This is the end for these two. Sorry it took a while.
I have a few more ideas percolating and self-isolating should mean more writing time.
Stay safe, stop hoarding stuff, and wash your hands.
'So, we have an announcement to make…'
'We're getting married!'
The reaction is exactly what I'd expected. A chorus of congratulations and Esme bursting into tears.
My guts twists, and I hate that I'm feeling anything but complete joy right now. Under the table, I quickly slip my ring off and put it back on my right hand. I am excited, really, but I'm also kind of devastated.
'Have you thought about when?' Edward asks. If he's disappointed, too, he's hiding it well as he beams at Katie.
'As soon as we can after Katie graduates,' Riley says. 'We'll have a few weeks between that and when she starts Basic Training.'
'That's so soon,' Esme says. She sniffles and Edward passes her a serviette. She wipes her eyes and pats his hand in thanks.
Katie nods. 'I know. But we want to do it before life gets too crazy. And we don't want anything too fancy. Just a quick service with a celebrant and then a good meal with all our friends. We don't need the flowers and the cake and the bridal party. Just something simple.'
'But special,' Riley adds. 'We were thinking about doing the whole thing at a restaurant somewhere. Maybe do the wedding bit on a balcony or in a courtyard, then have the meal inside.'
'That's lovely,' Esme says. 'Can I insist on a photographer, though? You don't have to do posed pictures, but you'll want the day documented.'
Katie nods and Riley says, 'Yeah, we've already talked about that. My brother's best mate is a photographer, and we really like his style. So we'll definitely want to have him there.'
The longer the wedding chat goes on, the further I slip into my funk. It's starting to feel like the universe really doesn't want Edward and me to get married. When the discussion turns to what Katie and Riley want to wear, I can't take any more. I start gathering up the empty plates.
Esme tells me I don't need to, but I just shake my head. 'It's fine,' I say. 'I'll get the dishwasher going and then bring out dessert, okay?'
'Thank you, sweetheart. It's in the fridge.'
Before I've even left the room, the conversation has turned to dresses and fabrics and colour schemes.
'I think I want to wear grey,' Katie says. 'Like the colour of a rain cloud.'
I set the stack of plates on Esme's kitchen counter and brace my hands on the bench. I close my eyes and blow out a breath, trying to keep the tears that are threatening from falling. I'm stoked for Katie and Riley; I just can't believe their timing. We've been waiting two years to announce our engagement and the day we were finally going to say something…
'You okay?' Edward is behind me, his chest pressed against my back, his hands settling beside mine. His lips find my neck and I let out a soft sigh.
'Fine,' I say. 'Just…' I try to turn my head to look up at him, but he's got me caged in. 'Aren't you even a little disappointed?'
Edward drags his tongue down my neck to my shoulder and presses his dick into my arse. He's hard, and I'm really not in the mood.
'The fuck?' I snap. I try to turn in his arms but he keeps me trapped.
'I was disappointed,' he says, his lips barely leaving my skin. 'My sister does have a knack for stealing my thunder.' He tugs my shirt to reveal more of my shoulder. 'But then I had an epiphany, and now I'm just really fucking horny.'
'Care to enlighten me?'
Edward runs his hands up my forearms, then starts toying with the hem of my T-shirt.
I tense, frustrated, as he moves his lips back up my neck.
'I realised,' he says, 'that this is actually fucking perfect.'
'How's that?' It comes out a little more breathless than I want. Despite my irritation, his lips on my neck are doing things to me. Very nice things.
'Because now Mum gets to help plan a wedding, which means I'm off the hook.'
'Huh?'
'Let's elope,' he mutters. His hand slips under my shirt, his finger splay across my belly. 'Let's get married tomorrow.'
'It takes a month,' I mumble. His pinky finger dips under the waistband of my jeans and I'm quickly catching up to where Edward's already at. 'You need to put in a Notice of Intended Marriage one month before.'
'Then we do that today and elope in a month.'
I don't bother pointing out that it's Sunday and we'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. Instead I drop my head back and reach up until my hands find Edward's hair. I tug until he lifts his face and his eyes meet mine.
'Let's do it.' I say. 'I don't care about the wedding. Let's just sign the fucking papers and get married.'
Edward kisses me hard, groaning softly as my tongue finds his. He finally steps back enough to let me turn in his arms, and then we're making out, his hands up my shirt and his dick grinding against my belly.
'We need to go home,' I tell him. I need him to fuck me.
Edward grunts a little as catches my lips in another kiss. He palms my arse and then lifts me onto the kitchen bench. He's pressed against me right where I want him now, and as good as it feels, it's not enough. I need him naked, inside me, and I need it now.
