The last first time Mikey welcomed me home as his wife.
He kicks the door closed, sets me down on my feet and we stare at one another for a few moments. This was it, the beginning of the rest of our lives, and as scary as that was it was also exciting. It was as if the life I knew before today was tucked away safely in a box full of memories and our home was our blank canvas. My father’s voice rang in my ears.
Paint me a picture.
Mikey and I were going to paint him one hell of a picture.
I look at my husband wondering if he was as excited and as nervous as I was. Would we fuck up? Probably. Would we fix it? Always.
Simultaneously our lips spread into grins as we find our footing and I turn around and run up the stairs.
He follows me.
He’d always follow me just as I had followed him in the past.
I’d always let him catch me.
After all, he let me catch him.
His arms snake around my waist as he reaches our bedroom. His fingertips curl into my sides, tickling me and sending me into a fit of giggles.
Laughing felt almost foreign after all the crying I had been doing but it felt good to let go of my grief and live in the moment.
Mikey’s hands slide underneath the hem of my shirt, his fingers draw circles on my skin as he presses my back against his front and leans his chin on my shoulder. My laughter tapers off as I twist in his arms and wrap my arms around his neck. Staring into Mikey’s eyes, every uncertainty I carried fades away from me and all that is left is the promise of forever.
Making one another happy, forever.
Living in the moment, forever.
Experiencing life together, forever.
Loving one another, forever.
Forever him and me.
I reach for the hem of my shirt and pull it over my head tossing it on the floor before raising an eyebrow, daring him to mimic me.
The last first time I dared him as husband and wife.
With one hand he reaches behind him and lifts his t-shirt over his head, dropping it onto the floor beside mine. I extend my hand and close my fist over the rosary beads that dangle from his neck—his mother’s.
Thanks Maryann, for creating the perfect man for me to spend forever with.
I lean down and kiss the crucifix before releasing the beads. I run my fingers down his arms, his muscles flexing beneath my fingertips until they take purchase on his hips. Mikey trails one hand down my stomach and pops the button of my jean shorts with his fingers. He reaches out with his other hand and draws the zipper down before crossing both arms against his chest and taking a step back.
Take off your clothes, Princess, his eyes dared.
Dare accepted.
I slide my thumbs through the belt loops of my shorts and tug the denim down my thighs, bending over suggestively as I work them all the way down. I step out of them, turn my back to him and reach behind me to unclasp my bra, letting the straps fall down my arms. Braless, I spin around and face him, watching as his hooded eyes dip to my breasts. My nipples hardened under his intense gaze as I drag my thong down my hips.
Mikey pushes my hands out of the way and takes over, looping his fingers under the lace and inching it down my hips, baring my most intimate secrets to him. He drops to his knees, his lips gliding over every inch he has uncovered, continuing down my legs and stopping at my knees. He lifts one foot from the ground and draws the lace down. I go to kick off the thong that dangled from my other ankle when he drapes the leg he is holding over his shoulder. My fingers tangled in his hair, grasping it for leverage as he repeats the motion and lifts me onto his shoulders, depositing me on the bed.
I watch with lustful eyes as he pushes my knees apart, waiting for him to slide between them but he doesn’t. Instead, he stands there for a moment drinking me in.
The last first time he stared at his wife, naked and waiting for him.
He unbuttons his jeans with one hand as he cocks his head to the side. I watch his Adam’s apple as he swallows hard and lifts his eyes to mine.
“You’ll always be the leading lady of my dreams,” he vows hoarsely.
I park my lips to tell him he was the dream, the only one worth having, the only one that ever came true but he presses his finger to my lips silencing me.