psycho | adam banks & luis mendoza ²

(27) Nerves

Jae:

"Hello brother," I say smiling as I walk up to my older brother, throwing my arms around him. I haven't seen him lately so it was nice to be able to spend time with him and Jordan today.

"Nervous?" He asks as we pull away, referring to the speech I have to make in literally five minutes. I sigh and roll my eyes before nodding my head.

"I'm so nervous," I say with a pout. "I go after Luis and we all know that he is going to do great. What if I suck?"

"You're not going to suck!" Josh says as he rolls his eyes. "You'll do just fine."

Gordon came rushing over to tell me it was time for the speeches. I gulp as Josh kisses my forehead, reassuring me that I'm okay. Gordon walked me over to the microphones that stood in front of the table where Connie, Guy, and the rest of the bridal party sat while I played with the paper with my speech on.

Luis walked over to me and smile brightly. He wrapped his arms around me as he kissed my forehead lightly while Gordon introduced us to everyone in the room.

"Guy has been like a brother to me ever since I decided to move to Minnesota to play for the ducks," Luis starts. "When you're a new guy, starting on a team where they have been together for years, you feel out of place. Guy was the first person to really make me feel like I belonged there with them. He was there for me every step of the way while I was trying to adjust to the new team. He helped me through the anxiety of playing for team USA with them during the GoodWIll Games, he always reassured me that everything will be okay, he even had my back when I was going through petty high school drama. Guy has been someone I can lean on through everything, on and off the rink. He has become my brother and I'm thankful I have had him around all these years. You and Connie really do deserve this, congratulations you two."

Guy came over and engulfed Luis in a huge hug while people cheered for the two of them in the crowd. I smile as I watch the two of them exchange a couple of words before he sits down next to Connie. I ditch the paper and slide it into the pocket of my dress. I take a deep breath and smile brightly before saying what I feel.

"Connie was my first ever friend in high school," I say smiling at the memories. "I remember the first time I ever met her. She was forced into showing me around school and helping me adjust to my new life. I thought she was going to be annoyed with it but the moment I met her, she was so welcoming. She made me feel as if I was always there like we had been friends all throughout high school instead of just our junior year. Connie has been by my side since, through all the good and all the bad. You were there to stick up for me anytime anyone tried something with me, you helped me through heartbreaks, you helped me through personal problems, you were even there to support me the night I brought home my first boyfriend. We have been through thick and thin together but I would have not wanted to do it with anyone else. I'm so happy I can not only call you a best friend but a sister. I'm so happy you are getting the fairytale you told me you wanted back in high school, you deserve it."

Connie comes running over to me with tears running down her face. Her reaction makes me tear up as she comes crashing into my arms.

"Jae I literally love you so much," Connie whispers to me as she rocks me back and forth. I laugh a little as we pull apart smiling at each other.

"I love you so much too," I tell her. She smiles and pulls me in for another hug.

"Alright! I'm ready to dance!" Averman says as he comes over to me. He swings an arm around my shoulders as he hands me a beer. I laugh as I take a huge sip and dancing along with him.

"You're asking for Mendoza to kick your ass!" Charlie yells over the music. I laugh loudly as the three of us dance along to the music.

"What's up with you and trying to take my girl," Luis asks jokingly with a smirk on his face. Averman laughs nervously as he backs up slowly and runs toward Goldberg, hiding behind him. Luis and I laugh as we watch Goldie hit him over the back of the head.

A slow song suddenly booms throughout the huge tent. Luis smiles as he holds out his hand, asking me if I want to dance. I smile up at him and I wrap my hands around his neck as he does the same to my waist.

"You look really beautiful tonight," He whispers as we sway along to the music. I smile as I feel my face heat up. I shove my face into his chest and I can hear him laugh lightly.

"Why do you always do that to me," I look up with a pout. He smiles as he leans down and places a kiss right on my lips. I smile as I immediately kiss back.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask him as we pull apart.

"Yeah, anything," He says with a smile that makes my heart jump.

"Did you really meant what you said last night?" I ask him quietly.

"Yeah," He responds with no hesitation. "I want to marry you but not yet, not with everything going on. When everything with Matthew settles down and when Bella and Adam are out of the picture, then I'll ask. I wouldn't want to put any more pressure on you right now."

I let out a sigh of relief that I didn't know I was holding in, "I want to marry you too but I was so nervous with this whole Matthew thing going on."

"You'll get to live the life you deserve as soon as he is taken care of," He says as he leans down and presses his lips against my forehead.

"Hey, Jae?" I hear Daisy ask. I turn to see her and Charlie staring at us. I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion as I let go of Luis.

"What's up?" I ask. Suddenly, that gut feeling comes back. The one I get when things are about to go wrong.

"Have you seen Josh and Jordan?" She asks. "Connie has been looking for them."

My heart drops and I suddenly start to worry. I turn to Luis and fake a smile as I kiss his cheek.

"Go hang out with Guy," I say as I nod my head in his direction. "I'm going to go get Josh."

He nods as he kisses me before running off to hang out with Guy.

"Something about this doesn't feel right," I admit to the two of them. They look at me worried before I nod my head towards the entrance to the tent.

"Maybe they left, you know to do couple stuff," I suggest as the two of them laugh. My heart pounds loudly as the three of us walk over to the entrance.

As the cool breeze from the ocean hits me, so does something else. Something hard collides with my head before everything goes dark.