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There seemed to come a time in almost every young adult's life when it seemed like almost every weekend of their lives was taken up by weddings.
It was usually between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-two that the biggest onslaught of marriages and wedding-related events began to clog up a social calendar. A stag party this weekend, a wedding the next, and an engagement party after that. It seemed never-ending.
This time in a person's life was especially exhausting if a person was single. Charlie was learning that the hard way. Every invitation in his mailbox served as a reminder of just how alone he was in his own life. It felt like every fancy piece of card stock actually read
Come Celebrate our love while we rub the fact that you’re single and pathetic in your face. PS. Please spend at least 50 quid on our gift or we’ll think you're a cheap bastard.
It wasn’t just the 'single' thing. In Charlies day to day life he didn’t mind being single all that much. Being alone was a lot better than being in a shit relationship like he had been in the past. He was a lot happier alone than he had ever been with Ben. Even in the beginning, when Ben had been sweet and seemed thoughtful there had always been a cutting edge to it. Like complimenting a sweater but adding how it might look better if Charlie's shoulders weren't so slight. Or saying it was cute that Charlie got nervous around Ben's work friends because they all did such important work and Charlie “ just did his music thing”
No, being single wasn’t the main problem. It was being single at a wedding that caused the real trouble.
Older people always seemed to think it was the right move to go up to any single person at a wedding and reassure them that ‘ it’ll happen for you one-day sweetie’ and offer some sage relationship advice that usually amounted to
‘Always listen when the other person is talking
Or
‘Never go to bed angry’
Everyone's next move seemed to be to try and set Charlie up. Everyone had a granddaughter or a niece who would just be perfect for him!
When Charlie gently insinuated that he only dated men, there were generally two reactions.
An “Oh, um, thats nice dear” followed by them making a hasty excuse about needing to say hi to someone on the other side of the reception space, or they’d quickly correct themselves and say that their sister's husband's hairdresser had a gay friend and maybe Charlie knew him, if not they could set them up.
TV and movies seemed to insinuate that weddings were the perfect place to have what was coined as ‘slutty wedding sex’ but Charlie had yet to experience anything that even came close to it.
“Why don’t you just bring a date?” Tao had suggested one evening when Charlie had been grumbling about an upcoming wedding of one of his distant cousins.
“Oh wow! Why didn’t I think of that!” Charlie proclaimed mockingly, face-palming his forehead.
“Fuck off! It’s a good suggestion” Tao defended, folding his arms over his chest.
“I can’t exactly just pull a wedding date out of my ass. I’m not exactly seeing anyone right now and you don’t just bring some random person to a wedding, it would be weird”
“Well you better start looking for a date for my wedding”
Charlie was momentarily stunned into silence.
“What! Are you proposing to Elle!?!” Charlie brought his hands up to cover his mouth in shock and excitement.
“I’m going to ask her tomorrow night” Tao confessed, beaming with pride and pulling up a photo of the ring on his phone.
“It’s my great grandma's ring. Do you think she’ll like it?”
“She’s going to love it, oh my god I can’t believe you’re getting married” Charlie took Tao's phone and gushed over the ring, shocked into disbelief that after all these years his best friends were going to tie the knot.
“She’s got to say yes first” Tao pointed out a stupid grin still plastered over his face.
“Oh as if there's any doubt. Wow. I knew you were thinking about proposing eventually but now it’s here!”
“I would have asked her the second we got out of Uni but you know our parents. Elles mom always said she needed to be at least twenty-five before she even thought about marriage so her brain was fully developed and I was getting the production company off the ground”
“I’m so happy for you, for both of you” Charlie pulled his best friend of well over a decade into a hug.
…..
“They look really happy together” Nick commented, taking another long sip from the champagne flute in his hand.
It was three months past the night that Tao had told Charlie he was going to propose and now here they all were on a rooftop patio in Soho that probably cost more to rent for the evening than Charlie paid in rent for his flat for a year, celebrating Tao and Elles engagement.
“Yeah, they really do” Charlie agreed, hoping he didn’t sound too wistful as he watched his two friends walking around their party and greeting their guests.
“How many weddings are you invited to so far this year?” Nick leaned back against the railing and watched the party around them.
‘Oh god, it feels like a least six, you?”
“ About the same, maybe one or two more, but at least four of them have to be cross-overs yeah?”
“Including Tao and Elles?”
“Ok so five” Nick amended.
Nick Nelson had been one of Charlie's closest friends since sixth form. They were classified as ‘ the most unlikely of friends’ Nick Nelson the rugby king and Charlie Spring the Gay nerd.
But under the surface, they had more in common than anyone would have guessed. Their humour jelled well together, the kind of easy banter that could last for hours without ever becoming boring. They played video games and went for runs with Nick's dogs. They watched bad movies and Nick would lay on the floor of Charlie's room while Charlie played the drums, Nick's eyes closed, just listening to Charlie do something that brought him so much peace.
Their friendship had changed and adapted over the years, but they remained close, even when they lived hours and hours apart when Nick first went away to Uni and Charlie began at a different institution the following year.
Once they finished their schooling they’d both ended up in London, figuring out their lives and what it really meant to be an adult.
Through all their changes they always stayed friends. Nick was the person that Charlie could confide in when he was having a bad brain day. Charlie had been the person that Nick had broken down to when he admitted he was questioning his sexuality.
“Well at least I won’t be alone for those ones” Charlie joked, taking a sip of the champagne in his hand and wishing that it was something stronger.
“No dating prospects on the horizon?” Nick asked in a way that only a best friend could get away with.
Charlie shook his head, inwardly cringing at his late attempt at online dating and how shit it had been.
“What about you? I guess Tiff won’t be your plus one?” Nick had broken up with his last girlfriend in quite a dramatic fashion when he and Charlie had been out with a few of their other friends one night at the clubs and had happened upon Nick's girlfriend of seven months, Tiffany, with a guy who most definitely was not Nick, with their tongue down her throat.
Nick and Tiffany had gotten into a Tequila fueled screaming match in the middle of the club and all Charlie had been able to do was clutch his vodka soda and watch with half amusement and half horror at what was unfolding in front of them.
Nick had then gotten as smashed as Charlie had ever seen him, and Charlie had had to help Nick home, him muttering about how all anyone ever did was break his heart.
Charlie had flashed back to when he had first met Nick and had had an absolutely embarrassingly monstrous crush on him. Charlie had even thought for a moment that Nick might have liked him back ( a belief that Charlie had felt more validated in when Nick came out later in life) but Charlie had left school for a few months, and while Nick was one of the few people who knew that Charlie was actually in an inpatient facility, things felt different between them when he returned.
