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The Ceremony
Charlie
Oh crap. Charlie thought. He’s here. Charlie groaned to himself as he looked across the makeshift aisle. He turned to Elle wearing a gorgeous sequined gold and black dress, who was sat next to him, Tao on her other side, as they waited for the wedding to start.
“James is here,” he stage-whispered through clenched teeth. He fidgeted with the sleeve of his dark blue suit.
“Of course he is, Charlie. He’s always been good friends with Imogen, you know that. And you two are still friendly. Stop being weird.” Elle admonished.
“I know. I know we’re friendly. And we parted amicably. And it’s been years. But I am here alone and he–” Charlie stopped talking. He stared, instead, as the most beautiful man he’d ever seen put his arm around James, his perfectly nice ex-boyfriend. This new guy was muscular but soft, with coppery blond hair that fell foppishly about his warm eyes.
“--Charlie?” Elle asked, not for the first time, Charlie surmised.
“Wh–what?” Charlie asked.
“You stopped talking and now you’re…drooling?” Elle said. Tao sputtered a laugh and turned to give Charlie a smirk. “James doesn’t look that good.” Elle finished.
“No, not James. But his date is gorgeous.” Charlie returned to stage whispering.
Elle surreptitiously turned around to check him out, and then she turned back to Charlie and giggled. “Oooh, yeah! He’s proper fit.”
Tao swiveled with the subtlety of a charging horse. “He looks like a typical rugby lad. Maybe James got a straight friend to come with him.”
Charlie looked to Tao with a confused expression. “Tao, we're 27. I think we’re past stereotyping people who look like they play sports. Also, bi people exist. Or gay men who look like,” he paused dramatically, “that.”
Tao huffed and Charlie rolled his eyes.
The music suddenly changed, and all eyes turned to the back. But Charlie looked to the front, towards Sahar, who was awaiting her bride. Charlie loved seeing the face of the person at the altar watching their future spouse enter the room. Sahar looked beautiful herself, and the spray of yellow flowers behind her accentuated her complexion against the white pantsuit she sported.
Charlie glanced back to watch the start of the procession. First some flower children solemnly sprinkled yellow petals down the aisle, then Imogen’s...six…bridesmaids followed them down, each wearing a matching cornflower blue dress. The music changed again, and the wedding guests all stood, Charlie staring to the front. As Imogen entered, Sahar’s face lit up and tears started to pool in her eyes. As Charlie swept his gaze back to look at Imogen, he caught the eye of James’s attractive date, who apparently was also looking for Sahar’s reaction. James’s date winked at Charlie and Charlie almost collapsed from the swoon he felt rippling through his stomach.
* * * * * * * *
Nick
Nick felt a bit out of place at this wedding. He’s been on two dates with James before, and he was attractive and nice, but spending the weekend at a sprawling manor in the countryside with a bunch of his old friends didn’t feel like a third date activity. It felt like a boyfriend activity. And he and James have not discussed being boyfriends.
Nick put his arm loosely around James as he started complaining that his ex-boyfriend was in attendance. Oh God, Nick thought, I am not prepared for ex drama.
James’s friend Sai rolled his eyes and looked at Nick. “Charlie is lovely, and James and Charlie are still friendly. They broke up mutually and they are both really mature about it.”
James pouted, “But…”
Sai glared at him, and James stopped talking. Nick gave Sai a thankful look.
Nick looked around at the other guests and his eyes landed on the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen. He had dark curly hair that fell around his face like a halo, warm olive skin over fine features, and lean muscles that he handled with an effortless grace that Nick could even sense from across the room. Cool it, Nelson, you’re on date. You can’t be eye-fucking hot men. The woman sitting next to this olive-skinned hottie said something that made him laugh, and Nick watched as dimples appeared. He slumped back in his seat, defeated. The. Man. Has. Dimples.
He turned back to James, who was looking in the same direction. He thought he heard him mutter, “Damn, Charlie looks really good,” under his breath, but he ignored it. Sai heard that as well and swatted at James with a warning look in his eye.
