Enjoying The Chase (completed)

***** IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ MY COMMENTS AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER!!!!!!****

 Photo on the side is very close to what I imagine Rosie's dress to look like :)

Copyright © 2011 Kirsty Moseley

Chapter 36

I didn’t feel nervous at all. Not when Seth started talking about never sleeping with another girl again. Not when he was teasing me that half of all marriages end in divorce. Not when he was telling me that once you got married you only had $ex on birthdays and anniversaries. I didn’t even get nervous when Ashton started humming the wedding march. But as soon as I stepped into the church, I literally wanted to crap my pants.

            My legs went a little weak, my throat seemed to close up and my tongue felt like it swelled to twice its normal size. I was getting married today. I was actually terrified of that thought – not because I didn’t want to marry Rosie, but because every single person from my family was going to watch me stand up the front of the church and say my vows. I’d heard it was normal to get cold feet, but that wasn’t what this was. I was actually just terrified of screwing it up for her. This was her one and only wedding day because there was not a chance I was letting her get away from me to marry someone else – so, what if I fluffed my lines up, or stood on her dress? What if I got hiccoughs or just plain old fell over because I was still slightly drunk? What if, when he handed me the ring to put on her finger, I dropped it and it rolled into the cracks on the beautiful old oak floor? Oh man, there were so many possibilities for me to ruin her day with!

            A hand slapped down on my shoulder. I turned back to see Ashton grinning at me, one eyebrow raised as if he knew what I was thinking. “You won’t fluff up your lines,” he assured me.

            I swallowed loudly. “My hands are sweating, what if I drop the ring?” I asked, my voice came out a little squeaky because of the lack of saliva problem I was suffering with. I wiped my hands roughly on my pants leg, trying to dry them.

            He grinned and put both hands on my shoulders, turning me to look at him. His eyes met mine and seemed to calm me down slightly because of the confidence I could see there. I stood there, waiting for the words of wisdom that would come from my best friend; the words that would make me stop worrying and make my heart rate slow down. This was Ashton, my best friend for the last nine years, my surrogate brother even; he would help me. He would know exactly what to say to stop my freak out.

            He squeezed my shoulders supportively as he spoke. “Peters, you’re behaving like a girl. Stop this crap before I have to run to the store and buy you a box of tampons and a bar of chocolate so you can really complete the transformation,” he stated, his mouth pulling into a smirk.

            I laughed. That really was a pathetic attempt at helping! “Wow, you know, you could totally moonlight as a motivational speaker,” I replied, shaking my head playfully.

            He grinned. “I do that at weekends,” he joked, getting me in a headlock and moving his hand up to mess up my hair.

            “Dude! Not the hair!” I cried, panicked because it had taken me ages to get it looking right for today. Man, was I really turning into a girl? Rosie really has ruined me! He laughed and let me go so I breathed a sigh of relief and straightened my suit jacket.

I could do this. I could make it through one ceremony without cocking it up and saying something slutty – couldn’t I? Sure I could, I was Nate Peters.  A little wedding ceremony was nothing compared to some of the things I’d seen. In just under an hour I would have myself a little wife that I loved to pieces and a son that I adored. I kept them in mind as I made my way to the front of the church, saying hello to people that were already here. When my mom started balling her eyes out, telling me that she never thought she’d see the day that I would get married, I made a quick exit to the little room at the back. I was already scared; I didn’t need her telling me that this was the most important day of my life. I sat on the little bench with my head in my hands, running through the lines I was supposed to say, so that I didn’t forget them or say the wrong thing when the time came.