Not because Nick treated him differently, he was still the most wonderful and thoughtful friend that Charlie had ever had, but Charlie had had to focus more on himself than on his feelings for Nick.
Charlie didn't think his feelings for Nick had gone away. They'd just changed.
“This might be the wine talking” Nick began
“Nick, we aren't even drinking wine”
“Champagne is just pretentious wine with bubbles”
“You’re French aren't you supposed to be some kind of wine expert by birth or something?”
“I don’t exactly see you running with the bulls Charles"
Charlie shook his head at his best friend.
“Go on, what is the wine saying?”
“What if we go together? To all these weddings. Be each other's dates” Nick suggested.
Charlie tilted his head, thinking about the proposition.
“You hate the idea” Nick deadpanned.
“No! No I think it might actually be kind of brilliant” Charlie admitted, an image forming in his head of what this arrangement would look like.
“We wouldn’t end up having to make awkward conversations at the hodgemodge single table”
“No old ladies trying to set us up with their granddaughters”
“Seriously, do you think their granddaughters know their grammas walk around pimping them out to strangers?”
“ I had a little old lady write down her granddaughter's insta handle on a napkin and slip it into my pocket” Nick recalled the awkward memory.
“ Which pocket?” Charlie teased, swatting at Nick's bum.
“Shut up, seriously Char, you wanna do this? Wanna be my wedding date?”
“Nick Nelson, you’ve got yourself a deal” Charlie extended his hand out to Nick to shake, sealing their arrangement.
Wedding #1
September 8th, 2023
Christian Mcbride and Hannah Tomlin
Falmer Court, Brighton, United Kingdom
“You know, when I was going on rugby trips with Chris back at Truham and holding his head up out of the toilet while he blew chunks from drinking too much cider, I never imagined that he’d end up getting married somewhere so fancy” Nick mused as he and Charlie walked through the front doors of the elegant manor house that the day's event would be held in.
“It is quite posh, I think that ladies' shoes just called me poor” Charlie jutted his chin in the direction of an older lady with a fur stole wrapped around her shoulders and red bottom shoes clinking against the stone floor.
“Bride or Groom?” An usher asked as Nick and Charlie reached the ceremony space.
“Groom” Nick replied, allowing himself and Charlie to be directed to the left side of the aisle.
“Here we go, with the proper trash where we belong” Nick teased as they took a seat amongst Christian's other friends and his family.
Charlie glanced around and noticed that a few of Nick's rugby friends were passing a flask amongst themselves. Hannah's side of the aisle seemed much more polished. Charlie could spot more than one fascinator and a few pairs of silk gloves.
“I guess the whole opposites attract thing rings true hey?” Charlie noted as he watched people mill about looking for their seats.
“The way Chris tells it, Hannah started going out with him to piss off her dad and hadn’t expected to actually like him as much as she did” Nick confided, absently middling with the silk bow hanging off the chair in front of him.
“Wow. That’ll be a good one to tell the kids” Charlie chuckled. Christian had appeared at the front of the room coming to stand in front of the officiant. Christian's two brothers were serving as his groomsmen, and he fist-bumped both of them, earning a disapproving tisk from who Charlie assumed was Hannah's grandmother sitting in the front row.
“I have a confession to make” Nick whispered to Charlie as the piano began to play and everyone got to their feet for the brides' entrance.
“And what's that?” Charlie whispered back as they turned to face the entrance to the room, waiting for Hannah to appear.
“I always cry at weddings”
“Really?” Charlie couldn't keep the glee out of his voice.
“Every time. I’ve even been known to cry at a tv wedding or two”
“Well I mean who didn’t cry CeCe and Schmits wedding” Charlie agreed.
“ Exactly!”
A hush fell over the room as Hannah appeared in the doorway a vision made of lace and ivory.
The ceremony was short and sweet, Charlie hadn’t been able to stop himself from snorting when Christian made a slightly lude joke in his vows. He may have tried to disguise it as a cough if several other people on Christian's side hand't whooped and hooted.
“I’m thinking Hannah's mother is probably wishing she had that flask about now” Nick leaned into Charlie's ear to whisper.
“I can’t wait to hear her speech” Charlie replied, imagining just what Mrs.Tomlin might have to say after a few glasses of cristal.
“With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride”
The room broke into a round of applause as well as a lot of whooping from the groom's side.
“Thats such a problematic statement” Nick whispered, while still whipping a tear from his eye.
“You weren't kidding, were you? You’re really going to cry at every single one of these?”
Nick nodded.
“Rethinking agreeing to be my date?” Nick teased.
“Nah, just thinking that I should remember to tuck a pack of tissues in my suit pocket for next time”
“My white knight” Nick bumped Charlie's hip with his own as they followed the crowd out.
Wedding #2
October 3rd, 2023
Imogen Heaney and Waverly Louis
Delta Hotels, York, United Kingdom
“Alright that was pretty magical” Charlie conceded as he and Nick got up from their seats at the garden ceremony, both dapping at their eyes with the issues Charlie had strategically stowed in his inner suit pocket.
“Yeah, it really really was” Nick sniffled.
The garden of the hotel where Imogen and her now wife Waverly had chosen to get married was lush and colourful. It didn’t seem possible that so many flowers were still blooming in early October.
The couple had stood under the cover of a delicate white gazebo, the column wrapped in fairy lights interwoven with pale pink roses and sprigs of lavender.
Imogen and Wavery had worn matching flower crowns of the same floral arrangement. They wore different yet corresponding ethereal wedding dresses, all flowing sleeves and sweeping gauzy skirts. Neither of the dresses was quite white, Imogen the palest of pinks that only showed its pigment when the warm autumn sun caught the fabric just right. Waverlys a dusty mauve overset with a white gossamer skirt.
There couldn't have been a single dry eye in the garden when Imogen and Waverly read each other their vows.
Waverly thanked Imogen for seeing her for her and her soul rather than the gender that society expected of her.
Imogen thanked Waverly for showing her what love was meant to feel like, and teaching Imogen how to accept herself and what she deserved.
Charlie had to hold himself back from blubbering like a baby when the two were pronounced partners and sealed their union with a kiss.
The wedding was a fairly intimate affair, with less than 100 guests in attendance.
“Thank you so much for coming!” Imogen had gushed as she pulled Charlie into a hug when they reached her in the receiving line.
“Save me a dance, yeah?” Imogen squeezed Charlie's hands before moving to hug Nick.
“It’s so lovely to see her so happy” Nick mused as he and Charlie took their seats at their assigned table around the edge of the dance floor. A net of fairy lights had been strung overhead, creating a tent of twinkling dots that intermixed with the stars as the day turned to night.
