Fire & Ice - Chapter 40: Chapter 40

The day after the 4th of July party was spent hungover and mostly in bed by everyone. None of us had any energy to move or do anything other then go to the bathroom and get some food. The second day we were all livelier and I went back into wedding planning mode. Aunt Rosie still had a few more items on her list that we needed to finish before the weekend and it didn't take long to get them done that day while mom and Alyssa spent the day cleaning the backyard. They got most of it done by the time I got back home from running errands and whatever they didn't get too I finished the next day with Cassie, Becca and Stacey.
While mom and Alyssa spent most of the week working, I got to show my friends and Cassie around Boston a bit more. They only got to see a little bit while we were here during the season and there was still snow on the ground. We got to hit the beach and it was really fun to watch Cassie run in and out of the ocean. She was just so carefree in the moment I wish I could just bottle this day in time to be able to return to it whenever I wanted.
The week past by quicker then I thought it would have. Before I knew it, it was already the weekend again and today is the day of mom and Alyssa's wedding. They opted to stay together last night and have breakfast this morning before going their separate ways to get ready. The next time they will see each other is at the alter.
Alyssa left the house first and went off to her brothers house to hang out before going to the venue to get ready. On the other hand, the rest of us hung out at home for a little bit longer before going straight to the venue to get ready. Aunt Rosie hired a makeup artist to come in and do mom's hair and make up so she doesn't have to worry about it.
On the drive over to the venue, I had a full car. Mom didn't want to drive her car as Alyssa is going to be driving hers down to the venue so we all piled everything into mine. It didn't take too long to get over to Westbury Manor, only about a half hour. Aunt Rosie met us at the door and had a few guys help us bring everything inside. Right as we got inside mom went upstairs to the bridal suit to start getting ready for the afternoon ceremony while Cassie and I took a walk around the gardens.
The garden is set up with plenty of white chairs for all the guests and the alter looked beautiful with all the greenery covering the arch. Cassie and I walked hand in hand down the aisle and stopped halfway to the alter to take a seat in some of the chairs that were set up. Cassie played with my fingers as I titled my head up to catch some sun.
"When you see yourself getting married, what do you imagine your wedding to look like?" Cassie asked breaking up the silence. I smiled a bit and turned my head to look at Cassie. Her eyes were on my fingers and I thought about that question for a few minutes before I gave an answer.
"Before this year, I honestly never thought about. It was something that wouldn't have been possible for me." I said and turned to face the alter.
"But now that it has happened, what do you think?" Cassie asked and I could feel her curious eyes on the side of my face.
"I actually kind of like this. Being outside in a garden or maybe something on the beach. Or the snow, that could be pretty cool. You must have a fantasy wedding you would want." I said and turned to face her.
"I do, but the only thing that really matters is that you'll be waiting for me at the alter." Cassie said and turned to look at me. My words caught in my throat and I had to swallow them. It took another second before I pulled her into a fierce kiss.
"Yo love birds! Today isn't your day, you need to start getting ready because the make up artist is ready for you." Becca yelled from behind us. I only pulled Cassie into me tighter and continued the kiss to make a show of it for Becca interrupting. Cassie let it go for another few second before letting me go.
Together we got up and walked hand in hand down the aisle towards Becca. We walked upstairs to our room for the night and Cassie let me jump into the shower first. When I was done Cassie jumped in while I started to work on my hair. Cassie was done before me and slipped into a pair of shorts and one of my old shirts she packed before slipping out of the room to go join my mom. When I was done flat ironing my hair I joined them and walked in on them laughing about something.
Cassie was getting her makeup done while Mom was pacing in front of the mirror. She's not in her dress yet, just in a pair of sweatpants and what looks like Alyssa old college sweatshirt. It doesn't look like her makeup was done yet so I thought now would be the perfect time for her wedding gift.
"Mom come sit down with me for a minute." I said and sat down on the couch in the room. Mom sighed and joined me on the couch and I brought the gift bag out for her.
"This is my wedding present to you. Alyssa is getting her own from me but I wanted to do this for you." I said and pushed the bag into her hands.
Mom looked at the bag for a few long second before reaching inside and pulling out the photo album. She ran her fingers down the cover before opening it.
"Since we got that box from PJ and went through those photo albums, they have been on my mind. So while you have been at work, I pulled those albums apart to make you this. An album you can have out that have no pictures of the state he left you. With this one, I wanted to start filling the rest of those pages with happy memories of the three of us." I said as my eyes burned with tears. Mom stopped flipping through the album and looked at me, tears already wetting her cheeks.
