This Is My Love

"It's time to cute the cake!" The Master of Ceremonies announced to us all. Pete and I stood in the middle of the reception hall as the baker wheeled out a gorgeous three tier cake with colorful Hawaiian flowers made of frosting spiraling down the tiers over the white frosting of the cake. It was so pretty, I felt bad that it was going to he eaten.
"It's amazing," I whispered in awe as I examined the cake. Everyone surrounded us to watch and talked amongst themselves about how pretty the cake was as Pete held my hand beside me.
"Here you are," the baker smiled to us as he held the handle of a large knife out to Pete and I. Pete and I used the hands that we were already using to hold onto each other to reach out and grab the knife together. I placed my hand on the handle and Pete placed his over mine. We smiled at each other before looking back at the cake and focusing on cutting it. We slowly placed the blade over the bottom tier before slowly pushing it down into the soft cake. We pulled it back out and moved the bottom of the blade a bit diagonally before pushing it back in to form a perfect little triangular piece of cake. We pulled the piece out onto the small plate that was waiting for us and placed the knife down. Pete picked the plate up and grabbed a piece of the piece of cake we had cut before offering the plate to me for me to do the same. I grabbed the small chunk of cake and held it up in preparation to feed it to Pete. When I looked at Pete he had the piece of cake a few inches from my mouth and held a mischievous smile on his face. I raised my eyebrows at him and shook my head.
"Oh, you better not," I warned. His smiled grew larger. "Peter Gene Hernandez, if you-" but before I knew it, the cake was being shoved directly into my nose. I gasped and wrinkled my nose as everyone around us burst out into laughter. I took my free hand and wiped some of the cake off of my face and opened my eyes to find Pete smiling and licking cake off of his fingers. I flicked my wrist to get the cake that I took off of my face from my hand and nodded my head.
"Alright, I see how it's going to be," I stated as I placed my index finger into my mouth to suck off what little cake didn't fly off of my hand when I tried to flick it off earlier. Pete raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side.
"Do you?" He asked playfully. I sighed and nodded my head.
"Yep, it's going to be like... This!" And here I didn't just shove the cake into his face, I flung it at it. It hit him square between the eyes and everyone, including me, began to laugh loud and hard, as I then pushed my hand into the cake on his face and spread it all around. I wiped it down his cheek and across his chin, then scooped some up with my index finger and touched it to his nose. Pete was smiling, clearly amused, as I examined my handy work.
"Perfect," I stated appreciatively. Pete laughed.
"Now you're really gonna get it!" He exclaimed before taking a step towards me and grabbing me, with his wrists so as not to get cake on my dress, by my hips and pulling me into him. I squealed as he rubbed his face all over mine and, when I turned my head to try to escape, all over the side of my neck.
"You animal!" I exclaimed through a fit of giggled once he finally stopped and stepped back. By this time, everyone was snapping picture after picture and video taping the whole thing, laughing and cooing at our antics. Pete chuckled and leaned in before placing a kiss on my lips before running his tongue over his bottom lip and moaning appreciatively.
"Your kiss is sweeter than usual today, babe," he whispered through a playful smile. I giggled before examining his face and biting my lip.
"And you look down right delectable," I joked before giving him a wink and causing everyone to laugh. Pete chuckled and kissed me on the lips one more time before kissing each of my cheeks, and then my nose, before licking his lips.
"Yummy."

"Everybody clear the dance floor for the couple's first dance as husband and wife," the MC announced into his microphone. Pete stood up from his seat at our table and extended his hand out to me with a charming smile. I placed my hand in his and stood up with him before letting him lead me onto the dance floor. Everyone took their seats to watch, making me feel a little nervous, which was odd, since I never got stage fright in my life, even when performing in front of hundreds of people, but today I seemed to be getting nervous from being the center of attention a lot. I was just glad Pete was with me. He had a way of putting me at ease just with his presence alone.
Once we got to the center of the dance floor, Pete pulled me into his arms. He wrapped an arm around my waist and held my hand in his. I placed my other hand on his shoulder and took in a steadying breath.
"Ready, Mrs. Hernandez?" He asked me. I smiled and nodded my head. He had been calling me by my new married name ever since we were pronounced husband and wife, and I loved it. I loved hearing it, and I loved the joy in his voice, smile and eyes every time he said it.
