Sorry for the wait with this chapter. It's been crazy, and writer's block s never a fun thing to have. Now this chapter has the characters of Jeremy, Dylan, Brooke, Karen, Mikki, and the mention of Mikki's dad, Abby and Henry, who all belong to KikiJuanita. Onyx and any other names you don't recognize belong to me and can't be used without my permission.
Enjoy!
"Baby, you look fine," Clint told her exiting the bathroom from having a shower. His girlfriend, twisting this way and that way in front of the full-length mirror.
"I don't know if I like this dress," she sighed, moving to where she had a few other dresses laid out on the bed. "I don't want to look fine," she stated, taking a dress with her to the mirror. "I want to look beautiful, amazing, stunning and just plain wow," she told him.
The dress she had on is navy blue with a square cut and sleeveless that's floor length, and it would be nice for anything other than going out to eat. The dress she held up to her body is black with a sweetheart neckline, 3/4th sleeves and stopped mid-thigh with a white belt going around the waist.
"Baby, I think you're stunning in any outfit you wear," he told her, buttoning up his dark dress shirt.
"I love you for that," she smiled at him. "But not everyone thinks like that," she stated, picking up a peach skater dress, the semi-sheer straps formed a halter neckline, atop a fitted bodice. A flirty skater skirt, composed of lightweight Georgette, flares below a banded waist.
"They should," he stated, kissing her cheek. "Or maybe not because I don't want to be fighting anyone off of what's mine," he smirked, walking into the bathroom leaving the door ajar.
"You would fight for me though, right?" She asked him, changing into the fourth and final dress of the night. It's a floor-length gray dress with a side slit on the left side. Georgette fabric drapes alongside a v-neck and back, leaving her shoulders bare. The fabric laying across a banded waist.
"Without a doubt," he called back. "Must you ask such a ridiculous question?" He asked, putting his cologne on.
"A woman has to make sure," she smiled, walking into the bathroom. "Zip, please?" She asked, her back to him. It was a silly question to ask with everything he's done since meeting at what was her brother's bar eight months ago now.
"Even so," he chuckled, easily zipping the dress and doing the clasp up for her, pressing a tender kiss to her shoulder. "You look lovely, stunning and downright beautiful," he murmured in her ear.
"You clean up nice," she smirked, turning around and tying his tie for him, only to use it to pull him down to connect her lips against his in a semi steamy kiss.
"As much as I would rather stay in, we can't do that," he said, between feather light kisses going down her neck.
"Can't we?" She asked, suppressing a moan.
"If you want to give Jeremy more ammo towards you," Clint teased, running his hands down her sides resting on her hips.
"Not really," she sighed, pulling back to look him in the eye. "I expect a rain check," she warned, nipping at his neck.
"Have I ever denied you?" He asked with a chuckle, holding up her jacket to help her into it. She gave him a look, making his chuckles deeper. "Don't answer," he smiled, kissing her cheek.
By the time they had made it to the restaurant, the others were already sitting around talking softly, laughs being shared. She doesn't even know how they managed to be the last ones there. The walk from their hotel was only a block away. They had left with 20 minutes to spare and yet; everyone already sat around the table waiting on them. Either the time changed and they didn't bother informing her, or they got together sooner having missed their brother. Either way, she was still late to the little gathering.
"Look who finally showed," Jeremy smiled, standing to give her hug and shake Clint's hand.
"I've been debating if I even wanted to come," she teased, making her rounds and hugging those she hasn't seen since Christmas. "But the thought of watching you make a fool of yourself, made it count," she smiled, taking her seat next to Dylan, Sebastian on the other side of Clint.
"It can't be worse than when he was in the first-grade school play and not only did he trip landing face first on the stage, but took down the kids on stage for the scene. It was like a domino effect," Dylan laughed, recalling that horrifying moment in time.
"Gotta love video tapes," Jeremy muttered, hanging his head.
"Maybe Karen would love to see it," Seb teased.
Jeremy glared at his younger brother. Because he wouldn't be showing his girlfriend that stupid video. If it were up to him, he would gladly destroy the tape. As it is he can't find the tape, his parents hiding it for that very reason. If he had his way, the tape would never see the light of day.
"Karen has already seen the tape," she shared. "Your mother showed me how amazing of a little stage performer her bright little star is," Karen said, repeating the words Abby told her, years ago when she first started to date Jeremy in high school. "It was cute," she shrugged, not wanting to upset her boyfriend.
