Goodbye for now || n.h

Chapter 14

April 8 2019. Three years after our first date and now we're getting married.

I still had a hard time believing it. We've been engaged for seven months now, still living in Dublin but with different jobs. Dakota has started up that campaign with Caroline and I'm working at a music store. It doesn't pay as good as my job as a waiter, but I've never been comfortable at the restaurant. Music has always been my passion, even though I'm not working with it the way I truly want. But it takes time and Dakota has my back, supporting every move I make.

"Okay, how nervous are you on a scale from one to ten?"

"Not helping." I told Sebastian as I stood in front of the mirror, tugging at my tie.

"What if she doesn't show up?" Gabe, my fellow waiter buddy, said.

"Dude, you haven't been around for as long as the rest of us. She will be there." Zach chuckled, placing his hand on Gabe's shoulder.

There were a knock on the door, and my brother Greg looked in. He stepped in, along with his son Theo, who is turning two this year.

I walked away from the mirror and picked up my nephew.

"I just saw a glimpse of Dakota. She looks beautiful." Greg told me.

I smiled and poked Theo's cheek.

Dakota Jones will soon be a name in the past. Dakota Horan will exist instead and mentally I had pinched myself at least twenty times already. It was just so unreal. I'm about to marry the young woman I love more than anything.

It was a quite small wedding, only our closest friends and family. That's pretty much everything we could afford, but none of us cared, as long as we had a wedding. And I've stopped counting how many times I've heard; "but you're both so young". Not only do our family tell us that, but other people around us. Every time Dakota has shown someone the ring, everyone goes numb. Yes, we're only 21 – turning 22 this year – but as I'd like to believe, the sooner the better. It was already settled we were going to get married some day, so why wait? We love each other endlessly, so there were no second thoughts or doubts.

I turned my head to the aisle. Dakota slowly approached, walking with her arm locked around her father's, smiling at me. She looked absolutely beautiful on prom, but prom was nothing compared to this. The white dress showed off her amazing body and was heart shaped around her chest. Her dark hair was half hanging down, half messily set up with some silver pins. Thanks to her make up, her eyes were really popping out.

It was hard to explain how beautiful she looked. The only word I could come up with was breathtaking.

Throughout the ceremony I just couldn't keep my eyes off of her. I faintly heard the priest talking, but she had my fully attention. I couldn't wait to say "I do" and start calling her my wife. No matter how unreal and weird it was to think that. Dakota Horan.

Then it was suddenly time for our vows, and I was up first.

I had prepared this for so long, started thinking about it the day after she agreed to marry me. Seven months of rehearsing and now I'm about to say it in front of everyone.

"I've never been the type of guy with a lot of dreams. In school I didn't care about my grades that much. I thought that as long as I passed my classes, everything would be fine. But I've always had a hard time imagining my life after school. Thinking about jobs, houses and money was always an issue for me. All of that seemed so far away. But it all changed when I met you."