Erin felt her toes curling as her heels dug into the mattress in an attempt to give herself some leverage. He was above her and she lay beneath him. Her arms stretched up, "Yes," she could feel her eyes roll to the back of her head. She willed herself to hold out for him but he was just so damn good at this. She reopened her eyes, smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "don't stop." And he didn't. He wouldn't. He couldn't. Not unless she told him to…
Jay is deliberately pushing his hips against hers to drag the faintest and softest of whimpers and moans from her throat. He's encased between her thighs and wrapped up in her legs and he smiled as he grasped the hands that she had wrapped around his neck. He moved her arms and pushes them above her head, making her eyes meet his own as his face hovered closely above hers, "I love you so much," and to prove it, he made love to her, slowly, tenderly, fondly and compassionately, all while pressing the most delicate and gentlest kisses to her mouth, cheek and neck, "I promise to never stop loving you."
Erin met him on a downward thrust and elicited an open mouth gasp from him, one that had her capturing his lips in a kiss as he kept moving above her, slowly, torturously. She moaned helplessly, feeling herself being built up only to fall for the second time that morning. She grabbed his shoulders, squeezing so tightly that her nails dug into his skin creating crescent shaped outlines into his flesh. Erin pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down so his face is buried into her collarbone. With a choked gasp and groan, he bit down onto her shoulder and came hard, the feel of him pulsing and pounding deep inside of her sent her arching her back and hurling over the edge right along with him.
Seconds later, they lay tangled in the sheets, legs intertwined and twisted as she now rests her face against his muscular chest. His fingers stroke through her hair as he collects his breath, "Wow." It's the only word he could formulate right now.
And she seemed to agree with his sentiment; "Wow is right," Erin reached up to stroke his face, guiding his face down to hers to seal her words with a kiss. And what little energy they had left after their tryst was used in the kiss leading to moments later the two of them falling asleep.
Jay had only gotten in two hours of harmonious sleep before he found himself waking up. Her leg was hitched over his waist with her right arm parallel to it and lying across his chest. This was heaven and no one could convince him otherwise. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck making it easy for him to lean down and brush his lips across her forehead. And the feeling of her there, her warm naked body up against his was enough comfort to lull him back to that harmonious sleep he had once been in.
When his eyes reopened again, he was truly convinced that this was heaven. He must have overexerted himself in that last round of sex and died because to wake up with this beautiful woman, hovering closely above him, sitting astride his lap in all her naked glory was the epitome of his vision of heaven. He felt her press his hands into the mattress and stare down at him triumphantly, "…finally, I got the both of you awake," she whispers, looking at his eyes before scanning her own orbs down his chest to fall on his erected length; she wasted no time in joining their bodies, moving against him and lifting up, only to drop back down seconds later, harder than their last round. She rolled her hips against him, driving out several groans and curses and the whimpers that came from her were in quick succession, "Jay," the sound of his name called out while she was on the precipice of release was one of his favorite things to hear in the world, "I love you so fucking much," and that just so happened to be his second because the way her voice pitched high when she cursed was pushing him closer to the edge.
She did most of the work. Her legs held most of the strain as she used the muscles in them to flex and push herself up only to relax her legs and bounce back down. She took him in deeper each time she thrust downwards. She felt the muscles all over her body flex and she released his hands, finding more comfort in them palming her breasts than being held against the mattress. Her head fell back, "…Jay!"
Halstead could feel sparks erupting beneath his skin. He could feel her own start to jerk above him and all of a sudden, he grabs her waist, and since he now wanted to take control, he flipped them so he was above her. She squealed, giggling softly at the sudden change in position. Her legs parted further when he pressed his thighs closer to hers, stretching her, and thrusting in deeper as he propelled his hips against hers, burying his face in her neck, "ERIN!" He licked her neck, dragging his tongue along the seam, "that's it," he encouraged, firing his hips at a faster rate against hers, "yes!" He bit down, pressing his teeth into her flesh until it left a mark.
Erin wove her arms under his and grasped at his back, clenching on and digging her nails into his skin until her fingers are sliding up and down, scratching him. She held on for dear life because it felt that once she let go, that'll be the end of her. And it was because the silent release of their pleasure was in harmonious unity as the only sound they heard was the soft panting from the lovers and the sound of Nico's claws scratching at the door, requesting to be let into the room.
"…that never gets old," she whispered, placing a soft kiss against his bicep before cuddling into his side, "I hope it doesn't change when we get married."
"I feel like I can 100% say it fucking won't," he chuckled, tightening his hold around her. They were back in their original position with her bare leg thrown over his waist and her arm parallel to it with her head resting against his chest.
