Chapter 1
Royce
How can my head hurt so much, and I haven’t even opened my eyes yet today? It feels like a rock band has been practicing all night and has no plans of stopping. What did I do last night to cause this?
I groan, opening my eyes slowly, and I realize I’m not in my bed. It takes a minute before I realize I’m in a hotel room. A hotel room in Las Vegas for my sister Maggie and her fiancé Nick’s joint bachelor and bachelorette parties.
I shut my eyes again and turn my back to the window, and that’s when I feel the sheet on me and realize that I’m naked. I never sleep naked. What the hell happened last night?
I remember last night we went to a circus show that Maggie has been going on about for days. What I remember was good. Then again, add a trained tiger to any show, and it will catch most guys’ attention. Everyone was there and having fun. My parents, Maggie, Nick, Nick’s parents, Ella and Jason, Jason’s family, including his parents, Blaze and Riley, Sage and Colt, Megan and Hunter, and Mac and Sarah. As promised, Anna Mae’s grandma, Mrs. Willow, was there and got Anna Mae to come, too. Baby Lilly, Blaze, and Riley’s daughter are staying with Lilly and Mike in Rock Springs for the weekend.
I remember Sage and Colt ordered a drink called a fishbowl. It was blue and had swimming gummy fishes in it. It was more than enough for two people. Mrs. Willow ordered one for Anna Mae and me. She kept encouraging us to drink, and I convinced Anna Mae to drink it with me. I didn’t taste any alcohol in it, but it had to have some with the way my head feels. How many did we drink? Three? Four? More? I don’t know.
What happened after the show? I have small flashes of our group walking down The Strip back to our hotel. Maybe, that’s it? No, I remember my parents and Jason’s parents saying good night and going to bed, but we all were staying up a bit longer. I remember being shocked that Mrs. Willow was keeping up with us.
Where did we go next? I think Mrs. Willow was going to show us something Elvis related. It’s all a blur after that. My head is still pounding, as I grip my forehead, willing it to stop when I freeze, as cold metal hits my skin.
I pull my hand back and crack open my eyes. It’s a ring. On my ring finger. On my left hand.
What the hell happened last night? When I feel someone else shift in bed next to me, I about jump out of my skin. I look over to see Anna Mae next to me. She looks so calm and peaceful sleeping. I could stare at her all day. My brain keeps pulling me back, saying we have to figure this out before she wakes up because she will demand answers.
A quick peek under the sheets confirms she’s naked too, and I can’t tear my eyes away. She has her back to me, and her smooth skin is begging to be touched, her long, brown hair spread out on her pillow. The curve of her back and the round globes of her ass have me getting hard, which would not be a great way for her to wake up and find me.
I put the sheet down and run my eyes over her, and I don’t think I’ve seen a more beautiful sight. I’ve never seen a woman first thing in the morning with their defenses down other than my sisters and my mom, so I soak up this moment. Then, I see the ring on her left hand. The one that matches mine.
There’s no way we went and got married in Vegas, right? But it makes sense. The rings and us naked in bed. I don’t even remember my wedding night. Hell, even worse, I lost my virginity, and I don’t even remember it.
I start looking around the room. Clothes are everywhere, and on the nightstand next to Anna Mae, is a marriage certificate from The Elvis Wedding Chapel. This has Mrs. Willow written all over it. I wonder if she planned this. I know she has been on my side for months, trying to get Anna Mae to move on from her ex, but even this is a bit crazy.
I collapse back on the bed and dig the heels of my palms into my eyes. This can’t be happening.
As Anna Mae starts to stir, my whole body stiffens, as I wait for her to realize I’m here. I turn my head to look at her, watching this beautiful woman wake up.
She turns on to her back groaning, and I’m guessing her head hurts, as much as mine does. As she turns, the sheet falls below her chest. I know I should turn away, but her perfect breasts are on full display, and I can’t convince myself to turn my head. Even as I feel myself getting hard again, my eyes rake over them.
When she groans again, it breaks the spell. I look up towards the ceiling and close my eyes, deciding to make myself known.
“You should drink some water,” I say.
She screams and jumps out of bed, taking the sheet with her, leaving me on full display. I don’t move, because I want her to get her bearings.
“Royce?!” She asks in a shriek that the rock band in my head doesn’t like very much.
