Creative Writing: When Worlds Collide
From where he stood, Jo could hear the sounds of all of his wedding guests in the other room. The two hundred or so voices were clear as day from the stuffy hallway where he stood, his new husband by his side. His hands were sticky with sweat as he listened to the various guests mingled and found their seats, probably anxiously awaiting his and Nate’s arrival. It would only be a matter of minutes before the DJ was completely set up and they would be called in to do their first dance as a married couple. The thought made him tighten his hold on Nate’s hand.
For some reason, Jo felt exponentially more nervous about he and Nate’s first dance than he did about saying his vows. The vows had been the easy part, dancing in front of everyone he …show more content…
knew and cared for dearly? That was a whole other ballgame. He figured it had something to do with his aversion to public displays of affection, so much so that he'd wanted to nix the first dance altogether. Nate had squashed that idea pretty quickly, reasoning that while they were an unconventional couple, they were going to have a perfectly conventional wedding, first dance and everything.
Jo really wasn't strong enough to argue when Nate was pouting at him, eyes wide. So he agreed to do the damned first dance, but made Nate promise that Jo had a say in which song they would dance to. If he left the decision up to Nate they would probably be dancing under a spotlight to Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You or something equally cheesy and horrendous.
Surprisingly enough, they were able to settle on a perfectly uncheesy song fairly quickly despite Jo’s little complaints about how silly and overdone the first dance really was. He was still grumbling about it, in fact, as he and Nate stood outside the venue for their wedding reception waiting for their cue to head inside and dance.
“I'm going to feel on display like a caged zoo animal, Nate, c’mon. Everyone does the first dance, are we really going to be like every boring couple in the history of marriage? That's so lame.” He was beginning to sound like a petulant child, he saw that, but it didn't stop his whining any.
He may have been spurred on by the fact that Nate seemed in no way annoyed, he just let Jo moan and complain without comment, warm eyes dancing. Jo suspected he probably wasn't listening.
Sometimes when Nate was filled to the brim with emotion, he went mute and just kept to his thoughts, not usually paying attention to what was happening around him. After they’d gotten engaged, Nate had sat in silence for an entire hour just thinking. Jo tugged at his husband’s hands, “Nate, babe, we should just forget the dance thing okay? Let’s just like go in and cut the cake and get nice and drunk. Nobody will notice if we skip it completely.” Jo felt like he was pretty much begging and he felt completely stupid but his stomach was in knots even at the thought of everyone staring at him dancing with Nate. It was mildly ridiculous, he knew that. But he could still practically hear the stupid chirps his teammates would say if he somehow made an ass of himself in front of a crowd.
Nate seemed to finally snap out of his thoughts, his eyes land on Jo, eyebrow quirked slightly. “Jo, it's only three minutes of your life, I’ll be with you the whole time, nothing's gonna happen. I’ve got you.” Nate’s hands squeezed Jo’s lightly. He leaned down and kissed the tip of Jo’s nose and then moved up to his forehead. “Just wanna have this one dance with my husband, okay? You can just look at me the whole time, right in my eyes. You could even close your eyes if you want.” His lips brushed against Jo’s skin with every word sending chills down his spine. Nate pulled back and scanned Jo’s face, a serious glint in his eyes. “It won't be too awful, I promise, and if it gets to be too much, I’ll get other people to come out and dance so you’re not the center of attention, yeah?”
Jo kind of felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest, warmth easing his bones. Instead of verbally responding, he lifted himself up and slotted his lips with Nate’s. His thumbs reached up to brush against the insides of Nate’s wrists before Nate clasped their hands together tightly. The kiss was soft, less extravagant than the one they’d shared after exchanging vows, less heated than the gasped kisses they’d shared the night before, but somehow still perfect. Jo’s figured he could kiss Nate forever and his brain went fuzzy at the realization that he could, that he’d officially made Nate his. Forever.
An over exaggerated cough broke them apart and Jo looked to see Tyson standing in the then opened doorway of the venue. Like most of the other times Jo had seen Tyson, he looked like he was fighting off laughter.
“As painfully adorable as this is, the DJ is all set up and Jo’s mom looks like she might flip her lid if you two don't go in and dance now.” Tyson gave a sheepish look before huffing out a short laugh. “So if you guys could go in and be disgustingly cute in there before Mrs. Drouin yells at one of the waiters, that would be lovely.” He pointed behind him into the venue where Jo knew everyone was waiting.
The anxious knot returned to his stomach so quickly that it felt like it had never left, his body going rigid.
Apparently, Nate realized Jo’s was back in his shitty head space almost instantly because before Jo could let himself get lost in his thoughts, Nate was forcing him to make eye contact.
“Hey, hey, hey babe, you okay? Everything will be fine. It's only three minutes, just look at me the entire time, it'll feel just like all the times we practiced, alright?” He laced his fingers with Jo’s, “and afterward, we can just enjoy the night, somewhat out of the spotlight.” He leaned forward and lightly kissed Jo’s forehead again. “I love you.” The words were spoken so quietly that Jo almost didn't catch them.
The sentiment eased some of his anxiety, his bones slowly going less rigid, his heart rate going back to a somewhat normal pace. “Love you more,” he murmured slowly pulling away from his husband.
“Ready?” Nate asked as they turned to face the door that lead to the reception, he wrapped his arm around Jo’s.
Jo managed a shaky nod in response, focusing on not freaking himself out. He certainly felt more at ease than he had a few minutes prior, but he still felt slightly nauseous. If his vice grip on Nate’s arm was too tight, he didn't
complain.