"I'm going to miss this." She snuggled further into his chest.
"What do you mean?"
"It's almost June," she reminded, "meaning it's almost time for us to go back to D.C. We have engagement photos to take. My mother managed to book the white house photographer and he's pretty good at what he does. I haven't been in Chicago this long since I was in college. I miss it."
"…then move here."
At hearing that, she lifts her head up. That thought had never crossed her mind. She's often pondered over where they'll settle down but she always figured it would be in D.C. She squints and tilts her head, "Move into your penthouse?"
"No, move to Chicago. We can find a place together. We can put both our places back on the market and move into a house somewhere in the suburbs."
"I work in D.C. though, Jay." And she wasn't leaving her job. She loves what she does for a living, "Why do we have to move to Chicago? Why not move to D.C.?"
"…my band is here."
"And my job is there," she sits up and pulls the blankets up to her chest to cover her breasts, "I just think it'll be easier for you to work in D.C. than it would be for me to work in Chicago."
"…my band is here," he repeats.
"You write the music. You do most of the work. They can fly down when you have new material or you can fly to them. We have options. And you have money at your disposal to use."
"You want me to move to D.C."
She nods, "I do."
"And I want you to move to Chicago."
Erin climbs out of the bed and walks over to grab her clothes off the floor. He watches her get dressed and he's not too happy to see her put on clothes, but she's frustrated. They've reached an impasse and he didn't see a way out of it. He climbs out of bed next and walks up to her, "I want us to finish this conversation," he tugs onto the sleeve of the sweatshirt she put on, "I want us to figure this out because when we come back from our honeymoon, I would really like to return to one place with my wife. I know you hate when I bring up your work and leaving it, but," when he notices her tense up, he's quick to add, "wait, just hear me out. How about you take a year and see where your head is at? That year, I won't work on music or schedule any tours or performances and you take a break from your career. We have enough money. We travel, we have sex and maybe we can have a kid and then when that year is up, if you want to return to law, I'll move with you to D.C. and if you don't, we move to Chicago."
She looks up to meet his eyes, trying to avoid looking down since he's naked, "That's not too bad of an idea," she wouldn't complain about it. A long break for a year is a privilege.
"…I know a little something," he smirks.
"But, what about now? And when will this break start?"
"What about our wedding day? We start in November and end next November."
She considers it. She thinks on his words as she grabs his clothes and pushes them into his chest, "Get dressed please so I can think," Erin takes a big step back the second he's holding his clothes, "I'm trying to figure this all out. If I work these next couple of months, take no more clients and close all my cases then I could probably be done by November. And if I sell my condo then maybe we can get something out of the city? And if we decide to live permanently in Chicago, we can keep whatever house we buy and just use it when we visit the city." She's talking to herself, trying to convince herself, "We sell both places; yours and mine. We look for places here and in D.C. And if we start soon then we can buy two places, move our stuff into the one we buy in D.C. and that can be the main place because that's where we'll be mostly because of the wedding and if we get a jump on it, we accomplish this all before the wedding."
"Is that a yes?"
Erin turns to face him, tilting her head before slowly nodding, "It's a yes."
"Okay," Jay is grinning from ear to ear, "just to make sure I understand what we've agreed to do; we'll sell both our places and find two permanent living arrangements- one in Chicago and one in D.C. We'll stay in your city until the wedding, go on our honeymoon and just see where the year takes us before deciding where to permanently stay."
"Exactly."
Jay rushes to pull her into his arms just as she was about to open the door to let Nico in, "We've just made a huge decision; we should celebrate." He kisses her.
"I can't," she groaned, slowly pulling away. He's following her lips and she grants him another kiss, "I have to go with my guys to pick my mother up from the airport."
"She flies in today?"
Erin nods and Jay immediately drops his arms, "I thought that was at the end of the week."
"No babe," she chuckles, shaking her head, "We're going dress shopping at the end of the week." Erin steps away and opens the door, allowing Nico to rush in. His four paws slide against the ground as he runs by them and then suddenly presses brakes to turn around and follow them out of the bedroom. He was on her heel, following her closely to ensure that another door did not separate them. Erin would pick him up but he's gotten absolutely too big for her arms to hold.
"I guess I could get started on making dinner. I'm sure your mother will be hungry when she gets in," and suddenly a thought dawns on him, "Wait. Where's your mother staying?"
"…don't worry," she laughs, reaching up to kiss the corner of his mouth, "she'll be at a hotel because I am not going to have my mother sleeping on your couch or your bed, not after what we just did on there." She shuddered at the thought. He couldn't help but smirk at it.
