9 Mine is Yours

Getting back in the car, I notice my cellphone blinking from the center console. When I pick it up, it shows that I have 6 missed calls from the same person.

“Holy shit,” I turn to show my best friend as he starts the car. “Did she call you? Maybe, she IS dying.”

He pulls his phone from his back pocket and hands it to me to look at. Three missed calls shows on his screen as well.

“You didn’t answer either?” I ask him as I turn my phone off and he pulls away from the curb.

He shrugs, but doesn’t take his eyes off the road, “My phone was on silent. I’ll call her back later.”

The ride back to his place takes a good 40 minutes, but we fill the time with easy conversation. Stuff like; he’s never been to the part of England I’m from. He offers to come help me look for a place to stay in Los Angeles. We talk about having to help paint the bar. Nothing too heavy, just friendly conversation that always comes so natural for Topher and me.

“You think they’ll get pissed if I decide to use my Stitch voice the entire time we record for the video game?” he asks me; laughing as we make our way up to his condo door.

“As in Lilo and Stitch?” I ask shifting the pizza box from one hand to the other.

He starts to walk backwards effortlessly down his hallway so he can look at me as we talk, “Yea, I have it mastered.”

“Oh please do say something,” I almost beg.

And, he does. He starts reciting his most famous lines from ‘Save the Day’ in the little blue creature’s voice. I can’t help the hysterics that follow.

By the time he pushes open his front door, we’re both almost on the floor going mad.

“I’m glad you’re in such a great fucking mood!” shouts the last voice in the world that I want to hear. “Now can someone please fucking explain this to me!?”

“Shit,” Topher whispers next to me, jokes forgotten.

Looking up, I see Rebecca Rattan holding our marriage license in her fisted hand, “Someone, please, fucking tell me this is some kind of goddamn joke!” He face is red with rage and it looks like she’s been crying. Mascara has made two watery trails down her cheeks, “I’ve been trying to call both of you since I got home from my interview today and nobody is fucking answering me!” She throws the papers on the ground and takes a few threatening steps toward us.

Neither Topher nor I have moved from the spot we stopped in right inside the doorway.

“Answer me!” she screams and throws her fist down by her sides.

I look over to Topher to see him trying to hold back a smile. He looks over at me, “Is that who you sent yours to?”

“Oh my God,” realization rains down on me like a thunderstorm. Turning back to Becca, I ask, “Where did you get that?”

“It was with my doorman when I got home this evening with a note saying ‘I win’,” her swollen eyes narrow at me.

This is when Topher can’t hold himself together anymore. His laughter comes out in loud spurts making me smile guiltily.

“I’m so sorry,” I tell her with a bit of humor in my voice. “I honestly didn’t know I sent that to you.”

She takes another intimidating step toward me, “You’re telling me this isn’t fake?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” I nod. “How did you get in?”

She waves her hand toward the door, “I don’t have to answer to you. This isn’t your house.”

I know we’ve been talking about divorce all day. And I know that we aren’t really staying together. But seeing how mad this is making her, it makes me wish (just a little) that we’re actually staying married. So, I push her to her limit.

“Actually, Princess,” my smile becomes vicious, “Topher’s my husband. His place is mine and vice versa. You’re the one out of your element here.”

“He’s not your husband!” she shouts as she stomps her feet. She reminds me of a large toddler throwing a hissy-fit.

Stepping around her, I place the pizza that I’ve been holding on the breakfast bar. Topher steps around her a little more timidly than I do. It looks like he’s afraid she’s going to hit him. And by the look in her eyes, I wouldn’t be surprised.

“This paper would tell you otherwise,” I pick up the paper that had been thrown to the floor and set it on the counter on top of its mate.

“This has to be some kind of sick joke,” she hisses and rubs under her eyes, smudging the watery make-up across her cheeks.

Topher shakes his head as he comes to stand next to me, “It’s not a joke. We got married last night and I would appreciate if you would stop mocking our love.”

