-Sean-
I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to take a break from playing hockey in my life. Granted, I’m not really taking a break since I’m in the all-star game. But it’s still a break none the less. We found out yesterday that I’m on the same team and line as Danny and Giroux, which is kinda funny since we all lived together at one point. Mac is also on our team, where as Hartsy, Kimmo and Jake are on the other team.

Charlie and I didn’t tell many people about our plan to get married, since we knew they would all want to be there. In addition to my parents and Drew, we invited Brayden and Janine, Danny and G and Amanda. It’s more than we originally planned to have, but we decided it was for the best.

I’m beyond nervous right now, and I’m pretty sure my all-star teammates can tell. Danny and G have both been deflecting any suspicion from me but they’ve both given me stern looks telling me that I have to knock it off. But I mean, how can I not be nervous? Tomorrow afternoon, I’m going to be standing in a court room putting a ring on Charlie’s finger. I’m finally going to be able to call her my wife. You’d be acting like I am too.

Eventually, it’s time to head to our rooms for the night and I practically bolt upstairs to the room I’m sharing with Danny.

“You seriously need to calm down.” He says, following me into the room and closing the door.
“I can’t help it.” I smile. “The sooner I get to sleep, the sooner I’ll wake up in the morning. And the sooner I can finally marry the woman of my dreams.”
He laughs and shakes his head.
“You’re crazy. We still have to get through practice tomorrow morning before you can do that. So just relax a little.”
My smile falls and I groan. I forgot about practice tomorrow morning.
“I can’t wait that long!” I exclaim.

The door opens and G comes in.
“Man, you’ve really got it bad.” He laughs.
“You don’t understand. In less than twenty four hours, I’m going to be married. To Charlie. Finally. How am I supposed to sit still?”
“Give her a call.” Danny suggests. “That’s what I did the night before my wedding. It calmed both of us down enough to get through the next few hours.”
I sigh and agree. Danny heads over to G’s room to give me some privacy and I dial the familiar number.

“I was just thinking about you.” Charlie says, instead of a greeting.
“I’m always thinking about you.” I admit. She laughs.
“You’re such a charmer, Mr. Couturier.”
“Only for you, Mrs. Couturier.” My heart skips at the sound of calling her that.
“I love the sound of that.” She hums. I can feel her smile through the phone. It feels like someone is forcing electricity through my body.
“I rented a hotel suite for us for tomorrow night.” I say. “So we can properly consummate our marriage without disturbing anyone.” She laughs.
“That sounds perfect.”

We’re both silent for a minute before she finally speaks up.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to sit still tomorrow morning. Especially watching you practice.” She admits.
“I’m not going to be able to focus at practice at all. Especially now that I know you’re going to be there.”
“Sneak out and come to my hotel room and snuggle with me.” She demands.
“You know I can’t, baby.” I laugh. “But I promise that whenever I’m home, I will snuggle with you every night for the rest of our lives.”
She sighs.
“Stop being so fucking romantic and perfect. It makes it hard for me to be without you right now.” Her voice is soft, and it makes me smile. “I’m laying down for the night. Stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep?”
“Yeah. I gotta get ready and tell Danny he can come back in the room though.” I respond.
“Okay. Let me talk to him while you do.”

I open the door and find Danny and a bunch of the guys hanging out in the hallway.
“Charlie wants to talk to you.” I say, handing over my phone.
“Ah, my favorite girl. Hello ma chérie.” He says, answering the phone.

I hear him laugh as I head back into our room to change. I quickly throw on a pair of workout shorts and my US Air Force shirt and am back in the hallway in a matter of minutes. By now, Danny has the phone of speaker and she’s talking to all ten of the guys hanging around. They’re all laughing and I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. She’s so perfect, everyone loves her.

“Alright, chérie. I’m pretty sure your man is going to kill me if I don’t give him the phone back.” Danny laughs. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay.” She chuckles. “Bye, Danny. See you tomorrow.”

He hands me my phone and I give him a nod, saying it’s okay for him to come back in whenever he wants. I bid the other guys goodnight and disappear into my room. I crawl into bed and continue my conversation with Charlie as best as I can, until I know she falls asleep. Then, I hang up and roll over, slipping into sleep myself.
-----------------
The next morning, it’s incredibly difficult for me to sit still. Danny and G both have to talk to me a couple of times during practice, just to get me to settle down, but I don’t even care. Today is the day.

As soon as practice is called for the day, I speed to the locker room to get ready. The three of us brought the clothes we’re going to wear for the ceremony with us, so we can go right there. As I’m pulling my pants on, my phone vibrates letting me know I’ve got a text message.

Janine: We’re still at the hotel, but we’re just about ready to leave.
Sean: I just finished getting dressed, but G and Dan are taking for fucking ever.

