Hate, actually

Chapter 12

"Sadie," I hear a voice in the distance.

Poke.

"Sadie, you need to wake up."

My eyes wrestle against fatigue and finally win, opening up to sunlight leaking through my curtains.

What the f**k is the time?

"Gather around class. Take notice. It seems to live," Leonardo says.

Why is he in here?

"Why are you in here?" I ask groggily.

He closes his eyes briefly, trying to be patient. "It's the 14th."

Oh. Right.

"We're getting married."

"You're quick."

"And you're moody. What's crawled up your pants?" I say, sitting up slowly.

"Oh I don't know. Maybe it's because my bride is an hour behind schedule and I nearly called an ambulance because she sleeps like a dead corpse."

My eyes widen. "An hour?"

He nods in resignation, taking a seat on the bed. "Michael will be here in about fifteen minutes."

"Why the f**k did you not wake me up?"

"I was asleep," he says flatly. "I don't need as much work done as the bride."

I cover my face with my hands in frustration. "Micheal is going to kill me."

"I'd hope so if I didn't still need you."

I would have shoved him if he didn't look so intimidatingly hot in his white vest and low riding pajama pants.

I get up and attempt to tie the knot that is my hair. It's gray now and I haven't felt prettier in ages. Leonardo gave me an honest to God compliment when he'd picked me up from the salon last week, which is a blue moon event. My self esteem went up way more than a notch.

"Well I better take a shower now. What was I meant to be doing for the past hour again?"

I seriously have no idea. Michael definitely told me but my brain decided to discard everything he said yesterday morning and I haven't even been drinking.

I might've even not been listening in the first place.

Leonardo gives me a blank look. "Really, Sadie?"

I run a hand over my face in frustration. "I forgot, okay? I have a lot on my mind."

"I'm starting to think you're not even taking this seriously."

He's right but I give him a hard stare either way. "Definitely not the time to argue."

He sighs in resignation, standing up. "I never thought I had to listen to your conversation with Micheal, so I really don't know what you were meant to be doing."

I start to panic. I could just ask Micheal but that will alert him that I'm behind schedule and I kinda don't want to counter all his hard work with my stupidity.

I'm pacing around the room, trying to come up with a plan. My head is buzzing with worry as I consider the press, Leonardo's family, his friends, his dedicated fans-

"Oh here," Leonardo says approaching me with my phone, "he sent a message reminding you."

He was probably going through my phone out of boredom, as usual - something I started doing with his phone when I had nothing to do. It sounds weird but it almost feels normal for us to do, almost involuntary when boredom strikes.

I've really got nothing to hide on my phone because I don't text anyone besides Mom, Leonardo and Michael. My friends know this about me, I'm a call type of person. I've deleted all traces of previous messages just in case, though.

Michael: You'll probably forget all of this so I might as well remind you to write your vows and a speech from the heart. Your legs also need to be shaved before I arrive. It's not a lot to do in one hour!

I look at Leonardo incredulously. "How come you don't have to write a speech or vows?"

"I did that during your work out yesterday."

I realize he's being patient. Really patient.

I look up at Leonardo alarmed. There's no way I can do all of this in the remaining time left.

I give him a sheepish smile. "Are you any good at writing speeches?"

●●●

"Do you, Sadie Aria Torres, take Leonardo Beau Romano to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

I immediately look up upon hearing the name Beau. The one and only, eclectic Leonardo Romano's middle name means beautiful in French.

It's far from a contradiction to his outward appearance - but his personality!

He catches me smirking and I know he's aware of my current thought process. He gives me a hard look and I almost giggle. We probably look insane, with Leonardo glaring in my direction and me trying to hold back laughter.

"I do."

When I say the latter, Leonardo's shoulders visibly relax but not dramatically so. I'm probably the only person who noticed. I wonder if he thought I'd go back on my word.

"Do you, Leonardo Beau Romano, take Sadie Aria Torres, to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

When Leonardo makes eye contact, I suddenly find it hard to breathe. I don't know why his eyes hold so much more intensity than they did yesterday, the day before that or ever.

"I do," he says.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

For someone who has only been kissed by two guys her whole life (my prom date in Junior year and Kai) I'm pretty nervous by now.

Two factors are bringing on my worry: I have a whole entire boyfriend who - although isn't present and is currently at New York Fashion Week - might just see his girlfriend's wedding pictures on his newsfeed, and the second reason being: Leonardo is insanely attractive and smells so amazing right now I just might fall for him.

Before I know it, Leonardo has my face in his hands and he leans in and presses a kiss to my lips ever so lightly. I have full body shudders all the way down to my toes. I feel like I have never been kissed before.

I try to battle with my reaction but I absolutely cannot help what I'm feeling.

When he pulls away I regain my ability to hear again and there are defeating squeals and cheers from our friends and family.

Time passes really fast. I find myself sitting next to Lauren at the wedding reception constantly replaying the kiss that sealed my vows with Leonardo. I am pathetic and I need help.

"I can't believe Kai couldn't find a way to make it to his best friend's wedding," Lauren huffs.

I shrug a shoulder. "He would've been here if he could. Trust me."

The truth is, Kai was never going to come - Fashion Week or not. He kept talking about how it would be 'weird' and downright 'uncomfortable'.

I didn't disagree with him and I had no reason to be offended by his absence.

"D'you think we're all going through the first phases of drifting apart?" Lauren asks.

I frown. "What makes you say that?"

"I mean we've been keeping a lot from eachother. We both dropped out of college and didn't say, Kai got engaged at some point and neither of us had a clue, I'm guilty of getting knocked up and not saying anything about it and now Kai doesn't even show up to your wedding. Your actual wedding."

Little does she know Kai and I are actually together and this whole wedding is the biggest lie on earth. I feel horrible.

"Maybe we should all get together for like a week. We could go camping or something." My voice shakes a little as I speak.

"Yeah we could do that. Losing you guys would be like losing family. Hey, are you okay? You seem a little sedate."

I snap out of it. "Oh me? It's probably the wedding nerves catching up with me."

Her eyes twinkle at this. "Sadie, you're somebody's wife."

"I can't quite believe it myself." And that's the truth.

Looking ahead, I see my husband talking to Steve. I can tell Steve is fussing over his best friend being married just as much as Lauren has been for the past hour. I don't how to feel about everything.

●●●

"You looked beatiful today," Leonardo casually comments from the seat opposite me in the Limo. 

He gives me an odd look that I can only describe as admiration. My tummy does a flip.

The thing about Leonardo is this: he rarely ever gives compliments unless they have offensive connotations to dilute the fact that it's a compliment.

I pause waiting for him him to say something else and when nothing comes, I bask in the glorious fact that he is complimenting me.

"Thanks. Your shirt's really nice."

I want to slap myself.

He looks amused. "Thanks."

I look out of the window in embarrassment.

We're being chauffeured to the airport and from there we're flying to our 'honeymoon' destination. We're going on a couple's cruise through Tahiti. I'm so nervous.

"Have you ever been on a ship that sank?" I ask.

Leonardo gives me a flat look. "Yeah, that's why I'm sitting here on my way to another one."

"So no?"

"No."

I hold up my pinkie finger to him. "Swear it."

He looks at my finger like it's a foreign object. "I'm not giving you a pinkie promise."

"You won't do it because you're probably lying." I'm being such a kid but I need reassurance.

Leonardo lets out a deep sigh and links him pinkie finger with mine.

I'm surprised he let me win this one. It almost makes me smile like a dork but I suppress it.

●●●