Too quickly the doors were opening and they were being ushered into their reception. The room was dimly lit, a fact Jo was thankful for, and he could barely make out the faces of his friends and family as he and Nate made their way to the dance floor in the middle of the room. He hoped that the smile on his face didn't look too forced. It wasn't that he wasn't happy (he was, it had been one of the happiest days of his life) but his nerves were preventing him from being enveloped in his happiness.
For some reason, Jo felt exponentially more nervous about he and Nate’s first dance than he did about saying his vows. The vows had been the easy part, dancing in front of everyone he …show more content…
knew and cared for dearly? That was a whole other ballgame. He figured it had something to do with his aversion to public displays of affection, so much so that he'd wanted to nix the first dance altogether. Nate had squashed that idea pretty quickly, reasoning that while they were an unconventional couple, they were going to have a perfectly conventional wedding, first dance and everything.
Jo really wasn't strong enough to argue when Nate was pouting at him, eyes wide. So he agreed to do the damned first dance, but made Nate promise that Jo had a say in which song they would dance to. If he left the decision up to Nate they would probably be dancing under a spotlight to Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You or something equally cheesy and horrendous.
Surprisingly enough, they were able to settle on a perfectly uncheesy song fairly quickly despite Jo’s little complaints about how silly and overdone the first dance really was. He was still grumbling about it, in fact, as he and Nate stood outside the venue for their wedding reception waiting for their cue to head inside and dance.
“I'm going to feel on display like a caged zoo animal, Nate, c’mon. Everyone does the first dance, are we really going to be like every boring couple in the history of marriage? That's so lame.” He was beginning to sound like a petulant child, he saw that, but it didn't stop his whining any.
He may have been spurred on by the fact that Nate seemed in no way annoyed, he just let Jo moan and complain without comment, warm eyes dancing. Jo suspected he probably wasn't listening.
Sometimes when Nate was filled to the brim with emotion, he went mute and just kept to his thoughts, not usually paying attention to what was happening around him. After they’d gotten engaged, Nate had sat in silence for an entire hour just thinking. Jo tugged at his husband’s hands, “Nate, babe, we should just forget the dance thing okay? Let’s just like go in and cut the cake and get nice and drunk. Nobody will notice if we skip it completely.” Jo felt like he was pretty much begging and he felt completely stupid but his stomach was in knots even at the thought of everyone staring at him dancing with Nate. It was mildly ridiculous, he knew that. But he could still practically hear the stupid chirps his teammates would say if he somehow made an ass of himself in front of a crowd.
Nate seemed to finally snap out of his thoughts, his eyes land on Jo, eyebrow quirked slightly. “Jo, it's only three minutes of your life, I’ll be with you the whole time, nothing's gonna happen. I’ve got you.” Nate’s hands squeezed Jo’s lightly. He leaned down and kissed the tip of Jo’s nose and then moved up to his forehead. “Just wanna have this one dance with my husband, okay? You can just look at me the whole time, right in my eyes. You could even close your eyes if you want.” His lips brushed against Jo’s skin with every word sending chills down his spine. Nate pulled back and scanned Jo’s face, a serious glint in his eyes. “It won't be too awful, I promise, and if it gets to be too much, I’ll get other people to come out and dance so you’re not the center of attention, yeah?”
Jo kind of felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest, warmth easing his bones. Instead of verbally responding, he lifted himself up and slotted his lips with Nate’s. His thumbs reached up to brush against the insides of Nate’s wrists before Nate clasped their hands together tightly. The kiss was soft, less extravagant than the one they’d shared after exchanging vows, less heated than the gasped kisses they’d shared the night before, but somehow still perfect. Jo’s figured he could kiss Nate forever and his brain went fuzzy at the realization that he could, that he’d officially made Nate his. Forever.
An over exaggerated cough broke them apart and Jo looked to see Tyson standing in the then opened doorway of the venue. Like most of the other times Jo had seen Tyson, he looked like he was fighting off laughter.
“As painfully adorable as this is, the DJ is all set up and Jo’s mom looks like she might flip her lid if you two don't go in and dance now.” Tyson gave a sheepish look before huffing out a short laugh. “So if you guys could go in and be disgustingly cute in there before Mrs. Drouin yells at one of the waiters, that would be lovely.” He pointed behind him into the venue where Jo knew everyone was waiting.
The anxious knot returned to his stomach so quickly that it felt like it had never left, his body going rigid.
Apparently, Nate realized Jo’s was back in his shitty head space almost instantly because before Jo could let himself get lost in his thoughts, Nate was forcing him to make eye contact.
“Hey, hey, hey babe, you okay? Everything will be fine. It's only three minutes, just look at me the entire time, it'll feel just like all the times we practiced, alright?” He laced his fingers with Jo’s, “and afterward, we can just enjoy the night, somewhat out of the spotlight.” He leaned forward and lightly kissed Jo’s forehead again. “I love you.” The words were spoken so quietly that Jo almost didn't catch them.
The sentiment eased some of his anxiety, his bones slowly going less rigid, his heart rate going back to a somewhat normal pace. “Love you more,” he murmured slowly pulling away from his husband.
“Ready?” Nate asked as they turned to face the door that lead to the reception, he wrapped his arm around Jo’s.
Jo managed a shaky nod in response, focusing on not freaking himself out. He certainly felt more at ease than he had a few minutes prior, but he still felt slightly nauseous. If his vice grip on Nate’s arm was too tight, he didn't
complain.
Too quickly the doors were opening and they were being ushered into their reception. The room was dimly lit, a fact Jo was thankful for, and he could barely make out the faces of his friends and family as he and Nate made their way to the dance floor in the middle of the room. He hoped that the smile on his face didn't look too forced. It wasn't that he wasn't happy (he was, it had been one of the happiest days of his life) but his nerves were preventing him from being enveloped in his happiness.