Fortune and Fortitude Pt. 02

She shrugged. "I guess you'll find out tonight, right?"

Instant regret appeared on her face at the innuendo, and her face reddened.

Jared decided to move on. He grabbed her hands. "Are you a lesbian?"

"No."

"Asexual?"

"No!"

He decided to get more serious. "Have you been lying to me?"

She took a deep breath. "No, not really."

He racked his brain for more ideas of what could be a problem. "You secretly work for my father and have been spying on me and keeping me safe for him?"

She laughed. "No! Nothing like that."

He shrugged. "Then I don't want to hear it until after it's too late. But I swear, if you have me all worked up over a mole or something, I'll-"

She leaned across the table to kiss him. After a moment of shock, he returned the kiss. A second later she pulled away, blushing.

He cleared his throat, but before he could speak, she held up her hand. "Look, we kind of have to get used to it, right? Before tonight, we're going to go much further."

He nodded and shut his mouth. "Yeah."

She giggled. "Not how you figured your first kiss was going to go?"

Jared scratched the back of his head. "Well, technically that wasn't my first kiss."

She frowned. "What? You're just telling me just now? When did this happen?"

He hesitated. "Yesterday..."

Her eyes widened. "Tell me everything."

So he did. He wished he could omit the thoughts he had while he was meditating with Ria, but he couldn't bring himself to gloss over it. She deserved to know, considering the fact that she was giving up everything to help him.

She listened, asking questions occasionally. When he finished, she sat there thinking, her eyes flickering from side to side. It indicated that her mind was running, churning for a solution.

"Or we could theoretically go off on our own," Jared added. "I don't think we have to make any deals."

Quinn shook her head. "We're brand new to their world. You don't even really know how to use your powers. We need an ally."

Jared sighed. "Alright. Who should we go with?"

Quinn bit her lip. "Can I meet them first?"

Jared stared at her in surprise. "What?"

"You have to take me there after, you know. It sounds like a good opportunity to study them. I think I know who we should go with, but I want to confirm."

Jared sighed. "Okay, yeah. But we have to pick by tonight, or we cross Annika's deadline." He glanced at the clock. It was nearly nine. "Hey, Quinn?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay with having a wedding? It doesn't have to be anything big," he quickly added, "But I'd at least like the priest to marry us."

She thought about it for a moment. "I don't see why not. But we'll have to pick up the marriage license first."

"No." Jared grinned. "First, we get you a dress."

Quinn blinked. "Wait, what?"

Jared backed up. "I mean, unless you don't want one. We probably don't have time for a real wedding dress, but I figured you'd like something."

She nodded slowly, smiling. "I'd like that very much."

They returned to the car, with him opening her door again. First, she insisted they go to the bank and withdraw cash, since it would be cheaper. He didn't see exactly how much she pulled out, but it looked like a lot.

Then it was back to the mall. She insisted that he didn't have to get a suit if he didn't want one (which he didn't really), but he compromised and grabbed a vest.

Afterwards, they went dress shopping. She made an effort to limit her browsing, but it still took a good half hour for her to find one that she liked. She picked out a low blue that highlighted her eyes. It was fairly plain, and Jared would have insisted that she get something nice, until he saw the price tag. Apparently he just didn't understand what "fancy" meant.

Quinn took his hand as they left the mall. It felt entirely natural for him when he squeezed her hand. When they came back to the car, he lifted it to his lips and kissed it. Her face flushed red as she climbed into the car.

Their next stop was the courthouse. Quinn led them right up to the front desk and requested a marriage license.

The man seated there raised an eyebrow and asked for ID. They offered their driver's licenses.

The man sighed. "I'm sorry, miss, but your Driver's License says that you have not yet turned *nineteen. Is that correct?"

Quinn hesitated. "Yes."

He looked around. "You need your parent's permission for this. Bring them back here."

Quinn's smile became stiff. "Can't I just take the paperwork back to them?"

He eyed them suspiciously. "No."

Quinn glanced to Jared, who held up his hands. She pursed her lips and reached into her pack, withdrawing some of their atm money.

"Look, kid, I'm not about to-"

She dropped a few thousand dollars onto the desk. "We're eloping, as you've probably guessed. These are most of my savings for college." She looked over at Jared. "I won't be needing them anymore, and we're desperate."

