Is She Smiling at Me? Pt. 15

"No, baby," I interrupted, "She's not going to be upset at you for keeping it from her. She's going to be upset at herself for making you feel like you couldn't share it with her."

"That's even worse!" She frowned, "Are you sure?"

"That's how I would feel," I answered softly.

"Right. Sometimes I forget it's like you two share a brain."

"You have to show her, Liz."

"I know." She said glumly.

"It'll be fine, I promise."

"I hate that I have to upset her at all."

"Baby, you know how my proposal to her went down, right? She figured out what I was up to before I even said anything and she forced it out of me. She practically proposed to me."

"Yeah?" Liz'z tone was dubious, but the corners of her mouth began to curl into a little smile.

"Well, so, my point is that Alex has grown a lot. She's not the same woman that she was when you felt like she would never want to get married. As soon as she realizes that, she'll forgive herself."

"You think?"

"I'm sure of it. Now tell me more about this dress. You would look amazing in that one!"

The rest of the evening went about as I had expected; Alex got home just before I finished making dinner, and Liz shared her scrapbook with her while we ate. The was a subtle undertone of sadness in the gorgeous redhead's demeanor at first, but she didn't let it take away from Liz's cautious enthusiasm. By the end of dinner, the girls were smiling and talking excitedly about some of the ideas Liz had come up with. Alex was especially fond of one of the dresses the younger woman had picked out with her in mind; a two-piece sheath with a bit of a boho flair, it was very much her style.

After we sent Liz off to work, Alex and I took the dog for a walk around the block. She was unusually quiet and though she didn't seem to want to broach the subject, I could sense that she was still upset. It pained me to see her hurt like that, but I wasn't sure what I could say to alleviate those feelings. I slipped my hand into hers, strolling along in silence until the right words came to me.

"I'm so proud of you." I smiled at her.

"Why?!" She snorted derisively, "I never knew marriage was so important to her. I should have known that, Matt. It was my job to know that. Worse yet, I made her feel like she couldn't talk to me about it. I feel terrible."

"That's why I'm proud of you. Despite feeling like that, you didn't let it take away from her excitement. Did you see how happy she was? You did that. You're kind of amazing."

Alex stopped in her tracks, anchoring me by the hand while Ranger tried to pull me onward. I reigned in the dog and turned back to see a wistful smile on my beautiful fiancée's face.

"What?" I chuckled at her expression.

"I love you so much."

"I love you, baby," I kissed her on the cheek, "Come on."

"I still feel like I let Liz down." She said as we started walking again.

"Whether or not that's true —and it's not, by the way, but I can't argue with how you feel— you can't unring that bell, babe," I said while the dog stopped to squat next to a tree, "You want to make up for it? Just keep doing what you did tonight. Show Liz that this matters as much to you as it does to her. You'll feel better."

"It might be easier to see the wisdom in those words if you weren't picking up poop as you said them." She said with a smirk.

"Oh, don't let the poop fool you, I'm basically a guru."

Alex laughed, "You're right. About making it up to Liz, I mean —the jury is out on the guru bit. Do you think we can set up a meeting with that Reverend you've been talking about?"

"Absolutely. I'll make the call tomorrow."

"Thank you, Matt." She smiled warmly, "For everything."

"Don't mention it."

*****

The following weekend, Alex, Liz, and I found ourselves standing on the porch of the woman we hoped would agree to be our officiant. I had gotten Reverend Quinn's contact information from an old friend and we made arrangements to meet at her house. Certain details were omitted, of course; I felt it best that the Reverend got a sense of who we were as a whole before she rendered a judgment about our relationship. Now, as I knocked on the heavy wooden entrance to her home, I felt somewhat apprehensive about what might come to pass. I did not have long to worry before a smiling, full-figured woman in her mid-fifties opened the door to greet us.

"Hi, Reverend Quinn? I'm Matthew Byrne, this is Elizabeth Crawford, and that's Alexandra Kelly."

"Of course, come in!" The matronly Reverend waved us inside, "It's a beautiful morning, I thought we'd talk over tea in the backyard. There's more room out there anyway; I wasn't expecting three of you."