“Hurry the fuck up!” I groan at my two line mates.
“Hold your damn horses.” G scolds. “Amanda said they haven’t even left the hotel yet.”
“Seriously, Sean. Take a breath.” Danny adds.
Our conversation has sparked an interest in our other team mates, but I ignore them and pace the floor.
“Oh my God, you need to sit the fuck down.” G says, clearly annoyed. But he’s got a smile, so I know he’s not too upset.
“Sorry.” I mumble, sitting at my stall.

It feels like it takes them an hour to get ready, even though I know it’s only been like ten minutes. Finally, they’re both ready and G relays Amanda’s message that the girls are on their way too. The entire drive to the local courthouse my knee is bouncing and I can’t sit still. I just want to get there already!

We pull up and I’m out of the car before Danny even turns it off. I hear him mutter something about training a dog, and G laughs. But I ignore them. I spot my mom and dad standing outside, and hurry over to them. I think my mom was a little disappointed when I told her we weren’t planning a huge wedding ceremony. But I know she’s just happy that I’m happy.

“Hey, mom.” I kiss her cheek.
“Hello mon fils.” She says, giving me a hug.
“Are you ready?” My dad asks. I hear Danny snort behind me and give him a glare as he and G both hug my mom and shake my dad’s hand.
“He hasn’t been able to sit still since last night.” Danny says, shoving my shoulder.
“I thought we were going to have to put him on a leash.” G adds.
“I can’t believe my baby boy is getting married.” My mom says, starting to cry.

I shake my head and smile, opening the door for my entourage to enter. As soon as I enter the lobby, my eyes go directly to the beautiful woman standing by the elevator doors. As soon as I see her, she takes my breath away. She’s absolutely gorgeous. Her light brown hair cascades softly down her back. Her strong shoulders give way to strong arms. Her torso is covered with a tight-fitting white lacy tank top, which is tucked into a floor-length navy blue skirt. I’m stunned not only into silence, but completely unable to move. She’s everything I’ve ever fantasized about and more.

“Okay, Romeo.” Danny says, breaking my trance. “You can’t marry Charlie if you don’t actually go over there.”
“Gorgeous.” I whisper, causing tears to form in my mom’s eyes.
“She’s stunning, Couts.” My captain agrees.
“I’m the luckiest mother fucker in the world.” I laugh.
My dad claps a hand on my shoulder, getting Charlie and the rest of our group’s attention. Charlie smiles at me, and my whole world tilts to the side.

“You ready?” She asks as I walk over to her.
“Absolutely.” I respond, giving her a light kiss.
“Let’s get married!”

Fortunately our group is small enough that we all fit into the elevator. As the ten of us pile through the doors, I make sure that Charlie is pressed against me. I take her small hand in mine and rub small circles with my thumb. We reach our floor and make our way to the designated room we’ve been told to go to.

Inside the room, we find a checklist set out for us. Janine picks it up and reads it out loud for us.

“Rings? Seriously? Who forgets the rings?”
I look at Brayden and he nods his head.
“Both partners’ birth certificates?”
Charlie and I both nod.
“Proof of citizenship?”
We nod again. I had to make sure I had both my American and Canadian citizenship documentation, since I have both. Charlie simply brought her Air Force identification.
“Legal request for name change?”
Charlie nods her head and my heart soars. I almost lost it when I found her the other day filling out the paperwork. She wrote ‘Charlie Couturier’ on it, and it made me the happiest person in the world.
“Drivers licenses?”
We nod.

“Looks like we’re all set.” Janine smiles.

The rest of our group all takes seats in the chairs in the front of the room, and Charlie and I stand next to the table, waiting for the judge to come in. When he finally does, my heart starts racing and my palms get sweaty. This is finally it.

“Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Judge Matthews. This is the Couturier marriage?”
Charlie and I smile at each other before answering.
“Yes, Sir.” Charlie says.
Judge Matthews smiles.
“May I please see your documentation?”

Janine hands me the folder with everything in it, and I hand it to the judge. He takes a couple minutes, checking over every little thing.

“Well, you’re by far the most prepared couple I’ve seen today.” He laughs. We smile. “Quite interesting, I’ve never had a dual citizenship and a US Military member in the same day before, let alone in the same marriage. Thank you for your service-” He says to Charlie, “And for your sacrifice.” He says to me.

“Thank you.” Charlie says quietly. If only he knew just how much the two of us have sacrificed. Charlie specifically.

“Well, if that’s everything, I’d say we can go ahead and move on with the proceedings. Do you have someone to ceremonially give you away?” He asks.

“My brother.” Charlie nods and Drew joins us, putting his arm around her.
“Fantastic-”

What he’s about to say next gets interrupted by the slam of the door to the room, shocking every one of us.

“There’s no way in hell I’m letting this marriage happen!” The familiar voice entering the room yells.

Notes

Cliffhanger. Whoops.