Finding Peace (Finding Series Book 1) (38 page)

“Really, Blake? That’s not helping.” I look at him, shocked by his remark.

Laughing, he pulls back onto the road.

“I love you, but you gotta learn to lighten up, baby.”

Rolling my eyes, I lean over and kiss his cheek. He reaches his arm around me and pulls me closer to him, kissing me on the top of my head. I remain there by his side where I intend to be forever.

“Kayla, lets go! Prom’s tonight, remember? It’s time to go get our hair and nails done.” Tessa shouts up the stairs at me.

The trip turned out to be wonderful. We spent every second together. Well, except for the nights. As wonderful as Blake’s parents are, yes, I love them both, they were not about to allow us to sleep in the same room. I slept in the guest room the whole weekend.

Blake and I both were okay with this. Our relationship isn’t just about sex. We were connected in a way that many will never understand or even get to experience. Blake is my other half. The two of us together make a whole, we are one now.

We actually have agreed that although we have had sex, outstanding sex, that we won’t connect in that way again until the night of our honeymoon. We both want to follow God’s word. Even though we have committed that sin already that didn’t mean tht we should continue to commit it.

So tonight is going to be hard for both of us. Prom night has always come with the expectation of having sex with your date. I’m already struggling with the idea of not being with him again for almost four months.
Why did I agree to this?
I shake my head. “Because it is the right thing to do.” I say to myself.

Blake’s mom was so sweet. She went over wedding plans with us anytime she could get us to sit still long enough. Blake was more excited about picking out stuff for our home.

We’ve decided we want a simple wedding. Mrs. McGinnis is helping with everything. She is even making the bridesmaids dress and doing the alterations on my wedding dress. My dress was given to my mother by my cousin for me. She backed out of her wedding at the last minute. It’s not a dress I would have picked out for myself, but it’s beautiful all the same.

My parents are not thrilled with my decision to get married, they think we are too young. We may be but we know what we want.

“Kayla!”

Tessa is getting frustrated with me.

“Hold on! We have plenty of time!” I shout back.

“You say that now, but it’ll be a different story when we miss our dinner reservations.”

“I’m coming. I’ll meet you at the car.”

She would kill me if she knew all I’m doing is writing in my journal.

Blake will finally meet my father tonight, but he won’t meet my mother until my graduation night.

I’m not worried about him meeting my dad. Our relationship is pretty much non-existent now. Besides, nothing either of my parents say or do will stop me from marrying Blake.

Pulling my hair up, I clip it with a banana clip. Whoever invented these things is a genius. It has teeth on both sides and unhooks on one end. You put your hair in the center running the teeth close to your head and then snap the open end shut. It’s super easy and keeps your hair out of your face.

Jogging down the stairs, I feel my excitement building. Blake should arrive not long after we get back from the beauty shop.

“It’s about time.” Tessa says as I get into the car.

I laugh. “You are really excited about tonight, aren’t you? We are still going to be early for our appointment.”

“Duh, I’m excited. Aren’t you? Blake is going to die when he sees you in your dress. By the way good luck with that no sex till after marriage deal you made.”

She’s laughing as she pulls out of the driveway.

I smile thinking about how Blake will react when he sees me tonight.

“That’s not funny Tessa.” I say, squinting my eyes at her.

She stops laughing and looks at me when she stops at the stop sign.

“It is funny. You’ve already had sex with him, Kayla. You’re going to marry him. So why are you torturing the poor guy?”

“Because we both agreed it’s the right thing to do. And it will make our wedding night even more special.”

“Hmm Uh. Blake would agree to anything you say, but I can promise you that not having sex until his wedding night is the last thing he wants. And after he sees you in that dress, I’m thinking all bets will be off.”

Not having sex until our wedding night is the last thing I want also. I can’t wait to reconnect with Blake in that way, but that’s the agreement we both made. We can do this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blake

Pulling into the driveway of the Brooks’ home, I feel that familiar pull I always feel when I’m near Kayla. I’m excited to see her and even more excited about tonight.

It’s Saturday and it’s the night of Kayla’s senior prom. I’ve done everything I can to assure that it is special for her. Renting a limo, ordering a special corsage, and dinner reservations at an upscale restaurant. I’ve spent a wad of cash, but she’s worth that and so much more.

Walking up to the door, I hear the girls squeal right before I hear. “Blake is here!”

I laugh to myself as I ring the doorbell. Then smile from ear to ear as I hear her angelic voice come through the intercom.

“Hey Baby. Come on in but you can’t see me until I’m ready. Just put your stuff in the room you always stay in. Love you. Kisses.”

And just like that she’s gone. “Love you too, baby.” I say to myself.

Walking through the door, I go straight to the spare room, I have become so familiar with.

“Hey Blake.”

I turn to see Mr. Brooks standing in the doorway. Reaching out, I shake his hand.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Brooks.”

“Blake, I’ve told you before to call me Troy.” He says as he shakes his head. “Make yourself at home. Lisa is helping the girls get ready. Asher should be here soon.”

“Thank you Mr. Bro… Um, Troy. I think I’ll take a shower and get ready myself. The car should be here at six to pick us up. I hope the girls will be ready.”

“Lisa will make sure they are ready on time. Lisa said to let you know that she picked up the corsages that you boys ordered. They’re in the fridge upstairs.

“That’s great. Thank you so much for your help.”

He slaps me on the shoulder. “Anytime Blake. You’re a good man.”