Just then, the music changed abruptly and some flower children, who looked like a more subdued version of Wednesday Addams, processed down the aisle, followed by a barrage of blue-adorned bridesmaids. Finally, the music changed again, and Nick turned his attention to the front of the room, to catch Sahar’s reaction. Sahar looked like she just won the best prize on earth. Satisfied, Nick looked back towards Imogen, who was walking down the aisle. But his eyes caught those of the Olive-Skinned Hottie (OSH?) and he winked at him. Oops.
The Wine Reception and Wedding Breakfast
Charlie
After the ceremony, as Imogen and Sahar and the litany of bridesmaids, flower children, and best people took photos, the rest of the guests were left to indulge in a prosecco and appetizer reception. Charlie, Elle, and Tao set up in a corner in the back, so they didn’t have to mingle too much. Tao felt annoyed that being in the back, they didn’t have first dibs on passed hors d'oeuvres.
Tao hissed at Elle, “We’re missing out on pork dumplings! They’ll never make it this far!”
Elle rolled her eyes lovingly at her boyfriend and clinked her wine flute against his. “I have it on good authority from Sahar that dinner is delicious, and I’m sure some food will make its way down here eventually, love.” Tao pouted in response.
That’s when Tao and Elle turned, noticing that Charlie was suddenly staring intently at the framed portraits of dead white men decorating their corner.
“Charlie?” Elle asked. Charlie glanced nervously over his shoulder at Elle and indicated subtly with his eyes to look behind them. “Oh, it’s James.”
“Yes,” Charlie murmured.
Tao turned and James’s eye caught the movement. “Shit…” Tao grumbled.
Charlie groaned. “He’s coming over here, isn’t he?”
Tao had the decency to look ashamed. “Yeah, he caught my eye and now he’s making his way here.” Charlie groaned again at Tao’s inability to play anything cool. “His date isn’t with him.”
Charlie perked up a bit. He wasn’t sure he could face James with the most beautiful man in the world next to him. Charlie turned back towards his friends with a smile plastered on his face, ready to talk to his ex.
“Charlie, Tao, Elle! So great to see you!” James greeted them.
“Hi James, nice to see you too,” Elle said.
Tao nodded at James in recognition.
Charlie smiled brightly and said, “Hi James!”
James coughed nervously. “Charlie, you look great! How are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m fine, yeah. Same-old, same-old. Still working at the publishing company, still spending all my free time with Tao and Elle or Imogen and Sahar.”
“Any new man in your life?” James asked, obviously fishing.
Charlie laughed like he wasn’t annoyed at the question. “Nah, flying solo currently. How about you?”
“Oh, I just met this great guy, Nick. He’s around here somewhere.” James made a show of looking around. “He stepped out to the loo, but I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”
Charlie swallowed thickly that Nick was coming back soon. Did James say ‘just met?’ Charlie shook his head a bit. “Oh, that’s nice. How long have you been dating?”
James looked around and spotted Nick approaching. He visibly deflated when he realized his date was in ear-shot. “Well, honestly, this is just our third date.”
Charlie’s eyebrows shot up approvingly at James’s admission. As Nick joined the group, Charlie noticed a bit of blush forming on Nick’s cheeks when he caught his eye. Excellent. Charlie sobered momentarily, realizing that even if it wasn’t really a relationship, perhaps it would be bad form to openly flirt with his ex-boyfriend’s date in front of him. I’ll just have to get him alone, then.
“Charlie, Tao, Elle, this is Nick.” James introduced them. Elle smiled brightly, Tao nodded tersely, and Charlie gave Nick a flirty full-dimple smile.
“Hi,” Nick breathed.
“Hi,” Charlie responded.
James glanced at Charlie and put his arm around Nick possessively. “Nick’s a primary school teacher just outside of Rochester.”
“Oh, that’s great!” Elle offered, trying to diffuse the tension. Charlie and Tao both nodded their heads in acknowledgment of the statement and hummed in approval.
Charlie realized he was being weird, and he did, indeed, want to be friendly with James. Even if he was barely dating the most attractive man Charlie had ever seen. Charlie shook his head imperceptibly and said, “So, what are you up to these days, James?”
James smiled and the five of them continued the conversation. Nick looked around a little lost. Charlie couldn’t help but occasionally glance over at him and smile encouragingly. It was a friendly thing to do, right? When your ex-boyfriend’s date is being left alone in favor of small talk, you try to engage him.
