"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean we can skip the wedding." June asked as we stopped in front of the doors of the wedding reception, where everyone was gathered for the party after the wedding. The wedding was beautiful, Natalie looked amazing too and married her high school sweetheart named Christopher Gonzales. 

The wedding wasn't long but it was now time for everyone to get drunk and go dancing. After last night all I wanted was to just get drunk and not give a care in the world. I didn't even dare to ask what they did with Cayde because nothing would be satisfying unless that satan spawn himself had been dead.

All of Pierce's aunts profusely apologized to me yesterday and felt super bad after learning the true story of who Cayde is. For Audrey though, she had been heartbroken to find out she was just being used and talking to a guy who was an accused rapist. After the incident last night, Pierce rushed me back to the hotel immediately where I just went to sleep in order to get my mind off of everything. 

"No, let's go." I nodded in response, building up the courage to enter the doors where everyone was crowded into. Pierce had been with Xander and I told him I'd meet up with him at the reception when we left the wedding. Pierce and Juniper luckily started talking again last night...well kind of, they were just pushing past their issues to both be there for me.

June grinned at me as she grabbed my hand and pushed the doors open where the music had been blaring and people were gathered around their tables as the reception had just started. The DJ played 80's pop music which seemed to go over well with the crowd as everyone sang along with it. The reception itself was placed in a huge space they had rented out, it was enough to hold the three hundred people that attended the wedding. 

Fairy lights hung from the ceiling and were placed around each table with centerpieces filled with flowers. The tables were all covered in cotton cream-colored tableclothes as they went along with the pastel-colored theme of the wedding. There was even a bar that was stacked with alcohol upon alcohol. 

June pulled me over to the table where Xander and Pierce had already been sitting at. June took her seat and Pierce stood up, pulling me in for a small kiss before taking a seat again. I soothed out the black satin dress I had with a leg slit in the side of it. Xander, Pierce, June, and I had all been assigned to a table while Harley, Sawyer, Mrs. Gunner, and Mr. Gunner as well as Reese all had their separate table. 

"Did you find parking alright?" Xander asked curiously over the music and June shrugged in response "Yeah but I can't parallel park so I made Aspen park for me." It was true, we drove around forever trying to find a spot where June didn't have to parallel park but failed so I told her I would just do it for her instead. 

"I really do not understand how you managed to get your license." Xander rolled his eyes at June. I watched as Pierce stared down at his phone, his expression changing as his eyes scanned over the screen. I reached over placing my hand on his arm that rested on the table, making him look over to me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, knowing something had been up. "Nothing." Pierce shook his head, putting his phone in his suit jacket. I opened my mouth to say something else but stopped when cheering erupted, making us all turn around to watch Natalie and Christopher walking in through the doors. We all clapped while some people hollered at the newly married couple as they walked over to take their seats at the main table. 

Serenity, who had been Natalie's maid of honor, handed her the microphone as she tapped it to make sure it worked. The DJ lowered the music as Natalie clutched the microphone in her hands, holding it up to her lips "Hi everyone, I just wanted to thank you all for coming out on this very special day for Chris and me. But now that we're all here, Let's drink!"

Everyone held up the glasses of champagne that were placed at the table, all toasting each other before placing the champagne glass up to my lips. I downed the champagne before placing my empty glass on the table and grabbing Pierce's hand as I pulled him over to the open bar. 

I asked the bartender for two shots as he slid them across the wooden bar top, over to Pierce and me. We clinked glasses together before downing the shot, my throat burned as the tequila coated the walls of my throat and slammed the shot glass on the bar. The music started up again at full blast and people made their way out to the center of the dancefloor. 

I scrunched my face in disgust at the tequila before grabbing Pierce's hand and pulling him out to the dancefloor. I took his hands in mine as he spun me under his arm before we both sung the lyrics to the song. It was my last day of being seventeen and I just wanted to spend it as the best day of being seventeen after all the shit lately even if it meant I ended up completely wasted and Pierce had known to try and make it the best he could.

June dragged Xander out to the dancefloor as Harley and Sawyer joined us as well. The song came to the end but soon started up as Sweet Caroline, which had been a classic wedding song that everyone would scream the lyrics to. Something that felt completely euphoric.

