Matthew felt the wine freeze in his throat and it took less than two seconds for him to choke on it and had a coughing fit. The entire table was looking at him, Tristan was patting his back and Aly seemed as shocked with the news of their own wedding as he was.
"Come on boy, I haven't got all day" Jack said, placing a chicken thigh on his plate.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Aly's voice was restrained, but it was noticeable that all that calmness was fake.
Maddie poured Crawford a glass of water, who finally managed to stop coughing.
"What do you mean Alyssa?" Jack replied. "We need to sort this out soon. I know you'll probably want to get married in LA, but please, don't make the ceremony some type of circus freak show, I don't have enough patience for that." The father finished and Alyssa ran her hands through her hair.
"Marry? Dad, are you crazy?" She said in a squeaky voice, and the whole table turned to her. "We're not going to get married!"
"You're not going to what?" This time it was Jack's voice that went up a few notches.
"We're not going to get married." Alyssa answered, unwavering, what made her own father have a completely ironic fit of laughter.
"YOU MUST BE KIDDING!" He yelled and was interrupted by Cheryl.
"Jack, please..."
"THERE'S NO PLEASE IN HERE CHERYL!" Jack got up, placing his hands on the table. "How will this kid be raised without a family? This kid is irresponsible, but better a father who lives drinking around than no father!"
"Excuse me, Mr. Hayes-" Matthew interrupted, sensing his voice a little strange. "You should not believe everything the media says, I-"
"I'm not talking to you...yet." Jack replied. "How in the world did you get yourself a guy like this Alyssa? He appeared on the newspaper again yesterday! How do you let something like this happen?"
"Dad, ENOUGH!" Aly screamed and her sisters widened their eyes. "This is not the fifties! I'm not gonna marry him just because you want me to!"
"You're going to marry him because you're pregnant," he mocked her.
"I'm not going to do it at all!" Alyssa said too loudly. "I was grown up enough to make this child in the first place; I'm big enough to make my own decisions too. AND I'M NOT GOING TO GET MARRIED ONLY BECAUSE YOU WANT ME TO!" The actress yelled before throwing the napkin on her empty plate and running straight into the house.
Alyssa was going to slam the door behind her when she noticed Matthew was right behind.
"THIS IS NOT HAPPENING." The girl screamed, with her eyes red. "I can't believe it! Matthew, we're screwed... SCREWED! My dad's going to make our lives a living hell and everyone is gonna end up finding out and we'll be on the crime pages and-"
Matthew held Aly by the shoulders and shook her.
"Could you just stay still?" He whispered-yelled, locking the door, then took a deep breath. "Getting married is out of question."
"I know, that's why I-"
"I'm not done yet, dammit." He said, still holding her. "I'll think of a way to get this idea out of your dad's head."
"No one gets anything out of my dad's head," Aly grumbled with a cracking voice, and Matthew rolled his eyes.
"I will fix this." Crawford confirmed. "Nobody takes Matthew Crawford out of the market that quickly."
"I hate it when you speak about yourself on third person," Aly complained, arching a brow.
"And I hate it when you start crying like a little kid," the actor replied. "And don't even try to blame it on the hormones!" He added, seeing the girl snort.
"You're an ogre!" Aly grumbled, throwing herself on the bed. "What are you going to do?"
"No idea. But I will figure something out."
Matthew looked at Aly, who slept curled up in the left corner of the bed. She had freaked out for hours, even though he kept saying he would do something. Difficult girl, this one! She was won over by her tiredness and now it was his head that was exploding. He couldn't deny he was also worried with this whole story. Of course Mr. Hayes couldn't force them to get married – except using his shot gun, because then yes, in that case he would easily get it his way –, but he would surely make everything more difficult. And let's be real, of all the people who do not do well with pressure, Alyssa was the worst one, easily. They were professedly in deep shit. He was starving, since he was deprived from the Christmas feast in the beginning of July because of his father-in-law's outbreak, so he decided to take a walk to see if he could find something to eat. When he opened the door, he came face to face with Mrs. Hayes, who was about to knock.
