Jewel Ann - Idle Bloom

Nothing.

Maybe I’ll just look at Alex … that’s not good either. I promised her no tears, but that will never work if I’m looking at her the whole time. I wish Oliver were here. He soothes all my nerves and with just one look he gives me confidence. Missing Oliver is hard, but not knowing if or when I’ll see him again is like a slow death. The temptation to call him has been overwhelming the past several days, but I can’t. He’ll come to me when he’s ready.

God … I hope that day comes.

I didn’t write down my speech and as my turn approaches I’m starting to regret it.

“Next, we’ll hear from the maid of honor, Vivian Graham.”

I stand as I’m handed the microphone. Yep, I might pass out, definitely not enough alcohol.

“Hello.” The crowd falls silent. “A month or so ago I thought up this great speech that summarized our relationship over the past two years and it included all the reasons Sean is the luckiest guy in the world to give you his name.” Sean grins at me and kisses Alex on the cheek. “But recent events in my life have made me rethink what I wanted to say to you both, so … here it is, simply and sweet.” I take a nervous sip of my champagne then suck in a courageous breath.

“I hope every day you take each other’s breath away. I hope every kiss feels like the first but ends like the last. I hope you always see the best versions of yourselves reflected in each other’s eyes.” I look at Alex while my own emotions derail my thoughts. “But mostly, I hope you wake up every morning next to each other because there’s no place in this world you’d rather be, instead of having nowhere else to go. May you always be each other’s home.”

I raise my glass and the band starts in as applause and clinking glasses echo in the air. Alex and Sean cut the cake and have their first dance. In spite of my suggestion to skip the wedding party dance, claiming that it was unoriginal, we have it and I’m forced to once again breach my comfort zone and dance with Kai.

“Do you think we’ll ever be friends again?” he asks as the band plays “Maybe I’m Amazed.”

“I don’t know if we know how to be friends anymore.” I shrug. “Nothing lasts forever.”

“Such a cliché.” He shakes his head.

“Yeah, well, cliché seems to be the term that’s used when someone doesn’t want to admit the truth.”

“So Oliver isn’t your happily-ever-after? You don’t want that to last forever.”

“Oliver grounds me in the moment. When I’m with him I don’t think about tomorrow or next week, and I sure don’t think about forever. I don’t try to quantify my love for him or our time together. I just want to be with him and if along the way time passes, so be it.”

“Did I not ground you?” Kai asks as the song comes to an end.

I give him a sad smile as he releases my waist. “No. I always felt like I was floating ten feet off the ground ready to fall and hoping you’d see me … hoping you’d catch me. But you never did.”

“Viv, I’m …” Kai winces and shakes his head as the power in his voice fades.

“Kai?”

He gives me a slow glance.

“In spite of where we ended … I forgive you, for everything.”

Kai’s mouth opens but no words come out. He nods and I turn and worm my way off the dance floor. I suck in a shaky breath and blink back the tears. Forgiveness breathes life into a weakened soul.

Free-flowing liquor, a stellar band, and the best view of Boston—all mine for the next three hours. I should have a nice buzz and be living it up on the dance floor with the other bridesmaids. Instead, I’m sitting at the head table, alone, rearranging cake crumbs with my fork and thinking of Oliver. I haven’t heard from him or Jackie since she left for Portland. Alex has consumed my every minute until now. I grab my phone from my handbag but there are no missed calls or messages. So I do what any lonely girl in my shoes would do … I get another piece of cake.

The lead singer of the band starts to talk. “This next song is a special request dedicated to anyone still eating cake.”

I freeze with my fork in my mouth, scanning the room. Am I the only one still eating cake?

Then the music starts: “A Drop in the Ocean” by Ron Pope.

“You are, you know …” A tingle of hair-raising chills flows across my skin as his words whisper along my neck. “… You are my heaven.”

I didn’t realize how many tears I’d been saving for him—until this moment.

“You’re here,” I whisper, turning my head with slow ease.

Oliver holds out his hand, and of course … I take it. “I’m here for you. God, I’m so sorry—” He pulls me into his arms.

“Don’t … don’t apologize.” I shake my head and cling to him.

