Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 14086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 70(@200wpm)___ 56(@250wpm)___ 47(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 70(@200wpm)___ 56(@250wpm)___ 47(@300wpm)
I managed to reach my stuff and put on a sweatshirt over my black leotard before the reporter caught up with me. After she congratulated me on my performance and the troupe’s sold out opener, we took a seat and she said, “Dare tells me you’re thirty-two, Mr. Wilson. How does it feel to peak this late in your career?”
“It feels a lot better than flatlining beginning to end.”
“And to what do you attribute this newfound success?”
“In a word, inspiration.” I spotted pink hair moving through the crowd and smiled. “Actually, you’re about to meet him.”
A moment later, Ryan appeared with a bouquet of flowers and threw his arms around me as he exclaimed, “You were incredible, baby!”
“You say that every time you see me dance.”
“And it’s always true.” When he straightened up, he noticed the reporter and said, “Oops, I’m interrupting something.”
“No, it’s fine. You’re a part of this, so you should join us.” He chuckled when I pulled him onto my lap and told the reporter, “This man is my inspiration. He’s the reason I finally learned to open up, and to hold nothing back.”
The reporter asked, “How has he done that?”
I looked into Ryan’s eyes as he smiled at me. “He believes in me so much that I really had no choice but to start believing in myself.”
A few minutes later, we concluded the interview, and the reporter thanked us and took off. Then Ryan draped his arms around my shoulders and said, “You spent most of the interview talking about me. She’s not going to use any of that.”
“Well, what can I say? I’m proud of you! Your latest makeup tutorial has nearly four hundred thousand views, and you just landed a gig as the brand ambassador for that awesome cosmetics company. I had to brag.”
“But what she wanted to talk about was your brilliant performance. The audience was floored by what you did out there. People were literally in tears, that’s how moving it was.”
“Really? I made people cry?”
Ryan chuckled. “Look at you, smiling about that.”
“It means I did my job, and I did justice to the song.” I kissed him before saying, “We should get going, since I need a shower, and we both have to change. We don’t want to be late for our own party.”
He kissed me again, and his eyes sparkled with mischief. “I’m planning to throw myself at you as soon as we get home, so we might be late after all. But that’s okay. They’ll wait for us.”
Despite a very fun round of shower sex, we managed to only be ten minutes late. When we climbed out of the cab in front of The Great Escape, both of us put on our top hats, and Ryan asked, “How do I look?”
“Absolutely gorgeous and amazing.”
His vintage-inspired suit was a beautiful shade of purple, and it complemented mine, which was deep blue. He’d also gone with high heels, and as usual, his makeup was utterly flawless. I smiled at him and asked, “Are you ready for this?”
“Hell yes I am, baby. Let’s do this.”
We climbed the stairs arm-in-arm, and Benji held the door for us. “All your guests have arrived, and they’re waiting for you in the top floor library, as instructed,” he told us. When I invited him to join the fun, he rushed to the closet and produced a top hat and jacket. Then he smiled shyly and said, “I was hoping you’d ask.”
When we reached the top floor, my dad greeted us and gave us both a hug. He was holding an iPad, and when he tilted it to show me the screen, my mom and a bunch of my relatives smiled and waved. Then my dad asked, “You boys ready to do this?”
“Yes, sir,” Ryan said, as he squeezed my arm.
We went into the library, where a dozen of our closest friends were waiting for us. They all looked wonderful in their costumes, which ranged from elaborate steampunk creations to “nice try.”
“This place is super cool,” Dare said. “But with so many of us, aren’t we going to solve the escape room puzzles in about five minutes?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” I said. “Before we find out though, there’s something we want to say.”
I turned to Ryan, and he exclaimed, “Welcome to our surprise wedding! I met the love of my life here one year ago to the day, so we thought this would be the perfect place to get married.”
Everyone started talking at once. There were a lot of hugs and congratulations, and Skye asked, “Who’s performing the ceremony?”
“My dad,” I said, as Ryan and I took our spots in front of the stained glass window. “He got ordained two days ago, when we let him and my mom in on our plan.”
Our friends gathered around us, and Dad handed the iPad to Dare. Then he joined us up front and swung his dreads over his shoulder as he began, “Dearly beloved.”