It's Sunday afternoon, one entire week left before Reese and AJ's wedding...it's amazing how quickly time flies by as you get older.
One day you're young and carefree, wishing for time to speed up so you can do all these great things because you're a grown up.
Then before you know it, you're a grown up...wishing things would go back to when you were a child. A time when life was so much more simpler.
We're in church going through the final wedding rehearsal. If I have to pretend to march down this isle one more time, I'm going to strangle myself along with Reese.
It's bad enough I have to walk out hanging onto Ethan's arm, never mind the sad puppy dog look he's been giving me every time I see him these past couple weeks.
At least we haven't ran into one another again since that day at the loft....and we've been so busy rehearsing that we haven't had any alone time to actually strike up a conversation with one another..thank god for that!
If it wasn't for Reese's glorious glow and just her excitement of becoming AJ's wife, I would've rained on her parade a long time ago...she's two skips away from becoming a bridezilla!
"Gemma...Alex!! You guys need to walk together. One...two...one...two. Count it out in your heads if you need to, but your walk is off!" Reese bellowed, her voice echoing through the church.
Geez, talk about little miss perfectionist! My eyes widened in surprise at her bossiness as I gave Gemma a little smirk and a wink. Gemma agreed to be a bridesmaid and Alex a groomsman. Gemma just let out a giggle as she took her place next to me.
Thankfully, Colby was kind enough to switch my alternating day off permanently to Sunday nights. It used to be that I'd get off a day during the weeknight, but since he knows the torture I have to go through with being maid of honor and the duties that follow along with that, he was kind enough to change my day off.
After another grueling hour, we finally mastered the rehearsal to Reese's liking which meant we could finally go home and get some rest.
I was drained from getting in after three in the morning last night from work, to have Reese waking me up at nine to rehearse.
Now I have to rush home to finish some sketches and a paper due for my English Comp 203 class before I needed to meet up with them again for the rehearsal dinner.
"Hey beautiful, how'd it go?" Zac asked while grinning at me as I walked through the door of my apartment. He was sitting at our kitchen table typing up his paper.
"What're you doing over here?" I asked with narrowed eyes and a smirk. He never comes over here when nobody is home unless he absolutely needs to.
"I needed peace and quiet to concentrate on my paper, I hope you don't mind I let myself in. Aiden and Chad are over there going nuts on the PS3." He sighed sadly. I knew he wished he was part of the video game action as well.
"It went as well as it could with bridezilla on her war path." I chuckled, leaning down to give him a peck on his lips. "Of course I don't mind baby. Hope you know you're going to the rehearsal dinner so finish up what you gotta do."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He said with a high pitched voice in false excitement as he turned his attention back to typing.
We spent the next two hours in quiet, me adding the finishing touches to my sketches then typing up my paper that I already wrote a rough draft for. Zac finished about a half hour earlier than I did, so he just sat there and surfed the internet, while I worked diligently.
I was surprised he didn't just up and leave to go next door to join in on the excitement. Every now and then I'd catch him peeking over at me out the corner of my eyes. Guess he was trying to see if I was anywhere close to finishing up yet.
"Yay, finally done." I cheered as I snapped my computer shut and placed it on the coffee table. Zac closed down whatever he was doing and moved closer to me on the couch.
He put his arms around me and pulled me flush to him so that I was pratically in his lap. "Mmm, I missed snuggling with you this morning." He said as he ran kisses down my neck.
Hugging him back and relishing in the fact that he didn't want me to leave as much as I didn't want to, I turned my face towards his. Our lips meeting in a sweet kiss.
"Missed you too baby, now go get ready, we're leaving in an hour." I said pulling away slightly giving him another quick kiss.
If we started down this road now, I'd never have enough time to get ready for dinner...matter of fact I'd end up not going just so that I could stay home in bed with Zac, but I knew Reese would kill us!
So, I shooed him out of the apartment. "Tell Aiden and Chad to get ready too! We're leaving in an hour." I hollered after him as I made my way into the bathroom to shower and get ready.
Putting the finishing touches on my eye liner, I took one final look at myself in the mirror. I clean up pretty nicely if I do say so myself!
I had on a killer form fitting long sleeved black dress. It completely covered up the front, but there was a plunging v-neck back to it that ended dangerously close to my behind. The dress ended a little above my knees and I paired it with some black stilletto heels.
My hair was straightened, pulled into a low side ponytail and for my make-up I had mascara, smokey dark gray eye shadow, and I used the black eyeliner to make cat eyes. Finishing it all off with my clear lip gloss to plump up my lips.
Reese wanted tonight's dinner to be pretty formal since they're having it at a French restaurant called Le Cirque...it was Ethan's suggestion.
A knock sounded at the door, probably the guys trying to tell me to hurry up. Why oh why they couldn't just open the door to begin with, I just don't know. They each have their own key for crying out loud!
I rushed out of my room and pulled the door open. "We're here to escort you to dinner my lady." I heard Aiden announce in a fake english accent, I chuckled at his sillyness as I turned around to grab my clutch on the sofa...but then it got extremely quiet all of a sudden.
