KEIFER POV
It was way past midnight, and the park looked like a disaster zone.
The boys were sprawled out everywhere like zombies—completely knocked out and dead to the world.
Mission accomplished: I'd managed to get everyone drunk, especially Jay's brothers.
I figured if they were unconscious, no one could stop me from sneaking a moment with my fiancée.
The park was eerily quiet, but I was restless. Call me cheesy, but I just missed her. I needed to see her face.
Then, I spotted a silhouette standing near a tree on the girls' side.
Even in the dark, I was sure it was her. Feeling pretty slick, I snuck up behind her and covered her mouth to keep the surprise under wraps.
"Jay, don't say anything, okay? I miss you so much. Can I just have one deep kiss, please?" I whispered, leaning in. Yeah, I was being clingy, but I didn't care.
But as I got closer, something felt... off. The texture was wrong. Jay wasn't this... stubbly.
"Jay, your lips feel strange tonight. And since when did you get this tall? New heels?"
I moved my hand, ready to close the final millimeter between us and claim my kiss—
"EWWW! DON'T KISS ME, STUPID!"
My heart nearly stopped. That was not a girl's voice. That was a deep, very masculine, very annoyed roar. I jumped back about five feet, nearly tripping over a flowerbed.
"Jare?! I thought you were knocked out!" I gasped, staring at Jay's twin brother.
Jare gave me a look of pure, unadulterated disgust, wiping his mouth like I'd just tried to poison him.
"Man, I drank a ton, but ten cans of beer is barely a challenge for me," he snapped, his voice slightly slurred but definitely angry.
My face was probably glowing bright red in the dark. "What are you doing over here anyway?" I stammered.
He fired back instantly, "Same damn question for you, Watson."
I rolled my eyes. "You know why I'm here."
Jare groaned dramatically, looking up at the sky as if asking for strength.
"Seriously, you almost kissed me because you thought I was my sister? Dude, Jay is not this tall. Are you blind or just that desperate?"
Ouch. I definitely earned that one. "That still doesn't explain why you are lurking on the girls' side," I muttered.
"Mia," he said, deadpan. It was the only answer he needed to give. Apparently, the legendary Jare Mariano was just as needy as I was when it came to his girl.
"What are you guys doing here?" Mia asked, appearing from the shadows with her eyebrows raised.
Jare didn't even waste a second. He rushed over and wrapped his arms around her like his life depended on it, burying his face in her neck.
"I need you," he mumbled, clinging to her tight. "Please, please, please..."
The booze was definitely hitting him hard now. Watching Jare turn into a big, clingy teddy bear was my cue to leave. I turned away, leaving Jare to shamelessly distract Mia, and started my real mission: finding Jay.
It took me a minute of scanning the clearing, but I finally spotted her. She was sitting smack-dab in the center of the girls' camp like she owned the place.
She looked totally wasted—swaying back and forth, barely keeping her balance.
I hung back, watching the girls huddle around her. Amy was giggling hysterically. "Jay, Jay... how are you gonna tease Keifer on your wedding night?"
Jay swayed a little, but a wicked, confident smirk spread across her face. "I don't even need to tease him," she said, her voice loud and full of drunk bravado. "I'm already hot enough—that guy won't be able to control himself anyway. He's obsessed."
Damn, I thought, leaning against a tree as a smirk pulled at my lips.
"Is that right?" I said, finally stepping out of the shadows.
The girls all shrieked. Jay squinted at me, trying to get her eyes to focus. When she finally realized it was me, she let out a loud
"Ha!" and pointed.
"See?" Jay told the girls, gesturing at me with a shaky hand. "He can't stay away. He's like a puppy. A very... very hot puppy."
"Keifer, what the hell? You're not supposed to be here!" Mica protested, trying to look stern, but she was leaning so far to the right I thought she might actually tip over.
I ignored them completely, focusing only on the girl in my arms. "What were you saying, Mrs. Watson?" I asked, my voice low and teasing as I looked into her glassy, mischievous eyes.
"I was saying..." she started, a slow, dangerous grin spreading across her face as she wrapped her arms tightly around my neck, pulling me closer. "That you can't control yourself. You're already losing, aren't you?"
"Girls, our cue to get the hell out," Rakki announced, stumbling to her feet and dusting off her jeans.
"Where are the boys?" Freya asked, slurring her words so badly I barely understood her.
"The other side of the park," I said, pointing vaguely toward the direction where Jare was currently busy being a clingy mess with Mia.
"Good luck, Jay babes!" Amy giggled, waving a floppy hand as she and the others started to wander off toward the distant bonfire glow. "Don't do anything we wouldn't do!"
"Hey! Why did they go?" Jay asked, pouting as she watched her backup squad abandon her.
"I don't know, babe," I lied, enjoying the fact that for the first time tonight, we were actually alone.
"Keeper my keeprr" she whispered, her eyes suddenly going wide and shiny. She leaned her forehead against mine, her breathing heavy.
"Jay-Jay, you're drunk," I said, laughing softly at how cute she looked when she was trying to act tough.
She scoffed, rolling her eyes with dramatic effort. "No dip, handsome Sherlock! I have eyes, okay? And a stomach that feels like it's on a roller coaster."
