Page 99 of Final Temptation
“Yeah, and maybe relieve Chase of his duties.” His chuckle only reminded me that my best friend’s brother was just outside the house.
Rolling my eyes, I looked back at him, “Please, for the love of God, Myles, don’t ever ask him to guard a door for us again while we fuck.”
Pulling our bodies apart, we both gasped at the sensation of his thickness leaving my body. I already missed the feeling of how full he made me and knew I’d be begging for it again the moment we returned home from the wedding.
He reached for a towel on the kitchen counter, swiping it through my center to clean up the mess.
Quickly, we threw our clothes back on, praying that we looked photo-ready and not like we just spent the afternoon rolling around in bed—or in this case, the bride and groom’s kitchen counter. Although we were at a wedding, and would anyone really be surprised that we snuck off to mess around?
It was a wedding; someone had to do it.
After leaving zero trace of our escapades in the house, we headed for the front door. We weren’t surprised in the slightest when there was no evidence of Chase on the front porch.
“Guess that answers my suspicions from earlier.” I combed my hair out and ran my hands down the soft fabric of my dress.
“And what’s that?” Myles asked while he adjusted his tie.
“Chaseclearlydoesn’t have a kink for hearing other people do it behind closed doors. Yesterday he was being a good friend, and today he was tired of being your bitch boy, so he left.” I shrugged.
Myles shook his head, a laugh buried beneath the rough timber of his voice.
Before we walked back to join the wedding party, he tucked his fingers beneath my chin, pulling me against his chest for a soft kiss. His eyes slowly floated across each feature on my face, looking full of words he wanted to say but didn’t quite know how.
“What’s that look for?”
“I’m just so happy you swiped right on me,” he teased.
“Paige,” I stammered.
“Hmm?”
“Paige swiped right. I was too much of a coward to do it myself. Either way, I’m happy it happened too.”
Hand in hand, we walked back to the wedding reception, slipping back onto the dance floor—hopefully unnoticed.
The French toast was perfectly laid out on the dessert table, untouched. We made it back just in time for dessert.
To redeem myself as Maid of Honor and Paige’s best friend, I announced it was time for dessert, inviting the guests up to the table for their helping of the sweet, sugary treat.
To no surprise, Declan had his bride flung over his shoulder, heading straight for the dessert table. When he snagged the bottle of syrup and headed toward the house, instead of putting her down, I glanced at Myles, giving him an all-knowing look.
We escaped getting caught by the bride and groom themselves, only by mere moments.
“Hi,my name is Myles, and I’m an alcoholic,” I announced to the audience in the small white church in town where I’d attended countless meetings before. This one wasn’t the same as any of the others, though.
“Today, I celebrate one year sober.” I cleared my throat, the statement choking me up. “I’ve never celebrated one year before. I almost made it one year before my first and only relapse. A relapse so bad, it almost took me away from everyone I love,” I paused, clearing my throat, “in fact…it did take me away from them, for five whole weeks.” I flipped my new bronze sobriety coin between my fingers, feeling every groove and divot.
Anxiously, I felt the weight of the coin in my hand, looking up at the crowd, immediately spotting the girl who never left my side. She’d been there for me on the good days, the bad ones, and everything in between.
Her bright smile encouraged me to keep speaking.
“Last year on October 8th, I woke up from a five-week coma, induced by the overconsumption of alcohol. It’s been exactly a year to the date that I was able to make the conscious decision to be sober.”
My eyes grazed over everyone in attendance. Next to Sophie was her dad, my brother, and Paige,my parents, and even Lisa, Paige’s mom, made it. The only person missing was Chase; he was back at school but called me this morning, knowing how big this day was for me.
“I can’t express enough how much I appreciate all my family and friends sticking by my side for the last couple years. It hasn’t been easy, and your efforts don’t go unnoticed. I’m aware I could have been almost two years sober, but instead, I stand here today celebrating one year. I don’t regret what I did—although Idohateit—it will always hurt to know I put everyone else through that kind of pain in the process.”
Each word that came out of my mouth only struck me with more emotion. The sweat on my palms gripped the edges of the podium, bowing my head, I took in another deep breath.
