On the Wednesday morning before the wedding, Ricky, Julie, and EJ caught a flight from Chicago to Salt Lake City. It was, thankfully, a direct flight, and by the time they arrived and got their bags from the baggage claim, Ricky had gotten a text confirming that their ride was there.

Julie made it outside of the building first and was immediately pulled into a hug. "Julie! How's my favorite future pop star doing?"

She smiled up at her stepbrother's dad as he released her. "Mike! I'm great, how are you doing?"

He reached for her bags and grinned as they began walking to his truck. "Better now that one of my favorite kids is here! But where's Carlos? Too busy for a week in Salt Lake?"

"Yeah, he's got two more weeks of school, including baseball practice. They made it to the semi-finals in the state tournament, and he's not allowed to miss anything between now and next Sunday." Julie nodded to the sparkly purple suitcase Mike hoisted into the bed of his truck. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"Hey Dad, it's good to see you too," Ricky said sarcastically as he and EJ came up beside them and tossed their suitcases into the truck beside Julie's.

"Hey son. I'm glad you're home, even if it's only for a week." Mike pulled his son into a tight hug. "It's been too long since you've been back."

"Dad, I was home at Easter!" Ricky laughed.

"Well, I'm glad you're here now, too." Mike released him and turned to shake EJ's hand. "It's good to see you, EJ. I hope everything's going well."

"It is, Mr. Bowen, thanks. And thanks for picking us up at the airport."

"It's not a problem, EJ. I'm glad you all made it safely. Now, let's get you all home!"

"Dad, can we get something to eat on the way? I'm starving, 'cause airport food is expensive !" Ricky requested as he slid into the backseat.

"Take a look in the cooler next to you, Rick," Mike answered with a grin in his rearview mirror.

"Dad, you're the best! " he exclaimed, a warm, comforting fragrance filling the cab as he opened the cooler.

"Seriously, thanks, Mr. B!"

"Ohmygosh, Mike, you're amazing!" Julie agreed as Ricky handed her an individually wrapped personal pizza from Slices with her name handwritten (nearly illegibly) on the box. "How did you know our favorites?"

"It was easy getting Ricky and EJ's–the manager at Slices gave me the inside scoop. It was a little trickier for you. I had to pull out the big guns. I called Ray."

Julie laughed. "Did Dad actually know? I mean, I love him, he's the best dad, but he's a little scattered at times."

Ricky and EJ laughed too. "That's for sure. He's the best boss ever, but there's a reason he hired me as his assistant. I help keep things a little more together," EJ commented.

"Well, Ray had to consult his 'Favorites Spreadsheet'? But it didn't have the answer, so he called Lynn. And then Carlos. And then Victoria. And then Flynn. Flynn told me your favorite pizza is a jalapeno bacon pizza? But your second favorite is barbecue pizza, so that's what we went with. For safety's sake."

Julie laughed. "Flynn was definitely wrong. I like jalapeno, bacon, and pineapple . It reminds me of Mom. But barbecue is what I order most of the time, because the white boys in the backseat can't handle the heat."

"I resent that!" Ricky shouted at the same time that EJ shrugged and nodded, saying, "You're not wrong."

It set Julie laughing again. "This is so fun! It's been way too long since I visited Salt Lake last."

"Well, this is gonna be a really great week, I'm sure of it!"


On Thursday afternoon, Nini finally went to pull her suitcase out of the attic. But when she yanked it out of the corner it had been shoved into, she accidentally knocked over an old cardboard box, and papers flew everywhere. She picked up a photo that had flown out, and it was a photo from the cast party from Beauty and the Beast, her last East High show. A deep pang of nostalgia welled up in her chest, and she carefully placed it back inside the box. She hastily gathered the rest of the pages and shoved them back in as well. She carried it to the opening in the floor and looked down.

"Hey Luke, I've got a box that needs to come down too, do you mind?"

Luke was halfway up the ladder, but he looked up at her and shook his head. "Not a problem, boss. Just pass it down."

Nini carefully lowered the box as far as she could, and Luke stepped up a couple rungs to take it from her before carrying it all the way down and setting it gently on the floor.

"Now your suitcase?" he asked.

Nini passed her bulky suitcase down to him too, and when he made it to the bottom of the ladder, she turned around and followed him down.

"Thanks for your help, Luke. I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem."

"Well, the pizza should be here any second, wanna go wait in the kitchen?"

"Works for me."

Nini grabbed the box from the floor and followed Luke down the hallway to the open kitchen/living room in the front of her house.

"So what's in the box, Neen?"

She laughed and set the box on the table between them. "Wanna take a look?" She pulled the flaps open and pulled out the mess of papers that had been shoved back upstairs. "If I'm right, these are old high school keepsakes. Photos. Playbills. Songs. Notes. Letters." She spread the pages out and then saw that under all the pages, there were three yearbooks and a small jewelry box. "Oh, no way. Mama Carol was definitely supposed to get rid of these." She pulled the jewelry box out of the cardboard box and dropped the cardboard on the floor.

