As Luck Would Have It (9 page)

CHAPTER
tweleve

Sydney stood outside the Chapel with Marcus’ ring in her fisted hand, squeezing it so tightly that it was making a mark in her palm.
If I leave now, I won’t have to explain to anyone what happened this weekend. I can just lie and say I spent the entire week in my room as planned.

She turned and headed for the elevator. Before her was a vision of Ferris Bueller lying on his bed. He turned to her and said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Then he was gone.
What the fuck? She had watched the movie more than a few times, but really? The last several months had been so weird. She didn’t give much thought to it. If I leave now I might miss my only opportunity to be happy again.

Turning on her stilettos, she almost ran over the older standing behind her. “Ms. Sydney, is everything okay?”

With her head held high and a big smile on her face, she said, “It is now. Where’s my man?” She gave a quick look back.
Thanks, Ferris.

The woman was trying to hand Sydney a bouquet of shrubs. “What is this?” Sydney asked, taking the stems from the woman.

“This is your bridal bouquet. Mr. Matthews thought you would want something to hold. It’s made of young stems of sagebrush, which is Nevada’s state flower.”

Sydney looked over the bouquet. It was actually perfect. The sagebrush was a silver-gray color, and the stems were wrapped in satin with a lace bow. “Thank you,” she said, shifting the ring to her other hand.

The woman directed her to the door of the Chapel. She opened the door, and Sydney stepped inside. It was magnificent, set like a cathedral style church with a podium up front and pews on both sides. The most magnificent thing was standing by the podium: Marcus, her soon to be husband.

Cleanly shaven, Marcus wore a classic gray cutaway tuxedo with a matching vest and a gray and silver ascot. Crap, he looked good enough to eat standing there nonchalantly with his hand in his pocket.

Marcus turned when he heard the door open.
Holy Mother of God!
Suddenly, he rushed down the center aisle. When he reached Sydney, he stood as close as he possibly could, and whispered, “I thought you were going to bolt on me. I’m so glad you didn’t because I would have had to spend the rest of my life looking for you.”

He didn’t know what to do with his hands. “Words cannot explain how absolutely breath-taking you look.” He hooked his arm with hers and escorted her down the aisle. He couldn’t bear to let go of her, so he stood next to her close enough that their elbows touched.

The service was short. They spoke the customary vows except for, “Till death do you part,” They simply said, “Forever.”

Their first official kiss as husband and wife was so passionate that Sydney prayed her wetness would not drip down her leg in the Chapel.

After the service, the happy couple walked over to the Eifel Tower Restaurant inside the replica of the Eifel Tower. While waiting for their food, Sydney couldn’t stop admiring her new wedding ring. Marcus watched her happily.

“Do you like it? It was the most unique ring I could find. The band is pink gold, and that’s a chocolate diamond in the center, obviously with white diamonds around it,” he said, pointing to the ring. “And by the way, this is the coolest wedding band,” he added, holding up his hand.

“It’s titanium. And I absolutely love mine.” She grabbed Marcus’ hand and kissed his ring.

Not much was said during dinner. They were too busy eating the exquisite food to actually talk. Every so often, they would look up from their plates and smile at each other. Not once did they let go of each other’s hands.

After dinner, they headed up to the observation deck. Sydney had her face pressed against the glass of the elevator, watching planes take off from the airport. When the elevator stopped, Marcus nudged her out with his body.

Standing by the railing and looking over the lights on the strip, Marcus asked Sydney, “What happened back there at the Chapel? Were you really going to leave me standing there?” His voice sounded sad.

Turning to face him, she placed a hand on his cheek. “I was contemplating it. I wasn’t sure I could handle the judgments of my friends and family back home. Then I had an epiphany. There were so many things I never got to do with Philippe because we kept putting them off. ‘We have tomorrow,’ we would say. But then we didn’t, and I had to deal with all those tomorrows by myself. I don’t want to live the rest of my life having to put off what makes me happy.” She wiped her tears and smiled. “Actually Ferris Bueller changed my mind,”

“Ferris Bueller, you saw Matthew Broderick? I don’t understand.”

“Not actually, I had a vision of him saying that line from Ferris Bueller’s Day off. You know, ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.’ I don’t want to miss one day with you. I really love you, Marcus Matthews.”