I shove his chest. 'Home,' I say. 'Now.'
Edward pulls back with a groan. He's breathing hard, his cheeks and neck flushed pink, his eyes a little glazed.
'Mum,' he calls out. 'Bel isn't feeling so good. I gotta take her home.'
He doesn't wait for her response, instead grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the front door. I scoop up our shoes as Edward yells, 'Congratulations again, Riley, Katiecakes. I'll call you later tonight.'
I hear Katie's, 'What's going on, Ned?' before he slams the door shut and hustles me down the driveway to his ute.
He drives us home with one hand on the steering wheel and the other between my thighs, forcing me to change gears for him while he tells me in exquisite, filthy detail about all the things he's going to do to me when he gets me inside and naked.
The five minutes it takes to get home feel like an eternity, and I've never been so relieved when he pulls into our driveway. I yank on the handbrake while he tugs the keys from the ignition, but instead of getting out of the car, he shoves his hand deeper into my underwear and kisses me until I come against his fingertips.
He pulls his hand from my pants and wipes his fingers on his shirt.
'Inside,' he says. 'Unless you want the neighbours to watch me take you on the bonnet.'
I trail into the house behind him in a daze, my ears still ringing and my jeans undone.
Edward kicks the front door shut and pulls me into our bedroom. He walks me towards the bed but instead of turning me around, he puts my hands on the edge of the mattress. 'This okay?' he asks quietly as he pushes my back down gently.
I nod dumbly, my cheek pressed against the doona cover and my brain still fogged with lust.
Edward pulls my jeans and underwear down to my knees, and then he kneads my bum gently before I hear him unzip his own jeans.
He fucks me hard and fast, his fingers digging into my hips. 'I can't wait to marry you,' he says, his voice a little hoarse. 'I can't wait to fuck you when you're my wife. I can't wait to make babies with you. I can't wait—oh, shit. Fuck.'
He collapses against my back, and I can feel his heart hammering through his chest.
'Edward…' I'm uncomfortably turned on and he's a deadweight as he slumps over me. I reach behind me and pat his legs. 'Baby, get off.'
He snickers quietly as he complies. 'Already did.'
Before I can move, he pulls my shirt up over my head. He leaves it tangled around my arms as he spins me around and yanks my bralette down to free my tits.
He pushes me down onto the bed. My shirt is trapped under me, my wrists still caught in it. It would be easy enough to untangle myself, but it's kind of hot being rendered somewhat immobile, so I don't bother.
Edward's mouth closes over a nipple, hot and wet, while his hand moves back between my legs. He brings me to the edge quickly, but he's not satisfied with one orgasm. He doesn't stop loving on my tits and moving his hand between my thighs until he's dragged another from me.
Our breathing is loud as he collapses onto the bed beside me, a self-satisfied smirk curling his lips. 'Fuck, I love you,' he says.
I yawn, squirming a little. I really need to shower but I don't have the energy to move just yet. 'I love you, too.'
Edward rolls towards me. He tucks a stand of hair behind me ear and my stomach swoops at the tender gesture. I love the contrast, the way he's so gentle after he's just fucked me into oblivion.
'So, you really want to elope?' he asks. 'We don't have to. We can like, wait until Katie and Riley get back from their honeymoon and have a small wedding then.'
I contemplate this for a moment.
'No,' I say. 'Let's just get married as soon as we possibly can. One month from tomorrow morning. We can have a little party here to celebrate if we want to. But we'll do that bit later.'
Edward smiles over at me. 'Deal,' he says. He chuckles softly. 'We could send out engagement party invites and then be like, "Surprise, motherfuckers. We're already married."'
I have to laugh at that. 'That actually sounds perfect. But I wouldn't recommend you call my dad a motherfucker. Not to his face, anyway.'
Edward snickers. 'Ironic, really, because he is a mother fucker.'
'My parents do not fuck,' I tell him. 'I refuse to contemplate it.'
Edward opens his mouth, but then decides against pursuing the point. 'So,' he says, wriggling a little closer to me. 'We'll be married in what… thirty-one days.' His eyes shine with excitement. 'Too easy.'
Most things in life sure haven't been this easy. Not with his parents' split and Esme's stints in rehab. Not with Alistair getting divorced after only six months of marriage, or with Rosalie and Em miscarrying, or with my mum having to get a basal cell carcinoma removed from her shoulder. It's been stressful and heartbreaking and sometimes downright awful.
What has been easy, though, is remembering why I fell in love with Edward. All the ups and downs and sudden slides sideways and I'm the luckiest idiot in the world, because I get to do it with him by my side.