"Wow, Nina, this song is amazing!"

Nini looked over to where Luke was holding up a ragged sheet of music. "Oh. My. Gosh. 'Out of the Old.' I had forgotten that song even existed."

"How? It's incredible!"

Then, the front door opened and three familiar voices were shouting down the hall.

"Nina! Luke!"

"We're here!"

"Where are you guys?"

"In the kitchen! Down the hall on your left!" Nini called back with a laugh.

"Wait, what are those doofuses doing here?" Luke asked with a confused frown.

Nini stood up from her seat and headed for the cabinet. "I needed Reggie's help picking my outfits and Alex's help convincing you that you need to wear an actual suit to both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. And it felt wrong leaving Bobby out."

"I thought Kourtney was helping with your clothes."

"She is. We're Facetiming her after we eat." Nini pulled a stack of plates out and set them on the counter as Luke's three bandmates moseyed into her kitchen.

"Hey Nina! Pizza's here!" Alex exclaimed as he stepped into the kitchen. He set the two large pizza boxes on the counter and threw his arm around her shoulders in a casual embrace. "Ya know, I don't think I've ever been to your house before. It's lovely."

"It is !" Reggie agreed. "Thanks for having us over!"

"No, thank you for coming and picking up the pizzas! I owe you!" Nini said gratefully. "Now let's eat so you can see what our outfit choices are."

"What's all this stuff?" Bobby asked, picking up a photo from the mess on the table. "Oooh, who's the guy?"

Nini laughed. "Probably Ricky. My first real boyfriend."

"Okay, he doesn't look like the indie rock skater boy type. This kid has distinct jock vibes. Interesting," commented Alex, looking over Bobby's shoulder curiously.

Nini followed him over with a plate in hand. "Oh, yeah, that's not Ricky. That's EJ. Also an ex. Also going to be at the wedding. Probably in the wedding. He's Ashlyn's cousin." She set her plate down and started stacking the pages in a neat pile.

"So you'll be seeing two ex boyfriends this weekend. No wonder you asked Luke to tag along," Reggie said with a laugh, a smudge of pizza sauce on his chin. "He's a solid hype man and definitely the hottest member of the band."

"You're not wrong," Nini laughed. "And a good friend when he's not distracted with music." She sighed fondly and looked over at the man in question. "Luke, go get your pizza," she instructed, taking the song he had been looking at from his hands. "We have work to do." She stuck it back into the cardboard box, setting all the rest of her papers on top of it. Lastly, the unopened jewelry box went in before she folded the flaps down and set the box on the floor.

But even though she'd put the box out of the way, it was stuck in her head the entire time she was with the Sunset Curve guys. As soon as they left, (with promises that Luke would pack two different suits that would complement her outfits,) Nini went back to the kitchen and pulled the box out again. "Two ex boyfriends this weekend," she said with a sigh, digging through all the papers to find a specific song that had been swirling around the edges of her thoughts for the past hour.

As she picked through the box, she began sorting things into different piles: songs and poems, photos, playbills, letters and notes, and everything else. Near the bottom of the box, she found the song that had invaded her consciousness.

She picked up the song and took it to the piano and played the opening chords. "I found a guy, told me I was a star…"

Nostalgia swept her away, and she played through all of her old high school songs. By the end, she was tearing up, remembering all of the good times she'd had in Salt Lake City. She was suddenly excited and incredibly nervous to go back.


EJ was tapping at the steering wheel and whistling as he turned into the airport parking lot. He practically leapt out of the borrowed car and almost ran to the baggage claim in his eagerness to see Gina. He had to physically slow himself down, telling himself that he was early and her flight most likely hadn't arrived yet. But when he stepped into the airport, he looked up and saw her coming down the escalator, dressed in his old Duke sweatshirt and leggings with a hanging bag thrown over her arm and a tote bag slung over her shoulder.

"Aww, come on Porter, how'd you beat me here? I'm ten minutes early!" EJ called with a teasing pout.

Gina looked up from her phone and shrieked. "EJ! You're already here?" The people in front of and behind her on the escalator looked up in surprise and stared at them, but Gina didn't seem to notice, and EJ didn't care.

He flashed her a wide grin. "I wanted to be here to grab your bags just in case you got stuck on the plane like last time."

Gina laughed as she stepped off the escalator. "I remember. My bag was almost stolen by that creep."

"Good thing I recognized it from previous trips, or you might've lost that monstrosity forever." They had finally reached each other, and Gina dropped her bags and pulled him into a hug.

"Thanks for picking me up at the airport, Eej."

