Here is another update! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for the reviews! I love them! They are like candy to me. :)
"So who all is going to be at this cook out?" Crosby asked as the two of them drove back towards her parents house after the rehearsal at the church.
"Not the whole family, just those that are immediately in the wedding party, and then Hillary's side of the family as well."
He nodded.
"I have been wanting to ask you something, and I was looking for the right time, but I have realized that there probably isn't a right time, so I figure I'm just gonna' ask."
Raina looked over at Crosby, a little nervous.
"I found this picture on your moms' refrigerator of a sonogram." He said.
"Of Ronnie and Hillary's baby? I want to see." Raina said with a smile.
"No, that was not the name on the sonogram." He said, watching her.
She glanced over at him with a confused look on her face.
"It had your name on it."
"My name?" She asked, even more confused.
"Yeah, that's why I wanted to ask you. What was that?"
"There is no sonogram picture on my parents fridge of mine." She said, confused. She tried to remember it being on the refrigerator, but couldn't recall one being there.
"I saw it on the side. I mean, I could be mistaken, since Seth came in the kitchen and distracted me, but I'm pretty sure it said your name."
"I want to see this picture." She said as she pulled into her parents house. She parked on the side of the driveway and the two of them headed inside the house. She walked straight to the refrigerator to see the sonogram he was talking about, but saw nothing.
"Where is it?" She asked, looking everywhere.
"It was right here." He said, confused as to why it was missing all of a sudden. "I'm not crazy, at least I don't think I am, but it was right here."
"Hey, you guys are here. Will you help me bring out everything?" Catherine said.
"Mom, did you have a sonogram up here?" Raina asked.
Catherine looked at Raina, then Crosby.
"No, why?" She said.
Raina stared down her mother. She then took the potato salad she was holding out of her hand and headed outside.
"I didn't mean to start an argument or anything, I was just wondering what it was of. I'm sorry I was mistaken." Crosby said when he caught up to Raina outside.
She smiled at him, and then gave him a kiss.
"You didn't start anything." She said to him.
Everyone slowly started arriving to the barbeque, and Neil started to cook the cheeseburgers and hot dogs on the grill. It was dark out, and they had the bonfire going at that time, and everyone sat around talking about the next day.
"Beer?" Raina asked Crosby, handing him a bottle.
"Thanks." He said, accepting it. Raina sat on his lap with her own bottle of beer. She had on a sweatshirt, even though it was summertime in Iowa, but she couldn't help but feel cold.
"You have turned into a damn Floridian, haven't you?" Jeremy asked, taking a seat next to Crosby and Raina. "You are like those old people now."
"Thanks brat." She said, throwing her beer bottle cap at him. "I can't help that I am used to it be 90 and humid all the time."
"You are always cold." He laughed. "So, Crosby, you coming to the bachelor party with us tonight?"
"I don't know, am I?" He asked, glancing at Raina.
"I am going out with Hillary. It's up to you if you want to join us girls, or go out with them, or go back to Aunt Karen's."
He glanced over at Jeremy.
"Well, as nice as it sounds to hang out with a bunch of girls all night, the bachelor party sounds like more fun."
"Good choice. They are all probably going to give manicures and pedicures to each other all night and talk about their men."
"You think that's what we do when you aren't around?" Raina asked, shaking her head.
"Hey, what else do you girls have to do?" He asked.
Raina gave her brother a look.
"We probably have more fun than you guys will ever have. What are you guys planning on doing? I know that Rachel and Hillary don't have to worry about you guys going to strip clubs at all, since there are none anywhere near here."
"Doesn't mean we can't have a stripper!" Jeremy joked.
"Who in this town would even think about being a stripper for you guys?" She asked.
"I think you should rephrase that question. Who in this town has he not see naked already?" Ronnie laughed, coming up to them.
"You really want to start with that now, before your wedding?" Jeremy asked, giving him a look.
"I kid, I kid." He said, laughing.
"Are we ready to go out?" Jarred, Raina's cousin, asked. "I'm bored."
Raina shook her head, laughing.
"Yeah, let's get out of here." Jeremy said, tossing his empty beer bottle in the trash.
"You better be coming with us Crosby." Ronnie said, standing up.
"Yeah, I'm going." He said.
"Have fun. Ignore everything they tell you, they are all lies." Raina said to him, standing up.
"I will have to remember that." He said, laughing.
Raina watched as Crosby left with her brothers and a couple of her cousins and Ronnie's friends, and she sat back down in her seat.
"Where exactly are we going?" Crosby asked Jeremy.
"Just to the only bar here in town. Not much more we can do, and we all plan on drinking. At least this rate, if we all get too drunk, we don't have far to walk."
He nodded.
They all walked into the small bar, where Crosby was introduced to a cousin of Raina's, who was the bartender that evening.
"So, ready to take the plunge tomorrow?" Jeremy asked after the group of guys all took a shot to celebrate the evening.
"I sure hope so, because either way, I'm stuck with Hillary, aren't I?" Ronnie laughed.
"Do you guys know what you are having yet?" Crosby asked him.
"No, and I think we both decided on not knowing until the baby is born. We want to be surprised."
"I would want to know. I would want to plan for it." Ronnie's best friend, Zach, said.
Just then, Crosby watched a couple guys walk into the bar, and he watched them walk up to them.
"Troy, Kyle, what's going on?" Ronnie asked, smiling at them.
"Not much. Heard there was a bachelor party going on in here tonight, and had to make an appearance." One of the guys said. He was eying Crosby, curious as to who he was.
"Guys, this is Crosby, my sisters friend. Crosby, this is Troy and Kyle." Ronnie said, introducing the guys.
