"Marriage is the promise between two people who love each other, who trust that love, who honor one another as individuals in that togetherness, and who wish to spend the rest of their lives together." The wedding officiant says as he addresses the large crowd of guests that have gathered for the wedding "It enables the two separate souls to share their desires, longings, dreams, and memories, their joys and sorrows, and to help each other through all uncertainties of life."
Jade smiles as she leans her head against Beck's shoulder, who is sitting beside her. He looks over and smiles at her as well, pressing a kiss to her temple and taking her hand in his before lacing their fingers together and turning his attention back to the ceremony.
Being in the line of work that he is, Beck has attended so many weddings that he's lost count. This one, however, is special. He's formed a kinship with the couple unlike any other client he's ever worked with before.
"Robbie, do you take Cat to be your wife?"
"I do." Robbie is grinning from ear to ear
He truly can't believe that he's standing where he is right now, that this is actually his life. He never thought he would find love at all, let alone with a woman so special.
"Cat, do you take Robbie to be your husband?"
"I do."
"You both have come here today of your own free will and in the presence of family and friends, have declared your love and commitment to each other. You have given and received a ring as a symbol of your promises. By the power of your love and commitment to each other, and by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Robbie, you may now kiss the bride."
The guests all cheer as they get to their feet, celebrating the union's becoming official. Robbie pumps his fist in the air as he and Cat kiss, and when they break away Cat is laughing. Together they join hands and make their way back up the aisle, while everyone else readies for the reception.
It didn't take very long for Cat and Robbie to figure out that the other was the person they were each meant to spend their lives with. He proposed to her on their first anniversary, and now six months after that...they're married. Robbie is still a crucial part of her management team, and they've already signed three artists to her new record label. In the spring, she'll be releasing her fifth studio album...which has been heavily inspired by the past eighteen months.
Even though his picture appeared on the cover of The Measure when they ran the article about Cat and Robbie, Beck has still been able to maintain some anonymity. They never published his name or his phone number, so he has been able to continue taking on new clients and assisting them. One thing that has changed, however, is his approach. Now his coaching is less about telling men what and what not to do, and more about helping them build the confidence they need to be successful in their own ways. He's learned that when it comes to the basic principles of love...well, there really aren't any that are considered to be 'standard'. Love looks different for everyone.
"Tori and Andre are going on a second date." Jade informs Beck as they take their seat at the wedding reception
"Oh really?" Beck smirks "That's good to hear."
He and Jade are still going strong, although they're taking things a bit slower than Cat and Robbie are. Despite the fact that both couples started dating around the same time, Beck and Jade have been a bit more...careful with their relationship. Both of them were skeptical about love at one point before they met, and they want to make sure that they do things right. They live together now, and seems thing to be continuing to head in the right direction.
"Thank you for helping him, by the way." Jade adds "It was starting to become painful to watch."
"I didn't do much." Beck assures her "Just...gave him the push that he needed."
Andre, as it turns out, had been harboring a major crush on Tori for...years. Jade started to notice the signs a few months prior, but Andre shut her down as soon as she brought it up to him. In the weeks that followed, it was clear to see that he had been lying, and she enlisted Beck's help. He and Andre spoke on the phone one evening, and then met up for lunch a few days later. He ended up confessing that Jade's instincts had been correct, but that he was afraid of messing up his friendship with Tori. He cherished that more than anything, and didn't want to lose it if she turned out not to feel the same way. In the end, he did ask her out though...and it seems like things went pretty well.
"Oh my gosh, hiiiii you guys!" Cat squeals as she approaches their table "Thank you so much for coming!"
"We wouldn't miss it." Jade smiles as she stands up to hug her "You look beautiful, by the way."
"Oh, thank you so much." Cat looks down at her dress "I feel like a princess."
"You are a princess." Robbie grins as he appears beside her "My princess."
"Aw..."
"Look at you, a married man." Beck chuckles as he shakes Robbies's hand "How does it feel?"
"Amazing." Robbie admits with a smile "I owe it all to you my friend."
"I can't take any credit." Beck informs him "This was all you."
"Maybe the actions were, but you're the one who gave me the confidence I needed to make the first move." Robbie reminds him "If we have any sons, the first one's middle name will be Beckett."
"We'll see about that." Cat laughs, and then returns to her conversation with Jade
"I appreciate the thought." Beck chuckles "But in all seriousness, man...I'm really happy for you, for both of you. Congratulations."