"Oops, you scared me!" Cheryl joked, placing her hand on her chest. "Sorry to bother, you spent too much time in there and haven't even eaten yet, I got worried."
Matthew turned off the light and closed the door behind him.
"Aly's sleeping, Mrs. Hayes... I mean, Cheryl," he said and the woman laughed. "She got sick because of the quarrel downstairs, but she's already doing better. I was actually going to try to find something to eat to see if she can eat it when she wakes up." He calmly said, and Cheryl smiled.
"Come with me then, you must be starving too!" She said, pulling him by the hand.
Bingo.
Both of them entered the kitchen and soon Cheryl got bread and some things to make sandwiches. She faced Matthew, a little bit embarrassed.
"You see, Matthew... I'd like to apologize for Jack's attitude today. He is actually a very calm man, believe it or not." She giggled and Crawford joined her. "But you know how it is, right? His baby daughter, the family's little princess, suddenly appears pregnant with the baby of a guy who-" Cheryl abruptly stopped talking, with her face getting red.
"I know about my reputation, Cheryl," Matthew started to say, and she looked at him. "I know that if I were someone's dad, the first thing I would do is freak out if a daughter of mine appeared with a guy like me in our home. But I am trying to be a better person, I truly am. For Aly. And for our baby too."
Alyssa's mom stared at him, melting. Then he smiled.
"Oh, that was so adorable." She said, all gawky, with a crying face, what almost made Crawford laugh. "Tell me how you two started!"
"Ah, this is a great story." Crawford laughed, grabbing a piece of a tomato that was nearby. "You know how we did not get along, huh? Well, there was a day when..."
Alyssa woke up with the lamp's dim light. She sat on the bed and looked for her phone, which read almost 2AM. Damn, she had slept a lot! She didn't even remember voluntarily lying down, for starters. And she was completely starving. Then her eyes fell on a plate under the lamp, covered by a cloth. She lifted the cloth and faced lots of cookies and frowned. She looked at the floor and saw Matthew there, all clunky, sleeping on top of a comforter, and involuntarily smiled. Alyssa took one of the cookies and watched him sleep for some instants, then got up, took a blanket and covered her boyfriend, who smiled even sleeping and seemed satisfied with that. She smiled back, completely unaware, and went back to bed.
Matthew cracked his back before giving Aly his hand, making a face.
"Hard floor you have here," he complained and she squeezed his hand.
"Quiet, for all purposes you slept on a super comfy bed." The girl laughed. "And I didn't even see you lay on the floor."
"You would let me sleep on the bed, by any chance?"
"Well noticed," the girl laughed.
"Won't you even praise me for covering my penis this last night?" Matthew cackled at the face Aly made.
"I bet your penis was scared to death of a certain shotgun." Alyssa laughed, pulling him by the hand down the stairs. "Good morning family!" She said smiling and only then realized her dad was there.
"Good morning princess," he answered, for her surprise.
She almost asked something, when she noticed her mom was winking at Matthew. What the hell had she missed?
"Are you doing better baby?" Her mom approached. Better? "Have some breakfast; you didn't eat well last night. Matthew, are you already used to coffee or do you prefer tea?"
That situation was bizarre. Not that anyone had said anything, but there was something in the air. Aly had her breakfast, suspicious, before taking off to the stable where the family's horses were.
"You're gonna love this!" Aly hopped while holding Owen's hand.
"The fact you're saying this shows how little you know me," Matthew laughed.
They arrived at the stable and Crawford had the impression he was finally in the Tennessee Aly always talked about. The family's horses were really pretty, but he never went even near one before, and did not have a clue about how to ride it. Maddie was truly excited showing the family's new acquisitions while Owen seemed seriously bored. Maybe it was a good idea to abduct the boy and take him to a more entertaining agenda.
"Storm!" Aly screamed excitedly to a huge and beautiful black horse close by.
She hugged the animal, delighted, and it also looked happy, not that Matt understood anything of horses anyway. Soon Maddie showed up with a pony, but Owen wasn't exactly thrilled to go ride it.
