bentley.Maybe Charlotte, if he wants to bring her.”
“No parents or Abi and Hayat?”I shook my head.“Okay.”
“But we can have a small party for our first wedding anniversary,” I said after thinking about it for a few moments.“Our moms will like that.The wedding part is just for us.The party is for them.”
“That sounds perfect, Ali.”
I got two and a half songs with him before the music stopped and the DJ announced it was time for cake.Abi and Vaughn stood in front of the five-tier beauty and did the traditional cutting of the first slice together.My new brother-in-law fed Abi a small bite from his fingers, brushing a smear of icing over her bottom lip before kissing it away to have his own taste.Definitely classier than those asshole grooms who shoved cake into their bride’s face.Vaughn got points for how sweet the action was.
After the cake was cut, the music started again.That was when Sixx surprised his mom.He’d walked up behind her as she was talking to Santana and Amara and just picked her up while she was mid-sentence.Roanna squealed at the suddenness of it then gasped when she realized it was her son.He carried her out to the middle of the dance floor, and Ro glowed from how happy she was.
That alone had made this a great day, hands down one of my favorite Saturdays ever.
Sipping my glass of sparkling white grape juice, which was flowing more freely than champagne to be mindful of all the younger kids present, I hummed along to the melody of the song while my boyfriend continued to dance with his mom.Most of the other guests were either dancing or eating, the conversations around the huge ballroom full of warmth and laughter.I was exhausted.Thankfully, school was over for the term, and I could relax knowing I’d passed all my classes with exactly enough points so my parents wouldn’t be alerted that I’d struggled to get through the semester.It finally felt like I could breathe again.
It was getting late, and hopefully people would be leaving soon.Abi was delaying her honeymoon until after Hayat had her inaugural show at First Bass with Autumn’s Slumber.My parents and I were leaving for Australia the next day, which meant we were going to miss seeing her big debut in person.
“Give me that,” Sammy said as she appeared beside me.Taking my glass of white grape juice, she tossed it back in one gulp, only to hiss when she realized it wasn’t champagne.“Here I was thinking I was saving you from your mother by getting rid of the evidence, and you were actually being good.”
“I’m always good.”
“Mmkay,” she said dryly.“Abi’s about to throw the bouquet.Go over there and stand.Don’t try to catch it, though.As much as I adore Sixx and look forward to the day he officially joins the family, there will be no child bride on my watch.”
“I don’t need a bunch of supposedly magical flowers to tell me I’m going to marry the boy I love one day.Sixx and I have no plans for marriage until after he has won the adult world championship in BJJ and I have figured out the whole college thing.”
“That’s my smart baby sister!”she cooed, making me roll my eyes.“Run along.You’re going to pretend to play along for the photographer.The pictures will be fabulous.Now, scoot.”When I just stood there, she grasped my hand.“You St.Charles girls are so fucking stubborn.”