Charlie spent the evening sipping maybe one or two too many glasses of prosecco and having a good time catching up with some old acquaintances from Higgs, and jumping around on the dances floor to songs like ‘Thats What Makes You Beautiful’ and ‘ You belong with me’.
“I believe I promised you a dance” Charlie quipped playfully, offering his hand to one of the brides and pulling Imogen out onto the dance floor to sway the way one would at a year 8 dance.
“I’m so glad you and Nick could make it tonight. I know it’s a bit out of the way” Imogen mused as they stepped side to side, goofily playing slow dancing.
“Hardly Im.We wouldn’t miss it. It's been such a beautiful day”
Imogen smiled, squeezing one of Charlie's shoulders.
“It’s crazy how things work out sometimes. It seems like it could have been just yesterday that I was in year 10, convinced that I was in love with Nick Nelson”
Charlie cracked a girn.
“Ah, well you wouldn't have been the first one to get hung up on Nick at school. I think he had quite a long list of admirers.” Charlie mused.
“True, but he was always too hung up on you to notice anyone else” Imogen teased.
Charlie furrowed his eyebrows.
“What are you on about?”
“Come on Charlie, you know Nick was gone for you back then”
Charlie brushed her comment aside, maybe Nick had had a fleeting crush on him at some point, but that was long gone now, just like Charlies was on Nick. It was gone now, wasn’t it?
“I’ve got next!” Nick appeared at Charlie's side, grinning at the two of them.
“Don’t be a bride hog Nick. You’ve already danced with her three times!” Charlie teased.
“I’m pretty sure he was talking about you babes” Imogen interjected, winking at Nick and spinning Charlie into Nick's arms. Charlie gasped as his front collided with Nick's chest.
“What's wrong Charles? You don’t want to dance with me?” Nick teased, wrapping one arm around Charlie's waist and taking one of his hands in his.
“Don’t get so full of yourself Nicholas” Charlie quipped back but held tight to Nick's hand as they spun across the dance floor.
Wedding #3
November 7th, 2023
Cory Matthers and Finch Barnard
Museum of London, London, United Kingdom
“Wow, I feel like we just stepped onto the set of the greatest showmen”
The hall of the museum had been draped to look like a big top circus tent, the decor around the tables and dance floor draped in a similar fabric.
“Normally I’m not one to condone servers dressing up as clowns but these are classy clowns” Charlie noted, taking a cocktail from a passing tray.
Charlie was stuck close to Nick's side, not recognizing anyone else at the reception. The wedding was for two of Nick's friends from Uni. Finch had been on Nick's rugby team and Nick had ended up getting close to Cory when they’d both ended up on the council for Leeds LGBTQIA+ society. Finch and Cory had met at the pub one night when the rugby team had been out celebrating a recent win and Cory had happened to be in the same spot and come up to the table to say a quick hello to Nick.
Finch and Cory hadn’t exactly hit it off right away. They’d gotten into a rather heated argument that first night that they met over something stupid. Nick can’t quite remember what it was even about. Something vague like a band's best song or the worst dining hall on campus. Apparently, that same fire that fueled the twos arguments had fueled their romance as well because the next time Finch showed up at rugby practice he had love bites littered all over his chest and had blushed a deep scarlet when asked about it, muttering something about a new ‘friend’.
Finch and Cory would fight like crazy and then make up crazier. It was never anything serious or scary. Nick had joked once that it was almost like a form of foreplay for them. It was as if they fought just so that they could make up.
It wasn’t the kind of dynamic that would work for everyone but did for Finch and Cory. It just seemed to click.
“Well these two have already had a bit of a flare for the dramatic” Nick stated as he and Charlie wove through the crowd of guests and what appeared to be hired performers, some juggling, others performing contortion and Charlie thought he might have seen someone swallowing a sword.
Nick and Charlie made it to their table taking their seats and immediately being presented with a fresh cocktail, a flaming sparkler sticking out of the beverage like a straw.
“Mixing fire and alcohol seems like a ballsy choice” Charlie plucked the sparkler from his drink and twirled it between his fingers.
They were seated at a table with a few of Nick's former rugby teammates from Leeds.
“How long have the two of you been together?” One of the partners of one of Nick's former teammates, a tiny redheaded American girl, asked the pair, dazzling them with her 1000 watt smile.
“Gosh, we’ve known each other since we were what, char? 15? 16?”
“Awe, like high school sweethearts? Thats so sweet! My parents started dating when they were in the 10th grade”
Both Nick and Charlie realized the mistake the girl had made. It was Nick's fault really. He hadn’t actually listened to her question closely enough. He should have been more specific with his answer.
They could have corrected her. They could have said
“Oh no, we’re just friends!”
They could have said
“We’re not actually together. We’re just two queer bros who didn’t want to go to a bunch of weddings by ourselves” but that just seemed like….a lot.
It would make the woman who asked the question feel awkward. He would make Nick and Charlie feel awkward as they bumbled through an explanation.
So they let it go. What was the harm in people they rarely saw and may never see again thinking that they were a couple?
“Yeah, he’s my best friend,” Nick said warmly, placing a hand on top of Charlie's where it rested on the table.
Charlie really didn’t accept the way that that would make him feel. He didn’t really understand it.
………….
Wedding #4
December 27th, 2023
Clara Spring and Conrad Vicker
The Fig, Rye, United Kingdom
“Thank you for coming with me to this” Charlie whispered to Nick as they pulled open the door to the restaurant where the wedding Luncheon was being held in.
“I told you I’d be your wedding date, Char” Nick reminded as he held the door open for Charlie to walk through.
“Yeah, but this is the one where I’m going to need you the most” Charlie stated under his breath, just loud enough for Nick to hear.
They’d just come from the courthouse where a small selection of the Spring family and a couple of the groom's relatives had gathered to watch Clara and Conrad say a few vows in front of a judge and sign a piece of paper that declared them legally wed.
Clara was in a tea-length white dress with cap sleeves, her new husband in a pair of khakis and a button-up shirt.
“She really shouldn't be in white” Conrad's grandmother had hissed under her breath as they had waited in the hallway of the courthouse for their group to be called.
Clara Spring was five months pregnant. It shouldn't have been a big deal. She wasn’t a teenager. She was an independent adult, but she’d fallen pregnant out of wedlock and apparently, this was shameful?
Charlie wanted to roll his eyes at the whole thing. What year was it anyway? Charlie got the feeling that Conrad's grandmother was likely uncomfortable with him being there as well. An unwed mother and a homosexual in the same family? Charlie was surprised she hadn’t sought out a fainting couch.