"Damn, I can't ride!" Aly groaned, and then faced Matthew, who was holding his laughter. "Fuck, what? Are you eight?!" She growled and he laughed aloud.
"Just letting you know you're allowed to ride all you want, your call." He said, getting some slaps from the girl, which made him laugh harder.
"What are you doing?" Maggie giggled from afar.
"I'm just putting certain people on their place." Aly snorted back and Maddie came closer.
"Be careful with her, Crawford, she is no good girl like she seems to be... but you probably know that already." Maddie winked at him, but didn't let her brother-in-law answer. "So, will you ride Storm?"
"Me?" Matt asked loudly and Aly grinned.
"Yes, he will, Maddie. He's thrilled."
"But I can't-"
"Then I'll ride too," Owen said and everyone stared the kid.
Crawford shook his head.
Damn it Owen, even you?
"You know, love, with the exception of dogs, I'm not really good with creatures of nature." Matthew mumbled, already on the horse.
"Oh please stop being such a baby, Crawford. I promised you the horse is not going to hurt your General," she giggled.
"Just like you promised your dad didn't have a gun."
"So you're really concerned about General then?" This time Aly laughed too loud, making Owen turn his head to look at them.
"I think I would rather have Owen's pony." Matthew returned to grumble while Aly pulled the horse forward.
"It would be really exquisite see you riding Brownie," she giggled. "This came out wrong. Anyways, you can be sure I would find a way to photograph it and spread all over the Internet."
"Have I said you're a manipulative bitch today?" Crawford asked, smirking maliciously.
"Not until just now, love of my life. Now I'll let you go alone."
"No! Are you mad?" Crawford frowned.
"Matthew, hold the reins!"
"I'm not holding anything!" He was acting like a child and Aly smirked.
"Fine, but you know it'll be worse if don't right?"
He took the reins, annoyed, and Aly smiled.
"Now remember... Pull the reins if you need, okay?" She didn't let him answer and slapped the horse. "GO STORM!"
"WHAT?!"
When Storm ran, Matthew cursed loudly a lot profanities, making the girl burst into laughter.
"IT'S RUNNING VERY FAST! I'M GONNA DIE!" He yelled and Aly laughed hard.
"STOP BEING A LOSER!" She yelled back. "PULL THE REINS!"
When Crawford pulled the reins, Storm appeared not get exactly the hint, pulling back and running right away.
"Crap." Aly mumbled, running. "Owen, lend me Brownie!"
"But you can't-"
The girl rode in the small pony up to where Matthew was struggling with Storm.
"PULL THE REINS!"
"I'M FUCKING TRYING!"
Alyssa came closer to the horse saying and cursing something inaudible and then Matthew was finally able to pull the reins.
"Good boy," she said to Storm. "And you, get off of my horse!"
"Hey! He wanted to kill me!"
Alyssa cracked up.
"Men riding horses tend to be sexy, but you really destroyed this picture for me, thank you very much," she said, pulling Storm forward. "Bring Brownie."
Matthew mounted on the small pony and Aly raised an eyebrow.
"What are you doing?"
"Being sexy riding a pony. Because I'm sexy anywhere." He boasted.
"Too bad I can't say the same about you, right, General?" Alyssa said laughing at Matthew's face.
The two of them walked side by side with the horses and Maddie watched their laughs from afar, with a smile on her face.
That night of July 4th, the whole city reunited at the local Carnival, in Town Square, to play in the stalls and amusement park rides, try some treats and watch the fireworks, following the tradition. Country music was everywhere in the place, just as the children laughter running around, the sweet smell of cotton candy; that was a completely unique place. Aaron, Maddie's fiancée, finally appeared and was spending all of his time fangirling Crawford and Alyssa, which was absolutely funny. Matthew had arrived at the party with him and Tristan, and the girls showed up like an hour later. Aly was wearing a swirled navy blue strapless dress and red flats to match the spirit of independence. It was ridiculous how the wind seemed to be in favor of her hair as she smiled at a few acquaintances – or not – through the way.
When he realized, Matthew was smiling and being poked by Aaron with some joke.
