One Night Stand: The New Millennium

51. Spend My Life With You

November 24th, 2015
1:17 PM
Serenity POV

Santorini was beyond breathtaking.

The architecture of Santorini ‒whitewashed edifices, blue domes, candy-colored houses and paved paths‒ blend in perfectly with the spectacular surroundings. It looked a postcard picture. So perfect. Honestly beyond words.

And the wedding venue... God. It had some of the best views in Santorini from its elevated position. The private estate sat on one of the highest points in Santorini at Pyrgos with incredible views over the caldera.

"While your wedding party takes pictures over here, the guests will head into the reception area for platters and drinks for the cocktail hour," Kassia, the wedding coordinator told us as she took us for a walk through Santorini Gem. Mica, my parents, Mica's parents, Kae and I had gone to check out the venue the moment we had enough energy. Flying for almost 18 hours took a lot out of a person. "Then if you plan on changing Serenity, you can head right back into the bridal room in the wedding villa with ease."

"Are you changing?" Mica asked with a raised eyebrow and a ghost of a smirk. I knew what was going through his head. The moment he could get me alone, he would try to get off 3 months worth of steam.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I smirked. His eyes glistened with mischief. He turned back to Kassia and I giggled to myself, doing the same.

"Any questions?" Kassia asked.

"When can we do the rehearsal?" Mama asked. I was going to leave her and Kae to ask all the questions. They had done a destination wedding before, they knew what and what not to do. As Kassia started to answer, I headed back over to the gazebo. Stepping up on it, I took a look at the island. Since it was fall, it wasn't as crowded, but it was still bustling. Still lively. I turned back around just as Mica stepped onto the gazebo with me. I smiled at him and he gave me one back.

"Are you happy Serene?" He asked and I nodded, moving towards him.

"Are you?" I asked as he pulled me into his arms. He nodded, kissing my forehead. "Are you nervous?" He scoffed.

"No. I'm ready for it to be Saturday. Are you nervous?"

"No. I'm ready to say 'I Do'," I told him softly. I was beyond ready. Seeing the venue had kicked my excitement into overdrive. Mica grinned.

"4 more days." What I felt was beyond happiness. 4 more days.

Third Person POV

While Serenity, Mica and literally everyone else felt more excited as the wedding got closer, MJ felt more dread.

Don't get him wrong, he was hella excited too. He'd been preparing his best man speech, getting the bachelor party together (coordinating with Jill so the two parties wouldn't run into each other), and had the couple's gift together. He was hyped.

He dreaded seeing Bey again. Seeing her with her husband, smiling, laughing and dancing to love songs. The worst part is he couldn't even pretend like he moved on. He couldn't use Jill, or Bria, or Ashley because all of them had a significant other. His entire friend group was either married or coupled up. Besides Taj & Leon, but MJ didn't want to be like them. They were fine not being locked down. That wasn't a goal of theirs. That was a goal of MJ'S. What good was all the money and fame if he had nobody to share it with? He thought he could share it with Jade, he fucked that up. Then the moment he allowed himself to get comfortable enough to think he could share it with Bey, she snatched that dream away from him.

Yeah, he was not ready to see her again at all.

MJ felt some bass making the ground vibrate. He looked away from the view of the Aegean Sea towards the villa, eyebrows knitted. He guessed that was a sign to head back inside. Walking inside, he was immediately greeted by the familiar voice of Chris Brown echoing throughout the villa. MJ snorted, heading downstairs to where Maiya, Mila, Melody & Mehki were having them a nice time with the music on full blast.

Oh, I don't know what you had planned to do tonight
But I just wanna be the one to do you right, right

"We're standing here lookin' at each other, baby, eye to eye," Maiya dramatically lip synced, standing on the couch.

"And I'm hopin' that you're thinkin' 'bout leavin' with me tonight!!!" Melody belted out as Mila & Mehki got crunk. MJ couldn't help the goofy grin that came across his face. Excitement was in the air with the Jacksons. Who was he to let something he couldn't control ruin his and everyone else's vibe? It was a celebration. Mica & Serenity were making it down the aisle. From here on out, it was time to turn up.

Come on, just baby, try a new thing
And let's spark a new flame

"You gon be my baby," MJ joined in.

"Yes!!" Maiya did the adlibs, pointing at MJ.

"Love me, love you crazy!!" MJ & Melody sung.

"Yes!!"

Tell me if you with it
Baby, come and get it
Try a new thing
And let's spark a new flame

The music was booming so loudly as Michael & the others arrived back at the villa that it made the furniture outside shake. The group exchanged amused looks as Michael unlocked the door.

Oh, it don't really matter 'cause I got ways to get to know you better, yeah

They had come at the right time, it seemed. MJ was mimicking Usher's dance from the video as the others hyped him up.

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Watch the bounce!" Maiya yelled before MJ did the bouncing moonwalk.

"Okay Usher Raymond 6!!" Melody yelled, making MJ, and everybody else, crack up.

I don't know what you had planned to do tonight
Girl I just wanna be the one to do you right, right

"We're standing here looking at each other, baby, eye to eye," MJ & the younger 4 went back to singing and dancing, and it was hard not to join in with all the happiness they were radiating. Even if it was a Chris Brown song.

Baby I hope that you're thinking about leaving with me tonight

"Who said you can't find love in the club?" Michael sung, smirking as he wrapped his arms around Skylar. Skylar threw her head back laughing happily.

'Cause I wanna tell them they be wrong
Come on, just baby, try a new thing, and let's spark a new flame

"You gon' be my baby," Mica and Serenity sung along as they embraced each other, rocking. "Love me, love you crazy."

Tell me if you with it, baby, come and get it
Try a new thing
And let's spark a new flame...

November 25th, 2015
2:10 PM

As the week went on, more people started arriving. The majority would be coming that Friday, but the wedding party arrived that Wednesday.

"IT'S A CELEBRATION BITCHES!!! MAZEL TOV!!" Taj yelled as the Jacksons and Allens came to greet the new group of arrivals.

"Bro chill," MJ laughed as he dapped up Taj. It was lively, with everybody greeting each other. Especially-

"JOSH!!" Melody screamed, running towards her best friend. Josh beamed, his eyes lighting up as he opened his arms, allowing Melody to jump into them. They rocked side to side, holding each other tightly.

"I missed you," He mumbled.

"I missed you too." She moved back, taking a look at him. It had only been a few month, they talked almost every day. FaceTime wasn't the same though. "You gained some weight?" She asked, pinching his cheeks. Josh swatted away her hand, laughing.

"Yeah, apparently there's something called the Freshman 15?" Josh shrugged. "I guess it's getting to me." He looked at Maiya as she walked up to him and pointed. "Got a lot of tips for you for your first year." Maiya rolled her eyes.

"Oh brother," Maiya said, hugging him.

"I'm just saying, I-"

"We're not talking about college this week," Maiya told him. "This is a week of love, and happiness. Not stress." Josh glanced at Melody who looked at him like 'you know'. He did. He had been in the same place the year before. It was the end of November, meaning she would get news about her early action applications in the upcoming weeks. She was nervous. Josh knew that feeling all too well.

"No college talk, got it. Where's the rest of the gang?" He was referring to Princess, Devante, Aaron and Amala, who got in as Aaron's plus one.

"Somewhere around here," Melody told him. The entirety of Kivotos Santorini was theirs for the week. "Let's find them." The three teens scurried off as the others continued to greet each other.

"Oh my God Serenity," Lauryn cooed, feeling emotional. "I can't believe you and Mica are getting married."

"Save your sappy shit for the wedding!!" Bria yelled, throwing her arms around both of their shoulders. "Today we're turning up!! Ain't that right MJ?"

"Fuck yeah!!" MJ yelled, turning away from Mica's cousin Booboo to the girls. "Jill, Bria & I coordinated to plan the bachelor and bachelorette parties, making sure that the parties don't overlap."

"That's no fun," Lauryn pouted, holding onto her husband. "What if Serenity wants to link up with Mica for a quickie throughout the night?" MJ pretended to gag as the rest of the group chuckled. Bria scoffed.

"You mean what if you want to link up with your boo for a quickie?" Lauryn shrugged, smirking a lit as Will bit his lip to keep from laughing. "No. Don't act like you can't be without your man for one night."

"You know it'll be worth the wait baby," Will kissed Lauryn's forehead.

"You couples make me sick," Leon mumbled.

"We out at 6:30," MJ told the group. "Get settled in, get ya clothes out, get ya nuts off-"

"Woah," John, Ashley's boyfriend, was caught off guard. Ashley patted his arm.

"This group is vulgar. You get used to it."

"Cause we'll be drinking till 6 in the morning!!" Taj yelled, ready to turn up. The group dispersed after that, Serenity & Mica lagging behind them.

"Too bad we can't get our nuts off," He mumbled. Serenity giggled, shaking her head.

"We will in three days."

"I don't know..." He teased. "If I get drunk enough tonight, I might not be able to hold it." Serenity had to keep herself from smiling.

"We made it this far, we can make it." His smirk turned into a smile.

"Yeah, we have made it this far." He held up his left hand, putting up three fingers. Including the one with his ring. "Three days." Serenity did the same, her knot ring on display.

"Three days."

6:23 PM

"You've done a few auditions since you got back right?" Josh asked as he & Melody sat on the second floor balcony, relaxing on the sun loungers, talking. The other teens were inside, in the private heated pool. Melody nodded.

"Yeah, but I doubt i'll hear anything until January. The industry practically shuts down when the holidays roll around."

"Are you nervous about hearing back?" Melody thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"Nope. I know I got something in the bag."

"That's my girl." Melody grinned just as MJ popped his head out on the balcony.

"Yo Josh." The two looked at MJ. "I know you be kicking it at college." Josh didn't want to confirm nor deny. Why was MJ saying that? "You wanna come kick it with us tonight?"

"Really?" Josh asked excitedly. MJ hummed.

"Yeah. I already asked Aaron & De, they're downstairs waiting."

"Fuck yeah," Josh responded, standing up.

"Uh, what the hell?" Melody asked, watching Josh leave her. "MJ you do know he's 19?"

"Yeah. I also know that the legal age here is 18, and that Josh drinks and parties at school and..." MJ shrugged. "I was 18 when I was at Pops' bachelor party. Who cares?"

"I-"

"Bye," MJ headed back inside. Josh looked at Melody apologetically.

"I love you Mel but..." He shrugged then followed after MJ. He wanted to party with the big dawgs. Melody turned the sea.

"Ain't that a bitch?" Melody asked, deciding to follow them. She followed them downstairs, where the living room was overcrowded.

"Why is our villa the meeting spot?" Skylar asked Michael as they watched from the kitchen. They were prepping for thanksgiving. Them being three days away from the wedding and being in a country that didn't celebrate it wasn't going to stop them from getting their grub on. Plus, the wedding party would need the food to nurse the hangovers they were definitely going to have. Michael shrugged, wondering the same.

"I can't believe the boys get to go but we don't," Mica's cousin from Tennessee, Summer, frowned folding her arms. Summer was 20, a year older than Mel. The same age as Aaron, who got to go. "It's unfair."

"Did anyone ask could we go?" Melody asked.

"No, that would make us seem thirsty. If somebody doesn't invite you somewhere, you don't ask," Amala stated. Melody frowned at her.

"Amala you're not even a bridesmaid. Of course they didn't ask you." Amala sucked her teeth as the girls giggled. "But you're right. If they wanted us to come, we'd be invited." Melody shrugged. She wasn't tripping. "It's cool, we'll still have fun."

"Alright, we out ma!" MJ yelled as the bachelor and bachelorette party headed out of the villa.

"Okay, have fun, be safe, don't do nothing stupid!!" Skylar yelled after them.

"No promises!!" The group, moreso Taj & Leon, yelled. Skylar shook her head, chuckling. Just like when they were in high school.

"Let's go get in the pool again while we see what's to do around here," Princess suggested. The girls headed to the indoor pool, leaving Skylar and Michael alone. Michael looked at his wife, smirking.

"Should we take advantage of this alone time?" He asked, dropping the greens he was picking.

"Tempting, but you know Mehki & Mila will interrupt us." Michael sighed dramatically. Skylar giggled. "When they go to sleep, you can have me all night if you want me."

"I like that plan," Michael winked.

"Okay! All couples say your goodbyes for the night, you won't see each other until tomorrow morning probably," MJ told them as they stood outside by the sprinter vans. The couples didn't hesitate. Leon and Taj fake gagged as the couples hugged and kissed each other goodbye.

"Fucking nasty."

"Enjoy yourself tonight baby," Mica told Serenity as he kissed her softly.

"You too freckles," she smiled. Then: "not like how you enjoyed yourself at my daddy's bachelorette party though." Mica's eyes widened.

"How do you know about that? Did MJ tell you?!"

"No. Eric told Bria, who told me."

"Fucking Eric," Mica grumbled. Serenity snickered, pecking his lips.

"Love you baby."

"Love you too."

"Okay, times up!!" Jill yelled as she let go of her man. "Let's go, let's roll!!" The women and men separated, waving goodbye as they climbed into their sprinter vans. Then, they were off.

"You think that's how we were when we were on our way to my pops' bachelor party?" MJ asked, nodding at Josh, Aaron & Devante talking excitedly. Mica chuckled.

"I know for a fact we were. Question is, who do you think will be who in this situation?" MJ studied the boys.

"Devante is the Eric for sure." Mica cackled. He could see it. Devante was the youngest and still lived with his parents. He couldn't get fucked up like how Josh did away from his family. "Josh for sure is you-"

"Because he's white and my cousin?" MJ sucked his teeth, making Mica laugh.

"No. Josh got a demeanor that makes him seem cool and laidback, like you, but you know he gets drunk and turned up, also like you. Especially since he away from home and single. Meanwhile Aaron is me. He cool, laidback, did his shit Freshman year, now he back with his girl and don't feel like he gotta go crazy." Mica could see that.

"How would you know?" Taj interjected, laughing. MJ shrugged.

"It's a guess, but we can bet money on it."

"Oh im in!" Leon exclaimed. He loved betting.

"Why we betting on these kids?" Austin laughed.

"I can't drink, I need some type of entertainment," MJ stated plainly.

"Okay, so what's the bet?" MJ & Mica ran it down. It was two parts: guessing who would be the MJ, Mica & Eric of the youngins by the end of the night (they explained what that meant) and who could accurately guess how the boys acted in college. The guessing how the boys acted in college was moreso betting on whether MJ was right or not. If MJ won, he and whoever agreed with him would get $500 each. Same for whoever agreed with Taj. Rocking with MJ was Mica, Will (Lauryn's husband) and Booboo. With Taj was Leon, Austin and another one of Mica's cousins/groomsman Travis. John (Ashley's boyfriend), Lucas (Jill's boyfriend and bandmate) and Xavier (Bria's boyfriend, whose first name was actually Michael but the group deduced there were enough Michaels around so they would call him by his last name) all decided to opt out of the bet, not knowing the group enough to want to bet on the youngins.

"Alright it's settled. Let's ask them."

"Yo!" Taj yelled, getting the attention of the boys. "We got some questions for yall."

"About what?" Aaron asked. The men exchanged looks, wondering who would ask what. Leon shrugged, essentially saying fuck it.

"How many girls yall fucked since yall been in college?"

"Woah!" The men yelled as the youngins looked caught off guard.

"I wouldn't have asked them like that," Booboo scratched his head.

"And it ain't all about fucking," MJ smacked the back of Leon's head. He looked at the youngins, who now looked intrigued. "We betting on yall. We wanna know how yall been acting in college. Drinking, relationships, etc."

"Yeah. Mostly all of us have gone to college, and it was a difference between high school us and college us," Travis said.

"So essentially, how much have yall been drinking, and how much yall been fucking?" Leon reiterated.

"Nigga!!" The three youngins looked at each other, wondering who would go first. Aaron sucked his teeth.

"Fuck it, i'll go. Uhhh," Aaron thought about it. "I don't really know how to measure the drinking. I know I drunk more Freshman year than this year, but it's still a decent amount of drinking. As far as fucking... I have a girlfriend so that says it all..." Devante and Josh sucked their teeth.

"Tell the truth man," Devante told him.

"Yeah we ain't gon snitch," Will laughed.

"You and Amala broke up before you left, then got back together this summer. C'mon man," MJ laughed. The look on Aaron's face said it all.

"I uh... I guess I went a little crazy my first semester..." He scratched his head and the entire van busted out laughing. He looked embarrassed. "I had never been with any girl besides Amala, so when I got the chance, I took it! Girls actually throw a lot of pussy at basketball players." It wasn't that girls didn't try to throw it at him in high school. There were a few that did. But he was with Amala, and most of the school knew not to try it.

"Yeah they do," John interjected, laughing.

"If you had to ball park it-" Leon started.

"You ain't got to," MJ shook his head.

"Nah I wanna know!" Leon laughed. Aaron tried to add it up in his head.

"Uh... maybe 10 first semester and 2 second semester."

"Aw that ain't bad," most of the men said. They thought he was pulling Wilt numbers.

"You would say you over that shit now?" MJ asked.

"Hell yeah," Aaron furrowed his eyebrows. "Fucking for fun honestly ain't that fun. I love my girl. That's all I need." Aaron shrugged. Most of the men in the van nodded in agreement, smiling.

"Yall some simp ass niggas," Taj cracked and Leon busted out laughing. MJ shook his head. He didn't understand why they still wanted to move the same way did 10 years ago when they were still in high school. It wasn't shit like having a woman to love on. When it was good, it was good.

"Ight, who next?" MJ asked, looking between Josh & Devante.

"I'll go," Devante stated. "Compared to these two, I don't think i'm living right. I should've gotten a dorm room instead of staying with my parents cause I can't come in drunk, and I definitely can't come in the house with different girls."

"Yeah, I don't know why you decided to stay with Tete Kae," Aaron laughed.

"I was saving money!!"

"Nigga yo mama owns a multi million dollar company!!" Devante waved them off.

"Anyway, I drink but I don't be fucked up. And I think i've messed around with maybe three girls? Nah, 4. I got a lil situation going on with Jordyn."

"Jordyn who?" Josh asked as Aaron's head snapped towards him. Devante never told them shit about his dating life.

"Woods."

"Maiya's best friend?!?"

"Jaden's cousin?!?"

"Kylie Jenner's best friend?"

"Yeah," Devante shrugged. "For a couple of years now. She don't want nothing serious. It works for me."

"Nah," Lucas laughed. "If you're consistently sleeping with the same person over a long time period that makes it serious."

"That's what happened with you and Jill?" Taj pointed at him laughing. Lucas shrugged, smirking.