The small group took their seats at the table they’d reserved for brunch. Clara hadn’t wanted to make a fuss out of the whole thing. She wasn’t much bothered with the idea of getting married. She and Conrad were excited to be starting a family, but she hadn’t seen the point in shelling out a bunch of money to celebrate what she saw as just a legal document.
They’d only decided to get married to appease their families. Needless to say, the tension in the room was high. Charlie kind of wanted to order a mimosa to take the edge off, but the warning look his mother had given him when they sat down told him that probably wasn’t a good idea.
Nick had slipped away from the table for a few minutes to take a quick call from his mother.
Charlie's sister Tori, who had been seated on Charlie's other side, leaned over to whisper to him.
“So, you and Nick huh?” Charlie's head snapped up from where he had been staring at his plate, pushing his eggs benedict around his plate.
“What?”
Tori fixed him with a knowing look.
“You and Nick, you’re finally becoming a thing” Tori didn’t say it as a question.
“He’s just here as my date. As my friend date”
“Right,” Tori nodded, clearly not buying what he was selling.
“I’m serious!” Charlie hissed.
“Yeah, and I totally believe you”
“Tori!”
“Did I miss anything good?” Nick asked as he dropped back into his seat.
“Oh no, nothing at all” Tori replied, shooting Charlie a wink that only he could see.
Wedding # 5
March 7th, 2023
Harry Greene and Rebecca Lowe
St George Hotel, Kent, United Kingdom
“This place is fucking insane” Charlie muttered under his breath as he followed Nick into a ballroom at the St.George Hotel.
If someone had told Charlie in year 9 that he’d be at Harry fucking Greene's wedding, he would have laughed until he pissed himself.
But here he was, in a ridiculously opulent ballroom, wearing a stuffy suit, watching Harry Greene, chest bump his mates in front of the alter as his guests milled around finding their seats.
“This is the same place he had his 16th at” Nick remembered. He’d asked Charlie to come with him to that party, and Charlie had agreed but pulled out at the last minute, citing a bad brain day. Nick had always kind of wondered if things between them might have been different if Charlie had come to that party.
“So he’s basically trying to re-create his teenage glory days?” Charlie teased, looking around the room and imagining it filled with a few hundred drunken teenagers.
“I always kind of speculated that he stopped maturing at 16 so it would make sense” Nick considered as he settled into his seat.
“Have you ever met his fiancee?” Charlie asked, looking around the room and seeing how many familiar faces he could spot.
“I haven't actually, I was out of town for their engagement party” Nick admitted, thinking about the trip he’d made out to see his mum rather than hanging out in the city and attending another social event that revolved around kissing Harry's ass.
Harry was a lot better than he used to be. He’d unlearned a lot of his biases. Hell by the end of his time at Truham he and Charlie were almost friends. Friendly enough that Charlie had been invited to his wedding, although judging from the size of the guest list you just had to have met Harry in passing to get an invite.
“Yeah, I skipped it too. I am sort of curious to see what kind of girl would willingly bind herself to Harry forever”
“Guess we’re about to find out”
From their seat in the audience, Rebecca seemed like a totally normal girl. She was classically pretty with dark long hair and long limbs. Her satin dress hugged her curves as she made her way down the aisle toward her waiting fiance.
Her vows were sweet. Harrys were…. Interesting. They seemed mostly like a collection of quotes that he’d plucked off Pinterest and thrown together into something that didn’t flow right but at least kind of resembled vows.
When Harry was told he could kiss his bride he laid a sloppy kiss on her face, grabbing her bum with both hands.
“Well, it’s official. This is the first wedding ceremony where I didn’t cry” Nick proclaimed as they filed out of the first ballroom and into a second for the cocktail hour.
“The groping didn’t hit you right in the feels?” Charlie teased, pinching Nick's side. He swatted Charlie's hand away.
“Strangely it didn’t hit quite as hard as Wave telling Imogen she saved her life, you know?”
“I don’t know, Harry did say Rebecca made his heart hard. That was pretty poetic”
“Fuck off, Char” Nick wrapped an arm around Charlie's neck as they entered the cocktail hour.
…
“God, I could barely listen to that bloody speech bro. It was so fucking gay I thought that glitter was about to erupt out of his arse hole”
The reception was in full swing, dinner having been eaten and toasts were given, the room giving way to a party atmosphere.
Nick had been standing at the bar waiting for the vodka sodas he’d ordered for himself and Charlie when he heard one of who he presumed was one of Harry's friends running his mouth about the sweet speech that Harry's younger brother had given.
“Seriously bro, I’m starting to think that little Greene might be a full-blown fa-”
“Cut that shit out” Nick rounded on the group of guys who had been spouting the bullshit, his eyes fixed on the guy who had used the slur.
“Have you got a problem mate?” the guy seemed more amused than pissed off.
“Yeah, I do. With you” Nick wasn’t always the type for confrontation. The guy smirked.
“Is that right?” The guy puffed out his chest, his eyes glinting with the anticipation of the possibility of an altercation.
“Yeah, if you’re going to be a hateful dickhead, keep it to yourself, and while you’re at it get a fucking therapist and sort your shit out”
“Awe! Look at this. Have we got ourselves a little ‘ally’? Tell you what mate, if you love the gays so much why don’t you go become one yourself, hmm?”
“One you absolute fucking idiot, you don’t just choose to become queer. You’re born that way you fucking prick. Two, I'm actually bisexual, so I can say with some authority that you’re a homophobic cunt and you should get some help”
The guy let out a harsh laugh.
“Right right. Sure you are mate. I wasn’t born yesterday”
Nick felt his hands twitch. He felt like there was a punch in his fist that desperately wanted to get out and land directly on his guy's stupid homophobic face, but he was better than that. He wasn’t going to do it. No matter how badly he might want to.
“Hey, I’m dying for that drink over here. It’s like a thousand degrees in this place” Charlie had appeared at Nick's side, taking one of the vodka sodas out of Nick's hands.
“Who’s this then, your boyfriend?” The guy asked mockingly. He was looking Charlie up and down in a way that made Nick's blood boil. Nick spoke impulsively, wrapping an arm around Charlie's waist and hauling him against his side.
“Yeah, so what?” Nick challenged. If it weren't for all the alcohol in Charlie's system, he might have stiffened up, going tense and feeling awkward. But the liquid confidence rushing through him prevented that from happening.
Charlie played along, placing a hand on Nick's stomach and lookup up at him innocently.
“What's going on babe?” He asked, looking between Nick and the twats in front of them with a gentle curious expression.