There was something in that city's water. Or in its air, definitely.
That thing made Alyssa much prettier than he remembered.
"So I heard Aly made you ride Storm?" Chelsea came saying and Aaron's eyes widened.
"You rode Storm? Are you staring at Aly.
"You guys know I like to challenge my boys." She said plainly, and Matt made a face. "Don't you frown, baby. You know I only want what is best for you." She said snorting.
Aly and Matthew walked through the crowd but no one seemed particularly interested in them, which was an equally strange and wonderful situation to both. Alyssa spotted a shooting tent filled with teddy bears and smiled.
"Let's try that one," she said childishly and Matt laughed.
"As long as your father don't come near it, I believe we'll be safe."
The couple got close of the tent and Matthew bought the tickets for the game.
"So here we go... Which one of these you want?" He pointed towards the biggest teddy bears, which would cost more of his aim. Alyssa laughed.
"I like that panda." She pointed to the biggest bear in the tent and Matthew rolled his eyes.
"You'll pay baggage excess charges with this." He whispered and she smiled.
"You were the one who asked, boyfriend".
"Alright, a panda on the way." He said before aiming the cans.
Matthew was a completely catastrophe, definitely. He was destroying everything around the tent and the boy working in there was conveniently tying his shoes, when everyone else knew he was scared to death of being shot with a rubber bullet in the middle of his forehead. Alyssa couldn't stop laughing and Matthew was starting to grow more and more nervous.
"Will you stop?" he complained for the tenth time.
"What? I'm not doing anything!"
And then he finally struck a can and screamed in celebration, causing some people nearby laugh.
"I told you I was going to hit! Boy, she'll want that panda!" Matthew said, pleased with himself.
"I'm sorry, sir... but you only struck one can, so she can pick one of those there." The boy gesticulated, embarrassed, and Aly tried not to laugh while looking at Matthew's angry face.
"It's OK, I don't want to pay baggage excess charges." She said smiling. "You pick the little teddy bear."
Matthew frowned, as losing wasn't something he was used to.
"No, you pick."
"Go on Crawford, give me one as a gift." She said calmly and he made a face, pointing to one of the small bears.
The boy took the bear and gave to him and Aly's eyes widened.
"Oh my, what's that?" She asked with a funny voice and Matthew laughed.
"A platypus."
"You choose to give me a platypus?"
"I choose to give you a panda, but that's all you get." He said and the girl laughed.
"The lady is not playing?" the boy intruded in the middle of their conversation and Aly bit her lip, suppressing a smile.
"No, not today."
"Why not?" Matthew inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Because I'm not really good at it." She answered, looking up and he cracked up.
"You should not be worse than me." He replied absently and Aly giggled. "What is it?"
"Nothing."
"Say it." Matthew complained and then seemed to understand, arching his brow. "Oh, I get it. You are good at it".
"Sort of." Aly replied and Matt rolled his eyes.
"Oh yeah? Then, let's see it. I want that panda." He challenged and the girl started laughing.
"Matthew..."
"Go on. I want to see if you're that good enough to think you can spare me of it." He said grinning and Aly laughed again.
"You asked."
The tent boy handed the gun to Aly, who held it perfectly. Matt frowned and stepped back, when she fired the nine cans without missing a shot in less than a minute.
"What the f-" he was going to say, when he heard people cheering around them.
Aly smiled, completely victorious, and turned to the boy.
"He wants that panda," she said and the boy smiled broadly, bringing the huge beast down and giving it to Matthew.
"That was..."
"Sexy?" Alyssa smirked, but didn't let him answer. "Let's see... I saved you from a runaway horse while riding a pony and gave you the biggest teddy bear from the shooting tent. Yeah, love... I think you're my bitch now." She laughed and Matthew smiled, shaking his head.
"There you are!" Maddie came, holding Aly by her arm. "You won't believe who I just saw! Caleb!" The girl laughed and Matthew raised an eyebrow, maliciously.
"Caleb from Collierville?" He asked, all interested, and Aly shook her head.