"Hands, touchin' hands!" We all sang as the chorus started to pick up, gathering in a circle together.  "Reachin' out, touchin' me, touchin' you!" We all screamed together as we jumped up and down to the song. Pierce's eyes caught mine as he reached out, pulling me closer to him. Pierce dipped me downwards making me let out a laugh before he wrapped his arms around me from behind and placing a kiss on the neck before pulling away from me.

"Sweet Caroline!" We shouted at the top of our lungs "Fucking slut!" Anyone who had been to any not-kid-friendly wedding knows that the lyrics are actually "Fucking slut" instead of "Bum bum bum." 

"So good! So good!" Pierce screamed the lyrics along with Xander, making me laugh at how dramatic they had been. Pierce noticed my laughter and gave me a huge grin across his face as we all continued to go along with the lyrics. It was at this point where I felt okay, all of us just having fun for once and not worrying about all the stuff that came with our harsh reality of the world of gangs. 

As the song ended we all made our way over to the bar for another round of shots, downing them one by one. Xander paid for the rounds as he ordered a shot of 100 proof vodka which he insisted I had a try. 100 proof vodka meant that it was basically just pure alcohol with no flavor, basically tasting like a straight-up hand sanitizer. 

"No, I'm good, really." I insisted as I tried to push away the filled shot glass of pure vodka. I wasn't picky when it came to drinks but I did like my alcohol on the sweeter side and not as heavy. "Oh come on, I'll do it with you." Pierce rolled his eyes at me as he handed me the shot glass while he grabbed another one. 

June pulled out her phone and began videoing us because quote "I need to get your reaction. Pierce and I linked arms as I poured the shot I had into his mouth while he poured the one he had into my mouth. I forced the vodka down my throat as I began coughing from disgust as the burning sensation was going to definitely stay for a bit. Pierce hadn't even flinch from the shot, as they all laughed at my reaction. 

"That was awful." I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and Pierce let out a chuckle. Natalie made her way out to the dancefloor with her bouquet, June grabbing a hold of me and pulling me out to where all the women gathered, trying to push to the front in order to be the one to catch the bouquet. 

"June I don't want to do this-" I started as she pulled me to the crowd. "Oh shush." She waved me off as she stared intently at the bouquet. I glanced over to Pierce who sent me a smirk and I rolled my eyes to show my annoyance with June right about now. 

"Ok 1...2...." Natalie counted down as she turned around, her back face to the crowd as "3." She counted down before tossing the bouquet into the crowd, as all the women jumped in order to try and reach as I stood off to the side while watching the flowers fly through the air. The bouquet went off to the side to where I had been, making me reach out and grab it in my hands. 

I stood in shock as everyone turned around to look at me. June turned around to look at me as she placed her hand over her mouth and began shaking her head side to side as she let out a laugh, clapping her hands together. 

"Don't even say it-" I sent her a warning look as she continued to laugh as if it was the funniest thing she had ever seen. Natalie walked over to me and gave my arm a squeeze and she smiled over at me "Well congrats, guess you'll be the next girl to enter the Gunner family." 

"Oh," I looked down at the flowers and then back at her "No, no, no I don't think so. I'm only 17, I don't think it's happening anytime soon." "18 tomorrow." June interrupted, sending a wink over to me before grabbing my hands and pulling me over to where the rest of the family was. 

Pierce's eyes widened as he saw the bouquet of roses in my hand, as he began choking on the drink he had. Xander let out a laugh as he clapped his hands together "Now THAT, that is fucking great. Well, would you look at that Piercey, looks like you're going to settle down a lot faster than you thought. Shotgun wedding for Aspen's 18th?"

"She's not fucking pregnant." Pierce sent him a glare as he set the empty glass in his hand down on the bar. "Very funny, Xander," I said with sarcasm filling my tone at the shotgun wedding comment which would never happen. 

"I'm going to take a smoke break, do you want to come with me?" Pierce said into my ear over the music and I nodded in response. Pierce took my hand, intertwining our fingers together as he pushed through the people that stood in the middle of the floor chattering with others. We walked outside and the cold weather hit my skin as I ran my hands up and down my arms to try and gather some heat.

I followed Pierce around to the back of the building where he took off his suit jacket and placed it around my arms in order to keep me warm. "Thank you," I mumbled as I let the jacket hug my body, warmth filling over my arms as they were no longer exposed to the air. Pierce pulled a cigarette out of his pocket placing it between his lips as he searched for the lighter.