Oh good, he’s in on it too.

“You’re not a faggot, Christopher!” she yells.

Now, I’m pissed. Even though this isn’t real, she doesn’t need to degrade anyone; especially my best friend. If he were gay, she has no right to call him that.

Taking a step forward, I can feel my body tense. My voice comes out as a warning when I feel Topher’s hands on my arms, “Don’t call him that.”

“I’ll do what I want. He’s my boyfriend,” she challenges, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking an eyebrow.

“Hmm,” my voice is mocking now. “It’s funny you say that because I seem to recall him dumping you yesterday - the day before he and I got married, Princess.”

Her laugh comes out sarcastic, “I can’t believe this. This has to be some kind of joke. This cannot be real.”

“It’s real, Becks. You need to calm down,” Topher pulls me back beside him, but keeps an arm around my shoulder.

“Stop fucking touching him!” she screams as us, again looking like a small child.

Looking at her like she’s lost her damn mind, which she may have, I wrap an arm around his waist, “Touching is allowed when you’re married.”

“This has to be some kind of trick. Neither of you are gay,” she explains through gritted teeth. “You’re just doing this to piss me off.”

“You honestly think so highly of yourself that we would get married just for you?” I ask her disbelievingly.

“Well,” she throws her hands in the air before letting them rest on her hips, “you don’t have feelings for one another.”

“Says who?” I challenge pulling his body closer to mine.

She rolls her eyes before shaking her head, “He’s been dating me since before you came around. He’s loved me. He can’t love you.”

“I didn’t love you, Becks. I liked you a lot, but you know I didn’t love you. I told you that,” he sounds a little apologetic.  “I never hid that from you. I never told you that I loved you.”

“Whatever Christopher, you can’t fake feelings,” I’ll give her one thing, she doesn’t give up.

“Look Beck, I’m sorry, but I do love Day,” he tells her. “We got married early this morning.”

“Then get a divorce,” her eyes narrow again.

I sigh as I disconnect myself from my husband and walk to ‘our’ fridge to grab a bottle of water.

“We’re not getting a divorce,” I hear Toph say behind me. “He’s the best thing that’s ever happen to me.”

At his words, I turn around to see him staring at me with a lopsided smile; my water is instantly forgotten. He must really be a good actor because his whole ambiance is giving me nervous butterflies in my stomach. And that voice, the one Riel says he supposedly has, is nowhere in sight. She must have imagined it. This is definitely his acting – there’s no way he feels that way.

“How is he any better than me?” her eyes turn a little softer, but she still has a scowl on her face.

He doesn’t break eye with me contact as he answers her, “He’s thoughtful and caring. He always puts me first and cares about my opinions. He knows everything about me and still sticks around. He’s my best friend and now he’s my husband - which makes me the luckiest man in the world.”

Without knowing it, I make my way back to his side and wrap my arms around his neck, “Do you really mean that?”

“No,” Becca interrupts the moment with her shrill voice. “He’s an actor. He’ll make you believe what he wants to.”

Closing my eyes, I try to block her out and focus on him, “Is what you said true?”

“Every word,” he whispers as he inches forward and wraps his arms around my waist.

He gives me time to back away - I don’t. I’m not sure if I want to piss Rebecca off more or if I’m just caught up in his words, but I feel myself leaning into him.

“Hello!” she screams right before our lips touch. “You are not going to kiss in front of me! You are not going to kiss at all! This is crazy! YOU ARE NOT GAY!”

“What’s your deal, Rebecca?” I can hear the anger in Topher’s voice now as he speaks to her.

I’ve seen a lot of emotions on Toph, but anger is rare. He’s usually pretty passive.

He only takes one of his arms away from me as he turns his body to glare at her, “Don’t fucking tell me who you think I am. We broke up last night. I decided to marry someone who means the fucking world to me. You can either, accept that and leave, or you can continue to bitch and I’ll call security to make you leave.”

“I’m not leaving,” she crosses her arms over her chest. “And you’re getting a divorce and coming back to me.”