"I don't know how I got so lucky that God gave me the best kid in the world." Mom said through her tears.
I pulled mom into a side hug and we flipped through the rest of the album together. It was only three quarters full, so after we get some pictures back from the photographer from the wedding, we can add them in here. When we got to the end, mom closed the album and pulled it into her chest. Just as we finished, Cassie finished getting her makeup done, so we switched places. Cassie helped me pick what pictures to add to this album while I was making it. With her help, I decided to keep a handful of pictures of mom, PJ and I in it. Even though he turned out to be such a negative influence on our lives, there was a part that was still good. I wanted to keep a few of those happy memories of him alive.
The makeup artist didn't take long to do my face up as I usually don't like to use a lot of makeup. So when I was done I hopped out of the chair and looked at Cassie who was talking to my mom.
"Cass, you want to hang out here while I go talk to Alyssa?" I asked.
"Yea, we'll be fine." Cassie said and gave me a smile. I smiled back and leaned down to kiss the top of her head then gave mom a kiss on the head too before leaving the room.
I went back to our hotel room and found the bag that held Alyssa's wedding present before walking down the hall to her brothers room for the night. When I got there I could hear Alyssa yelling at someone in the room so I knocked on the door. Austin pulled the door open a few seconds later and he looked relieved to see me.
"Thank god, please come in and calm her down." He said and basically pulled me into the room. Alyssa was pacing back and forth in front of a window and I sighed.
"Give me like 20 minutes." I said and nodded towards the door.
"You're a saint." Austin said and kissed my head before closing the door behind himself on the way out.
"Alyssa come sit down with me for a minute, I want to give you something." I said and took a seat at the small table in the room.
"How is Felicia?" Alyssa asked but didn't sit down.
"I left her with Cassie like less then 5 minutes ago, mom is fine. Now come sit with me because I want to give you something." I said and put the giftbag on the table. Alyssa sighed and continued to pace in front of the window.
"I told your mom no wedding presents." She said.
"It's from me dummy, come sit down." I said.
Alyssa stopped her pacing and looked at me for a second before walking over to me and sitting down in the chair across from me. I pushed the bag in front of her and Alyssa reached inside before pulling out the red Wisconsin jersey. Alyssa smiled and ran her fingers over the large white W on the chest.
"This is really sweat of you McKenna, thank you." Alyssa said.
"Flip it over." I said. Alyssa did as I asked and turned the jersey over. On the back I had a custom name plate made for her.
"Step mom?" Alyssa asked and looked up at me.
"I know we haven't talked about the label yet but when you come out to games with mom to watch me, I want everyone to know how important you are to me." I said.
"You don't ever have to call me mom, that's completely your decision and something I'm not going to ask you to do if you don't feel comfortable. I can always just be Alyssa. But the fact that you put thought into his jersey really means a lot to me McKenna." Alyssa said and gave me a watery smile.
"That sounds good, now will you tell me why you were freaking out on Austin before I walked in?" I asked.
"I'm nervous, like more nervous then I thought I would have been. Austin means well but I just wanted to be left alone for a little bit." Alyssa said and sat back in her seat.
"There is nothing to be nervous about. Mom is so excited for this you have no idea. The garden looks really nice and it's all ready for the ceremony so there is nothing left to worry about. But I need to go get ready because I have to take some pictures with mom before the wedding starts. So that means it is also time for you to get ready because once we finish, it will be your turn." I said and stood from my chair and reached into my pocket to pull out two nips of scotch.
"We are going to down these and then you'll be nice to Austin for the pictures and then I promise mom will meet you at the alter." I said and handed Alyssa one of the mini bottles.
Alyssa took a breath before she undid the cap of her nip bottle. I did the same and we clinked bottles before downing them. The cheep scotch burned my throat and made me wish I had a chaser with me as I couldn't help the cough that followed the alcohol.
"I don't get how you like this." I said as Alyssa laughed at my pain.
"Years of practice." Alyssa said and stood. I gave her a tight hug before leaving the room to find Austin coming back with two glasses of a dark liquid I could only assume to be alcohol. I took one from him and gave him a pointed look.
"Even if she asks, tell her no. I just gave her a shot and that one was enough. Make sure she is waiting for us at the alter." I said. Austin nodded and took the glass back from me to pour it into his glass before he drank it as he walked into the room.