The girls and I exchanged awkward glances at that last comment when the Reverend turned to lead the way. Following close behind, I smiled at the eclectic decor as we passed by mandala print tapestries and shelves lined with statuettes of various eastern influences, to say nothing of the plethora of crystals in assorted colors, shapes, and sizes. Each room of the house was separated from the last by beaded curtains that tinkled and jangled whimsically when we moved through them on our way to the back door. Throughout, a grey-blue haze of incense smoke hung heavy in the air, its bergamot fragrance masking the faint undertones of burned cannabis.

Outside on the back porch, we found a woman I recognized as the Reverend's wife fussing over an ornate, floral pattern tea service. Introductions were made while a bundle of white sage was set aflame and left to smolder in a stone bowl on the patio table. The Reverend thanked her wife with a quick kiss and gestured for the girls and me to sit as she poured us each a cup of tea.

"Let me start by telling you a little about myself and what I do. As you know, I am Reverend Erin Quinn, and I have been a practicing wedding officiant for over two decades. After a lifetime of participating in the spiritualist faith; practicing, teaching, and mentoring, I was legally ordained at the Temple of Awakened Divinity. I specialize in non-denominational ceremonies and am happy to work with you to tailor your wedding to your needs. So, which of you lovely ladies is marrying this gentleman?"

"We both are." Alex smiled confidently as she took Liz's hand in hers.

Reverend Quinn's hand flew to her mouth as she coughed, nearly choking on a sip of tea. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, Reverend, we couldn't be more serious." I reached for Alex's other hand to emphasize the point, "I didn't tell you when we spoke over the phone because I wanted you to see us together before you formed an opinion. I wanted to show you that we're not up to anything untoward, we're just three normal people who happened into unusual circumstances and fell hopelessly in love. I want to be very clear about what we are requesting of you; we've familiarized ourselves with the law, and we would never ask you to do anything illegal. All we want is a ceremony to honor the commitment that we've already made to each other. What we choose to call ourselves afterward is no one's business but ours."

"Aww, Matt..." Liz cooed quietly.

"May I ask what compelled you to come to me with this request?" The Reverend asked curiously.

"Actually, I met you a few years ago, at Andrew Scott's wedding. I remembered you from that weekend and I had a sense that you might be the type of person who would be amenable to our situation."

She stared at me for a moment, her expression blank until the look of realization dawned on her face, "Matt Byrne! I thought I recognized you from somewhere! As I recall, you and that friend of yours —Josh was it? You two got drunk and mooned the entire bridal party, isn't that right?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw the girls turn to stare at me, Alex shaking her head disapprovingly while Liz leaned forward, her mouth agape in stunned disbelief.

"In my defense," I said with a sheepish grin, "That was an inside joke and not just a random act of nudity."

"And it didn't bother you that I was caught in the crossfire?"

"We had calculated an acceptable degree of collateral damage, Reverend, but I do apologize that you were it."

"Well, I suppose they weren't the worst asses I've ever seen," Reverend Quinn cracked a wry smile as she turned to Alex and Liz, "You girls have done well for yourselves."

"Thank you, Reverend." Alex grinned while Liz giggled at the comment.

"Well, Matt, you are correct; I am amenable to your situation. I've been doing this a long time and I'd have to be blind not to see that you three love each other very much. My heart says that your relationship deserves the same recognition as any other. It's a shame I can't marry you legally, but I would be proud to perform your ceremony. On one condition; stop calling me 'Reverend.' It's Erin, please. We're all friends here."

The girls and I breathed a collective sigh of relief as we smiled at each other. The Reverend had not only agreed to perform our wedding, but she had given it her blessing. The one barrier that could have stood in our way had just been removed and I could tell that Alex and Liz felt it just as palpably as I did when that weight lifted from our shoulders. As if to affirm that notion, Alex squeezed my hand affectionately and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek while Liz squealed happily.

"So, what I would normally do now is have the couple read a sample script, just kind of a baseline, to get an idea of how it fits for them. Then I would conduct an interview to get a sense of what adjustments need to be made to personalize the ceremony to their relationship. Since I don't have a script prepared for your unique requirements, we'll skip right to the interview and I'll write something up later on. When that's done, you three can come back here for a reading, or we could even do it over the phone. Sound good?"

