Can You Keep a Secret

Ray stood up to give his speech. He cleared his throat and looked down at the people watching him. 

"When we were all little, we used to tease Ricky about marrying Eric. We knew that when she was really little she had the biggest crush on him. That was how she got her nickname, actually. I just took the last part of his name and added the k-y to it, me being the clever little Devil I was. It caught on with everyone and eventually no one knew her by her first name, not even her teachers. And I have been the only one this whole time to know where that nickname came from."

Ray smirked down at me. "When Ricky first moved down to Raleigh, it was me who suggested she go move in with Eric while she got her feet under her there. Well, we all see how that worked out," he joked. There was a round of laughter as he looked back at Eric and me. Eric put his arm around me and held me closer. 

"It was also me that  became friends with Eric in the first place. Meaning, without me, they probably wouldn't have met." He looked down at me, yet again. 

"Then the day she realized she was in love with that hideous giant, I was the first person she told. What did I do? I dragged her down to tell Eric. Exactly one month later, they were celebrating their first month of being together."

"Basically what I'm getting at," Ray began. "Is that I'm the one that should be thanked for this couple being together. All props to me."

"I think that means you should be paying for the wedding then," I remarked.

He laughed. "Yeah, no. You guys decided to get hitched. I didn't have a role in that one," he stated quickly. 

"Anyways, my real speech," he continued to the crowd of family and friends. "I always knew my sister and best friend would end up together. I wasn't oblivious to all their inside jokes and discussions. I also wasn't oblivious to all the things he let her do that I said no to. In the end, I'm thankful for Eric doing those things. She trusted him and quite a bit, at that. My sister went through some rough patches of time and I'm glad he was there for her when I didn't know what to do."

"I'm thankful for the fact that they were bound to end up together because now I know that she will be loved more than by anyone else. I know she'll be treated better than any other man could treat her. I know she'll never walk alone, down any path she'll chose to take. I know she'll be taken care of better by Eric than by anyone else."

"I know Eric will get something in return. She'll love him with her whole being. She would jump through fire to keep him safe. She would make herself look like a fool just to make him feel better when he comes home from a hard loss. She'll give him that strong base that every man I know needs. And she'll do it more than happily." Eric held on tightly to me. I felt him press a soft kiss to my shoulder. 

Ray looked down at us once again. "I know you two will go far. And I wish you the best of luck with anything that tries to stop you. I love you both," he finished. 

He handed the mic off before sitting down. I leaned over and have him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Ray," I told him. 

He smiled. "I know you do. Now wipe those tears from your eyes and celebrate," he teased. 

I laughed before doing as instructed. 

Eric went over to give him a man hug and thank him. When he sat down again, I leaned over to kiss him. "Did you know why I got that nickname?" I questioned. 

He chuckled. "No. But I like it," he said. 

I laughed and began picking through the food on my plate to see what I wanted to eat first. Eric's hand rested on my dress, just over my knee. I couldn't describe how happy I was. Even the underwire in my bra that was stabbing me in the chest wasn't bringing me down at all. This was the first day of the rest of my life. 

I laced my fingers with his. And I was going to spend it with Eric Staal.