The man's eyes widened. "Well, that's quite the case you got there, missy. Let it never be said I wasn't compassionate." He glanced around nervously. "Here's your paperwork, kid. Have fun in the real world."

Jared took the offered papers and sat down with Quinn to fill them out. "Was that really necessary?" he whispered.

Quinn shrugged. "It was only a few thousand. We'll be fine. Better to not make a scene."

He looked over to where the money had completely vanished. "He's going to tell people."

"That he accepted a bribe? I doubt it. He doesn't seem terribly bright. Look, just fill out the paperwork, okay?"

Jared nodded and scribbled in his information. He had memorized his SSN when he was fourteen, back when he had thought Mom was going to kick him out. It had taken weeks.

He wished he was smarter. He glanced over to his fiancée. Neither of them were exactly turning heads in the halls of high school, but she at least got brains. Not that she was unattractive (she was very pretty) but it was in her own way. Her nose was a bit crooked, her mouth small and tight. But her smile... He was pretty sure he fell in love with her the first time that she smiled at him.

She looked up and caught him staring. This time, he didn't look away. "You're beautiful."

She scoffed and turned away, cheeks flushing again. "Are you trying to butter me up?"

"Is it working?"

Rather than respond, she snatched his finished papers and walked back up to the desk. "We finished," she said, slapping them onto the dark wood.

"Wonderful. The certificate will be mailed within 5 to 7 business days."

Jared's eyes widened in alarm. "Could we get hers sent to the same address as mine, please?"

The man smirked. "Sure. Anything else I can do for you?"

Jared hesitated. "We are married now, right? Not when it arrives?"

"That's correct."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, then. Thank you!" He turned to the door alongside Quinn.

"My pleasure."

They stumbled out the door and back into the car. "That was more stressful than I thought it was going to be," Jared admitted.

He slapped his forehead. "I forgot to call Father Martin."

Quinn smirked. "Way ahead of you. It wasn't easy, but he agreed to it. Good things I kept my nose clean, or he might have refused."

Jared drove to the church house while Quinn texted to let him know. Jared felt a pang of guilt as they approached. He hadn't attended mass since... Gosh, had it only been a week? It felt like an eternity. First, he was just resting, but then one thing kept coming after another. His schedule had been so thrown; he hadn't even had the opportunity to think about going.

They arrived in short order. As they got out of the car, Jared tried to keep his heartbeat steady. It felt so right, yet so wrong. This certainly wasn't how he had imagined his wedding day -- pulling Quinn away from her parents, bribing a government official, and now lying to a priest he had known since childhood. Oh, not to mention that the only reason he was marrying his best friend was because he was being stubborn about waiting until marriage for religious reasons. This wasn't a love marriage. At least, not for her.

Quinn halted. "The dress."

"Right. Do you want to go grab it?"

"I'll meet you in there." Quinn walked back to the car.

With some anticipation, Jared entered the church.

Father Martin was already there, courtesy of them having to drive across the city. He scowled slightly as Jared entered. "I take it there are to be no guests? And where is the bride?"

"She's coming. She... She had to get dressed."

Father Martin's scowl deepened. "She didn't go into much detail on the phone. Child, do you know what you are doing?"

Jared's shoulders fell. "No. Not really. But I have to try, Father."

The priest's face softened. "I have not seen you in mass lately. And now? You are marrying Quinn, yet neither of you seem happy. I have seen the two of you grow up together. Is this not a blessed occasion?"

Jared hesitated. "Suffice it to say, Father, that the circumstances are... not ideal. Complicated, even."

Father Martin nodded knowingly. "Her parents do not approve?"

Jared winced. "Yeah."

Father Martin fell silent. "I am here for you, my boy. When you are ready to return to the fold."

If he ever could. Apparently, he didn't have a soul. The longer this went on, the more he believed that Miss Senguine knew what she was talking about. If that was true...

Maybe he was never supposed to come to church in the first place. Or at least, there was no use to it.

"I will think about it, Father."

They were interrupted by the chapel doors opening again. "Sorry!" Quinn called out as she rushed to meet them on the stand. "The dress was a bit more complicated than I was expecting."

