A/N: Welcome to my Don Jon story. I don't own it, it belongs to the brilliant Joseph Gordon Levitt. I just took it out to play for a bit, and introduce my own character in the place of Esther.
So, this isn't one of those, 'Once upon a time...' happy fairytale ending stories. This is a true life, bitch slapping you upside the fuckin' head telling you how badly you fucked up stories. All I cared about in life was eight things, my body, my pad, my ride, my family, my church, my boys, my girls, my porn. That's it! And then one day, this beautiful dame waltzed into my life and fucked it all up! All of it!
She was something though, all curves and eyes, and legs. Well she was all woman. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. First things first, and I'm being rude. My name is Jon Martello, I'm from New Jersey. I won't tell you where exactly because I don't want to get stalked. There were many nights that found me at the club with my boys, dancing with (and fucking) my girls, then after getting down with my girls I would feel incredibly underwhelmed by our, uh, relations, so then I would watch porn.
Then I met Barbara, evil she bitch that almost ruined my life. After Barbara, there was Esther. She was something. She taught me how to love, and accept love in return. But shortly after our relationship began it ended because Esther sadly took her own life. Now she had a lot of fucked up shit going on in her head, but I loved her nonetheless. After Esther, I swore I would never let another woman in because it hurt too bad to lose them. So Don Jon was reborn! No more falling in love with a pretty face, or a tight body. No love. Just sex.
That was the night. Several months after Esther's death, I was out with my boys, and that was the night I saw her. Maddie. She was something else. And she wouldn't give me the time of day. But I didn't let that stop me. When she would be out with her friends at the club, I would be there flirting with her girls trying to make her jealous. It never worked, only worked to make me look more pathetic to her.
Let me tell you something about Maddie. She was barely five and a half feet tall, she had these big green eyes that showed her soul, deep auburn hair, pale porcelain skin with a dusting of freckles across her cheeks. She was long-legged, curvy, and beautiful. And she would not give me the time of day. But I didn't let that stop me. I kept on trying. Until one day she relented and agreed to go on one date with me. Just one. So I had "better make it good." That was the day my life changed.
Now after that one amazing date, all she would do was give me a kiss on the cheek and smile. This went on for weeks. Three wonderful weeks, spent talking, laughing, getting to know each other, and without me knowing it, falling in love. Maddie was a special girl, she could make my day with a simple "hi how are you?" text. Or just showing up at my apartment for dinner. That all changed one day. She invited me over for a home-made meal not that "nasty ass chinese take out" that I would always order. That was our turning point.
When I got there, Maddie had gone all out. Candles, home cooked food, soft music playing, and her standing there in a beautiful red dress and a shy smile. I was dumbfounded, all I did for a little while after sitting at her island in the kitchen with a glass of wine, was stare at how beautiful she was. Her hips swaying slightly to the soft music while she stirred something on the stove. I can still remember our conversation from that moment.
"Hey Jon, you wanna give me a hand here? Or you gonna stare at my ass all night?" She asked me with a slight smile on her face.
"Well it is a nice ass, but I think I can help, what do you want me to do?" I asked with a smile, and a sexy wink, which caused her to break into laughter.
"You any good with a kitchen knife?" She asked me with a raised brow and a hand on her hip, reminding me of her Irish heritage.
"I'm handy enough, you want something cut up?" I asked moving to stand next to her.
"Yeah, can you cut up these onions?" She smiled handing me a bunch of green onions, and a rather large, rather intimidating knife.
"Uh yeah, sure." I could not fuck this up.
We cooked together in silence for a while before she covered the pan and turned to me crossing her arms across her chest, causing me to bring my attention to her magnificent breasts. She huffed then laughed and smacked my arm.
"Jon, I think it's time we talk about...this." She said gesturing between the two of us, this made my heart drop, it was that moment I knew I loved her. The moment when I was most afraid of losing her. These 'we need to talk' things never end well, especially not with my past.
"Uh, okay." I replied dumbly and sitting down hard on the stool at the counter. I must've looked dreadful, because she looked like she was going to laugh at me, causing my scowl to deepen.
"Relax Jonny, it's not bad! My God you look like someone just killed your dog! I just want to know what this is." She smiled softly at me and refilled my wine, taking a sip of her own.
"I don't know what this is, I know I really like you, well more than that." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, "I wish I did know. These past few weeks have been amazing." I finished with a smile.
"I agree they have." She smiled and sat across from me, "what are we Jon, are we in a relationship? Are we friends? I like having you in my life, I just wish I knew what to call you." She sighed, and looked away, back at the pan.
"What do you want us to be Maddie?" I asked her, putting a finger under her chin and making her look at me, poor thing had tears in her eyes. I hoped my smile was reassuring and soft, and I think it was because she sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at me.
"I just want us to be. I want to love you Jon, but I'm afraid to." She said and got up to go back to the stove.
"Well Maddie, let me make this easier for you. We are us, weather that makes us in a relationship or just us, that's what we are. I've never said this to another human being except my family, but Maddie, I love you." I smiled at her back, and laughed as she turned so fast the pan flew off the stove and hit the ground in a chorus of fucks and god damns.
"You. Love. Me." She simply stated, her green eyes wide.
"I do." I nodded back, wondering if I had made a mistake in saying this.
"You love me." She said again, it was then I heard a hitch in her breath and saw a smile break across her beautiful face.
"Yes." I said with a grin.
"Say it again Jon." She breathed moving closer to me, pan and its contents forgotten on the floor.
"I. Love. You." I said, taking a step towards her with each word. Her smile was intoxicating.
"Oh Jon." She sighed when I got to her. "Oh my Jon."
"Say it Maddie." I smiled and put my hand on her soft face, running my thumb along her cheek, smiling when she leaned into my hand and kissed my wrist, a small but erotic move.
"I love you Jon. And I want us." My heart stopped.
That was the first night we made love, it was slow, and sweet and everything. It had a level of feeling that has never been felt by another human being before. It wasn't fucking, it wasn't sex, it was love. It was the embodiment of love incarnate. Cuddling after she dropped the bomb that her parents were coming and wanted to meet the man who had stolen her heart so rapidly. I accepted this, only if she met my very Italian parents.
We were terrified, but we did it. I met hers, she met mine. It was only when my parents saw her that they saw how much I loved her. My mom immediately accepted her, my dad only accepted her when my mom hit him in the back of the head and told him to really look at us. Her parents were a different story. They knew from the get go, that we were it for each other. Her mom said that it took just one look at us and she knew we were soul mates meant to find each other. And find each other we did.
It was one year later on our anniversary that I proposed. We set the date for two years in the future. And that's where we are now. This is our rehearsal dinner. And this is my speech. Everyone is looking at me smiling, Maddie is sitting there, smile on her face listening to me, tears in those beautiful green eyes. Just like the first night I told her I loved her. Our wedding is in a week, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with my best friend, and my soul mate.
Maddie, I love you. And if I could do it all again, I would only hope that I could meet you sooner, so that I could spend more of my life with you. Now my mom is crying, her mom is crying, and she's just smiling and walking over to me with her arms wide open, waiting to pull me into a hug and rest her head on my shoulder while we sway to the music playing.
I used to think that my life before was the life, a different girl every night, and a different video after every girl. But now? Now I know this is where my life was leading me. Now this is the life. A life of love and happiness and family.
This is the life.
End A/N: So should I write a speech from Maddie? Should I write a whole story based on this? Please let me know! See that button down there with the word 'Review' on it? Yeah click it. You know you want to.