“You may kiss your bride, Mr. Martinez,” the preacher says with a smile.
Jordy’s big hands cradle Roux’s face and he presses the sweetest, most delicate kiss to her lips. “Love you, Little Hoodlum.”
She smiles. “Love you too.”
The second kiss they share is a little more sinful.
When the preacher pronounces them husband and wife, everyone cheers and claps. I can’t believe she’s married. My best friend is married and will be a momma very soon. A pang of sadness twists at my gut, but I force it away, not allowing my sadness to creep in and take away from this day.
“You okay, Charlie girl?” Cal asks, wrapping his arms around me from behind and kissing the top of my head.
“I will be. You, on the other hand, have some explaining to do in three, two, one…”
“Cal Hutton,” Aunt Karen admonishes. “Not happening under my nose. You are a teacher and she is a student. I will not sit by and watch this behavior.”
He groans as he releases me. “Is that permission to do it behind your back, Ms. Frazier?”
“Keep it up,” Aunt Karen warns.
“Are you going to fire me?” he taunts because he’s a mouthy-ass mean boy who loves to push buttons and question authority.
“No, Cal, I’m going to put you to work. I’m pretty sure my attic could use a good cleaning.”
“You’re a hardass, lady,” he gripes. “Fine. I’ll leave your precious niece alone.”
He shoots me a devilish grin that says he’ll do everything but that.
I’m content and tipsy. My feet hurt from dancing all night, but my heart is full. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Roux smile so much. Jordy stays glued to her side, kissing her any time he can. They’re so sweet.
“Aww, does the princess need a prince to come and sweep her off her feet?” Cal teases as he swats at my ass.
“I’m no princess,” I say, leaning into him.
“Oh yeah? What are you?”
“I’m a Hoodlum, Hoodlum.”
“Damn straight.”
He pulls me to a dark corner of the yard, away from the twinkling lights, to kiss me until I’m dizzy. “A Hoodlum can still sweep a girl off her feet,” he murmurs against my mouth. “A Hoodlum can still be romantic.”
I let out a shriek when he scoops me in his arms and starts for Roan and Hollis’s garage apartment. We make it to the stairs, but Cal stops abruptly.
“What? What is it?” I ask, craning my neck to see what has him stopped.
“Can I help you?” Cal demands, slowly setting me to my feet.
“Just came to see Charlotte,” a familiar, deep voice mutters.
“Loden!” I rush over to him, throwing my arms around his neck. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay now, baby.”
I expect Cal to explode, but he remains quiet. I give Loden another squeeze before pulling away.
“Loden, this is Cal, my—”
“Boyfriend,” Cal interjects. “Her extremely possessive boyfriend. So help me you better still be gay because I’m seconds from giving you a black eye for calling my fucking girl baby.”
Lo barks out a laugh. “Still love dick, man. Speaking of, I hear yours is pierced. Can I see?”
I smack Loden’s arm. “Stop, brat.”
“I had to try, baby,” Lo taunts. Then, to Cal, he offers his hand. “Don’t worry. Vaginas are sweaty and gross. Charlotte just gets me. I don’t have many people who do.”
The vulnerability in his voice has worry niggling at me. Cal shakes Loden’s hand and then tugs me back over to him.
“I’m going to go steal a dance with Roux to see if I can get Jordy to lose his shit,” Cal says, kissing the top of my head. “Come find me when you’re done.”
I gape at my boyfriend as he saunters away, looking all too yummy in his suit.
“You have it so bad for him,” Loden states. “I don’t blame you. He’s fucking hot.”
Turning back toward him, I frown. “What’s going on? Under all those jokes, you’re upset. What happened?”
He walks over to the steps and sits down. “I told the label I quit.”
“What?” I rush over to him and sit next to him. “Why? Can you even do that?”
A ragged sigh escapes him as his tattooed hands cover his face. He shrugs. “I don’t know. Everyone’s pissed at me. The band, the record label, the band manager, Dad.”
“What about Mena?”
He moves his hands and looks my way. “She told me to come here.”
Smart girl.
“Let’s be logical about this,” I say, clutching his knee. “What happens if you quit? Do you want to quit? Really?”
“I’ll be in breach of contract, which will really fucking suck.” He buries his face in his hands again. “I’ll owe them a shit ton of money.”
“But…”
“But, I’ll be free.”
“I wasn’t chained to a label, but I was chained to something else,” I say slowly, “and breaking free of that very thing I hated was the turning point in my life.”
“I hate my life,” he whispers, his voice breaking. “So fucking much.”
“What about your music?”
“I’ll always have music. Music is my only friend when I’m alone at night, overwhelmed by life.”
“What makes you not feel so overwhelmed?”
He throws a hand up in the air. “This place. It’s quiet. No one knows me. I can just be me and fucking breathe, baby. I need to breathe.”
I lean my head against his shoulder. “Then do it. I’ll be here. We’ll figure it out together.”
We remain quiet for a while, listening to the sounds of the reception not far away. They’ve been failing miserably at karaoke for a while now. The music stops and a loud voice booms over the speaker.
“Five minutes, English, and I’m coming for you.”
Loden laughs. “Guess we know whose wedding will be next.”
“Stop,” I say, swatting at him.
“We should make out and see if he’ll join.”
“Try it and I’ll rip your tongue