"Nah, I don't think it works that way if you both messing with other people," Xavier laughed.

"Open relationship?"

"No."

"So yeah, tame compared to them two," Devante pointed at his friend and cousin, sitting back in his seat.

"Alright, thank you De." All eyes fell on Josh, whose cheeks were bright red.

"Ah! Don't be embarrassed!!" Some of the men yelled out teasing.

"You must be at school going crazy," Mica laughed. Josh scratched the back of his head.

"I didn't know Mizzou was a party school until I got there, and the saying is 'if you can't beat em, join em' right?"

"You be getting white boy wasted huh?!?" MJ asked, laughing.

"Maybe a little," Josh tried to hold in his laugh. Aaron and De kept their comments to themselves. Not only did they talk about this shit, but they had him on Snapchat. The boy was having the time of his life at school.

"And the girls?" Booboo asked. Josh looked away from the group, his face fully red.

"Uh... 19?" The van went into an uproar. Josh winced.

"You fucking like that?!?"

"I wasn't doing it like that," Mica laughed, looking at MJ. MJ couldn't relate.

"The semester ain't even over yet!!"

"What you having threesomes or something?" Josh wore a guilty look in his face. The groups screams could be heard a mile away.

"Yall hear that?" Genevieve asked, glancing outside of their sprinter. They were headed to the other side of the island.

"What?" Stevanna giggled at her cousin. She looked so confused.

"I-" Genevieve stopped herself before shaking her head. "Nothing I guess."

"I hear something," Bria said, standing up and looking at everybody.

"What??" Bria paused for dramatic effect.

"Too much talking and not enough turning up!! It's Serenity's wedding, IT'S TIME TO TURN UP!!" Serenity grinned as the van got loud from cheering and music.

Trippin'
Mike WiLL Made-It
Somebody come to the floor
It feels like we've met before (Ear Drummers)

"Somebody come get her, she's dancin' like a stripper!!" The ladies sung loudly, throwing their hands up and looking back at it as they started whining their hips. "Somebody come get her, she's dancin' like a stripper!!"

Somebody come tip her, she's dancin' like a stripper (right away)
Somebody come get her, she's feelin' all the liquor

Melody & the other girls decided to get dinner to start while they came up with their fun for the night. The adults warned them to stick together before shooing them off, Michael & Skylar gladly wanting the girls to go. The five of them walked around the neighborhood before landing at Q-Bar, a restaurant with a gorgeous view of the caldera.

"This is so amazing," Amala cooed, recording the view as the girls waited for their food to come out. "And it would be so romantic and... ugh!" Amala stopped recording, looking at the girls in frustration. They held their laughter in. "I can't believe Aaron ditched me!!"

"Ah, shut up," Summer waved her off. "You'll be alright. Complaining all night is not going to make him come back any faster. It's only going to get on our nerves." Princess & Maiya giggled as Melody smirked. She liked this girl.

"God, it's like it's two Melody's," Amala rolled her eyes. Summer simply smirked. It turned into a smile when the waitress brought back her strawberry margarita.

"ευχαριστώ," Summer spoke, nodding. The waitress smiled and walked away.

"Damn you speak greek?" Melody gawked.

"What did you just say?" Princess furrowed her eyebrows.

"I said thank you, and yes I do. When I found out the wedding would be in Greece, I started studying the language," Summer blushed as if she was embarrassed. "I like learning new languages."

"That's so cool," Maiya beamed. The only other language she knew was Spanish, for school requirements.

"Maiya's always been a little nerd," Amala joked. Maiya stuck up her finger at her.

"What other languages do you know?" Maiya asked.

"Uhm, spanish of course and french. Spanish because of school, which ironically got me to want to learn other languages."

"Say something in French!!" Princess said excitedly.

Summer hummed, thinking. Then she laid her eyes on Melody and smirked. "Je parie que tu es si jolie quand tu jouis." Melody raised an eyebrow, something in her going off. She shifted in her seat.

"What does that mean?" Princess asked.

"I called her pretty," Summer shrugged, looking at Melody. The glint in her eyes told Melody that wasn't the only thing she said. Or maybe it was the way Melody thought people speaking a different language was hot that had her thinking it was something it was not.

As Maiya and Princess started talking to Summer about languages other than English, Amala stood up.

"I have to go to the bathroom. Mel come with me." Melody obliged, standing up and following Amala into the building. As soon as they got into the bathroom, Amala turned to her. "That girl definitely didn't only call you pretty." Melody furrowed her eyebrows. She brung her to the bathroom to be in her business? "She was giving you 'fuck me' eyes."

"Amala!!"

"She was!! Trust me, I know. I caught on with all those girls out there at Duke. They stay giving Aaron 'fuck me' eyes." Amala rolled her eyes.

"First of all, ew. Second of all... I think you're right." Melody scratched her head. "It definitely doesn't take that many words to call somebody pretty."

"It doesn't," Amala folded her arms. "What are you going to do? Do you think she's cute?" Melody thought she was beyond cute. Summer looked like a model, from her face that looked like it was carved by God himself, to her height (she was 5'9) to her long smooth legs. Ironically, she had created Fisk's first ever modeling organization.

"Of course I think she's cute. But starting Saturday she'll legally be my cousin." Amala rolled her eyes.

"Yall are not blood. You won't even see her often after this. How often do you see her now?" Melody had probably seen her a total of three times before then. "Exactly. You can fuck her for the next couple of days then go your separate ways. No strings, no issues." Melody laughed sarcastically, pointing at Amala.

"Last time I started something no strings, I ended up with my heart broken."

"Yeah, because you shouldn't have been fucking that bitch in the first place," Amala shot. Melody rolled her eyes. She needed to get over it. "This thing with Summer wouldn't be anything like what you had with that bitch. If you catch feelings from fucking a few times over a few days, then... yeah you probably should rethink having flings." Melody rolled her eyes again. "What are you going to do?" Melody took a moment to think. Then she turned, heading out of the bathroom.

"We'll see."

"I'd like to make a toast!!" Bria said, tapping her glass as she stood up. The first part of the bachelorette party was a private wine tasting at Santo Wines. The pregame before the real deal. Serenity was already tipsy. She looked at Bria, a smile already on her face. It hadn't left since they landed in Greece. Although, the smile was starting to look more lopsided because of the wine. "I'll make it quick because I gotta save something for the wedding but... Serenity i'm so happy for you and Mica. And i'm so glad that the big day is almost here. We made it, hallelujah, Amen!!"

"Amen!!" The ladies repeated, clinking their glasses together and giggling.

"That sounded more like a praise break than a toast," Johnna laughed, shaking her head.

"It was needed," Jill shook her head, smiling. "It felt like they would never get here."

"You did not have to say never like that," Serenity rolled her eyes, still smiling. She knew it was true.

"I remember when she used to swear up it was just a lil crush and she would get over it," Bria smirked, looking at Serenity. "Is this you getting over it Serenity?" Serenity flicked her chin at her, giggling.

"I remember when we were leaving for prom from the Jacksons' house, and the two were practically eye fucking each other in front of everybody. But then had the nerve to not get together after that, wasting everybody's damn time," Johnna pointed at Serenity.

"The first time I saw Serenity & Mica in the same room together, I turned to Johnna, asking her what the hell they had going on," Brittany shook her head as the table laughed.

"Same!!" Ashley yelled. "And this was after they fell out!!"

"Okay, so maybe we played around a lot when we were younger," Serenity grinned.

"Girl that's a fucking understatement. The chemistry been real from the jump," Bria pointed at her. "And it's going to be real forever." She stuck her glass out again. "To Mica & Serenity."

"Sica!!" Stevanna yelled and the ladies followed suit.

"Sica!!"

"The ship name is crazy." As the ladies started a different conversation, Serenity thought back to all the moments that led up to this. Their first kiss. Them working together to help MJ ask Jade out. Prom. The nights at the clubs. The good and the bad. All she could feel was overwhelming love.

Serenity excused herself, heading inside. As she did, she dialed Mica on her phone. He answered just as she got inside.

"What's wrong Serene?" He asked as he walked away from the guys. The ladies were doing a wine tasting, it was only right for the guys to do a private beer tasting. They were at Ftelos Brewery, with their own private DJ, pregaming.

"The girls were going down memory lane with us, and everything got me thinking-"

"Please don't tell me you're about to back out," Mica half joked.

"No," Serenity playfully rolled her eyes. "It made me think about you, and how much I love you," She said sweetly. It made Mica's heart skip a beat. He smiled as Serenity continued. "You're the love of my life and I am so excited to marry you, and eventually have babies, and share my life with you."

"I love you too Serene," He grinned. "And I miss you right now." Her saying that made him want to come to her and hold her tightly. The partying shit was cool, but it had nothing on being with the love of his life.

"I think we can both get a taxi and meet up-"

"No baby," He laughed, making her pout. "Enjoy your party. Your last bit of singleness before you're with me forever. We'll be back in each other's arms before we know it."

"Fine."

"I love you." She smiled softly.

"I love you too freckles."

When Mica got back over to the group, the attention immediately fell on him.

"You were talking to Serenity, weren't you?" Booboo asked. He knew from the dopey look on Mica's face. Mica smiled.

"Boo!!" Taj & Leon yelled, putting their thumbs down.

"So whipped!!"

"Yall can't go a few hours without talking to each other?" Austin chuckled.

"We can, but we don't have to so why would we?"

"Somebody needs to take his phone," Will laughed.

"Whipped ass wigga," Leon shook his head.

"I am whipped," Mica spoke proudly. "There's nothing like having a woman who loves you as much as you love her." MJ felt an ache in his chest at that, his mind immediately going to Bey. "I'd rather be with her than with you idiots, but I convinced her to stay with her friends, so I guess i'll stay here," Mica cracked. He got some napkins and food thrown at him in response.

"He's not wrong," Will spoke, twisting his wedding ring. "I'm sure everybody knows, including you two," He pointed at Taj and Leon. "That there's nothing like having a good woman on your arm. Somebody who holds you down, somebody who'll go to hell and back for you and vice versa."

"Nah," Leon shook his head. "Don't know that experience."

"If you stay out the fucking strip clubs," Mica mumbled. Leon shoved him, getting him to laugh.

"That's why you hate so hard?" Xavier asked, taking a swig of his beer. Leon didn't answer. Xavier smirked. "I guess so."

"Yall gotta stop that shit though," MJ stated. All eyes fell on him. "We about to be thirty. Fucking and moving around for the rest of your lives ain't it. Yall don't want somebody to come home to? Somebody to lay with after a long day and unwind? Somebody to have kids with? Yall don't even know, nothing in the world compares to have somebody to spend your life with, and being a parent. That's something that I wish came altogether, but I know that it'll happen again eventually. Regardless, I know how both of those feel, and it's the best when it's great." There were nods of agreement around the table. Taj scratched his head.

"I swear, if somebody asked me ten years ago if I thought you were the relationship type, I would've said hell nah. This shit actually unbelievable man," Taj laughed softly. MJ shrugged.

"It's what happens when you experience love." He looked at the younger three. "I know yall young and still tryna figure shit out, still tryna do yall thing and that's cool. But don't be like Taj or Leon at this age, still fucking around, not taking women seriously. Hell, don't even be like me. I'll tell you every time that I fumbled cause I decided to think with my dick instead of my head. Yeah, the shit cool now, but don't miss out on love cause you want some pussy. It's as simple as that."

"It really is," Mica laughed. "We all know I fumbled before too." Mica motioned between himself and MJ. "Examples of when it didn't work out, and when it eventually did. I know if I didn't fuck up, Serenity & I probably would've married years ago." Mica thought about it before waving it off. "All of this is to say... there's nothing like love." The 3 youngins seemed like they were taking it in. It went quiet for a moment. Then Lucas let out a whistle.

"Wooo, things just got deep," The men laughed. "I don't disagree with them, but damn that came left field!!"

"Serenity's call did some type of voodoo on all of us. Take that nigga phone!!" Leon joked. The laughter continued to flow on as before. So did the drinks and the food.

"Should we make a bet on ourselves?" Aaron asked as he sipped on his beer. "Or join in on the bet they got on us?"

"No," Devante frowned, already feeling his two beers. "I'm going to lose."

"But if you know you're a lightweight, then you'll win," Aaron pointed out, frowning. He didn't understand Devante's thought process.

"I-"

"I think I want to have sex with Melody," Josh said out loud.

"Woah," Devante and Aaron were caught completely off guard. Aaron put his hands in a 't'.

"Time the fuck out. That's disgusting to hear. What?!?" Josh took a sip of his beer.

"I know you don't want to hear it, that's your cousin. But it's been on my mind all day." Melody didn't look any different than she did when he left three months prior. She didn't act any different. Their routine wasn't even different since they talked all the time. Yet he thought about doing her on the balcony.

"You like Melody again?" Devante asked.

"No, that's probably the fucked up part. I saw Melody today, and I... had a reaction to her is the best way to put it. Like is this a side effect of having too much sex? You start thinking with your dick instead of your head?"

"From what MJ said, it sounds like it," Devante mumbled. Josh rubbed his face.

"I don't think the drinking is helping either." It was motivating him to do it. Josh glanced at his beer bottle before chugging it. Aaron squinted at him. When Josh finished, he looked at Aaron. "Don't judge me, i'm stressed!!"

"It's a simple solution. Don't try to fuck your best friend."

"See, and I know that. But... i'm tipsy, horny as fuck and we're in a different country for a wedding. That's the perfect set up right there."

"I don't think I like college Josh," Aaron said, rubbing his temples. "He's a fucking dumbass."

"This is what happens when you go 3 years without having sex, I think," Josh scratched his head. Aaron shook his head, walking away from Josh. He was not dealing with his shit. Josh looked at Devante. "What do you think I should do?"

"I surely don't think you should have sex with my cousin," Devante said sarcastically, then walked away too. Josh blew a raspberry, looking out at northern Santorini.

"I think i'm going to do it." Not if somebody beat him to the punch.

"Yall don't want to drink?" Summer asked as the waitress brought her a second margarita. "You know the drinking age is 18 here."

"So still a no for me," Maiya mumbled.

"I can't let my little sister be the sober one out of the group," Melody pointed. Summer playfully sucked her teeth.

"I know those two are not lightweights," She pointed at Princess & Amala. "And neither am I. But if you are, I promise i'll take good care of you," Summer smirked. Melody bit down on her lip as Amala nudged her with her knee.

"I'm not a lightweight baby." Summer seemed to get excited. "Let's drink." The other three girls ordered themselves margaritas, only getting one before finishing their food and leaving the restaurant. By this time, it was after 9, and Santorini's nightlife was coming alive. The energy in the air was playful, and fun. The group found themselves walking along the main road, enjoying the energy.

The energy carried them to what was a cluster of bars.

"Ooh, we're going in!!" Summer yelled excitedly before grabbing Melody & dragging her into Enigma Club. It was party time.

Summer wasn't the only one with that idea. As the girls headed into Enigma, the van pulled up to drop the men off.

"First up," MJ started as they climbed out. "KOO club."

Y ya son las 6 de la mañana Y todavía no recuerdo nada
Ni siquiera conozco tu cara
Pero amaneciste aquí en mi cama

Tranquilo lived up to it's name. It was a relaxed beach bar, but relaxed wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Serenity danced against Jill with a drink in her hand, her eyes closed as she rolled her hips, feeling amazing. Feeling tranquilo.

Pour a cup for the bitches that ain't scared to get down
Get down, get down
How many times I gotta?
Light another for the bitches who's just only in town
For the weekend, oh!

Enigma was lit. None of them were expecting the club to be playing hip hop and r&b, but here they were, singing along with Chris Brown.

"How many times I gotta tell that ass to come over?!? I'll fuck you right, have you walking from side to side!!" Leon rapped as some random girl danced on him. KOO Club was lame, nothing but EDM music. They left out as soon as they walked in and went right over to Enigma. They hadn't run into the girls yet.

"Your little sister is so funny," Summer chuckled, watching Maiya have a ball on the dance floor with Amala and Princess. "You would've thought she was drinking with us with how turned up she is." Melody snorted, nodding.

"All of us have been turned up since we got here. The energy's high. We're excited. Mica's my big brother, and the marriage makes it official."

"That's honestly so cute," Summer cooed. "I like your family. Yall seem so supportive and so welcoming."

"Yeah, I guess so," Melody laughed a little. "Mostly everybody who'll be there Saturday we call family, even if they're not biological. Like Amala," Melody pointed at her friend, who was acting like she was Lil Wayne. "I can't stand her half the time, but she's family at this point. Not because of Aaron, but because we've grown up together. She be annoying me, but I know her heart's in the right place."

"That sounds like she butts in a lot," Summer giggled, taking a sip of her drink. That was drink 4. Melody rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"She does the most. Earlier this year, it was this whole thing that happened and she kept saying stuff even though it had nothing to do with her."

"What happened?" Summer asked, curious. Melody shook her head.

"Long story." One she didn't care to dive into. "The gist is, I started dating Josh's ex-girlfriend and shit hit the fan." Summer whistled.

"Isn't he your best friend?"

"Please, let's not go down this road." Summer giggled, putting her hands up in surrender. It made Melody smile.

"Fine. That's not the only question I have." Melody nodded at her as she took a sip of her drink. Drink number 2. "Are you still with the girl?"

"Nope. Ended months ago." Summer hummed. Melody raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing." Melody knew it wasn't nothing. Her tone made it seem like she wanted something. Melody bit her lip.

"Are you single?" Melody decided to get to it. It had been 6 months since she had sex, and longer since she had sex with a girl. If Summer wanted what she wanted, why play around? Their time in Greece would be over before they knew it. Summer licked her lips, meeting Melody's eyes.

"Very."

"You like girls?" Summer liked her boldness. She hummed, nodding. "Well," Melody leaned towards Summer, pushing Summer's hair out of her face. "Maybe we should... find you a girl tonight," Melody chipped, moving back. Summer sucked her teeth before laughing. Melody grinned.

"You're an asshole."

"I've been told."

"You're really going to play with me like that?" Summer asked, leaning towards Melody.

"Would you like for me to play with you another way?" Melody asked, leaning towards Summer.

"I actually would, yeah," Summer told her before closing the gap between them, kissing her. Melody placed her hands on Summer's thighs, kissing her deeply. Melody could taste the alcohol on her tongue. Melody squeezed Summer's thighs, soliciting moans from her. Melody decided to be bold (thanks alcohol) and moved her hand that was closest to the bar down Summer's thigh, and in between her legs. Summer spread them a little. As the two made out, Melody rubbed Summer through her shorts. Summer pushed instinctively against Melody's hand, her body urging Melody to do more than just light strokes.

