Safeword: Matte - In Training (30 page)

She dried her hair and put it in hot
rollers, slathered her body in raw shea butter, and touched up her
shaving job in a few places.

Tara had said she wasn’t soft; did Ethan
miss having the softness of a normal woman when he held her? Sam
hadn’t thought of it before, but was it possible she felt more like
a man than a woman when he held her? No, she had breasts, even
though they weren’t as big as Tara’s, and she was slender and wiry,
not all beefy like a male weightlifter. Still, her arms and
shoulders showed definition, and her stomach and legs were cut.

“Face it,” she told the mirror. “Tara is
more of a woman than you are.”

Shaking her head at her naked reflection in
the mirror, she asked, “Where is this coming from? This is who I
am, and if Ethan didn’t like it he wouldn’t have asked me to spend
the rest of our lives together. Good for Tara for being the kind of
woman she wants to be, and good for me for figuring out how to be a
strong woman without feeling the need to turn myself into a
man.”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with Tara
feeling the need to—” She stopped mid-sentence and rolled her eyes.
“Shit, must be wedding nerves; I’m explaining myself to
myself.”

She’d eaten watermelon and honeydew melon
during and after her workout, and now she dressed and went to the
kitchen to make an omelet, as she’d need the protein to get her
through the ceremony.

Kirsten and her mom arrived as she was
eating, and she was more grateful than ever she didn’t have a
hangover headache. Her mom seemed as nervous as a dozen brides.

“I’m glad you have your hair in rollers, but
you haven’t even started on your makeup! How long did you work out?
And why did you feel the need to work out on your wedding day, of
all days!?”

“Mom, working out relaxes me. I want to
enjoy my wedding day and not stress over everything. I can do that
in part because I know you’ve taken care of all of the details for
me, so thank you for that.”

Her mom took a breath and was quiet a few
moments before saying, “You’re welcome. Even though I don’t really
understand your relationship with Ethan, and you’ll get upset with
me for saying I’m happy you have someone to take care of you, I’m
still happy for you. I want you to be happy, and I want today to be
perfect for you.”

“Thanks, Mom.” She turned to Kirsten. “I
hope you got enough sleep?”

“Yeah, I’d barely pulled into my own
driveway when you texted me, so I got almost as much as you. I’ll
go on up and plug the curling iron in and get ready for you, come
up when you’re ready for me to do your hair.”

Kirsten dropped Sam and her mom off at the
door of the Read House before she searched for parking, and Sam’s
mom herded her through back hallways and into her dressing
room.

“Kirsten tells me someone named Jacob is
going to come do your makeup?”

“Yes, and if you can’t be nice to him it
might be better for you to leave while he’s in here. He’s bisexual,
but he acts kind of gay and I don’t want you hurting his
feelings.”

“How did you meet this man?”

“It’s a long story, Mom.” Sam sighed as she
realized her mother would need more of an explanation. “He’s kind
of seeing one of my good friends. He’s a make-up artist in
Nashville, and works on the country music stars. He’s very
good.”

Her mother opened her mouth and Sam cut her
off, “Mom, I know you don’t like last minute stuff, and you don’t
know him and don’t think he should be in my dressing room, but
please just go with it? Please?”

“Will Ethan want another man in your
dressing room?”

“I haven’t asked him, but
he knows Jacob and won’t have a problem with it. I
promise
, Mom. I’m not
doing anything he’ll take issue with.”

Her mother gave an exaggerated sigh and
fluttered her hands, and Sam changed the conversation while she
could. “Kirsten will see Ethan when she takes my overnight bag up
to the room. Do you need her to take anything up, or relay anything
to him?”

Her mom shook her head as someone knocked on
the door before opening it a crack and saying, “Everyone decent? I
have Jacob.”

“Come on in, Dana. Jacob, this is my mother,
Martha. Mom, this is Jacob.”

Her mom gave a pleasant enough greeting
before moving away and fiddling with the bouquet.

“You’re glowing,” said Jacob. “I was worried
you’d be hung over, but you look fresh as a daisy.”

