Children of Fire (Complete)

seventy-nine

Emerson

When we arrived back at the clubhouse, the party was in full swing, not that I expected anything less from the group of men that had just lost their beloved brother. There were half dressed women waltzing around the compound, old ladies were bustling here and there with trays of raw meat, and at some point several men had produced grills and were cooking the food that was being brought to them. The prospects had rolled several kegs outside from the bar, and there was even a makeshift bar that I spotted Kya behind talking animatedly to Gino who was clinging to her every word.

I was still mourning the loss of my closest friend, but I couldn't keep myself from smiling at the sight in front of me. All of these people had loved him, all of them had cared about him, and there wasn't a group of people that I passed by that weren't telling stories of all the stupid things he had during his time here on earth. I wrapped my arm tighter around Gideon's waist as we maneuvered our way through the large crowd. No one had wanted to separate themselves, so instead of cramming inside of the clubhouse, the party had spilled out into the parking lot.

"How you holding up, baby?" Gideon asked, leaning down to speak lowly in my ear. I felt goosebumps cover my skin as his lips tickled the shell of my ear.

"Surprisingly, I'm good. It's nice to be here. At my mom's funeral, the pastor said that it was meant to be a celebration of her time here on earth, but it never felt like that to me. It was just... sad. This..." My voice trailed off and I gestured to the people around us. "This feels like a celebration. He'd be really happy about this."

Gideon smiled at me and chuckled lightly, his eyes taking in the surroundings as well. "I love you, and I can't wait to marry you." He said.

"I can't wait to marry you either." I told him, and I meant it. I would marry him right now if I could.

"Well... how about we not wait any longer?" He asked me, stopping me in the midst of the crowd that was surrounding us.

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly confused. Was he implying that we run off to the courthouse right now and get married? As good as it sounded, I wasn't leaving Killian's funeral. I know he's dead, and I know he wouldn't care, but this was his day and I didn't want to miss out on any of the stories he had neglected to tell me when he was alive.

"I mean, everyone's here now. There's food, there's dancing. Killian wouldn't want this day to be all about him anyways, you know he hated being the center of attention. Plus, he wouldn't want any hints of sadness... he would be okay with this. Let's do it. Let's get married. Right here. Right now." Gideon's voice was so excited, and I could see his eyes shining brightly as he contemplated the thought of getting married right now.

Suddenly, something in me snapped. He was right. There was no better time than now. Killian would have been excited for me, for Gideon. He would have wanted us to take the spotlight off of him anyways, he was never a selfish person... at least not when it came to things other than me. And even then, he pushed his selfish feelings aside and allowed Gideon and I to live a happy life without interfering, he was such a good man and I was so blessed to have known him during our short time together.

"But, a dress. I don't have a dress." I told him, panic setting in. I wasn't panicking about marrying Gideon, in fact I was eager to do so. But this would be my one and only wedding, and I didn't need an extravagant dress, but I did need a white dress. My mother would have rolled over in her grave if I had gotten married in something other than a white dress.

"Kya!" Gideon shouted over the loud music that was thumping through the speakers. She looked up at him and offered us a wave, Gideon motioned for her to join us. She set the bottle of vodka down on the bartop and said something to one of the Vultures that was helping her tend bar. A few minutes later, she was standing in front of me with a smile on her face.