Chapter Seven #2
She leads us to another table, where the three of us sit down.
Her name is Heather, and she talks about how happy she is for us before handing over a list of documents.
Donovan got everything together before we left, so all I have to do is pass over my ID.
The weight in my stomach gets heavier and heavier while she goes through each paper we need to sign and Donovan and I both do it.
This is…wrong. Not because I’m marrying my best friend, but because it’s like I’m buying a car or something.
It feels very contractual and official rather than a special moment with my person.
“Hey.” Donovan reaches over and rests his hand on my neck, his fingers drawing circles in the hair at my nape. “You sure?”
“Yes,” I answer, and I truly am. Again, I just thought it would be more us than this. Which is dumb. This is for medical insurance, so why am I being all whiney about it? “I’m very sure, husband,” I add, and it’s kinda fun to play around with calling him that.
“You’re so silly.”
“That’s why you’re marrying me.”
“You guys are so cute,” Heather tells us.
“I know, right?” The woman isn’t wrong.
A few minutes later, we’re finished signing and she’s letting us know they’ll process the papers, everything will come in the mail, and…
that’s it. We’re married. We’re not even having a ceremony.
I knew there wouldn’t be rings, we talked about that, and it seemed silly to waste the money, but now that we’re here, I’m regretting that decision.
Donovan should have a ring, and we should have had a ceremony.
I’m distracted from that thought by Donovan licking his lips. There’s a softness to his brown eyes that always helps settle my nerves. My stomach feels fluttery, which I figure has to be a normal reaction to getting married regardless of the situation.
“Do you want me to take a photo of you two? I can’t do it officially. We don’t provide copies with your package, but I can take a couple with your phone real quick.”
No photos? When they said sign and go, they weren’t joking.
“Yes,” Donovan rushes out before I get the chance to respond. “If you want, of course.”
“Obviously.” Why wouldn’t I want a photo? “One day we’ll sit back and laugh about how ridiculous we were.”
He snickers. “Truth.” Then he grabs my crutches and helps me to my feet.
We move over to the wall, arms around each other’s shoulders in a way that feels very bro-y and not two men in love, but Heather doesn’t seem to notice.
She snaps a couple of photos. “Do you want to have one with a kiss?”
“Sure,” I say in unison with Donovan’s, “That’s okay.”
Donovan stiffens against me.
Did I do something wrong? “We don’t have to.” It’s not like we’ve never kissed before. I kiss his temple or he kisses mine nearly every time we see each other. “I don’t think she means making out or anything.”
He nudges me with his hip. “No shit. I just…didn’t think you’d want that.”
“I’m fine with it if you are.” I lean close and whisper in his ear, “We might as well ham it up. It’ll give us more fun stories to share later.”
“You and your stories.” He shakes his head but then turns and kisses my cheek.
Heather snaps a photo.
“Amateur,” I tease.
“Let’s see you do better.”
He turns to face me, and I do the same, dropping my forehead against his. Donovan’s hand rests on my neck again, and then I give him the softest, most gentle press of my lips against his.
It’s quick, so quick that I’m almost not sure it happened, but apparently it was slow enough for Heather to get her shot. “This is nice. It will be the perfect memory to hold you over until the service next year.”
“Huh?” I ask, feeling slightly dazed.
“We’re having our ceremony in the fall, remember?” Donovan eyes me, and everything clicks into place.
“Yep. Totally can’t wait to claim this guy in front of everyone.” I give him a one-armed hug.
“Overkill,” he whispers out of the side of his mouth.
Heather hands the phone over, then lingers there for a moment.
“Oh shit. Here.” He pulls out his wallet and tips her for the photos.
“I’ll pay for the wedding.” If you can even call it that.
“I got it, babe.” Donovan pulls his debit card out.
“No. I really want to.” He’s already doing me a million favors. It’s important to me that I help where I can. One day I’m afraid Donovan will get tired of picking up my slack and be done with me.
“I…fine. Okay. No worries. I’ll get it next time,” he says, then realizes he’s talking about our marriage and not lunch or something. “You know what I mean.”
I snicker as I give her my debit card. I get that I should be saving as much money as possible, but I also don’t want to take advantage of Donovan. I’m not his kept man. Plus, I’m losing a lot of my bills by moving in with him.
Luckily, one quickie marriage is only a hundred bucks, and just as we’re heading out, the next couple is coming in.
“Congrats!” the woman tells us, and I can’t help smiling.
I’m married.
To Donovan.
This is gonna be a wild ride.