“You’ve gone insane if you think I would do that,” he shakes his head.

A smile makes its way to her face, “I’m not insane. I have leverage.”

“Do share,” I cut in.

“You either do as I say, or I’ll turn that marriage certificate over to the tabloids,” she looks smug and if I weren’t such a good person I would punch her.

“No, you won’t,” he challenges with a smirk of his own.

She hitches an eyebrow, “Try me.”

“Becks,” he ‘tries’, “first off, you don’t have it anymore. We have it since you threw it on the floor. Second, you’re not that evil of a person.”

“I wouldn’t put my money on that,” I tell him with a chuckle.

He runs a few fingers down my face gently before turning back to her, “Third, if you send that in, it’ll just show everyone I dumped you for a guy. That would ruin your reputation.”

Her jaw drops in realization, “You bastard. And Damon, you’re a twat.”

“Don’t insult me in my own home. Please leave,” I give her a mocking grin.

“This isn’t your home! He doesn’t love you!”

“Watch your mouth,” Toph threatens darkly. “He lives here just like I do. He’s my husband and I wouldn’t have married him if I didn’t love him.”

“You’re both liars,” she tells us.

I laugh at her, “You said yourself that you can’t fake emotions.”

“You guys don’t have emotions. It’s a game. It’s flat. There’s nothing between you,” she shoves a hand through the air in our direction.

“How’s this for nothing?” grabbing his shirt with both hands, I pull Toph towards me.

Without a second thought, I plant my lips to his. As soon as they touch, an unexpected shiver runs through my body that has nothing to do with the temperature. His arms wrap around my lower torso seconds later, pulling us closer than I thought possible. In the back on my mind, I can’t help but admire how well we fit together.

Topher nibbles on my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I give in – it should give Becca a good show. Or at least that’s the reason I’m trying to convince myself.

When his tongue touches mine, I can’t deny how my knees seem to melt. I can’t deny his sweet taste or his soft lips. I can’t deny that there is some kind of spark between us.

My hands move up his muscled chest to grip into his hair at the top of his neck – his silky, perfect, blonde hair. A low moan resonates through his throat as his hands creep under the back on my shirt to rub the skin on my lower back.

Somewhere in the distance I hear someone scream in frustration followed closely by a door slam, but I can’t get myself to pull away from my husband’s kiss.

Sometime later, it could be second or years, we pull away from each other panting. He looks down at me with something twinkling in his eyes. He doesn’t try to cover it up or hide it away, but I chose to ignore it and look elsewhere.

“Are you gonna pretend like you didn’t feel that too?” he asks me, a little winded, as I pull away.

Shaking my head, I try to clear the jumble he just put there and catch my breath, “I don’t know. I don’t know what just happened. One second we were trying to piss Rebecca off then the next we were kissing and she wasn’t even here!”

“Speak for yourself, Day. I wasn’t trying to piss her off. I meant everything I said,” he follows me from the living room into the kitchen as I take a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. “I may not remember why we got married or how it went down, but I’m happy it did.”

I put a hand to his strong chest as he tries to step closer, “I need a second. Everything’s going so quickly.”

“Look at me,” he requests as he puts both of his hands on top of my hand that’s on his chest. “Please.” Chancing it, I look into his ice-blue eyes as he takes another step toward me. This time I let him, “Day, I don’t know when it started or why, but I have feeling for you.” He takes the bottle that I’m holding onto and places it on the counter. His hands find both of mine as he pulls my body against his, “I know you feel it. Even if you didn’t before, I know you felt it in that kiss.”

My throat feels like it’s filled with sandpaper, “I’m confused.”

“Me too,” he admits with a laugh, but leans closer to me. “Maybe we can figure it out together.”

Before I know what’s happening, our lips smash together for the second time tonight. This time I don’t have Rebecca Rattan as an excuse. This time I let myself feel everything he’s throwing at me. This time I sink into him as everything else fades from my mind.