"All joking aside," Onyx said, turning serious as she looked at Jeremy. "I can't speak for the table, but I am proud of you. You've been fighting and working for this moment for years, and I am excited for tomorrow night to see you owning the heck out of that stage," she said, giving a small chuckle with the rest of the table. "More importantly I am extremely glad that I have been around to watch you fall in love with theater and the performing arts. Break a leg tomorrow night Jeremy, and steal the show," she spoke, raising her glass of wine. "Congratulations," she cheered. A group of congratulations going around the table, putting a pretty little blush on Jeremy's cheek.
"Thank you for that, Onyx. The stage is mine for the taking," he smirked, placing his glass back in its spot.
"That first-grade show put you off of your great love," Dylan nodded. "Even if it was the right call back then," he teased. "Even saying that, you've found such a passion that is has been quite the show of watching you find this part of you, Jeremy. And I have always been lucky enough to be front row watching it unfold. You have one proud older brother," Dylan told him, giving him a box that was hidden in Brooke's purse. "It's a little something from all of us."
Inside the box sat a gold pocket watch. In intricate detail of the 1899 New York skyline, featuring the Brooklyn bridge adorned the outside of the watch on the front. The back featuring a newspaper with Jack Kelly as the headline. Inside in cursive script Jeremy's name and the date and time of the opening show.
"You guys," Jeremy said, holding back tears.
"We wanted to do this for you," Seb stated, cutting off any protest about the watch. "Jokes and teasing aside, you've been a pretty great brother to look up to, Jeremy. I'm proud of what you've accomplished when you found your place on stage, it's been fun watching you go for it; You have one proud younger brother," he finished saying.
"Thank you," Jeremy nodded. "But really this is a bit much," he stated, admiring the watch. "I gladly accept it not to offend any of you," he teased.
"Like you really care about offending us," Dylan laughed.
"It's true; you offend us every day," Seb smirked. "How can you not, with that face of yours," he teased.
"You're one to talk Seb," Jeremy grinned. "Don't you forget I know all your secrets, and I am sure that Mikki would like to know every single one of them," he warned, turning his gaze onto his older brother. "There has to be something I have on you," he frowned.
"No there isn't," Dylan smirked. "I'm the oldest brother for a reason," he stated, smugly.
"What time did you want to meet up tomorrow morning?" Onyx asked leaning over her boyfriend to ask Seb, as the two oldest brothers were arguing over whether Jeremy had any sort of dirt on Dylan.
"I can meet you at the Bagel Stop at 10," he informed her. That would give them plenty of time to make it from one place to another before his scheduled meeting.
"Should I be worried on what you two are getting up to?" Clint asked, placing his hand on the back of his girlfriend's chair.
"Nope, just tell your family that I will catch them before we leave the state," she smiled at her boyfriend. She was looking forward to spending some time with his sister and the family she's created in New York.
"I think I will be worried, because I thought we were spending the day together," Mikki frowned at her boyfriend.
"Change of plans," Brooke said. "We wanted to spend the afternoon with you and get to know you better; we haven't had the chance, and we figured Sebastian would have told you that," she explained shooting her brother-in-law a look.
"It slipped my mind," he defended himself with a laugh. "We can all meet up for bagels or whatever in the morning before going on our little ways," he tried to soothe the situation over.
"No, it's fine," Mikki laughed. "You go do whatever it is you need to do, and we can meet up for dinner tomorrow night, before your brother's show," she told him.
With that small disaster taken care of they settled back down to enjoy their night out. Laughs were shared. Stories told about childhood to embarrass someone at the table. All in all, it was a good night out, but by the time Onyx and Clint made it back to their hotel room, they were ready to crash for the night; rain checks be damned. Being able to sleep in was the perk they choose when they stayed away from the hotel everyone else had made reservations for. It's how she wanted it to be. A wake-up call by one of them wasn't in the books for her this weekend, made by design.
Except it hadn't worked the way she wanted it to when she had slept through her alarm. She freaked seeing that it was closer to 10 when she woke to her phone ringing. Seb on the other end, wondering how long she's going to be, because he's waiting in the lobby of the hotel for her.
She rushed to get ready. A quick shower in the works for her. She skipped putting her makeup on, not wanting to deal with the hassle of putting it on. Clint watched amused from the bed as she rushed around the room getting her things in order. He walked with her to the lobby, skipping the elevator as she didn't want to wait for it.
