Page 105 of A Little Bit Reckless
Bow
My best friend got married today, and it nearly killed me to keep that secret. It was worth it though, and everything turned out great in the end. Our parents all got to be there, and it was perfect.
Sloane looked beautiful.
I could only hope to one day look as lovely as her on my wedding day, and she and Dorian together were magic. Dorian was one of my big brothers, and it was so special to see him so happy. Everyone was happy.
One couldn’t help but be in a complete sense of euphoria that night. Everyone was gathered around the happy couple, showering them with love and praise. There was so much love in the air.
“Thanks for today, little rabbit,” Sloane said to me later that night. Our parents had bought out a restaurant on the strip for Dorian and Sloane’s reception. There’d been dancing and a full four-course dinner before Sloane and I hopped onto the dance floor ourselves. She hugged me there, her smile wide. “Today was so special.”
My best friend had asked me to be her maid of honor, and, though I’d never done it before, I did what I could for her today. We couldn’t do much with the time crunch, but I did arrange for someone to come in and do our hair and nails before the wedding. Fawn and Aspen were there too, of course. We had a fun time with just us girls.
I did make Sloane a promise that I would do more for her once we did this whole thing again back in our hometown. Our parents wouldn’t stand for such a small event here in Vegas, and we all knew that.
As far as I was concerned, my best friend’s wedding needed to be as big as it possibly could be. I hugged Sloane tight. “I love you.”
I never had a sister. I always had brothers growing up, so when Sloane came around, it’d been something I never knew I needed. She was beyond my bestie. She took care of me. Especially after I told her about the baby.
Our group left what happened at the hospital there that night. They didn’t make me talk about it, and Bru and Wells didn’t talk about what happened after they showed me my abuser’s face one last time. They just came back to the hospital and stayed there until I left. I was still healing from everything, but the healing process was easier with them. I didn’t need to know what happened with Professor Donovan, but I could assume.
Again, all that stayed at the hospital.
I ultimately left on the arms of two men and felt more powerful than I ever had. It wasn’t because of Bru and Wells though. My power finally came from me, and it always would, from that day forward. It was a promise I made to myself and would forever keep.
Bru and Wells were at the bar while Sloane and I danced. Everyone else was either full at their tables or already headedback to their respective hotels. The majority of our parents had cut out since it was so late, but a small group of them stayed.
The guys smiled at me from the bar and I smiled back. I loved them both so much.
“I love you too, sis,” Sloane said to me, and she grinned having noticed my attention on Wells and her brother. Wells and Bru were both still looking at me. In fact, they hadn’t taken their eyes off me tonight, though I tried to ignore the fact. It always made me so shy when they looked at me, and that couldn’t be helped. The guys didn’t justlookat me. It was like my presence consumed them, and they could never get their fill.
“Bow, do you mind if I have this next dance with my little fighter?” Dorian asked, suddenly appearing in his dark suit. He looked so handsome. He always called Sloane his little fighter which was terribly cute. He grinned at her. “That is if my wife wants to dance with her husband.”
It was rare I saw Sloane blush, but she did then. My best friend was married, crazy.
“I suppose I don’t mind,” Sloane said as Dorian lifted her hand and kissed it. Together, the pair looked like an ad for complete and utter happiness.
I backed away as Dorian pulled Sloane in. He tucked her body into his and so much warmth consumed me. It was like I felt the joy physically coming off them.
I wasn’t sure how long all of us stayed at the restaurant. I just knew that, after the last of the parents headed back to their hotels, all us kids continued to use the music for as long as we could. The restaurant stayed open for us, and we took advantage of it.
We all danced together that night. We were Legacy in a big group of joy and celebration. Dancing with my friends actually reminded me of prom night back in high school. A bunch of us were about to graduate then too, and we partied like our livesdepended on it.Ipartied and the night ended with all of us jumping into the pool at an after-party. I’d been furious about that, my dress all wet, but it’d somehow been perfect.
Tonight felt perfect. Tonight felt like the beginning of so much more than Dorian and Sloane’s nuptials. We all really weren’t kids anymore. We were headed out toward that next chapter, and, for me, that meant so much. I felt a freedom I hadn’t had at the beginning of the year. Like life and its prospects could really be anything I wanted it to be. LikeIgot to define who I was and my own future.
And that felt pretty goddamn cool.
EPILOGUE
Bru
I thumbed my King ring, the eyes of the gorilla black diamonds. It matched my sister Sloane’s ring even though she didn’t really wear it anymore. I didn’t either, but, for some reason, I wore it today. It was a symbol all my friends wore. At least, we used to. We got the rings by being in the Court. It was like a community club or whatever in our hometown.
None of us wore them anymore really, but today, I thought it’d give me some strength. Wells and I prepared for weeks for this, but still, this was a big step.
I let go of the metal face of a gorilla to grab on to the balcony. The house overlooked the hills of Maywood Heights and was a beautiful view of the city. Maywood Heights wasn’t a huge town, but it’d been home for so long. The house also gave views of both my parents’ house and Wells’s parents’ house.
It overlooked Bow’s parents’ house too.
