Chapter Twenty One

WADE*

"Here's to Wade Cunningham being off the market! We never thought we would see the day!" Hector called out over the music as we all licked salt, slung back our tequila shots, and then bit into our lemons.

Strippers danced around us, but not one of us was paying a bit of attention to them. We all had wives and families at home. Blaze had bought out one of the private rooms at Hectors strip club for the night and had paid handsomely for strippers' food and booze. They were giving me one last hurrah before getting married next week.

Hector would be a part of our wedding party because Taylor would be having five bridesmaids. We wouldn't have it any other way, of course. Hector has been a part of our crowd since high school and has always been like family to us.

Shortly after we had our first round of shots, food was served. We all scarfed down our greasy burgers and fries and chatted about married life and how my life was about to change. I somewhat felt terrible that I was the one getting all the glory, but Connor didn't seem like he cared. We both knew how this would pan out from the night we found out Taylor was pregnant. Tonight we would go home to our soon-to-be wife, make love and fall asleep tangled up together under the covers.

The night had gone smoothly, and we had all awaited our Ubers to bring us home to our families. Connor and I had sat in silence the whole way home, and for the first time in my life, I couldn't tell what was going through his mind. I didn't dare pry; I figured if it were something important, he would speak up.

"Have I told you that Taylor and I have talked about her getting pregnant with my baby after she has healed from having yours?" Connor asked out of the blue as he looked out of the window.

"No, but I think that sounds like a great idea. I don't see anything wrong with that," I said as I watched him.

"No one is going to know that the baby is mine; they will all be thinking that the baby is yours. I don't know how I feel about that," Connor said as he looked towards me.

"Well, when that time comes, we tell everyone the truth. I'm sure it wouldn't be a shock to anyone. I know Blaze and Tanner already suspect something up anyway since we all moved into the house together. Everyone will either love us or shun us, and that's just how it's going to be," I said and grinned at Connor as he nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't be worrying about that now. That's at least a couple of years or more down the road. Taylor said she wouldn't mind having a whole slew of kids, but none of us are getting any younger if you know what I mean," Connor said just as the Uber pulled into our driveway. I looked up to see that the woman who had driven us home was looking in the review mirror with confusion written all over her face.

Connor caught the look she was giving us as well. I guess she had listened to our whole conversation. "I would appreciate it if you kept your mouth closed and didn't speak a word of any of this to anyone," Connor said as he reached to his back pocket to collect some cash and handed it to the Uber driver.

At this point, I couldn't remember the woman's name, but I hoped that she would take the money and keep her mouth shut.

"You bet, thanks guys, this will pay for two months worth of tuition. I promise not to say anything," she said, and Connor and I retreated from the car.

"How much money did you give her?" I asked as we made our way to the front door.

"A thousand dollars, that's all I had on me," Connor said as he unlocked the door.

"She probably doesn't even know who we are; Tanner and Blaze are the ones that have always been in the spotlight,"

"Yeah, well, with Blaze going for Mayor, something like this coming out would ruin him and all of us, not to mention the company. So I hope she keeps her mouth shut," Connor said as we walked into the house.

The house was dark, which meant Taylor had either come home and gone to bed, or she hadn't gotten home from our Aunt Diana's house yet. Our aunt Diana had pulled together a wedding shower and bachelorette party at the last minute to honor Taylor. Connor switched on the lights to the living room and made his way to our room. A few minutes later, he returned.

"Taylor is asleep. It is almost one o'clock; I guess we should have left earlier," Connor said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Let's join her. I'm beat, anyway, and we have church in the morning. You know Taylor wouldn't want to miss it because we got home late,"

TAYLOR* REHERSAL PARTY*

Instead of having a reception party, we had decided on having a rehearsal party instead so that the kids could have a sense of what would happen tomorrow. We were hoping that it would help to make things go smoothly.

"Ok, Cora, Adelaide, you two are up first," Kaysen said as she got the two girls ready and the music was turned on.

Adelaide and Cora walked down the aisle and pretended to scatter petals to the ground as they made their way to the alter. A few steps later, Christopher and Mark trailed after them as they were to be the ring bearers. Kaysen then went to go sit down to help Rebecca and Diana with all of the younger babies and children.

Connor linked arms with Kallie, and they walked down the aisle, followed by Blaze and Lyra, then Jace and Vega were next. I looked to see Connor making his way back to me as the other pairs made their way down the aisle.

"Looks like it's our turn, love," Connor said as he linked elbows with me. I glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention and kissed Connor lightly on the lips. It was then that the music was switched over, and Connor and I made our way down the aisle.

Once we had gone through the walk-through twice and got everything down perfectly, we all settled down for dinner. By the time all the speeches had been done, it was already nine o'clock. So I did a father-daughter dance with my dad, and then Wade and I did the bride and groom's dance so that the photographer could get pictures. Connor and I made sure to have the photographer to get photos of us together as well. By that point, with all of the kids running around and babies crying because they were tired, no one was paying any attention to us.

"Alright, everyone thank you for coming; we will see you all back here tomorrow," Wade yelled over the crowd, and everyone soon left.

Mark had gone with Connor and Wade to stay over at Blaze's house for the night so that we wouldn't break tradition. So once I arrived home, I drew myself a warm lavender-scented bubble bath and relaxed for about twenty minutes before retreating to the shower and finishing up my nightly routine. I missed not having Connor and Wade in bed with me, but I rested easy knowing that after tomorrow we would never be away from each other again.

***

"Cora, sit still; you and Adelaide will have plenty of time to play later after the wedding," Kaysen yelled as she tried to get Cora to calm down so the hairdresser could fix her hair. "We dont have time for this, Cora. Am I going to have to go get your day?"

"No man," Cora said as she slumped down into the chair grumpily.

It was a madhouse in the dressing room as we all frantically got dressed and then took our turns getting hair and make-up done. There were only three of them and seven of us; I wished I was a man at that point; this was outright torture. But it all paid off in the end when Wade and I jumped into the getaway car and made our way to the house. My parents would be watching after Mark for a few days to have a few free days as a newlywed couple. Blaze would allow us to have a couple of days off, but Connor wouldn't be off as well, so we had opted against that.

Wade pulled into the drive, and we waited for Connor to join us. I was thankful that we didn't have any close neighbors because we would definitely get some unwanted stares as Connor and Wade attempted to carry me through the threshold.

I anxiously bounced around in my seat as Wade, and I waited. I couldn't wait to make love to my men for the first time as a married couple. My folds grew wetter with each moment that passed.

"Where is he?" I asked as I saw that twenty minutes had passed since Wade had gotten us home.

"Maybe he stayed back to help clean up. I texted him, but he hasn't answered," Wade said, concern etched into his voice.