"Fine," he agrees and he's actually thankful for it because if Camille stayed then he couldn't walk around naked and he couldn't have Erin whenever and wherever he wanted to have her, "I'll start dinner and you go with your guys to scoop up your mother."
"What are you going to make?"
That was an answer he didn't have, "I'm not sure yet. What does your mother like?"
"Trying to earn points from the future mother-in-law, smart," she walked over to the door to slide her feet into a pair of flipflops before grabbing Nico's leash, "my mom loves Italian."
"You love Italian," he corrected.
And Erin could only chuckle, "It was worth a shot. She has a soft spot for good ol'fashioned American food," she bends down to hook Nico's leash onto his collar, "it doesn't matter what it is, if it's greasy and fattening she'll love it."
"I could bake an apple pie for dessert," he starts heading towards the door. If he's going to go all out for dinner then he's going to have to go to the grocery store.
"There's no dessert more American than apple pie."
Jay steps into a pair of shoes, overlooking the socks because he's just running an errand, "I can do a nice spread of stereotypical bar foods. Potato skins? Buffalo wings? Hot wings? Onion rings? Mozzarella sticks? A few sliders? Waffle fries? I could even do some jalapeno poppers? I could do the whole nine yards!"
"You know you don't need to do that," Erin turns to face him and because the leash is attached to Nico's collar, when she approaches him, so does her dog, "My mom loves you. You don't have to go above and beyond to impress her. She'll like you regardless."
"I want to do this for her, for both of you."
And he does. He goes to the grocery store and buys enough food to last them more than a week. He returns to his penthouse, with time to spare because Erin had sent him a text to let him know that she and her mother are stopping by the hotel first so her mother can put down her bags and rest for a minute. He didn't mind. He had both ovens on and all the stovetop burners on as he prepared the menu he had listed for Erin. The apple pie took the longest and by the time he was pulling it out of the oven, the door was opening and in walked Erin, Camille and Nico.
"What did you do to my dog?"
"Isn't that adorable?" Camille exclaimed, clasping her hands together in excitement, "I saw it in the gift shop on my way here and I had to get it." It was a doggy shirt that said Vote for Voight.
Jay pats the top of Nico's head, "You turning my poor puppy into a mascot."
"But he's a cute mascot, aren't you boy?" Erin dropped to her knees and chuckled as Nico licked the side of her face. She ran her fingers up against his neck, rubbing the spot that he loved so much, "Something smells good," she stands up and goes into the kitchen to wash her hands.
"Dinner is done."
"Oh good, because I am starving!"
"When are you not starving Erin?" Camille retorted, dropping her purse onto the couch, "I swear, I always thought when Justin became a teenager he would eat us out of a house and home, but no, it was this innocent looking one. I don't know where all the food goes though. It just disappears. Lucky girl." She smiled at her daughter before following her over to the table, "So, will I get the tour once I'm done?"
Jay scratches behind his ear, -his nervous tic, "If you want, it's not really much to show."
"All of this looks great, Jay," Camille leans forward to lift the corners of aluminum foil to check out all that he prepared, "everything looks so good. I'll definitely have to take a plate back with me to the hotel. I can't wait to dig in. I'm sure you're an amazing cook."
"Mom, he's a perfect chef. Everything he makes is with love and you'll never want to leave once you try his apple pie. I swear you'll love it."
Erin was right. Her mother had decided to start off with dessert, contrary to the rules she had set forth when Erin was a child, always telling her dessert was for after dinner. Camille helped herself to his famous apple pie and just like her daughter had said, she loves it. And she knows she'll probably be taking half of it back to the hotel with her. As for the rest of the food, his future mother-in-law had treated herself to a little of everything and suddenly Jay had realized where his girl got her appetite from. It was when Camille went in for seconds that the thought was reaffirmed. By the time her fork hits her empty plate, Camille leans back and shuts her eyes, "I think I want to hire you to be the official cook at the White House."
"That's an honor," he says, finishing up the last of his slider.
"If music doesn't work out then you know you have a gig with me. And speaking of gigs," it's like she suddenly gets a burst of energy despite her protesting, full stomach, "The Fourth of July concert at the White House this year, I'm assuming that you're in."
Jay had forgotten. Erin did too. And when he looked over to his future wife and saw her grinning, he knew there was only one answer, "Yes."
-x-
The palms of her hands ran down the ivory lace of the white wedding dress as she stared forward, taking in her reflection in the mirror. She ran her fingers over the material, rubbing out the imaginary wrinkles, "Mom," she clears her throat, swallowing back the tears that threaten to approach, "What do you think? How do I look?"