I felt the lighter in the pocket of the jacket before pulling it out and pressing down on the button, making the orange flame spark up as I held it up to the end of the cigarette that Pierce kept in between his lips. He took a drag before turning his head the other way and exhaling out the smoke so it wouldn't blow towards me due to my asthma. 

"Why do you smoke?" I asked out of nowhere, always wanting to know the reason Pierce started. Some started cause they thought it was cool, others were peer pressured into it, and then there were the people who just needed some kind of coping mechanism even though it hadn't been a healthy one. I for one never smoked, I never understood the infatuation with it plus my lungs were already weak from my severe asthma.

"What?" Pierce asked as he pulled the cigarette away from his lips, looking over to me. "Why do you smoke? I mean why did you start?" I repeated, trying to make myself more clear so Pierce would tell me the real reason why.

"Started when I was 13 after I was raped. I began stealing them from my mom's purse just to get some type of buzz and I was constantly told it helped calm your nerves." Pierce explained, "Haven't been able to stop this."

"Why don't you quit?" The thought of Pierce smoking at such a young age because he felt he needed something to numb the pain with, broke my heart. Nicotine was a mean drug, it chewed you up and spit you out but you'd always go crawling back to it. It wasn't something as hard as heroin or cocaine so it was overlooked as normal when addiction was still an addiction.

"It's not easy, Aspen. Especially when I've been doing it for five years. I've tried to quit before, just never had the self-control to do it I guess." Pierce shrugged as he placed the cigarette back between his lips. I turned to my side, the side of my body pressing up against the brick wall of the building that held the reception. 

"Would you do it for me?" I asked in hopes Pierce would actually say yes. His grey eyes glanced over to me as he seemed shocked that I'd ask that. "My grandfather died of lung cancer from smoking when I was 13, I vowed I'd never smoke in my life after his death." I admitted knowing the pain that cigarettes can cause "If you can't do it for yourself then can you do it for me? I mean think about your future, don't you wanna be around for a long time to have kids and then watch your kids have kids."

"You are super imaginative Ambrosia, you know that?" Pierce gave me a look of amusement before dropping the cigarette and stomping it with the bottom of his shoe in order to put out the ash. Pierce looked up to me, grabbing my hands and pulling me closer to him, pressing his forehead to mine "But if it means that much, I'll try to quit for you."

"I'm proud of you already, Gunner." A smile broke out onto my face as I stood up straight and pressed my lips to Pierce's. His hands cupped the sides of my face, his hands warm and soft against my skin as his lips moved in sync with mine. I gripped at his white button-up dress shirt, balling up the fabric in my hands as my body stayed pressed against his. 

Pierce moved his hands to my hips as he pushed me up against the wall, his kiss becoming more passionate. His tongue slid across my teeth before making entry into my mouth as his body stayed against mine. I moved my hand up to his hair, tugging lightly at it. The kiss became more hungry and heated. 

Our lips broke apart for air and Pierce let out a sigh "God I wish I could fuck you." "Well, maybe we should leave a little early then.." I bit my lip before pressing my lips back to Pierce as my hands pressed flat against his chest. Pierce responded to my kiss but grabbed both of my wrists in each of his hands as he pulled away, our lips breaking apart. 

"Trust me, I want to. But I told you back at the club before we were even together that I would never do anything with you unless you had been completely sober and were able to consent." Pierce's grip held onto my wrist as he let out a sigh.

"Pierce I'm not drunk, I can consent-" I started knowing I was able to think clearly for myself even if I had a few drinks. I was nowhere near drunk, not even a little buzzed at this point. I watched him stare down at the ground before lifting his head to look at me, his grey eyes boring into mine. 

"Aspen please." Pierce pleaded "I just don't want you to think I'm ever trying to take advantage of you. We have years and years ahead of us to do it whenever but I promised you I would never do it unless you were fully able to consent. You and I both know what it feels like to not have consent and I'm not going to ever take that away from you."

I was grateful to have a boyfriend like Pierce, he was so different from Cayde that it threw me off at times. Even if I wasn't drunk and Pierce knew I wasn't, he still wanted it to be something that I could always say yes or no to. I knew he wouldn't ever pressure me into anything that I wasn't comfortable with or even if I just wasn't in the mood. 