“And I really love you, Sydney Matthews.”

“I can’t believe we leave tomorrow. It’s been an incredible six days. Today especially. I wish my sister could have been here. She’s gonna be real peeved that I got married and she had nothing to do with it.” Sydney gritted her teeth and smiled at him.

“What I can’t believe is that we’re going home together.” He looked down at Sydney. “Why are you smiling at me like that? I didn’t know you had a sister.”

“I’ll tell you all about my sister tomorrow when we’re settled in the plane. Now, we have a wedding night to celebrate, and Mrs. Matthews would like to go back to the suite.” She placed her hands on her hips, trying to look demanding.

“I like the way that sounds, Mrs. Matthews. Shall we?” Bowing towards her Marcus extended his arm.

As they hurried back to the suite, Sydney struggled with walking in her stilettos. Marcus pulled her along, not noticing her troubles because of all the men gawking at her.
She’s mine! Christ, she’s in a fucking wedding dress, and I’m in a tuxedo. Obviously we’re together, assholes.
He grew more and more annoyed as they walked through the casino to the elevator.

When they were finally in the elevator, Sydney bent down.

“What are you doing?” Marcus asked.

“I’m taking off my shoes. I barely made it in here with you pulling me like that.”

He swatted Sydney’s hands away from the shoe and retied the lace. “I couldn’t stand the way every guy was staring at you, and I want to make love to you in those shoes. They look so sexy on you.”

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Marcus swept Sydney up in his arms. “I wouldn’t want you to have to walk any further in those shoes.”

“Wait,” Sydney proclaimed, as Marcus was beginning to swoop her up in his arms. “I love the gesture, but that’s so traditional. There’s nothing traditional about us, and I’d like to keep it that way, if you don’t mind.” She kissed his cheek as a sign of appreciation for carrying her.

“Is there some other way you’d prefer?” He asked, holding the door open with his ass.

“Yeah, how ‘bout like this?” She dropped her bouquet, jumped up, and wrapped her legs around his waist.

Marcus held the bottom of her ass so she wouldn’t fall. “Ah, Sydney, I can feel your bare ass.”

“Surprise!” Sydney yelled and then starting laughing.

Marcus slammed the door shut with the bottom of his foot. “What’s so funny, naked ass?” He reached under her dress again to cop a feel.

He squeezed her ass, gave her an open mouth kiss, and swung her around. When he placed her feet back on the ground, Marcus ran his hands up her back to the zipper.

“Hold up, you have way more clothes on than I do. Let me start first.” She took his jacket off and tossed it on the chair. Next, she unbuttoned his vest and dropped it on top of the jacket. She lifted his ascot and unbuttoned his shirt, kissing all the way down his chest as she slipped off his shirt and tossed it.

“What about the tie?”

“Oh, I’m leaving that on, baby. If I have to have my shoes on, you can wear that.”

Sydney undid the clasp and pulled down his zipper, pulling the waistband of his boxers just low enough to place a gentle kiss on his chameleon tattoo. In the meantime, Marcus kicked off his loafers and pushed them aside. She shimmed his pants down, and Marcus stepped out of them.

Marcus gently pulled down the zipper of her dress. She shrugged off the one spaghetti strap, and the dress fell to the floor. Sydney stood naked before him, dressed only in her wedding stilettos.

Sydney stepped forward and grabbed the waistband of his boxers, tugging them down to his ankles. Before she could stand, up Marcus grasped her shoulders and assisted her up.

“I still can’t believe you’re mine.”

“Yup, standing here in the flesh feeling a little embarrassed,” she said, nodding her head up and down.

He moved his hands from her shoulders to her cheeks and kissed her. “That’s one of the things I love about you - your snappy remarks.”

“And that’s one of the things I love about you,” she replied, pointing to his barbell attached to his erection.

Without another word, he tilted her chin and kissed her passionately, nudging her gently over to the sofa. He squirmed his way down to her stomach, kissing her belly button before moving lower. He could feel the goose bumps on her body.

Marcus loved the way her hands felt on his bald head while he was enjoying the taste of her sweet juices, how every time he would insert his tongue, she would squeeze his earlobes. He especially loved it when he pulled away, and she would arch her hips for more. He knew that with only his tongue, he could put her on cloud nine.