I didn't know what song we would be dancing to, since Pete picked it, until the DJ began playing "A Wonderful World" by Louie Armstrong. Pete began to lead me in a slow dance, twirling me once in a while and giving me sweet kisses on my lips. I wasn't sure why he picked that song, for it wasn't like it held any sentimental value or anything, but the words and tempo were still perfect for this moment. I glanced over to the side to see that everyone had soft smiles on their lips as they watched us. I smiled shyly and looked back into Pete's eyes as we swayed around the dance floor. We did this for about a minute, and then the music stopped. I furrowed my eyebrows at Pete.
"What happened to the music?" I asked. He just gave me his secretive smile before letting me go and taking a couple steps back before turning towards the DJ.
"Hit it!" He hollered. Suddenly, Rick James' "Give It To Me Baby" started playing. I watched as Pete started dancing in his Rick James style and all the guests started busting out in laughter. I couldn't contain my own giggles as Pete danced to the music. He spun around in a circle and jumped up to land in a split before popping back up and clapping his hands once in time with the music.
"Come on, baby, dance with your husband," he demanded playfully as he moonwalked away from me while also using his index fingers to gesture for me to join him.
"Oh no," I laughed and shook my head, not being able to hide my amusement at my dancing husband.
"Oh yes! Give it to me, baby," he sang as he danced towards me. He grabbed my hand and urged me to dance with him. I rolled my eyes, knowing he wouldn't give up until I made a fool of myself, before busting out my own dancing skills. He released my hand so I could have a complete range of motion and continued to dance in front of me. I threw my hands in the air and swayed my hips and laughed freely as I danced with my ridiculously talented husband.
"Rick James with me," he hollered over the music, referring to the move we did together so many times when we were teenagers. I groaned but then nodded my head in consent. We both turned to face the guests, standing side by side. I gathered the skirt of my dress in my hands as we waited for the next chance to start. We both looked at each other, a ridiculous grin on Pete's face and a playful scowl on mine, before moonwalking backwards, sliding side to side, jumping up to land with our legs criss cross and then turning so that our legs were apart again. We clapped once before getting to the hard part, a split. I hadn't done it in awhile, but my muscles didn't fail me. I pulled the skirt of my dress above my knees and jumped up. I landed it perfectly and popped back up on my feet. By the time it was over I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe. I was amazed I could still do a split without pulling something, and was so glad that I switched from my heels to flats before the reception.
As soon as we finished our little Rick James dance, everyone stood up and cheered. Pete took my hand and encouraged me to bow with him, which I did with another roll of my eyes and continuous laughter before waving off the cheering.
"I can't believe you got me to do that," I stated and slapped Pete on the chest after the music ended. He laughed and took my hand.
"My beautiful, talented wife, everyone!" He exclaimed to our guests, at which point everyone cheered again. I smiled shyly.
"And my butt head of a husband," I joked, making everyone laugh. "Alright, alright, enough of humiliating the bride. It's your guys' turn. Get out here and show us what you got," I hollered to the guests. Everyone clapped and grabbed the person beside them to drag onto the dance floor as upbeat music started playing. The first people on the floor was Pete's band and their special ladies, all of them dancing excitedly, but slowly almost everyone else joined. In the midst of all the dancing and laughing people, Pete pulled me into his arms and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
"You've still got it, baby," he whispered through a fond smile. I giggled.
"Yeah, well, if anyone video taped that I'm going to kick your butt," I joked, because really, I'd be sad if it wasn't video taped. That certainly was a first dance as husband and wife fit for Pete and I's relationship, and you had to love him for setting it up. It definitely was something to remember.

"Excuse me, Ano?"
I looked over from my conversation with Presley and Tahitti to see who I recognized as Pete's 18 year old cousin standing in front of me on the other side of the table. I smiled up at her.
"Hey, what's up?" I asked.
"Well, my little brother over there," she motioned to a boy, probably about nine years old, sitting at a table. He was watching us intently, but when he saw me look at him, he quickly looked away. "He's a big fan of your's, well, we both are, but he really likes you, and he's been talking about meeting you since we received the wedding invitation, but he's shy, so he wanted me to ask if it would be any trouble if he came over to talk to you." Pete's cousin fidgeted with her bracelet as she spoke. I smiled graciously and nodded my head.
"Of course he can. I'd love to meet him," I informed her. She smiled happily.
"Thank you," she gushed gratefully before turning and waving at her brother. I stood up and walked around the table as he made his way over. Once he got to us, his sister urged him in front of her and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"This is Brenton," she informed me. Brenton smiled shyly at me. I bent down a little so I was at eye level with him and extended my hand.
"Hello, Brenton. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ano," I stated. He smiled brightly and placed his hand in mine. I shook it gently before releasing it.
"I really like your music. And you and Pete are great dancers," he said. I laughed at the sweet comment.