"So years and years?" I teased, raising an eyebrow at him. Pierce mentioning the phrase and phrase did make my heart skip a beat, we were still so new to dating it was too early to talk about where we were going to be. Although when I was with Pierce I always felt complete, like he was the other half that I constantly strived to get. 

"Hey, the bouquet doesn't lie." Pierce let out a chuckle, making my face blush red "I have no idea what time has in store for us but I will say that you are the only girl in the world who has made me as happy as I am with you." 

"So are you saying the bouquet may be right?" I bit my lip as I threw my arms around his neck, hanging loosely. "Maybe." Pierce's lips tugged up into a smirk as he looked down at me "I mean do you know how much it would piss Xander off if I got married before him?" 

"Of course you'd say that." I rolled my eyes while letting a chuckle escape my lips. Although I would like to see how Xander would react if he found out Pierce was to get married before him considering they are nine years apart. Pierce pressed his lips to mine, picking me up from the ground and spinning me around before placing me down.

"Come on let's go back inside. I may even save you slow dance." I sent Pierce a wink as he grabbed a hold of my hand and followed behind me as we walked back into the reception hall where everyone danced. I pulled Pierce out to the dancefloor as a slow song played. 

I wrapped my arms around his neck, his arms snaking around my waist as our bodies pressed together. We swayed back and forth to the music and I stared up into his crystal grey eyes that I could get lost in for days, the same grey eyes that gave me butterflies with just a wink of the eye.

"Do you even begin to know how gorgeous you are?" Pierce smiled cheesily down at me "I mean how did I ever get so lucky?"

"Oh you know I just really have the hots for guys to kidnap me, drug me, and spit food in my face," I said sarcastically making Pierce roll his eyes at my comment. "I was doing it to protect you, I didn't want you joining Crestmont and tried to do everything to turn you away."

"And what if I didn't join?" The thought of me not being in Crestmont hadn't crossed my mind, I wondered how different my life would be. Sure I wouldn't have the stress of constantly being on the run but it's where I found Pierce and all my friends, so in the end, I couldn't imagine my life, not in Crestmont. 

"If you didn't join Crestmont then I might have never been able to find my soulmate." Pierce said softly "I still remember the first day I saw you when you moved into Aster's and you looked out the window at me. I couldn't get those blue eyes out of my head the entire night." 

"You know for a bad boy, you're a big softie," I admitted, pointing out that Pierce when I got here and Pierce now were two completely different people. We hadn't known each other for long but it felt like we had known each other for a lifetime and just clicked.

"Only for you Ambrosia, only for you." Pierce paused "It's cheesy but my mom always used to say that life was a puzzle and at the end, you'd solve it. Well out of the thousand pieces of the puzzle that is my life, the picture had been finished but the centerpiece was always missing, the one that tied it all together. You were the centerpiece and now the puzzle is complete as long as I have you."

"Well, I hope the picture is pretty."

"Absolutely gorgeous, I mean the centerpiece is stunning." 

"Hey you two, get together. I'm taking pictures for Natalie and Chris's wedding book." Aunt Elizabeth who had been the mother of the bride came up to us with a fancy camera. She handed me the bouquet that I had caught as Pierce and I stood together and took a picture. 

"Ok now get a picture of you two kissing, Aspen make sure to hold the bouquet front in center. You never know what might show up at your wedding." She sent a wink before holding the camera up to her eye and placing her finger over the button.

I looked over to Pierce as he pressed his lips to mine while I held the bouquet in my hands, the flash of the camera going off, and Pierce and I pulled away from each other. She thanked both of us before moving on to other people. 

"You want to get going? I mean we have a big day tomorrow in Washington?" Pierce offered and I nodded in response as we broke away from each other and made our way over to the table to grab our things. I threw on my leather jacket as June and Mrs. Gunner made their way up to us.

"Leaving already?" Mrs. Gunner cocked an eyebrow at us. "Yeah we have to drive into Seattle early tomorrow so figured get home and let Aspen sleep." Pierce shrugged in response, as June pulled me into a hug and then Mrs. Gunner.

"If I don't see you tomorrow, Happy Birthday sweetie. I hope you have fun in Seattle tomorrow." Mrs. Gunner hugged me tightly, the same kind of hug my mom use to give me every morning before I left school. "Thank you, Mrs. Gunner- I mean Devon." I corrected myself knowing she didn't like being called that. 

