Vow

seven - travis

I was pretty sure Taylor was aware of the fact that I was nervous. This was unlike anything I'd ever done before and I was so out of my comfort zone, but I knew it would all be worth it for what I'd gain.

"Okay." Taylor gave a light nudge on my hand to remind me about my role. I looked up, noticing a slightly older man and woman coming towards us, looking intrigued. "Henry, Jasmine." Taylor inclined her head.

"Taylor dear, it's nice to see you at one of these again." The man - Henry - reached out to take Taylor's hand and lift it slightly. He bowed his head a little, put her hand down. "And you must be the husband who appeared out of nowhere."

"Travis." I shook his hand.

"Travis." Henry repeated. "This is my wife Jasmine."

"A pleasure." I murmured, taking her hand with a little nod of my head the way Taylor had taught me. She nodded back, seeming not to be that much of a talker.

"I must admit I am surprised there was no indication of your engagement...whatsoever." Henry said to Taylor, obviously prying for information.

"You know how precious privacy is." She said in a cold tone that told him to back off, and he held up a hand in mock surrender.

They quickly started talking business that I didn't understand, but I didn't need to understand. Taylor had told me to play the doting, obsessed husband, so that's what I did. I moved my hand from hers to the seductive curve of her waist, stroking gently. I kissed her shoulder, her hand, her neck, tucked a few strands of hair from her face.

Eventually, when Henry and Jasmine went off to find someone else, Taylor glanced over and gave me a small nod. I'd done well. It had worked.

So that's what I did for the rest of the night. Taylor introduced me to people, I made small talk, and then I fell silent while she got what she wanted from them. While she talked, I made it clear that our 'marriage' was real, that I was utterly obsessed with her, and it seemed to work.

After about two hours, everyone started taking seats and Taylor guided me to a table near the front marked 'reserved'. Obviously VIP or something, which I guess we were. She sat me down and then perched herself on my lap, putting an arm around my shoulders with her still unfinished champagne in her hand. Then she leaned in on the pretense of romantic whispers to speak into my ear.

"Now you're not going to like this part." Taylor breathed. "But you have to act like it's a normal thing."

"How bad can it be?" I murmured.

"You'll see." She kissed my neck. "Just keep a straight face okay?"

I inclined my head a little as Taylor crossed her legs, her lips travelling to my jaw and then my lips. She obviously wanted to put on a little show so I kissed her slowly, edging my tongue against her lips to make it look like we didn't have a care in the world making out in a room full of people. Taylor parted them for me, leaning closer and sinking her free hand into my hair. We made out slowly, lovingly, really making it believable. We only broke apart when everyone fell silent.

Looking around, I saw a sleek woman maybe twenty years older than us walk onto the little stage that had been cleared of the band and their equipment. She wore a shimmering white dress with a flowy boa around her shoulders. Obviously important.

"Welcome to all of you." She purred into the microphone. 

"Edith." Taylor whispered into my ear, putting a name to the woman.

"Thank you all for joining us tonight." Edith continued. "It's been lovely seeing you all again, really, we should hold these nights more often but unfortunately it takes time to gather." Everyone laughed for some reason I didn't understand, but I smiled along to make it look like I knew what was going on. "So." Edith smiled. "We have a few very good specimens up tonight so get your paddles ready."