"I've always got your back, Gi." EJ pulled out of her embrace and bent down to pick up her bags. "Should we go get your suitcase now, too?"

Gina laughed. "I guess so. You don't need to carry those for me, though. I'm a strong and capable woman. I'm a New Yorker! And a dancer!"

EJ nodded. "You are. And I'm your friend who wants to do something nice for you. So shut up and lead the way to baggage claim."

Gina glanced down at her watch. "Actually, I think I should probably go ahead and change for the rehearsal so we're not late. Do you mind picking up my bag alone? I just need a few minutes to fix my makeup, take care of my hair, and put on my dress."

"Yeah, of course! I'll meet you out front in twenty?"

Gina gave him a grateful smile as she took her bags out of his hands. "Thanks, Eej, you're the best!"

EJ made his way over to the carousel that said NEW YORK–JFK and waited for it to hum to life, flipping through digital flashcards for the LSAT on his phone. When the carousel hummed to life, he glanced up from his phone and waited for the first suitcases to show up. There was a boring black hardshell one, a red and black houndstooth patterned one, a pink one with a bright green tag, and then, finally, a ratty looking grey one with big sparkly pink letters ironed on. He walked up to the carousel and picked up the bag with ease. One woman gave him a skeptical glare, but he smiled widely and went to wait for Gina on the benches near the entrance to the airport.

"Are you Gina?" someone asked. EJ looked up from his phone a few minutes later to see a short, middle aged woman with shocking red hair standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. It was the same woman who had looked at him skeptically before, but now she looked downright suspicious.

He laughed nervously. "Uh, no? I'm just watching this for my friend. She just got in from New York."

"Oh really?" The woman looked unconvinced.

"Yeah, really." EJ was starting to get annoyed with her tone. "Her name is Gina Porter, she's an actor on Broadway, she lives in Astoria and she's owned this suitcase since middle school. She ironed on the patches herself when she was thirteen. There's a small hole near the back left wheel where she shoved a high heel too hard and punctured the bag when we went to visit her brother in LA about six years ago. Ever since then she's always packed her shoes in this front pocket. She's in the bathroom right now getting dressed for our friend's wedding rehearsal."

"Hey Babe, is everything okay?" Gina came gliding toward him from the direction of the bathroom, her curls flying a little wild around her face and her gauzy green dress streaming behind her. "I forgot that my shoes are in my suitcase." As she reached him, she set down her bags on the seat beside him and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. "Thanks for grabbing my suitcase. Now, lemme pull my shoes out and we can head to the rehearsal." EJ sat frozen as she unzipped the very pocket he had pointed out to the nosy woman and pulled out a pair of brown heels that would complement her dress beautifully. She glanced icily up at the woman who was still glaring at EJ. "Sorry, can I help you?"

The woman merely huffed and walked away. "What was her problem?" Gina asked with a laugh as she stood up.

EJ rolled his eyes. "Some people are just nosy. But hey, at least she was trying to keep me from stealing your suitcase. It's a nice change." He stood up too and grabbed Gina's suitcase with one hand and her hanging bag with the other. "Let's go."

Gina grabbed his arm to stop him as he started walking toward the exit. "Oh wait, I left a little lipstick on your cheek." She reached up and carefully wiped away the pink smudge with her thumb. EJ felt his heart race and his cheeks flush from her nearness. "Sorry about that. It just looked like she was giving you a hard time about having my bag, and a girlfriend is a surefire way to shut people like that up. Even though there are a million possible reasons for a guy like you to have a bag like mine."

EJ shook his head and grinned widely. "I'll never complain about an entrance like that Gi, I promise. Speaking of, you look stunning!"

Gina laughed nervously and shook her head. "It's incredible what a little lipstick and some leave-in conditioner can do for a girl's confidence. And you know confidence is what really sells any look."

"Gi, you looked beautiful in your leggings and hoodie, too. Just a different kind of beautiful. I promise."

"You're an awfully sweet talker for a chauffeur, Caswell," Gina teased rather than responding to the compliment. But EJ did notice that her cheeks were a little pinker than before.

EJ smirked as he pulled open the backseat door to his dad's fancy SUV and carefully set Gina's suitcase on the floor. "So how was your trip? Your flight got in early, I guess that's kinda nice."

"Yeah, it was good. My layover in DC was really fun," Gina started as EJ opened the passenger door for her. "I saw Jack again, that guy from spring break sophomore year."

EJ frowned as he walked around to his own seat. "Jack? Spring break? Why don't I remember that?"

Gina laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Oh, surely you remember. The day that my flight kept getting delayed, and then eventually it got cancelled and you picked me up. I spent that whole day with this other airport kid, Jack. It was a whole thing."

"I remember the flight situation and picking you up, but I don't think I remember you telling me about some guy you met there." EJ was starting to feel a little defensive, but he tried to keep his face neutral.