I gave her a small smile as I pulled away and she turned towards Pierce. She pulled Pierce into a hug and left a kiss on his cheek before we made our way out to Pierce's rental car that of course had been a challenger,  but it hadn't been parked very far from the reception. We rushed to the car as it was freezing out, making goosebumps appear all over my skin. 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Pierce and I got back to the hotel after an hour and a half and the streets were surprisingly not busy due to a winter storm warning that had been put in place for tonight. Pierce swiped the card through the door, allowing us entrance into the hotel room as I immediately kicked off my heels and threw my leather jacket to the side. 

It had already been close to midnight and we had to get up super early to avoid the traffic. Pierce told me he planned an entire day for us, so I had no idea what had been in store for the both of us. Pierce tore off his suit jacket and tie, beginning to unbutton each button of his shirt. 

"I'm gonna get in the shower really quick," I said as I made my way to the bathroom and gathered two towels for when I got out. I started the water, letting it run to get warm enough. The bathroom had been pure white with black decor that matched the bedroom. The shower itself was made out of white marbled walls and shower jets that were covering the walls, making the water shoot from all different sides. 

I slipped the black satin dress I had on, off of my body before sticking my hand into the shower in order to check the temperature. I pushed the glass sliding door all the way back and let the hot water hit my body. The goosebumps that had been on my skin soon diminished within seconds as the water coated my skin.

I tilted my head back as I allowed the water to run over my body and threw my hair. I closed my eyes as I took in the silence and allowed for the tension in my body to release. I hummed to myself before stopping when I heard the door open. I glanced through the fogged-up glass from the steaming of the hot water to see Pierce walk in. 

I heard the door then shut and I turned my back to the glass as I got the last of the conditioner out of my hair. The glass door slid open and I turned around to see Pierce who had gotten undressed, stepping inside of the shower and shutting the door shut. 

"What are you doing?" I asked confused, furrowing my brows at him as he inched closer to me. "I paid a grand for this hotel room, I'm going to use the shower at least once." Pierce narrowed his eyes at me as his body became coated with water. 

I began to turn back around but stopped when Pierce grabbed my wrist and turned me back around to face him. He backed me up against the wall and slammed his lips into mine. His hands began to grope my naked body and I broke my lips away from his.

"I thought you said we couldn't have sex?" I asked confused, going back to the conversation that we had in the back of the building at the reception. "I never said I couldn't make out with you," Pierce smirked before pressing his lips back to mine. Of course, there was always a loophole when it came to Pierce Gunner

I responded immediately and he grabbed my thigh, forcing me to lift, and picked me up from the ground as my legs wrapped around his waist. My back stayed pressed up against the wall as I ran my hands through his hair, the warmth of his body and shower making my body temperature heat up. 

Pierce moved his lips from my lips to my neck, leaving a trail of soft kisses along my neck before sucking harder on my skin, most definitely going to leave a hickey. Pierce broke away for a moment before shutting off the water and carrying me out of the shower and into the bedroom. He put me down, allowing me to stand up on my own. 

Pierce sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling me closer to him and making me straddle his lap. His arms wrapped around me, securing me from moving as I glanced over to the clock that said 11:59. Pierce turned his head to look at the clock as well as we stared at it, waiting for the numbers to change. The numbers soon changed to 12:00 am and I looked back at Pierce with a smile on my face now this was officially my birthday.

"Happy Birthday Baby." 

* * * * *

A://N Well you guys got the last chapter to 400 comments so here is another update!

What did you guys think of this chapter? It definitely had a lot of Pierce and Aspen moments and I wanted it to be a happier chapter after the last one had a lot going on.

Did the wedding reception go as you expected?

What did you guys think of Aspen catching the bouquet that Natalie threw?

Do you think Pierce will actually quit smoking now that Aspen asked?

What did you think about Aspen and Pierce's little moment in the end?

Any guesses for what will happen in the next chapter for Aspen's birthday?

Do you think any foreshadowing happened in this chapter?

Favorite Aspen and Pierce moment? #Paspen

Bonus question: Do you plan on reading the two other books after Ride Or Die (This is a trilogy series)

Also if you have not followed me on tik tok please do! I just made an account and it's @ ashleytocci and I'm trying to get to 1000 followers so I can go live and talk to you guys!

~Ash