"Wow, you bitches couldn't even wait till we got back to the hotel?" A voice spoke, breaking the trance the two were in. Melody slyly removed her hands from Summer as they broke apart, wiping their mouths. Amala was standing right there with her hands on her hips. Melody motioned at her.

"See. Annoying." Summer giggled as Amala rolled her eyes.

"Yall can fuck later, let's dance." Melody & Summer exchanged looks, shrugged, then downed their drinks before following Amala to the dance floor.

In the private section, MJ sat by himself, vibing to the music and watching people have fun. Majority of the bachelor party was buzzed, if not drunk. Mica was happy. He did his job.

I used to think about how you would act when a nigga got money
Now you done switched up on me
Now you wanna say "What's up?" to me
Okay so now you wanna make love to me

MJ was nodding along to 'Sorry Not Sorry' when Mica's cousin Travis walked up into the section, two shots in his hand. He placed a shot in front of MJ, getting a crazy look from him. "You deserve a shot, best man."

"I'm finna be 4 years sober man."

"Yeah, but you were addicted to coke, not alcohol. You should be fine drinking."

"Nah," MJ shook his head. "I'm cool sober." Travis sucked his teeth.

"C'mon-"

"You got five seconds to get away from me Trav, before I bust this shot glass over your head," MJ warned him. Travis could see he wasn't playing, and quickly went on about his business. He still left the shot though. MJ sucked his teeth. He meant for him to take the shot too. MJ sat up to knock it over but something in him stopped himself.

He's right. I was addicted to cocaine, not alcohol. Drinking is safer than doing cocaine. It's one shot. I do deserve it. My sister's getting married. It's a celebratory shot. I can have celebratory drinks. I'm not going to drink to take the pain away.

MJ eyed the clear liquid in the shot. Then, in one swift move, he knocked it over.

He knew him thinking he wouldn't drink to take the pain away was a lie. Yeah, Serenity & Mica were about to get married, and maybe if that was the only thing that was happening, he would drink. But then again if that was the only thing that was happening, he wouldn't feel the urge to drink. He knew he wanted to drink because of Bey. He couldn't do it. It wasn't worth it. She wasn't worth it. She didn't think he was worth leaving her husband, why would she be worth breaking his sobriety?

MJ stood up, deciding to head out to the dance floor. He needed to stop sitting there like a lame, thinking about a woman that wasn't thinking about him.

"Oh, baby, I'm not asking for the world, maybe, You can give me what I want, baby, come hold me tight and when I'm drowning, save me, give it to me on a daily!!" The girls sung to each other. Amala had her arms around Maiya & Princess' shoulders, the three rocking back and forth. Melody and Summer were grinding with each other, feeling the effects of the alcohol.

Melody could see why college students stayed drinking. Fucking while drunk seemed like the best shit ever. Melody leaned closer to her.

"Do you wanna go to the bathroom?" Melody asked. Summer nodded eagerly. Melody removed her hands from around Summer's neck and grabbed her hand, turning to head towards the bathroom. They immediately came face to face with Devante.

"Cousin!!" He slurred, throwing his hands up. "What you doing here?!" Melody furrowed her eyebrows.

"What you doing here?"

"The bachelor party!!" Melody forgot all about that. Of course they were at the clubs for the bachelor party, where else would they be? Aaron & Josh appeared next to Devante and furrowed their eyebrows at the girls.

"What the hell yall doing here?" Aaron asked.

"Look who I found!!" Devante pointed.

"We see, De," Aaron patted his shoulder.

"We decided to go out and have fun since yall ditched us. Didn't think we would end up at the same club," Summer told them.

"Amala with yall?" Aaron asked, lighting up. Melody and Summer pointed to the girls. Aaron swiftly moved past them towards his girlfriend.

"Ayeee! We partying with yall now!" Devante yelled, following Aaron. Melody looked at Josh.

"How much has he had to drink?" Josh shrugged, snickering. Melody rolled her eyes. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Not as much as you think," He winked at her, making her furrow her eyebrows. What the hell? Josh looked at Summer before looking down at their hands. "Where were you going?"

"Bathroom," Summer told him. She was anxious to get back to their journey.

"I'll come." The girls looked at him weirdly. "To protect you. We're in a foreign country, you need a guy to tell the other guys to fuck off."

"Actually we don't-"

"C'mon," Josh grabbed Melody & pulled them towards the bathroom. Summer & Melody exchanged disappointed looks. So much for something happening in the bathroom.

There were only two bathrooms with single toilets. Melody let Summer pretend to pee first while she waited outside with Josh.

"How's the party?" Melody asked as they leaned on the wall outside the bathroom. Josh looked at her, a big grin on his face, and his face flushed from the alcohol.

"Fucking awesome. The guys are hilarious, the music has been good and the drinks are A1."

"I can tell, you're seem super... loose," Melody said unsurely before giggling. She didn't know what the word was, but he wasn't the usual more pulled together Josh. Josh shrugged. "Drunk Josh is weird to see."

"I like Drunk Josh," He nodded proudly. "Drunk Josh has pulled a lot of girls this semester."

"Can't believe you're turning into Bizzle 2.0." Josh's face got serious. He pointed at her, shaking her head.

"Don't." Melody giggled.

"I'm just saying. This the same shit he was doing at 19. Drinking, fucking anybody-"

"I'm not on drugs though."

"Still embodying Bizzle." Josh shook his head. He wasn't shit like Justin. Okay, he liked to drink. He liked to have sex. He wanted to have sex with- Melody watched as horrified look washed over his face.

"Oh my God, I am acting like him." Melody motioned like 'told you'. Josh met Melody's eyes, and although he felt a bit ashamed of himself, the thoughts still popped in his head. Maybe he'd exercise better self control when he was sober, but at that moment he didn't give a fuck. "I uh-" The bathroom door swung open. Summer walked out with a disgusted look on her face.

"It's so dirty and stinky in there and there's no toilet paper."

"Ew," Josh and Melody frowned.

"I'm not going in there," Melody shook her head, walking away. Summer followed. Josh blew a raspberry, following them.

As they walked back towards their group, they saw MJ and a few others from the bachelor party dancing with a bunch of women. MJ looked like he was fucking the girl with clothes on.

"Oh hell no," Melody practically gagged. "We need to go to a new club."

"Not KOO Club, EDM music sucks."

"Noted." After gathering the girls, Aaron & Devante, they headed out of Enigma and into Two Brothers Bar. It was crowded but turned up. While Enigma gave off the aura of boujee, Two Brothers gave off the aura of 'fuck the aesthetics, we're here for the fun'. They were giving out t-shirts that said 'avoid hangovers, stay drunk'. The group decided to do a shot (minus Maiya) before getting back to dancing, splitting up as they did. Two Brothers played a mix of different music, catering to everybody.

Yo a cupido no le creo pero en tus ojos veo esa actitud
Que te hizo confiar?
El pasado a sido duro

"What are they saying?" Melody asked as she and Summer danced together.

"Well..." Summer pulled Melody closer and turned so that Melody's ass was against her. "They're saying..."

Con la forma en la que sexy me ballas

"With the way that you dance for me sexy..." Summer started running her hands up Melody's stomach.

Y lo rico que tus labios me besan

"And the delicious way your lips kiss me," Summer used one hand to squeeze Melody's breast while the other went up to her neck. Melody closed her eyes, leaning into her.

A tu lado se me pasan las horas
Lejos de ti no sales de
Lejos de ti no sales de mi cabeza yal

"By your side the hours pass by, far away from you, you don't get out of my head," Summer spoke softly. She started moving her hands up and down Melody's body, the two grinding together.

The two were in their own world, not caring who was watching.

As Josh came back from the bar after another shot, he decided he was going to rip the bandaid. Melody with either go with it, or she would call him stupid and that would be that. Either way, it didn't hurt to try. Josh neared where he last saw Melody, and stopped in his tracks as he saw Summer & Melody dancing together sensually. A small part of him was more turned on, but a bigger part realized that she had her pick of who she would be fucking on this trip. Josh didn't get a chance to process it before Aaron & Amala ran up to him.

"Devante's projectile vomiting in the bathroom."

"Oh crap!!"

The night was over after that. The three of them quickly gathered the rest of the group, including MJ and the guys. MJ furrowed his eyebrows when he saw his little sisters.

"What the hell are yall doing here?"

"Not the time." Devante had thrown up all over himself and the bathroom. They had to get another t-shirt and find some pants for him. Once that was done, and it seemed like he was done with the projectile part of the vomiting, it was time to take him back.

"C'mon, it's room," MJ told the girls as he carried an unconscious Devante to the van.

"Nah, I think we'll walk back," Maiya scratched her head.

"Get yall ass in the van." The girls sucked their teeth, getting on the van. It took five minutes for them to get back to Kivotos, where Kae & Tae were already waiting.

"Why would yall let him get that drunk?!?" Kae asked as Tae carried his son into their villa. "He's 18! That boy don't know how to hold his liquor!! What the fuck were you thinking?!?"

"That he had to learn eventually." That got MJ punched in his shoulder. Then Kae turned and cussed the rest of the group out. Even the girls.

"How the hell did we get chewed out for something we weren't invited to?" Princess mumbled after they were all dismissed. The guys were behind them, snickering.

"Yall know this means my side wins right?" MJ grinned as the other three clapped. "Pay up."

"Nah nigga, we don't know about Josh & Aaron," Taj pointed at the two.

"Josh was on some lowkey wild shit, so MJ and nem wins," Aaron declared as Josh rolled his eyes. MJ's team cheered as the losers groaned.

"I was not on some wild shit," Josh mumbled. Aaron scoffed.

"Yeah okay."

"I want my money in hand," Will joked and MJ cackled.

"Man fuck yall. Goodnight." The group started dispersing, most of the men going back to their rooms to wait for their spouses. Aaron & Amala headed back to their room. Summer looked at Melody.

"You coming with me?" The answer was fuck yes. Melody looked at Maiya.

"Tell mama and daddy i'm with Summer." Maiya gave her a thumbs up before the three of them left. That left Josh & Princess. Princess was tipsy and ready to climb in the bed.

"Goodnight," She nodded at Josh, turning to walk away. Josh watched her for a moment, eyeing her body. The freshman 15 looked really good on her. And Princess had always been pretty. His eyes had been on Melody most of their life. Maybe he had his eyes set on the wrong cousin.

"Hey," He called after her. She turned back to him, a curious look on her face. "You wanna come spend a night?" She never said whose bed she wanted to climb into.

Summer & Melody were careful not to wake Summer's parents as they snuck into the villa. They quietly made their way into Summer's room. As soon as the door closed, they were at each other like rabbits.

Freckles: De got drunk and threw up everywhere, so nights over haha

Mica was sending the text to update Serenity. He didn't think she would see it right away. Nor did she think he would call.

"You're back at the villa?!?" She slurred as soon as he answered. Mica chuckled.

"Yeah."

"Night's over, let's go!!!" He heard her scream before she hung up. Mica chuckled to himself, heading into the bathroom to shower.

By the time he came back out 27 minutes later, Serenity was stumbling in.

"Hi!!" She squealed excitedly, tripping over her feet. Mica grabbed her.

"Hey baby," He laughed, sitting them down on the bed. "You had fun?" She nodded. He could tell. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"So much fun. And so much dancing. And liquor." Serenity plopped back on the bed, blowing a raspberry. She looked at Mica, who was smiling at her. "I'm sorry your night ended early." Mica waved it off.

"I had fun. But I rather end my night with you than in some club." Serenity smiled giddily. Then she placed her legs across his lap.

"Can you take my shoes off please?" Mica chuckled, nodding. He slipped her shoes off for her before rubbing her feet. Serenity sighed blissfully, closing her eyes. For a moment, he thought she fell asleep. "When we had our first kiss, did you ever think we would end up here?"

"Uh, I don't think I was worried about marriage at 13," Mica quipped. "But being with you? Yeah, that was always the goal. Why do you think I offered to be your first kiss?"

"I thought you were being a good friend," Serenity side eyed him, a little smile on her face. Mica scoffed.

"No. I've been plotting on you for a long time, Serene." He smirked. Serenity rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the smile that came over her face.

"We're each other's first kiss, and we'll be each other's last kiss," She said softly.

"Does that thought make you nervous?"

"It makes me happy. Beyond happy." Serenity placed a hand on his arm. "I love you freckles."

"I love you too Serene."

November 26th, 2015
7:21 AM

Josh's head was pounding when he woke up. He groaned, pulling the covers over his head as he turned over. He stopped once he bumped into something. He froze, his eyes popping open. When his eyes landed on Princess, memories from the night before flooded in his head. The clubs, the drinking, him propositioning Princess, Princess riding him-

Josh rubbed his face, feeling panicked. He had never had sex with one of his friends before. He and Melody had only gotten to second base. He  never have to that awkward morning after with somebody he knew and cared for. Ugh, drunk Josh always got sober Josh into some shit. The worst part was that Princess was now in his top 3 of partners. She was good. Shocked the hell out of him. How the hell was he supposed to look her in the eye, knowing all he would see is the way she looked at him as she swal-

Princess groaned, rolling over towards him. The moment she bumped him, her whole body went still. It was like that for a few seconds before she popped up, turning over to look at him.

"Oh my God," She gasped, sitting up completely, holding the covers to her body.

"Princess-" He sat up.

"Oh my God," she repeated, looking horrified.

"Please don't freak out."

"Don't freak out?!?" She squealed, moving back.  "We- you- I- oh my God!" Josh shushed her.

"My parents might be up." Princess groaned, rubbing her face. "I know this is... weird." Princess dropped her hands.

"Weird is if you accidentally walked in on me while naked then stared at me for a moment. This is not weird. This is fucking insane! God, i'm not ever drinking again." She plopped back on the bed. "I can't believe we had sex!"

"Well was it that bad?" He mumbled, scratching his head. He knew they had done something crazy, but she was acting like it was horrible. Princess looked at him, squinting.

"What? No. It-it's..." Princess' cheeks started to hit up. "W-we we're friends. Friends aren't supposed t-to do what we did to each other..." She looked away from him.

"I know," Josh blew out a breath, rubbing his face. "I shouldn't have ask you to come to my room. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Me either." It fell quiet, a bit of awkwardness between them. "We used a condom right?" Josh nodded. "Good." It went quiet again, both of them thinking about the night.

"Y-you weren't a virgin right? You were kind of ti-"

"No, I wasn't," Princess answered quickly.

"Oh okay. I didn't think so, but I wanted to make sure." Princess nodded. "I don't think virgins would be able to get on top like that." Princess' cheeks burned more as she looked at Josh. Josh's face was a bit red too. "You kind of surprised me last night. I didn't expect you to be so... good. I thought you would lay there."

"I honestly didn't expect you to be good either," Princess admitted. "I've never... uhm... experienced that unless I do it myself." Princess scratched her head. Josh looked surprised.

"Really?" She nodded. "You're missing out."

"I see," She said softly. The two stared at each other for a moment, thinking.

"You know... we're here until Sunday. I-if you're okay with it-"

"Yes," She said with no hesitation. Josh was surprised. "Summer & Melody are doing the wedding fling thing, why not do it too?"

"O-oh okay," Josh said, scratching his head. Neither of them made a move. They stared at each other before giggling.

"This is so awkward now that we're not drunk," Princess said, sitting up.

"Yeah," Josh said, moving his hand to pull down the covers to see her chest. Her brown nipples were hard. "Guess we gotta get comfortable with doing it sober," he told her, running his thumbs over her nipples. Princess pushed the rest of the covers off of her and moved to climb on top of Josh. Josh pushed the covers off him and let her sit on him. The two kissed all over each other, Josh getting hard underneath her. As Princess started to grind against him, the door swung open.

"Josh- OH MY GOD!!" His mother yelled, covering her eyes.

"MOM!!" Josh yelled as he and Princess scrambled to cover up. They did just in time for his dad to walk in.

"What- THE HELL?!?"

Melody and Summer were intertwined, making out as they laid in Summer's bed naked. Melody pulled back, nipping at her neck. Summer giggled, grabbing Melody's ass.

"I was right," Summer told her.

"About?" Melody asked as she dipped her tongue into the nape of Summer's neck. Summer closed her eyes.

"About you being pretty when you cum." Melody stopped, looking at her. Summer pecked her lips. "That's what I said in French yesterday." Melody snorted.

"I knew you said something more than me being pretty. You're so gay."

"Shut up," Summer snorted before kissing her again. Summer kissed her with such hunger that she could barely focus on breathing. Summer threw her leg over Melody's, and Melody didn't hesitate to travel her fingers to her clit. Melody did slow circles that had Summer feeling like she was going to lose her mind. Her fingers dipped lower, stroking slowly between Summer's folds. Summer moaned loudly into Melody's mouth. Melody's fingers delved deeper. Her pointer and middle finger plunged deep and curled, making Summer's back arch. With Melody's tongue in her mouth, two fingers stroking her walls, Summer practically had an out of body experience as she came, her whole body trembling. Summer was clenched around Melody's fingers, spasming as she slowly extracted them. Melody pulled back, looking at her as Summer looked to be in a daze. Summer licked her lips, meeting Melody's eyes. "I'm already dreading Sunday when we have to go our separate ways." Melody chuckled, leaning in to kiss Summer again. They didn't get very far before Melody's phone started ringing on the nightstand. Melody groaned, breaking the kiss as she reached over to grab it. Maiya was calling.

"Hello?" Melody answered the phone. Maybe her parents were looking for her.

"You'll never believe who got caught together!!"

"Damn, so Josh's parents walked in on him & Princess while they were getting down?" MJ cackled as he ate from his bowl of fruit. The Jacksons & the Allens were in the Jacksons' villa kitchen, preparing for their Thanksgiving dinner later that day.

"That's what Dawn told me," Skylar said as she washed dishes.

"Same with Maria," Libby, Mica's mom, said.

"Like cousin, like sister huh?" Serenity said, looking over at Mica. MJ hollered as the others tried to keep in their laugh.

"Ha," Mica laughed sarcastically. "So funny. My soon-to-be wife is so, so funny." He walked past her, pinching her ass. She bit her lip to keep from yelping.

"I would claw my eyes out if I ever walked in on any of you in the midst of it," Michael shuttered.

"I guess it's a good thing Melody went to Summer's room and not the other way around huh?" MJ joked. Maiya snorted as Michael & Skylar gave him a blank look.

"You're not funny." As MJ shrugged, they heard the front door open and close. Melody walked in, still in disbelief.

"Look at you, looking like yesterday," MJ joked. Melody ignored him.

"Princess and Josh?"