"Why, thank you. That's sweet of you."
His sister patted his back and smiled at me.
"Thanks, Ano. Sorry to bother you," she stated. I chuckled.
"It was no bother, silly. I love meeting my fans. Especially the handsome ones," I whispered the last sentence to Brenton, and he smiled joyfully. His sister gave me one last smile before going to lead Brenton away, but Brenton protested.
"But wait, I wanted to dance with her," he stated. His sister glared down at him and he pouted.
"So much for being shy," I joked.
"I'm sorry about that," she looked down to Brenton, "we bugged her enough. It's her wedding day."
"Don't worry about it. Besides, we're family now," I waved her off and bent back down to Brenton's level. "You want to dance with me?" I asked. He nodded his head enthusiastically. "Well, I'd be honored! As long as my husband doesn't mind." I gestured with my head towards Pete, who was watching us from his seat at the table. Brenton looked up at him with expectant eyes.
"Just don't try anything funny," Pete joked while giving him a wink. Brenton laughed and shook his head.
"I won't, Pete!" He promised. I giggled and held my hand out to him.
"Well then, let us dance," I spoke playfully before letting him lead me to the dance floor.
Towards the end of my dance with Pete's charming little cousin, Phil walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"May I cut in?" He asked. Brenton nodded his head and stepped back from me. I smiled down to him and extended my hand for a hand shake.
"It was nice meeting you, Brenton. Thank you for the lovely dance."
He smiled at me and passed up my handshake to wrap his arms around my torso in a hug before quickly scampering off to his table to join his smiling mom and older sister.
I placed my one hand in Phil's and placed the other on his shoulder as he placed his on my lower back. We began to move around our little area on the dance floor, and as we danced we talked.
"You're really great with kids," he spoke gently. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders.
"Well thanks."
"Are you and Pete planning on having any yourselves?" He asked. I almost stopped in my tracks at the question. I'd never been asked that question by anyone other than a rude paparazzi, and I treated those like white noise. Other than that, I never had put much thought into it, and Pete and I never had a conversation about us having them. I knew Pete wanted kids, and so did I, but when? How many? I wasn't sure.
"We never exactly had that conversation," I replied after thinking about it briefly.
"Oh... Well, do you want kids?" He asked. I shrugged my shoulders and cocked my head from side to side like I was weighing something out in my mind.
"Yeah, I mean, we both always wanted kids, and I'm sure we'll have them, we just never had the talk about having them in our relationship."
"Really?" He asked. I furrowed my eyebrows at his surprised expression but nodded my head. "So Pete never brought it up?"
"No... Why do you seem so surprised?" I asked. He chuckled.
"I'm sorry, it's nothing bad, it's just that he always talked about how he wanted to marry you and how he wanted you to have his kids, how he was determined to have a life with you."
I raised my eyebrows in surprise, though I wasn't sure why I was surprised. I guess deep down I knew all of this, but I wasn't so arrogant to actually assume he felt that way, or that he talked about marrying me before he actually decided to propose.
"He loves you a lot, Ano. But I guess you already knew that," he said through a smile. I smiled as well and glanced over my shoulder at him as he sat at the table and talked animatedly to Eric.
"Yeah," I looked back at Phil, "but it's nice to hear someone else say it, I guess."

As the reception neared it's end, Pete and I prepared to take our leave. We stood by the doors of the big reception hall with the closest of our family members.
"Have a good honeymoon, honey dew," my Dad whispered while he hugged me tight. I squeezed my eyes shut and savored the comfort of my Dad's hug. I missed him. I hadn't seen him in so long, and here I was about to leave for my new life with my new husband and new name. No longer was I to share the last name of my Dad and, God rest her soul, my mom, and there was a sort of bitter sweet sadness about it. The Daddy's girl in me wanted to hang on to it, and the part of me that was Pete's girl rejoiced.
"I'll miss you, Dad," I spoke in a cracked voice. My Dad pulled away from the hug to examine me, obviously hearing the emotion in my voice.
"Now, don't cry, little girl. It's time for happiness," he implored. I sniffled a little and gave a small smile.
"I know, it just really hit home how much I've hated spending so much time away from everyone, especially you... Especially with Mom gone."
"Oh, now, come on. Your old man will be fine. Besides, it's my job to worry about you," he spoke softly but adamantly. "Don't you worry about me, go live your life." He brought his index finger under my chin and smiled. "Keep your chin up, girl."