Sydney wasn’t much of a dirty talker, but she wasn’t shy about what she wanted or how she said it. “Holy fucking shit. It is absurd what you can do with that tongue. Can you do it again?” She begged, throwing her head back on the couch and closing her eyes.

“When you ask like that, how can I refuse?” Marcus got back down to business. Her every little moan had him working harder. After she came again, he carried her to the bedroom.

Midway, she regained her strength and wiggled out of his arms and to her feet. Not letting go of him, she directed him to the dining room table. He placed his bare ass at the head of the table. Sydney sat and pulled the chair closer. Placing her hand on Marcus’ chest, she gave him a nudge to lie back as she seized the beast between his legs.

Wrapping her hands around the base of his shaft, she took him completely in her mouth. Sydney sucked and swallowed while pressing her fisted hand at his base. As she ran her tongue around the head of his penis, she could feel him clench his ass cheeks together, and soon, he exploded into her mouth.

Marcus sat up in time to witness Sydney lick her lips. “Ah, did Mrs. Matthews enjoy her meal?” he asked, cocking his head to one side.

“Actually, I did. I’d love another really, but I need to wash this make-up off my face and comb through all this shit in my hair.” She bent down to remove her shoes and grabbed hold of Marcus’ hand pulling him into the bathroom.

“It would probably just be easier if I took a quick shower,” Sydney suggested.

“I’m going to wait for you right here,” Marcus said, sitting on the sink across from the shower stall.

Sydney stepped into the shower. From the moment she put her head back to wet her hair, Marcus was losing the battle. His dick was at full mast by the time she finished rinsing the soap off her body.

When Sydney stepped out of the shower, Marcus waited for her with a robe. “I‘m on to you, babe. I can beat off right here and still have the energy to take you to bed if you‘re looking to mark every room.”

“As fun and exciting as that would be to watch, I’d rather have you take me to bed. I’m feeling a sudden urge between my legs. We can mark this room before we leave tomorrow.” Sydney turned, dropped her robe, and sauntered into the bedroom.

Marcus followed behind like a puppy dog with his tongue hanging out. Once they both got into bed, they came together like a well-directed orchestra. Everyone got to play and everyone finished together.

Lying in each other’s arms felt so right for both of them.

“Marcus, I’m going to cherish every moment I have with you. I love you.” Sydney gave him a gentle hug and closed her eyes.

“I know, baby, I love you, too.”

CHAPTER thirteen

The phone rang, and Sydney reached across Marcus to answer it. “Good Morning, Mrs. Matthews,” the desk clerk said, “This is your wake up call.”

“Good Morning to you, thank you.” Sydney hung up the phone and pushed back to her side of the bed. It was so weird being called Mrs. Matthews. Marcus rolled on top of her, using his arms to brace over her body. “Morning Mrs. Matthews, I believe we have a bathroom to mark.” He placed a quick peck on her lips and rolled out of bed. “You better hurry up. We don’t have much time before we have to check out.”

Sydney wasted no time getting out of bed and accompanying Marcus in the shower. When both of their bodies were wet, Marcus grasped her hair and tugged her head back to wet her hair. He ran his hands over her breasts and down to her hips he spinning her so that her ass was cradling his cock. Holding her against his chest with one hand, he ran the other over her belly and down to the hot spot between her legs. Marcus was not surprised to feel how warm and wet she was. “You’re always so ready for me, Syd,” he whispered in her ear.

Arching her back to draw his finger closer to her opening, she said, “Yeah, and I want you now.”

Marcus placed his hand on the small of her back, bent her over, and ran his dick along the crack of her ass. Sydney was on all fours, her palms pressed against the shower floor. Her legs were straight, and she rose to her tippy toes, hoping Marcus would take her from behind. The anticipation made it more erotic when he slid his erection slowly into her.

Holding her hips, he directed her on and off of his shaft. He kept a slow and steady pace at first and then increased the rhythm to an outright bang. Sydney felt his balls hitting her in all the right places.

“Babe, I’m going to come. I can’t hold it any longer.”

“Oh shit, have you been waiting for me to finish? I can’t orgasm standing…” Before she could finish her sentence, Marcus came so hard that his banging became slamming and Sydney had to brace herself against the wall to prevent falling over.