"You told him?" Maddie giggled weirdly. "He's around with his wife and the triplets."
"TRIPLETS?" Aly and Matthew said too loud, making the sister laugh.
"Exactly. And his wife got super huge, if you know what I mean. According to everybody, you're the one who's much better now." Maddie smiled for Crawford, who smiled back, and Aly rolled her eyes.
"Do I deserve it?" The actress joked, making the two of them laugh.
"Mom was looking for you two, she wants to take some pictures."
The three walked to where the family was, laughing and chatting with some random people, some of which Aly vaguely remembered. The teenage daughters of one of the couples Aly's family were friends with wanted to take a picture with them, obviously, but in everything was peaceful. They posed to several pictures making several poses with the Hayes, until someone asked photos only of the new couple. Alyssa and Matthew struck some funny poses, but that does not satisfied the crowd.
"I want a kiss photo!" Chelsea screamed with half of a full mouth and everyone seemed to approve.
"What?" Alyssa said too loudly and Matt glanced at her significantly. "I mean, you know I hate that kind of pictures."
"Oh, stop bitching about it, Aly." Maddie giggled. "Worst pictures of you have leaked in the press."
"Hey! That's an absurd!" Aly complained. "I don't like this kind of stuff, never have and-"
When she realized, Matthew had already grabbed her by her hips quickly, like in a dancing ending, her body hang over the actor's arm. Before she could even blink, their lips were glued together, in a long kiss, but her entire family seemed to go wild.
Imagine if they had seen a tongue there.
He put her back in place, laughing of something Chelsea had said, and the girl got her hand to her mouth momentarily, frightened, but soon returned to smile for the neighbors that were saying something.
"You disappeared." Matthew showed up near Aly, whom was sitting in a stool in the middle of the square, watching the people dance. "I brought you a hot dog, your sister told me you're crazy for this one of this party." He said lightly, drinking a sip from his beer and also eating a hot dog.
"Thank you." Aly smiled, giving a little bite in the hot dog. "Oh Lord, this stuff is made in heaven," she added, making the actor laugh.
When she heard the intro from one of her favorite songs, "Endless Summer", by Danielle Bradbery, Aly dropped the hot dog on the stool and soon was on her feet.
"I love this song!" She said, excited, then held Crawford's hand. "Come, dance with me!"
"I can't dance." He chucked, still sitting, but the girl pulled him by his hand.
"You'll learn." She smiled, grabbing him to the middle of the gazebo.
Matthew danced a little clumsy in the song's rhythm and Alyssa smiled, then looked into his eyes.
"Thank you for being such a good actor this weekend." She said in a lower voice and Crawford smirked.
"I'm really awesome, I know," he laughed and so did Aly, then she looked down, gazing her feet.
He stared at the girl, whom now looked further away over his shoulder, and took a deep breath, holding Aly's face by her chin, forcing her to gaze him.
"Hey," he said in a lower voice. "Can I tell you a secret?" Matt questioned and she briefly smiled, curious.
"Of course."
"Most of the time, I didn't had to pretend at all."
Alyssa opened a big smile, and Crawford did the same.
"Your secret is safe with me, boyfriend." She said, whispering, while Crawford made her whirl in the middle of the gazebo, without knowing what exactly he was doing.
It did not matter.
Aly tripped in Matthew's foot, clumsy, and they both laughed for uncountable seconds, without saying a word, till he was staring at her.
He didn't say a thing, but they were so close his nose was touching hers, and he saw the girl bite her bottom lip, then smile. He smiled back, and without giving it a thought, he closed his eyes.
For a moment, everything seemed quiet, and he could feel her warm breath against his mouth.
"Auntie, auntie!" Owen pulled Alyssa's skirt and she almost fell behind.
Matthew blinked several times, gazing the little boy.
"I wanted someone to play feed the clown with me, but mommy is eating again and dad is with the adults." He muttered and Aly shook her head, like she was getting out of a trance. She was holding her chest, too.
"I...I'll go with you, honey." She said, without looking at Matthew.
What the hell was happening?
Owen smiled.