"Mhmm," Everybody hummed. Melody threw her head back, dying of laughter. That was the most random pair ever! He was really embodying Bizzle.

"That's so crazy, and embarrassing!! I would die if that ever happened to me," Melody said, sitting next to Mehki at the island. "Did they get in trouble?"

"No. They're technically grown, and probably doing more of that at school," Victor, Mica's dad stated.

"Oh Josh for sure is," Mica & MJ busted out laughing. Melody wasn't going to out her, but Princess was too. She lost her virginity that first week she was there, and once whatever she had going on with dude number 1 ended, she tried a few until she got to dude number 4. Josh was number 5.

"Still, it's probably going to be so awkward at the gatherings for the next couple of days." Melody giggled.

6:24 PM

Awkward was right.

Everyone who was already in Santorini gathered for Thanksgiving on the terrace of Mavro, Kivotos in house restaurant. The same way the hotel was rented out for the week, so was the restaurant.

The food was a mix of traditional Thanksgiving meal that the Jacksons & Allens cooked, and some of the greek food people enjoyed.

"Getcho ass away from this bar!!" Kaelyn hissed, snatching Devante away from the open bar.

"Ma!!" Devante groaned.

"You been nursing a hangover all day, you should be tired of drinking!!" She shoved him towards the young adults table, where the rest of the group was snickering.

"I wasn't even trying to drink again," Devante mumbled, sitting down. He was trying to get some water.

"Aye," Aaron said to the table. "Look at the entrance." The whole table looked, seeing Dawn, Princess & Malik walking in at the same time as Josh's parents. Josh's parents nodded politely at Dawn, not looking at Princess. Princess didn't look toward Josh & his family at all. The whole table busted out laughing.

"Yall are terrible," Deanna giggled as she walked past the table. They couldn't help it. Princess and Josh were making it so easy to laugh. Especially as they tried not to look at each other as they walked towards the table together.

"You guys are aware that this is making it worse, right?" Summer asked as the two got to the table. Josh stuck up his middle finger at her. He & Princess moved to sit away from each other, but the only seats available were right next to each other. They both sucked their teeth.

"C'mon guys," Josh said, looking around. "Can somebody please switch?"

"What? Yall fuck and now yall don't wanna sit next to each other?" Aaron asked. "Was it that bad?" They both tried to play off their blushes.

"Yall not gon be friends now that yall did it? I swear, i'm so glad we're not at Viewpoint still, this would be year three of trying to fix a friendship in this group." Amala rolled her eyes. "I used to think Navya was the blame, but you're the common denominator." Amala pointed at Josh. He frowned.

"It's not that, we're still friends. But... everybody knows what happened between us and they're going to keep staring and talking."

"So?" The table asked.

"And they're probably not. These grown ass adults, they do not care," Melody waved them off.

"What's that, 20 for Josh?" Booboo cackled, shaking his head.

"20 is insane," Jill frowned.

"Men are so disgusting," Brittany stated. Johnna nodded in agreement.

"This further proves that we win the bet," Mica smirked proudly.

"What bet?" Serenity asked.

"This further proves," Travis mocked.

"Right. Nigga you writing an essay? Speak English," Taj grumbled.

"Never thought Princess would turn out like her big sister. Poor baby never stood a chance," Bria shook her head. The whole group groaned.

"Bria can you please get over your beef with Kiana?!?" Lauryn asked. Serenity, Mica & MJ made amends with her. Why couldn't Bria?

"No. Fuck that hoe."

"Reformed hoe," MJ corrected.

"Ah yes, I forgot you and her are in the reformed hoe club together." The two started playfully bickering and the others egged them on.

Serenity leaned into Mica. "This is our wedding party huh?" Mica snorted.

"Yes it is."

At 6:30 on the dot, Michael and Skylar tapped their spoons on their glasses, getting everybody's attention.

"We're going to say a quick prayer before we get to the food." Everyone nodded, bowing their heads. "Thank You, God, for the food we are about to eat and for those who are here to share these blessings. Bless those who are here and those who are in our hearts, and all those who are not as fortunate on this day. Amen."

"Amen."

"And, we'll probably say this multiple times over the next couple of days, but we thank yall for being here for Mica & Serenity," Michael added, looking at the couple. "They choose one of the worst times to have people flying somewhere." Everybody laughed, including Mica & Serenity. "We know you had to change around plans and take long flights-"

"It's Greece!!" AJ interrupted. "Ain't nobody worried about them for real." AJ looked at his niece and nephew, winking as the others laughed.

"AS I WAS SAYING, we appreciate it."

"We're happy to be here," Janay, Summer's mom, said, putting her glass up.

"Happy Thanksgiving everyone, let's eat!!" Michael did not have to repeat himself. Eat, and drink, they did. Princess & Josh sat next to each other, and the awkwardness went away. It was replaced by something else.

Almost two hours later, dinner turned into a kickback. People were talking, laughing, playing games, vibing to the music and enjoying the view. Princess was looking out at the sea from the vantage point of the terrace when Josh walked over.

"Hey," He stopped next to her.

"Hey," She spoke, glancing at him.

"It is really beautiful out here," He acknowledged, looking at the remnants the sunset. Princess nodded. The two went silent for a moment, watching as it went completely down. When it did, Josh looked at her. "I'm sorry-"

"It's fine-"

"No it's not. My parents shouldn't have told your mom, or my aunt Libby. And they should've knocked." Princess shrugged.

"Too late now." Everybody knew.

"Yeah, but I know you were embarrassed. You put your clothes on and ran out of there before I could say anything." Princess snorted.

"There wasn't anything to say. You didn't do anything wrong. And I wasn't going to stay when I knew your parents knew I was there. Definitely wasn't in the mood anymore after that." Josh bit his lip, nodding.

"Yeah, that made me go soft very quickly." The two laughed, shaking their heads. "We're cool?" Princess nodded. Josh nodded. "Good." The two went silent again. Josh took a sip of his drink, getting a curious look from Princess. He raised an eyebrow. "You want a taste?" She nodded. He handed her the drink and she took a sip. It was vodka. She grimaced, handing it back.

"Eck!"

"You don't like vodka?" He laughed.

"I'm a tequila girl." Josh snorted.

"That makes sense." She frowned.

"What?"

"Tequila girls are the best in bed." Princess rolled her eyes, holding back a blush.

"Yeah? Are you saying i'm the best?" Princess asked, turning completely to him, leaning against the railing. Josh eyed her, liking how the sweater dress clung to her.

"One of them, yeah." Princess bit her lip.

"I think I need to make sure I solidify myself as number one before we leave Greece." Josh eyes widened, caught off guard. Princess kept surprising him. He think he liked this new side of her.

"Yeah? How are you going to do that?" Josh asked, towering over her a bit. Princess looked him up and down before pushing herself off the railing.

"Follow me, and you'll see."  The two carefully snuck off, thankful there was an intense uno game going on that had everyone's attention.

"Boy i'll knock this table over!!" Kaleb yelled at Taj. "Fucking cheater!!"

"Ain't nobody cheating!! You just suck ass!!"

Melody shook her head. She didn't understand why they insisted on bringing games to family functions. It ended in an argument every-time. Melody chuckled as Kaleb flung the cards at Taj, ending that round. As they kicked off another round, Melody felt a hand on her thigh. She looked at Summer. She met Melody's eyes, face feigning innocence, her eyes saying it all. Melody scooted up in her chair a little, spreading her legs. Summer resisted smirking. She slid her hand up Melody's skirt, and was happily surprised that she didn't have on any underwear.

"You're so wet for me already," Summer mumbled, stroking her folds.

"I've been wet for you all day," Melody responded, moving up more for better access. Summer slipped two fingers inside of her, pumping steadily. Melody rocked forward against her hand, fucking herself on Summer's fingers. Summer panties got damp as Melody did so. Summer loved how Melody took control, even when she wasn't in control. They were ravenous for each other.

The closer Melody got to climax, the more desperately she fucked Summer's fingers. Summer sped up, not wanting them to get caught because of Melody's movements. Melody gripped onto the arms of the chair, biting down on her lip as she shook, cumming. The two made eye contact as Summer pulled her fingers out, licking them. Melody swallowed, standing up to go clean herself up. Summer smirked, standing up.

"No need to clean yourself," She whispered, following Melody into the restaurant. "I'm not done with you yet." Melody felt a shiver running down her spine as they walked inside. The two turned straight for the bathroom. As they neared it, they could hear somebody was already in there. The two stopped in their tracks, listening. There was the sound of constant clapping. They exchanged looks.

"Is that-" Melody started. She quickly stopped when she heard moans.

"Oh fuck, you feel so good." Then there was a loud smack, eliciting louder moans. Their jaws dropped. They covered their mouths, backing away before running back the way they came. As soon as they were sure they were out of earshot, they busted out laughing.

"Josh & Princess at it again!!!" They giggled.

"I don't know who's worse, us or them," Summer giggled.

"Considering im still dripping wet from what you pulled against the table, i'll say us." Summer nodded like 'true'.

"Well, both of our villas are empty right now so... yours or mine?"

November 27th, 2014
5:37 PM

The wedding was officially less than 24 hours away. It felt so surreal. They had gone from counting the days till it arrived to it being right there. Everything was organized. Manicures, pedicures, final fittings, vows, set up, all of that was taken care of. That gave Serenity time to sit there and take it all in.

Serenity sat on a sun lounger on the rooftop terrace of Kivotos in silence, letting it set it. She was getting married. She was marrying her best friend. Her life had gone through a lot of changes, but this had to be the biggest. She wouldn't feel the change dramatically, the two already acted like they were married. The changes would be semi-subtle. Getting a place in both of their names. Referring to each other as husband and wife. Hyphenating her last name. She felt giddy at it all.

"You hiding out up here?" Serenity heard her soon-to-be husband say. She looked at him as he came to a stop next to the lounger. He wore a white turtleneck sweater, black and white tapered stripped trousers and white velvet loafers. He cut his curly hair down, wanting to 'actually look grown' for the wedding (his words). Serenity shook her head, reaching her hand out.

"Sit with me." Mica didn't hesitate to listen. He sat on the lounger, getting comfortable as she was. She started to lean on him, but stopped. She didn't want to get make up on his sweater. "I was taking a moment. Everybody that's been married, my grandmothers, my mom, Kae, Dawn, your mom, your aunt, everyone said I should take a moment before tomorrow. Because after the moment, it'll probably be hectic." Mica chuckled.

"I don't think it'll be hectic."

"It'll definitely be a thousand people surrounding us though," She pointed out. He nodded.

"That's true. I'm sorry I interrupted your moment." Serenity shook her head.

"Don't apologize. We need a moment too. This will definitely be the only alone time we get until the reception ends." The reception would be until 1:30am. That was more than 24 hours. Mica shook his head. "No?"

"I refuse to not get you alone once after we say 'I do'. I've been holding out for three months. I need to get a quick one off so I won't embarrass myself when it's time to take our time." Serenity giggled. "I'm so serious, Serene." She knew he was. He smiled at her giggles before grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "You guys are heading to the wedding villa right after the dinner?"

"Mhm, i'm being whisked away so you won't see me before the wedding," Serenity rolled her eyes. "That's such a stupid tradition."

"I think it'll be worth it. The anticipation, the build up to when we see each other for the first time while you're walking down the aisle," Mica said softly. Serenity felt herself melt.

"You're such a romantic."

"Mhm, and you love it," He mumbled pecking her lips. Serenity sighed blissfully, closing her eyes. "How long until somebody comes-"

"Serenity!!! Mica!!" They heard MJ yell.

"Not long," Serenity joked, knowing what he was going to ask. Mica snorted as MJ walked up the steps to the terrace. He rocked a light brown/tan Louis Vuitton sweater from their 2015 fall collection, chocolate brown straight leg pants, and white Christian Louboutin leather sneakers. "You look handsome bubba."

"Thanks," He told her as he came to a stop by them. He nodded at her. "You look ight." Serenity wore a cream satin strapless dress that was adorned with a beautifully embellished, hand stitched edge that featured rows of cascading pearls and beads and finished with the sweetest lace-up back detailing. She topped off the look with satin and white lace bow pumps.

Serenity sucked her teeth. MJ flashed her a shit eating grin. "I'm playing. You look pretty Serenity."

"Thank you," she rolled her eyes. "It's time to go?"

"Nah. I wanted to have a moment with my two best friends before they marry each other and officially replace me."

"C'mon," Mica laughed softly. "That's not going to happen. It's been the three of us since we were kids, and it'll always be the three of us."

"Uh huh," MJ said as if he wasn't trying to hear it.

"Bubba-"

"I'm fucking with yall. Don't start getting sentimental." The couple rolled their eyes. "I did come up here to have a moment with yall though." MJ sat on the lounger across from them. "I know it's always been the three of us, and it always will be. But we know it ain't gon be the same." Serenity bit her lip, knowing. That would be another semi-subtle change. "I rather it be yall switching up on me for each other rather than anybody else. And uh..." MJ scratched the back of his head, feeling emotional. "Imma give a speech tomorrow, I promise, but yall know I like to get my emotional shit off in private." MJ hadn't even said anything yet, but Serenity felt her eyes filling with tears. "This shit been a long time coming and i'm so fucking happy for yall. Yall deserve a lifetime of happiness, not even because of the shit yall been through. You two deserve it. Yall are some of the best people I know, and yall deserve the world. I appreciate and love the fuck out of yall, and I can't wait to celebrate all tomorrow." Serenity sniffled.

"I love the fuck out of you too," She told him tearfully, making the three of them bust out laughing. They stood up, and Serenity & MJ shared a tight hug, rocking back and forth. When they let go, Mica & MJ did the same.

"I love the fuck out of you man," Mica mumbled. MJ was the brother he never had. Always had been, always would be. The two let go as Melody walked up, looking gorgeous in her tangerine bustier sundress and white heels.

"It's time to go," Melody nodded at them. The three nodded, moving to get rid of the evidence that they were crying. Melody frowned. "Were yall crying?"

"Mind ya business Melody."

The four headed to the lot, where their immediate family, the wedding party, the wedding party's plus ones, and Kae & Tae were waiting outside the three sprinter vans. Kae clapped when she saw the couple.

"Finally! We sent MJ to get yall and the boy didn't come back!!" Serenity & Mica looked at MJ who shrugged.

"I wanted some alone time with my siblings." He got snorts in response. Kae rolled her eyes.

"Let's go. We need to be at the venue by 5."

"Everything on the island is close, we'll make it," MJ said as everyone started boarding the vans.

"Michael get your smart mouth son," Kaelyn warned as the older adults got on one van. The vans were segregated by the older generation, the youngins, and the in-between generation.Michael furrowed his eyebrows.

"He's Skylar son too," He pointed at his wife. Skylar smirked.

"He gets that smart mouth from you."

"Bullshit." Katherine, Serayah, Jo Ann & Earl (Mica's paternal grandparents), and Elaine & Richard (Mica's maternal grandparents) all gave Michael a look. Michael looked embarrassed. "My apologies."

"You need some soap for that mouth!!" Tae joked. Michael flicked his chin at him. "Potty-body."

"What?!?"

Like MJ said, they made it by 5. Kassia was waiting outside for the group along with her assistants. Kassia happily welcomed the large group, then lead them to where the ceremony would be held. The set up was bare bones, insuring that everyone would be surprised when the actual ceremony would be held. The view was enough to show that the wedding would be beautiful.

Mica & Serenity playfully bumped each other, smiling as they listened to everyone 'ooh', 'ahh' and whistle at the sight in front of them.

Kassia let her have their moment. Kae, however, snapped her fingers, getting everyone's attention.

"We can stare at the view tomorrow. We're on a schedule people!" They knew not to play when Kae was in planner mode. Or any mode. The group directed their attention to Kassia & Kae, ready to rehearse.

The rehearsal took about 40 minutes. The group learned where and when to gather, in what order to line up, when their cue to enter was, and where to stand. Kassia & Kae also went over small-but-still-important details, such as what the groomsmen would do with their hands while they stand alongside Mica as well as the height at which the bridesmaids would carry their bouquets in order to look good in photos. 

After that, they headed to Venetsanos winery for dinner. The winery was built on 4 different levels.
The second level is where the wedding party was.  The Upper Terrace was a magnificent terrace area of that overlooked the caldera.

The group had their appetizers, entrees and drinks. Mica & Serenity got up when dessert was served.

Tae tapped Michael as the couple made their way to the middle of the tables. Michael looked at him. The look on his face told Michael he was about to try to get under his skin. "What if they pull what Kae & I did at our rehearsal dinner?" Michael took a moment to think about it. What... when it came to, Michael scowled at Tae. Tae snickered into his napkin.

"Excuse me," Mica spoke, getting everyone's attention. "We want to show our gratitude to everyone here. My soon-to-be father-in-law," Mica stopped, smirking at Michael. Michael held back his laugh. "Yeah, you can't tell me to stop now because it's for real." The party laughed as Michael shook his head. The boy could finally justify calling him 'pops'. How annoying. "Yesterday he thanked you guys for coming during one of the worst times to fly in the year, and we appreciate you coming because of that... but also we appreciate the support you've given us over the years." Mica looked at his fiancée, who was already giggling into his shoulder. He looked back at everyone. "It's not a secret that we were... a bit of a mess over the years." The hums of agreement and additional comments were to be expected.

"A bit?!?"

"More like in-denial."

"Wasted my damn time."

"Just like her parents!!" Kae yelled. The group cracked up. Michael & Skylar flicked her off in creative ways to not offend their mothers.

"Yeah," Mica chuckled softly. "A lot of you, especially our friends, had to deal with the back and forth. The will-they-won't-they. Some of you, I won't say any names, took things a little too personal." All eyes fell on MJ, who was killing his piece of chocolate cake. He sucked his teeth.

"You didn't have to say that bro."

"I'm sorry," Mica chuckled.

"The point is," Serenity took over as MJ stuck his middle finger up at his friend. "We appreciate how much you guys care for us, love us, and rooted for us. We'll never be able to repay you... but we do have gifts for you." There were some excited hoots, Leon the loudest as he rubbed his hands together. Serenity looked at Mica. He nodded at her.

"Ladies first."

"Okay, for my bridesmaids..." Kae stood up, opening her large black Dolce & Gabbana tote bag. People had been wondering why she had a big ass bag. They thought it was for wedding prep reasons. Kae walked around the table, handing out rectangle shaped Tiffany & Co. boxes.

"Uh oh!!" Deanna yelled, sounding like her mama, as the ladies opened their boxes.

There was not one, but two Tiffany knot bracelets in the box.

"Oh bitch!!" Serenity spent some good money on them.

