Find Me

18

EIGHTEEN-DYLAN

I straightened my tie and checked myself out in the mirror. I hoped that, one day soon, I'll be the groom instead of the groomsman. Tonight, we were celebrating the union of Cohen Redford and Lexi Davis. It had been over three years since we graduated from McPherson. Cohen and I opened up our own gym. RedPen, a twist off Redford and Pennington, had been open for about a year and our popularity was already bigger than I'd imagined. Cohen got his business degree, so he mostly ran that side of things, and I spent my time as a personal trainer. It worked out well.

The only downside was, we borrowed the money to start our business, from my dad. Although, he'd come a long way lately. We were on much better ground these days and actually got along. The incident where I shot and killed Marcus Prescott had tipped the scales a lot. Dad seemed to wake up and realize life was too short to be a hard-ass all of the time. Then a few months after that, my half-sister was born. Mila was a perfect bundle of joy and I'd been doing my best to spoil her rotten. Thankfully, dad divorced Monica and Monica hadn't been around much. Under normal circumstances, I'd say it was sad that a little girl barely knew her mother, but having Monica around to influence Mila wouldn't be a good thing. Monica was a poisonous person, so it was good that she left Mila to mostly be raised by my dad. Dad was now a doting father that he hadn't been just a few years ago.

As for the bride-to-be, she actually became a kindergarten teacher. Lexi had never struck me as the kid-friendly type, but as it turns out, she's great with kids. Good thing, because Cohen confided in me last night that they're expecting. They just found out and they hadn't even told their families yet, not wanting to take any attention away from their wedding, but in about seven and a half months there would be a baby Redford born.

"Hey there, handsome."

I turned and Quinn snapped a picture of me. I shook my head and smiled at her, pulling her into my arms, "There she is, the sexiest photographer I've ever seen."

"You have to say that."

"Maybe, but it's still true."

"Ugh, I don't feel sexy right now. I feel like I'm running ragged. I told Lexi being her photographer and her maid-of-honor wasn't going to work!"

I smiled, "Babe, you're amazing. You'll be fine. Besides, if Lexi had asked anyone else to step into either of those roles you would have been upset."

She sighed, "Yes, you're right. I'm just feeling like a hot-mess right now."

"Hot is right."

Quinn smiled and lightly slapped me on my arm, "Be serious."

"I am being serious." I tell her and then change the subject, "Is this what you want some day? A big wedding, I mean."

"No, I don't want a big wedding. I have no family. I'd just want Cohen, Lexi, your dad and Mila. Maybe have a beach wedding or something."

"How does the weekend after your graduation sound?"

Quinn blinked, "Dylan, that's only a couple weeks away."

I smiled. I was so proud of my girl. She was about to graduate from McPherson and already had her life figured out. During her sophomore year of college, she bought a fancy camera and away she went. Within a year she had one of her photos picked up by an art gallery in Chicago. Just last month a gallery in New York contacted her. My girl was going places and I'd be by her side through it all.

So, impulsively, I got down on one knee, keeping her hand in mine, "Quinn, I love you more than life itself. I want to be with you forever. I want to have babies with you and grow old with you."

"Oh my gosh, Dylan, I can't believe you're doing this right now!" Quinn interrupted.

I grinned and continued, pulling a ring out of my pocket, "I've had this ring for two years. I carry it with me everywhere I go, figuring I would know when the time was right. I had planned on waiting until your graduation, but I want to do it now. I want to do it here. We're here to see our best friend's tie the knot, so what better place than to say...Quinn Langston, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Yes, a million times, yes!" She said, excitedly, and I slipped the ring onto her finger. Then I stood and pulled her into my arms, slanting my mouth across hers, sealing our promise with a kiss.

"Maid-of-honor needed in the—come on you two!" Cohen said stepping into the room.

Quinn and I broke our kiss, grinning. She whispered, patting me on the chest, "I'll let you tell him. I better get back to Lexi."

I watched her go, my heart swelling. I told my best friend, "I just asked Quinn to marry me."

"It's about fucking time!" Cohen said with a grin and slapped me on the shoulder.

I nodded, agreeing. I hadn't been dragging my feet for me. I'd been dragging my feet for Quinn. After the showdown with the sperm donor, I wanted to give Quinn time to learn to be "normal". If it had been up to me, I would have proposed to her in the hospital, while she recovered from the knife injury and her broken wrist. I wanted her to have a chance to be free for a while before I tied her down with a ring on her finger. She'd never been truly free before and I hadn't want to take that chance away from her.

I told Cohen, "Keep the last weekend in May free."

Cohen's eyes widened, "As in May of this year? That's only a couple weeks away. Quinn is ok with that?"

"Let me worry about Quinn. You just be prepared to be my best man."

"Done." Cohen stated, proudly. Then we walked out, together.

We took our places at the front of the church and I could tell how happy Cohen was. My best buddy was eagerly looking to the back of the church, ready for his bride to make an appearance. I knew I'd be exactly where he was in just a few weeks. I knew Quinn would be completely on board with getting married the weekend after graduation, even if she did seem surprised that I wanted to tie the knot so quickly. One of the things that I loved about Quinn was that she was sexy as hell, but also couldn't give a crap about most girlie things. Like some girls dreamed of a big wedding their whole life, but not Quinn. Some girls wouldn't leave the house without makeup, but Quinn hardly ever wore makeup. She didn't need to, if you asked me. So, yes, my go-with-the-flow girl would be ready for a wedding in just a couple weeks.

When the back doors, of the church, opened and the music began to play, I watched Cohen's niece and nephew walk down the aisle, holding a basket of flowers and a ring pillow. I smiled as the crowd awed over their cuteness, but soon I was riveted by the woman walking down the aisle. She wasn't the bride today, but she would be the bride soon. Quinn Langston had swept into my life, turning it right-side-up and I couldn't wait to make her my wife.

As she took her place at the front of the church, across from where I stood, her eyes met mine and held for several moments, until my eyes dipped. I wasn't crudely checking her out in front of all these people. No, my eyes locked onto the ring on her finger. It was just a symbol, but it was one that I loved. That ring spoke of our connection. It spoke of the joining of two hearts. I was ready for the next step in my life and couldn't be happier that I'd be making it with Quinn Langston.