Nick smiled back every time Charlie looked at him, so Charlie took it as an opportunity to open up the conversation. At an appropriate lull, he turned to the group and asked, “So, how did you two meet?”
“Oh, Nick’s friend Tara works with me, and she introduced us,” James replied.
Elle squealed, turning to Nick. “You’re friends with Tara, as in Tara and Darcy?!”
Nick smiled genuinely, “That I am. I’ve known Tara since primary, actually. Then Darcy came along, and now they’re my found family. How do you know Tara and Darcy?”
Elle smiled, “Darcy and I shared a flat in uni. Tara was around more often than one of our flatmates, actually.”
Nick tilted his head back and laughed. “Oh my God, you’re Elle-Elle. I’ve heard so much about you!” Nick and Elle broke off from the group for a bit to swap Tara and Darcy stories while James looked on bewildered. Tao took the opportunity of being unsupervised to go raid the hors d'oeuvres trays at the front of the room, leaving James and Charlie alone.
“So, Charlie, how are you?” James asked.
“Um, I’m fine, James,” Charlie replied carefully.
“But you’re single?”
“And that’s fine.”
James took a sip from his glass. “Why did we even break up anyway? We were so good together.”
Charlie sighed. “James, we broke up because we wanted different things. We were great together, but that doesn’t mean we were right together. You know this.”
Now James sighed. “But Charlie, we didn’t have to break up just because I didn’t want to get married.” James started to reach towards Charlie, but Charlie moved back uncomfortably, just out of reach. Nick clocked his uncomfortable posture and looked at him with a tilted head, like a concerned golden retriever. Charlie smiled kindly and shook his head to indicate he was okay.
“James,” Charlie hissed, “that is EXACTLY why we had to break up. I wanted a commitment that you weren’t able to give. I’ve moved on.”
“But you’re single.”
“Moving on doesn’t have to be with another person.” Charlie’s eyes glanced quickly at Nick, who was back to talking to Elle about their shared friends. “I’m being choosy about who I date, but I have moved on, James. So should you.”
James knocked back the rest of his drink and grabbed another as it came by on a tray. “Okay, Charlie, I’ll move on.” James walked over to Nick and put his arm around him, looking defiantly at Charlie. Charlie rolled his eyes at his dramatic ex-boyfriend. James was nice, if a bit mournful at times.
At that moment, Tao returned, with a full napkin of teetering pork dumplings, miniature steak-and-ale pies, and stuffed dates. “Success!” he shouted, offering some to Elle before turning to Charlie to offer some of his spoils.
* * * * * * * *
Nick
After the ceremony, Nick was shuffled into a reception hall along with the other guests. He grabbed some Prosecco for himself and one for James. James took it gladly, thanking him with a genuine smile.
“Do you know where Charlie is?” James asked no one in particular.
“I don’t know who Charlie is, James,” Nick replied.
James’s eyes widened. “Oh, sorry, did I say that out loud?”
“Yeah, but I’m sure we can say hi to your ex. Sai said you were friendly.”
“Oooh, but maybe we should grab some of these hors d'oeuvres first.” James was trying to stall a bit.
“Okay, sounds good. Yum, pork dumplings!” Nick exclaimed while helping himself to a snack. James nodded along and took a vegetarian spring roll from the other side of the passing tray. While they munched on their snacks, Sai came over and talked to James a bit. Nick thought that everyone seemed pretty nice at this wedding, even if he didn’t know anyone.
“Hey Sai, have you seen Charlie?” James asked him.
“Uh, yeah, mate. He’s in the back with Tao and Elle,” Sai replied.
“Oh great, I’ll have to say hi in a few minutes.”
Sai gave James a confused look. Nick excused himself to head to the loo, and when he returned James wasn’t where he left them. He looked around, spotting him talking to the Olive-Skinned Hottie he had winked at the ceremony. Oops, did I wink at my date’s ex? The OSH was standing with the same couple he'd seen him with at the ceremony.
