"Wedding Bell Blues"

"Here, let me give you a hand with that," Kate said, giggling. She had been watching Colin’s attempt to get the bow-tie tied for the past ten minutes and decided if she didn’t do something quick they would end up being late for the wedding.

She came up behind him as he stood standing in front of the long dressing mirror and quickly tied the tie into a perfect bow. Giving it one last satisfied tug, she patted Colin on the back and kissed his neck.

"There," she told him, standing back so she could see his full reflection in the mirror, "Dashing."

He smiled and turned to face her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Why Ms. Morrison, you do clean up pretty nicely yourself," he giggled, then leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers, letting his hands slowly slide down her body as he did so.

Kate let out a slight moan, as Colin continued to slowly kiss down her neck. Suddenly, she giggled and pushed him away. "Oh no you don’t, Mr. O’Brien," she told him, still giggling. "I know what you’re up to. You are not going to get outta going to this wedding....no matter how irresistible you try to be right now."

Colin grinned and let out an exaggerated sigh, hanging his head a bit as if in defeat. "Can’t blame a bloke for tryin’," he said, then patted her on the bum and slipped his jacket on.

Kate flashed him a smile, then slipped on her shoes and grabbed her matching handbag from the dresser top. "If you’re really good at the wedding, when we get home maybe I’ll let you finish what you tried to start a moment ago," she teased, taking him by the hand and leading him out of the bedroom.

"Oh, I plan on being good," he grinned, then pulled her close to him and whispered in her ear, "Real good." He started to nibble on her ear and she squealed and slapped his hand away, giggling.

"You are irrepressible, you know that, right?" she giggled again, leading him down the stairs and out of the house.

As they got into the car, Kate put a hand on Colin’s arm. "Just promise me you’ll at least pretend to have a good time. For me?"

Colin let out a sigh, nodded, then started the engine. "I promise," he told her, as he backed outta the drive and headed down the road towards the chapel.

Once they had arrived, Colin circled the lot several times, hoping to find a spot up front. The whole town had showed up for the wedding so the nearest open spot was quite a distance from the door.

"Want me to let you out in front of the door, luv?" he asked Kate, before settling for a parking spot near the back of the lot.

"And give you a chance to make your escape?" Kate joked. "No chance. A walk will do me good."

He chuckled, then parked the car, and walked around to help Kate out of the passenger side.

They quietly entered the chapel and took a seat on one of the back pews. Moments later, the music began to play and Toni walked hand in hand with her father down the isle towards the alter, where Richie was waiting for her.

"She’s beautiful," Kate whispered to Colin, as Toni walked by them.

"Not as beautiful as you, sweetheart," Colin whispered back, then gently took her hand in his.

Kate smiled and scooted her body closer to his and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. As they listened to the reverend’s words, Kate couldn’t help but get a bit teary eyed, as she imagined her and Colin standing at the alter in their place. Would that day ever come? She wondered. She smiled and looked up into Colin’s eyes, wondering if he was thinking the same thing.

Colin, sensing what she was thinking, began to tense up a bit. He hated weddings. Not his idea of fun...having to get all fancied up and sit all uncomfortable like for what seemed like an eternity, while all the women in the room looked all expectant at their blokes...as if they are hoping to be next in line at the alter. Well, he was in no rush that was for sure. And what was with his fuckin’ collar?! Seemed to be getting tighter as he sat there. He pulled at it a bit, trying to loosen it.

Kate realized something was wrong with Colin. He was starting to sweat and he began to pull at his collar at bit. She could feel his heart racing, too. "You okay?" she asked him quietly, as Toni and Richie were repeating their vows to one another. She was really starting to get worried about him. He was starting to look as if he might throw up or worse – pass out!

Colin gulped hard, tried to smile. "Umm...yeah," he managed to reply after a moment. "Just need a bit of air, I think. Really hot in here."

The wedding couldn’t have ended any sooner for Colin. As soon as Reverend Harris announced them as husband and wife and they made their way back down the isle, Colin was up and practically running out of the chapel himself – Kate quickly on his heels.

He stood off to the side for several moments, sucking in the cool evening air. Kate came up beside him and took his hand in hers. "Feeling better?" she asked, a hint of concern still in her voice.

Colin stood up, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag. "Much. Thanks," he replied.

"Alright then, Mr. O’Brien," she grinned, "let’s get over to the reception. I wanna make sure I have my turn at catchin’ the bouquet.

Colin took a deep breath, then quickly took another drag of his ciggie. "Ummm....maybe we could just skip the reception and..."

"There’s free beer there, I hear," Kate quickly cut him off, giggling.

Colin let out a sigh, realizing that there was no way he was going to manage getting Kate away from there without at least making an appearance at the reception. He put out his cigarette, gave her hand a squeeze. "Alright, but you owe me," he teased, as they walked off to the car and made their way towards the boarding house.