Chapter 10 #2
He closed his eyes and waited. Not wanting to leave him hanging, I pushed up on my toes and angled my head to slot our mouths together. I pressed a soft kiss to his lips and waited, testing his reaction. Gio let out a sigh, kept his eyes closed, and stayed still.
Grinning to myself, I secretly loved getting to see this man so unsure of something that should be easy.
I slid my hands behind his neck and leaned in again.
My mouth met his, but I didn’t pull back this time.
I stayed until I felt him relax and his lips parted.
I took advantage of it and slid my tongue along his lips, loving the sharp inhale that came from him.
Gio’s arms, which had been hanging stiffly at his sides, came to my waist and clutched my jacket as he finally began to move his mouth against mine.
I was suddenly the surprised one, when the kiss became hungrier and his tongue explored my mouth, a groan rolling up from his throat.
I was pulled closer as he sank deeper into my mouth, making me dizzy from the intensity of it.
This kiss had moved far past friend territory and, frankly, I wasn’t mad about it.
Our tongues danced together, and he tasted so damn good.
The door to the bathroom opened, and we both froze.
A man coughed as he squeezed awkwardly past us to the urinal.
At the sound of someone unzipping his pants, and it wasn’t either of us, we slowly slid apart.
I met Gio’s gaze and his cheeks were flaming red.
Not really sure how to proceed, we simply stood there, waiting for the guy to finish his business.
It had to be the longest piss in history, how much had this guy had to drink?
“Excuse me.” The man grunted. Gio and I split apart, giving him room to step between us to reach the sink. At least he was washing his hands. As soon as he was done, he left the room, leaving us behind.
The silence filling the bathroom with us left in the wake of whatever just happened burst with the loud laughter that erupted from me.
It was all so incredibly ridiculous. The kiss.
The piss. Why did he just walk around us when we were clearly in the middle of something?
When you gotta go, you gotta go, I guess.
It was probably good we were interrupted, though, because…
Gio’s tongue. What the fuck! With no explanation for any of it, I just let it go.
Laughter continued to roll out of me until I was clutching my side.
Gio’s lips began to twitch, then he huffed with amusement, and soon he was joining me, leaning against the sink to support him as we released all the tension that had built up between us.
When we were able to settle and catch our breaths, Gio slid a glance at me and exhaled. “Was that okay?”
Okay? Were my feet still attached to my body? I couldn’t tell, because I felt like I was floating. “Fuck, Gio, that was great! Kiss me like that again and you’ll make believers out of everyone.” Including me.
His head moved up and down slowly and a strange mix of emotions crossed his face, but when his eyes met mine, he smiled. It was a soft one at first, but something seemed to settle in him. A boost of confidence straightened his shoulders and lifted his head. He held his arm out to me. “Shall we?”
Looking up at him, I felt one side of my mouth tilt up.
Aside from his determination, he looked a little disheveled.
I licked a couple fingers and fixed the strands of his hair that were standing up and didn’t miss the way Gio's lips twitched at the action. As I hooked my arm through his, a grin stretched my cheeks. “Yes. I think we’re ready now.”
We opened the bathroom door to find all of Gio’s kids standing there, along with Derek and Marley.
Marley was beaming as he looked at us, his gaze sliding between me and Gio, and I allowed myself to feel excited once more.
When I told him at the market that I was going to marry Gio, I got to have a moment of pure joy with him.
He squealed and crushed me in an embrace.
I had to talk him down from all of the floral plans that came pouring out of him and explain that it was going to be a simple, courthouse ceremony.
I didn’t explain why, and he didn’t ask, but it had been fun to have someone to share the moment with and pretend it was real.
“We were starting to wonder if you were going to come back out,” Yahir commented with a tease.
Eduardo stepped forward, wearing a slight smirk, and gave us an assessing look. “You guys good?”
Gio held his head high and cleared his throat. “Yes. We’re good.”
“Good, because we’d better hurry or you’ll miss your appointment,” he gave a wink and pointed down the hallway.
“Shit! How much time do we have?” How long were we in there? With the hungry way Gio had been kissing me, time had ceased completely.
