Chapter 12
Thane
I wake up with a smile already on my face. Today is my wedding day. I get to stand up in front of all our friends and tell the world Madden is mine for the rest of our lives. Warmth washes over me and I roll over, seeking my man.
I frown when I find his side of the bed empty and cold. No way in hell will that do on the morning of our wedding.
With a grumble, I heave myself out of bed to go in search of him, hoping he’s not having cold feet or any sort of epic wedding issue meltdown. I wanted to get married in Vegas because all the bells and whistles didn’t matter to me. I don’t care about the tuxedos, the flowers, or the cake. All I care about is having Madden for the rest of my life.
As I make my way down the stairs, I can hear rustling in the kitchen and the sound of sizzling bacon. My stomach grumbles at the delicious smell wafting through the house. I tramp down the stairs more quickly.
When I reach the kitchen, Madden is standing at the stove whistling “White Wedding” by Billy Idol. He doesn’t seem to hear me come in, so I take the opportunity to sneak up behind him and wrap my arms around his middle, trailing kisses down the back of his neck.
“Good morning, soon to be husband,” he greets with a smile in his voice.
“Morning sweetheart. What’s all this?”
“I was going to bring you breakfast in bed, but I suppose the kitchen table will do since you’re up now.”
“Sorry, I thought you weren’t in bed because you might be freaking out this morning,” I confess.
“Nope, no freak outs,” Madden assures me, plating the bacon and then spinning around to press his lips to mine.
“Not that I’m complaining, but why aren’t you freaking out? You’ve been freaking out for weeks. It seems like there’s been an issue just about every day. Are you telling me on the morning of our wedding, everything is finally in order? The flowers arrived? The cake is perfect? The programs arrived with the correct names on them?”
“The flowers are the wrong color, the cake has a bride and groom on the top, and the programs still haven’t arrived.” His placid smile is at odds with what he’s telling me.
“And you’re not freaking out?”
“Nope.” He shakes his head and smiles more widely. “No one will remember if the flowers matched our ties, we’ll forgo a cake topper, and no one will know what’s happening when.” Madden shrugs. “But guess what?”
“What?”
“We’ll still be married.”
My heart feels so full it’s almost painful.
“Yes, we will,” I agree, sweeping him up into another kiss. Our tongues tease, and our lips move in slow concert as I let myself absorb everything about this amazing man I get to kiss forever.
Once we manage to untangle from each other, Madden serves breakfast, and we eat in companionable silence as we read the newspaper. Every once in a while, we look up at each other at the same time and smile.
∞∞∞
We walk to the gazebo where our ceremony is being held, hand in hand. My breath catches when I see all the flowers decorating the shelter and the chairs lined up facing it. To the left, a few yards away, is a large tent where there are tables and a dance floor are set up for the reception. Although the flowers are a few shades off, I can tell they were supposed to be my favorite shade of blue.
“You were right.”
“About what?” Madden asks.
“I’m glad we didn’t get married in Vegas. This is perfect.”
“Well, not perfect, but with you at my side, it will be.”
“Always,” I promise him.
Our friends and some of my family members slowly fill the chairs. We decided we didn’t want to do a precession or anything fancy, we just want to stand up in front of everyone, say our vows, and have a Justice of the Peace pronounce us married. So, once everyone is seated and the clock hits two, low music starts to alert everyone of the ceremony about to begin.
My heart hammers against my ribs as I turn to face Madden, all eyes trained on us. The feeling of Madden’s smooth hands against my rough ones fills me with a sense of calm.
“We are gathered here today, to witness the union of Madden Brody and Thane Grayson in holy matrimony. They have prepared their own vows, which they will read now. You may begin.”
“Madden, I look into your eyes, and I see everything I ever dared to want. I see a partner and a friend. I see a future father of our children. I promise to always help you up when you stumble, to do everything in my power to chase the shadows away every day, and to make sure you always know how insanely loved you are.”
I bring our twined hands up to Madden’s cheek and use my thumb to catch an errant tear.
“I don’t know how you loved me when I was at my worst, but you were my beacon in the darkness. You helped me find my way back to myself when I was at my lowest. If I live a hundred years, I’ll never be able to tell you enough how stupid in love I am with you. I promise to always share, never take you for granted, or run away. And I promise that as long as we both live, I’ll bake you cupcakes every day.”
I chuckle through the emotion clogging my throat.
“You may seal this union with a kiss,” the officiant declares, and I sweep Madden into my arms, kissing him slow and deep, wanting to imprint everything about this moment. I want to remember the exact taste of Madden’s lips on our wedding day for the rest of my life.