“You’re telling me, that you’re actually gay for this kid? Come off it mate. You’ve proven your point, you can back down now” The idiot flung back another shot because he needed more alcohol apparently.
“As I said before, I’m actually bisexual and yeah this is my boyfriend” Nick doubled down.
The guy and his little gang rolled their eyes jostling each other.
“Sure sure”
“Fuck you lot” Charlie spat, impulsively taking matters into his own hand. He placed one hand on the side of Nick's face, pulling Nick's face towards his own. Charlie sent Nick a message with his eyes, hoping he could read what he was thinking and was alright with it.
Nick picked up on it quickly, pulling Charlie up to him and confidently pressing his lips to Charlie's own. Charlie and Nick both raised a hand and flipped off the group opposite of them.
Charlie had to admit he had imagined kissing Nick on plenty of occasions before. It had happened a lot back in their school days when Charlie was in the deepest throws of his crush on Nick. But it hadn’t ended there. Occasionally through the years Charlie would be out with Nick and feel the impulse to kiss him, just to see what it would be like. No other reason. Definitely not any deeply repressed feelings or anything like that.
Charlie, well, Charlie felt a spark. There wasn’t any denying it. He could maybe write it off as the drinking but, Charlie had made out with plenty of people while drunk before, but he’d never felt a spark zip through his body and straight down to his toes from a drunken kiss before this.
Nick and Charlie broke apart, staring into each other's eyes for a split second, so much both felt like they wanted to say. Then they noticed that the other was also using their middle fingers to flip off the lads in front of them and cracked into identical wicked grins.
“Ahh Rupert, mate! You and the lads met Nick and Charlie then?”
Harry had appeared from out of the crowd, the shirt of his tuxedo mostly unbuttoned, his bow tie and jacket nowhere to be seen.
“These were my boys back in grammar school!” Harry announced, ducking between Nick and Charlie and wrapping an arm around each of them. Harry calling Nick and Charlie his ‘boys’ was a bit of a stretch but they let it go.
“Thick and thieves these two are. So what are we chatting bout?” Harry asked, grinning around at the group, blissfully unaware of the hostile environment he had just sprung himself into.
“Just sayin' what a gorgeous day it was mate” The idiot, Rupert the dicks name apparently was, said casually.
“Ahh yeh, it turned out right nice, did’n it? I will say I’m looking forward to the of end it tho, ready to head on up to the honeymoon suite if you know what I mean”
Harry and his friends all guffawed as if he’d just told the most brilliant joke in the world. Nick and Charlie took the opportunity to slip away.
“Sorry bout that. The whole boyfriend thing and the kissing you thing” Nick said quietly as they took their drinks and moved back towards their table.
“I initiated it” Charlie reminded him, trying to pretend that he still couldn't feel the ghost of Nick's lips lingering on his own.
“Besides, what's a little kiss between friends?” A kiss with a bit of tongue, but still just a kiss.
“Best friends” Nick amended, taking Charlie's hand and squeezing it.
“Right. Best friends”
Wedding # 6
April 19th, 2024
James McEwan and Paul Gordon
Achnagairn Castle & Estate
Inverness-shire, Scotland, United Kingdom
“Alright, I think I understand the whole getting married in a castle thing” Charlie marvelled at his and Nicks surrounding as they climbed the grand staircase of the manor and headed in the direction of their assigned room.
“It feels like we're in the episode of the crown or something” Nick mused as they passed a full suit of armour.
Despite the short flight it had taken to make it from London earlier that day, Charlie already felt completely knackered. He didn’t know how he was supposed to attend a wedding in a few hours when all he wanted to do was take a long nap.
“Bit cold in here” Charlie noted as they continued through the stone hallway.
“Yeah, just like the people's personality on the crown” Nick joked.
“Shh! The people who own this place are probably related to the royal family or something!”
They reached the door of the room they were meant to be sharing. Nick pushed open the heavy wooden door to reveal a room outfitted with two double beds, made up with white down comforters, a mess of pillows and a tartan blanket draped over the foot.
“Do you think that fireplace works?” Charlie glanced at the great stone grate, thinking how nice it would be to have some heat just then.
Charlie was quickly learning that while castles were beautiful, they were also drafty. As a naturally cold person, Charlie was already feeling the effects of the lack of central heating.
“Let me read out the welcome packet and find out” Nick picked up the leather-bound folder off the elegant desk by the window and flipped through it.
“It says here to place this bell on the door to signify that you’d like staff to light a fire and they'll have it burning for you by the time you return from your event” Nick read aloud.
“Put the bell out!” Charlie called over his shoulder as he stepped into the small ensuite to take a quick shower before he got ready to head downstairs for the main event.
……….
“Is it normal that I’m finding the kilts like, strangely hot?” Charlie asked.
He and Nick off to the side of the vaulted ceiling ballroom, watching as the wedding party entered, many of whom, including the grooms, in traditional kilts.
“I think I’m inclined to agree with you” Nick mused.
“Its criminal really, how little men get to bare their calves”
“Are you just looking for an excuse to show off your legs Nelson? You could have worn one yourself you know”
“Don’t play Char, I’ve seen you check out my legs before”
Charlie gulped, quickly trying to play it off.
“You know I’m more of an arms guy” Charlie reached out and squeezed one of Nick's biceps.
Charlie couldn't deny it, there was slightly…different between him and Nick lately. Charlie also couldn't pretend that it hadn't been triggered by what happened at Harry's wedding.
Charlie was slightly nervous that that kiss that they had shared had unearthed feelings that he had thought were long since extinguished.
Charlie had decided to do the sensible thing and ignore it and hope it would go away. Like a responsible adult. Because that was how feelings worked.
Although the castle and its surroundings were quite elegant, the reception quickly devolved into what was essentially a rager.
A wedding in a Scottish castle and glow sticks didn’t seem like two things that would go together and yet Charlie found himself in the middle of the dance floor with half a dozen glow stick bracelets on his wrists and around his neck, jumping under the light of a disco ball that had appeared out of nowhere, bathing the room in flashes of dancing light.
Charlie wasn't positive the last time he’d been so drunk. He hadn’t exactly been the type to go out and do shots after uni but as the reception flowed into the afterparty, trays of jello shots and flaming sambuca had appeared, intermixed with lemon drops and passed trays of chips to line the partier's stomach with grease and soak up a bit of the alcohol.
Charlie felt like he was 19 again, drunk off his arse in a club, feeling young and invincible as the danced like the sun wasn’t going to come up again and his hangover would never arrive.
