The Upcoming Nuptials

Luke took Leah's hand and said, "Are you ready to do this tomorrow?"

She gazed up at him adoringly and said, "I am so ready!" She grabbed him by the belt loops and pulled his hips toward hers.

Luke held his hands up. "Whoa, whoa! What are you doing?" He pushed her away from him. 

She stumbled back a bit and looked at him, then looked down. "I'm sorry." 

He brushed his shirt with his hands like he was brushing her off of him. "Leah, come on. You know we can't do anything before we're married! Goodness, gracious." He turned away from her. 

She put her hand on his shoulder. "You're right. I'm so sorry." 

He shrugged her hand off of him, and she stepped back. He took a breath and turned back to her with a smile. "I'm sorry, darling." He took hold of her upper arms and pulled him to her. "I've waited so long. Tomorrow is the night." She felt him against her and then he was pushing her away from him. "Not tonight. You need to go." 

"Can't we just...I don't know...cuddle on the couch?"

"No! You need to go!" He saw the look on her face and said, "I'm sorry, my dear." He kissed her on the forehead. "I just...you need to go." He grabbed her shoulders and said, "You know how much I look forward to our wedding night. But it would be a sin to do anything before tomorrow. You know how I feel." 

Leah nodded. "Of course." 

He kissed her on the forehead again and turned her around and pointed her to the door of his apartment. "Off you go." 

She turned back to him. "Aren't you going to take me home?"

"I can't. I need to get up early for a phone call. I can call you an Uber, though. Okay?"

She nodded. Was this really what she was signing up for? She pushed the thought aside. 

He tapped at his phone and said, "There you go! They should be here in five minutes. And I've got some freebies, so I'm paying for it! Don't say I never did anything for you!"

She gave him a wan smile and murmured, "Thank you." She walked to the door and turned and said, "Good night, Luke." 

He kissed her forehead. "Good night!" He nudged her out the door. "Sleep tight!" He waved his fingers at her before he closed the door. "See you tomorrow! Our wedding day!"

She smiled. "Yes." 

"Are you excited?"

"Of course." 

"And tomorrow night...well, it will be our wedding night." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. 

She smiled again and said, "Yes. Good night, Luke." She turned and walked down the hallway and heard his door close behind her. She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Was this really the right thing to do? She was starting to have some serious doubts. It was okay. He was a godly man. Her parents loved him and gave their full approval. She walked down the stairs and to the sidewalk. Her Uber was there and she got in and settled back as the driver took her to her apartment. 

Her lease was up in a week. She'd be moving in with Luke. As she got out of the car, she tipped the driver a fiver and went up the stairs to her apartment. She unlocked the door and looked around her place. She'd lived here for five years, and it had been a good home. She'd be sorry to say goodbye to it, but she had already started moving things over to Luke's apartment. She closed the door behind her and went to her bedroom. Luke had never been in here. He said that "It wasn't the Christianly thing to do" to stay with her. She threw her purse down on the bed. It wasn't like she'd told him he had to have sex with her. She'd just asked him to stay the night with her. 

Leah realized that as she undressed, she was throwing her clothes into the laundry bin. Probably a little harder than warranted. She ran her hands through her hair. She was wide awake and after wrapping her robe around her, she walked out to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. Luke didn't drink and didn't approve of her drinking. She snorted as she popped the top on the beer and drank half of it down. She grabbed another one and took it out to the living room. She sat back on the couch and looked at her wedding dress hanging in the corner. It was very demure, with a high collar and long sleeves. She had been partial to the strapless one, but when she told Luke about it, he had given her an emphatic no. "My mother will be there!" he had said. So she hadn't chosen the strapless gown that she loved. 

She stared out the window, looking at the lights of the city. She sat quietly and finished both beers, and then went to bed. Tomorrow was her wedding day, after all. 

***

She woke up the next morning and looked at the clock. She'd overslept. On her wedding day. She thought to herself, "You're a terrible wife and you aren't even married yet" and she snorted laughter. She sat up. It was her wedding day. So why wasn't she excited? 

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She picked it up and saw that it was a text message from Luke. He'd sent several, asking where she was. She texted that she was on her way and then headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. She put on some makeup, realizing that she wasn't going to be as glamorous as expected, and threw on some sweats. She grabbed her wedding dress and rushed down the stairs, and threw the dress into the back of her Mini. She sped off to the church. 

She pulled up and grabbed her dress from the back of the car and went inside. The pastor was already there and gave her a look when he saw her sweats. She ignored it and went into the dressing room. Her maid of honor, Sharon, was already there and dressed. "Leah! Where have you been?"

Leah shook her head. "I overslept." 

Sharon looked at her. "On your wedding day? Okay." 

Leah didn't look up. 

Sharon said, "Hey, you aren't dressed yet, so it's okay for someone to say hello to you!" She went to the door and yelled down the hallway. Leah heard steps and then saw Luke. He stepped into the room and the first thing he said was, "Why aren't you dressed yet?"

Leah looked at him. She turned to Sharon and said, "I need a moment with my fiancé." 

Sharon said, "Sure!" and went out into the hallway. 

Luke stepped close to her and grabbed her by her upper arms. "Seriously, Leah. Why aren't you dressed yet? People will be here soon! And what is up with your makeup?" He reached a hand up to her face and touched it.

She slapped his hand away and he stepped back. She saw the dark look on his face and she stepped back, too. 

"How dare you treat me that way?" He stepped closer to her. Her back was against the wall, so she couldn't go anywhere. He pushed against her, grinding his hips against hers. "You'll be mine tonight. Taketh my staff, woman." He grabbed her hand and pulled it to his crotch. He was already hard, and she thought back to all the times in her apartment and in his, when he had brought her to the brink but then had talked about how it would be a sin. She thought about how he'd cried when he'd pulled away from her as if the most natural thing in the world was shameful. She thought about his disapproval of her revealing dresses when they had first started going out and how he said that the people at church would disapprove. 

She thought about all these things and then she looked at her wedding dress hanging in the corner. She looked at the lace, the high collar, the long sleeves. She thought about the dress she had wanted and that Luke had told her was inappropriate. 

She looked him in the eye, put her hands on his shoulders, and gave him a mighty shove. He stumbled back and looked at her in shock. He said, "What are you doing?"

Leah hitched her sweatpants up, pulled her sweatshirt down, and said, "I'm not marrying you." She pulled the engagement ring off of her finger and threw it at him. "In fact, I want nothing to do with you, ever again." 

Luke stared at her. "You're nuts." 

Leah laughed. "Maybe. But I am not stupid." She grabbed her purse and headed towards the door. She looked up at the wedding dress in the corner. "That's your dress. Do with it what you want. Wear it in a drag ball, for all I care. It's on your credit card." 

She smiled as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.