She could hear the sound of her mother's high heels click against the linoleum floor as she approached her daughter, "Wow sweetheart, you look stunning." She'd come to stand behind her stepping up onto the stool, and slowly encircling her arms around her daughter's waist, relaxing her chin upon her shoulder as the two of them stared into the mirror, admiring the reflection of the white gown. "I wish your father could see you. He wanted to be here but you know…work."
"I know," Erin whispered; her eyes never once pulled away from her reflection, if anything, she stared harder, focusing on every intricate detail, "as long as he's there on my wedding day, then everything is good and fine. Dad has a country to run."
Camille swallowed back threatening tears; she didn't want to stain the dress, "Oh sweetie," she uttered in a low voice, chin still resting upon her daughter's shoulder as they spoke to each other while making eye contact through the large mirror, "He does feel bad for not being able to make it. And he's given me strict instructions that the black card in my purse is to be used on any and everything you want for this wedding. If this is the dress you want, then let's charge it."
Erin glanced over at the bridal stylist, the woman behind all of these beautiful designs, "How much does this dress cost?"
"That depends," the woman answered, stepping forward to examine the width and the length of the dress on her body, "you're going to need some alterations done. And prices for alterations vary depending on the complexity of them."
"How much does the dress cost without the alterations?" Her mother had asked, chin still pressed against her shoulder but her head is leaning towards Erin's head as she directs the question towards the bridal stylist, "I'll take it back with me and guard it with my life, Erin," she looks from her daughter to the boutique's stylist, "I can do the alterations. My daughter lives in D.C. She doesn't live here, so she won't be able to keep flying back and forth for dress fittings."
"It's $3,990," the woman answered after taking a peek at the price tag.
Camille doesn't reply. In silence, she takes a deep whiff of her daughter's scent and shuts her eyes. She's always imagined this day. She always pictured giving her daughter a fairytale wedding before she even had a daughter. She wanted to give her kid the wedding that she never got to have because as kids in their early twenties, Camille and Voight didn't have the money so they'd opted to get married at the justice of the peace. It wasn't as she imagined but since she married the love of her life, she couldn't complain about it, especially because during their ten year anniversary, they renewed their vows on a beach in Aruba.
She could feel the deep intake of breath her mother inhaled, "What are you thinking sweetie?" Her head turned to glance at her daughter and after a small peck to the cheek, she continued, "Do you think this is the one? Do you want to keep browsing? Where's your head at?" Her voice breaks because there are tears spilling over and trailing down her cheeks. She couldn't hold them back any longer because her daughter was getting married and she looked so beautiful.
Erin had looked at and tried on many dresses since she's been in Chicago. She's dragged Severide around with her to almost every bridal boutique in the city. And there hasn't been a dress she's seen or tried on that has had this impact on her. She couldn't stop staring at her reflection. She couldn't stop picturing herself walking down the aisle, arm intertwined with that of her dad's as he leads her towards the man of her dreams.
Her voice gets caught in her throat and she's unable to answer her mother. Camille understands. This was a big moment, not just for Erin, but for everyone that loved her. She felt her mother squeeze her in her embrace, her forearms digging into her daughter's ribcage, "Ouch ma," Erin swats her mother away, forcing her mother to step down.
"Sorry kid," her mother replied a bit embarrassed, "I guess I just got a little carried away. You'll understand one day when this is you here with your baby girl."
"…mom"
"I know, I know, there's no rush. You have plenty of time but I'm not getting any younger and I don't see your brother giving me grandbabies anytime soon so I'm holding out for you."
"…mom."
"I'll shut up," her mother moved back in, wrapping her arms back around her daughter, drawing her into her arms gently, "but just tell me a timeframe. When do you plan to have babies? You do want kids, don't you? Oh gosh, does Jay not want children?"
"Mom, mom," Erin scolded, rolling her eyes when she heard Severide chuckle in the background; he had been so quiet that she forgot he was here, "Jay does want kids. I do too. I just want to be married first. I need to focus on one thing at a time."
"…thank god," her mother sighed in relief, "so, once you get married."
"Not right after," Erin felt the need to clarify, "I want to enjoy married life with my new husband but I will say, after a few months, I won't necessarily be doing everything that's needed to prevent getting pregnant." Camille could read between the lines. And she knew her daughter; she knew that's all she's going to give because it's a conversation she wants to have in more detail with Jay, not with her mother.
"You two are going to have some beautiful babies." Camille left it alone after that.