"Oh, weird." Gina paused for a moment before telling him all about their crazy airport adventures almost ten years ago. "He even offered to be my first kiss. I turned him down, but I've always wondered about what happened to him. And then I ran into him today in DC. Isn't that wild? He's a regional VP for A&E Airlines, and he's based in New York. We traded phone numbers and Instagrams, and he invited me to come have dinner sometime when I'm back in town."

"Oh cool." EJ suddenly felt almost nauseous. His hands tightened on the steering wheel and he stared resolutely at the road rather than glancing over at her like he would normally have done.

"Yeah, he even upgraded my ticket and let me hang out in the Sky Lounge while I waited for my flight. It was super fun!"

"Sounds like it."

Gina kept talking until they reached the venue for the rehearsal, but EJ barely heard a word she said. He was mostly focused on not crashing the car and not showing his disappointment.

When they arrived, EJ breathed a sigh of relief when he got out and rushed around the car to open Gina's door for her. At least Ricky and Julie would be around to provide emotional support and run interference as necessary.


Ricky noticed something off with EJ the moment he saw him walk into the lobby of the Millcreek Inn with Gina on his arm. He wasn't looking adoringly at the woman on his arm and there was a crease in his forehead that almost always signaled trouble.

"Excuse me ladies, now that EJ's here, I need to talk to him about some last minute wedding details. Family of the bride, you know." He smiled at the bridesmaids from LA whose names he couldn't remember and crossed the room.

"Gina! You made it okay!" He pulled her into a hug, pulling her away from EJ.

Gina laughed. "Yeah, it was a surprisingly good trip! How are you doing, Ricky?"

"Oh, you know me. I'm great. Glad to be back in Salt Lake for a little while. It's good to see my dad in person, ya know?"

Gina nodded. "Oh yeah, I went out to visit Mom in Seattle after my last run of Waitress ended and it was incredible getting to see her in person. But how's your Mom doing?"

"She's great. She and Ray seem really happy. Oh, and Julie's here! She's excited to meet you in person finally. Practically talked about it non-stop all day today."

"Oh yeah! I forgot EJ told me you were bringing the famous Julie Molina. I can't wait to meet her too! That's her in the pink dress talking to Ash and Big Red, right?" Gina asked, nodding over to the bride and groom.

"Yep, that's her! Best little sister in the world." Ricky smiled widely as he glanced over to Julie. He caught her eye and nodded very slightly to EJ. Julie beamed, said something to Ashlyn, and started toward them.

"So how's setting her up with Red's cousin going? Nick, right?" Gina asked with a smirk.

"Ugh, EJ, can you not keep any secrets?" Ricky groaned.

"Not from me, he can't!" Gina laughed.

EJ let out a forced chuckle. "Yeah, you know me. Terrible at keeping things from my best friend."

"Eej, you okay?" Gina asked, her face scrunched in concern.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm gonna grab a drink, anyone want anything?"

"A glass of wine would be great, thanks," Gina said, reaching out and squeezing his arm.

"You got it, be right back." Ricky almost winced at the awkward grimace EJ gave them as he walked away.

"What's up with him?"

Ricky shrugged. "Not sure. He was fine when we met up for brunch earlier. Anything happen since you two met up at the airport?"

He saw her eyes catch something over his shoulder, so he turned around to see Julie pulling EJ into a tight hug as though they hadn't spent most of the day checking out the city together. He looked back at Gina. "Gi, did something happen at the airport?"

Gina shook her head and finally looked away from EJ and Julie. "No. I mean, this woman implied that he was stealing my suitcase until I swooped in and basically told her passive aggressively to mind her own business, but it wasn't a big thing. Or at least, I didn't think it was."

Ricky took a sip of his beer. "I'm sure he'll be fine. You know EJ sometimes gets into a mood. I bet Cash's been pestering him about the LSAT."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," Gina agreed, but Ricky couldn't help but think she didn't sound even a little bit convinced.

j*


The wedding rehearsal went off without a hitch, and Julie and Ricky hopped into his dad's truck to head to the rehearsal dinner venue–the old barn on Seb's parents' farm. When they'd built a new barn a few years earlier, they refurbished the old one and made it into a proper event space.

"So who all did you get to talk to before the rehearsal started?" Ricky asked nonchalantly.

"Mostly just the bride and groom, who seem incredibly wonderful by the way, you, and EJ. Speaking of, something is definitely off with him. Did he and Gina have a fight?"

"I don't think so. Gina seemed just as confused by his off mood as I was. Maybe Cash said something?"

Julie shook her head. "I don't think so. EJ seemed distracted by Gina. Didn't you see how sad his eyes got every time he looked at her?"

Ricky let out a single chuckle. "I swear Julie, you're more observant about people than I am. And I'm literally studying people. To make a living that way."