"I won't even ask why you overslept this morning," Seb teased, as they joined him. She gave him a glare.
"Love you," Clint said, pulling her into his embrace, her glare at her friend softening to one of love for her boyfriend. "Have fun and don't get lost," he teased.
"Haha very funny," she deadpanned, sharing a small kiss with him. "Love you. Send my love to your family," she told him, breaking contact with him.
"Will do," he said, nodding at Seb as he left the hotel.
"Shall we?" She asked, nodding to the doors.
They got their bagels to go. With morning traffic and a good 45 minutes between the bagel stop and their destination they were running low on time on when they needed to be there by. And she felt horrible for making them late, but she couldn't do anything about it now. Though the traffic sure did make her miss being back home, as it wasn't nearly as bad as it is here. How they managed to make it with a few minutes to spare; she wasn't sure, but she should start counting her blessings.
"Do you even know what to look for?" She asked him, as they browsed through the jewelry cases before them.
"Not really. I always thought that if I saw the one, it would jump out," he sighed, not finding anything that screamed Mikki to him.
"And nothing?" She asked, looking at the rings presented to them. "Maybe you need to design your own?" She asked, glancing at him.
"Maybe," he sighed. "I didn't know it would be this hard," he spoke, looking at Onyx. "Help me," he pleaded.
"I don't know her style when it comes to rings, Seb," she shared, feeling bad for him. "But to make things easy for Clint, I like that one," she told him, pointing to one of her favorite rings, she saw so far and the fact it wasn't a traditional engagement ring worked in her favor. "Have you talked to her dad?" She asked.
"I didn't know you guys were thinking about marriage?" He asked, giving her a nudge.
"I don't know about him," she sighed. They haven't talked about marriage, but the thoughts have been there. She can't picture her life without him in it. Taking the chance on him was the best thing she's ever done. "But I want it to be true," she shared.
"Maybe it's a conversation you need to start. See where he stands on it all. I would hate for things to end badly if you two are on different pages." He didn't think that was the case. He can see just how in the relationship Clint is, and that he too wants the world with Onyx. "Of course, family is everything to Mikki," he said.
"Can you give us a minute?" She asked the sales lady, as they headed outside to stand under the Tiffany and Co banner. "If that's the case did you think to ask if they have a ring to be passed down to her from her mom or grandma or something?" She asked.
"I can call," he nodded, fishing his phone out of his pocket to make a call to her dad, hoping he was inside and not outside taking care of the animals.
She waited for him to finish up with Mikki's dad, seeing the weight of the world lift right off of his shoulders by the end of the conversation. The relief in his face was automatic, and she could feel it. She was relieved to know that they wouldn't have to go about hunting a ring down. She didn't know how stressful that was until today. She would give Clint all the help he needed to find the right ring for her, because she didn't have a family ring to be passed down generation after generation. Maybe they could start that tradition.
"He's going to make a special trip to place the ring in the apartment before we get back," he said, placing his phone in his pocket. "I told him the place to hide it that Mikki won't find it," he smiled. "Am I really going to do this," he thought out loud.
"Yes you are and I am happy for you," Onyx told him, sharing a hug with him. "If that's taken care of, what now?" She asked her friend.
"I did see something that I wanted to buy," he told her, reentering the store, Onyx right behind him.
As he went to buy the necklace for he had seen, she was browsing through the earrings seeing so many of them that she wanted to have. The price on them telling her she could go without. But the Loving Heart Earrings caught her eye, and she really wanted them. She just wasn't sure if she should buy them for herself. The price wasn't out there like the rest of them. She just didn't know if she could justify spending 300 dollars on a pair of earrings.
Seb noticed her dilemma and sent a message to Clint, seeing what it was his friend was debating over inside her head. Knowing the details, he let his friend know everything and together the two of them came up with a plan. He found it hard to hold back his smile and laugh when her phone started to ring.
"I'll meet you outside," he told her, as she rushed out to answer her phone call. With her out of the store, he put the plan into action.
"Sorry about that," she told Seb when he joined her outside. "He wanted to know if I would like to join him and the kids for a late lunch, and I said I would join them, since we're done here," she told him, seeing the amused look on his face. "We are done right?" She asked. She did hate to bail on her friend.
"Yep, I want to get this hid before Mikki gets back," he told her, holding up the Tiffany's bag. "Do I need to drive you anywhere?" He asked, motioning to walk to the car he rented for the weekend.