I made my way back to my room for the night to find Cassie talking on her phone while sitting on the bed. I went into the bathroom to make sure my hair and makeup looked good before I started to get dressed. I slipped on the merlot color dress shirt following it up by tucking it into my black dress pants. Mom and Alyssa went with a copper and merlot color scheme and it blends beautifully into the greens of the garden. With my shirt tucked in I tied my tie in place before I left the bathroom to find Cassie struggling with the zipper of her jumpsuit.
She didn't even have to say anything, I just came up behind her and Cassie dropped her arms to let me slide the zipper up her back. Once it was in place I leaned in and dropped a kiss on the side on her neck.
"How was Alyssa?" Cassie asked as I wrapped my arms around her waist.
"I think she will be okay now that I gave her shot. Mom is definitely handling this better." I said and gave Cassie another kiss.
"Later love, don't start something you can't finish right now." Cassie said and spun around in my arms.
"Can I just say you look amazing. These jumpsuits you wear are amazing and don't get me started on how good you look with your hair like that." I said and ran my fingers over the short stubble on the back of her head.
"Such a smooth talker you are. We need to get going though, go get your jacket." Cassie said and slapped my ass smirking.
"Oh and who is the one starting something?" I asked with an eyebrow raised as I backed away to grab my suit jacket. I'm probably going to be too hot in it to wear it for the ceremony but I'm going to wear it for the pictures. I slipped it over my shoulders and as I was going to smooth it out Cassie batted my hands away and did it herself.
"You look so dapper." Cassie said quietly and gave me a smile before dropping my hands.
"Thank you baby." I said and gave Cassie a kiss.
Together we left our room and made our way to see mom who was ready in her wedding dress. The photographer was taking a few pictures of her in the bridal suite but when we walked in they finished up and we moved outside. The photographer got a few pictures of mom and her parents, followed by some shots of her and her sisters' family in the gardens. After those were done I asked to get one picture of my friends and I just the three of us. It's not often we all get dressed up and I wanted one of the three of us looking this good.
Next came pictures of mom and I. The photographer wanted a bunch of the two of us together in a few different spots around the garden. Mom pulled Cassie in for a some of those as well and then she got out of the shot and directed the photographer to get a few of just Cassie and I. When mom was done she went back up to the bridal suite and Alyssa came down to take her place. I was happy the photographer got a few of the two of us together first so I could go back inside and cool off for a bit before the ceremony.
Cassie and I hung out with Becca and Stacey and watched from inside as Alyssa got her photos done while munching on some appetizers the waiters brought us. After Alyssa was done with her photos, she came inside and I gave her some of the leftovers as some of the guests started to arrive into the waiting room. I greeted a bunch of them before giving Cassie a kiss and my friends a hug before going upstairs to hang out with my mom.
Just as I sat down on the couch Cassie sent me a text that Dawn and Travis were on their way up to say hi. There was a knock on the door a few seconds later and Dawn walked in with Travis not fair behind. Mom pulled Dawn in for a hug right away while Travis and I did our handshake before I pulled him into a hug. We only chatted for a few minutes before Travis pulled mom into a hug. The photographer also came upstairs as well and snapped a few pictures of the four of us.
Dawn and Travis only stayed for about ten minutes before they went back downstairs to find their seats for the ceremony. Mom and I didn't really say much while we waited for our cue. There was nothing left to say at this point, only happiness brewing from the both of us. Mom's hand found mine at some point and I just held onto it. But there was one burning question I had to ask before we left this room.
"Is this how you felt before you married PJ?"
The question definitely shocked mom, you could see it right on her face but I wanted to know. It took her a few moments to think through an answer before she turned to me.
"Yes and no. Yes, because I was excited to have you and have this family we created. The love was there. No, because I think that back then, I knew that PJ was a violent person. You haven't seen his hockey games but when he was on the ice, he aimed to hurt more often then play. You soften him though. He was always so gentle when it came to you when you were little and just learning, I thought he left the violent past behind. But I was wrong." Mom said and sighed. I let her have a moment to collect her thoughts before squeezing her hand.
"But today is about love and only love. There is no dark side hiding to Alyssa, no skeleton in a closet I don't know about. She has loved me from the start and I just wish I gave my heart to her earlier." Mom said with a smile.
Before I could say anything the door opened and aunt Rosie was standing in the doorway. It was our time to go. I got up from the couch and pulled mom up with me.
"Well, let's not make her wait any longer." I said and held my arm out for mom.
