Part 26
The couple followed Kevin into Nick’s where the reception was in full swing. When Howie and Sarah were spotted, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause welcoming them.
Howie and Sarah moved through the crowd trying to speak to everyone and thank them for coming. They had separated in order to get through the crowd but they never lost sight of each other. There was frequent eye contact, winks, and plain staring across the sea of guests.
After about an hour of meeting and greeting, Howie managed to work his way over to where Sarah was talking to Nick and Becca. He went up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her on the neck.
Sarah put her hands on Howie’s and turned her head to kiss him.
"It’s about time you joined me."
Becca laughed, "His eyes have never left you since you got here. Howie,
EVERYTHING is absolutely perfect."
"That’s because it’s for my angel," said Howie as he hugged Sarah tighter.
Nick rolled his eyes and made gagging noises at that.
The three laughed and Sarah said, "Oh…spare me the antics, Carter. You have NO room to say a word."
"True! True! All VERY true!" said Nick holding his hands up in surrender.
The music stopped and Kevin took the mic. "HEY! HEY! HEY! It’s time to get down to some serious PAR-TAYING!"
Sarah looked at Howie, "Is he drunk already?"
Howie shrugged his shoulders, "Don’t know, Angel. He had had a few when we were out in the limo. I could smell it on him."
"Hey, D, you and your MUCH better half are wanted on the dance floor!" announced Kevin.
Howie whispered, "He won’t stop until we dance."
"That’s fine. C’mon! We haven’t had our first dance as husband and wife yet anyway," said Sarah as she took Howie’s hand leading him through the crowd of guests.
When Howie and Sarah reached Kevin, he gave each one a hug and then said, "It’s time for your first dance as a MARRIED couple. I have the PERFECT song picked out for you two."
Sarah groaned causing everyone to laugh.
Kevin asked, "Baby, don’t you trust me?"
Sarah saw the playful gleam in Kevin’s eyes. "HONESTLY…..NO!"
Kevin pretended to pout and put his hands over his heart. "I’m HURT!"
Sarah and Howie both laughed and Howie said, "I trust ya, Kev. What ‘cha got planned?"
Kevin grinned mischievously as he looked at the band, "Okay, guys!"
The band launched into ‘Don’t Want You Back’ and Sarah punched Kevin in the stomach as he started laughing.
Sarah glared at him, "THAT IS NOT FUNNY, KEVIN!"
Kevin held up his hands to stop the band and said, "That’s NOT what I told you to play."
Mook protested, "IS TO!"
"Man, I told you…HAPPY…ROMANTIC!"
"Oh, that’s right…Howie’s WEDDING!" teased Mook.
Krystal spoke up from the crowd, "Kev….let me handle this!"
Sarah said, "Thank god…someone who KNOWS what I want!"
Krystal, AJ, and Nick went up and the band started playing ‘You’re the Reason’ for Howie and Sarah. The guests cleared the dance floor for Howie and Sarah as they began to sway slowly to the music. As they gazed into each other’s eyes, Howie sang softly with the others and he was the only one Sarah heard.
As the song came to an end, Howie leaned to Sarah, kissed her, and whispered, "you’re my reason, Angel."
Sarah and Howie went on with the traditional dances with the parents along with the best man and maid-of-honor. Both sets of parents welcomed the couple whole-heartedly into the respective families, saying what a blessing the marriage was.
After dancing with John, Sarah turned to find Howie but was met by Kevin. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and his eyes were glazed over but he was smiling.
"Do I get a dance, baby?" asked Kevin with open arms.
"Of course, ‘Boo’," said Sarah as she stepped into his arms.
It didn’t escape Sarah’s notice that the song the band was playing was ‘I’ll Be There For You’. She looked up into Kevin’s eyes and saw the pain that filled them. She wanted to fix it but she no longer knew how.
Whispering into her ear, Kevin said, "You’ve been through so much pain
and hurt over the last year. I promise, I’ll protect you from ANY further
suffering."
"What can I do to ease YOUR hurt, Kev?"
"You’ve done enough, Sarah. It’s time for me to go on and you’ve
introduced me to a WONDERFUL girl."
"Do you love her, Kev?"
"I could fall in love with her, yeah…but she’s…."
"Don’t say it, Kevin. Vanessa is a wonderful girl…one of my closest
friends. Just be happy and show her how you feel. God knows, if it were me and
you’d treated me like you have Vanessa, I’d have dumped your sorry butt the
FIRST time you did it."
Kevin laughed, "Believe me, we’ve had our arguments over it, especially after Nick’s birthday party."
"You’re getting drunk doesn’t help matters either! Kev, we’ll always have a special bond because you were always there for me when things were tough. Just don’t let it get in the way of you’re being happy. I have Howie now to protect me and he’s doing a WONDERFUL job. I’m happy, I’m healthy, and I’m safe!"
"I know but I’m always gonna be protective of you. It’s just a gut instinct to take care of you…even though you don’t want it. NO ONE is ever gonna hurt you again."
The song ended and Howie was there to dance with Sarah again. The two hugged, Kevin lifting her off the ground in a bear hug, and when he set her down, he gave her a kiss on the cheek before disappearing.