We locked eyes, and I swear I saw a flash of that damn Drano face again before he correctedhimself.
“I’m sorry. That was a stupid thingtosay.”
We stood there staring at each other uncomfortably before Jake shifted his gaze out the window. Something was definitely off with him, and the anxiety was eating me up inside. This was a conversation that couldn’t wait fourteenhours.
“Jake?”
Reluctantly he turned back tome. “What?”
“I’m catching a strange vibe from you, and it’s freaking me out alittlebit.”
“I’m fine, Casey. I just made a stupid joke, and you’re overanalyzing it like you do everything. Maybe I’m a little nervous, is all. I don’t get marriedeveryday.”
“I feel like you’re having second thoughts… like maybe you don’t want to marry meanymore.”
Jake’s body visibly stiffened. “It was ajoke, Casey. Trust me, I want to be with you. I love you. That’s the one thing I amsureof.”
The way he said it, filled with uncertainty and strife, sent a chill through me. “What other things aren’t yousureof?”
A prolonged silence stilted the conversation. Jake leaned back against the windowpane, struggling to find the words, or maybe trying to come up with aplausiblelie.
“Is it about the therapy sessions? Are the nightmares back? You know you can trust me. Whatever you have to say, I’ll listen and I won’t judge. You know that,right?”
“Yeah. I know,” he said, with a hint of irritation. “And if I have anything to say, you’ll be the firsttoknow.”
“Will I be? I mean you were pretty secretive with me about why you ended the sessions. I just want to be there for you, but I can’t if you keep secretsfromme.”
“An unhealthy chunk of my life has been kept a secret from you, Casey. You knew that about me before accepting my proposal. You can’t change the rules now, not on the eve of ourwedding.”
“If you want to get technical, Jake, you’re the one who changed the rules. One of the things you promised was that you’d get therapy. That lasted threemonths.”
“You never said how long it neededtolast.”
“Me? I wasn’t the one who suggested it in the first place. Please get your storystraight.”
Jake didn’t have a response to that. He knew as well as I did that what I was saying was true. I’d never pushed him into therapy; it was after a conversation with Kyle that he’d come to the conclusion heneededit.
We stood there without words, looking out over the Arizona night sky. Unable to handle the silence another second, I grabbed his arm and wrapped it around me as I leaned into him. Jake squeezed tightly and then reached out, took my hand, and raised it to his lips before saying, “I love you. I want to marry you. Why can’t that beenough?”
I didn’t care about the damn therapy. I just wanted him happy. Sometimes I wondered, given his background, if that would ever truly be possible, although there was no turning back now. I was fully vested in this man, and the way I saw it, neither one of us could survive alone. Our strength had always been together. Casey andJake.Cake.
“It’senough.”
3
Jake: TheHoneybee
Steppinginto the hotel rec room with Casey’s brothers, I was shocked by the scene that greeted me. A smile stretched across my face as I took in the theme of tonight’s party. Instead of flowing liquor and women dancing on poles, there were balloons, facemasks, and cupcakes topped with action figures. Keith had turned my bachelor party into a little kid’s superhero-themedshindig.
“You like?” Keith asked, straight-faced, as he flung back his Batman cape in a dramaticdisplay.
“I…wow…it’s…”
“Totally KAPOW! Right?” He nodded, using his first of many superhero words of the evening. “You wanted something tame tonight and I aim to please, so one dry, super-boring bachelor party for my little bro! You’rewelcome.”
I scanned the group of about twenty guys. All were wearing costumes or capes and sipping punch from cups with explosive words like BOOM! And ZAP! Shaking my head at all the idiots I called family and friends, I narrowed in on one very special one: Lassen. My driver had somehow managed to squeeze himself into a Superman costume that was about twelve sizes too small for him. Every nook and cranny of that big, beautiful belly of his was outlined by the fabric. The flimsy material wasn’t intended for over-stretching, and Lassen looked about ready to detonate all over the vinyl flooring. A wig of black slicked-back hair sat on top of his long, gray mountain man tresses like a dead animal pelt. He hadn’t even tried to tuck his hair up under it. It truly was a treat for the eyes, and I took him in like an ice creamsundae.
“Lassen, you went all out, my man. I’m blown away by yourcommitment.”