With that, he leaves me standing there. It’s all so surreal to me. A couple of months ago, I was playing pool, drinking, and hooking up with random girls every weekend. Now, I have all these new people in my life that I consider family and I’m engaged to the girl of my dreams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Asher and I make the final adjustments to our tuxes we hear a knock on the door.

“Come in.” We say in unison.

I hear a sweet laugh outside the door before it pushes open and I see Lisa smiling at us. She claps her hands together and then puts one of them up to her mouth. Kayla is right, she does look like a pixie, a beautiful magical pixie.

“Aren’t you two so handsome? You are going to make my girls faint when they see you.”

My face heats. Normally, I don’t get embarrassed easily, but for whatever reason this embarrasses me. Maybe it’s because I’m out of my element, tuxes, expensive cars, Lake House, and classy restaurants. I’m basically a country boy, so, this stuff is all new to me.

“Thank you.” Asher says confidently.

“Yes, thank you Lisa.” I say giving her my cocky grin, but not really feeling it. I’m nervous.
Get it together, Blake.

She gives each of us a hug and straightens our bow ties. “Come, let’s go get the corsages. The girls are almost ready for their grand entrance.”

Following Lisa up the stairs, then standing and waiting until she brings the corsages to us. Asher and I look at each other, smile, and shake our heads. I’m pretty sure we are thinking the same thing, the anticipation of seeing our girls is too much. Although, I’m sure Asher is thinking about later tonight and what he has planned for Tessa. I, however, am trying really hard not to think along those lines because sex will not be happening for me tonight and I’m fine with that. I agreed to wait and I will.

“Here boys.” Lisa says, handing us the corsages.

Looking down at Kayla’s I examine the miniature red roses, baby’s breath, and the single purple rose sitting in the center of it all. My private message to Kayla. I smile because the florist did a beautiful job making it exactly as I requested.

Knowing, even before I see Kayla in the red dress that she will be wearing, that she will be stunning tonight. I’m dressed in a black tux, my tie and cummerbund a bright red to match Kayla’s dress. This corsage will be a beautiful addition to our night.

“What’s with the purple rose?” Asher asks, looking somewhat confused by the single purple rose tucked in among all the red ones.

“It’s a message. A message from me to Kayla. She will understand it.”

Asher gives me a puzzled look. “You know that doesn’t match and Tessa and Kayla were very clear with their instructions that everything had to match the color of their dresses. Man, I pity you. They’re going to have your head.”

“I have a feeling that Kayla will love it.” Lisa says giving me a wink.

All I can do is smile at her and wonder if Kayla shared the meaning with Lisa or if maybe Lisa just knows the meaning.

“Thank you, you gorgeous thing.” I say giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She lightly slaps my shoulder blushing slightly. “Stop!” She says with a giggle.

“Are you trying to move in on my wife, McGinnis?” Troy says as he wraps his arm around Lisa.

If I didn’t know Troy, I would think he was serious. However, I know he is messing with me and maybe trying to make his wife feel special. “Never, but if I was, could you blame me?” I say winking toward Lisa.

“As if. Pssh.” Lisa says, waving her hand toward me as Troy kisses her on the head and gives me a wink.

“No. I couldn’t blame you, but I might would have to kill you.”

Lisa laughs and hugs him tighter. “Behave.” She says, looking up at him with loving eyes.

The love these two have for one another is so bright shining, that the sun pales in caparison. It’s the kind of love I feel for Kayla and I pray that ours always shines as brightly as theirs.

Hearing the door to Tessa’s room open we all turn around. I take a deep breath and hold it. My heart is already racing and I haven’t even seen her yet. She wouldn’t tell me anything about her dress, all I know is that it’s red and not something she would normally ever wear, but she said she wanted it to be something I would never forget.

They walk into the great room side by side but all I see is Kayla. My eyes feel as if they are going to pop right out of my head. I might very well be in shock. Almost losing my balance. I shift my feet to a wider stance to steady myself. She looks like a goddess.

When I’m finally able to make eye contact with her, she gives me a smile that shoots straight to my heart. I’m speechless, I can’t think straight. I’ve never seen anything so sexy in my life. Running my eyes down her body again. Stopping and trying to get my bearings back, I close my eyes and then slowly open them. Taking in every detail of her and memorizing every curve as my eyes continue to scan her from head to toe. I try to remind myself to breathe, but I’m finding it difficult to do the simplest of task like breathing and blinking.

Her platinum blonde hair is pulled up off of her neck, but she has some loose curls falling down here and there. With her flawless skin and lips as red as her dress, I find myself wanting to close the distance between us and claim those lips with my own.

The dress is a bright red, accented with crystals. There are crystal encrusted straps that encircle Kayla’s arms, the neckline plunges low and accentuates her ample breast. I envision myself placing kisses all the way down her neck and over her shoulder.

The dress hugs her every curve and flows to the floor, but there is a split up one side that reveals her toned tan leg and it looks like her legs go on forever. Her feet are adorned with clear heels that are accented with silver. She has got to be the sexiest and most beautiful woman alive, at least in my eyes she is.

“Turn around girls.”

I hear Lisa prompt them to show us the backs of their dresses. I haven’t even seen Tessa, my eyes are glued to Kayla.

She slowly turns around.

“Oh, dear God!” I think I might pass out. I hear laughter.
Did I say that out loud?
I can’t think because I’m looking at the back of Kayla’s dress or what should be the back of Kayla’s dress but it’s basically non-existent. Her back is completely bare, the dress starts again right above her bottom, providing just enough coverage to make it barely decent.

Why, oh why, did I agree to no sex?
You moron.
I blink a few times as Kayla turns back around.