Page 31 of Entangled With You
Emma’s mom came up just then. “Should we do the cake now?”
“Of course! Yes, let’s do the cake!” I rushed to get Emma and Zach for the cake cutting and to tell the DJ to fade the music. The whole time I was smiling like crazy, trying to mask my internal freak-out. What had I done the night I was filmed? What had I shown? I didn’t remember watching it after, but I do remember really getting into it and god — I was so embarrassed. All these people, this whole wedding full of people could all watch it by tonight.
Emma’s old uncle Jim, he could have already watched it. I could never show my face in public again. Why did I do shit like that? I was young, but still, here I was a married woman, to a ‘traditional’ man, and I was a freaking porn star.
“Emma, want me to hold Ben while you and Zach cut the cake?”
“Sure!”
She passed me Ben and I could barely focus on him, my mind was whirring so much. Was my name on the video? Was my face visible? The camera hadn’t been on a tripod, Braden had been focusing and pointing it all over me and — I was beginning to wonder if I might pass out. My head was tingling and my mouth was dry and my hands were shaking.
I found Magnus and wordlessly handed him Ben.
He watched my face. I ran a trembling hand down my neck.
What if someone was snooping and found out my address? What if my sex tape exposed my private details and the guys from the future found us? What if Magnus was captured because I was on YouTube writhing and moaning in bed with another man. Shit. Blackness swooped around the edges of my sight, like a tunnel, I was going to—
16 - KAITLYN
“Katie?”
Emma was hovering over me.
Magnus’s worried face was over her shoulder.
“Why am I on the ground?”
“You fainted right as we were about to cut the cake.”
“Jesus Christ, why am I such a freaking drama queen?” I sat up. “It’s all the Midol I took. Probably.” I dusted off the front of my dress.
Magnus said, “Go slow gettin’ up.”
I gave him my hand. “I’m cool, just having a moment.” I looked around at all the faces. “No worries, just Katie trying to be the center of attention as usual.” With Magnus’s help I hefted myself to my feet. “You try to dance in shoes this high, it’s a wonder we can stay upright at all.”
Emma said, “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“One hundred percent. Sorry about that. Go back to the cake-cutting. It’s probably low blood sugar, I need cake.”
Once all the focus turned away from me, towards the cake, which was a beautiful round three-tiered number, and I could allow myself to look weak again, I rolled up in Magnus’s arm and clutched his strong shoulders. He kissed my hairline. He kissed my ear. He kissed my temple.
What if this was too much for him to understand? He thought tiny men might live inside our television — how would he grasp the nuances of ‘Hey, your wife once fancied herself quite, um, acrobatic in the bedroom and allowed a man to film her performance. Now that man has released that video into the public. Men can watch your wife for pleasure.’ How would he feel about me then?
I held on to him blinking back my tears.
“Kaitlyn, are ye okay?”
I nodded my head, pressed to his shirt, and took a deep breath. Then another. I said, “You smell good. Like soap and incense and the love of my life.”
“Aye, Kaitlyn, and in a moment I will smell of vanilla cake, too.”
I smiled. Behind me the guests were laughing. I turned to see Emma and Zach with cake smeared on their faces from the traditional ‘first bite gone wrong.’ I joined the applause, the laughing, and did everything in my power to put my worry aside.
I would Google the video later. And I would talk to Magnus, tonight. At the latest I would talk to him about it when we jumped to 1703. That way he wouldn’t be able to see the video even if he was curious.
No sense dwelling on it before then.
The cake was delicious and helped a lot. I ate my slice, standing face to face with Magnus, looking up at him, my mouth overly full of cake and frosting and he sweetly kissed the edge of my lips for a bit of the crumbs there.