He and Nick were dancing together, but it had moved past the casual dancing one would do with a friend. Nick was behind Charlie, one arm wrapped around the middle, Nick's front pressed against Charlie's back and their hips moved not just to the rhythm of the music but to one another. Nick's sweat was mixing with Charlie's, their scent mingling together in a way that made Charlie's head swim with what he suspected just might be lust.
Charlie wasn’t positive if he had imagined it, but he thought a few times he’d felt Nick's lips brush against his ear or the side of his neck.
The party hadn’t started to wind down until close to 3 am at which time Nick and Charlie began to stumble back towards their room. Once they were outside of the hall where the reception had been held which had been packed with people and heated by all the bodies pressed together, they were both reminded of just how chilled the halls of the castle were.
“I really hope they got around to lighting that fire” Nick grumbled as he and Charlie made it to their room, fumbling to get the door open.
Well, there had been a fire. At some point in the evening. There were still embers burning at the bottom of the grate but any proper flames and warmth that they might have given off, were long since passed.
“Shit” Charlie groaned, the air around them just as chilly as it was in the hall.
“This is going to be a long night”
The boys quickly readied themselves for bed, rushing to get under the covers of their respective beds.
“I am so cold” Nick complained.
“I’m never cold” He grumbled, pulling the covers tight around him.
“I think I might actually die of hypothermia” Charlie's teeth were chattering, genuinely chattering. He tried to stop his body from shaking so violently but had no luck.
“Hey Char?”
“Yeah?”
“Will you come over here and cuddle me?”
“What?” Charlie squeaked, completely caught off guard.
“Look we aren't going to make it through the night at this rate. So bring your cute ass over here and bring your comforter with you”
“Are you sur-”
“Char. Get. Over. Here”
Charlie wrapped his blankets around his body and stood up on the mattress, before stepping over the gap between the beds to avoid stepping on the freezing stone floor with his bare feet.
He flopped down beside Nick, crawling under Nick's comforter before shaking his own blanket out over both of them.
Nick wrapped both his arms around Charlie's middle and hauled him against his chest.
“Better” Nick muttered drunkenly into Charlie's hair, burying his nose into the other boy's curls.
It was startling how comfortable Charlie instantly felt, and not because of the onslaught of body heat coming off of Nick. His body felt at ease with Nick wrapped around him. This probably wasn’t good. This probably meant something for their friendship that Charlie wasn’t ready to deal with.
Charlie pushed his reservations aside, settling in for the night and allowing himself the comfort of calling asleep in his best friend's arms.
Wedding # 7
June 9th, 2024
Elle Arent and Tao Xu
The Old Kent Barn, Swingfield, United Kingdom
Charlie hadn’t seen very much of Nick since they’d returned from Scotland. It wasn’t that they were avoiding one another. The end of term was fast approaching and Nick had been exceptionally busy winding down his classes before the summer holidays.
They’d texted just as much as they always did, but they hadn’t gotten the opportunity to hang out one on one as they usually did.
Charlie wondered if it might have been a good thing. It wasn't as if he didn’t miss Nick, because he did, pretty much every second that they didn’t spend together, but that was part of the problem.
Ever since waking up wrapped up in Nick's arms, a part of Charlie's heart that he had been keeping locked away unknowingly since school was coming to the surface, rattling the bars and demanding to be acknowledged.
Charlie and Nick had both been far too hungover when they woke up to acknowledge any of the potential awkwardness of their sleeping situation, far too caught up with their pounding headaches and churning stomachs.
But all these weeks later, Charlie still couldn't get it off his mind. That day played like a loop in his mind when he lay down in bed at night, in the dark, alone, staring at his ceiling.
Dancing at the wedding, Nick's lips or what Charlie thought was Nick's lips, on his neck, in his ear, in his hair. Nick calling Charlie into his bed, and Nick wrapping Charlie in his arms.
In two weeks' time, Charlie was meant to be going with Nick to his cousin's wedding in Provence.
Going to France with his best friend. Nothing complicated about that.
Going to France to a romantic wedding at a villa surrounded by lavender fields with his best friend who he was realizing he still had feelings for and could easily fall in love with? Yeah, that was a whole other monster.
Charlie was standing beside Tao, serving as best man, as Elle came wafting down the aisle towards them, his heart was overcome with joy and affection for two of his best friends.
“With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you married. Please seal your union with a kiss”
Elle and Tao beamed at one another as they leaned in to share a kiss.
From his place by Tao's side Charlie couldn't see much but the back of Tao's head so he glanced up and out over the crowd.
There were dozens of enthused faces all of them fixed on Tao and Elle as they shared their first moments are a married couple. All faces, except for one.
Nick had the same grin on his face as everyone else, only he was looking at Charlie.
……..
“You look so beautiful tonight Elle,” Charlie told his best friend as they wafted around the dance floor, doing a bastardized version of a waltz.
“Thank you, Charlie”
“I’m so happy that you’re happy. You deserve it” Charlie rested his head on his friend's shoulder, the amount of wine he’d had that evening slightly catching up to him.
“You should be happy too Charlie,” Elle said softly.
“I am happy,” he said simply, his statement not quite reaching his eyes.
“You know what I mean. You know what you want. You should go for it!” Elle encouraged him, giving his side an encouraging squeeze and offering a soft smile.
“ I don’t know what you're talking about”
“You can’t see it right now because you’re facing the wrong way, but he’s been watching you this entire time”
“What? Who?”
“Don’t play coy Charlie, I know you know who I’m talking about.”
“Ok yeah, I do”
“You’ve liked each other forever, and I get it, it has never been the right time before, but it could be right now”
“What If I mess it up?” Charlie knew his voice was shaking but he couldn't help it.
“Charlie, you deserve to be happy. You deserve something good. Nick is good for you, he always has been”
“What if I’m not good for him?”
“Charlie?”
“I can’t lose him Elle. I can’t”
“Babe, you can’t lose him if you don’t have him in the first place. Sometimes you’ve just got to take the jump and trust the fall”
“Yeah,” Charlie sighed, swaying back and forth in Elle's arms as their dance came to an end.
“You’re right. I know you’re right”
Wedding #7
June 29th, 2024
Gabriel Fournier and Alexia Sinclair
Fournier Lavender Farm, Provence, France
“ I can’t believe your family owns a lavender farm and you never told me”
“It’s my great great aunts and I’ve never actually been here before so it didn’t seem that relevant” Nick shrugged, looking out the window of the cab as it wound its way through the tight roads and eventually pulled through the gates of their destination.