Viv and Kirsten came in while Jacob applied
Sam’s makeup, and before long the room was full of bridesmaids. Viv
and Kirsten changed in front of Jacob without thinking about it,
and Sam’s mom gave disapproving glares but kept her mouth shut.
Cassie walked around a corner and quickly changed, but Jacob was
oblivious as he worked on Sam and gave her one hundred percent of
his attention.

“You’re used to high-strung country music
stars, aren’t you?”

“Sure,” he smiled. “It may not be my job to
keep them calm, but my ability to do so while I make them beautiful
assures their manager thinks of me first the next time.”

When he finished, even her mom seemed to
approve, but she rushed him and Dana out quickly, saying it was
time to get Sam into her wedding gown.

Sam didn’t point out they’d all seen each
other naked already, just smiled conspiratorially at Dana and Jacob
as she thanked them and told them she’d see them later.

Her mom had timed things so there’d be no
down time, and as soon as everyone was ready Sam was ushered into
another room with a beautiful church-like backdrop for the women to
pose in front of. As soon as the photographer was done the women
were ushered into another hallway, and before Sam knew it the
wedding march was playing and her father walked her into a room
full of people.

Everyone stood and looked at her, but all
she saw was Ethan, waiting for her. She’d seen herself in a
full-length mirror in the hallway, and thought she might be pulling
off the whole feminine thing. Kirsten had pulled her hair up with
soft curls spilling out, and Jacob had done miracles with her
makeup. She looked more like a Samantha than the hard-cased divorce
attorney named Sam, and she could see the appreciation in Ethan’s
face when he saw her.

Perhaps she’d try to do this every once in a
while for him, on special occasions. If he liked it.

But as she neared the love of her life all
thoughts fled, and it was as if he was the only man in the room.
Her father placed her hand in Ethan’s, and his warmth grounded her
and brought the rest of the room back into focus.

Sam floated through the ceremony as if she
were in a dream, with their friends and family watching, the
pastor’s calming voice, and Ethan’s steady strength. They were
taking this step together, a huge leap of faith.

Ethan had a little trouble getting her ring
on, and it made her feel a little better to see him as overwhelmed
as she felt.

When Kirsten handed Ethan’s ring to her, Sam
hugged her and whispered, “Thank you so much for everything.”

The ring went onto Ethan’s finger easily,
and Sam leaned to kiss his hand. Today wasn’t about her submission,
but it felt right, so she did. The look in his eyes told her he
understood, and when the pastor told him he could kiss his bride,
he started with a tender, husbandly kiss; but then bent her
backwards and kissed her breathless. Sam heard her mom gasp in
horror just before their friends whooped and clapped, but she
didn’t care. This was right — Ethan claiming her in front of their
friends and family.

Her new husband stood her back up, made sure
she had her balance, and the two turned to face the crowd as the
pastor proclaimed, “I present to you Ethan Levi and Samantha
McGinnis-Levi.”

The music started and Ethan led Sam down the
aisle and into the Silver Ballroom. Sam had dreaded the receiving
line, but found she enjoyed hugging her friends and family, and
seeing how happy everyone was.

When the last person came through, Ethan led
Sam to the dance area as he said, “I get the first dance.”

“Yes, but then you’ll be happy to hand me
over to whoever else wants to dance, right?”

“Of course, but only because I know you’re
mine.”

He glanced at the band and
they switched songs in midstream, transitioning to a rendition of
Elvis Presley’s,
I Can’t Help Falling In
Love With You.
Most surprising of all,
Justin stepped into the band area, grabbed a mike, and began to
sing. He had a beautiful voice, and he hit the low notes in a way
that made Sam want to drag her new husband upstairs.

She assumed Ethan had picked this song out
and arranged for his cousin to sing it, and she listened to the
words as they danced, and her heart melted a little more. This was
the man she’d spend the rest of her life with, and she couldn’t
wait to get started.

Ethan’s deep voice vibrated through his
torso and against Sam’s cheek. “I’m looking forward to hearing
about your adventures last night, by the way.”

Sam laughed and looked up to meet his gaze.
“How hard did you grill Viv?”

“I didn’t grill her at all.” He raised an
eyebrow and grinned. “Just asked a few questions to make sure you
had fun.”