"Thank you, Beck." Robbie smiles "I hope that when the time comes, we'll be able to celebrate you and Jade someday too."
"Someday, yeah." Beck nods as he looks over to his girlfriend, still deep in conversation with Cat "Me too."
"Celebrities sure do know how to party, huh?" Jade smirks as they enter their apartment later that night
Or...early the next morning might be a better way of putting it. The DJ at the reception had finally stopped playing and packed things up around 1 am, and the guests started to depart not long after.
"They sure do." Beck agrees "Cat especially."
"I'm tired." She admits with a yawn as she leans into him and wraps her arms around his neck "We should go to bed."
"You just told me in the car that you were hungry..." Beck chuckles
"Fuck, I am hungry..." Jade sighs "Do we have any frozen pizzas?"
"Probably." Beck shrugs "We could also order one, if you want."
"Then we'd have to wait for it to get here." Jade groans, shuffling into the kitchen "I'll start the oven."
"Alright, you do that." Beck laughs
He bends down and picks up the pair of heels she had dropped as soon as they walked through the door. She had kicked them off after about an hour of dancing at the reception and hadn't even put them back on to walk to the Uber. He ended up carrying her on his back from the venue to the car, and then again from the car into the building.
Shoes in hand, Beck makes his way into the bedroom. He knows that once Jade starts the oven, she'll want to come and change out of her fancy clothes, so he'll have to act quickly if he wants his plan to play out the way he's been practicing in his head.
Quickly, he tosses Jade's shoes into her closet, not really caring if they end up in the right spot...just that they're out of the way. Then he jogs over to his dresser and opens the bottom drawer, fishing through his collection of socks for the right pair. He grabs a bright purple pair with hearts all over them that he never wears, given to him as a gag gift by his brother-in-law, and unrolls them, revealing a small velvet box hidden inside.
"Are you in the bedroom?" Jade calls out to him
"Yup!" Beck calls back "Just wanted to get into some more comfortable clothes."
"Amen to that." Jade chuckles as she enters the bedroom as well, pulling her hair out of the updo it had been pinned into "Why are you on the floor...?"
"Jade..." Beck stays kneeling but turns to face her, revealing the box in his hands "I've known from the moment I met you that you were going to be spec-"
"Oh my god..." Jade cuts him off with a gasp "Beck..."
"Shh..." He smiles, reaching out for her hand "It's okay, c'mere."
Jade doesn't say anything, but nods as she silently moves across the room to be closer to him.
"Like I was saying..." He continues "The night that we met, I knew you were going to be special to me...I just had no idea how special. But I know now that you are without a doubt the most special, most important person in my life...and you always will be. I want to spend the rest of my life reminding you of that. Will you marry me?"
"Of course I will, you idiot." Jade laughs as she keels down in front of him, cupping his face in her hands
"Really?"
"Really." She grins "I love you."
"I love you too." He leans forward and kisses her
When they break away he opens the box and fumbles to get the ring out of it, almost dropping it on the floor before sliding it onto her finger. It's simple, but elegant. He knew she wouldn't want anything overly flashy, and it seems to be the perfect fit.
"It's beautiful." She smiles "I love it."
"Good." He grins "A beautiful ring for a beautiful lady."
"That wasn't cheesy at all." Jade laughs "Oh my god, I have to call my mom."
"Wait." Beck grabs her hand before she can stand up "It's two in the morning, wait until tomorrow."
"It is tomorrow."
"You know what I meant." Beck chuckles "I'm really just trying to keep you here with me because I think we should celebrate."
He looks over to the bed and then back at his new fiancé, and she knows instantly what he's implying.
"I'm down to celebrate." Jade smirks, grabbing Beck's shirt and pulling him towards the bed "Just don't let me forget there's pizza in the oven."
They collapse onto the bed on top of one another, and kissing and pulling at each other's clothes. The sex feels different than all of the other times they've been together, even though they've been doing it for over a year at this point. They're just both so happy to be loved by the other, to have found their person, and to know that they're lucky enough to get to spend the rest of their lives together.
They're so happy, in fact, that they don't even care that they let the pizza burn.
That's the end of this one! Thank you so much to everyone who read, I think this one was a lot different than any of the other stories I've written. It was nice to give something new a try! Stay safe out there, everyone!