As he approached James, he heard the gorgeous guy ask how long he and James had been dating. Nick couldn’t help but blush when he approached them, and the OSH looked into his eyes. Nick nearly passed out when James introduced him, and the Olive-Skinned Hottie–who was definitely his date’s ex-boyfriend–gave him a flirty smile with two full adorable dimples.
“Hi,” Nick said.
“Hi,” Charlie replied. Nick’s insides were electrified at just the simple hi. Just as Nick felt himself flush some more, James put his arm around him awkwardly and told the rest of the group that he was a teacher. The woman, Elle, said something positive in response and some unspoken tension in the air drained away.
The old friends were obviously catching up so Nick zoned out, sneaking glances at the OSH–Charlie--whenever he could. Eventually Charlie seemed to take pity on him and tried to include him in the conversation. James took the opportunity to respond anyway, which was a little annoying, but then Elle mentioned that she knew Nick's best friend Tara. Nick soon realized that he'd heard a lot about Elle.
While Nick and Elle started talking about Tara, Darcy, and all the hijinks they’ve participated in with them, James and Charlie started talking to each other, the other guy–Tate?--having disappeared. Nick was just regaling Elle with the story of Darcy meddling in his first relationship with a man, when he looked up and saw Charlie looking very uncomfortable. He gave Charlie a look that he hoped communicated that he was willing to step in if he needed help. Charlie shook him off–adorably-and smiled at him. He loved Charlie’s smile. Charlie and James exchanged some terse words before James appeared beside him with a new glass of wine, putting his arm around him possessively. It didn’t feel all that comfortable to Nick, but he smiled at James anyway.
As Charlie’s friend–Tao! That’s his name!–approached with a napkin full of snacks, James asked if Nick wanted to look for some food with him, and he found himself trailing after his fleeing date. He and James grabbed some of the passed snacks and chatted and laughed before being ushered into the dining room for the wedding breakfast.
Nick and James were seated on the other side of the hall from Charlie, Elle, and Tao. Sai was of course also at their table, as well as James’s friend Barbara and her spouse Rain, and some of Imogen’s cousins, who were all in their early twenties and excited to drink. In fact, their toasting wine was already gone when Nick and James arrived at the table. A centerpiece of daffodils, daisies, tulips, pussy willow, and tall grass obstructed Nick’s view of Charlie on the other side of the room, so he spent the meal talking to James and Sai.
Talking to him without distraction, Nick remembered why he liked James enough that he agreed to go to this wedding in the first place. He was kind, considerate, and funny, as well as attractive. Not Charlie attractive, but his chiseled features, sandy blonde hair, and tall, lithe frame were very appealing. James asked genuine questions about Nick’s job as a teacher and included him in his conversations with Sai. What Nick didn’t quite understand, though, was why James acted so contrary to his regular nature around Charlie.
Nick enjoyed his conversations at his table and the amazing food the brides had chosen for the meal. He could have done without each bridesmaid and best person insisting on providing a long, sappy toast, though.
The Evening Reception
Nick
As more and more guests arrived for the evening reception, presumably the majority of whom were the brides’ colleagues and acquaintances, Nick found himself standing in line at the bar while James greeted some people he knew. In front of him in line was Charlie.
“Hi,” Nick ventured.
“Hi.” Charlie turned around and smiled at him. Nick melted.
“Are you enjoying the wedding?” Nick asked, desperate to talk to Charlie some more.
Charlie’s face changed for a moment before he smiled again and said, “Yeah, I’m so happy for Immy and Sahar! They are such a great couple. Everything is beautiful and perfect and so them. And of course, the people are great.”
“The people, huh? Like James?” Nick asked, he’s not sure why. He doesn’t want Charlie to still be attracted to James because Nick wanted to ask Charlie out…not because he was on a date with James.
Charlie frowned. “It’s nice to see James, sure. I’m, uh, glad he met you. You seem nice.”
“Oh,” Nick responded suavely.
“James is great, really. We only broke up because we wanted different things. But I’m totally and entirely over him, so don’t worry about me trying to steal him away or anything. Oh, and you might know this by now, but he gives the best blowjobs.” Charlie was fully rambling. It was precious.
“Oh!” Nick’s ears turned red. It felt like Charlie was trying to sell James on Nick. “I didn’t know that, but…good to know.” He laughed. And Charlie giggled. That was a wonderful sound.
