"We were all sitting around laughing because you two had just been yelled at, yet again, for making horrible moaning noises while trying to strip each other behind the bar. I guess Topher was the one to pull away because Day, you said 'I told you, you couldn't handle this'. Then Toph, you came back with, 'I think I was handling just fine. You weren't complaining.' We all kind of laughed at that point," Riel explains as her, Topher and I sit around her living room. She's leaning toward us really getting into the story. She finds our embarrassment amusing, "Then you, Day, said 'Prove it.' which makes Toph lean into you again, but surprisingly you actually backed up. Then you put a hand to his chest and said 'Without kissing me'. Then Toph asked how to do that, but you just shrugged and told him to figure it out."
"This is ridiculous," I tell her. "How could I have been awake for all this and not remember a damn thing?"
"You were pretty out of it," she smiles at me then turns to Toph. "You really don't remember any of this? I mean, you were probably drunk at this point, but you were nowhere near wasted."
Topher shakes his head at her, "I guess I just play it off well."
She looks a little suspicious, but turns back to me, "Okay so after you told him to figure it out, he said 'I would be the best damn boyfriend in the world if you were mine', which made you giggle."
"Giggle?" I ask a little worried. I mean, I know I got married to a man and all, but giggling is a little much.
She smirks devilishly, "Giggle. Then Toph said, 'I'll do you one better. I would be the best husband in the world. No one could treat you like I would.' Apparently that sounded enticing to you because you nodded and said 'Now that I would like to see.' Then Toph, your playfully little smirk turned into a huge smile; like you won the lottery or something."
"So?" I urge after a few moments for her thinking to herself.
"So after a few minutes of debate, it came to settle that if you were actually going to marry him, he had to 'ask you properly'," she puts air quote around the last three word and mocks my accent.
"What's that mean?" Toph wonders out loud.
She faces him before continuing the story, "Damon wanted a ring and an actual proposal. Then he suggested if you did it right then you guys could get married after you proved to be the best boyfriend in the world."
"He did all that in one night?"
"Well those rings," she answers me as she points between our two left hands, "that I see you're still wearing despite wanting to get divorced."
"Mines stuck," Topher says at the same time that I say, "I don't want to lose it."
"Whatever," she waves us off. "The rings apparently belonged to your grandparents, Toph."
My mouth drops as I take another look at the metal band on my hand. It does look a little antique-y if you actually look closely, but they were seemingly very well taken care of.
"Where did you get them?" I look over at Toph who is inspecting his own ring.
He shook his head for a second in confusion, but then apparently it dawns on him. He turns his rings so that the diamonds are on the inside of his hand and looks up at me, "They were in the lock safe at my house. They've been in my family for six generations. My dad gave them to me on his death bed," his eyes connect with mine in shock.
He opens his mouth to continue speaking, but I cut him off by taking off the ring and handing it back to him, "That's like 150 years. Here, I don't want to lose it. It probably means a lot to you coming from your dad."
He pushes my hand back toward me with a hurt expression, "It's closer to 200. I know you won't lose it; I trust you. Just hold onto it until we get back to my place. It's too big for my fingers and I don't want to put it in my pocket. It could fall out."
I shake my head again and push the jewelry in his direction, "I don't trust myself."
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head before looking back at me, "You think something would be safer in my hands than in yours? I doubt it. Just hold onto it. I'll get it when we get home."
Sighing, I place the ring back on my finger before turning back to our female friend, "What happened next?"
Her smile turns wicked again before she pulls out her phone, "I have that part on video." She taps on the screen a few times then hand me her cell saying, "Press play when you're ready."
Scooting closer to Toph, I angle the screen to where we can both see it. Once I press the play button, I see my life change on the small HD screen.
~~~~~
Topher and I are walking hand in hand down a street at just about dawn. The sun is just rising over the buildings and in the lighting his hair takes on a more golden hue than the usual light blonde.
When he stops, just in front of a rundown laundry mat, he makes eye contact with me before dropping to one knee. My hands shoot up to my mouth like you see on those sappy romantic movie, but you can see in my eyes that I'm laughing.
Pulling a ring-box from his back pocket, he opens it and presents it in front of me, "Damian Jacob Moore-Hill, will you do me the honor of letting me prove that I would be the best husband in the whole world if you were my other half?"
I laugh behind my hands then let them drop to my side. Pointing to the box, I raise an eyebrow, "There is no way that is going to fit on my finger.
Talk about mood killer.
Toph just laughs before shutting the box and pulling out another. He wobbles a little before opening it for me to look at while still on his one knee.
Everyone around us is in various stages of amusement. You can't see Riel since she's holding the camera or Tripp since he's probably next to her, but you can hear them chuckling lightly. Sammi is off to the side laughing her ass off and our two younger companions, Joel and Ashley, are behind me smiling.
The second time Topher proposes can only be described as very 'Toph-like', "I bet you that I'll be the best husband ever. As long as I'm winning we stayed married, but as soon as I lose, you can divorce me."