“While we were changing she said she’d told
you I ‘kissed a girl, sort of’ and you asked if I’d sort of kissed
a girl, or kissed someone who was sort of a girl.”

“Yep, and she said
you
definitely
kissed her.” He laughed. “You texted me to let me know you
were in safe for the night, and hadn’t had an O; so I’m good with
it, but can’t wait to hear the details.”

“And what about you? Did you enjoy yourself?
I haven’t managed to get any details at all, but I assume ya’ll
made use of the playroom.”

Ethan nodded. “We did, and I used a single
tail on a lovely submissive after the others had her nice and
warmed up, but I didn’t lay a hand on her.”

Sam rested her head on her husband’s torso
and wished they were in private so she could pull herself up his
body, wrap her legs around his waist, drape her arms around his
neck, and rest her head on his shoulder.

Ethan was a terrible dancer, but he could
manage to stand in place and move to the music for slow dances, and
she relaxed into him, suddenly tired. They were married. Hitched.
Stuck with each other.

And she couldn’t be happier.

The song came to an end and Justin spoke
into the mike. “My price for singing the first song was to get the
second dance with the bride.”

He handed the mike to a
member of the band and stepped away as the first notes of
Maniac
filled the
air.

“Turn around, Samantha.” Ethan said. “I
asked Jacob to help me get your bustle and train off before the
real dancing started.”

Sam obediently turned and allowed the men to
remove the long parts of her dress, leaving her in a mid-calf
length dress. Kirsten had taken her to a ballroom dance store for
her shoes, saying she’d want to be able to last the evening in her
heels, and Sam was tempted to go to the store for her high heels
from now on, as she couldn’t believe how comfortable the shoes
were.

Justin broke into a hip-hop style dance Sam
couldn’t have hoped to copy if one of the muscled men hadn’t walked
her through some of it last night after she’d talked with Tara. She
smiled and fell into step with Justin, figuring she probably looked
ridiculous attempting hip-hop in a wedding dress, but the guests
made a circle around them and clapped and cheered as Sam and Justin
found a rhythm with each other and put on an impromptu show.

The music faded and picked
up with
Wild Thing
, and Francisco stepped towards her as Justin hugged her and
said, “Welcome to the family. You’re perfect for him, and if he
doesn’t treat you right let me know and I’ll call Dustin home to
kick his ass.”

He considered her a minute and added, “Or,
if you want help kicking his ass, ‘cause you don’t seem the type to
let someone else fight your battles.”

Frisco was always fun to dance with, but the
music was fast so they didn’t have a chance to talk. Sam made a
mental note to talk to Ethan about him on the plane tomorrow, and
to call Frisco sometime this week to talk.

Tom stepped up after Francisco, and her dad
insisted on a dance, but most surprising of all was Travis, who
arranged for the band to play a song they could waltz to, and led
her around the ballroom like a pro.

Sam usually hated the ballroom dancing
rules, and almost always ended up leading. If someone wanted to
lead her, they had to be strong enough to do so, and Travis was
strong enough, and then some, and Sam found she could relax into
his lead and enjoy herself. He was the maestro, she only had to
dance in the directions he spun her.

Just before the song ended Sam asked, “Can
you maybe lead me to the food when we finish?”

“Of course.”

True to his word, he positioned them near
the food as the song ended, and didn’t let go of her hand as he led
her to the buffet spread. Viv met them as they put food on their
plates and Sam asked, “How lucky are you, to have a husband who
knows how to dance? Wow, if I’d had socks on, he’d have knocked
them off.” She shook her head and lowered her voice
conspiratorially. “He’s a Dom even on the dance floor, isn’t he? It
almost felt like we were being naughty a couple of times.”

Viv laughed. “If I’d have minded I’d have
cut in. I don’t mind lending him to you every once in a while, when
you need a dance partner.”

Ethan’s deep voice came from behind them.
“I’ve never had the desire to learn to dance before, but I think
Travis may’ve just changed my mind.” He clapped his hand on Travis’
shoulder. “I just watched you dominate my submissive in front of
the vanillas, and they all seemed to approve.”