Two Years Later…
The silk of Amber’s dress is smooth under my fingertips, and I slide my hands up and down her back.
She fingers the lapels of my tux. “That was quite a wedding.”
“Hmm.” I breathe out next to her ear as we dance. “I can’t believe your mom finally said yes. Maybe we’ll be next.”
“No way, Antony. We’re twenty. I’m got getting married at twenty to some guy who didn’t even go to college.” She looks up at me through her thick lashes—a smirk on her face.
“I seem to be doing okay,” I tease.
“Just because you can write best-sellers doesn’t mean you can be a slacker.” Her nose tucks underneath my ear. This makes my knees weak. She knows this just like she knows everything about me.
“You love it.” I kiss her dimple, just like I know makes her crazy.
“I love you.”
My mouth comes down onto hers, and we kiss like we always do. Like I always get to do, because of all the guys who would have been thrilled to be with her, she chose me. And I choose her, too. Every day.
Mom would be proud.
To my mom who was a woman who believed in unique experiences – whether they happened in our backyard or on the other side of the world. I hope I can someday be half the person she was.
-Antony Preston