"I couldn't figure out which one to choose. I wanted my girls to have the bracelet version of my ring, diamonds and all but also... I like the plain version of it." Serenity shrugged. She had gotten her some too. The girls murmured excitedly, loving their new bracelets.

"Spending money like you," Skylar nudged Michael. Michael smiled proudly. Kae handed another Tiffany box to Deanna, and gave a box to Mila. Deanna looked confused while Mila's eyes lit up.

"I'm not going to leave my two flower girls out. Open them." Opening them, Deanna & Mila saw that Serenity had gotten the flower girls something else from the Tiffany Knot collection. Aniyah had the pendant necklace in yellow gold, and for her only niece, the limited edition pendant necklace in rose gold with pink sapphire.

"This is so cute!" Deanna squealed. She looked at Aniyah, showing her the necklace. "Look at what your cousin got you flower girl!!"

Mila eyes sparkled with excitement. "I love it tete!!" Serenity knew she would. Mila's favorite color was pink, and that baby loved her some jewelry. She was a little diva. Still, the happiness on her face made Serenity's heart swell. Mica could see Serenity light up.

He looked forward to the day she looked at their child like that.

"Do I get something too sissy?" Mehki asked, bouncing in his chair. Serenity looked at Mica. It was his turn to do the guys.

"Of course," Mica told him, giving Tae his cue. Tae grabbed Kae's bag as she sat down. He pulled out a mini coloring book set, personalized specifically for Mehki. The box with the crayons said 'Mehki, thank you for being our' and the crayons themselves were custom shaped spelling 'ring bearer'. The first half of the book were wedding themed pages including a 'design the cake' page; the second half was where Mehki could let his imagination run free. Mehki gasped as he took the coloring book. The boy loved to color and draw.

"Thank you!!" He yelled excitedly, ready to put it to use at the table. Skylar quickly told her baby boy he would have to wait.

"I hope this isn't a hint to what we'll be getting," Travis half joked. All the girls got jewelry, what was he going to give them? Custom art pieces created by Booboo? No thanks. Mica ignored him as Tae handed the men their boxes. Travis was happily surprised when he opened the box.

Mica had gotten them all gold cufflinks with their initials and, more importantly, gold Rolex Day-Dates with a champagne face.

"Oh DAMN!!" Excitement washed through the table, some of the guys immediately putting on their new watches.

"I hope MJ doesn't already have that in his collection," Mica joked as MJ eyed his. MJ looked at him, grinning.

"If I do, i'll be coming to you for an exchange." Mica didn't doubt it.

"I know you're all excited but, we still have a few more gifts to hand out." The group quieted down, a bit confused. Who else did they have to gift? Mica & Serenity looked their parents' way. Immediately they shook their heads.

"No-"

"Too late, we already got them," Serenity quickly interrupted her future father in law. Victor looked defeated.

"C'mon, we have to show our appreciation," Mica laughed. "And I think you'll love it. For you, dad, we got you season tickets to the Dodgers and Super bowl tickets." Victor's face lit up. He loved sports, baseball and football the most. If the season wasn't almost over, they would've done season tickets to the 49ers. The Super bowl would have to do. They got the tickets courtesy of Bey. Speaking of, the mention of the super-bowl made MJ flinch a little. Chris had still been trying. MJ was still saying no. "Mom, we bought you a few art pieces, they should be at the house when we get back to Los Angeles." Libby was an avid art collector. She loved abstract pieces, so this was the best gift possible.

"You two," Serenity pointed at her parents. They smirked. "You're impossible to buy for. I know you like sentimental things, but we didn't want to go too small when you went all out for the wedding. Lucky us..." Serenity clicked her tongue, smiling. "You two have a twenty year anniversary coming up." The party cheered, clapping.

"Oh God," Michael rubbed his face, chuckling. He looked over at his wife, who was shaking her head. She was truly her daddy's child.

Not much later, the group finished dessert, and it was time to go.

Santorini Gem's wedding villa could sleep up to 8 people. It was decided that Skylar, Melody, Maiya, Mila, Kae, Bria, Jill & Libby would be the ones to go with Serenity.

Summer pouted as she watched as some of the others climb onto the vans. "We'll only have one more night together." The days had flown by. The two couldn't get enough of each other. They couldn't believe the end was near already. Melody blew out a breath.

"It'll be worth the wait?" Melody sounded unsure. Summer snorted.

"I want to have you as much as I can, while I can. But I know it will be." Summer squeezed Melody's hand then walked away, getting on the van that was heading back to Kivotos. Melody headed to the one going to Santorini Gem. The vans were mostly loaded, with a few people still standing outside talking while they waited for Serenity & Mica.

"This is it," Mica said as they stood away from the group. "Last chance to back out." Serenity sucked her teeth. Mica shot her a smile, making her playfully roll her eyes.

"No chance baby, you're stuck with me," She told him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. The two embraced for a moment, taking their last moments of engagement in. "Oh!" Serenity's head popped up, looking at Mica. "Should we exchange gifts now?"

"You already got your gift!" Mica exclaimed, laughing. Serenity found the gold necklace he bought in France when they unpacked after the trip. Admittedly, he had forgotten about it when he decided to unpack in front of her. He ended up giving it to her, telling her it was her wedding gift.

Serenity looked at him like 'yeah right'. She knew her man. Mica snickered. "Your gift will be given to you tomorrow by your dad." Serenity was intrigued.

"What is it?"

"Why would I tell you?" She pouted. He quickly pecked her lips. "You'll see. Now where's my gift?"

"You think imma give you yours, and you not give me mine?"

"Yes." Serenity bit her lip, debating. Since she brought it up...

"Fine. I've been holding onto it for a while and I'm tired of keeping it a secret." Mica raised an eyebrow as Serenity got out of his hold. She went into her purse, grabbing her phone. Within a few clicks, she found what she was looking for, and turned the phone to Mica. Mica took the phone, looking at the picture on the screen.

It was of a recording studio. One he had never been to before. Mica looked from the phone to Serenity. Her eyes were bright with anticipation. Why would-

It clicked for Mica.

"Wait-" He laughed in disbelief. "Is this-"

"Mhm. Your very own recording studio. I bought a building across the street from The Wright Steps and had the contractors working on it at the same time as the expansion was happening. You can swipe to see more of it." Mica did as told. It had three large studios inside, the biggest one able to accommodate a full symphony orchestra. "Not only can you tell people to come to you if they want to collab, you can also rent it to others. Whatever you want to do, it's your baby." Mica opened his mouth to speak, but got choked up. Serenity could see his eyes watering. Before she could say anything, he pulled her into him, kissing her long and slow. Serenity melted into him, eyes fluttering shut and the world floating away. When Mica pulled back, he placed his forehead against Serenity's.

"This is the greatest gift ever, baby. I love it so much." Serenity grinned shyly, happy he felt that way. He pecked her lips. "What's the name?"

"Whatever you want it to be." He didn't have to think about it.

"Serene Studios." Serenity moved back to see if he was serious. He was.

"Just because I gave it to you-"

"You're my happy place. Music is my happy place. It's a no-brainer." Emotion washed over Serenity and tears flooded her eyes.

"I love you." Mica let out a wet laugh.

"I love you too Serene." He pulled her in, kissing her slow once more before kissing all over her face. She giggled, embracing it. He kissed her lips once more, meeting her eyes. "We should go before our people come and interrupt us." They glanced back at the vans. One had left already. The crowd outside the vans shrunk to only be Michael, Skylar, Victor, Libby, Tae & Kae. Mica looked back at her. "Thank you again baby."

"Of course, freckles." She pecked his lips. He grabbed her hand, leading her over to vans. The older couples looked at them, smiling.

"Ready?" Skylar asked her daughter. Serenity nodded, looking at her fiancé one last time.

"Next time you see me, i'll be in a wedding dress." The way Mica beamed at that could light a thousand suns.

"Can't wait."

11:16 PM

Sleep was not coming easy that night. Whether it was from excitement or nervousness, it was hard for some people to sleep.

"I remember the night of your wedding. One minute you were saying you were too excited to sleep, next, you were snoring," Skylar recalled as her and Kae laid there, reminiscing on their weddings. Kaelyn snorted.

"It was them babies! I don't know why you didn't warn me that twins could tire you out." Skylar looked over at her, giving her a blank look.

"Kaelyn, be serious. You know damn well I told you." Kaelyn snickered at Skylar's face, and Skylar joined in. "You act like you weren't right there with me during my entire pregnancy."

"Mhm, like I was the baby daddy." Skylar snorted. "Can you believe you're about to have a married daughter?" Skylar sighed, shaking her head. "You getting old bitch."

"Shut up bitch," Skylar shoved her playfully. "Deanna has been married for almost half a decade." Kaelyn dramatically winced.

"Can't believe we went from planning our own weddings to planning our daughters in the blink of an eye. Time needs to slow down. Next thing you know, we'll be planning our granddaughters' wedding."

"Oh God!!" Skylar yelled, shaking her head. The two busted out laughing. As they did, the room door squeaked open. Serenity peeked in, seeing her mom and her aunt giggling like teenagers. She smiled to herself before making herself known. Their laughter died down as they sat up. "Hey baby, are we being too loud?"

"No," Serenity assured her, shaking her head. "I just couldn't sleep, and wanted to see what you two were up to."

"Where's Bria & Jill?"

"Sleep." Kae snorted, climbing out the bed. So much for her maids of honor being on bride duty.

"Well I'll go make you some tea. Doesn't matter how late in the day the wedding is, you need to sleep." Serenity nodded, moving to climb in the bed. Kae & Sky exchanged knowing looks before Kae disappeared out of the room. Serenity laid on her side, facing her mother.

"You're too excited to sleep?" Skylar asked, rubbing her daughter's face. Her grown, about to be married daughter. Skylar couldn't wrap her head around it. Serenity nodded.

"I can't believe it's finally here. It's so close that I can taste it. Can see it. See him, waiting down that aisle for me." Serenity met her mother's eyes. "Is that how you felt when you and daddy got married?" A snort slipped out from Skylar's mouth.

"Baby you know we got eloped. You were right there."

"I know. But when you two did the wedding the next year." Skylar bit her lip, smiling fondly as she thought back.

"I remember feeling as excited as I did the day we eloped. However, I had three very active children, two who slept with me the night before to tire me out." Skylar looked at Serenity knowingly. Serenity snickered.

"Oh yeah, Mel & I did sleep in the bed with you the night before. I remember I was watching 'Family Matters' on Nick at Nite. It was supposed to be us watching it, but somebody was cuddled up with Melody, asleep," Serenity said in an faux accusing voice. Skylar pointed at her.

"You try planning a wedding with two 9 year olds and a one year old running around."

"No thank you." The two giggled. "Doing it while being a studio director is enough as is."

"See & I was that too!" Serenity snickered.

"Fine, you win, i'm not mad anymore," Serenity said sarcastically. Skylar rolled her eyes, smiling. She rubbed her daughter's face again, taking her all in. She was glowing. She was happy. That's all Skylar wanted for her children.

"I'm so happy for you baby," Skylar told her, moving and pulling her into her. Serenity hugged her back, getting emotional.

"Thank you mommy."

When Kaelyn came back with Serenity's tea, both Skylar & Serenity were still holding each other, sleep. Kaelyn smiled to herself, turning off the light and closing the door. Guess she'd drink the tea herself, and get ready for the morning. She had a wedding to run.

Mica was already knocked out. All the men came to the agreement that he would be up all night if it was up to his body. So, Tae gave Victor a Xanax that he gave to Mica, who took it around 10, and would probably sleep till 7.

MJ was wondering if Tae had another one.

MJ was in the kitchen, standing there waiting for his tea to finish boiling. He couldn't sleep. Mila was with Serenity, so he couldn't cuddle with her until sleep washed over him. Mica was drugged. Uncle P was definitely sleep, and so was his dad.

At least he thought so.

"Too anxious to sleep?" MJ heard Michael say. He looked up, seeing him leaning against the doorway. MJ didn't even hear him walk up. MJ laughed softly.

"You could say that." Michael hummed, moving further into the kitchen. He sat at the island. "Want some tea?" Michael shook his head. "Why are you up?"

"It's hard to sleep without your mom next to me. I'm too used to her body heat, and her putting her cold feet on me." MJ snorted. It was easy getting used to sleeping next to someone. MJ swallowed, leaning against the counter top. "Luckily, i'm not the main attraction tomorrow, and can get away with falling asleep later."

"I'm not the main attraction either, but I know a lot of eyes will be on me. Need to make sure I get my beauty rest." MJ winked, half joking. There for sure would be one set of eyes on him. He shouldn't have cared that they would be, but he did. Michael snorted.

"Glad to see your humor's still there, despite you being off." MJ furrowed his eyebrows.

"Off? What you mean off?" How did he know MJ was off? Michael looked at him knowingly.

"I know my son. You seem fine, and I know you're excited about the wedding, but you haven't been you since the summer." MJ bit down on his bottom lip as Michael continued. "I've been meaning to check in with you all week but i've been getting sidetracked, and i'm sorry for that."

"It's cool pops," MJ waved it off. "You don't have to apologize, i'm good. The wedding ain't turning me into one of them nig- people who get jealous and say 'I wish that was me'."

"I know," Michael nodded. "I was moreso thinking it was bringing up feelings about your... breakup." Michael didn't know what to call it, considering he and Skylar never met the woman. It wasn't a real relationship if MJ's own family didn't know the woman's name.

Other than her being at the wedding? No, no feelings, MJ thought.

"And if it did make you jealous, that would be okay. I was jealous at Kae & Tae's wedding." MJ raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" Michael snickered.

"Really. I still loved your mother, and they were getting to do what we didn't. On top of that, she fucking sprung John Stamos on me the night before," Michael rolled his eyes. Before he knew about John, Michael had been aiming for a reconciliation after the wedding. There was no better time right?

"H-how'd you deal with seeing them two? Together?" MJ asked. Michael took a moment to think about it.

"I..." Michael blew out a breath. "I kept myself preoccupied at the wedding. Kept away from them. Told myself that if I truly loved her, I would want to see her happy, even if it wasn't with me." The tea kettle whistled. MJ quickly turned it off to not wake up Mehki. "It sounds cliche, but that's what I had to tell myself to get over it. It's a mindset thing." MJ hummed as he poured the hot water into his cup with his chamomile tea bag.

"Like when I say I have to go through it to get through it." Michael hummed, nodding. MJ held up the pot. "You sure you don't want some?"

"I'm sure." MJ put the pot back on the stove. He grabbed the honey, pouring a little in. He stirred it as Michael continued. "The point I was getting at before I started talking about me and your mother's relationship pre-marriage is I want to make sure you okay. Or maybe not okay, but I wanted to give you a moment to decompress if you need to."

"I appreciate it pops. Me & Taylor been working though. I didn't want to let my relationship issues interfere with the wedding or intrude on my happiness for them. I'm not jealous. I'm dealing with the aftermath of it." Michael nodded, proudly. Skylar had been worried that MJ wouldn't be able to handle another breakup. Michael knew he would, he was his son after all.

"Okay. You know i'm here whenever you want to talk, same with your mother, same with your sisters. Although Serenity will be on her honeymoon for two weeks and I know you don't want to talk to your baby sisters." MJ snorted, nodding. They weren't quite grown enough for MJ to be spilling his problems on. Mel was getting there.

"Yeah, nah. I'll talk to Melody if I want her to fight."

"Don't treat my daughter like a pitbull, Michael Vick." MJ busted out laughing. Michael smiled, happy to see the joy on MJ's face. The pure joy, not the joy with a hint of pain he mostly wore as of late. It was as if for one moment, the thought of what happened wasn't in the back of his head.

"I'm not treating Mel like a pit. It's not my fault yall raised somebody who always ready to rumble," MJ said as he took a sip of his tea. It was still hot. He winced, putting it back down as Michael chuckled. "I know I got yall to talk to. A family full of people who'll listen to me. And I appreciate it. But-"

"I know, baby boy," Michael nodded, chuckling. "It's something you have to go through to get through." MJ nodded. Michael stood up. "I'm going to bed, goodnight. Love you."

"Love you too pops." Michael walked away, leaving MJ there by himself. He didn't know it, but MJ had taken something from their conversation.

I kept myself preoccupied at the wedding. Kept away from them.

He for sure could do that.

Told myself that if I truly loved her, I would want to see her happy, even if it wasn't with me.

He couldn't do that. He & Bey's relationship wasn't the same as Michael & Skylar's when she got with John.

Yet, the sentence kept repeating in the back of his head until he fell asleep at almost 1 am.

November 28th, 2015
4:56 PM

It's a beautiful night
We're looking for something dumb to do
Hey, baby
I think I wanna marry you

The time had finally come.

The guests were arriving. Everyone was getting dressed. Music was playing all throughout the venue to get everybody in the mood. They were officially 34 minutes out from the wedding.

"I'm so glad this is playing now rather than at the reception," MJ mumbled, shaking his head as he tied his tie.

"Why you hating on 'Marry Me'?" Mica grinned as he fixed his hair. He had done a huge 180 since the morning. He woke up around 6, anxious for the ceremony. He had been acting like a groomzilla since time wouldn't move faster. When it got closer, he started calming down, and completely mellowed out when they got to the Gem. It was like being that close to Serenity calmed him.

"It's so annoying now, no offense." Mica shrugged.

"It is a bit annoying, especially your voice." MJ picked up balled up napkin, throwing it at him.

"Fuck you nigga." Mica grinned before looking at the camera. The two had three videographers and five photographers for the wedding. They wanted to capture every moment.

"See how he treats me on my wedding day?"

"Yooo!" Taj yelled, him, Leon & Trav walking back in with trays of shot cups. "We gotta do at least one shot before you walk down the aisle." Mica looked down at his suit before shaking his head.

"Nah, should've caught me before the suit." He got booed and more stuff thrown at him. "I can't go up there with an alcohol stain on me!!" And he wanted to be completely sober when he saw Serenity walk down that aisle. He'd be drunk in love after that.

"Excuses, excuses," Leon said, passing out the shots. He tried to pass one to Devante, who shook his head immediately. "Lightweight."

"Old head."

"Woah!!"

Travis tried to pass one to MJ. MJ immediately gave him a warning look.

"He's sober, dumbass," Booboo said, snatching it from Travis. Travis figured it didn't hurt to try again. Mica passed MJ a cup of water, scowling at his cousin. When everybody had a drink in their hands (including the videographer), MJ raised his cup.

"To Mica & Serenity. Yall finally gon make it down the aisle!!" The room roared.