And Erin chose not to reflect on her words no matter how much she wanted to do it. Erin knows herself, she knows if she thinks about a little boy and a little girl with the perfect mixture of Jay and her, then she would throw out her birth control and probably be pregnant by the end of next week. She needed to remain clear-headed; she didn't need her mother pressuring her to have a baby, not now, not when her life is so busy and chaotic that a baby would throw everything off.
"What do you think, Sev?" Erin carefully turns around to face her best friend. He was lounging on the couch, playing a game on his cell phone, presenting himself as the epitome of bored.
He stands and pockets his cell phone, "I think you look hot."
"You thought I looked hot in every dress I tried on."
He shrugs, "What can I say? You're an attractive woman."
"You're absolutely no help," she rolled her eyes while grabbing the dress from the bottom and carefully stepping down. Her mother stepped down afterwards.
"I have been plenty of help," he defended himself, walking over to grab the bottom of the dress to ensure it didn't drag along the floor as she walked back towards the dressing room, "just in case you forgot, I'm the man of honor, and I take my job very seriously."
Erin smirked, "Unzip me please."
He grabs the zipper from the back and slides it down, "See," he pauses as she holds up the front to ensure it didn't fall and flash any of her goodies, "I'm very helpful."
"If you want to be more helpful, tell my mom that I want the dress," she struggles to walk further into the dressing room because her hands are holding up the front of the dress but the back of the dress is long and trips her up. He grabs her and he grabs the bottom of it.
"I'm way more helpful than you give me credit for," he jokes, winking at her in the mirror in the dressing room, "why don't you hold the bottom so you don't trip and fall? The last thing any of us need is for you to hit your head and hurt yourself."
"…my cleavage," she reminds.
"It's not like I haven't seen it before," she forgets. She slaps him in the chest with both hands. It falls but he doesn't respond or react. He's seen her naked plenty of times and she has seen him.
Almost embarrassed, she reaches down to grab her dress, "Close your eyes," and he doesn't want her to get uncomfortable so he does as she asked. She grabs the dress and steps into the dressing room, pulling the curtain behind her once she's inside, "Okay, you can open them." He does. And he doesn't see her. He smirked and shook his head, tucking his hands into his pockets, "Since when are you self-conscious about your body?"
She scoffed at that, "I'm not self-conscious. I love my body. Jay does too. He just doesn't want you looking at it." Erin thinks back to the beginning of their relationship, back when she first met his friends and she and Rixton had gotten into a debate about whether guys and girls can be friends. Now that they are friends, she should bring that up again and see if his opinion changed.
"I didn't mean to step on any toes or make anyone uncomfortable," Severide immediately followed up with, "we've always flirted in a platonic type of way. I'm sorry if I overstepped."
"Kelly," she slides the curtain open and she's standing in her bra and panties, "that's not what I meant. You aren't stepping on any toes or making anyone uncomfortable. It's just…"
"No, Er, I'm not upset, I really understand. It makes sense."
She tilts her head to the side, almost examining him to see if he's being honest with her. She could read him. He's one of her good friends, she knows him almost better than he knows himself. Erin grabs her folded jeans and slides them on, "I don't want our platonic flirting to stop," she affirms, buttoning her jeans before moving forward, "I don't want anything in our relationship to change," she takes his hands in hers, "Just because I'm getting married doesn't mean we can't still do our movie nights and sleepovers."
"I don't know how much your husband will like me spending the night."
"He's a musician; he'll be on tours. It'll be the perfect time for company."
"I'm not sneaking over," he chuckled, "I won't be hiding in the closets like a bad kept secret."
She laughed, "He's going to know when you're spending the night. I'm not losing you as a friend. We don't see each other like that and I refuse to allow anyone, even Jay, to change the narrative of our relationship. I've agreed not to let you see me naked."
"…you're not fully dressed," he reminded.
"I mean fully naked, meaning you can see breasts and vagina," she clarified, "bra and panties don't count. But, as I was saying, I've agreed to that because it's understandable. I wouldn't want him seeing another woman's privates either and you wouldn't want Stella to see another guy's," she waits for him to nod his understanding, "our relationship isn't drastically changing. I'll always have time for you, no matter how busy I get. If you need me, I'll be there, just like every time I need you, you're there. I'm not planning to abandon my best friend for another man. I wouldn't do that. And Jay wouldn't ask me to do that. He likes you."
"Can you blame him?"
She tugs on his hands, "I'm serious Kelly; he likes you. He thinks you're a good friend; he trusts you. He's reached out to you many times since we've been dating because he knows you're a professional when it comes to the subject of Erin Voight. I don't want anything that we do to make him second guess our friendship." And Severide could understand that.