Mom wrapped her arm around mine and we walked together down the stairs to the back door of the venue that leads out to the garden. I could hear the wedding march playing and I looked at mom to make sure she was ready to go. She gave me one final nod and then the doors were opened. The bright sunlight blinded me for a second before I was able to step outside. Mom clung to me as we walked together down the aisle, Alyssa already waiting for us at the alter with Austin by her side.
I felt like time was moving in slow motion as we walked down the aisle. On both sides I could see so many familiar face and I could feel my eyes start to water. As we got closer to the alter, my eyes found Cassie and she has tears streaming down her cheeks. That was when the first few fell from my eyes. I had to pull my eyes from Cassie's otherwise I wouldn't be able to stop crying.
My eyes landed on Alyssa who had rivers of tears falling from her eyes. Her white suit stood out from the green background and it made me smile to see her not able to hold it together. You can't fake emotion like this. When I turned to look at mom, she was just as bad. But finally we got to the alter.
"Do you present this women to be married today?" The master of ceremonies asked.
"I do." I said proudly and offered Alyssa my mom's hand. Alyssa gripped my moms hand and she stepped up onto the alter. Once she was in her place across from Alyssa, I took mine right behind her. Mom turned quickly and handed me her bouquet of flowers before taking both of Alyssa's hands in hers.
The master of ceremonies started reading while I stayed focused on both of the women in front of me. I didn't want to miss a thing between them. The actual ceremony didn't take long. With neither of them wanting any additional readings, they just wanted to be married. The only other thing said during the ceremony was their vows which Mom went first.
"When we first met, you just transferred in from another hospital and I honestly couldn't stand you." She started and pretty much everyone in the audience burst into laughter with Alyssa just shaking her head.
"I didn't know who you were, but all of a sudden there was this buzz about this new hot shot trauma doctor who just got added to my shift. My shifts went from being quiet to busy like a flip of a switch. It was like everyone knew you arrived and wanted to test your talents." Mom said and ran her thumb over Alyssa's knuckles.
"Then we got to know each other a little bit and I realized that everything all the other nurses and doctors were saying was right, you were so good, so good I started to enjoy coming to work. So much so, I made sure my shifts aliened with yours and the rest was history. Our friendship just bled right into our working relationship and you made it known that you want me on your service at all times. That only led to many nights out with coworkers and all the flirting back and forth." Mom said and gave Alyssa a smile.
"We worked together for years before you found out what was happened at home. I was able to fool you for a little while but then one night it was so bad all I wanted was for you to help me feel better. McKenna was at Travis' house for the night and I ran to your apartment. You dropped everything to clean me up and stayed awake next to me all night. That's when I realized how important you were to me and how I wished things could be different." Mom sighed and paused. Alyssa brought moms hand to her mouth and gave her a kiss to encourage her to keep going.
"Things got worse after that. You begged me to leave and I couldn't. I knew if I did, everyone I loved would be in danger, you would be in danger, so I stayed and paid the price. Our relationship was broken and I didn't think it would ever be repaired. McKenna almost died, I almost with her. Then somehow, someway, you found it within yourself to forgive me and give us a chance." Mom was smiling now, big and bright and I felt my eyes water.
"You took a risk and let me in again and I couldn't be more grateful. Our love has been so many years in the making. This past year of being officially together has been the best year of my life and now together, we have forever to make up for all of those lost years." Mom finished as I wiped a tear away from my eye.
Alyssa wiped away a few tears from her face as she took a few deep breaths. Mom just held onto her hands tightly and gave her the time she needed to collect her thoughts before speaking.
"You were right. When I first started at the hospital, you did not like me at all. It took some time but I won you over with my mad patient skills and general awesomeness." Alyssa said and got the crowd to laugh for a few moments before continuing on.
"When I first found out about what was happening at home, a piece of my heart hurt. I just wished that one day you would have been able to leave before things got worse. Even though I hated to see you like that, I always dropped whatever I was doing to be there for you if you called because I knew that at least that night you would be safe because you would be with me. I would clean any cuts or ice the bruises, hold you close to let you know that even though you thought you didn't have anybody, you had me. Then we had our fight." Alyssa was crying, she didn't bother wiping away the tears as they continued to fall down her cheeks.
"We had our fight and then a few days later McKenna got admitted to the hospital and you wouldn't leave her side even though you needed to be looked at yourself. I was the only person you would let close enough to look you over and the only thought going through my head was that I wanted to just hold you and not let you go because you were finally safe." Alyssa sighed, the tears still falling.