“Sorry! Maybe that was too much.”
Nick laughed. “So, what different things did you two want?” Nick asked.
“Huh?” Charlie replied.
“You said you and he wanted different things, what were those things?” Nick asked.
“NEXT!” The bartender shouted to them.
“Oh, um! A vodka cran, a whisky neat, a gin and tonic….and whatever he’s having…” Charlie responded.
Nick was surprised, “Uh, the lager and a merlot, please.” The bartender nodded and turned to start gathering the drinks.
“He still drinks merlot on all occasions, I see.” Charlie laughed.
“I guess!”
“Here are those drinks,” the bartender said. Charlie paid her and the two of them gathered up the drinks and moved off to the side to keep talking.
“He didn’t want marriage, but I did,” Charlie blurted out.
“Oh!” Nick answered. Again. He was being so articulate this evening with this attractive man. “Ohhhhh….” he said after some thought. “Huh. That’s…good to know.”
“Shit! Sorry! Uh, forget I said anything!" Charlie backtracked.
Nick smiled, “Charlie, relax. It’s our third date. He seems great, but I get the feeling it’s just not going to be right for us, either.”
“Oh.”
“And it’s not your fau–it’s not what you told me about him, at all. Don’t worry.” Nick put his beer down and then put his free hand on Charlie’s arm comfortingly.
“He really is great.”
“I’m sure he’s great for someone, but he’s probably not right for me,” Nick responded with a warm smile.
“I’m sorry.”
Nick smiled at Charlie again. “You say that a lot.”
Charlie blushed. “I kinda want to say it now…”
Nick put on a faux stern voice. “Don’t. The s-word is banned.”
They both laughed. Charlie indicated towards his drinks and looked up at Nick from under his long eyelashes. “Well, I better get these drinks back to Tao and Elle.”
Nick nodded. “And I better get James his merlot.”
Nick found James with a slice of cake in each hand, looking for Nick. “Nick! Over here!” Nick walked over, set the drinks on a high top table, and took a slice of cake. It was a rich mocha cake with espresso-flavored icing, and Nick was really impressed. As he took a second bite his eyes caught Charlie’s eyes and they both blushed. And then Charlie winked at him. Oh this man.
* * * * * * * *
Charlie
Charlie felt defeated as he walked across the reception hall to his friends, cringing at the things he had blurted out to Nick. In his valiant attempt to not hit on his ex’s date, he ended up endorsing James’s ability to give a blow job. He had somehow successfully managed to convey to Nick that he was no longer interested in James, but in doing so he inadvertently tried to throw James at Nick.
He handed Tao and Elle their drinks.
“What took so long?” Tao asked.
“Oh, I got to talking.”
“To who? All our friends are over here.”
“Uh…”
“Charlie! Were you chatting up Nick?” Elle admonished him.
“I was chatting with Nick, not chatting up Nick!” he squeaked. Then he flushed, thinking of the things he’d like to “do up” Nick’s body. And of course, just then, Charlie looked up and caught Nick’s eye across the room. So, he winked at him. Fuuucccckk.
Charlie turned back towards his friends and tried to will Nick and James out his mind. He was doing a good job, laughing with Elle, arguing with Tao, and dancing with Sahar when she came over to say hi to her friends. Charlie was dancing to his favorite CHVRCHES song when he noticed Nick again. Nick was also dancing–terribly–but he had shed his sport jacket, and the white shirt underneath stretched deliciously across his back, clinging with a hint of sweat that accentuated the supple flesh of his love handles. Charlie squeaked, enamored of the both soft and hard physique revealed by the thin damp shirt. When he moved his eyes upwards, Nick was looking back at him, and he smiled wickedly as their eyes met.
The Hotel Breakfast Buffet
Charlie
The next morning, Charlie arrived at the hotel breakfast buffet around 10am, Tao and Elle in tow. They were all packed, ready to go back to London after breakfast and checking out of their rooms. Charlie decided to start with a warm-up cup of coffee before trying anything from the buffet, and he was sitting alone at a table for four when James entered the dining room.