"A friend of Raina's, eh?" Troy asked, still eying him. "What kind of friend is that?"
"Just friends." Crosby went with, not wanting to elaborate at that point. Something felt weird about this whole situation, and he didn't know why.
"Where is Raina at anyway? I haven't seen her around, and I thought for sure she would join you guys for the bachelor party instead of staying with Hillary and the girls for the bachelorette party." Troy said.
"She decided to stay behind. You know her. She doesn't like to go out anymore."
He nodded.
Crosby watched as Troy walked away from them and head up to the bar to get himself a drink.
"Old friend of Raina's?" Crosby asked Jeremy.
"She told you about Troy, right? That's her ex." He said, finishing off his beer.
"No, never heard of him."
"Figures she wouldn't talk about him. She never talks about him." He said, shaking his head.
"Why, may I ask?"
"That is a conversation you should have with my sister. I probably have said too much as it is." He answered, holding up his beer bottle to his cousin, signaling his need for a refill.
Crosby nodded, sitting back in his chair.
"So, Crosby, where ya' from?" Troy asked, taking a seat across from him.
"Vermont." He answered. He immediately wished he decided on hanging out with the girls that night. He even preferred just going back to Karen's house to stay there for the evening alone.
"How in the hell does Raina know you then? I thought she ran away to Florida?"
"Troy, she did. Chill out. Leave the guy alone." Ronnie said. "He has nothing to do with anything."
"Fine, for your bachelor party, I will. I won't even say anything at your wedding tomorrow. But I'll be damned if I see her after that and don't say anything."
Ronnie just rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
"I just want to say one thing, and then I will drop it all." Troy said. "I am guessing she has said nothing to you about me, right?"
Crosby shook his head.
"Dude, you have no idea who Raina is at all. Ask her about me. Twenty bucks she gets uncomfortable and lies about who I am. She's a lying bitch, so just watch out." He said, laughing.
"Troy, this is the reason Raina didn't want you to come to my wedding. I did not invite Crosby out with us to have him to listen to you." Ronnie said to him, getting angry at this point.
"Fine, I get the picture. I will go. I will see you guys tomorrow." Troy said, slamming the rest of his beer. He then walked out of the bar.
"Sorry guys, he has had quite a bit to drink before he got here." Kyle said, making a face.
"Keep the alcohol away from him tomorrow for the wedding please." Ronnie asked.
Kyle nodded.
"I'm kind of glad things ended between Raina and him." Jarred said, taking the seat Troy had currently occupied.
"When he acts like that, me too." Jeremy responded.
"Hey, it's over, and it is my bachelor party. Who's buying the next round of shots?" Ronnie asked, standing up, trying to cheer everyone up and forget about what had just happened.
"Next round is on me." Crosby offered, standing up with him.
"Hell yes. Let's do this." He said.
Crosby laughed as he went to buy a round of shots for everyone. He couldn't believe how much the tab was for the shots, since they were a lot less than what he is normally used too in the big city. He almost saw himself preferring small town living.
Later that night, Jarred and Crosby headed back to Karen's house. Crosby headed downstairs quietly, in case Raina was sleeping. When he saw that she was, he quickly changed and then crawled into bed next to her.
"How was the night?" Raina asked sleepily, not moving from the position she was in.
"Eventful." He answered quietly.
"Did you have fun?" She asked.
"Yeah, I did." He said. "I met Troy."
Raina immediately spun around at the sound of Troy's name and looked at him.
"You have quite the ex." He said with a smile.
Raina groaned, turning away from him.
"It was obvious he had a few drinks before he even showed up at the bar." He said, kissing her shoulder.
"What did he say to you?" She asked, looking up at him.
"Nothing too much." He lied. He could tell that she wasn't happy that he had run into him.
She nodded.
"However, he did say that I didn't know who you were." He said, watching her.
"He doesn't know what he is talking about." She said, shaking her head. "He's just still pissed that me and him are no more."
He nodded, pulling her close to him, as he wrapped his arms around her. She wasn't facing him, which she was grateful for, because she didn't want him to see how upset she was about the interaction between the two of them.
"Raina, who is he?" He asked.
Raina was quiet for a moment.
"Just an ex." She answered with.
He could tell she wasn't saying something. He didn't want to press any further and upset her. If she didn't want to say more, then he was fine with that.
Raina laid there in bed, listening to Crosby's breathing, waiting for him to fall asleep. Once she knew he was asleep, she reached over to her phone, turning it on silent, and quickly texted Jeremy.
"What happened tonight?" She asked him.
She laid there with her stomach in knots, sick to her stomach. She was hoping that when Crosby met Troy, she would be around. She didn't even think that he would show up to the bachelor party, since he didn't even live in the same town as them. He lived in one of the many neighboring towns, and figured he wouldn't make the drive in to drink, but she figured wrong.
"Troy was drunk, and Ronnie got rid of him. He didn't say anything too bad."
"Yeah right. Crosby doesn't know the real me, eh? Who invited him to the party, and why didn't you guys tell me? I would have gone with you."
Raina started to bite her nails. She waited patiently for her brother to respond.
"Raina, chill. You had to of known that something like this was going to happen. You can't invite Crosby into town knowing that Troy was going to come to the wedding, and not expect him to say something."
Raina made a face, getting angry at her brother.
"Crosby was invited before I knew I was backstabbed by my brother. I will deal with this tomorrow."
Raina threw her phone onto the chair across the room, not wanting to talk to Jeremy anymore. She felt Crosby stir in his sleep, holding onto her tighter. She tried to relax to get some sleep, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the situation out of her head.
There you have it. Please review. Tell me what YOU think Raina's big secret is. :)