Then, she realizes what she did. While she’s fully covered with the sheet, I am not. She freezes, and her eyes rake down my body in all its glory. The longer she looks, the harder I get, and I don’t try to stop it. I know the moment her eyes see my cock, because her whole body flushes the most beautiful pink. It makes my cock jump, and that’s enough to snap her out of it.
“Why are you in my room?” She asks.
I chuckle and sit up with my back to the headboard.
“Sweet Anna, you’re in my room.” I nod towards where my bags are on the chair.
She looks around, and then her eyes land on the marriage certificate, and she walks slowly towards it like it might jump up and bite her.
“No...” She says and sits on the edge of the bed with the paper in her hands. Her hands shake, and all I want to do, is reach out and hold her, but I don’t think she would take kindly to that.
“Seems so,” I say, as I take her pillow and cover my lap, more for her sake than mine.
“We’re married?” She whispers.
“Well, I’m not sure I remember any more about last night than you. I remember mine and Jason’s parents going to bed...”
She finishes the memory, “And my grandma saying something about Elvis.”
“Yep, then a whole lot of nothing. I woke up just minutes before you and put the pieces together.”
She looks over her shoulder at me “Did we...” Her face flushes a nice shade of pink.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. I want to say I hope not, because it would suck not to remember my first time.”
“Our first time?” She tries to correct me. While I never flat out admitted to Anna Mae that I’m a virgin, well at least I was, until last night, I did dance around the subject, hoping she’d catch on.
“That too, but it would have been my first time.” I look her in the eyes, willing her to understand. The moment it clicks, understanding crosses her face.
I stand up and pull on my boxers that were thankfully on the floor by the bed. Then, I walk over and kneel in front of her. Her eyes follow me, and something in my chest clicks into place. She’s my wife, and she’s mine.
I place a hand on her cheek, and she leans into me. I know I had my first kiss last night at our wedding, but this morning, I want one I will remember. I lean in slowly, so she knows what’s happening. When she bends towards me, relief washes over me.
My lips touch hers, and it’s nothing like I always thought my first kiss would me. Her lips are warm and soft against mine with just a hint of that strawberry Chapstick she’s always wearing. My body warms all over like this kiss is filling my soul full of her.
I pull back much sooner than I want to, but I don’t want to push her too far too fast either. I pull back just enough to be able to look into her eyes and see the scared look is gone. I soak in this moment and pray it can last forever.
Then, our phones go off at the same time. I reach for mine on the nightstand and see it’s the group text from Megan.
Megan: Good Morning! Everyone to the buffet. We have two sets of newlyweds to celebrate!
“No. No, no, no, no,” Anna Mae says and starts pacing the room. “They all know. I can’t be married. We can get this annulled. We can fix this.” She’s saying this more to herself, as she clutches the sheet tighter to her chest.
Something about how she’s so dead set on not being married, makes me snap.
“You know, at some point, you’re going to have to understand I’m not your ex. I don’t know what else I have to do to prove it. You keep pushing me away, and yet, here I am. I’m still here, and I’m not going anywhere. I’m not him, and it’s not fair that you keep treating me like him. And I’m not agreeing to an annulment, wife.”
I don’t give her a chance to respond, as I head into the bathroom and walk right into the shower. The cold water hits me, like a punishment for what happened last night, or for my harsh words to Anna Mae just now.
As the water warms, I try to remember more of last night, but nothing comes to me. I make a mental note to check my phone to see if by chance there are some photos or texts from last night.
Then, I think of Anna Mae. There’s no way I’m giving up on this marriage. This is what I have been working on for a year now. We are married, and I need to convince her to give it and me a real chance. Maybe, if she can give me a year and we truly work on our marriage, I know I can prove to her how great we can be together. She just needs to open up to me and stop pushing me away.
I love this woman with all my heart, and the distance she keeps between us is killing me. Waking up today and finding out she’s my wife, it’s like something clicked into place. I’m not walking away from this. and I won’t let her either.
I wash up and dry off. When I come out of the bathroom with the towel around my waist, she’s gone as are her clothes. My guess is she went to her room down the hall to get a shower and get dressed for breakfast.
I get dressed and ready to head out. Checking my phone, there’s not a single thing from last night. I send up a prayer of thanks that Megan is pregnant, so I know she wasn’t drinking, as I’m sure most of the guys weren’t either, because they would want to make sure their wives were okay. Maybe, someone can fill in the blanks for me at breakfast.