"Well, I've spent enough time with sadness to know it when I see it," Julie replied with a half shrug. "Now, EJ hasn't sent a distress text yet, but I kinda think we need to stick pretty close to him all night so he's not alone in this funk about whatever Gina thing this is."

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on him. You should really meet the rest of the bridal party. You know, Ash's bridesmaids are both LA born and raised. And Nick, Big Red's cousin, goes to USC. I think he said he wants to stick around when he's done. He's a pretty nice guy."

"Yeah, EJ said the same thing. He also mentioned that Nick's a little… boring…" Julie answered absently.

Ricky scowled. "Well, you should try to get to know him for yourself. Even if EJ thinks he's boring, it'll be good to know people who are established there. And he might surprise you, ya know?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll talk to him at some point." Julie was still staring at her phone, and a moment later she burst out laughing.

"What'd Flynn say?"

Julie finally looked up. "Oh, she memed our professor, Dr. Johnson. She's a total maniac is all. And apparently she came into the store while Flynn was working and made a fuss about them not having Christmas music available. In May. Wow, are we here? This is a beautiful spot!"

"Yeah it is. We hosted Carlos's quincenero here my junior year of high school. It wasn't even a proper event space then. But it's perfect now."

"Carlos is the choreographer, right? He just interned with that big show at the Steppenwolf, right? And he dances part time at that studio downtown?" Julie asked as she pushed the door open and hopped out.

"Yeah, that's him. You know, it's funny. You really should've met him by now, but you guys just keep missing each other." They met at the front of the truck, and Ricky took her arm, leading her toward the building.

They walked in through the wide front doors to see the fairy lights strung all over the room and candles and purple flowers on every table. "This is incredible," Julie practically whispered. "Oh. My. Gosh. Is that Nina Marie ? Holy smokes! Why didn't you tell me that Nina Marie would be here?!"

Ricky froze as he looked up and saw his beautiful ex-girlfriend smiling at an unfairly attractive man with floppy hair standing beside her. Then, as though she felt his eyes on him, she looked over and her eyes widened. She tucked her hand into the crook of her companion's arm and started toward him.

"Ricky! She's coming over here! Oh my gosh, what is happening right now?" Julie asked nervously. "Does my hair look okay? And my makeup?"

Ricky didn't have time to answer before Nini was standing right in front of him. "Hey Ricky! It's so good to see you!" It had been a long time, but Ricky still knew Nini well enough to see that behind her calm smile and relaxed exterior, she was anxious. She was fidgeting with the ring Malou gave her on her fifteenth birthday the way she always had when her nerves got the better of her.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too! It's been a long time!" he agreed, trying to put her at ease. "How're your moms? I saw Mama Carol's most recent instagram post. They finally decided to take their cross-country road trip, huh? Are they doing okay?"

Nini laughed. "Yeah, I hear from them every couple days or so. They're headed toward the Grand Canyon right now. Mama Dana's over the moon. She's always wanted to see it."

"That's awesome. Julie here has been to the Grand Canyon twice, right Jules?" Ricky asked, nudging his sister carefully. Then he looked over at Nini, whose smile faltered just a little. "Oh right, uh, this is Julie Molina, Julie, this is–"

"You're Nina Marie. Hi, it's so cool to meet you," Julie gushed, holding out her hand to shake Nini's.

Nini shook it graciously. "It's nice to meet you too, Julie. This is Luke Patterson."

Julie shook his hand too. "Nice to meet you, Luke."

"Yeah, you too Julie. And, uh, Rick, right?"

Julie giggled as Ricky grimaced. "Uh, actually, it's Ricky. Or Richard."

"Right. Sorry." Luke cleared his throat, and Ricky felt like the awkward silence might kill him.

But after a moment, Julie spoke. "Okay, I don't want to be that person, but I just have to say, Nina, that your music is incredible. Ricky introduced me to your music, and I have yet to hear a song by you that I don't just adore." Ricky felt heat creeping up his neck and started praying that the earth would swallow him whole. "You know when you just feel a song in your bones? I have felt that with every song you've ever written. Even the ones that other artists sing. I mean, I could tell it was your song the minute I heard 'Clock Tower.' I still can't believe they had someone else record it. It just feels right for your voice, ya know? And oh wow, I'm fangirling a little too much, I'm sorry." Julie laughed nervously, but Ricky mostly saw surprise on Nini's face and figured he was okay, at least for now.

"That's really sweet of you to say, Julie. I agree about 'Clock Tower,' by the way. I wrote it thinking it could be the title track for my third album, but the record execs wanted to give it to that girl group. They're a great group of girls, but I was a little bummed not to use it myself."

"So Julie, are you a musician?" Luke asked.

Ricky took a half step away. "I'm gonna grab a drink. Julie, do you want anything?"