Father Martin's face fell into a sad frown. "Quinn, are you alright? This is your wedding day. Where are all the guests? Your brides of honor?"

Quinn stepped up to the stand. "They couldn't make it, I'm afraid. On account of not being invited." She offered Jared a wink.

Father Martin sighed. "Would you like to begin, then? Normally we start when the song ends, but..."

"We don't have an organist," Quinn interjected. "Yes, we'd like to start now. We have a very important engagement tonight." She looked at Jared meaningfully.

He nodded. "Yes. May we begin, Father?"

Father Martin sighed. "Very well."

He began the wedding speech, but Jared had trouble paying attention. Quinn had taken his arms, holding his wrists above hers. Something about the simple action seemed so... human.

As he looked at her, it was clear that she wasn't paying any attention to the priest either. She smiled and gave him a squeeze.

He loved her. As much as he hated to say it, it was true. Too long had he put off his feelings for friendship, a crush, a mild fantasy. He wasn't sure he was IN love with her, but he would give anything to make her happy.

Would you give up your own soul? His internal voice whispered.

Yes. I would.

Keep that in mind.

He decided not to dwell on that.

Finally, the priest looked to him. "Jared Norman Bertreck, do you take Quinn for your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Jared looked at her. Her expectant gaze put a flutter into his heart. "I do."

"And Quinn Beatrice Earnest, do you take Jared for your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

She swallowed and she glanced downward. In... shame? She took a deep breath and looked back into Jared's eyes. "I do."

"Then before this-" Martin's eyes flickered over the empty chapel. "Then before God and His angels, I pronounce you husband and wife. May God bless your marriage to be prosperous and happy, as He sees fit. May I remind you," he added seriously. "What God has put together, let not man divide asunder."

He nodded to Jared. "You may now kiss the bride."

He leaned down to take her lips. Unlike their last kiss, they were both ready. She rose on her tiptoes to meet him. Her lips were warm and sweet.

When he pulled away, she let him go reluctantly and returned to her original posture. Father Martin eyed them suspiciously.

"Thank you, Father," Jared said, releasing one of Quinn's hands to grasp his firmly. "It means more to me than you know."

Father Martin nodded. "Be careful, my son. Take care of her like your own flesh."

Quinn coughed. "Considering his recent activities, I hope he can do better than that."

Jared chuckled as Father Martin shook his head. Quinn tugged on his hand. "Let's go." She leaned in. "We're running out of time," she added with a whisper.

Jared's eyes widened as he check his phone. "We've got to get going. Thank you again, Father. I'll see you soon, I hope."

Father Martin watched them sadly as they walked out. Jared felt bad that he couldn't tell him everything, but he doubted that would fly over well.

They returned to the car. It was a quarter after one now. "What do you say we get a bite to eat?" Jared asked as he pulled out. "What are you in the mood for?"

She didn't respond. Jared glanced over and then did a double-take. Her sudden good mood from earlier was gone. Her head was dipped, and she looked miserable.

"Quinn?"

Finally, she looked up at him. "I have to tell you." she whispered. "Now."

Jared sighed. "Should I pull over for this, or can I keep driving?"

She hesitated. "You can probably keep driving. Honestly, I might be making a big deal out of nothing. But I doubt it," she muttered.

"Quinn, you're scaring me."

She bit her lip. "I know you've liked me for a while now. I started to notice, I don't know, a few months ago?"

Jared sucked in a breath. "And the feeling isn't mutual, is it? Is that all?"

"Not exactly." She fidgeted with her dress. "It's why."

"I thought you said you were straight."

"I am. That's part of the problem." When he looked confused, she took a deep breath. "I'm obsessed with sex."

He should've pulled over. He had to swerve to avoid crashing the car, and he pulled off next to the curb. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." She stuck her chin out. "I had a terrible porn addiction until this recent January. It's on my mind all the time -- basically non-stop. At least... When I'm around you."

He shook his head slowly. "Quinn, I never would've guessed. You're... You..."

She held up her hands. "I know. I tried to make sure that you would never know. I didn't know what your reaction would be if you found out. I never wanted to let you down, and your standards are so high. You have no idea how hard it was to resist."

Jared rubbed his forehead. "How bad is it on a scale of 1-10?"