“We’re married,” Madden whispers against my lips with a little smile.
“We are,” I agree, bumping the tip of my nose against his affectionately. “How long do we have to stay at the reception before we can celebrate properly?”
“It’s our wedding,” Madden says, aghast.
“Sweetheart, if you think I’m going to wait more than two hours to take my new husband back to the hotel and painstakingly lick every inch of his body, you’re crazy.”
His breath catches, and I can feel his body’s reaction to my words.
“Two hours?” he asks breathlessly. “I can live with two hours.”
“Good,” I agree before kissing him again, the cheers of our friends fading into the background.
Nash
The crowd cheers as Madden and Thane are pronounced married. My throat is clogged with emotions as I watch them kiss and whisper to each other, smiling like they’re the happiest men alive.
“Do you ever feel sad that the three of us can’t get married?” Zade asks, giving my hand a squeeze.
“A little,” I admit and then look at Royal.
“We could always do a commitment ceremony if you guys wanted to,” he suggests with a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. “We could get rings, stand up in front of our friends, and say sappy shit about how happy we make each other.”
I smile and tug Royal closer, so I can press a quick kiss to his lips.
“I like that idea. We should do it,” I agree.
“I’m in,” Zade agrees, kissing the side of my neck and then leaning over me to kiss Royal’s.
“All right guys, let’s party,” Madden declares from the altar, and another cheer erupts.
Everyone stands and carries their chairs over to the tables set up inside the tent. With Royal’s free hand he pinches my ass, and I laugh and swat him away.
“Sorry, you look sexy as fuck all dressed up like this.” He doesn’t sound sorry at all, but I don’t mind.
“Behave at least until we get home, would you?”
“And then try to keep it down when we do get home,” Liam says pointedly.
“Yeah, don’t hold your breath on that one, kid. You know your brother is a screamer,” Zade jokes.
“You guys are gross,” Liam complains.
“You love us,” Royal points out.
“Debatable. Now if you’ll excuse me, I want to get some pictures to play with later.” Liam holds up his camera and then slips away into the crowd.
We mingle with our friends and meet some of Thane’s family as we wait for a chance to give speeches and eat cake. Thane’s parents seem over the moon to have Madden as a new son-in-law, which brings another wave of happiness crashing over me.
We spot Clay and Max, and I wave them over to say hello.
“Hey, it’s awesome you guys were able to make it for the wedding.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Besides, I was having best friend withdrawals, so I had to see Beck before we both withered away and died,” Clay explains with a laugh.
“Can’t have that,” I agree. “How’s the east coast treating you?”
“Good, I got a job at a yoga studio teaching a few classes a week. And Max is loving his new job, right love?” Clay prompts.
“Yeah, it’s amazing. I knew I would love working on bikes all day, but it’s even better than I imagined.”
“That’s so great.”
“We also have some news,” Clay says with a shy smile in Max’s direction. “We, uh, tied the knot...no pun intended.” Clay holds up his left hand to show off a simple silver band.
“That’s so great, congratulations,” Royal says and then the three of us each hug both of them.
“You know, I sort of have you guys to thank for this,” Max says, gesturing between him and Clay. “That day I came in to get that ink and you two talked about being bisexual and how much it paid off to take the scary leap of exploring that, I went home that night and kissed Clay for the first time. I don’t know if I would’ve found the courage if it wasn’t for you.”
“Of course, you would have, you two were meant to be. A little sexual identity crisis wasn’t going to stop that in the long run,” Royal says.
“Either way, thank you.”
“Any time,” I assure Max, clapping him on the shoulder.
Our conversation is cut off as the D.J. announces Madden and Thane and they enter the tent hand in hand again, all smiles and googly eyes at each other.
“I know you guys, didn’t have official wedding party, but I’d like to assume I would’ve been your best man if you had,” Adam says once Madden and Thane are seated. “Which means, it’s only appropriate for me to give a speech.” Madden groans a little but waves a hand for Adam to continue. “Madden, you are one of the strongest men I know. You’ve been through some shit and come out the other end. You inspire me every day; I’m so honored to know you. I know you think I saved you all those years ago when you walked into Heathens, but the truth is, you saved me a little bit, too. And I knew as soon as I met Thane that he was likely the only man strong enough to hold you up when things get hard and always walk beside you with love and respect, no matter where the winding road may lead. You two prove that love really can conquer anything. To Madden and Thane.”
“Madden and Thane,” we all repeat, holding our glasses up and then taking a drink.
“And to forever,” I echo the toast Adam made in Vegas just loud enough for Royal and Zade to hear.
“Forever,” they agree, clinking their glasses to mine to seal the promise.
The End