"You're a good person, Erin," he pulls one of his hands out of her hold and settles it against the side of her face, "you're going to make Jay a happy man." He kisses her forehead before taking a step back, "now put on your shirt and shoes so we can pay for this overpriced gown and get some food in us. My treat…just make sure it's somewhere greasy and fattening."
That gave Erin incentive to finish getting dressed. She carefully put the dress back onto the hanger and handed it to Severide with strict instructions not to allow it to touch the floor. He guarded it with his life, carrying it protectively from the dressing room to the front desk where the bridal stylist and Camille were patiently waiting, "Is that all for today?"
She was prepared to nod but her eyes caught onto a set of jewelry, -earrings, a bracelet and a necklace and while she would normally have her daughter select the accessories she wanted to wear on her big day, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy them. If Erin didn't like them, then Camille would keep them. If Erin liked them, then she could wear them on her wedding day. Everybody wins. Camille pointed in the glass case, selecting the three pieces.
The wedding dress is carefully placed inside of a gown preservation bag after she scanned the barcode. She followed that up with reaching into the jewel case and selecting the ones Camille had pointed out, only to place them each inside of a jewelry box, "That'll be $5,442."
Severide whistled upon hearing the cost. Camille happily handed over the credit card. Erin walked out and was handed the gown preservation bag, "What's that?" She pointed towards the small bag, the one with the jewelry.
"Oh, nothing," she had no intention of giving it to her daughter until her wedding day, "just a surprise," Erin rolled her eyes, "and I know you don't like surprises but you'll like this one."
"What did she buy, Sev?"
"Don't you say a word," Camille demanded, holding a finger up to Severide.
Erin merely shrugs, "He's just going to tell me when you leave."
"You better not, Kelly Severide."
"My lips are sealed," he says, raising his hand to zip his lips shut. Camille turned away to sign the receipt and pocket her card. During this moment, Erin looked towards him, meeting his eyes and he winked in response, telling her everything she needed to know in the moment, -he'll tell her later. Ha, she could only laugh in her head, not out loud because knowing her mother, she'll question it. His loyalty was to her, and she knew he would swear her to secrecy and months from now, she'll have to fake being surprised when it's reveled.
Camille turned around and suspiciously looked between her daughter and her daughter's best friend, quirking her brow questionably. He's going to tell her. That much she knows. She rolls her eyes and instead of bringing it up, chooses to squash it, "So…food?"
"It's on Severide; he offered to treat."
"That's right," he says, throwing his right arm around Erin's shoulders and his left around Camille's shoulders, "it's on me. We're about to get some of the fattiest, greasiest and unhealthiest food so Mrs. V, if you're on a diet, consider this your cheat meal."
-x-
As time flowed into the next month, into the month of June, it drifted into a moment closer to their impending nuptials. November was the month chosen for their wedding and now that the wedding invitations had been sent out, they had to choose a specific date in November; the sixth, which also happened to be election day. Neither of them realized that when the day was first chosen, but considering that they want to work around her father's schedule, that would be the day when he wasn't as busy. The day before their wedding, he'll be returning from the third and final debate and the day after their wedding, he had a meeting with top officials scheduled, -and that will happen regardless of if he won the election or not. He was still supposed to fulfill his duties because the next president didn't officially start until inauguration day, next year.
"My mother is pressing me about choosing the design for ceremony cards and thank you notes."
The frustration in her voice was obvious. She was tired of wedding planning. She had agreed to her mother taking charge in the hopes that she wouldn't constantly have to respond to messages choosing between five to ten layouts for a ceremony card. She didn't care how they looked.
Erin text back, a much nicer response than the one she originally thought of, you can decide, -EV
She was close to pocketing her cell phone or tossing it out of the window when her mother text her back, sweetie it's not my decision, it's not my wedding, it's yours –Mom
I want option two, -EV
Erin didn't even remember what the second option looked like; she didn't care to be picky about the smallest details of the wedding.
Are you sure? That color doesn't really go with the color scheme you chose, -Mom
And this is why Erin wanted her mother to pick. Since her mother helped her pick out a wedding dress a few days ago, she'd been more overbearing than usual. When it came to her dress, Camille had no complaints about it because she wanted it to be her daughter's decision, but everything else from the wedding invitations, the rehearsal dinner invitations and the reply cards and postage to the save the date layouts, wedding programs, tables, chairs and guestbook, her mother had been a nuisance, an absolute pain in the ass.