She thought it over. "Maybe an 8? I can still think straight, but it's incredibly distracting. If you hadn't been my friend when it all started, I might be a hooker by now."

Jared gaped at her. "What about college? You've always wanted to go to college."

"I still probably would." She shrugged. "It would've been a convenient way to pay for it." Her smile faded. "That's why I'm not so sure I love you. It would make sense to, but I can't really differentiate between 'love', 'friendship,' and 'I want to bang you.' See my problem?"

"So what am I supposed to do with this information?"

She turned away. "I don't know. I guess I just thought you should know." She bit her lip. "And ask you what I should do about it. You have... I don't know, a few hours to do the deed, right?" She touched his arm. "I figured it would be better to tell you before anything else happens."

When he didn't answer, she spoke again. "It could be a good thing, right? I popped my cherry on a cucumber a long time ago, so that won't be an issue."

He blinked. "You did what? Is that a euphemism?"

Quinn stared at him. "Tell me you're joking. You don't know what a girl's cherry is?"

He shook his head. "It's not like Mom was very forthcoming about sex."

Quinn pursed her lips. "So... how much do you know?"

He held up his hands. "I don't know, the basics? The penis goes in the vagina. It feels good, my stuff goes in you, end of discussion. What else is there to know?"

Quinn gave a low whistle. "You have absolutely no idea." Her eyes softened. "But I guess you feel guilty for even thinking about this stuff, huh?"

He sighed. "I guess I shouldn't, right? You're my wife now." Saying that felt very strange. "We can have sex now. It's just..."

"You're repressed." She nodded understandingly. "You're so used to viewing sex as a bad thing, that even when you know it's okay, you feel bad."

Jared buried his face in his hands. "Yeah. I guess so."

Quinn folded her arms. "I could teach you. I'm not 'experienced,' per se, but I know a few things. Just because we have to do it doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves. Unless you think there's a rule against that?"

Jared hesitated, then shook his head. "No. Not that I know of, anyway."

She rolled her eyes. "Good. Take us home."

Jared pulled out back into the road. "Look at us," he said soberly. "Five minutes in and we've already had our first fight."

"That bodes well," Quinn added sincerely. "You didn't yell or anything. That's a good start."

He chuckled. "I could never yell at you, Quinn." He glanced away from the road to look into her eyes for a moment. "I love you, you know."

She smiled. "At least you said it."

He groaned. "Do you think you'll ever love me back? I guess it doesn't really matter, but it sure would mean a lot."

"That's what I'm hoping to find out. I think our first bang will help."

Jared shook his head. "I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that you're..."

"A nympho." He raised his eyebrows. She explained. "Short for nymphomaniac. It's disorder for people with unusually high sex drives."

"You're not disordered, are you?"

"Not medically, I guess." She squared her shoulders. "I identify as a nympho."

"No arguing with that." They pulled into his driveway. Their driveway.

Quinn was the first out of the car. As they entered the house, Jared excused himself for a bathroom break. She had gone at breakfast, but he hadn't gone since he left the house this morning. "I'll be waiting in the bedroom!" Quinn called after him.

When he finished, he peeked into the bedroom first. To his relief, Quinn was sitting on the bed, still in her dress. After their conversation, he had been half expecting her to already be naked.

When he entered, she lit up and patted the bed next to her. His heart pounded as he sat next to her. "So... What am I supposed to do?"

Quinn laughed. "First of all, relax. There's no use doing this if you're going to be mopey about it." She paused. "Or I guess there is, but I'd rather you relax."

Jared flopped backward. "How am I supposed to relax? You're just going to compare me to every pornstar you've ever seen. I don't know what I'm doing. And I still feel so guilty about this."

"I thought we discussed that having sex was perfectly fine."

"It is! I mean," he said, sitting up, "Forcing you to marry me."

She shook her head. "You didn't force anything. This was my idea, remember?" She reached up to touch his face. "Even if my motives weren't entirely pure."

He flinched, and she pulled away. She looked down. "You aren't the one who should be feeling guilty. I took advantage of your situation. Look at me. You don't want to have sex with me, do you?"

"Of course I do!" He took a deep breath. "That's why I'm scared. I don't want you to feel like I just like you for the sex."

"You mean like how you think I view you?"

He sighed. "I guess so."