Looking up I noticed Chad, Zac, and Aiden's eyes practically bugged right out of their sockets and their mouths hung ajar as their eyes drifted from my face...all the way down to my stilletto heels.
"What? Am I too overdressed?" I asked looking down at myself worriedly, my hands nervously running down my dress.
Zac snapped out of it first and looked over at both Aiden and Chad. When he realized they were gawking at me, he playfully punched them both in the arms at the same time.
"Stop checking out my girl, jerks." Zac scolded before he took a step forward and grabbed my hands into his. "No you're not overdressed. You look amazing, Kai...too amazing."
"Zac's right, you look amazing Kaila." Chad said throwing me his trademark grin.
"Woo-hoo, Zac's lucky you're his sweetness...cuz if not, you'd be coming home with me tonight." Aiden joked as Zac playfully shoved him back.
"Aww, thanks." I answered with a shy smile. I could feel myself blushing at the compliments. "You guys look rather smashing." I grinned as I stared at each of their outfits.
Chad had on a pair of gray slacks, black boots, and a black v neck sweater. Aiden wore a white button up with khaki slacks and brown boots.
Zac...yum!!! My Zachy had on a black suit jacket with black slacks and black boots. Underneath the jacket he had on a green button up that matched his eyes perfectly.
He conveniently left it untucked with a few top buttons unbuttoned, showing off his deliciously muscular chest. His hair was styled messily like he just got done running his fingers through it..sigh...what a turn on!
I had to bite down on my lip to hold back from sighing out loud, I can't help it! He looks sooo sexy! I can just imagine how damn sexy he's going to look dressing in suits everyday in the courtroom!
Looking up into his mint green eyes caused me to melt instantly. He was staring back at me with such an intense gaze as he gave me the utmost heart breaking smile...the one that shows off both of his dimples.
He caught me...Zac knew me way too well....and he knew exactly what was on my mind as I stood there staring at him.
"C'mon beautiful, let's get going before we're late and Reese sends out the search party." He said putting his warm hand on the small of my very exposed back and leading me out to the car.
When we arrived at the restaurant, almost everyone was there with the exception of a few people. We were greeted with hugs and kisses on the cheek as we made our way to our seats at the long rectangular table.
Reese looked breathtaking in her mini blue scalloped tank dress with a short sleeved black shrug on to cover up some of the exposed cleavage...after all her future in laws were there as well as her parents.
She too had on a pair of black stillettos. We just grinned at one another like a bunch of idiots, we went shopping together for our outfits tonight so we knew what the other was going to wear.
"That's my bitches...hot as ever!" Gemma exclaimed excitedly as she came waltzing in with Alex. She looked great in her satin red mini dress and matching peep toe pumps.
Everyone took their seats at the table, and mingled quietly with one another while the waiter came out to take our drink orders.
"What do you think about staying at the loft tonight and waking up early tomorrow to go back to the apartment to get our things for class?" Zac suggested as he leaned over to whisper in my ear.
The loft being only fifteen minutes away, while our apartment was thirty.
"I don't think I can wait until we get back to the apartment...that dress has got me..." He didn't finish what he was going to say.
Instead he let out a sigh that sounded a bit like a growl, his hot breath brushing against my neck sent chills down my spine.
Raising my eyebrow up at him I answered, "I think that sounds like an excellent plan."
Biting down on the inside of my lip seductively I leaned in close to his ear. I tried not to be obvious, acting as though we were just discussing what was on the menu.
"The way you look in the suit is such a turn on." I complimented as I rubbed his upper thigh.
I could see Zac's eyes widen a bit as his hand quickly grabbed mine underneath the table. "Kai, I'd stop doing that if you plan on staying until the end of dinner...keep it up and we're leaving now. I'll fake a sickness." He said under his breath through gritted teeth.
Weighing out my options of making love or death...because I knew for a fact that Reese would kill me if I were to leave now...I chose to live long enough to enjoy our hot and steamy love making later.
I nodded my head at Zac giving him my most innocent smile. "Ok...ok...I'll behave." I promised as I leaned in and pecked him gently on the lips. "It'll be a different story once we get home though." I mumbled against his lips.
He winked at me then turned and started chatting with the guys who were sitting to his right and across from him.
Reese was too occupied making sure her parents and in-laws were entertained to notice anything that happened. Her and AJ were sitting across from us a little further down at the beginning of the table closer to her relatives.
I looked around and couldn't help but notice that Ethan wasn't here yet, neither was AJ's little brother Tony or the other groomsmen Jake and Noel that I'd met at the club during AJ's birthday party way back when.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, they all came prancing in. It was obvious that they were all slightly intoxicated by their rowdiness and volume level as they entered the room chuckling amongst themselves.
"Hey bro, sorry we're so late. We went out for a few drinks after rehearsal and got caught up." Tony apologized with a pat on AJ's shoulder as he took a seat next to his dad. Jake took the remaining seat next to Tony.