"But I want Uncle Matthew." He answered in a lower voice and Aly smiled, then looked at Crawford.
"Go, Uncle Matthew." Aly said and he smiled, embarrassed, before getting going away with Owen, looking back a few times.
"Hey, there you are, princess." Jack showed up next to Aly, who was eating the hot dog Crawford gave her, sitting on the grass and watching the sky, where the fireworks would probably light up soon. "What are you doing here by yourself?"
"I'm saving a seat to watch the fireworks." She smiled, yet looking at the sky.
"Smart move." He said, then made a weird noise with his mouth before getting to his point. "I... I wanted to apologize." Her father said and the girl abruptly turned to face him. "I didn't mean to act that way; actually, is just I wasn't expecting things to turn out this way for you-"
"It's okay, dad. It really is." Aly smiled, interrupting him. "It wouldn't be you if it happened differently." She replied, making the old man laugh. "I'm sorry, too. I know I have not acted the best way in this whole story, but I really wanted your support with the baby and all... From now on." She ended, almost whispering, and her dad smiled.
"I talked to Matthew." He said, simply, and Aly wide opened her eyes, almost jumping in a straight position. "Hey, chill." Jack giggled. "It's OK."
"Is it?" Alyssa questioned, uncertain.
"It is. It's ok if you two don't want to get married now, princess. He really looks like a good guy outside of the media and stuff." Jack said and Aly had to hold back the impulse to ask her father why was he saying this, therefore se just smiled. "Speaking of the devil, look who's coming." Jack waved. "I'll look for you mother, princess. And look... Be sure I'll be by your side for everything you need." He said, kissing her in the forehead. "I love you."
"I love you too, dad." Aly replied, almost crying.
"Hey." Aly said when Matthew got closer with two soda cans, and laughed. "You? Soda?"
'I'll go along with the pregnant lady today." He answered, laughing, and sat by her side, gazing the horizon. "It must have been pretty amazing growing up here, Aly."
Aly smiled briefly, looking at the grass and Crawford gazed at her from the corner of his eye.
"I completely love this city." She smirked, playing with leafs in the lawn. "But I practically haven't lived here. I was born here, but when I was four I was already in my first TV show, in Los Angeles, and my mom moved with me to California." She laughed for nothing. "I don't even know how my parents are still together. Sure it is not because of me."
She felt the weight of Matthew's eyes on her, but did not wait for him to say something.
"You know, Matthew... When I was a child, I thought it was normal to always have four cameras in front of me and when I walked in the streets, I started to think paparazzi were a regular thing to everyone. Like, I really thought everyone walked around being photographed." They both shared a laugh. "And then there was Collierville. The place where I wasn't Alyssa Hayes, the prodigy actress." She sighed. "I was just Jack Hayes's daughter. I was just... Me."
Matthew saw the girl hold her arms because of the wind and got closer, hugging her from the side. Aly didn't offer any resistance, just put her head on his shoulder and smiled. They stood in silence for a few minutes, when the fireworks showed up in the sky.
They both laughed, unwittingly, and then laughed of it.
"If it makes the little girl who would only came to Collierville on vacation happier," he started to talk and Aly stared at him. "The daughter from Jack Hayes' is actually damn sexy. There you go! Finally a Hayes where the sexiest man alive gets on board." He said, playfully, making the girl laugh and push him.
"I should tell People Magazine that the world's sexiest man doesn't even know how to shoot to win a panda." She smirked and Crawford laughed, shaking his head.
"You know you want my body, babe. Just admit it already!"
"Shut up, Crawford." They both laughed.
"Happy 4th of July, girlfriend."
*************************************
Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed the part two of this chapter (I mentioned is one of my favorites so I'm excited to this one!). Such cool things to know about Aly's life and also... almost a kiss!!! <3 Thanks a lot for the support. Don't forget to vote and please leave a comment if you like, OK?
By the way, the song choice to their dance (and almost kiss) actually has perfect lyrics for it so check it out if you want, I added a media with a YouTube lyric video (maybe you can read the scene while listening... just a tip!) :)
See you next weekend <3 xx