“I don’t think it actually produces all that much lavender these days, to be honest. I think it’s mostly just a wedding venue now”
“Ahh, well that works out well for your cousin”
“Christ, this place is insane” Charlie muttered as they pulled up to what he could only describe as a proper French chateau, at least three stories high with towering windows and elegant lines. Charlie thought he could catch a glimpse of a pond off towards the back of the house and beyond that what must have been acres of lavender.
Charlie and Nick were directed to a room on the second floor. Upon opening the door Charlie's heart dropped from his chest and rolled across the floor and under the bed. The one bed.
Despite the fact that this room was substantially larger than the one he and Nick had shared in Scotland, there was a single queen-sized bed positioned in the center of the room. There was a bouquet of fresh lavender and hand-cut roses sitting on the bedside table as well as a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket and a plate of three plump and vibrant chocolate-dipped strawberries.
The vibe of the room couldnt have been more obvious if there had been a giant spotlight and a neon sign that said
THIS IS A ROMANTIC ROOM. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE SEX HERE.
“Um, sorry about the bed” Nick chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. Charlie swallowed the lump in his throat and put a casual grin on his face.
“Don’t be. It's not as if we’ve never shared a bed before”
“Yeah, I uh, I guess you’re right” Nick smiled awkwardly at him and it shouldn't have caused a storm of butterflies to take off in Charlie's stomach but there they were, flapping away with their little wings.
…….
The wedding ceremony itself was gorgeous, the bride and groom taking their vows under an arbour of fresh flowers, overlooking the fields of blooming lavender below them.
Gabriel had said something in his vows about how lucky he felt to be in love with his best friend, and the next second Nick's foot was pressed against Charlies. It could have been a coincidence, but when Charlie glanced over at Nick, he was smiling at the ground.
Charlie met Nick's father for the first time at the reception that evening. Despite the fact that he’d been best friends with Nick for over a decade and had a close relationship with Nick's mum, Charlie knew practically nothing about Nick's father other than that he was French and a flake.
Stephane seemed a nice enough gent, shaking Charlie's hand and telling him it was lovely to meet him and all the usual bits. Charlie searched for signs of Nick in the older man, but besides their general build, he came up empty.
Nick shared Sarah's eyes and her warmth, only making him all that more endearing.
Charlie and Nick purposefully avoided Nick's brother David who seemed to have begun drinking before the ceremony and was well on his way to plastered by the time they all moved out onto the stone patio for the reception.
Charlie's French was basic at best. Actually basic might have been a bit of a generous word.
He had no clue what was happening in half the conversations that Nick pulled them into.
Nick steered Charlie in the direction of a small older lady wearing a sunflower yellow matching skirt and jacket set, a corresponding hat perched on the top of her head.
“Charlie, this is my great auntie Edie”
Nick turned to his aunt and began speaking rapid French
“tante c'est mon meilleur ami Charlie”
Nick's aunt offered Charlie a hand while still speaking to Nick
“Meilleur ami?
“petit ami”
Aunt Edie beamed at the two boys, taking one of either of their hands and squeezing them tightly
“vous êtes un beau couple. Beau”
Charlie offered the sweet woman a warm smile while having no idea what the words coming out of her mouth meant.
“What did she say?” Charlie asked Nick as they retreated from where they had left his aunt.
“She said we’re a beautiful couple.”
Charlie's knees almost gave out as his heart soared up and got caught among the lanterns hanging above their heads.
……
Charlie was sitting at an empty table, enjoying the company of Sarah Nelson. While the wedding wasn’t for Sarah's side of the family, she’s become close with Stephane's sister while the two of them were still married and they’d remained friends post-divorce. Sarah had been more than pleased to travel to France to see the boy she still considered her nephew to get married.
Obviously being at an event with her ex-husband's family was a little awkward and the wine in France was awfully good, which was to say that Sarah was decently drunk.
They were both watching Nick who was out on the dance floor with his little cousin Cosette who was standing on his feet as he danced them around.
“Can I tell you something Charlie dear?” Sarah asked, placing a warm hand on his forearm.
“Course” Charlie looked away from Nick and focused his attention on Sarah.
“I’ve always hoped the two of you would get together” Charlie blinked.
“Nick and I?” Charlie's whole body felt a little numb like he was in the early stages of shock.
Sarah nodded.
“He’s so much more himself around you, so much happier” She mused, looking between Nick out on the dance floor and Charlie who was sitting in front of her.
“I’ve been hoping the fact that he brought you here means that the two of you are working it out. He tells me it’s just a wedding date agreement, but you know Nick. He’s never been an ace liar”
Charlie glanced back out at Nick on the floor. Nick, noticing that Charlie and his mother were staring at him, beamed and waved in their direction.
“You think he likes me?” Charlie asked, his voice once again shaky. Sarah shook her head.
“No, I know that he likes you. In fact, I know that he loves you. Mothers always know” She said sagely, sitting back in her chair and taking another sip of red wine.
“What kind of trouble are the two of you getting into?” Nick had appeared at the table, sitting down between Charlie and his mother.
“Oh nothing exciting dear” Sarah patted her son on the cheek, looking between the pair of them with immense fondness in her eyes.
“Nicky, have you two gone and had a wander in the lavender fields? They’re very beautiful”
And romantic her eyes tacked on, trying to sneakily wink at Charlie and getting it entirely wrong in her drunkenness.
“We haven't, no. Do you want to give it a look Char? Might be nice to get away from the ruckus for a bit”
Charlie's heart was threatening to beat out of his chest. All he could do was nod. He and Nick got to their feet and Nick took Charlie's hand (!) and lead him off towards the fields. Charlie glanced back at Sarah who shot him a cheeky thumbs up.
The scent of the blooming lavender overtook the couple as they wandered away from the reception and deeper into the field. It was nearing a full moon, lighting up the fields in front of them like a spotlight hanging over the countryside.
Nick hadn’t let go of Charlie's hand, in fact, he had intertwined their fingers their hands swinging between them as they wandered the lanes of blooms.
“Thanks for being my wedding date Char”
“Thanks for being my wedding date Nick”
“Seriously, I wouldn’t have made it through all this without you”
“You’d have been fine. You could have eaten bad wedding food and danced the conga all on your own. It wouldn't have been as fun. But you could have done it.”
“That’s true, but I’m not just talking about weddings. I’m talking about everything Char. I can’t do life without you”
“Nick-”
“Will you let me say this?”
“That depends on what you’re going to say” They’d come to a halt now, the party only a gentle mumble in the distance. They were surrounded now by nothing but lavender and moonlight and the sound of each other's hearts beating quicker than either could rationally explain.
“Char” Nick brought his hand that was not intertwined with Charlies up to cradle one side of Charlie's face.