Who cares if we're trashed, got a pocket full of cash we can blow
Shots of Patron
And it's on, girl

"DON'T SAY NO, NO, NO, NO-NO, JUST SAY YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH-YEAH, AND WE'LL GO, GO, GO, GO-GO!!" The ladies sung, dancing around the bridal suite. Serenity sung to herself, dancing a little as she got her hair finished. The videographer nodded along, smiling as she panned the camera around the room. These girls had been a mood all day. She had never seen such a turned up pre-wedding. Nor had she ever seen a bride so relaxed and happy. The brides she seen were either anxious or anger, never in a good mood.

"All set pretty," Brittany said as she stepped back from Serenity. Serenity stood up, looking at her hair. Brittany, a licensed cosmetologist with a booming clientele, had done Serenity a half up, half done hairstyles. The half that was up? Styled into a heart shaped bun.

"This is so gorgeous," Serenity cooed, a permanent smile on her face.

"You're so gorgeous!!" Maiya told her big sister. She looked like a model, and she didn't even have the dress on yet.

"Awww thank you Mai. You're so gorgeous too," Serenity pulled her baby sister into a hug. Maiya looked like a doll. Natural looking make up, no pores to be seen, a very cute Pamela Anderson-esque updo. And the dress? Looked amazing with her brown skin. The color looked amazing with everybody's skin. But Maiya really looked gorgeous.

Maiya felt gorgeous.

It had been over a year since her vitiligo diagnosis (and her break up with Roc), and she had never felt more comfortable in her skin. The Vitiligo had spread a little more, however it had mostly stop spreading. She wasn't ashamed of the spots that were visible though. She wore them proudly.

As the ladies started cooing over Serenity, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?!?" Skylar yelled.

"Your husband!!"

"No men allowed!!" Half the room yelled. Serenity shushed them.

"He has my wedding gift from Mica!! Come in daddy!!" Michael opened the door, a frown on his face.

"Is that the only reason I get to come in?"

"Yes," Serenity stuck her tongue out at him. He smiled softly. She had never looked so much like a grown woman and his baby girl at the same time.

"Okay ladies, time for everyone but the maids of honor to get out." The ladies groaned, listening to Skylar.

"Thought we'd get to see the dress," Johnna mumbled.

"Shouldn't you be with the mens anyway, groomswoman?" Lauryn quipped.

"Probably."

"Why can't we stay?" Melody folded her arms, not moving an itch. This was her big sister, why should she not get first look at the dress? Only Skylar, Kae & the designer had seen the dress.

"Actually," Michael looked at Skylar, Serayah, Katherine, Libby, Bria, Jill, Melody & Maiya. "I want to speak with my baby alone. So everybody clear the room." The ladies sucked their teeth in harmony.

"Im standing right outside the door, i'm getting a first look," Katherine mumbled as they headed out. She didn't see Skylar in hers, she was going to see her granddaughter. Skylar pecked her husband's lips then left out, closing the door behind her. Michael looked at his first born daughter, a mixture of love and sadness on his face. Serenity looked away from him, already feeling emotional.

"Daddy please don't make me cry before the wedding. I just got my make up done." Michael chuckled softly, wiping his eyes that were already teary.

"You should've wore waterproof make up."

"I did!!" She giggled, looking at him. "Still, you don't want to save what you want to say for the reception?"

"So I can get choked up in front of 150 people and have people make fun of me like you, your siblings and your mom do? No thank you." Serenity giggled as Michael smiled softly at her. Both of them knew he didn't care about crying in front of a crowd. "I needed a moment to see my baby girl one more time before she officially becomes a married woman." Michael stated before blowing out a breath. That hit him harder than expected. Serenity swallowed.

"I'll always be your baby girl, married and all."

"I know," He smiled sadly. "But you're not a little girl anymore. And I know you've been grown for a while but this just makes it more real. In less than 30 minutes, i'll be walking you down the aisle to your husband. It doesn't feel like that long ago when I held you in my arms for the first time. Watching you walk for the first time. Teaching you to ride a bike, you watching me dance, nothing but awe in your eyes. Dancing with you at my wedding." Serenity could stop the tears from falling as she thought about all her memories with her daddy. Michael gave her a watery smile. "My baby is grown, with a life of her own and i'm so happy for you. I'm happy that you've found a man that loves the hell out of you. Someone that has loved you, despite everything. A man that looks at you like you're the air that he needs to breathe."

"Like how you look at mommy," Serenity sniffled. Michael nodded, a large smile on his face.

"Exactly. Today i'm mourning the fact that you are no longer a little girl, but i'm celebrating that my baby girl has found a man who loves her almost as much as I do." Serenity let out a half laugh and half sob as she moved towards her dad.

"I love you daddy," She told him as they embraced. He kissed her forehead, closing his eyes.

"I love you too Serenity Amara." The two held onto each other for a moment, letting it wash over them. Then Michael pulled back, knowing she still had a few things to do before 5:30. He carefully wiped a few tears from her face before handing her the gift bag he held. "I'm going to hold off the women out there for three minutes. That should give you time to open your gift." He kissed her cheek once more. "Wish me luck." She snickered then sniffled as Michael headed to the door. The moment he opened it, somebody tried to bombard in. "Let her open her gift first, doggone it!" He closed the door behind him. Serenity sat at the vanity, pulling the gift out the bag. It was in a black box with a gold bow. A handwritten note was stuck on the bow. Serenity pulled it out, reading it.

You are everything to me
You're sweeter than candy cane
Better than any childhood dream
I am yours, and you are mine
I have your heart, and soon you'll have a ring...

She smiled softly, setting the card to the side and unwrapping the bow. She opened the black box, another large note covering the gift.

But I wanted to give you a little extra something.

- freckles

Serenity moved the note. The moment she saw the gift, she jumped up, knocking the chair back as she gasped.

Michael let the ladies past as they ran in, wondering what the commotion was.

"What?!?"

"Are you okay?!?"

"What did he get you?!?" Serenity didn't answer. She couldn't answer. Skylar walked up to the vanity, and immediately her eyes went wide.

"Shit." It was a necklace.

Not just any necklace.

A necklace with one of the most diamonds in the world. A diamond whose whereabouts hadn't been known in about thirty years.

The 69.42 carat white Taylor-Burton diamond, on the necklace with the smaller pear-shaped diamonds.

5:30 PM

As 'Speechless' by Ciara went off, the horn player stood up, put his mouth on his horn, and got everyone's attention with the familiar notes.

Ooh-oh
I be on my suit and tie shit, tie shit, tie
I be on my suit and tie shit, tie shit
Can I show you a few things?

The band had been quiet before this, unmoving.

It was time.

The guests looked back towards the entry way, where Mica was already waiting. The guests cheered. Mica grinned, fixing his tie and pretending to wipe himself off as he waited for his cue.

Little baby, 'cause
I be on my suit and tie shit, tie shit (Check it)
I be on my suit and tie shit, tie shit
Let me show you a few things
Let me show you a few things
Wait a minute
You ready, JT?

The moment the beat and first verse started, Mica was headed down the aisle, getting louder cheers as they saw the full suit. He looked slick in his all white suit with gold accents and accessories, the gold Rolex Serenity bought him for his birthday peeking out from his sleeve.

And we don't mind all the watchin', ha
'Cause if they study close, real close
They might learn somethin'
She ain't nothin' but a little doozy when she does it
She's so fire tonight

"And as long as I got my suit and tie," Mica sung along, posing (2 of the photographers was getting all the shots as the cameraman recorded). Mica greeted the people close to the aisle, like Justin, who grinned, nodding hard as he and Mica dapped up.

"So sick bro," Justin complimented. Mica gave out hugs, danced a little, taking his time getting down the aisle. He gave a quick hug to Prince, who was smiling extremely hard. He saw Jay and Bey, and greeted them as Jay cracked up at the song choice. The crowd clapped and sung along, knowing this was a sign of a great night to come.

Love is swingin' in the air tonight
Let me show you a few things
Let me show you a few things
Show you a few things about love
Now we're in the swing of love
Let me show you a few things
Show you a few things about love, hey

Mica got to the end of aisle as the horn player did the final note, ending the song there. The crowd cheered as Mica bowed, then chuckled, moving to his spot on the gazebo by the officiant.

The pianist and cellist began playing 'Canon In D', the crowd settling down. As they did, the processional began. Serayah and Katherine walked down together first, taking a seat in the front row. Mica's two sets of grandparents followed. Then came Victor. Finally, as the recondition of 'Canon In D' ended, came Skylar & Libby. As the song faded out, Libby & Skylar sat down, leaving a space at the end of the row for Michael.

Then came the song.

Mica felt shivers running down his spine as he heard the first notes. He swallowed, the love pulsing through him. He watched Aaron & Summer loop arms, and as the first verse started, they started walking.

I never knew such a day could come
And I never knew such a love could be inside of one

Kaleb & Mica's cousin Celeste came next.

And I never knew what my life was for
But now that you're here I know for sure

As Deanna & Travis walked next, Tamia, who they asked to sing, stood up, starting her verse.

"I never knew till I looked in your eyes," She crooned smoothly as some people gasped excitedly. "I was incomplete till the day you walked into my life... And I never knew that my heart could feel, so precious and pure, one love so real..." Each pair was right on point as the song went on, and they looked damn good too. The men wore gold metallic suit jackets, black button up shirts, black slacks with gold running down the sides, and black loafers. The ladies wore various iterations of the same gold dress, with different updos.

Now baby the days and the weeks
And the years will roll by
But nothing will change the love inside
Of you and I

"And baby I'll never find any words that could explain, just how much my heart, my life, my soul you've changed," Tamia belted out as MJ, Bria and Jill started walking down the aisle, the lone best man in the middle of the two maids of honor.

Bey felt her heart yearn for him as she watched him walk down the aisle, looking handsome as always. He didn't even glance at her. Bey bit her lip as Jay squeezed her hand, watching as Mehki, Mila & Aniyah came next. Mehki & Mila were pros at their jobs, Aniyah was struggling. Mila grabbed Aniyah's basket, getting a chuckle out of the crowd as she helped her out. Mica laughed a little, but he couldn't get it out. As the bridge started, he stood up straighter, his heart beating out of his chest.

No touch has ever felt so wonderful
(You are incredible)

The crowd stood up in anticipation, all eyes on the entrance.

"And no deeper love I've never known!!"

I'll never let you go

"I swear this love is true," Tamia sung as Michael appeared at the entrance. He was holding it together, for the most part.

Now and forever to you...

"Only for you.."

To you...

When Michael put his arm out, Serenity walked into view. Mica's breath hitched, and the tears were an instant reaction. Mica took a step back, covering his mouth with a fist. MJ rubbed his back, smiling hard as he watched his sister walk down the aisle.

Serenity looked like an angel, from the way she floated down the aisle, to the way she glowed. Her skin, her dress and the diamond necklace had her glistening in the sun.

Serenity's eyes were glistening too as she kept her eyes on Mica, waiting for her. Mica was biting on his lip, wiping away the tears that kept slipping.

This was real. He was about to spend his life with Serenity.

"Feel this way together till the end of all time." Tamia was setting the tone, not only for the couple, but others as well. Maiya & Melody were leaning against each other, both blinking away tears watching their big sister stare at the love of her life with such intense love. Skylar was wiping away tears, a smile on her face. MJ was trying to keep Mica together, but he was feeling a little emotion himself. Bey was crying, Jay thinking it was only for Serenity. "No one else understands!"

Can we tell God and the whole world
You're my woman, and you're my man

"You're my man!!" Yes, Mica was her man. He was going to be her man forever. Serenity sniffled, her heart bursting as it sunk in. This was forever. She told Mica she wanted forever, and she was getting it.

Can't you just feel how much I love you
With one touch of my hand
Can I just spend my life with you?

Can I just spend my life with you?
Can I just spend my life with you?

"Forever here with you," Tamia sung as Serenity & Michael finally made it to the gazebo, Michael kissing her cheek before Mica grabbed her hands, the two facing each other. They looked at each other as if they were the only two that existed.

Can I just spend my life... with you...

"Can I just see you every morning when I open my eyes?" Oooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh..." The guests gave her a standing ovation, many wiping tears. Tamia nodded, smiling as she headed back to her seat next to her husband. Grant kissed her forehead as the crowd took their seats, the officiant preparing to start.

"You look like a princess baby," Mica complimented her softly, squeezing her hands. Just how he imagined she would.

"And you look..." Serenity blew out a breath, more tears forming. Mica laughed softly, pulling her towards me.

"I know, I know." Serenity sniffled.

"I don't know how i'm going to make it through my vows," She giggled through her tears. Some of the guests chuckled. Mica did too.

"Me either baby." The two squeezed each other's hands, looking at the officiant. He nodded, looking at the guests.

"Welcome family and friends. We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the marriage of Serenity Amara Jackson and Mica Keith Allen. This is not the beginning of a new relationship but an acknowledgment of the next chapter in their lives together. Serenity and Mica have spent years getting to know each other, and today we bear witness to what their relationship has become. Not only do Serenity and Mica love one another romantically — and they do, you can see it in every look, every touch, every moment they're together — they also love one another as friends. In fact, they're best friends, constantly giggling and taunting and teasing and very obviously having fun together." Serenity and Mica nodded smiling. It had been that way since the beginning, and it would be that way until the end. "That love and enjoyment of each other as best friends will sustain them through this marriage. In addition, the love collectively here, from friends and family, will help sustain and support the promises they make today. All of us here will help solidify this bond, as these two individuals are joined as husband and wife." The officiant looked at the couple. "This new journey will be at times richly rewarding and extremely difficult, but, most importantly, it will be a journey you take together. Marriage is much more than your signatures on a legal contract. You are promising, in front of all these people you love, that you want to be with each other and only each other for the rest of your lives, and that you will do everything in your power to honor the promises you are making here today. For their part, the people who love you will also do everything in their power to try to help you hold up your end of the bargain." They, along with some guests, nodded. "You have known each other for years, through the first glance of friendship to this moment of commitment. At some moment, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks — all those sentences that began with 'when we're married' and continued with 'I will' and 'you will' and 'we will' — those late night talks that included 'someday' and 'somehow' and 'maybe' — and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. Just two people working out what they want, what they believe, what they hope for each other. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another 'you know all those things we've promised and hoped and dreamed? Well, I meant it all, every word'. Look at one another and remember this moment in time." Serenity & Mica's eyes met, knowing that they would forever remember this. "Before this moment you have been many things to one another — acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, and even teacher, for you have learned much from one another over the years. You've learned that marriage is a maze into which we wander — a maze that is best got through with a great companion. Now you shall say a few words that take you across a threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall say to the world, Mica is my husband, Serenity is my wife." The officiant took a step back, giving the couple the floor. Mica licked his lips.

"You want to go first, or me?"

"I feel like you'll show me up, so i'll go." A wave of laughter washed over the guests. Serenity wasn't joking. Mica's whole career was making beautiful poems. He was definitely going to show out for his wedding. Serenity took a deep breath, holding Mica's gaze. "Freckles," Mica smiled softly. "From the day we met on the first day of 4th grade in Ms. Salvato's class, I knew I wanted you to be in my life forever. Not because I liked you then, I thought boys outside my brother had cooties-" There was some laughter as Michael proudly stated 'I told her that'. Serenity playfully rolled her eyes. "But because it was something about you that made me feel comfortable, at peace. Serene." They smiled at each other. "You once said that you call me 'Serene' because i'm a calm, peaceful, tranquil person, and that i'm someone people want to be around but I feel like i'm that way because of you. Mica Keith Allen, you're my peace. You bring me peace and tranquility and make me feel ways no other person in this world could. I feel so at home with you. When I wake up, I think of you. When I go to sleep, my last thought is of you. My mind never stops turning back thoughts to you." Her eyes filled with tears. "You are truly the love of my life Mica. As long as the stars burn in the sky, I will love you. As long as the sun shines in the day and the moon and stars shine at night, our love will always survive." Mica nodded, tears running down his face. "I used to be scared of what-ifs. Scared of what would happen if I allowed myself to love you the way I do. But every time I take your hand I'm more excited for the future than scared. Our love withstands our flaws, our imperfections and our shortcomings because our love always cherishes and loves the good in each other. With all that I am, I choose you. Through every season, I stand by your side. Together, we'll create a life filled with love, laughter, and adventure. Forever and always, my heart is yours," Serenity's voice wavered at the end as a sob slipped out. Mica moved his hands to her face, wiping her tears away.

"I love you so much Serene," He told her softly. She closed her eyes, sniffling as she melted into his touch. He gave her a moment, needing one himself before he started. When she opened her eyes, he gave her a soft smile. "You ready for mine?"

"No," She sobbed before laughing with everybody else. He grinned.

"You better get ready baby." She nodded. He let go of her face, taking her hands once again. He took a deep breath, then began. "My Serene. My baby, my best friend, the love of my life, my everything." His voice cracked and he cleared his throat as she squeezed his hand. "Here we are. Finally, and already. Our relationship of contradictions culminates in the greatest contradiction of all: An end, and a beginning. I've written and rewritten these vows an innumerable amount of times and I've come to a conclusion: No note, ballad, or poem; no word, sentence, or novel could ever capture my love for you. There are some song lyrics that quite close, but not close enough. Like..." Mica cleared his throat. "You are the book that I read each day..." Serenity's face lit up as Skylar nudged her husband, who was happily surprised. Excitement washed over the guests. "You are the song that I sing-"

"Gonna sing it to you!!" A few of the songbird guests joined in. Mica grinned at Serenity as he kept going.

"You are the four seasons of my life-"

"BUT MAYBE TOMORROW, YOU'LL CHANGE YOUR MIND GIRL!!" Majority of the guests sung loudly before everybody laughed, clapping a little. Mica chuckled as Serenity giggled.

"I was actually going to stop after the four seasons line but thanks everyone," He nodded, his face radiating with joy. He looked back at Serenity, who looked at him in awe. He bit his lip. "Another one that's pretty damn close is 'on the day that you were born, the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true'." Serenity pouted, her eyes getting watery yet again. "And one more, before you start thinking 'damn, you can't get creative for your vows for me?'." She giggled as the guests chuckled. "'I've realized the dream, and I visualized the love that came to be, feel so alive, i'm so thankful that I've received the answer that heaven has sent down to me'... Serene, baby, you are my vision of love. You are the light of my life. You have always been the one for me, even though it took me forever to get it right." The two laughed softly, tears running down their face. "I didn't see all the ways I grew as a person in real time. I look back and can now see the tremendous impact you've had on my life. How you made me a better person, a person I didn't even know I wanted to be. The only way I can think to thank you is to continue to grow, and to continue to show you how much I appreciate you with each day that passes. To promise to love you in sickness and in health, in good and in bad is the easiest promise I've ever made, because vowing to love you was something I decided when I first met you," Mica's voice wavered. Serenity squeezed his hands, biting on her lip as they held each other's gaze, feeling overwhelmed with love. "Although it is until death do us part, I know that we will never truly part because our souls are made for each other. In every lifetime, I am yours. I love you Serenity." There wasn't a dry eye in sight. Serenity sniffled, nodding.