I try so hard to control the emotions that detonate inside, no longer able to be held back by the overwhelming need to do right by Oliver. This is my selfish moment. I just can’t keep it in another second.

“I—I didn’t know if—you’d come back.”

He leans back and looks at me, brushing away my tears with the pads of his thumbs. “I had to let something go. But it wasn’t you … never you.”

I smile and so does he … two dimples. But then mine fades.

Oliver cups my face. “What is it?”

My face wrinkles with concern. “Did you … forgi—”

He presses his lips to mine, silencing me—holding me. As he releases me, he rests his forehead on mine and nods.

We say our goodbyes to Alex and Sean, who both insist us two ‘lovebirds’ get out of here. I feel a pang of guilt being the maid of honor that leaves before the bride and groom. But I need Oliver now, more than anything or anyone else.

He leads me toward the elevators. “By the way, you make that dress look beautiful.”

I giggle and shake my head.

“Even with the frosting smeared down the front.” He glances back over his shoulder with a smirk.

“What?” I stop and look down. “Dammit!” I rub the chocolate frosting with my thumb, but it only makes it worse.

Oliver chuckles. “Don’t worry about it. You won’t be wearing it much longer.”

My insides begin to heat as we maneuver our way through the sea of tables and people. I take the opportunity to drink in my sexy man in his suit, but my eyes stop, glued to his … leather work boots.

“Oliver?”

“Yes?” he calls back.

“What’s up with the boots?”

“Patience … you’ll see.”

“I haven’t worked out in a while. Do you think I’m looking flabby?” Oliver asks.

Looking over my shoulder, I bite my lower lip and shake my head.

“Is my tie straight?”

I nod with an enormous grin, my body screaming for the teasing to stop.

“What about my ass? Do these boots make my ass look big?” Oliver turns and flexes his firm glutes at me.

I begin to drool. “Oliver!”

“Yes, my love?”

“Now!”

He grins while crawling onto the bed. “So what made you think of this?” Lifting my hips, he slides his erection between my legs, teasing my clit.

I’m on my knees, bent forward with my wrists handcuffed to the headboard—the handcuffs were in my bridesmaid’s goodie bag, compliments of Alex.

“Um, nothing really. Ahhh!”

Oliver slams into me and pulls my hair back. Who is this guy?

As he works into a steady pace, he releases my hair and grabs my hips with the occasional reach-around to stimulate my clitoris.

The cuffs, although fur covered, bite into my skin. It’s pain and pleasure. It’s sexy and erotic. It’s demanding and playful … It’s me and Oliver—unpredictable, indestructible, and inseparable.

Skin to skin, heart to heart, in his arms is my home. Everything else I do in my life will just be what I accomplish in a day to get back to Oliver.

“Oli?’

“Hmm?” His chest hums against my ear as our tired bodies search for sleep.

“Why did you keep the pillow?”

Loving fingers trace my back. “I wanted her last breath.”

5 Years Later

What happens when a business geek from Harvard meets an engineering geek from MIT at Dunkin’ Donuts? Bloom Pods.

Before either Vivian or her MIT friend, Anne Gade, received their degrees, they both became millionaires. Bloom Pods are sleep pods revolutionized. They have therapeutic lighting, essential oil diffusers to stimulate the pineal gland, music, white noise or nature sounds, chair massage options, and a cover that’s a virtual screen with every imaginable scenery choice. It’s so realistic that even people with claustrophobia can use them with ease. Fifteen minutes in a Bloom Pod feels like hours of physical rejuvenation. They’ve infiltrated all major cities, now common in corporate buildings, fitness centers, and mental hospitals.

Since graduating a year ago, Vivian has expanded her wellness corporation, Idle Bloom, beyond Bloom Pods. Now that marijuana is legal in all fifty states, she has hired a group of doctors and scientists to head up The Green Pot Project. They’re conducting long-term research studies on all the health benefits of marijuana, including cannabinoids effect on reducing inflammation and preventing scar tissue after severe burns.

As for me … I’ve managed to sleep my way to the top. The CEO of Idle Bloom has a thing for tall guys in ties and work boots, so now I head their legal department. My office is next to the boss lady’s with an adjoining door. We schedule time for a private meeting every day and sometimes our pressing needs require two meetings to remedy the situation.