She has her wedding dress and this month Jay will be going to buy –not rent- a tuxedo. She has her rings; he has his. They have the venue booked and the invitations have all been sent out. Everything else didn't matter to her, well, maybe except for the cake, but that was a task that she and Jay and only she and Jay will do together sometime in the following weeks. She didn't care about the rest of it. She just wanted something simple and sweet. She was tempted to just throw on her wedding dress –even though it was in her mother's possession for alterations- and take Jay with her to the courthouse so they can be married with a random stranger as a witness. This was all becoming too much.
Which layout and color were you thinking? –EV
I was thinking the first; it has the blush and the white in it, -Mom
And this is how it always goes. Her mother makes it seem like she wants nothing to do with the decision-making and when she makes a decision, her mother doesn't agree with it and ends up making the decision herself. Erin just tried to avoid all the extra and get straight to her mother choosing, but it seems Camille wouldn't have it.
Good choice mom, let's go with it, -EV
She just had to make it to November 6th. It seems so close yet so far away. Why did she choose such a faraway date? Erin groaned and silenced her phone, "Is it illegal to throw my phone out of the window?" She asked; part of it was rhetorical and part of it waited and expected an answer.
"I don't know," Jay scoffs, throwing his arm around her shoulders, "you're the lawyer."
"Touché."
"…what's wrong?"
"It's just momzilla," she retorted, uttering the new nickname she penned her mother a day ago; it was reminiscent of the term bridezilla but Erin was far from that, "she's starting to drive me crazy and not in a good way. I just want to, I don't know, shake some sense into her!"
"What happened this time?"
And instead of getting into it and getting worked up all over again, she hands him her phone, allowing him to read through the most recent conversation.
The two of them were on their way to their D.C. home from the airport. They stayed in Chicago for as long as they could before going back to the nation's capital. Erin had done all the work she could miles away but now all that was left was work that needed her to be in the office or in the courtroom. She may have to pull a few all-nighters but based on the days she's spent with her man, it was all worth it. November 6th is the day of their wedding. And July is the official month for the release of Jay's new album; it's projected to do really well and bring in more revenue than their last two albums combined. That's saying a lot.
Jay had been too busy with her to actually plan or know all the details of the official release; it was something that his manager would keep him informed about but since he fired Will, he didn't know how all of that was going to work. He would worry about it later, even though, it was a month before the official month to release. He brushed it off, choosing to not think about it in hopes that the problem will disappear.
Maybe he should push it back until after the wedding? His fans would be upset. And they would probably blame Erin even though it wasn't her decision. His band would probably be mad too; that'll affect their income, pushing their residuals and well-earned checks back to November instead of July. It'll affect nominations for awards too. That's why they selected July in the first place; it was a carefully, crafted decision that'll have them gaining the most benefits.
"If that crease in your forehead is anything to go by, you're thinking really hard about something."
He blinks out of his reverie, "…it's nothing."
"Yeah, we're not starting that."
"It's work," he vaguely answers and by the look on her face, he realizes that he needs to elaborate, "okay, I'm thinking about the album release date. Now that Will is gone, I'm trying-"
"Will doesn't have to be gone and you don't need to carry around the stress. He makes your job easier by doing his job. Hire him back."
"…not doing that."
"…because you're stubborn and your pride is so damn big," she grumbles as the truck parks in the lot of her condo, "if you want, I can do it for you."
He shakes his head at the absurdity of her offer, "I am not sending my fiancée to do my work."
"Why are you so damn difficult?" She groaned, throwing her head back against the seat, "it's absolutely tiring. Just call him, talk to him and squash things between the two of you."
"He overstepped."
"I'm not saying he didn't, but if you talk to him then maybe you can find some common ground." She unbuckled her seat and stretched forward to grab Nico's leash from Atwater.
"If you want, I can walk him while the two of you get ready to head back out."
It was no point in bringing Nico inside when they're supposed to be showering, changing their clothes and then heading back out. Atwater would just hang outside with her pup while her other three guards escorted them upstairs. It was going to be another day of dealing with her mother being a momzilla because they needed to do more wedding planning. November 6th the day of her wedding and the day of the election. Voting booths closed at eight in the evening and the projected winner wouldn't be announced until close to midnight or later if there was a fine line between votes for him and his opponent.
November 6th was going to be a busy day. And in the wedding invitations, Erin made sure to write down a reminder for everyone to participate in early voting because if they planned to attend her wedding then they wouldn't be in their jurisdiction to be able to physically go into a voting booth and cast their vote. Jay and his band were going to send in an absentee ballot before the closing date. That day was going to be loaded with things to do and it'll leave little chance and opportunity for her father to nervously pace and regularly check the poll numbers to see how he's doing. It'll grant him a reprieve, or at least, she hoped so. A nervous Voight wasn't a kind Voight and since this was going to be a big day for her, Jay and the entire country then she could only hope and cross her fingers that her wedding and reception would be enough of a distraction for him to be granted a peace of mind.