Oh god there's only two open seats left...one directly across from me and one across from Gemma who was to my left! I could only hope that Noel sits across from me, but knowing my luck...
Of course, I thought as Ethan pulled the seat out across from me. He gave me a warm smile as he sat down.
After ordering himself a beer, I could feel Ethan staring at me out the corner of my eyes as I faced Gemma's direction chatting with her. His intense gaze literally causing me to feel hot and shift uncomfortably in my seat.
We placed our orders with the waiter, thankfully they had an english version of their menus for people who couldn't read french. I ended up ordering myself something along the lines of stuffed chicken with veggies and mashed potatoes.
Zac was occupied, busy talking sports and law with the guys. Reese looked over at me with an apologetic smile...she knew I felt slightly awkward and I knew she wished we were seated closer to one another so that we could talk.
"What're your plans after graduation?" I asked Gemma taking a sip of my wine. "Did you and Alex decide to stay in Long Island?"
"Well, Alex wants to stay close to home you know he's a mama's boy and all." She nodded as she pursed her lips deep in thought. "But I wanna move closer to city, there's never a dull moment around here...it's so exciting. I can see why you guys love it so much...are you really staying in the city, what happened to Paris?"
Gemma got a taste of the liveliness the city had to offer, since they've been spending so much time up here these past few weekends for rehearsals. I don't think she wanted to go back to the suburban tranquility of Long Island.
Alex, however coming from such a close knit family similiar to Chad's, always dreamed of living where he grew up at. He wanted to marry and raise his children, having them experience the same things he did as a child.
I wondered to myself if their relationship would last much longer than graduation, seeing the big difference in future plans.
Gemma remained close friends with Reese and I, we texted and called each other almost weekly. We had our monthly girly get togethers over lunch or dinner. She remembered my life long dream of moving to Paris to pursue my career in fashion design.
Shrugging my shoulders, I didn't know what response to merit. I still wanted to go to Paris...so badly, but it'd be selfish of me to just expect Zac to drop everything and move there.
He had his own dreams and ambitions, which included taking over our parent's law firm when the time came. Our food came out and everyone began to eat in comfortable silence...the food was delicious.
"Things change Gem, I don't know. Maybe one day Paris could happen for me, but the timing's not right. I could have the same opportunity here in the city as I could there..." My voice drifted off a bit, my subconscious knowing the words I spoke were untrue.
The fashion industry in Paris was far more advanced than that of New York. Paris opened up so many more opportunities and perspectives, it was the reason why Aunt Elisha moved there to begin with...it's where her career flourished into the empire it is now.
Aunt Elisha started out in New York, but there was way too much competition. So she decided to move across the world to broaden her horizons.
Just then I heard the tinking of a spoon against the glass as Ethan pushed his chair out to stand up. I've been watching him all throughout dinner silently drinking himself to oblivion.
"Attention everyone, as the best man, I'd like to make a toast." He slurred a bit as he swayed back and forth to balance himself.
Instantly I could see Reese's expression as she whispered angrily to AJ asking him to get Ethan to sit down before he embarrassed himself. AJ just shook his head dismissively telling her not to worry.
I just cringed internally, hoping it would be quick and painless. Since Ethan's arrival we've all walked on pins and needles around him...scared we might say the wrong thing and just set him off.
I mean it wasn't that he was certifiably looney, we just didn't want to be the one to set him off sending him to the psych ward again.
"To Reese, thank you for making AJ so happy. To my best friend in the whole world...my brother from another mother." This caused everyone to laugh out loud. "Thank you for always being such a great person to me, I don't think I would've made it through college life without you. I've learned so much from you and I truly admire you."
Ok so maybe this wasn't going as bad as I initially thought.
"I wish you the very best in life, you've been fortunate enough to find yourself an awesome girl. Hold onto her and cherish her in every way you possibly can, don't mess up on her...like I did." He said as he let out a huge sigh and his eyes darted over in my direction.
My eyes widened...oh lord here it comes.
"Mikaila, oh my god...Mikaila. I'm so sorry for hurting you, it kills me a little each day that I wake up without you by my side. All the times I think of what happened. I was stupid...stupid to not come after you. A coward to hide in Paris...but I'm here now. Let me make things right again, please...."
It seemed as if time stopped, I couldn't take my eyes off him. His brown eyes filled with tears, as he pleaded with me. No one seemed to be able to move.
"Don't marry him...I want to be the cause of your happiness...Marry Me. What I wouldn't give to feel your body against mine again...just like that night you gave me your virginity."
My mouth dropped open in shock, I was mortified and the only reason I snapped out of my reverie was because all hell broke loose.
The chair next to me slammed against the floor and before I knew what happened I heard Zac's voice shout. "YOU SON OF A BITCH, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
A flash of black lunged across the table trying to grab a hold of the beligerent man across from me. Food went flying, drinks spilling, glasses and plates smashing as Zac basically lept across the table and tackled Ethan.