Do you take… do you promise… love, honor, cherish.
Jordan answers automatically, her voice unwavering. “Yes. Yes.”
She slides the ring I bought onto my finger, my grin spreading wide before I can stop it.
“Matthew,” the clerk says, finally looking up. “Do you take Jordan as your wife?”
Jordan quirks a small smile.
“Yes,” I say, the pounding in my chest easing.
“Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and keep her for as long as you both shall live?”
I keep my eyes on Jordan. She’s steady. Grounded. Calm in a way I’m not.
“Yes,” I say, surprised by the conviction in my own voice.
“As a symbol of your promise, please place the ring on her finger.”
I slip the ring over Jordan’s dainty finger, and she lets out a soft laugh as I thread my fingers through hers.
The clerk continues.
As you both have consented… The power vested in me… I now pronounce you married.
The wordmarriedbarely has time to register before she looks up. “You may seal your vows with a kiss.”
Shit.
We didn’t talk about this.
Jordan’s eyes go wide, and I grin like a fucking creep. There’s no way in hell I’m passing up the opportunity to kiss her.
She hesitates.
I don’t.
We lean in together, but at the last second, she turns her head. Just enough that my lips land against the corner of her mouth instead.
She laughs it off like it’s nothing.
I swallow the brief sting of it. It’s not something I’m used to.
“Sorry,” she says softly.
“It’s fine, babe,” I reply. “I get it.”
“It’s not that. It’s just?—”
“Congratulations!” Sabrina interrupts, rushing over and playing the part, the excited friend. Jordan told me she knows it’s all an act.
An act.A performance. A play. Something I usually fall asleep to.
Sabrina hugs Jordan, and my eyes rake over my new wife.
My wife.
I know it’s not real… But I like the way it sounds.