“Do you really not know what I’m going to say?” Nick's voice was a whisper on the wind, his words so soft and fleeting yet carrying the strength to knock Charlie backwards off his feet.
“I think I might have an idea” Charlie's own words came out in a single breath, his lungs unable to take in a full chest full of air.
“Are you going to run away if I say it?” Nick asked, his eyes the one searching Charlies this time, looking for a clue, looking for a sign that the feelings he had might flow both ways.
Charlie shook his head, knowing he’d never move from that very spot again if thats what it took. Lavender would grow over his feet and his form turn to stone as he stood there forever.
“Everything is better with you. Everything. I’m better when I’m with you. Knowing you makes me better and, and Char i’ve been in love with you forever, even when I didn’t know it. Even when I thought the feelings had gone away and you were just my best friend. But you could never be just anything, Charlie. You’re... You’re like everything, and I know you’re going to call me a sap for using that line but if it works I don’t really care. I loved being your wedding date this year and I was wondering if you wanted to be my wedding date again and if you maybe wanted to be my date to everything from now on. Maybe for the foreseeable future, maybe forever?”
The entire field could be burning down around them right at that moment, and Charlie wouldn't have noticed.
“Nick” Charlie took a step closer, their noses grazing against one another. If they were any closer, they’d be kissing.
“I’ve been in love with you forever too. I get the feeling we’ve just never realized it at the same time before. I was just going to ignore it forever because I didn’t want to lose what we have because I can't do life without you either Nick. I want to do life with you, for real. I want to go with you to weddings and awkward family dinners. I want to take you to my boring work events and go to all your rec league rugby games. I want to spend Christmas Eve with my parents and Christmas Day with your mum but keep New Year's for us. I just want to be with you. In whatever way you’ll have me”
And then Charlie's feet were off the ground and Nick's arms were around him and Nick's lips were on his. Charlie's hand's dove into Nick's hair, his fingers finding perch in Nick's copper locks, the soft fibres slipping through his fingers.
They kissed with such vigour that in their decently drunken state the pair tumbled over landing among the lavender bushes, Nick on his back and Charlie landing on top of him.
“Oof” the air was lightly knocked from Nick's lungs from the fall.
Nick stared up at Charlie where he was laying on top of him and then the laughing started. Great deep-belly laughs that overtook them completely. They laughed as their cheeks began to ache and their stomach began to hurt from the force of it. Each time it seemed like it might end, one of them would start up again, setting the other off.
Charlie's head fell forward and he laughed into Nick's chest, not quite believing that this was his life right now.
Eventually, they both ran out of breath. Charlie raised his head to look at Nick, both of their chests heaving.
“Hi” Charlie whispered.
“Hi”
“Are you ok?”
“Never better. Are you ok?”
“The best”
“Just so we’re completely clear, I love you” Nick stated as if reminding Charlie of something as simple as that the sky was blue.
“Right. I’ll take that under consideration”
“Char”
“I love you too you absolute idiot”
“You saw the sweetest thing to me Charlie Spring”
“Sorry darling” Charlie pressed what he meant to be a quick kiss to Nick's lips but as soon as his mouth was on Nicks again, his lips were unwilling to leave. Nick's hands pulled up Charlie's shirt, freeing it from where it had been tucked into his suit pant. Nicks ran his fingers up and down Charlie's spine from underneath his shirt.
Charlie let out an involuntary soft moan as Nick's strong fingers pressed down against his hip bones. The noise that Charlie made drove Nick mad and without thinking, Nick flipped them over so that Charlie was now underneath him.
“Oh shit. That was dumb. Now we’re both covered in dirt” Nick made to get to his feet but Charlie grabbed hold of Nick's slackened tie and pulled him back down.
“Nick, I really don’t care. Just, please kiss me again” Nick didn’t need to be told twice.
His mouth was back on Charlie's in a flash and when it wasn’t on Charlie's lips it was flitting across his cheeks, his forehead, his jaw, his neck. Nick's hot tongue came into contact with a particularly sensitive spot just behind Charlie's left ear, causing him to gasp and reflexively buck his hips up against Nick's body that rested on top of his own.
“Oh fuck, Char” Nick groaned against Charlie's skin. Charlie was becoming increasingly aware of his own want and well as the arousal he could feel coming from Nick.
“Nick” Charlie gasped out, trying to focus long enough to get the words out.
“We should, we should go back”
Nick detached his lips from Charlie's skin and pulled back so he could look at him properly.
“You want to go back to the reception?”
Charlie shook his head.
“I want to go back to the house because if we keep going much longer I’m not going to want to stop, and I don’t particularly fancy doing it with you for the first time laying on the ground”
Nick smirked at him.
“It sounds kind of romantic. Making love in a lavender field under the stars, bathed in moonlight.”
“There is nothing romantic about getting dirt in certain crevices” Charlie deadpanned.
“Right. Up we get then” Nick got to his feet and pulled Charlie up after him. They took turns brushing the dirt off one another's backs, pausing to kiss or giggle as they went.
“Ok, hop on” Nick turned his back to Charlie.
“What?”
“Climb up, I’ll give you a piggyback ride”
“Nick, you don’t have to”
“Oh yeah because it’ll be such a hardship for me to have your legs wrapped around me. I might even have to hold your thighs to keep us steady”
“I can't argue with that” Charlie scrambled up onto Nick's back, wrapping his arms around Nick's neck and pressing a kiss to his shoulder.
“And we’re off”
Charlie hadn’t realized just how far they had wandered into the field, he’d been so caught up in the act of being there with Nick in the first place.
‘Can you go any faster?” Charlie asked, craning his neck to see how much further they had to go.
“Is sir not satisfied with his chauffeur service?” Nick teased.
“Sir has urgent business to attend to in his private chambers” Charlie shot back.
“Did you need a little motivation?” Charlie teased, whispering huskily in Nick's ear before slowly licking Nick's earlobe. Charlie felt Nick shutter Charlie swirled his tongue in Nick's ear before lightly nibbling on its edge.
“Yep, that’ll do it” Nick replied, doubling his pace. Charlie laughed as Nick half-jogged through the field. He slowed to a more casual pace as they re-entered the sight line of the party.
Charlie had expected Nick to let him slip off his back, but Nick held tight to Charlie as they walked in the direction of the house. Charlie looked over at the weddinggoers as they passed and saw Sarah sitting at the same table they’d left her at, smiling like the cat that caught the canary.
Charlie grinned and shot her a thumbs-up before he and Nick disappeared into the house.
Wedding # 9
Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring
Henre Bay Beach, Henre Bay, UK
September 2nd, 2026