We agreed, and the next hour or so was spent answering the Reverend's questions while she took detailed notes. Liz did most of the heavy lifting; talking animatedly as she explained the history and dynamic of our relationship, with the occasional contribution from Alex and me. By the time we were finished, Reverend Quinn seemed genuinely enthusiastic about her role in our wedding, and it pleased me to see how active and engaging she had been throughout the process. When we made ready to leave, I thanked her profusely for agreeing to officiate as we shook hands, and Liz went as far as to embrace her in a big hug.

"Well, I don't think that could have gone any better," I said as I slid into the back seat of the car.

"Mooned the bridal party, Matt?!" Alex exclaimed incredulously, twisting around in the passenger seat to fix me with an accusing glare.

"Look," I laughed, "There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that, okay?"

"Mm-hmm, I'm sure there is." She scoffed, turning to Liz in the driver's seat, "Can you believe that's our future husband, baby?!"

"Ugh, I know, right?" Liz replied with a playful smile.

"Ouch!" I laughed again.

The rest of the drive to Alex's office was spent discussing our experience with Reverend Quinn. Alex was impressed with how meticulous she had been with the interview, and Liz adored how cordial she had seemed, adding that the Reverend reminded her of her grandmother. I concurred with all those points, but I was mostly just thrilled that she had agreed to perform our ceremony at all. A short while later we dropped Alex off at her work. The gorgeous redhead kissed Liz and me goodbye before disappearing into the lobby of the building.

With the rest of the day to kill and nothing else pressing on the agenda, Liz and I decided to stop for lunch at her restaurant. When we arrived, she exchanged small talk with the hostess before leading us to a booth near the bar where we sat and talked some more about our morning with the Reverend, and about what we would like to have included in the ceremony.

"Hey, Liz! I didn't expect to see you today!" Our server announced his presence at the table.

When I glanced over, I nearly did a double take. I was surprised to see a shockingly handsome young man; just the right mix of boyish good looks and rugged masculinity, with short, well-groomed facial hair and eyes the brightest shade of blue I had ever seen. It was one of the rare instances where I felt a genuine attraction toward another man and it caught me off balance.

"You must be Matt, good to finally meet you!" He turned to me, extending his hand to shake.

"Matt, this is James. He's one of the newer servers around here." Liz offered while I accepted his hand.

"Hey man, Liz told us all about the engagement, congratulations!" He smiled sincerely.

"Thanks." I replied with a chuckle, "I'm a lucky guy."

"I'll say!" He laughed, "I've met Alex. I don't know how you three ever make it out of bed!"

Liz affected a mock frown, picking up her menu and swatting James with it repeatedly. Smiling amusedly at the interaction, I ruminated on the not-so-subtle compliment; I couldn't help but wonder if it was aimed only at the girls, or if it included me as well.

"Okay! Okay! Sorry!" He laughed as he fended off her attack, "What can I get you two?"

James took our order and hurried off, returning moments later with our beverages. I caught an odd look from the younger man as he placed my drink before me, but I wasn't sure what to make of it; was he sizing me up, or checking me out? Either way, it was overt enough that I was sure it hadn't just been in my head. When he turned away from the table, my gaze must have lingered a beat longer than it should have because Liz had taken note.

"He's pretty dreamy, isn't he?" She giggled, pulling my attention back to her.

"I don't know that 'dreamy' is a word I would use..." I was a little embarrassed that she caught me gawking.

"Okay, but you're into him though?"

"I'm into you, babe."

"Nice try. If you weren't with Alex and me, hypothetically, you'd be interested, wouldn't you?"

"Hypothetically?" I paused to take a sip of my Guinness, wiping the foam from my lip as I muttered; "Hypothetically, I'd want to find out how his dick tastes."

Liz raised a hand to cover her mouth as she laughed heartily at my reply; a reaction that should have been endearing were it not so embarrassing. Even still, she had a beautiful, contagious laugh and I couldn't help but crack a bemused smile.

"What the fuck? You can't ask me that question and then laugh at my answer!" I exclaimed defensively.

"I'm sorry!" She blurted out, her laughter subsiding as she collected herself, "I wasn't laughing at you. I just thought it was adorable that we have the same taste in men. He is very good-looking."

"I'm starting to feel a little insecure here..." I chuckled.

