Just because I have received so much positive feedback for this story, I decided to make a second and final chapter.
Their wedding was full of laughs and good friends, flying in from around the country to witness the bond of Beca Mitchell and Jesse Swanson. Everyone showered Beca with compliments, doting on her every move right up until the big day. She was calm for a bride, but many people were awaiting the monster to break out of her once she realized she was actually getting married. On the contrary, Beca wasn't like many brides.
Jesse was mainly the one that organized caterers and centerpieces, tablecloths and invitations. Beca usually was at her computer, typing out different notes and tapping her foot to the beat. Once in a while, her gaze would fall on Jesse, looking at wedding magazines and cake designs. They would catch each other's eyes for a second as she would get up and wrap her arms his waist as he pulled her close.
"I can't decide between this type of design and this one," he pointed to specific pictures in one of the wedding brochures, "Help me?" Jesse pleaded with her until she agreed, taking a seat next to him on the couch, looking at the spread of clipping he had laid out on the table.
"I like this one," Beca picked up one of the photographs, running her fingertips over it, "but I bet whichever one you choose will be perfect."
And it was.
Their wedding day was quickly approaching and both of them were still level headed even after a few, minor catastrophes. They were having their event in a large church in a clearing in a forest right on the water. The church was made out of tall, glass panels so if you looked one way you would see a blanket of pine needles on the ground and a canopy of branches waving with the wind. On the other side you could see the waves as they crashed on the beach, rushing over the imprints in the sand, washing them away with every motion.
A string quartet began to play the wedding march by the time all the guests were seated. A wave of white fabric fell behind Beca as she glided down the walkway and towards the alter. If it wasn't for her mom holding onto her arm, she swore she would've fallen over. It did help to see the big, blue orbs of her future husband staring back at her, his eyes getting damp at the sight.
It was like the room fell quiet, a hushed silence as everyone stared at the beauty that was Beca Mitchell, soon to be Beca Swanson. She was wearing a dress, a real dress. Everyone knew that getting Beca within 100 feet of a dress made her squirm in pain, but now she didn't even realize the absence of her jeans and t-shirts, replaced by the silk conforming to every curve of her body. Nobody knew that at the last moment, Beca had exchanged her high heels for a pair of black converse.
At the altar, Jesse couldn't take his eyes off her. Everyday he marveled at her beauty and couldn't believe that someone as special as her would pick him to spend the rest of her life with. Taking her hand in his own, they turned to face the marriage officiant.
Years prior, Jesse had bet Beca and Beca had bet Jesse a number of things and they all rang true. Back when they were just children, marveling at the summer days, Jesse had bet Beca that he could ride faster than her. Even though he could, he rode right next to her so he could see the smile that would cross her face as the wind blew through her her braids.
When Jesse's head turned slightly and his eyebrows raised when he saw the ice cream man scooping maple syrup ice cream into her cone, she just smiled knowingly at him and promised him that if he tried it, he would like it. From then on, he didn't just get chocolate anymore. He mixed a scoop of chocolate with Beca's signature flavor, salivating at how well the two flavors swirled together. They were so different, his classic while hers unique, but they seemed to fit almost too perfectly together, sort of like Beca and Jesse but Jesse wasn't going to say that out loud.
A few months before the school bus would leave for their first day of middle school, something changed within Jesse. He seemed to notice things a little bit more than usual, especially Beca. His best friend, his ice cream eating, pigtail wearing, dress dirtying friend looked different to him. He started to see how perfect her hair looked all the time, wanting to brush a piece away from her eyes after during one of their bike rides the wind would take control of her hair.
On the first day of middle school he couldn't believe that he told her any guy would fall for her, even though it was obviously true. He didn't want their friendship to change. He didn't want her to distance herself from him, but he also couldn't help the butterflies that flew around in his stomach every time he saw her.
When Beca had said that Jesse would have his first kiss very soon, she didn't expect to kiss him. She just looked at his chocolate brown eyes that she loved so much and did what her instinct told her to do. She had already had her first kiss with Danny Anderson, captain of the soccer team, but it was nothing like this. Jesse tasted like buttery popcorn and the taste of the salty air the blows past the beach while Danny tasted like fresh cut grass and dirt. She would never admit it, but even though she ignored the kiss, all she wanted to do was close the gap between them any time she saw him.
Jesse had bet Beca that she would feel better one day and it started to happen once he bet her that he could make her happier than Luke ever could. They spent the days together, walking on the pier and letting the waves glide over their ankles. Jesse would kiss the top of her head as they stared off into the distance or Beca would try to run after Jesse with her maple syrup ice cream cone.
No one thought it was going to last. 'You always leave the girl when you go off to college,' they all said but Jesse and Beca never listened. They stuck together, attached at the hip, and continued to entwine themselves into each others lives until they couldn't imagine being with anyone else.
That was the moment when Jesse decided to pull out the velvet box that he kept in the back of his sock drawer, hidden from her sight. Taking in a deep breath and sliding it into his pocket, he walked towards the living room where she was waiting for him, a smile appearing on her face.
Eight years ago he bet her that he could make her happy, but the one thing he didn't know was that he had been the one to made her smile ever since he moved into the house right next to her, all those years ago. He one thing he did know was that he would be the one to make her happy every day for the rest of their lives.
I hope you liked it!