“Wow, that was incredible,” she said, kissing Marcus’ chest.

“But you didn’t get to finish. That’s not right.”

“Babe, I came like three times. I’m good, really. You can make it up to me when we get home.”

“Home. That sounds so nice. We better get going.” Soaping up his hands, Marcus began to wash his head and then his face, working his way down his body until he reached his dick. He covered it with suds, rubbing his hands up and down his shaft.

Marcus glanced over at Sydney, who was leaned against the shower wall with her mouth slightly open and her eyes closed.

“Syd, are you alright?”

Holding up her index finger as a gesture to wait a minute. “Now we’re even.” She opened her eyes and smiled. “What? I was watching you wash yourself, and when you grabbed your dick and starting stroking it with all those suds, I finished. Guess I can orgasm standing up,” she said, giggling.

Marcus wrapped Sydney in his arms. “You are something special.” He placed a kiss on her head. “Let’s get you washed up so we can get something to eat before we board the plane.”

After checking out and having lunch, they went outside to meet the car that would take them to the airport. Marcus could see that Sydney was very nervous about going home. Tightly holding her hand, he asked, “Are you ready to head out?”

Squeezing his hand even tighter, she said, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Marcus was kind of excited about the plane ride home. He had gotten his girl, and he was ready to get on with everyday life. Plus, his curiosity about her family was starting to get the better of him.

They had a couple hours to kill once they reached the airport, so they decided to have a drink or two at the bar.

“It feels different already,” Sydney said. “But not in a bad way,” she reassured Marcus. “It feels very natural to be sitting here with you. I don’t feel like a million eyes are on me, watching every move I make.”

“I don’t want to spook you, but there are always men watching you. I’ve seen it all week, and they’re doing it here too. You just don’t realize it.”

She kissed him on his perfect lips. “No worries. I’m all yours and only yours.” 

They could hear the announcement that the flight to Philadelphia, was now boarding. “That’s us,” he said, grabbing hold of her hand and escorting her to the gate. “I can’t wait to hear all about your family.”

“I get the window seat,” she called out.

“But of course. Only this time I’m not leaving an empty seat between us, unless you want me to sit on the aisle?”

“Don’t be silly. Of course I want you to sit next to me.” She gave him a light slap on his arm. “I don’t want to get a stiff neck straining to look at you.”

The stewardess greeting everyone as they entered the plane just happened to be the same stewardess that spent her entire flight from Philly to Vegas trying to accommodate Marcus.              “Good afternoon,” the stewardess started to say before Sydney interrupted with, “Mr. and Mrs. Matthews,” wiggling her finger between Marcus and her.

“A little possessive are we?” Marcus joked with Sydney.

“This is no joke Marcus, that b… whatever,” shaking her head. She wanted to call her a bitch but didn‘t want to sound like a bitch to Marcus. “She spent the entire flight to Vegas trying to get in your pants.” She stopped to look at the mental picture she had taken of Marcus when she was leaving the plane. “And I remember those pants. There wasn’t any room in there for anyone.”

“They weren’t that tight before I sat next to you.”

“I hope you wore looser pants today, ‘cause you are sitting next to me, and I just might need somewhere to keep my hands.”

“You will keep your hands in your own lap,” he said, still joking with her. “We need to learn to control ourselves when we’re in public.”

“What, you don’t want to join the Mile High Club today?” She made a face. “That’s so tacky anyway.”

They settled in their seats, and the captain came on to advise that they were ready for takeoff. Once they were in the air, Marcus turned to Sydney. “I’d like to start. My family is really small, so my story will be short.”

Sydney shifted in her seat so that he would have her full attention. “Okay.”

“Where to start?” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “I’ve lived in Delaware my entire life. My parents were killed in an automobile accident when I was fifteen. They only owned one car, so my dad would drive my mom to work. She didn’t mind because she hated to drive anyway.” He made a small smirk and continued, “My father had picked my mom up from work, and had a heart attack on the ride home. I guessing my mom was trying to help him when the car ran the red light and hit the garbage truck. When the paramedics got there, she was on top of him. They died instantly, no pain, no suffering.” He stopped and looked at Sydney, who was listening intently, “Stella and Stewart Stuben were our neighbors and my parents’ best friends. The Stubens were in their mid-thirties and didn’t have any children of their own. My parents didn’t have much family, so when they had their wills drawn up, they made the Stubens my guardians in case anything happened to them.” Marcus noticed that Sydney had tears in her eyes, “Babe, it was a long time ago. I’m okay.” He wiped the tear that was rolling down her cheek with the back of his hand.