"Don't be silly. You know, you guys kind of look alike."

"Liz, that dude is way better looking than me."

"He is not!" She laughed cutely.

"Baby, it's okay. I'm not too proud to say that he is objectively more attractive than I am."

"But I can't be objective about you, Matt. You're the man of my dreams. You literally take my breath away. So, no, he's not better looking than you." Her eyes twinkled brightly as she spoke.

My heart warmed at her words. Liz always had a way of making me feel ten feet tall and I loved her dearly for that. Suddenly, I didn't know why I had let the exchange bother me at all —I was safe being open and vulnerable with Liz, and deep down, I knew that fact with every fiber of my being. Best friends as well as lovers, we shared a special bond unlike any other I had ever experienced and it made me feel close to her in ways I never before thought possible; I never had anything to be afraid of or embarrassed about with her.

"I don't deserve you," I said softly, reaching across the table to take her hand in mine.

"Yes, you do." She flashed an adoring smile as she squeezed my hand.

The glimmer of Liz's engagement ring caught my eye, its pink and white stones sparkling brilliantly even in the restaurant's dim light. It always thrilled me to notice the ring on her dainty finger; a physical symbol reminding me of the greatest thing I had ever done with my life and the future it represented. Returning her smile, I lifted her hand to my mouth to plant a gentle kiss behind her knuckles. When James returned with our food, the subject of his stunning good looks was all but forgotten as Liz and I talked, laughed, and flirted amorously; the center of our little universe.

After lunch, we had one more stop to make at the grocery store before we could head home. The beautiful brunette had been leaning into what she referred to as her 'domestic goddess' routine lately —especially since the engagement, but even before then— and she insisted on making me dinner that night. It had been a challenge for me at first to give up control of the kitchen; I had always regarded preparing food for people I care about as one of life's great pleasures and I loved cooking for the girls. But, when I realized that Liz recognized that and wanted a piece of that joy for herself, I had no choice but to take a step back.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around the apartment watching television and indulging in Liz's favorite new pastime; online window shopping for wedding accoutrements. Toward the evening, Liz set about preparing dinner while I took Ranger for a walk, making our usual lazy circuit around the neighborhood, marking our territory, and sniffing random butts before we returned home.

"Welcome back, boys!" Liz greeted us cheerfully when we came through the door.

In her own unique interpretation of a 50's era homemaker, she was wearing a cute little retro-style apron she had purchased for herself; a cherry blossom print layered over a solid pink trim, its bodice top narrowed where it tied off around the waist, flaring out in a flirty, frilly skirt. I had never thought of any apron as sexy until I first saw this one, and the fact that it was all that she wore on this particular night certainly didn't hurt that image. Nor, for that matter, did the dusty rose stiletto sandals that adorned her pretty little feet.

With a titillating glimpse of bare ass and exposed side boob, Liz grabbed a beer from the fridge before making her way over to me, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. She handed me the bottle and reached up to kiss me enticingly; the faintest hint of her tongue feathering against mine sent sparks racing up and down my spine.

"Go relax. Dinner will be about an hour."

"You are so fuckin' sexy." I chuckled, shaking my head in disbelief.

Liz giggled, flashing an alluring wink before ushering me toward the living room. Despite her suggestion, I couldn't keep my eyes off the petite beauty as she pranced about the kitchen in nothing but her apron. With its open back, the garment displayed most of her finest assets exquisitely and little minx was putting on a masterful show of flaunting them. Bending, leaning, and stretching in all the right ways whenever she knew I was watching, I caught flashes of perky pink nipples and smooth little balls here and there while she worked.

My arousal mounted watching Liz's performance, and by the time she was making ready to slide the vegetables for the oven, I had had all I could take of her teasing. I snuck into the kitchen when her back was turned and sidled up behind her just as she closed the oven door. She gasped in surprise when I pressed myself against her naked back, pinning her to the counter with my body.

"You're driving me crazy, you know that, right?" I growled in her ear as my hands sought out the sensual curves of her hips.

"Baby, I'm working!" She protested, almost convincingly.

"Did you forget who taught you to cook? The vegetables take forty minutes, and the chicken takes fifteen. You've got twenty-five minutes to kill." I traced my way up the inside of her thigh as I spoke.