Erin held Jay's hand as they followed her guards into the lobby of the building. It felt like she hadn't been here in such a long time. It had been months since she's stepped foot in her home that actually didn't much feel like home anymore, at least it didn't if Jay wasn't with her.
"Ms. Voight, welcome back," the manager of the building had approached but her guards had positioned themselves to block him from getting too close, "I've sent your mail to the White House like you asked until you returned." She nodded and thanked him.
Jay tugged on her hand in an effort to get her to resume walking. She had found herself lost in thought, taking in the lobby around her, the front desk, the marble floors, the people dressed in high fashion roaming the first floor of the building. She wasn't going to miss this. Not really.
"I need to talk to my real estate agent so she can put this place back on the market," she's referring to the one who sold her parents this place a while ago, "and then we can finally focus on searching for the perfect house or houses." She couldn't wait to start because in this home they had imagined would be the home they return to after their honeymoon, the one they will raise their family in and host dinners and holidays for loved ones.
As Erin rolled her suitcase into her condo, she dropped the handle and ignored the way it fell to the ground. She was exhausted and absolutely tired of traveling. Erin kicked off her heels; she really needed to start traveling in more comfortable shoes. She dragged her feet to the living room before flopping down, face first, onto the couch, "We're scheduled to be at your parents' house in two hours," Jay reminded, casually strolling over to the couch; he sat down on the arm and allowed his hand to gently rub up and down the back of her leg, "shouldn't we start getting ready. I've never taken engagement photos before and I have no idea what to do or wear."
"We should reschedule," even though her words were muffled by the throw pillow her face is pressed into, he still understood every word she said, "I'm beat, Jay, and I'm done with traveling." She may have felt that way but that didn't mean she didn't have travel plans scheduled in the future. Erin already knew that to look at houses she would have to go back to Chicago; she just didn't want to think about it.
"…traveling's not that bad."
"Says the guy who does it for a living," she rolls over onto her side to look up at him, "your career consists of traveling the world and performing in front of millions. You're used to riding on a tour bus for hours or flying on a plane and then going straight to work. I'm not."
"You make a great point," he acknowledged, "but shouldn't that mean you should try to start getting used to it. As my wife you're going to be by my side on a bunch of those trips."
Erin groaned. She didn't even think of that. She lifted the pillow her face was once smashed into and pressed it over her mouth to muffle her screech of displeasure. He laughed at her dramatics.
"…why do you have to be so damn good at what you do?" She dry chuckled into the pillow.
"Sorry," he shrugged and it was obvious by the sound of his voice that he wasn't really sorry; he just said it to appease her, "but what I do does grant me a lot of days off and allows me to make my own schedule and when we start pushing out those babies, they're going to be expensive."
She drops the pillow from her face, "College funds."
"Yeah that," he laughed, "but I was also thinking about the expenses of the first years. And you never know, they may not want to go to college."
"True, but if they do, we want to make sure they can afford it."
"A question of whether they can afford it isn't something to worry about." He's noticed that they've been talking more and more about kids since they've been engaged. It's a topic that he would never shy away from because he was looking forward to the day that she'd come to him and say she's off birth control and she's ready to start trying for a baby. He was looking even more forward to the moment she announces her pregnancy.
"…we have time," she reminded in a whisper.
"Yeah we do, but let me just say this, thinking about putting a baby in you does things to me. And to picture you pregnant," his hand falls to her flat stomach, "with my baby inside of you, a part of me in there," he rubs his hand along her lower abdomen, "combined with a part of you, creating someone who I'm sure will be everything and more, from beautiful and talented to smart and noble has me looking forward to the day we become parents. To know that our love can do something like that…" he doesn't finish his thought. Instead he gets this grin on his face as his mind takes him to a fictional image he has of that future. If he had any say, he would want her walking down the aisle with a big baby bump there to symbolize another aspect of their love and how that love could create something so extraordinary.
"…seriously," she groaned, covering her face with her hands, "you and that voice of yours are not helping in the effort of not getting me pregnant because I am pretty positive that after hearing you say that, I have to have you. Now."
And Jay Halstead has never been the type to turn down a beautiful woman, nevertheless the woman who wears his ring around her finger, the woman he will soon enough vow his heart, body and soul and declare his never-ending love to in less than a year. And it was this reason that despite their need to be getting ready to leave, he instead shed his clothes and assisted her in shedding hers to spend his time showing her how much he loved her. She would always win out.