"I love you too Freckles. More than anything in this world." They squeezed each other's hands as the officiant stepped up once again.

"Let us now have the rings brought forward and presented by the ring-bearer." Mehki, who was sitting with on Skylar's lap, slid off and coolly walked over to the gazebo. The crowd laughed, the couple smiling at him.

"Thank you Mickey," Serenity leaned down, kissing her brother on the cheek as she grabbed Mica's band. Mica high-fived Mehki, grabbing Serenity's band. As Mehki skipped back over to his mama, the couple turned to each other, ready.

"Mica, as you place the ring on Serenity's finger, please repeat after me." Mica nodded, grabbing Serenity's left hand and getting in position to put the ring on. "With this ring, I marry you: with my loving heart, with my willing body, and with my eternal soul." Mica repeated the words, sliding the gold band on Serenity's ring finger. Serenity smiled giddily, looking at her rings then at Mica. His eyes sparkled in the setting sun. "Serenity, as you place the ring on Mica's finger, please repeat after me." She grabbed Mica's left hand. "With this ring, I marry you: with my loving heart, with my willing body, and with my eternal soul." Serenity repeated it, sliding Mica's band on. The two grabbed hands, itching with anticipation. "I have just one more thing I want you to do. Your wedding day is one that seems to fly. It's a day filled with emotion, friends, rings and dances. Many people remember how fleeting their own wedding day was. So I want you to take a few seconds to look onto each other's eyes." Their eyes bored into each other's. "Think about the happiness that you're feeling in this place, in this moment." They captured a mental picture of the moment as their videographers and photographers captured the physical. "Really let that feeling register in your heart and your mind." It would without a doubt. "Now, I want you to think about your life together in twenty years. Where are you? What are you doing?" Still married, with kids, and more nieces and nephews. Living a happy life. "We all know that your visions of the future are not identical, but always complementary. John Lennon once said, 'a dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together, that is reality'. And for Serenity & Mica, that reality starts now." They were looking at each other anxious, ready for the officiant's next words. The officiant smiled, knowing they were itching for it. "It is my honor to now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!!" The guests jumped up in an uproar, screaming and cheering. Mica grabbed Serenity and dipped her, kissing her slow and hard. Serenity wrapped her arms around his waist as one of his hand stroked the side of Serenity's face while the other pressed at the small of her back, holding her close to him. The two kissed with so much hunger, they could barely focus on breathing. Or anything, other than the two of them. It was if the world fell away and they were the only ones that existed.

"Alright, alright, we don't need to see you two swallow each other up!!" Somebody yelled, breaking them out of their trance. They slowly pulled back, smiling at each other.

"Hi hubby," She cooed. Mica beamed.

"Hey wifey."

6:57 PM

After the ceremony, the guests were escorted to the pool by the wedding villa for cocktail hour. The wedding party took pictures while the staff changed the outside where the ceremony was to the dance floor part of the reception. The indoor dining area was already set up.

The wedding party took pictures in the gardens and with the background of the volcano and sea. Serenity and Mica were grinning the entire time, even after they got sick of posing.

"This kind of reminded me of prom," Serenity giggled as she walked into the bridal suite of the wedding venue. The entire wedding party was in the villa. They were giving staff time to shoo the guests to the reception area. And, Serenity had to change. Mica closed the door behind him.

"When they had us taking a shit ton of pictures in your house? Yeah, it was definitely like that." Serenity giggled, kicking off her heels.

"The crazy thing is, we had taken a bunch before you even got there."

"Oh God," Mica laughed as he walked towards his wife. He couldn't believe that he got to call her that now. Serenity bit her lip, meeting him halfway. They wrapped their arms around each other.

"From prom to our wedding. Can you believe it?"

"I cannot. It doesn't feel real. But don't pinch me if i'm dreaming because I don't want to wake up."

"You're so corny," She giggled, happiness dancing in her eyes.

"Yeah, i'm your corny husband baby." He pecked her lips. "Have I told you how perfect you look?"

"Not as perfect as you."

"Bullshit," He scoffed, letting her go. "You was and still are shining girl." He looked her up and down. "That diamond looks nice on you." Serenity touched it, still in disbelief that she had it on.

"I can't believe you got me the Taylor-Burton diamond," She laughed, shaking her head. "How?"

"Well, after you found your original gift, I knew I had to find something else. Naturally, I asked the one man I knew that likes to pull the works out when he gives gifts."

"My daddy."

"Of course," Mica nodded. "Who better than the stunt king?" Serenity snorted. "But seriously, who better than the man who raised my wife?" Serenity bit her lip from smiling too hard. "He told me he would search for something unique, and special. There were a few things that he came back with that I was like 'nah' then he came back to me with Elizabeth's necklace. Everything in me said 'yes, get it', because I knew that it would look perfect on you, and I know that Liz was your fairy godmother. But I also asked him 'are you sure?'. Liz was one of his best friends, and that could've been something he gave your mom for their 20th. He told me that your mom would never wear it because Liz was her friend. And that they were at a point in their lives where they were over gifting each other jewelry. I asked myself 'well what does that say about Serenity & I?', but I still got it." Serenity giggled, shaking her head.

"I love it. Not because it's jewelry, but because it was Liz's, and I know it took effort in finding." It hadn't been seen in decades, and it was here on her neck. "We gotta store it somewhere safe."

"Your dad's already on it. For now, he said hide it somewhere people won't look in case the staff tries to look for it." There was no way she was wearing it for the reception, too many people would be hugging her. Not that they thought somebody would steal it off her neck, but they still needed to be careful. Serenity nodded, turning away from him.

"Take it off please." Mica walked over to her and unhooked the necklace, Serenity carefully taking it off and putting it back in the box. She glanced back at him. "Can you unbutton my dress?"

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you were trying to seduce me," He quipped, unbuttoning her dress. She carefully stepped out of it, leaving her standing in only white lace panties. She placed the dress on the bed before turning to him, her pretty titties on display.

"I am," She told him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He placed his hands on her ass, smirking.

"You told Kae to give us a minute?"

"I think we have about 15," she told him, kissing his neck. He squeezed her ass, pushing against her, making her feel his hard dick.

"All I need is two," He mumbled, picking her up by her ass. She giggled, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Don't mess up my hair please."

"No promises."

19 minutes later, the wedding party was waiting in the garden, getting ready for their cue to walk out onto the dance floor.

"Why couldn't we do a song that everyone knows?" Travis asked as the group stood around.

"Travis, you're the only one who doesn't know this," Booboo shook his head.

"Even Josh knows it," Aaron pointed at his white friend. Josh smirked.

"Josh is cultured, Travis clearly isn't," Summer spoke. The group snickered as Travis frowned. Kae walked up, looking at her phone.

"Ready?" She asked the group and they nodded. She motioned them to get closer to the entrance. She looked at her phone once more before holding up three fingers. Three, two, one.

So

"I typed a text to a girl I used to see, saying that I chose this cutie pie with whom I wanna be," MJ rapped along with Andre 3000 as he coolly walked out first, the rest of the wedding party following around. The guests cheered, the excitement infectious.

"AND I APOLOGIZE IF THIS MESSAGE GETS YOU DOWN!!" The rest of the party (sans Travis) sung along loudly, throwing their hands up. "THEN I CC'D EVERY GIRL THAT I'D SEE-SEE ROUND TOWN!!"

"And hate to see y'all frown, but I'd rather see her smilin'," Johnna wrapped, putting her arm around Brittany's shoulder, the two rocking together.

Wetness all around me, true, but I'm no island, Peninsula maybe

"Makes no sense, I know crazy, give up all this pussy cat that's in my lap?!?" Taj, Leon, Austin & Kaleb pointing at each other, laughing

No lookin' back, spaceships don't come equipped with rear view mirrors
They dip as quick as they can
The atmosphere is now ripped

"I'm so like a pimp, I'm glad it's night," MJ rapped, one hand up as he held Mila in the other arm. She nodded along, copying her daddy. Bey smiled to herself as she watched them.

So the light from the sun
Would not burn me on my bum
When I shoot the moon
High jump the broom
Like a preemie out the womb

"MY PARTNER YELLING TOO SOON, DON'T DO IT, RECONSIDER, READ SOME LITER-ATURE ON THE SUBJECT. YOU SURE? FUCK IT!!" Mostly everybody there yelled, bobbing along with the song.

You know we got your back like chiroprac

"Tic, If that bitch do you dirty!! We'll wipe her ass out in some detergent!!" Melody, Maiya, Josh, Aaron, Devante & Summer sung at each other, pretending to square up before laughing and putting their arms around each other.

Now hurry hurry
Gon to the altar
I know you ain't a pimp, but pimp remember what I taught ya

"KEEP YA HEART THREE STACKS, KEEP YA HEART!!" Everybody screamed. The wedding party started to move out the way. "KEEP YA HEART THREE STACKS, KEEP YA HEART, MAN THESE GIRLS IS SMART THREE STACKS, THESE GIRLS IS SMART!!"

Play your part, play your part...
Sweet Jones

As the beat dropped, Mica & Serenity walked out hand in hand, dancing as they rapped along. The entire venue gave them a thunderous applause, filled with stomping, whistles, hoots and screams.

Mica had come out his suit jacket, the sleeves on his shirt rolled up his forearm. He ditched the tie, leaving his vest completely undone and his shirt was unbuttoned enough to show his chest. Serenity switched to a 2 piece corset and mini feather skirt draped with shoulder straps and a cross halter tie. They looked like they were ready to party.

Mica let go of Serenity's hand and motioned at her. Everybody cheered loudly before he pointed to himself like 'yeah, that's all me'. Serenity playfully rolled her eyes before motioning at him. His boys hooted for him as everybody else cheered and he grinned before grabbing Serenity again and kissing her cheek.

A thousand a pop, I'm pullin' Bentleys off the lot
I smashed up the gray one, bought me a red

"Every time we hit the parkin' lot we turn heads!!" Serenity and Mica rapped to each other.

Some hoes wanna choose but them bitches too scary
Your bitch chose me, you ain't a pimp, you a fairy

"OHHHHHHHHH," The whole venue sung as the wedding party moved to the couple, pointing at them. They laughed, wrapping their arms around each other as they rocked. "OHHHHHH I CHOOSE YOU GIRL..."

After 'Int'l Players Anthem' got everybody ready to party, it was time for the newlyweds' first dance. The DJ seamless transitioned into their song. The wedding party cleared the floor, some of the guys patting Mica's back and the girls squealing excitedly as they walked away. Serenity & Mica walked up to each other, their joy radiating. Mica took Serenity in his arms as they began to sway.

"Look at your auntie Janet," Mica mumbled and the two looked towards her. Janet looked throughly surprised (and happy) at the song choice.

Serenity smiled before looking back at Mica, who was already smiling at her. "What?"

"Nothing. Just happy to be holding my wife in my arms." Serenity would never get over this.

"Your who?" She teased.

"My wife," He said, pecking her lips.

They've all said we'd never last
Still we manage to stay together

There's no easy explanation for it
But whenever there's a problem
We always work it out somehow

Mica threw in a couple of twirls, making Serenity giggly.

(They said it wouldn't last)
(We had to prove them wrong)
(Cause I've learned in the past)
(That love would never do without you)

He lifted Serenity by her hips and spun her around as he held her in the air, kissing her face.
When he lowered her, and they touched back down to earth, they were content to rock slowly from side to side. Mica was looking at Serenity like she hung the stars in the sky, and she looked at him as he was the sun.

The two were so engrossed in their own world that they didn't hear the DJ encouraging people to join them. All the couples headed to the dance floor. MJ caught of glimpse of Bey heading to the floor with Jay. His jaw clinched, and he quickly looked away, remembering what Michael said the night before.

"You wanna dance with daddy?" He asked Mila as he walked on the dance floor, somewhere Bey was out of sight.

"Of course daddy!!" Mila beamed as they got on the floor. As they did, Justin walked past the two.

"What's up MJ?" He greeted his friend. MJ dapped him up with his free hand. "Hey Mimi."

"Hi Uncle Justin!!" She grinned as Justin kissed her cheek.

"Who you going for? Melody?" MJ guessed. Justin nodded. Mica told him he didn't get a plus one because his relationships were too shaky. Fair. MJ snickered. "I think she's already covered." The two looked around, and MJ found his sister quickly. MJ pointed her out. She and Summer were dancing together, giggling. Justin sucked his teeth. "Go dance with Mai. Don't try anything though."

"Ew," Justin frowned. "She's my sister." He only looked at Maiya like his sister, like they were born from the same parents. He would never.

"Remember that too." Justin rolled his eyes, heading over to Maiya.

Princess was watching the couples dance when Josh walked up to her. He put his hand out. She looked at him wearily. He sucked his teeth. "Do I have to ask?"

"You don't have to dance with me because we've been having a fling," She mumbled.

"I don't. I want to. Dance with me Princess, please." Princess bit her lip and grabbed his hand, letting him lead her to the dance floor.

Ooh
Ooh
Go on
(Love would never do) Fine
(Never do without you) Oh yeah

Michael rocked back and forth with his wife, Skylar giggling. He spun her around before pulling her into him, holding her close.

"I wonder what made them pick an upbeat song." Skylar looked up at Michael, raising an eyebrow.

"You wonder what made your jitterbug daughter pick something upbeat to dance to?" She questioned. Michael snorted, nodding.

"You're right." They glanced at Serenity, who was giggling away with her new husband. Skylar heard Michael sigh, and she looked up at him. He met her eyes. "People never tell you how bittersweet it is to watch your kids get married, and have their own kids." Skylar shook her head.

"They don't. It's a crazy feeling, watching your kids become their own person." Skylar looked around at all her children. MJ was singing to Mila as she basked in her daddy's attention, Serenity was singing sweetly to Mica, Melody was stepping with Summer (both of them struggling in their long dresses, but they didn't care), Maiya and Justin were standing to the side, laughing as they watched everybody dance, and Mehki was trying to help little Aniyah dance. Skylar looked back at Michael proudly. "We made a beautiful family, you know?" Michael gave her his signature smile.

"We did baby." He pecked her lips. "You know what i've been thinking?"

"Hm?"

"Between all this wedding planning, and seeing the growth in our family over the past two decades... what do you say we do a vow renewal next year?" Skylar's green eyes lit up.

"I'd say that sounds like a plan baby."

They said it wouldn't last (Last)
We had to prove them wrong (Wrong)
Cause I've learned in the past
That love would never do without you...

After the first dance, it was time to eat. Serenity hadn't eaten since 1, and Mica hadn't eaten since breakfast. They made their welcome speech quick, then it was time for the buffet. They had a mix of cuisines to choose from. Once everyone settled, it was time for the toasts.

MJ went first. "If yall don't know me, i'm MJ, Mica's best man, Serenity's brother." Everybody jokingly booed him. "Yall lucky my grandmas here, or i'll cuss yall out." He kept his speech short and humorous, already having had his moment the night before.

Bria and Jill went next as maids of honor, starting off their speeches with 'I told you so'. Then Michael got up.

"Uhm, I already spoke to my baby girl privately but I still want to say something to Mica." Michael looked at Mica, who had a big grin on his face. "Actually, nevermind, your smile just pissed me off." The guests cracked up as Mica leaned into Serenity's shoulder, laughing. Michael smiled. "Mica, I know I tease you a lot, and act as if you get on my nerves... but I do that to MJ too. You know that means I look at you as my son. For years before we had Mehki, MJ was asking for a brother, and I wanted another son. I didn't realize my kids bringing home this freckled face, curly head boy was God giving me what I wanted. It especially wasn't obvious when I caught you putting the moves on my daughter when you two were thirteen," He gave them a knowing look and Mica grinned as Serenity groaned.

"Daddy get over it, we're married now!" The room cheered as Michael nodded, smiling.

"I know, I know. There's no one else that I would want for my baby girl to be with than you, Mica. I'm happy you two have each other, and I wish you a lifetime of happiness. I'm not going to welcome you to the family, because you've been here for what..." He looked at Melody and pointed at her jokingly. "You'll be 20 next year right?" Melody snorted as the crowd clapped, whooping. Mica had been around since Melody had been born. That was a crazy concept. Michael looked at Mica & Serenity, holding up his champagne glass. "To Serenity & Mica, I love you both dearly." The guests cheered as Mica & Serenity stood up, hugging Michael.

After Michael, Libby & Victor did their speech, saying what Michael said but in a less blunt way. "After Mica, we didn't want anymore kids, him being all we need. I guess God said 'no he's not', because 8 years later, he brought Serenity— and you, MJ— into our lives. He blended our families back then, and today he has blended them again. We are so proud to call you our daughter, Serenity."

Others got up to speak as well, telling funny stories about them, calling them out on their bullshit from their early days.

Prince got up, and in so many words said 'Mica, you better not hurt my niece again, or it's your ass'. Then he told them he loved them and coolly walked off to thunderous applause.

Even people who weren't there had messages for them.

"I'm back with a message from someone," MJ spoke into the mic, his phone in hand. "Elders and children, please close ya ears." MJ cleared his throat. "The message says 'Congratulations Amara. But also fuck you cause I told you that I wanted an invitation when yall got married'." Serenity cracked up with several others at the wedding as Mica wore a confused but amused smile on his face. Who was this? "'I told you that would be the nigga you marry. I was a lil confused for a few years when yall didn't end up with each other, but it made me happy to see that video of yall at karaoke together. I hope yall live a long and happy life together. Congrats again, Amara & you too white boy. Sincerely, Breezy'." Mica sucked his teeth as the crowd gave mixed reactions. Some people clapped and others laughed at the look on Mica's face. MJ cracked up as Serenity rubbed Mica's arm giggling. Mica gave him a big thumbs down and the room roared with laughter.

After the dinner and speeches, it was time to kick it.

I love my baby, I love my baby (So ready, yeah, yeah)
I love my baby, I love my baby

MJ watched as the ladies got so excited at the Keyshia Cole joint. He snickered, shaking his head as Leon & Taj walked up to him.

"We taking bets."

"On what?" MJ furrowed. They can't just walk up and say they taking bets.

"Who you think gon get married next between the three of us?" MJ furrowed his eyebrows.

"What type of question is that? Me nigga." Even with the setback, he knew he was the more likely one.

