Forever and Always His

Maria & Jared

this chapter is just for you guys since because of you guys, i made it to the wattys under romance for this story! please show your support by voting for forever and always his in the watty awards under original fiction in romance from any time between jan. 6-31. thank you all for voting and getting me this far. as a thank you, here's the chapter of maria and jared. enjoy!

Maria & Jared

                                Maria’s Point of View

                The tossing of the bride’s bouquet of flowers was always my favorite part of a wedding ceremony. I’ve never actually caught a bouquet myself, but it was the thrill of excitement I got that made it my favorite part of a wedding. I loved gathering in a group of women who have yet to marry, giggling and screaming as the bouquet is released from the bride’s fingertips, flying towards our direction.

                As Aerial prepared to throw her bouquet to all of us unmarried women, I spotted Riley standing by the refreshments table. I quickly grabbed her, including the two of us in the group of girls and women all varying in ages. Aerial turned her back to us as everyone began to count off, “One, two, and three!”

                Before I knew it, it was all over in a matter of seconds. Everyone around me is screaming with exhilaration as Riley turns to me with a grin. I stare back at everyone confusedly before I stare down, noticing that the bouquet had landed right in my folded arms. “Maria!” Aerial teased, smiling radiantly. “You’re next to get married!”

                I beamed, but my smile quickly vanished when I unintentionally made eye contact with a certain figure watching from across the lawn. My eyes were trapped with Jared’s as he stared back at me with great intensity. Pain immediately overwhelmed my chest as everything surrounding me blocked out.

                It wasn’t until a got a sharp nudge from Riley’s elbow that I snapped back into reality. I felt a pair of arms snaking around my waist as I peered over my shoulder, coming face to face with my current boyfriend, Lucas. He pressed his lips against the crook of my neck as I gave him a weary smile. My eyes shifted back over to where Jared was previously standing, finding that the spot was now vacant.

                “Really guys?” Riley scoffed jokingly before she left to the restrooms. “Get yourselves a room.”

                Once Riley departed, I turned over to Lucas so that I was facing him. A soft song came on the speakers as Lucas took the opportunity to put his hands firmly on my waist, expecting me to wrap my arms around his neck. “Lucas, I don’t want to dance.” I admitted, trying to pry his hands off of me.

                Lucas frowned, raising an eyebrow with confusion. “But don’t you love to dance?”

                I thought back to Jared and how much it sucked that after all this time, he still had the ability to affect me emotionally. Looking back at Lucas, I could tell that in his eyes that he was irritated that I’d rejected him. Even though Lucas was my boyfriend and has been for months now, I didn’t love him. Lucas was incredibly good looking and had great skills in the athletic field, but he had little to no brains. I’ve always liked my men smart- like Jared.

                I mentally slapped myself for thinking about him, again.

                “I’m sorry, Lucas.” I sighed. “I’m not really in the mood to dance.”

                Lucas clenched his jaw, shaking his head. “What’s wrong with you lately?” he asked. “Ever since we got back into your hometown to go to this stupid wedding, you’ve been acting up.”