Seasons (Ari AU)

Chapter 1

The material of my dress swirls around as Jeremy spins me across the dance floor before pulling me back against his chest, lovingly dipping me carefully before placing the sweetest kiss upon my lips. My hand gently touches his clean shaven jaw, relishing in the 'oohs and ahhs' of all the family and friends that sit watching us from their seats in the midst of the large hotel ballroom.

The dance floor is lined with our wedding party, all the people in our life that we're closest to. The men standing off to one side, making everyone laugh as they fake gagging and hiding their faces at the public display of affection while the bridesmaids are cheering us on further.

Our love had been a whirlwind romance from the start. I'd accompanied a friend from work, Shauna, to a Halloween party that had been held by the local fire station. Within the first ten minutes of entering the fully reserved bar I was greeted by a handsome man with jet black hair and deep brown eyes. He thought he'd win points by telling me the number of saves he'd had in the last month, earning him a scoff and an eye roll as Shauna informs him that I'm a nurse.

"How have I not encountered you before now?" he asks, smugly.

"Probably because you're not a female giving birth," Shauna's brother, Ari chimed in, giving me a kiss to my cheek in greeting. "How ya doing, Holland?"

I smirk, looking over at his friend who continues to linger with his eyes on me. "I'd say pretty well," I answer my friend.

Jeremy drove me home that night, already having decided he wanted to make sure he was sober enough to not make a complete idiot out of himself by vomiting on my heels. He certainly won points for that effort.

We went on our first date the following day just to become exclusive within two weeks. A couple months later, on New Years Eve he was down on one knee right in the midst of a huge party at Shauna's home swearing that I'd make him the happiest man in the world if I would just become his wife. How can anyone say no to something like that?

As if our romance hadn't been cliché enough, we chose to have our ceremony on Valentine's Day. Jeremy insisted he couldn't wait much longer to make me his so that we could start our lives together, completely as one.

We take our seats at the 'Sweethearts Table' that is adorned with deep red roses. A waitress walks over with two champagne flutes as several others flit around the room to prepare everyone for the toasts.

My best friend, Ginny, steps up to the microphone first. She looks absolutely beautiful in the dress that she chose. With how quickly we approached our wedding it just made sense to let the bridesmaids choose their own dress as long as it fit the color scheme, and in this instance, it wasn't difficult since the only parameters they had was black and long.

"I'm sure that I am not alone in my envy over the love the two of you have for one another. The way Jeremy looks at you," she pauses, her hand resting over her heart as she closes her eyes slowly, "I wish I could find that kind of love. But, instead I only get that look from my dog when I come home with takeout." Everyone chuckles, causing her to toss us a wink as we join in the laughter. "To quote our favorite television show, 'he is her lobster.'"

This time I'm the one 'awwing' over the sentiment and dabbing at the small number of tears coming from my eyes. Jeremy's hand rests over my thigh giving it a small squeeze before he leans over to kiss me again.

"I'm not so sure I can follow that," Ari jokes as he takes the microphone from Ginny's hand. "But, if you are a 'Friends' fan, then you know that Ross and Rachel were meant to be together from the very beginning. Her first moment on the show was her busting into the coffee shop in a wedding dress. Now, Holland didn't bust into the bar that night in a wedding dress, and it didn't take them years to figure out they were perfect for each other. But their love is still one for the ages. May you both fall more in love with one another each and every day while the rest of us cheer you on." He raises his own glass, "to Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Gable!"

Ari downs his champagne in one, grabbing a beer bottle off of the nearby table before walking over to join us. He sets the bottle down and reaches into his tux jacket pocket. "Now, the station went in together and got the two of you these." He passes the envelope off to Jeremy, making me lean closer to him as I watch him open it.

"Two tickets to Jamaica!" he yells out loudly in excitement.

I look back at Ari, stunned by his generosity. "You didn't have to do that," I tell him as Jeremy stands to pull him into a hug.

"It's not just from me," he answers with a smile, motioning over to the rowdy crowd of firefighters off in the corner by the bar. "We enjoy taking care of our brothers and their family, that includes you since you're now officially attached to this Bozo."

"Hey!" Jeremy calls out, slapping his friend's chest. "I kept you out of a lot of trouble during those first few years at the station."

"That you did," Ari agrees with a knowing expression towards his friend, maybe even a slight blush tinting what little you can see of his cheeks under his bushy beard.

I grin watching the two of them together. They'd been friends since elementary school, growing up just down the road from one another. Graduated high school together before attending community college for a couple years, realizing that neither of them wanted a life in the business world. Together they joined the local fire academy and soon came to work at the local station.

I can only imagine the type of trouble they both got into while they were together in their early twenties. Both being incredibly handsome and charming men, I'm sure they've left a few hearts broken along the way.

But I thank my lucky stars that I am not one of them.

*Unedited