Julie shook her head and waved him toward the bar as she began answering Luke. "Sort of. I mean, yes. But not professionally or anything. I'm studying music at UChicago."

Ricky practically ran away from Julie, Nini, and Luke. He headed straight for the newly added bar, where EJ was standing alone, looking rather sullen. "OK man, what's going on with Gina? You were so happy before you picked her up and you've been miserable ever since."

The very young-looking bartender, who was clearly related to Seb if appearances were to be trusted, walked over. "Hey there. What can I get for you?"

"You got any cider?"

"Coming right up!" The young man walked away, and Ricky elbowed EJ.

"C'mon, what's up?"

EJ groaned. "Gina reconnected with some guy from her past. Literally today. In DC, during her layover. He asked her out for when they're both back in New York, because apparently he lives there too."

"Oh shit." Ricky clapped him on the back as the bartender brought him a hard cider in a bottle. "Thanks man." Ricky nodded at the kid and pulled a ten out of his wallet, shoving it into the tip jar. "You okay?" he asked, turning to EJ again.

"I mean, other than a broken heart, I'm totally great." EJ laughed mirthlessly.

"Well, Julie just met Nini and immediately started fangirling, telling her all about how much she loves her music and how I introduced her to her music. Nini looked surprised and maybe even a little horrified."

"At least you're not still in love with Nini," EJ pointed out bitterly. Less than a beat later he sighed. "I'm sorry, dude. That was shitty. I know you don't want things to be weird with her."

Ricky shook his head. "Don't even worry about it, man. We're both in impossible situations. And you're right, things with me and Nini are just less than things with you and Gina."

They took sips of their drinks at the same time, silently sharing in each other's misery. A moment later, someone joined them at the bar. "You guys look just a little pathetic over here."

Ricky and EJ turned around to see Julie grinning at them. "Well, I'm feeling a little pathetic, so that's appropriate," EJ joked with a bitter edge in his voice.

Julie's face fell immediately. "I'm sorry Eej. You wanna tell me what happened?" Julie asked sympathetically, putting a hand comfortingly on his shoulder.

"Gina got asked out this morning. By a guy who actually lives in the same time zone." EJ let out a huff. "Serves me right for waiting."

"That really does suck, dude," Ricky answered with a friendly pat on the back.

"Just as well. It's not like I do relationships well anyway. I probably would've just messed it all up and then lost her forever."

"Whoa whoa whoa there, Caswell. That's not true and you know it," Julie argued with a steely glint in her eye. "You're a good man, you care for people really well, and any woman would be lucky to go out with you. I would know, since for the first six months that I knew you, I wanted you to ask me out. Until it got weird because you became like another brother. But that's beside the point."

"Ew, Jules, I did not need to know that," Ricky objected with a laugh. "But EJ, you know she's right. You're not bad at relationships. You communicate, you treat women with respect, you're generous with your time. Your biggest problem has just been that you haven't been with the right woman."

"Exactly!" Julie agreed. "And not to be a cliche, but if you're meant to be together, you'll be together. And if you're not, then you'll move on and find the woman who is right for you. And don't you dare disparage yourself in the meantime." She kissed EJ on the cheek with minimal effort, thanks to the heels Flynn had leant her, and looked at Ricky, grabbing his hand for a moment. "Now, if you boys don't mind, I'm gonna find the ladies' room."

As she strode away in her purple chiffon dress, EJ looked over at Ricky. "You really lucked out with your step family. Julie and Carlos are the best."

"Yeah, they really are," Ricky agreed with a small smile.

"EJ! How's it going?" called someone from behind them. Ricky pasted a smile on his face as he and EJ turned around to see Nini walking toward them.

"Nini Salazar-Roberts! It's good to see you!" EJ pulled her into a side hug that she returned. "I'm doing well. How are you doing?"

"Good to see you too, Eej. I've been good. I go on tour in a few weeks. What about you? You still planning on going to law school?"

"Yeah, that's the plan. I'm taking the LSAT in about a month, so I can hopefully start law school not this upcoming fall but the next."

"That's awesome! I know you'll be an amazing lawyer!"

"Well, I still have to pass the LSAT and get into law school and then some, but we'll see," EJ said with a self-deprecating smile and a shrug. Ever since not being accepted to Duke, Ricky had watched him minimize his potential and talk down about his dreams.

So Ricky scoffed. "As if you won't destroy every one of those things, as well as any obstacle in your path."

"Oh, absolutely! EJ, for as long as I've known you, you've been one of the most hardworking, persevering, dedicated people out there. Whatever you work toward, you'll get there," Nini agreed emphatically.

"Aww, thanks guys. You're the best!" EJ said with a goofy grin.

