Jingle All the Mitchell Way: A Holiday Novella by Jennifer Foor Page A

attest to that.”
    Jax stopped kissing Amber to interrupt. “Especially me.”
    “Especially him,” I agreed. “But through it all our love has only grown stronger. We, as a couple, have grown stronger. I’ll never regret loving you. You’re my partner, my friend, and one day the mother to our children. Thank you for being patient with me, for growing with me, and for teaching me the meaning of love.” In my defense, the tears were nerves. Reese was the most beautiful thing I’d ever laid eyes on. Being here with her, in front of everyone, it was all too much. I couldn’t control my emotions. Seeing me tearing up only made it more difficult for her to keep it together.
    “Jake,” she struggled to say my name. “I’ve dreamed of this day for so long.” She began to bawl, so I pulled her close, her head falling against my chest. The congregation of family waited for her to calm down, a few sniffles could be heard echoing off the high ceilings. “I’m sorry. It’s exactly as I envisioned it to be.”
    Amber got her a tissue and then went back to stand next to Jax.
    “Jake, our future may be unwritten, but I can already tell it’s going to be filled with magical memories. I’ve never felt more love than when I’m with you. You are my soul mate, and I promise to never take you for granted. For better or worse,” she turned to point to Jax. “Even when you’re under the influence of your crazy brother, up to no good, doing crazy shenanigans, I’ll still be by your side. You have a heart of gold, and I promise to be true to you for the rest of our lives.”
    Our nuptials were sealed with a long kiss. It was almost too surreal to believe.
    We were officially married.
    Mr. and Mrs. Jake Mitchell.
     
    The reception was where the fun began. To start things off, Jax took the microphone from the DJ and announced us into the room. Everyone stood to greet us as husband and wife, all the little cousins ran around the dance floor, ignoring the adults as usual.
    Then my brother continued on. “So, my wife and I would like to thank everyone for making the trip out to share in this wedding between Jake and Reese. In honor of you tying the knot, we’ve prepared a number to perform for everyone in celebration. Please clear the dance floor and enjoy the show.
    He dropped the microphone, causing a loud blistering sound to fill the room. People covered their ears until the DJ turned it off. When all settled, Jax and Amber were in the center of the dance floor. He’d put on a Santa hat. I took Reese’s hand and squeezed it. “This can’t be good.”
    “Nope,” she agreed. “If he takes off his clothes I’m going to kill him.”
    “He’s probably going to.”
    “Yeah, I know.”
    All of a sudden the lights went out, only one remaining on the couple. All eyes tuned to them, everyone preparing for what could only be described as a unforgettable moment.
    It wasn’t a secret that Jax and Amber could dance. Aside from being a stripper, Amber had been dancing her whole life. Jax just had good rhythm and could always find it easy to pick up on moves as he went. It was obvious they’d practice this routine. From the moment they began it was choreographed.
    The music, a raunchy song from the nineties about licking someone up and down played loudly, Jax and Amber moving to the beat, depicting sexual innuendos as they went. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe. It was hard to watch, especially when Jax started doing a solo shimmy. As soon as he leaned forward I knew the pants were removable. Call it twin intuition, or just the ability to predict what my idiot brother was about to do, but I was certain the clothes were definitely coming off. He’d obviously changed, putting on a pair of Velcro-lined pants. The second he tugged, they split open, falling to the floor and he spun around, shaking his ass for all to see. Instead of boxers, he had on a pair of women’s panties, displaying the words ‘Just Married’ on