I take a deep breath then take the ring from him, feeling the ridges from the design and the weight of the heavy metal between my fingers as I take his hand and slide the ring onto his finger.
When the idea about getting Kai a ring came to me, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I went to the jewelry store and was escorted to the gold wedding bands most men wear, but none of them seemed like Kai. I gave up and was leaving the store when I noticed a ring in one of the display cases that held some pieces of traditional Hawaiian jewelry. The large, silver band with a black design engraved into the metal looked like the tattoo on his arm, and I knew it was something I could see on him.
I’m so caught up in my own head that I don’t realize I’m moving until the backs of my knees hit the bed and I’m lying down with Kai covering me.
“You bought me a ring,” he growls.
I can’t read the look on his face, so I just nod.
“Thank you,” he whispers, kissing me on my lips then down my neck to the tops of my breasts.
“Kai,” I whimper.
“Yes, makamae?” He licks back up to my mouth, kissing me again.
“The party,” I whisper as I feel myself falling deeper into the moment.
“I’m going to make love to my wife,” he grunts, causing moisture to flood my center.
“Okay,” I whisper then hear him chuckle as his hands go to the back of my dress.
“Come out here right now!” is yelled as someone bangs on the bedroom door.
“Fuck!” he roars.
I hear giggling outside, and then Kai’s soft eyes look down at me.
“After this, you’re mine,” he says quietly, placing a soft kiss on my jaw.
“Yes,” I agree immediately.
He smiles, gently kisses me, gets off the bed, and then pulls me up with him.
“So, is the ring okay?” I ask him, looking at the ground, feeling unsure.
His fingers go to my chin and he lifts my face towards his. “It’s perfect.” He kisses me again then searches my face. “You’re perfect.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to avoid saying something stupid or pushing him back over to the bed. “I just need to fix my lip gloss,” I tell him, and a smile appears on his face.
“It won’t last long.” He kisses me again, making me laugh.
“Good thing I have a whole tube of it,” I say, stepping away from him and into the bathroom.
I hear the door to our room open and his sister come in, and I smile and look at myself in the mirror, seeing a look of almost-blinding happiness in my eyes.
“Ready?” Kai asks, walking into the bathroom after a moment.
“Yep.” I smile as he takes my hand and leads me out of the room.
When we make it down to the party, I’m astounded by the number of people who have shown up. One hundred and fifty people sounds like a lot, but seeing that many people is overwhelming.
“We were wondering if you guys were going to show up,” my dad says, walking up to us, carrying a glass of wine in one hand and a beer in the other.
“I don’t think Mom would let me skip this even if I wanted to.” I smile, taking the glass of wine he holds out to me. Then I give him a hug.
“You look beautiful, honey.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I whisper and then lean against Kai when he pulls me back into his side.
“Kai.” My dad smiles, shakes Kai’s hand, and then hands him the beer. “You’re going to need that,” my dad tells him.
Kai’s lips tilt up as he mutters, “Thanks.”
“I’m going to go find your mom. I’ll see you soon,” Dad says and walks off into the crowd.
I take a sip of wine and look around then up at Kai. “It’s going to be a long night.”
“Tell me about it,” he mumbles as his eyes drop to my breasts.
I can’t help the laugh that escapes, and I lean up to kiss his cheek. It doesn’t take long after that for everyone to notice that we have arrived, and they begin to come up and offer congratulations to us. It feels like we stand in the same spot forever, only having a moment’s break when my mom brings the photographer over to snap a few pictures of us. When I notice a lull in the crowd and see that Kai is caught up talking with a group of people I don’t know, I tell that I’ll be back and make a quick escape to the bathroom. Inside the house, there are people everywhere, and there are long lines at both the bathrooms, so I make my way to our bedroom and quickly use the restroom there then head back outside.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” one of the servers asks, stepping in front of me.
I debate for a moment then decide yes and take the glass from his tray, giving him a quiet thank-you before I take a sip. I start back towards Kai then detour when I spot his mom, waiting until she is done talking to the person in front of her before telling her quietly, “Thank you for doing this for us.”
She turns to face me and her eyes go soft as she runs her down my cheek. “I should be thanking you. As a mom, you always want what’s best for your kids, and I’ve been worried for a few years that Kai was not going to find someone worthy of him. I’m glad he found you,” she whispers, and I feel tears begin to fill my eyes. “No crying,” she chides, leaning forward and giving me a hug while accidently knocking the drink out of my hand.
“It’s fine.” I smile as she apologizes.
“Thank God I didn’t spill that on your dress.” she mumbles, picking up the plastic glass and handing it to a passing waiter. “You go find your husband while I go and get you another glass of wine.”
“Maybe that was a sign that I shouldn’t have any more wine,” I laugh, and her face goes soft again.
“You remind me so much of her,” she says faintly then looks around.
I know this is making her uncomfortable, but I still have a lot of questions to ask her about my parents. Just…now isn’t the time or the place.
“I’m going to go find Kai, but I would like for us to have lunch when my mom leaves. If that’s okay?” I question, placing a hand on my stomach when it begins to turn.
“I would enjoy that. We’ll work out the details later. Just go enjoy your night.”