I threw my arms around my Dad again in one last hug. "I'm flying you out to L.A. sometime, and I'm not going to here any buts about it," I whispered before pulling back from the hug. He smiled and nodded his head, then glanced over my shoulder. I turned around to see Pete standing behind me. He gave me a smile then looked back to my Dad. I stepped back from my Dad so Pete could talk to him.
"Mr. Aniani," he greeted him and extended his hand. My Dad held his index finger up and wiggled it back and forth.
"You call me Dad now, son," he corrected him before grabbing his hand and, instead of shaking it, pulled him in for a hug. I smiled fondly at my Dad and mouthed a "thank you" for showing Pete he was part of the family as he looked at me from over Pete's shoulder. He gave me a thumbs up behind Pete's back before giving it a pat. "You take care of our Ano," he whispered and released Pete from the hug. Pete nodded his head and smiled.
"I can most definitely promise you that, Mr.- uhm, Dad," he corrected himself and smiled sheepishly. My Dad gave a content nod of his head before giving Pete a manly pat on the shoulder.
"Peter! Ano!" We both turned to see Pete's Mom in the doorway of the reception hall, which, unbeknownst to us as we talked with my Dad, was now emptying out almost completely. "You've got to come see this." She held the door open for us.
Pete and I looked at each other with confused expressions, then both shrugged our shoulders at the same time. I wondered what was going on outside that had everyone so interested. Tom Cruise was probably on vacation here and walking his dog or something and stealing all the attention. I smiled secretly at the silly thought. Pete grabbed my hand and pulled me through the doors and into the sea of our guests that crowded the front of the building, all facing the street and talking amongst themselves. Pete's Mom gestured for us to follow her, and everyone looked over and smiled at us as we made our way through the crowd and to the front.
"Look at this! I've never seen anything like it!" Pete's Mom exclaimed as she pointed across the street. To my amazement, there was a group of probably fifty fans and ten paparazzi standing in a group across the street. Many of them held up signs saying things like "congratulations Marley Medley and Bruno Mars" and "Mr. And Mrs. Mars Forever", while one apparently jealous Bruno Mars fan even held a sign saying "Marry me instead, Bruno!"
Pete and I laughed and waved at the fans, who cheered wildly. I shook my head in disbelief.
"This is crazy," I whispered as I continued to wave. I didn't know if and/or how the date of our wedding leaked, or if someone at the reception spilled the beans of our location, but it was insane how many fans we had that were willing to do this just in Hawaii. It was such a surreal feeling to know how much support we had, beside the jealous tweens. After a little bit of waving, Pete and I turned and hugged our parents and Pete's siblings one last time, waved to the rest of our guests and then turned and waved to the fans across the street one last time before hopping into the limo parked at the curb that had brought us here to set off for the airport. Decorated with a "just married" sign and little ribbons and beads hanging off the bumper, the limo also had "Peter and Ano Hernandez" written on the back window with window paint. Pete and I waved out the window as we pulled away. Once we were off, I turned to Pete, flew into his arms and devoured his mouth in a kiss. Pete moaned into my mouth as our tongues danced together and flexed his fingers restlessly against my thigh.
"Wow..." He breathed, his eyes still closed, once I broke away. I giggled and placed a kiss on his jawline before settling into his lap and nuzzling the base of his neck. He sucked in a deep breath and opened his eyes to gaze down at me. "I still can't believe it, you're finally my wife," Pete whispered down to me in a disbelieving tone. I smiled against his neck and shook my head in my own disbelief.
"I know... It feels amazing. Ano Hernandez... I love it." I sighed. Pete chuckled and hugged me closer. After a minute, I realized something. I leaned back from the comfort of his neck and looked up to him with knitted eyebrows.
"By the way, you still haven't told me where we were going for our honeymoon," I reminded him. He gave me his hallmark secretive smile and wink.
"It's a surprise," he replied. I huffed petulantly.
"Can't I know now? I'll find out eventually anyway," I tried, but he lifted his chin and shook his head.
"Nope," he popped the p in the word and smiled defiantly, clearly enjoying himself. I rolled my eyes but knew by now that when his mind was made up to surprise me, he was going to make sure he surprised me, and no matter how much I huffed and puffed and rolled my eyes, I knew it was one of the things I loved about him, even if I wouldn't admit it to him. I nuzzled back under his jaw and sighed through a content smile, enjoying the musky Pete smell that I inhaled with each breath through my nose.
"I love you, Mr. Hernandez," I whispered happily and placed a kiss on the soft skin of his neck. He made a content sound that rumbled deep in his throat and squeezed me tight against him.
"I love you too, Mrs. Hernandez... So much."