"We didn't talk for months and it felt like I had a heart attack. Going into the hospital and not having you on my service, made me almost transfer. I drafted the paperwork a few times but something always came up before I could finalize it and send it to HR. But then some more months later you were back on the same shift with me and we started working together again. Slowly, we rebuilt our friendship and then one night, all of those years of flirting and wanting more exploded." Alyssa is smiling through the last of her tears now.
"Felicia, I've been in love with you for almost ten years now. All of those morning after's just wanting you to stay are now a reality in the house we bought together. There is no making up for lost time because now is all that matters. I cannot wait to see what the next ten years look for us." Alyssa took a deep breath as she finished and wiped her face clean of the left-over tears.
The master of ceremonies continued on with the obligatory things before Austin got to hand mom and Alyssa there wedding bands. I couldn't help the tears that started to fall from my eyes as Mom and Alyssa slid the rings onto each others fingers before saying I do. The wives' stayed on the alter for a few moments after the kiss just holding onto each other before they took each others hand and walked back down the aisle. Once they were in the clear, Austin held out his arm and I wrapped mine around his as we walked down the aisle after them.
Mom and Alyssa went off to take photos before any guests could get up from there seats while I went to the bar. I needed a shot. There were so many emotions from today all colliding in my brain and I needed something to take the edge off. The bartender gave me a shot of vodka and I slammed it back before walking off to the bathroom, needing a few moments to collect myself before I walked back outside to mingle.
I splashed my face with water to wash away the last of my makeup and the left-over dried tears. With my face bent over the skin I just left my eyes closed and focused on the sound of the water droplets hitting the porcelain of the sink. When the water started to drip down my neck, I splashed some more water on my face before reaching out for a paper towel to dry my face off. Just as I was finishing up, the bathroom door opened and Cassie walked in. Our eyes connected in the mirror and Cassie just walked up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist.
"That was beautiful, you could truly see the love they have for each other." Cassie said her eyes tracking mine. I could only nod at Cassie's statement, not trusting my voice. I just closed my eyes and leaned back into her. Cassie tighten her arms around my waist and just held me close.
"You okay?" Cassie said after a few moments of silence.
"It was just a lot to take in. I never like hearing about what happened to mom and getting to hear about it from Alyssa's point of view was something I never thought about." I said and opened my eyes again to find Cassie's already waiting for me.
"Have you ever thought about having a session with her and Doctor Gamble?" Cassie asked.
"No, but it might be a good idea." I said not wanting to think about therapy at my moms wedding.
Before Cassie could response the bathroom door flung open and in walked Becca with Stacey trailing not to far behind her.
"Why is it that you two horn dogs can never keep it in your damn pants? We are at your mothers wedding, have some decency!" Becca mocked and pulled a flask out of her clutch before taking a long swig.
"I can't wait for the kind of wake up calls I'm going to get living in the same house as you." I said and turned to look at my friend.
"I will try to keep her on a lease, but you know her, this one is hard to keep hold of." Stacey said and took the flask from Becca to have her own sip.
I just rolled my eyes and took a sip from the offered flask before passing it back to Cass. Once we all has another around, we left the bathroom and found that every one was already walking into the room for the reception so we followed the crowd. I got to sit with Cassie and my friends for a few moments before I had to go take some photos with Mom and Alyssa. The photo's didn't take long, just a few of the three of us together in the garden before we got together to walk out into the reception.
Since Austin and I are the only bridal party, we would be announced first and then mom and Alyssa would come out after us. We thought about dancing our way out onto the dance floor but decided against it as it would probably end up all over the internet. So when the DJ announced our names and the doors opened, Austin and I walked in together and while he struck a pose, I did my hockey celebration, minus the skates. Then the moment we were all waiting for.
"And now, it is my great pleasure to announce for the first time, Mrs. and Mrs. Barrell!" The DJ yelled and the doors open to have mom and Alyssa walk out together.
All of the guests clapped and yelled for the brides and I couldn't help the huge smile on my face. The DJ opened the dance floor for everyone to kick off the night but I hung back and just watched the room. Most of the guest all went up to the newlyweds and wished them congratulations and things of that nature while I just sat back with Becca, Stacey, Travis and Cassie. When the fan fare died down, people got to dancing and the wedding was shaping up to be one for the history books.
Mom came over and pulled me into a tight hug when she came off the dance floor for a few minutes. I also finally got to see her ring. They didn't show me their wedding bands before the wedding so this was the first time getting to see it. Moms band is white gold with small square diamonds around the front side of it. It looks beautiful when paired with the engagement ring. We got to sit together for another few minutes before mom dragged me out onto the dance floor to join her and Alyssa.