Ricky glanced at Nini and grinned, giving her a slight nod in thanks. Nini smiled and nodded back, and for a split second, it was like no time had passed, and they were back in high school again. He wasn't sure when his fake smile had become a genuine one, but he was glad it had happened, no matter how or why.

"So what do you think they're serving for dinner?" Ricky asked.

"Well, I hear Seb's sister Katherine is catering," EJ shared. "And you know if she's as good in the kitchen as Seb is at, well, everything, then it's gonna be delicious, no matter what it is."

Nini laughed. "If she serves shrimp, will you give it a try, Ricky? Or are you still scarred from when Malou took us to that questionable Mexican restaurant and you got food poisoning from your shrimp tacos?"

"Oooh," Ricky shuddered. "I still can't bring myself to eat the stuff." He shook his head and grinned. "I can't believe you remember that. We were in what, ninth grade then?"

"It was the summer after, I think. Because she wanted to take us out to celebrate you finally getting your braces off." Nini scrunched her nose dramatically. "She also refuses to eat shrimp after that."

"Yeah, having to clean puked-up shrimp out of the carpet in her car probably helped emphasize that distrust," Ricky laughed. "How did she even find that restaurant? And what happened to it, do you think?"

"I have no idea. I wonder if she remembers. I'll have to ask the next time I talk to her."

"Do you see your grandmother much these days?" EJ asked, drawing Nini's eyes to him. Ricky hadn't realized that they'd held eye contact for so long until she broke it. He blushed.

"Yeah, I see her a couple times a month. She moved out to be closer to us when she got to the point where she needed more assistance than the staff at her place here would provide." Nini shrugged. "I think she misses her friends, but she missed us more."

"Wait, is Malou not doing okay?" Ricky asked, suddenly concerned.

"No, she's actually pretty good, all things considered. Her eyesight's gotten a lot worse. And the arthritis in her hands is bad too. But you know Malou. She'll outlive us all."

"Oh good. Well, you'll have to give her my love when you see her next," Ricky said.

"She'll be glad to hear from you. She still asks about you from time to time. Both of you, actually," Nini glanced at EJ. "You were always the misguided boy who poisoned someone for me, which she respected, even if she didn't approve. It was very memorable."

EJ laughed. "Oh good, I'm so glad my high school indiscretions are my identifiers to this day."

"What indiscretions?" Gina walked up and filled the space between Ricky and EJ. "What are you guys talking about?"

Ricky watched EJ's face fall before he schooled it into something too neutral to fool anyone. "Oh, nothing. How's it going, Gi?"

Nini caught Ricky's eye and wrinkled her forehead, nodding toward them with a nearly imperceptible shrug. She was clearly asking what was going on. She must've known that they were still close, probably from Ashlyn.

Ricky shook his head and frowned in reply, hoping she would get that it was a long story, and she must have, because she answered with a sad nod.

"I'm really excited for karaoke tonight, aren't you Nini?" Gina asked.

Nini looked away from Ricky again to answer her, and he looked over at EJ to see how he was handling it. Not well, based on the poorly hidden discomfort on his face.

Then Luke walked over and threw his arm around Nini's shoulder. "Dude, Reggie would be so jealous of that cello. It's gorgeous! Way nicer than his. Oh, hey, I'm Luke, Nina's date." Luke held out his hand to Gina and EJ as they introduced themselves in turn.

Ricky's phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out, smiling when he saw the text he'd received. He glanced up and saw the sender grinning at him while chatting with EJ's parents.

Julie: Hey, time for the Final Rose Ceremony?

Ricky: Jules, you're the best, I'd say we both think so.

EJ pulled out his phone a moment later and smiled too. He looked up and saw Julie in a corner

EJ: You thinking phone call?

Julie : Why not just say you need to talk to the other groomsman about some wedding thing? I'll meet you as soon as I can get away from your parents.

Ricky took a half step away from the bar. "EJ and I actually need to get with Nick on some last minute wedding details, and I see him just over there, so we should probably…"

"What last minute wedding details?" Gina asked skeptically.

"Okay, fine, we need to confirm our plans for tonight. Just like you ladies, us guys are going out to give Red one last hurrah as a single man. Nick made the plans, but we don't think he knows Salt Lake well enough to do the best job, so we want to make sure we're all good for tonight," EJ answered. "C'mon Ricky. It was nice meeting you, Luke. I'm sure we'll see all of you guys around."

They walked away from the bar a little bit faster than they should have, but not fast enough to be rude (probably).

"Hey Nick, how's it going?" Ricky asked, walking over to the pale blond guy who was scrolling through his phone. He held out his hand to shake Nick's.

Nick looked up from his phone and nodded. "Hey Ricky, EJ." He shook Ricky's hand. "What's up?"

EJ shook his hand next. "We just wanted to confirm tonight's plans."