"Those are the terms?" I ask him putting my hands on my hips and raising one eyebrow at him.
You can tell I'm drunk because all of my movements are a little over-exaggerated. My speech is a lot clearer than I thought it would be, but my actions are a dead give-away.
He smiles as he pulls the ring from the box and stands in front of me. He hands the box back to Sam without taking his blue eyes from mine, "Those are the terms, but you have to marry me tonight. The bet starts as soon as we walk out of the chapel."
Toph's cousin takes the velvet box as I fold my arms over my chest, "Where would we get married tonight? New York is a gay marriage state, but you have to wait 24 hours after getting your license to get married."
"Uh," Topher wonders out loud still holding the ring out to me.
Joel takes a step forward, "Connecticut has no waiting period and they're pro-gay. You can get married there."
My best friend's smile widens at our young friend's words, "Then Connecticut it is. Marry me?" he grabs my left hand and holds it between us, waiting for my answer.
"And if you suck at being my husband?" I challenge.
His smirk makes a shiver run through me, "Then you can get rid of me. That's the terms."
"Alright, Christopher Lee David Ashton, I'll marry you," as the words leave my mouth he slides the ring in place. When it's where he wants it, he wraps his arms around me and presses his lips to mine in one of the most passionate kisses I have ever seen.
If it wasn't me and my best friend I was looking at, I would swear it was a couple that has been in love for years. I see myself lean back a little bit and then forward to his ear, but I can't hear what I say over the hooping a hollering of our friends.
~~~~~
"What did I say to him?" I look over at our female friend as I try to think back. I feel like I remember the gesture, but I can't put my finger on the words.
She shrugs, "I don't know. We asked, but you wouldn't tell us."
"It's right on the tip of my tongue," I admit then look over to my husband. "It was something about the bet. It was something about you losing."
He swallows loudly, but meets my eyes, "You said, 'You better not lose-'."
"'I don't want to give you up'," I finish the statement from last night not breaking eye contact.
How can I remember that, but nothing else?
"After that, we all pretty much just piled into a taxi van and went to the first little chapel we could find in Connecticut," Riel breaks our little trance with her words. "As luck had it, the place had marriage licenses on stock and told us that once you were married they would send it over to the courts to be approved then send you each a copy. You wrote down your addresses and tipped them a few extra dollars to have it rushed over."
"So mine is probably sitting with my doorman?" I question her.
She looks a little pained as she shakes her head, "I don't think so. You told me later than you sent it somewhere else."
"Oh my God," I felt like my world was crashing in. "Where did I send it?"
I could only dream of all the possibilities.
She shrugs, "You kept saying it was a surprise, but that we would know by the end of today."
I let out a breath. If we would know by today, there was no way it could have gone home. Even the fastest mail carriers take a few days to get over to England.
"Do you know where I sent it?" I look back over at my best friend.
He shakes his head slowly with a bit of a pout on his face, "No, but I guess we'll find out."
"You realize this could ruin our careers?" I ask him.
It's not like America wants to hear that their most eligible bachelor got married to a man. I would have his fan girls trying to kill me. Not to mention, I would stop getting movie deals because no one would accept me. It would ruin him too. He wouldn't be the lady-loving heartthrob anymore; he would be the man-loving gay guy. That would put a bit of a damper on things.
He rolls his eyes, "You want to get divorced anyway. We'll just do it before anyone finds out. Then it will be over and no one will be the wiser," he sounds a little angry as he's saying these things.
Maybe, I'm just imagining it.
"That was harsh, Toph," Riel barks at him with disappointment in her brows. "Damon was just worried about you. Stop being a douche."
Maybe, I wasn't just imagining it.
He shakes his head and lets out a huge sigh, "Whatever. You want to head over there now to start the process?"
"It's Saturday," Riel points out stopping me from answering him.
I look from Toph to our female companion, "What does that mean?"
"It means," she says as she stands from the spot she was sitting on the loveseat, "that since it's a weekend that the court system isn't open anymore. Government buildings close early on Saturdays and they aren't open at all on Sundays. You're going to have to wait until Monday to start the process."
"Do we have to go together to do it?" Topher questions her as he scratches the back of his head.
She shrugs, "Every state is different. Most states to get an annulment you have to go together because it's basically an agreement that it shouldn't have happened in the first place. If it's approved, it would be as if the marriage never happened."
"How do you know all this?" I ask as I stand up next to her.
"My dad is a divorce attorney. He used to lecture me about the importance of waiting to get married and all the things that can happen in a divorce," she makes her way to the kitchen as she explains. "My mom used to just laugh while my dad went on and on."
A smile makes it way to Topher's face, "You're parents aren't divorced?"
"Oh hell no," she practically yells as she open the fridge. She silently offers a bottle of water, which we decline, before continuing, "My parents are going on 30 years. I would say they are the second happiest couple in the world."
"Who's the first?" I dare even though I know I'm going to regret the answer as soon as I see the mischievous smile on her face.
"You guys last night."