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And now that I know these things? He’s still just as beautiful as he was months ago, but my brain is fighting my body on this hard. I can’t let him win. This can’t be how it ends. I’ve never been able to feel fully safe since I met him when we were children.
He created that unease in me, and I thought I’d gotten away. This isn’t how this is supposed to go. The bad guy isn’t supposed to win. The stalker isn’t supposed to live happily ever after with his prey. There has to be a way out, but my hope has long been crushed. I’m in deep denial now, and possibly the bargaining phase.
Inside the building, Aidan’s hand is still wrapped around mine as he guides me onto the escalator. It’s the tallest escalator I’ve ever been on, three generous stories high, taking us all the way to the top viewing deck with an enormous floor-to-ceiling glass room, creating a three-hundred-and-sixty degree view of the city.
The photographers stop the wedding party to take pictures with the skyline and the sunset just behind us.
“Oh these are going to be perfect,” a photographer named Giselle says. “We couldn’t have timed this better.”
Erica keeps sending me looks that are a cross between concern and jealousy. If she was horrifyingly fascinated by all of this before, it’s a whole other level now that grown-up Aidan has been revealed to be hot.
“Are you okay?” she mouths. Okay, maybe it’s just concern.
I nod. Aidan spins me and dips me for a kiss that the photographer captures, and I try not to let it catch me off guard this time. We didn’t do kissing pictures at the church, except for the photographs that were captured with the official kiss. Once that was done, it was determined that maybe we shouldn’t do any too-romantic pictures inside the church and instead keep them formal and serious.
Fine by me. I didn’t know how many times I could kiss this man who holds my life in his hands in front of other people while pretending we’re in love.
Giselle sighs as Aidan pulls me back up now that the picture has been taken. “To have a man look at me like that,” she says. “You’re a lucky woman, Madison Stryker.”
I flinch at the name. I know the priest announced us as Mr. and Mrs. Aidan Stryker, but without my first name involved, it felt less personal—somehow less real.
She notices my reaction. “Are you okay?”
Aidan’s gaze goes to me quickly, but it isn’t a look of concern—at least not for me. He’s worried what I might say. But I cover.
“Yes, I just got a little dizzy with the dip and the view of how high up we are.” I gesture out the window.
She nods with understanding. We all go through a rotating glass door and turn left down a long dark hallway where a “No Guests beyond this point” sign usually is.
Guests to the aquarium normally take a right and then start a slow maze-like descent through all the aquarium exhibits until they’re finally back on the ground floor again. But we’re in a top floor banquet room.
Everyone else, including the photographers go in ahead of us. We stand outside the doors waiting to be announced. I try again to avoid Aidan’s gaze.
“You aren’t giving a very good performance of a happy bride,” he comments while we wait.
We’re both staring straight ahead at the shiny black double doors in front of us.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know acting was in my contract.”
I hear “Mr. and Mrs. Aidan Stryker” boom out over the loud speaker, and Aidan grips my hand and pulls me into the ballroom with him. He’s all smiles and charm again. The spotlight hits us, and “I Will Possess Your Heart” by Death Cab For Cutie begins to play.
Correction, it already was playing. The insanely long intro in the original version that takes up over half the song was playing while we were waiting. We were announced as the music built, just about thirty seconds before the lyrics dropped and Aidan swept me out onto the dance floor. We’re apparently doing the first dance now.
I love this song, but it feels a whole different way in its current context. I glance over to Erica at the bridesmaids’ table to find her mouth gaping open that this is the song Aidan chose.
The photographers swarm us as he leads me around the dance floor. So many couples have something choreographed for their first dance, and I wonder if it looks weird that we don’t since everything else about this wedding is so picture perfect. But I’m not sure our guests even know it’s not choreographed. Maybe it was, and I just wasn’t taught the steps. It’s neither a slow song nor a really fast one. It’s danceability is questionable at best without a plan, which Aidan clearly has. And he knows exactly how to move me through it. When to dip, when to spin me, and I somehow also know when these things will happen.
He pulls me in and whispers in my ear. “I picked this song for you. Listen to the words.”
I swallow around the lump forming in my throat… I’ve known the words to this song forever. Erica and I used to sing it in her car with the top down. There’s no way I can shut these words out… they are a plea for me to give him a chance. Even now he wants me to come around. Even after everything that brought us here.
I take in the reception space. There are many round tables with linen tablecloths and a special table set aside for me and Aidan. Our guests have already been served and are eating dinner. Our food hasn’t been delivered to our table yet, probably being kept warm in the kitchen. There are huge bouquets of colorful Gerbera daisies for centerpieces. It’s a more fun party flower than the serious roses and lilies of the ceremony.
The cake table is at the far end of the room with a spotlight shining down on it. A large dance floor has been installed for the reception. Along one entire interior wall is aquarium glass, with fish and sharks swimming in the saltwater behind it. It’s one of the many deep tanks. This particular view is only available to those who rent the banquet space. Two cylindrical tanks stand on either side of the big tank filled with glowing blue and green jellyfish.
and above us in this part of the building is a flat glass ceiling, giving us a perfect view of the emerging stars as the full darkness of night blooms.
Fireworks start to go off, bursts of bright colors exploding above us. It’s a spectacular show, and if our guests’ oooh’s and aaaah’s are accurate, they seem to be transported by the display as well. At least they aren’t paying too close attention to the bride and groom now.