"Nope, said they would meet us back at your hotel," she informed her friend. It made no sense for him to drive all over the state, when they could use a meeting point that worked best for him.
She was going to be sure that by the end of the weekend, she was going to despise all sorts of traffic. Road rage was about to happen, and she wasn't the one driving. Getting to the hotel, Seb is staying at she was more than happy to be out of the traffic. She was starting to wonder if the traffic ever died down.
"I didn't put an end to the outing did I?" Clint asked, watching as his niece and nephew run to Onyx for hugs.
"Nope, I got it all sorted out," Seb told him, slyly handing over the package. The money having already been taken care of.
"What's for lunch?" She asked, making Seb and her boyfriend jump slightly. She eyes them up wondering what they were up to, but let it go.
"Pizza," Grace and Isaiah shouted, making the adults laugh.
"Let's go get some of that famous New York Pizza, and we can figure out what to do after," Clint said, ushering the kids into the car. Onyx glared at the rental car, because back into the stupid traffic she goes. The weekend couldn't end soon enough for her liking. "You'll get used to the traffic," Clint laughed, kissing her temple, helping her into the car. She grumbled under breath because she wasn't so sure about that as of yet.
They promised Grace and Isaiah, they would be back to spend more time with them, when it came time to drop them off at home. They didn't want to be late for the start of the show and miss Jeremy in action from the start. And they still needed to head back to the hotel and get ready for the show.
This time she was ready with the dress she wanted to wear, how to do her hair and makeup. They wouldn't be running late on her account. She wouldn't have it. They got a quick bite of burgers. She was sure if they would have been anywhere else they would have looked fun to be in a little burger joint dressed to the nines.
"You look beautiful tonight," Clint said, as they left the burger place, having held the door open for her.
"Thank you, even though you've said it countless times tonight," she smiled, slipping her hand into his, as they walked to the car.
"It's the truth," he replied, pulling their joined hands up to give the back of her hand a kiss.
"You know you don't have to try so hard to get lucky tonight," she flirted with him.
"That's good to know, but not why I was saying it," he laughed, opening the door for her. She smiled, giving him a quick kiss. With the shoes she wore, there wasn't much of a height difference between them.
They got the theater with plenty of time to spare, having beaten all of them there. Other than Karen as she was the one left waiting for the rest of them to show. They hugged and took their spots, waiting for the others to show to figure out where everyone wanted to sit within the aisle.
"How nervous is he?" Onyx asked, as it was the three of them. Her son staying with her parents.
"Very," she laughed. "He won't admit it, but you can see it in the way he does everything," she explained. "He wanted to be here the second we got up this morning. I don't even know what time he came. Just that when I got back to the apartment he was gone," she laughed.
"That sounds like the brother I grew up with," Dylan laughed, joining them. More hugs to go around. "He could never be the last one anywhere," he said, shaking his head taking his spot on the other side of Karen.
"What about Jere?" Seb asked, joining them. Mikki sitting next to Karen and Seb sitting between his girlfriend and best friend. Only after they all hugged once again. "Where's mom and dad?" He asked, seeing they weren't there yet.
"Running a little late. Mom had to make a special stop," Dylan shrugged, he wasn't told, and he knew better than to question his parents. They'd be here before curtain.
They had made it with a few minutes to spare, happy to see everyone, saying how they all needed to make it out real soon for a small together. Onyx knew it would be sooner than they knew, depending on when Seb was going to put his plan into action when it comes to his girlfriend. Which knowing Seb meant sooner rather later.
Watching Jeremy on stage, put a smile on her face the whole show. She loved and enjoyed watching him in his element on stage, taking on the persona of Jack Kelly. Watching him in his performances at school, she knew he was made for bigger things and when he didn't chase that dream, she didn't get why he would leave something he has so much passion for. Seeing him up there in his element killing the role, she still didn't get how he could leave that love behind. He was made for the stage.
When the show was over, she like the rest of his family were up cheering and clapping for him. He left it all out there on that stage. Come tomorrow, the reviews for the show were going to be nothing short of praising the performance of them all but that Jeremy shined through, making him a name in the making.
They all waited for Jeremy to be done for the night, the theater pretty empty when they made it to the lobby to wait on him. They were talking about how good the show was and how well Jeremy fit into the role of Jack Kelly when he joined them. He got hugs galore and plenty of praise from everyone around him. Not to forget the tender and loving kiss from his girlfriend.