“My parents had everything covered, as if they knew. The life insurance policy paid off the remainder of the mortgage. We sold the house and took the remaining money from the insurance and banked it.”  He was relieved that Sydney was starting to regain her composure. “When it was time for me to go to college, I had plenty of money. In fact, I used what was left to start my business and buy my first house. My first house needed some work, so I fixed it up. I made a killing when I sold it. Had enough to put down on the Georgian Villa.” Marcus looked at Sydney, who had her finger against her lips in thought. “What?”

“You must have had a social life. I’m sure you didn’t just wake up like this a week ago.” She did the Vanna White thing with her hand as if he was a letter.

“I was kind of a loner as a kid. Didn’t play many spots, but I was really into my computer. I’d hit the gym every once in a while but wasn’t fanatical about it.” He turned to Sydney, who was waiting for more. “I dated a few girls in High School and a few more in College. I lost my virginity the summer I graduated High School. Haven’t seen her since. The last time I had sex was about eight months ago. And if you haven’t figured it out already, I hate sandals.” He took a deep breath. “So that’s my life in a nut shell.”

He remembered one last thing he wanted to tell her. “When we get picked up from the airport, Stewart will be driving. I’d like to tell him and Stella together that we’re married. So don’t be mad when I don’t introduce you as my wife.”

He wasn’t surprised when Sydney immediately responded, “Actually, I’m not even gonna introduce you to my sister when I get home. I don’t want her going all ape shit at ten o’clock at night. After I tell her and the kids, we’ll do the introductions. I hope that’s okay?”

“I totally understand. Please, I can’t take any more. What’s the deal with your sister?”

“So I’ll start from the end. Natalie is the baby of the family. She’s 35 and single she lives in Weehawken and works as a freelance artist. Basically, she paints shit for people with a lot of money. She’s a little eclectic and a whole lotta crazy. Natalie hates when she’s not involved in planning something and thinks she does everything better than everyone else. There isn’t anything she couldn’t or wouldn’t do. She’s the person who always knows what’s going on in the family. We shared a room when we were little. She was a slob, and she always stole my clothes. Oh, and slept with my boyfriends.  We hardly got along as kids, but we’re inseparable now. It kills her that I live so far away.” 

Sydney glanced over Marcus’ shoulder and thought she saw Philippe sitting there with a big smile on his face. Was he giving her thumbs up?

Marcus looked behind him. “Someone you know?”

Sydney shook her head. “Um, thought I saw someone, but it couldn’t be. Anyway, where was I? Oh, siblings. So Nat’s the baby, then there’s Michael. He’s thirty-nine, married with two kids. Then there’s me and Dominick. He’s forty-eight, single, and lives in NYC. My oldest brother Peter just turned fifty and is married with three kids. My parents, Antonio and Lucretia, are in their late sixties and still live in the same house where I grew up. Is there anything specific you want to know?” she asked Marcus.

“Wow, there are a lot of you.” Marcus really wanted to hear more about her kids but could see that she wasn’t offering any more information than he already had. “Are you close with them all?”

“Well, my parents like to come over for the weekend once a month. Nat comes whenever she wants. She’ll show up unannounced and stay just the night, or the weekend. Sometimes she stays for the week. I usually only see my brothers on holidays and birthdays. With nine nieces and nephews, it seems more often than not. But we all keep in touch by phone.” Sydney couldn’t read Marcus’ face. “Wishing you knew all this before you married me?”

Reaching out to hold her hands, Marcus said, “Absolutely not. Sydney, I married you because I truly am in love with you. You filled a void I was unaware of until I saw you. I don’t have a big family, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want one.” He pulled her close and kissed her.

Sydney curled up to Marcus and fell asleep. Marcus spent the entire hour she was sleeping just listening to her breathe. He truly did love her and would make sure she knew it every day.