James approached Charlie, and Charlie groaned inwardly. “Good morning, James.” Charlie greeted him with gritted teeth. James sat down in the empty seat closest to Charlie. Tao and Elle were taking their time at the breakfast buffet, despite Charlie’s longing looks in their direction.
“Charlie, I want you back.” James pleaded.
Charlie frowned. “James,” he paused and considered his words carefully. “I don’t want you back. We had good reasons to break up.”
“I can get married!” James countered.
“But you don’t want that. And I don’t want you to get married for me.”
“But you would marry me if I wanted it?”
Charlie shook his head, “No, James. I really have moved on.”
James’s eyes prickled with tears. “I still love you, Charlie.”
“I’m sorry, James.”
Tao and Elle arrived then, looking between the two of them. James stood up and turned to Elle. “I’m leaving. Can you make sure Nick gets home? You seemed to like him OK.”
“Uh, sure?” Elle replied, confusion evident on her face.
“He’ll be back from the gym any minute.” And with that, James left, grabbing a startled Sai on his way out of the hotel dining room.
Nick walked in three minutes later, his hair damp from a shower and his skin pink from exertion. Charlie shuddered and stood up to pick out his breakfast from the buffet.
“Nick!” Elle called out, and Nick went over to her.
* * * * * * * *
Nick
“Hi Elle! What’s up? Where is James?” Nick asked, though he was actually looking around for Charlie.
“Hi Nick. James, er…left?” Elle said.
Nick stopped looking around and turned to face Elle, his head cocked at an angle. “He left? The hotel?”
“It seems like it,” she replied apologetically. “I promised him I’d help you get home, though.”
“Oh, no, that’s fine! You don’t owe me anything. I can get a taxi to the train station.” Nick didn’t want to put Elle out.
“It’s really no problem, Nick. Tao rented a car, and we’ll be driving back to London. If you’re outside of Rochester, we could drop you on the way. Tao, Charlie, and I would be glad to have you join us.” Tao grunted in a way that did not seem glad to have Nick join him, but Nick focused instead on…
“Charlie?”
Elle smirked. “Yeah, the three of us rode here together. There’s definitely room for one more, though the boot may be pretty full. I hope you don’t have a big bag?”
Nick shook his head in a daze. “That sounds great, thank you,” he managed. “I’m going to get something to eat. Mind if I sit with you all?”
Tao glared at him. “Not at all!” Elle replied.
Nick wandered into the breakfast buffet and found Charlie.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Charlie smiled at him.
“So, it looks like I’ll be hitching a ride in your car today,” Nick told him.
“Oh really?” Charlie’s dimples shone like the sun in Nick’s eyes.
“Yeah. Do you know what happened to James?” Nick asked.
“Uh, no,” Charlie lied. Nick could tell Charlie was lying.
“I don’t believe you.” He smirked at Charlie.
Charlie blushed, “I don’t want to tell you?”
“That’s fair.” Nick grabbed a few spoonfuls of yogurt and heaped them into a bowl. “James acted completely differently when he was around you, though.”
“I’m sorry!”
“I thought we banned the S-word.”
“But I am sorry if James acted strangely.”
“It’s not your fault. Even if you think it is,” Nick answered simply. “Besides, I’d already realized that James and I weren’t going to work out.”
Charlie blinked at him, nodding in acceptance.
Nick turned away to add some granola to his yogurt and murmured, “Oh, but you were right about the blowjobs.”
Charlie dropped the knife he was using to spread jam on his toast. “That thing with the tongue?”
“Yeah, that thing with the tongue,” Nick agreed.
“I must admit I’m really jealous,” Charlie said.
Nick frowned, “Of me?”
“No!” Charlie squealed. “No, of James.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah,” Charlie was blushing, and it was so cute. Nick looked into Charlie’s steely blue-gray eyes. Then, Charlie offered the following tidbit of information: “I did steal the thing with the tongue, though, for my own use.”
“Oh. Really?” Nick responded, now he was blushing. He swallowed thickly.
“Yeah, I could show you sometime…” Charlie trailed off.
“Hmmm," Nick said coyly. "That does sound good, but I'd also like to get know you. Can I take you out to dinner?”
“Oh definitely. How’s tonight?” Charlie whispered into Nick’s ear.
“Yes, please.”