I pulled her closer, my hands resting firmly on her waist to keep her steady. "Maybe the Barracuda should go to sleep. We have a big day soon."
"No," she mumbled, burying her face in my chest. "I don't want to sleep. I want to talk about how much you love me. Give me a list. Top ten reasons. Go."
I chuckled, picking her up effortlessly and carrying her toward the large tent. "Number one: you're the only person who calls me a 'hot puppy' and gets away with it. Number two: you're about to be a Watson in less than forty-eight hours."
"That's a good list so far," she sighed, her grip on my neck loosening as we stepped into the tent. "But you're still obsessed."
"Totally," I whispered, laying her down onto the soft blankets. "Absolutely, 100% obsessed."
I thought that was it—mission accomplished, bride tucked in. But as soon as her back hit the pillows, she bolted upright with a sudden burst of drunk energy.
"What? What's wrong?" I asked, startled.
She didn't give me a second to react. Her small hands grabbed the collar of my shirt and she yanked me down with surprising strength, forcing me to hover mere inches above her.
"You... you need to go to jail," she said, her expression dead serious, though her eyes were swirling.
I blinked, completely confused. "Why? What did I do now?"
"You're too hot and sexy for your own good," she declared, pointing a finger at my chest. "It's a crime. It shouldn't be allowed."
I couldn't help it—a deep chuckle vibrated in my chest.
"Stop it!" she yelled, her face flushing even redder. "Stop it! You look so handsome even without makeup! You know... the first thing I saw when I met you was how effortless you looked sucking that lollipop."
Her gaze dropped to my mouth, her voice softening as she got lost in the memory. "I saw your lips and I wanted to kiss you right then... but you were being such an asshole."
My heart did a violent thud against my ribs. I remembered that day—the day she walked into the classroom and turned my life upside down.
I had no idea that while I was being a jerk to get her attention, she was staring at my mouth.
"Is that so?" I whispered, my voice going husky. I braced my arms on either side of her head, locking my eyes onto hers. "So you've wanted to kiss me since day one, huh?"
"Yes," she breathed, her grip on my shirt tightening. "But I didn't want to admit it because you were a jerk. A mean, handsome, lollipop-sucking jerk."
She let out a frustrated little groan and pulled me the final inch down, her lips crashing into mine. It wasn't the soft, romantic kiss from the proposal. This was—messy, passionate, and completely uninhibited.
I was officially a dead man. If Jare walked in now, he wouldn't even need to kill me; my heart was probably going to give out on its own.
"Jay," I groaned against her lips, trying to find a shred of self-control. "You're drunk. If I don't leave this tent in the next thirty seconds, I'm never leaving."
"Then don't," she whispered, her eyes half-closed. "Stay. Be my handsome jailbird."
I couldn't help but grin. This was like a gold mine. There was no way Jay would ever be this honest when she was sober; she was far too stubborn and proud. This was my one and only chance to hear all the thoughts she usually kept locked behind that Mariano attitude.
"Tell me, what else did you think about me?" I whispered, shifting so I was propped up on one elbow, looking down at her flushed face.
"You looked very sexy in those boxers," she said, her voice trailing off into a dreamy sigh. "The ones I gave you for the Christmas present when we played Secret Santa. I spent forever picking them out because I kept imagining you in them... and then you actually wore them, and I almost died."
I felt a surge of heat hit my face. "Is that right? Well, for the record, you looked way too sexy in that nightdress," I shot back, the memory of her in that soft silk making my throat go dry.
Jay didn't get shy or embarrassed like she usually would. Instead, she just threw her head back and let out a boisterous laugh.
"Tell me something I don't know!" she teased, reaching up and tapping my nose with her finger before bursting into another fit of giggles. "I know I'm pretty, and adorable, and cute... and beautiful, and hot, and definitely sexy!"
I laughed with her, hovering over her. "Someone's confident tonight."
"I'm a Mariano!" she declared, though she followed it up with a hiccup. "And soon I'm a Watson. That means I'm like... double the power. I'm a queen. And you're just my... my very handsome guard who follows me everywhere."
She grabbed my face with both hands, squishing my cheeks together so I looked like a fish.
"Keifer?"
"Yeah, Jay?" I said, my voice muffled by her grip.
"Don't ever stop being obsessed," she whispered, her eyes suddenly turning serious for a split second. "Even if I get old, or if I get even more annoying... stay obsessed with me, okay?"
I reached up, gently removing her hands from my face and kissing her palms. "Jay-Jay, at this point, I don't think I have a choice. You've had me wrapped around your finger since that first lollipop. I'm not going anywhere."
She smiled, a real, genuine, peaceful smile, and finally started to go limp as the sleepiness took over.
"Good," she murmured, her eyes closing. "Because I already told the girls... you're mine. I claimed you. No refunds."
"No refunds," I echoed, pulling her into my arms and tucking her head under my chin.
Outside, the park was silent, the blue and orange lights still twinkling.
In less than two days, the whole world would know what I already knew: that this messy, confident, beautiful girl was my permanent home.
And she was right—I was never getting out of this "jail." And I didn't want to.