"How you figure?" Taj asked. MJ looked at them weirdly.

"What you mean? I know it ain't gon be yall. I have one conversation with you niggas about settling down and now yall wanna do it for real?"

"It wasn't only the conversation. All this wedding shit got me thinking that getting married seems dope," Leon admitted.

"And how many weddings have you been to before this?" Cause they had done a few together.

"It's different seeing your homie get married. Your boy homie, not the girl," Leon clarified before MJ could point out both Lauryn & Johnna were married. "We been with Mica every step of the way, getting his perspective. And the conversation we had at the party the other day helped. It seems like everybody around us is getting married, or coupled up. It was less than two years ago when we went out for you and Serenity's birthday in New York, and you were dancing with Ashley. Now her ass coupled up! And Bria too! This whole week been putting a lot of shit in perspective for me. I don't wanna be 40, 45, 50, and going home to nobody. I don't wanna be that old ass lame nigga in the club, looking like a pervert, watching young girls shake their asses. I wanna be on some lovey dovey boo-loving shit. I wanna start a family with somebody, have a couple of kids, watch them grow up and get married then get some grandkids." MJ was caught off guard. He knew weddings did this, but damn.

"Watching my sister getting married put it in perspective for me," Taj admitted. "Her and Will look hella happy." The three looked over Lauryn & Will. Lauryn was aggressively singing 'Take Me Away' to Will. He seemed to love every moment of it. "It seems cool as hell, having somebody to share your life with. Somebody to grow with, somebody to build with. Somebody that's for you and you only." MJ bit his lip, nodding as he looked around. He found who he was looking for, dancing with Serenity, Ashley, Mila & Blue. It was if she knew he was looking at her because she looked at him. The two briefly held their stare before MJ looked away.

"Yeah, it's really nothing like having somebody that's for you."

"So i'm betting i'll be married in the next two years," Leon stated. Taj & MJ sucked their teeth.

"Don't rush to get married and end up with a gold digger," MJ told him.

"You know he know about gold diggers," Taj pointed. MJ shoved him as Taj & Leon cracked up.

"Fuck you. I wish you a lifetime of misery. And I still bet I get married before you two fuckheads."

"What we betting?"

I'm so in love with you
No lie, I'm telling the truth
I'm your woman
Now, baby, take me away...

The DJ faded the song out, getting upset groans from the ladies. The guests looked at the DJ booth, where Mica was standing with the DJ. "Sorry ladies, but the groom has a little something for the bride." Serenity raised an eyebrow. He handed the mic over to Mica.

"So uh, we all know i'm a songwriter. I've been writing for years, and plan to write for years to come. I've written many songs, some grammy nominated and winners, some that have only gone number one in people's houses and cars. Most of the songs I've written have been about my wife." He looked at Serenity, who held her hand over her chest. "And I don't think that there's a better time to have those performed than at our wedding. So without further ado..."

Ah ah ah ah

Melody let out an excited screech, along with a few others. Serenity's eyes got wide.

"Wait!!" She said, looking around. "This is about me?!?"

Ah ah ah oh
Ah ah ah ah

"I always knew you were the best, the coolest girl I know," Justin sung, getting onto the gazebo. "So prettier than all the rest, the star of his show," Justin pointed at Mica, winking.

"SO MANY TIMES I WISHED YOU'D BE THE ONE FOR ME, BUT NEVER KNEW IT'D GET LIKE THIS, GIRL WHAT YOU DO TO ME?!" Melody sung loudly as Mica got to his wife.

"This is about me?" She pouted as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Of course baby. Although the way Mel is singing it, you'd think this was about her." The two looked at Mel as she stood directly in front of the gazebo, singing her heart out.

"Girl, you ain't my- brat do you want to take over? Damn," Justin laughed. He was joking, but Melody snatched the mic, getting on the gazebo and continuing.

"My prized possession, one and only," Melody sung flawlessly. "Adore ya, girl, I want ya, the one I can't live without, that's you," Melody pointed at her big sister. "That's you."

"You're my special little lady," Justin came back in, having got another mic. "The one that makes me crazy, of all the girls I've ever known, it's you," Justin & Melody pointed at Serenity, the crowd doing the same. Serenity smiled, leaning into Mica. "It's you, my favorite, my favorite, my favorite, my favorite girl, my favorite girl... to the bridge!"

MJ couldn't do nothing but laugh at how Melody took over Justin's performance. One thing this family was gon do was show people out.

MJ didn't want to miss it, but he had to pee. Taking water shots all day was getting to him. It was a good thing they had plenty of videographers. MJ headed over to the wedding villa, knowing the bathroom for the guests were crowded. He whistled along to 'Favorite Girl', liking how his sister & Justin's voices blended together. They would sound good on a record together, whenever Melody decided she wanted to zone in on her music.

MJ walked into the villa, went to the first floor bathroom and quickly did his thing. He washed his hands, fixed his hair, smoothed out his clothes, then headed back out. Swinging open the door, Bey was standing right there. His heart dropped as he jumped back.

"What the fuck?"

"Sorry, I saw you coming this way-"

"You gotta be fucking kidding me-"

"I figured this was the only way I could get you alone-"

"Didn't I tell you months ago that apologizing would only make you feel better?" He asked bitterly. "I don't wanna hear shit you gotta say. Ain't shit to talk about, you got yo get back, now you back with your husband. I ain't mean shit to you and it's cool." Bey frowned.

"What do you mean you didn't mean anything to me? You meant a lot to me-"

"But that wasn't enough for you to leave your lying ass, cheating husband," MJ spat. Bey pursed her lips, looking down at the floor. "Right. Bey I wanted to marry you." She looked back at him, shock over her face. "I would've gave you the world. I wanted to have kids with you, rather we did IVF, or adopted or whatever." Bey looked pained. She swallowed, looking away from him.

"I was pregnant." MJ furrowed his eyebrows. What was she talking about? She continued on, not looking at him. "I-I found out, a few days before MIA, I was pregnant. I was three, close to 4 weeks along... and around 6 weeks when I lost it."

"It was mine?" He wanted to clarify. She nodded, meeting his eyes.

"It was yours. I hadn't... with Jay since the time I told you about. Still haven't." MJ took a step back, not knowing what to say. He was dumbfounded. "I thought you deserved to know, even though I knew I wouldn't carry it. I tried telling you at MIA-"

"But I shut you down," He ran his hands over his face.

"And I tried calling." She was blocked. "Tried coming to the house." Codes changed. "I thought Serenity was exaggerating when she said you were a hard person to get up with if you didn't want to be bothered," Bey weakly joked. MJ didn't laugh. His head was spinning, so many questions coming to his brain. The most important one was:

"If you didn't lose it— if you had the choice, would you have kept it?"

"Yes," She breathed. He didn't know if that made him feel better or not.

"Because you know how it feels to lose your babies or because it was mine?" Bey thought about it for a moment.

"Both," She said earnestly. He didn't know whether to believe her. MJ ran his hands over his face once again, trying to wrap his head around it. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't-"

"Don't." He shook his head, meeting her eyes. "I'm angry at you about other things, but don't apologize for what you couldn't control." Bey nodded, her heart aching. He was pissed at her and still showing her grace. She never deserved him.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, MJ. I know you don't want my apology but I am sorry. I'm sorry that I made you feel like I used you, like I didn't care for you, like I didn't love you because I did. I do," She corrected. She loved him so much that it hurt to breathe.

"Why didn't you love me enough to choose me then?" MJ asked without thinking. Bey swallowed.

"I... I don't know how to explain it. I-it's... i've been with him for 15 years. That's 15 years of memories, 15 years of our lives being intertwined, and so much has been put into this, outside of the money and materialistic things and I..." Bey trailed off as MJ's jaw clenched. Michael's words repeating in his head once more. 

If I truly loved her, I would want to see her happy, even if it wasn't with me.

"He's your husband," MJ nodded. "Father of your kids, born and unborn. You made vows. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part. You love him." Bey swallowed back tears.

"Yeah I do."

"Are you happy?" Bey hesitated. Was she happy? Was she happy with her decision to go back to who she knew versus seeing if the grass was greener on the otherside? No, she wasn't.

She & Jay were in therapy. They were working on it, and she was working at forgiving him, trusting him, being happy with him. She hadn't gotten there yet.

But Bey could tell MJ wanted her to say yes. Needed her to say yes, so he could let go and move on. He deserved to be happy. Deserved to find a woman who could love him wholeheartedly. Who could give him everything he needed. Who could be the one for him. Bey couldn't be the one for him.

"I am," Bey breathed out. MJ nodded, knowing he need to take his father's advice.

"Okay." He nodded. All he could do was accept it. He bit down on his bottom lip. Not knowing what else to say. "I guess... i'll see you around Bey," He mumbled, moving to walk past her. She grabbed his hand, making him look at her.

"It may be too much for you too soon, but if you need to talk about the baby, if you want to mourn, cry, or call to take your anger out on me, you can," She said softly. MJ shook his head, getting out of her hold.

"I'm not taking my anger out on you for that. Bey I don't blame you, okay?" She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. "And i'll talk to my therapist, I pay her to listen to my issues for a reason."

"I-"

"We cool, Bey," MJ told her. Bey bit down on her lip, nodding. He turned, walking away. As he did, she heard him say: "Tell Chris i'm in for the Super Bowl." Now that he could stomach being in the same room with her, it was time to move forward. Time to make money moves.

When MJ got back to the reception area, Justin was finishing 'No Sense' and starting 'Die In Your Arms'. He somehow got Melody off the stage. She was still right in front of the stage though. Mila ran up to him.

"Daddy dance with me!!" She yelled, stopping in front of him. He smiled softly at her.

"Of course baby."

If I could just die in your arms
I wouldn't mind
Cause everytime you touch me I just die in your arms
Ooh, it feels so right
So baby, baby, please don't stop, girl...

After Justin finished 'Die In Your Arms', he said 'congratulations Mica & Serenity, I pray you guys have a long and happy marriage. Love you'. The crowd cheered as he stepped off the gazebo and went to the couple hugging them. There was an intermission between Justin & the next artist, the DJ kicking it off with 'We've Got A Good Thing Going'.

"This is the sample of your song, Justin!!" Melody yelled obnoxiously as she walked past him and the couple.

"Fuck off brat!!"

Hey my girl
She did something to my chemistry
And when I'm close l'm sure I raise her temperature by 3 degrees

"Who's next?" Serenity asked as she wrapped her arms around Mica's torso, rocking with him.

"You'll see."

"Melody you having a good time huh?" Aaron joked as she walked up to where her group of friends were.

"Sweetie is this your wedding or Serenity's?" Summer teased. Melody shrugged, grinning.

"I'm just enjoying myself. It is a celebration, is it not?"

"It is," Maiya backed her up.

"I'll drink to that," Amala raised her glass. The others raised their glasses, clinking them.

"Cheers!" When they downed their drinks, Summer put her glass down and grabbed Melody's hand.

"Let's dance." Melody and Summer headed to the dance floor, joining the other couples who were singing and rocking along.

So we've got a good thing going
A real good thing going yeah
That girl and me

"How ironic. We've got a good thing going too," Melody told Summer as she wrapped her arms around her waist.

"I know. And tonight's our last night," Summer groaned.

"I know," Melody was a little sad about it. "But it was fun while it lasted." Summer nodded.

"You know if you're ever near Tennessee... or even if you aren't..." Melody snorted.

"And if you're ever in Cali... or want to meet up in New York... or Atlanta..."

"Jesus, are those all of the places you guys have real estate?" Melody nodded, giggling. Summer snorted. "Oh wow. But okay. Actually, is it even legal for us to fuck around now? We are legally cousins."

"Ew! Don't say that, cause then i'll be thinking about it when we're having sex tonight."

"Sorry," Summer giggled. Melody playfully rolled her eyes.

Said we got together
We got a thing together
Yeah, yeah
Alright

The two took turns spinning each other, giggling. It was as the song ended that Melody realized how happy and free she felt in the moment. She was dancing with a pretty girl at her sister's wedding. Earlier that year, she hoped to be dancing with Navya, having this moment with Navya. Hoped to be doing everything she did with Summer that week with Navya. She wasn't, and for the first time since the break up, it didn't hurt to think about the what-if's with Navya. Melody smiled to herself at the realization. She was free.

Yeah
You need to turn this up

Everybody's immediate attention went to the gazebo as Usher got up there, mic in hand. People (mostly the ladies) screamed excitedly, rushing to get closer.

"Come on ladies, report to the dance floor," Usher sung in the mic, dancing.

Yeah
It's just you and me

"Da, da, da, da, da-da," Usher sang, grooving.

"No way you wrote this about me," Serenity looked at her husband, laughing as the crowd started singing along and dancing. Mica smirked.

"After that night in my car, I definitely did." Serenity giggled, covering her face.

"Great, now our grandparents know we be having great song inspiring sex." Mica threw his head back, cackling.

"Baby, I can't wait to get you up in my room," Usher sung, pointing at Deanna, who shrieked in excitement. Her husband Jakobi was next to her looking like 'seriously?' "Baby, first, let me go and set up the mood..."

Now, I'm gon' do you up and then I'm gon' do you down
I'm gon' have that body, baby, floating all around
And all you gotta do is get close to me
Bring it all to me, it's going down

"WE AINT HAVING SEX!!" The crowd sung loudly. "WE'RE MAKING MOMENTS THAT WILL OUTLAST THE WORLD!!"

"Now that i'm listening, this is a little embarrassing," Mica mumbled. Serenity giggled, dancing against him.

"This is a great song though."

"You're saying that because it's about you." Serenity winked at him.

I'm open all night
Oh, baby, oh, look at what you're doing to me
Makes me believe
I'm not blind, I see everything you giving to me
Oh, baby

"This is love, this is real, this is how you make him feel," Usher sung, pointing towards Mica and Serenity. The two blushed.

"Oh my God, next song please!"

The next song didn't come until after he did the second verse and chorus again. And even then, the lyrics were no better than 'This Ain't Sex'.

Know I do it for the ladies
But I gotta keep it hood
Where we at, Polow? (Aye)

The guests lost it, especially as Usher started shimmying like a kappa and rolling his hips.

Serenity looked at Mica, eyes wide. "Wait-"

"Also inspired by the night we went to the club. Then we just so happened to... make love in the club while it played in the background."

"Oh my god," Serenity half laughed, half pouted. This used to be one of her favorite songs, before and after they did it in the club. It was crazy, realizing it was about her.

Usher went straight into the pre-chorus. "Looking in your eyes while you on the other side, and I think that, shawty, I got a thing for you, doing it on purpose, winding and working it, I can tell by the way you looking at me, girl-"

I wanna make love in this club (Hey)
In this club (Hey)
In this club (Hey)
In this club (Hey)

Serenity bit her lip, leaning against Mica, meeting his eyes.

"I can't believe we made our baby to this," She giggled. Mica smiled. "It's so bittersweet." Mica nodded in agreement, kissing her forehead.

"Makes the song more special."

"A song about having sex in the club being special to us is crazy." The two busted out in a fit of laughter before shifting their attention back to Usher as the song smoothly transitioned from 'Love In This Club' to another song that was special to them. Serenity's eyes lit up.

"Mica didn't write this, but he told me this song was one of his & Serenity's songs," Usher told them before looking at the couple. "Glad to play a role in your relationship." Mica snickered as Serenity turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Oh baby, I thought you didn't like this song," Serenity said softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Because it reminded you-"

"It used to, when I was looking at it from another perspective. But now, looking at it, I see it as the song that played the first time I realized I was truly in love with you, and the song that played when we stopped playing games and decided to let us love each other." Serenity's eyes filled with tears as Usher started singing.

"I was all alone, I was feeling rather low, I needed someone to lift my spirits up... so I dropped in on a dance, just to take a glance and there this lovely thing was, she was more than enough..."

Serenity couldn't believe that 10 years prior, almost to the exact day, she was saying yes to being Chris' girlfriend. What had she been thinking? It was Mica, and it had always been Mica. He was the one, the love of her life, her person, her eternal flame.

"It was only right to complete the arc by having it play— no, be sung— at our wedding," Mica told her, using one hand to wipe away the tears that slipped out her eyes. Serenity nodded.

"I'm so glad I get to love you for the rest of my life, Mica Keith Allen," Serenity told him. "And forever after that." Mica leaned in, kissing her softly.

"You're my soulmate in every lifetime, Serenity Amara Jackson. Oops, I mean Allen." Serenity smiled.

"That's right baby, it's Mrs. Allen now." Jackson-Allen on paper, but Mrs. Allen when people asked.

"Play another slow jam, this time, make it sweet, on a slow jam... for my baby, for me... play another slow jam, this time make it sweet... on a slow jam, for my baby and for me..." The song seamlessly transitioned into Usher's last song, Serenity once again in disbelief that he'd written this with her in mind. Mica chuckled softly at her face.

"I wrote this... right after you found out about Kiana."

"I'm hoping that this ain't too hard to believe...cause baby, you're the only one for me..."

"I was so frustrated that I fucked up that bad-"

"You didn't mess up," Serenity told him softly, rubbing the back of his neck. That always seemed to calm him down. "I told you. You were young, single and I wanted a reason to run because I was scared. I was young and stupid."

"We were young and stupid," Mica corrected. "I shouldn't have been-"

"It doesn't matter," Serenity shook her head. The past was the past. "Look around freckles." He looked around, seeing some couples dancing together, seeing some people who weren't coupled up, rocking and singing along with Usher. "We're married, baby. We're here together, despite all of our mistakes. And these lyrics you wrote are truer than ever."

She pointed as Usher sung "No matter how far I go, and no matter how long it takes, no one or nothing can change, forever yours, here I stand... here I stand, baby..."

Mica nodded, smiling as Serenity moved her hands to his face. "We're here baby. We're together. And I would say better late than never, but we're right on time. I needed to grow. You needed to grow. Now we've grown separately, and learned how to grow together, and we'll keep growing together. I water you, you water me, let's root for each other, and grow together like an oak tree." Mica bit his bottom lip, trying not to laugh or smile too hard.

"That was so corny," His laugh slipped out. Serenity shrugged, smiling. He pulled her closer. "I am so excited to sprout with you, my love." Serenity smiled as they leaned in, mouths almost touching.

"I'll love you to the end of time, Freckles."

"I'll love you to infinity, Serene." The two closed the gap between them, everything but Usher's voice fading away.

Ever since you came (since you came along)
It seems like (couldn't get it right)
Yeah, I felt I sunk so low
That there's was no way I could be found (never thought love would find me)
And when we make love (everytime you give, give to me your love)
Give, you make me feel a way I never felt with no one else
And I can't help myself...