Mine Would Be You (104)
He raises a brow, a dimple peeking through. “How can I not when you look like that?”
My cheeks heat, and I pinch his palm as we both turn to pay attention. It’s a short introduction, and I feel myself getting nervous as we get closer to the vows. We didn’t do traditional—traditional has always felt impersonal to me—so we decided to write our own. And I’m going first. I turn to face Jackson completely, the white lace dress blowing softly around my legs.
Dad is smiling at me, but I can see the emotions written plainly on his face. Mom is holding Mrs. Ross’s hand tightly, and all our close friends and distant family sit in the small crowd with smiles. I look back at Jackson and his gorgeous blue eyes and the crisp suit he has on, and for a second, my nerves fall away.
I’m marrying the love of my life.
Uncle Mike smiles at me and nods, willing me to start. Jackson squeezes my hands, and I let out a soft laugh as Bane barks, bringing a laugh from the crowd.
“All right, all right, I’m going,” I say, my lips pulling into a smile. “Jackson, you came into my life so brightly, filled with optimism and joy and everything I never knew I needed. Whatever clouds were over me became small and trivial in comparison to you. You are my favorite song. Melodic and comforting and endlessly beautiful. You are my color green. Vibrant and full of life. You are better than the candy you always buy me from the store, you are better than the grilled cheeses you always make me when I’m sad, you are better than country music—that you forced me to love on a Sunday drive in the summertime. You are better than everything I have ever known and will ever know.”
He smiles at me, soft and warm, as I finish. “I promise to be there for you when you need me and even when you don’t. To support you at the highs and the lows and to hold your hand through whatever challenges we may face, forever. You have pieces of me I never thought I’d give away, but I felt no fear when I gave them to you. You are the most exciting part of my future. You are the best part of my life. You always will be.”
Jackson shakes his head, and I bite the inside of my lip as he grips my hands, and I can’t help but grin. He’s the cheesy one, the sweet one, the one with the words, but it’s nice to know even after all these years I can get to him too.
“Well, jeez, I don’t know how I’m gonna beat that,” he jokes, and I laugh. The crowd lets out a small laugh as well as I push him gently with my hands. Uncle Mike nods to Jackson, and he smiles back as he twirls the engagement ring on my hand.
“You were the best surprise of my life, Nina. When I walked into that bar that night, I didn’t have any expectations, and then you walked up and surprised me. And even now, every day, you surprise me. In the way you fearlessly love those around you, including me. In the way that you are always there to pick me up or push me through or bring a smile to my face. Every day you surprise me by reminding me that everything I feel for you is indescribable. Every day, there is something that reminds me how lucky I am that you are in my life and how lucky I am that I get to love you. You always say I remind you of the sun, but you remind me of the moment right before it rains. When the sun is still peeking through, but the air is fresh and clear. And there’s that little bit of light still in the sky. You are my light.”
My eyes prick, and I’m squeezing his hands so tightly I might be cutting off the circulation. If I breathe too deeply, I’m scared I’ll break out into sobs, so I focus on his hands and Jackson in general to ground me. To remind me this is real.
“So, I promise to always make sure that light is there. Not just for me, but for everyone who is lucky to have you in their life. I promise to let you clean whenever you’re upset and do whatever you tell me to do.” He grins. “I promise to be by your side through everything life will throw at us—even though, I think together, life is easier. And I promise to make sure you always know just how much I love you, every day for the rest of our lives.”
I’m happy I don’t have to say anything because I don’t think I could. My throat is closed, and my entire body is filled with a boatload of emotions I don’t know how to process. I don’t know how I got so damn lucky.
Uncle Mike clears his throat, and I’m surprised to see tears in his eyes as he looks at us. “Whew, okay. You two.” He smiles and shakes his head. “The rings, please.”
Jackson’s mom steps up with the rings, and Uncle Mike takes them and hands them to us. I hold Jackson’s in my hand. We picked the bands out together, so they match, both white gold. His is smooth and mine made to match the engagement ring.
Slowly, we each slide the ring onto each other’s finger, and I can’t help but play with the ring on his finger. I love that it’s there now, the finger no longer bare. A part of us on his hands.
Uncle Mike claps his hands together. “Well,” He looks at Jackson, who he has grown to love so much it’s actually ridiculous. “You may now—”
Jackson doesn’t wait for him to finish before he’s grabbing my cheeks in his hands, the cool band of the ring on my cheek, and pressing his lips to mine, lighting my blood on fire in the slowest burn. Each piece of me alight with life. I hear laughter in the background, Uncle Mike muttering something about the importance of patience, and all our friends chuckling around us, but all I feel and all I know is Jackson Ross and the feel of his lips on mine.