I stayed out there for a while with them and my friends until dinner was announced and we all returned to our tables. Dinner was a sit-down service that went over pretty well with the crowd. Towards the end of dinner I knew I had to get up and give a speech and I took another vodka shot before getting up from my chair and getting the mic from the DJ.
"Good evening everyone. I hope that you are enjoying your dinner and if you don't mind, I would like to say some nice words about my mom and Alyssa." I said getting everyone's attention. I'm going to have to get used to making these speeches though if I'm going to be a good captain next season. Oh well, here goes nothing.
"For those of you who don't know me, I'm McKenna, Felicia's daughter. I have nothing prepared for this speech except that I knew I was going to make one tonight so bare with me if I ramble a little." I started and heard a few chuckles from the crowd.
"So as you all know by now, mom and I didn't have the best home life while I was younger. During that time, I didn't know about her friendship with Alyssa or really anyone else for that matter. We weren't really close at all. Things changed after the arrest and mom and I stopped walking on egg shells around each other. But over this past year we have gotten so close that I don't even know how we kept each other at a distance before.
"When I went away for my freshman year, mom was teasing me about my crush on my now actual girlfriend when I asked her about her own gaydar. You let it slip that you tested your own out and it shocked me a bit because I never really thought you would want to get together with someone else after. I don't think I have ever been happier to be wrong." I said and found mom and Alyssa sitting at there own table together.
"Getting to know Alyssa over this past year, I can tell why mom loves her so much to want to get married again in the first place. To get to watch her be in love and be loved in return is the only thing that I could have ever wished for her after everything." I said and took a breather to make sure I didn't start sobbing in the middle of the dance floor.
"After listening to their vows, I can't wait to get to know more about there relationship in the earlier years because after listening to everything, I can only describe there love as soulmates. They were meant to be together and that's it. I love coming home from school now to just be around them. It's some of my favorite times. Getting to see them make the new house our home just put the cherry on top of it." I turned back to mom and Alyssa and gave them a smile.
"I'm looking forward to making a lot of new memories in our new home with my moms and our dumb dog. So everyone, raise a glass in a toast for our newly wedded couple." I said and just raised the microphone as I didn't have a drink in hand.
I gave the DJ his mic back and as I turned to go back to my table both mom and Alyssa were suddenly in front of me pulling me into a hug. They both held onto me for a little before they broke apart and I gave them each a hug before sitting down next to Cassie. She leaned in and gave me a kiss and a killer smile before I finished off the last of my dinner.
After dinner was finished, the DJ announced it was time for mom and Alyssa's first dance. The pair took the to the center of the dance floor to dance to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri and I couldn't help but think it was such a perfect song choice for the pair who have been waiting for so many years to be together. I got up to take a few pictures and when I was done I went over to the DJ to request a song to be played after this one. When he nodded he added it in, I went back to my seat to watch my mom dance with her perfect half.
The song came to an end and I put my hand on Cassie's shoulder and nodded towards the dance floor. The DJ announced that if other couples wanted to have a dance the floor was open. Cassie smiled at me and took my hand as I led her out onto the floor before any other pair was there. I wrapped my arms around Cassie's waist and her hands found the back of my neck and we started to sway to Lucky by Chelsea Cutler. Cassie smiled when the first few lyrics could be heard.
"I love this song." Cassie said and leaned into me more.
"I know, that's why I wanted to share a dance to it with you here. I know the past week has been crazy with all the planning and the other party so I wanted to have this moment just for us. Without you by my side this week, I feel like my head would have fallen off by now." I said as and continued to sway with Cassie.
"Who knew if I wanted a sappy McKenna it would just take her mothers wedding." Cassie said and I could help but chuckle.
"Right, but seriously babe, I just wanted to say thank you for all you have done for me. I know there are other ways to say thank you, and we'll get to them later tonight, but I just wanted to have this moment with you now." I said and placed my forehead against hers.
"Your love is the only thank you I'll ever need. I love you so much McKenna." Cassie said quietly just for me before leaning in to kiss me.
Next term won't be easy with being captain and living in separate dorms, but I know we will do everything to make it work. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for Cassie and I hope that our love will continue to grow over the next three years we have at school and hopefully beyond that. Our song came to an end and the DJ ramped it up with a pop song and the dancefloor flooded with people. Getting to dance the night away with all of the people I love around me made me realized that mom and I finally aren't alone anymore.