"Ok Emily I need you to take a deep breath in and hold it." Emily did as instructed then released her breath as the dress was finally zippered.
"Why is it so tight?" Emily asked.
"As the night goes on, the dress tends to loosen up a bit. So by making it tighter now, it will allow you to move freely throughout the night without worrying about your dress falling."
"Makes sense I guess."
"You can breathe okay, right? 'Cause we don't want it to be that tight." The woman smiled at her.
"Yeah." Emily returned her smile as nerves started to set in.
"How does it look guys?" Emily turned towards Lia and Cheryl. Emily thought she saw tears in Lia's eyes.
"You look so beautiful, Emily!" Lia squealed.
"You really do." Cheryl added. Emily rested her hands on her stomach to ease the butterflies. 'In two weeks, I'll be Matt's wife. Mrs. Matthew Flannery.' Emily liked the sound of that. But Emily Flannery just didn't sound right. If she could stay Mrs. Matthew Flannery she'd take his name. Emily really needed a second opinion.
"What do you think about Emily Flannery?" Emily asked Cheryl and Lia as she got out of her dress. Cheryl's eyes grew wide, as she realized for the first time she'd have two agent Flannery's.
"Are you ok Cheryl?" Lia asked upon seeing her boss' face.
"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine."
"You guys, I'm serious! We have to go for our marriage license in the next couple of days and I don't know if I want to take his name!"
"Well what did Matt say?" Lia asked.
"He said it didn't matter to him either way. That I'd be his wife and that was enough." Emily rolled her eyes as she spoke. It was sweet of him, but it felt like a cop out.
"Aww!" Lia couldn't help her reaction.
"No its not 'aww!' I don't know what to do. Emily Flannery. It just doesn't sound right. But I don't want to hurt his feelings and I love his last name. It's just...imagining myself with it...it sounds so foreign!" Emily plopped down on the couch, now fully out of her wedding dress. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration.
"Well I never really thought about you taking on Matt's last name." Cheryl spoke now and Emily stood back up to finish getting dressed.
"But you need to do what feels right for Emily. I truly think it doesn't matter to Matt either way. What about...what if you did a hyphen? Emily Lehman-Flannery." Emily looked thoughtful for a minute.
"I never thought about that. Keeping Lehman in there breaks up the y's." A huge grin spread across her face.
"I love it! Thanks Cheryl!" Emily gave Cheryl a quick hug.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Lia and Emily walked with their arms linked together as Cheryl led the way.
"Hey babe! How did it go?" Matt asked from the couch.
"Good." Emily kicked her shoes off and walked over to join him. Matt lifted his arm so Emily could snuggle up next to him then kissed the top of her head.
"How did the tux fitting go?" Emily looked up at him and Matt cringed.
"Well...we have our tuxes." He grinned at her. Emily raised her eyebrows at him.
"Frank and Duff are planning my bachelor party." Matt's face grew serious now.
"I don't think I like the sound of that." Emily sat up.
"I know. I told them no strippers though." Matt regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth.
"Strippers?! They were going to get you strippers?!" Emily stood up fuming. She picked up the phone and hit speed dial 4. Matt watched in horror.
"Rogers."
"Yeah, Frank? Just wanted to set some ground rules here for Matt's bachelor party. First of all NO STRIPPERS!! Second of all, I don't want him getting drunk off his ass so that he has this huge hangover for our wedding! And leave your guns at home! I can only imagine the kind of havoc you would all wreak if you had your guns!"
"Ok." Frank was too stunned to say anything else. Emily flipped her phone shut and turned back to Matt.
"What?" She asked.
"Nothing!" Matt quickly replied not wanting her to turn on him next. Emily stomped back to their bedroom shedding clothes as she went.
"I swear if I find out he got strippers anyway, I'll kill him!" Matt wasn't really listening to what she said. He was currently trying to calm his hormones. Watching her strip down to nothing as she walked to their bedroom always got him. Only this time there was nothing he could do about it. Emily re-emerged moments later wearing an old shirt of Matt's and a pair of sweats. She pulled her hair back and continued on into the kitchen. Matt joined her seconds later, wrapping his arms around her waist, holding her close.
"I love you." Matt whispered in her ear.
"I love you too." Emily smiled now letting all the tension in her body release. Matt kissed her neck, making Emily moan lightly.
"Just a couple more weeks..." Matt whispered in her ear again as his hands roamed her body, gently caressing her breasts. Emily leaned into him feeling his erection. It was Matt's turn to moan. Emily pulled away while she still could.
"So what would you like for dinner?"
"Well we can order in if you'd like?" Matt knew how much Emily hated to cook. He was in the mood for some Chinese anyway.
"Chinese?" Emily asked reading his mind.
"Yeah." Matt grinned at her. He loved how well she knew him. Emily placed their orders then popped in a movie to watch.
"Office Space? We just watched that one Em!"
"I know, but it's so funny! Can we please watch it again?" Emily bit her bottom lip and Matt couldn't refuse her.
"Ok. Ok. We can watch Office Space, again!" Matt laughed. Emily muted the TV for a minute. Matt looked at her questioningly.
"I forgot I wanted to talk to you." Emily looked down, picking at a loose thread on Matt's shirt.
"What's the matter?" Matt caressed her arm gently.
"Nothing. It's just...I was thinking some more today about, umm, about taking on your last name." Emily paused for a moment before continuing.
"I was thinking about maybe using both of our names. Emily Lehman-Flannery." Emily bit her lip again waiting for Matt's response. He tilted her chin up and stared into her eyes.
"I think that's a great idea." He kissed her gently. Emily immediately deepened the kiss, running her hands through his thick black hair. They pulled apart for air just as the door bell rang.
"Would you mind getting that?" Matt asked as he gestured to the bulge that had formed in his jeans. Emily laughed then answered the door. She carried the food into the kitchen and made up both their plates.
"Mmm. That smells so good!" Matt said as Emily handed him his plate. She turned the movie back on and they sat next to each other on the couch, their hips touching slightly. After they finished eating Emily put the plates in the dishwasher then curled up on the couch with Matt. They lay like that for the rest of the evening. Just enjoying being close to each other.
