A Hope and a Chance(94)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Hope joined me after an hour of waiting, and I gave her the other half of her present. We rang in the New Year and afterwards, I spent at least thirty minutes kissing her, with my lips, my tongue, on every inch of her body. When my head reached her tender skin between her legs, she cried out in ecstasy. I love satisfying her and for the first time I didn’t have to hide it.

We fell asleep naked in my bed, and when Buffy came in to wake us up, Hope never even moved. “Seriously? You guys want to get caught on my wedding day?”

“She’s an adult, Buff, let her enjoy it.” I stated while still holding her close to me.

“Okay, well before you spill the beans to everyone, could you at least give me one day to get married?” She pleaded.

Hope and I sat up, realizing how much it was upsetting her. “Sorry, Buff. We’re being selfish. You’re right. We can tell my father about us another day. What is a few more days, right?” Hope said.

“Well, I came in here to let you both know that your dad and Susan are already up. We have a bunch to do, and I just knew Hope was in here. I would appreciate it if you could get yourselves up and arrive in the house at separate times,” she said frustrated.

“We’ll get there when we get there. Calm down. You’re just being bitchy because you’re nervous.”

Buffy held her hands up in the air. “Whatever, Chance! It is my day, you know?”

When she stormed out I pulled Hope down for another kiss.

“Maybe we should head to the main house,” she suggested.

“Yeah, probably.” I kissed her once more. “But, I hate pretending that I don’t want you.” He looked up at me and licked his lips. “Because, I always want you.”

A few minutes later Hope and I got up and made our separate entrances into the main house, like my sister wanted. Buffy finally calmed down, and we were able to start getting everything ready. Since they decided to have the service at the Country Club, we all had to pile into cars and make our way there.

The service started at two and only about twenty people had been invited. The wedding party was just one of Mark’s friends and myself, and then Hope and Susan.

Buffy had spent hours upon hours making centerpieces with mason jars. She and Hope had taken at least ten jars out back and spray painted the insides silver. She found these pink and white flowers that matched her colors and filled the jars. I thought it was stupid until I was standing there looking at the finished product.

I should have never doubted my sister’s creativity. She was amazing.

Hope came down the aisle first, and I felt like I was going to lose it because she was so beautiful. Her hair had been curled to perfection and she looked like a china doll. She caught my eyes while she marched and never even paid attention to her father noticing. I was shocked when he turned and nodded at me, as if knowing she was looking at me.

My sister looked beautiful marching down the aisle and she seemed so happy. I wanted to walk her, but she insisted on doing it herself.

That was my sister.

Her dress wasn’t old-fashioned. As a secret surprise to me, and a promise to our mom, she had taken our mother’s wedding dress that she kept, and had a professional dressmaker alter it to her tastes. Tiny fabric roses lined the top of the strapless dress. They also surrounded the circumference of the entire base. I’d only seen pictures of my mother’s dress, but Mark filled me in about it right before she came down the aisle. I got choked up about it, even before I saw her. My mom would have been so proud of my sister and the life she’d made. She had a man that adored her, and had stuck by me, even when I was at my worst.

During the ceremony, I couldn’t take my eyes off of Hope. When the minister asked them to repeat the vows, I mouthed “I do” to Hope. She did the same to me. I noticed Susan staring at me the entire time and realized she must have thought I was saying the words to her. I’d ignored her for days, but she still wouldn’t let it go. It made me feel sorry for her, but not enough to care about her being upset.

After the ceremony, as we were stepping out, I was supposed to walk with Hope, but Susan threw herself in front of her and took my arm. I watched Hope’s eyes get big, and at that very moment, I realized she’d reached her breaking point. I tried to get her attention, but her hateful eyes bore into Susan.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I heard Hope ask.

“Taking what’s mine. It’s time to celebrate,” Susan spat out.

Before I even knew what was going on, I saw Hope pulling Susan away from me. “He’ll never be yours, you bitch,” she screamed.

The music finally stopped while Mark and Buffy stood watching in disbelief.

“Little girl, I don’t know what kind of crush you have on him, but I can assure you he is way out of your league.” Susan gritted her teeth and shoved Hope. I knew in that instant that things were about to get ugly. In a matter of seconds I watched as our secret unraveled in front of us.

I grabbed Hope, assumingly praying that she’d stay silent until I got her into another room. Mark and Buffy were busy at the far end of the room, but quickly saw the commotion. As the congregation surrounded them with congratulations, I pulled my girlfriend along, ducking into the room beside the one we were in.

She forced her arm out of my grasp. “What the hell?”

“Think about what you’re doing.”

Susan rounded the corner. Her eyes filled with confusion as she approached. “Look, kid, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here. It’s obvious you have some crush on Chance. If your daddy found out he’d blow a gasket. Go on and be a good girl. Chance and I need to get some things straight.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, preparing to watch Hope react. While wedging myself conveniently between them, Hope lunged alongside me. “I’m not a little girl.” She shoved Susan, forcing her to fall down on her ass. She arose quickly, staggering toward Hope full-force. Hope managed to yank a chunk of Susan’s hair, causing her to retreat backwards. While standing her ground, I saw a fire in Hope’s eyes. She’d held in her jealousy for days, letting it brew until she was steaming.

As the women taunted each other with words, I watched Mark hauling ass into the room and Buffy was right behind him.

Hope pushed Susan again. I could hear Buffy gasping.

“You whore! You have no idea what I can do,” Hope yelled. I tried to restrain her, but she was steady going at Susan. “You’ve been here for days throwing yourself at him like he’s a piece of meat. How pathetic are you?”