“Five minutes,” Nicky yelled.
“Fuck!” We all started moving down the hallway in a swarm, rushing to get to the county clerk’s office.
Marley broke through the crowd to get in front of me. We didn’t stop, he merely walked backwards as he handed me a beautiful arrangement of purple and yellow flowers, all tied together with a blue ribbon. “Wait. Here, you need this.”
The flowers gave me pause and I came to a halt. Seeing them made my eyes mist. “Oh my God, Marley, these are beautiful. You didn’t have to do this.”
He grinned in that pure sunshine way of his. “Yes, I did. You can’t get married without a bouquet. Oh, and one more thing. Derek?”
Derek pushed through the group and pulled something from behind his back, looking at Gio. “I believe this is for you.”
He held out a boutonniere that matched my bouquet. Eduardo stepped up and held his hand out. “Here. Can I do the honors?”
“Of course.” Derek handed the floral pin to Eduardo, who stepped in front of Gio and met his gaze.
As he pinned the flowers to Gio’s lapel, he said, “I love you, Papa. I’m so proud of who you are, and I’m really happy for you and Jasper.”
Gio took his glasses off to wipe at his eyes, before pulling him into a hug. “Thank you, kiddo. That really means a lot to me. I love you, too.” He looked up to scan over the rest of his kids. “All of you. I’m so damn proud to be your papa.”
They all leaned in, drawing into a group hug, and my heart leapt in my chest, as someone’s arm looped around my neck to bring me into the fold. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had a family. An actual, loving family.
“Two minutes!” Nicky yelled from somewhere in the middle of the huddle.
At that, we broke apart and hurried. Gio’s hand found mine, making me smile, as he guided me along.
When we got to the office, we signed in like we were checking in at the dentist. After a couple of minutes, we were brought to the window, where we paid the fees, like it was a parking ticket instead of a momentous occasion. It was all very transactional, which was odd, but it fit our purpose.
A few different parties were seated around the waiting room, all here for the same thing. I half-expected to be given a number like at the DMV and to be told which line to stand in. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long, when a door opened at the end of the corridor.
“Maldonado-Russo party?”
My throat tightened at the sound of it. This was it.
This was actually fucking happening. I would go through those doors a single man, and come out…
not single. The not-single thing didn’t bother me, really, but it was the weight of it all.
Freedom. Freedom was only a few feet away.
From my parents, from their hold on me, and from their expectations.
“Maldonado-Russo party?” The person repeated.
Gio held up an arm. “That’s us. We’re here.”
He leaned down and whispered in my ear that it was time with that calmness he often carried. I was in awe of how he seemed so calm about all of this when I was feeling so many things. I simply nodded, and held his hand, holding on to him like he was my guide, leading me through an unknown world.
When we walked into the chapel room, I was surprised to find it slightly less cold and governmental than the waiting room.
They had a few floral arrangements and potted plants around the room, with some areas set up for photos.
We unceremoniously walked to the front where the judge was standing, and our family took up the row of seats behind us.
The judge was an older, bald man who greeted us with a warm smile. “Jasper Maldonado?” He asked and I raised my hand like I was in school. He held his hand out and shook mine, before turning to look at Gio. “Giorgio Russo?”
Giorgio. I must have seen his full name written in all the documents we had to collect to apply for our marriage license, but it was the first time I’d heard it out loud.
I said it quietly, rolling the sound of it around in my mouth, making me smile.
The smile threatened to turn into a laugh at the realization that I was just hearing the full name of the man I was about to marry at the altar.
Who does that? Me, apparently. Amusement pushed a snort out of me, making Gio swing his gaze to mine, and his lips twitched into a smile.
We needed to get this thing going or we might devolve into another fit like we shared in the bathroom.
The judge gave us a nod and took a step back, speaking loudly for the room to hear.
“There are many unpleasant parts of my job. I see and hear the worst in humanity. But days like this, where I get to be a part of celebrating people in their best moments, make it all worth it. It is my honor to officiate your marriage. We’re here today to witness the union of Jasper and Giorgio.
Before I begin, does anyone object to the joining of these two in lawful matrimony? ”