"Great, yeah. Uh, I made arrangements to keep that skate park open for us for about an hour, like you suggested, Ricky, and then after that we're headed to Zelda's Bar and Gaming Lounge. And we have a reservation for the back room. That was your suggestion, right EJ?"

EJ grinned. "Yup! That place is super cool; Red and I went a couple months ago when I was last home. I hear the back room is even better."

"Yeah, I'm super excited! I haven't had a chance to go since it opened!" Ricky exclaimed.

"Where are you guys going?" Julie asked, walking up to them with a smile. "Also, EJ, your dad is a talker. "

EJ laughed. "Yeah, sorry about that. I should've warned you. And we're going to this new gaming lounge tonight."

"Nice! That sounds super fun!"

"Oh, are you a gamer?" Nick asked with interest. "Uh, I'm Nick."

"Oh, Nick, this is my step sister Julie. Julie, this is Big Red's cousin Nick, and the other groomsman."

"Nice to meet you Nick. No, I'm not a gamer. But I do spend a lot of time with these two gamers, so I can imagine how much fun they're going to have at Salt Lake City's first gaming lounge."

"It's nice to meet you too, Julie." Nick reached out to shake Julie's hand. "Ricky's mentioned you before. He said you're a singer?"

"Yeah, a little bit. I mean, I'm studying music at school." Julie shrugged.

"That's so cool. I was in my high school's music program back in the day. I played guitar. It was so fun! I thought about majoring in music, but in the end I went with business. It was a more practical degree. Do you know what you're going to do with your degree when you finish?" In the corner of his eye, Ricky saw EJ flinch. If there was anything Julie hated, it was people implying that her degree was useless.

Julie's smile went stiff. "I'm not sure yet. I am getting a minor in mass communications, and that combination actually has a lot of really interesting, viable career paths. But I haven't decided to pursue any one of them yet."

"That's great. It's always important to plan for your future," Nick said with a bland smile.

"Nick, have you seen the gardens out back? The owner of this place told Ash that they spent a lot of time carefully curating their garden, and it's supposed to be stunning. Wanna go take a look with me?"

EJ practically dragged Nick away without waiting for a response, and Ricky saw the grateful smile Julie gave him.

Ricky nudged his little sister's arm. "I promise he's normally a lot more chill than that. You should really give him another chance. It would be good to have LA connections when you move out there, and he's been there for a few years now."

Julie laughed. "We'll see. He gave up music because it's impractical. I don't know how helpful he'd be as a connection for a musician like myself."

"Just don't totally rule him out, okay?"

"Anything for you, big brother." Julie took Ricky's arm and let him lead her toward the crowd. "So what are we gonna do now?"

"I'm gonna brag on you to two of my best friends who don't know you well enough yet."

"Oh no…"

"Ricky! Julie! Are you guys having fun?" Ashlyn asked as they approached her and Big Red.

"Ashlyn, this is an incredible venue! And everyone has been so friendly!" Julie said with a bright smile. "Also, I don't think I said so earlier, but congratulations to you both! Ricky has told me so much about you guys, I feel like you're as much my friends as you are his!"

"Julie, we feel the same way!" Big Red said with a grin. "As the little sister of one of our best friends and honorary little sister of another of our best friends, you're practically family! Right, Ash?"

"Absolutely! Ricky's told us a lot about you too. When Ray and Lynn were dating, I can think of at least three or four conference calls the three of us had about Ray and you and Carlos. I will never forget the day he called me panicked because 'Crap, Ash, I think she's too cool to be my sister or whatever,'" Ashlyn said in a ridiculous Ricky impression.

Big Red laughed. "I remember that, too. And the time he called afraid that he'd made you so angry you'd never forgive him? That's another favorite of mine. Because he forgot to get your sorbet when he went to the store. And he thought you would never forgive him."

Julie giggled as Ricky cleared his throat. "Uh, guys, I'm right here. You can keep the embarrassing stories to a minimum. Or stop telling them altogether. Or I'll have to find two new best friends."

"As if you could find better best friends than me and Biggie here," Ashlyn answered with a smirk.

"Not to mention, are you sure you could convince a new couple to be your best friends?" Julie teased.

"Oooh, I knew I liked you!" Ash exclaimed. "Ohmygosh, I have an idea. Julie, you should come to karaoke tonight with us girls. It'll be the bridal party plus a bunch of the girls we went to high school with and a couple of the Redonovich cousins. It'll be super fun!"

Julie shook her head, her curls bouncing all over the place. "Oh no, I don't want to intrude. Besides, Mike and I were gonna watch Avatar while Ricky's out with the guys."

"Well, I know how much Mike loves Avatar , but we would love to have you! You wouldn't be intruding at all!" Ashlyn insisted. "Didn't we just establish that you're family!"

Big Red nodded dramatically. "We did. And family is always welcome!"

"Jules, you should go! Besides, Dad will probably be asleep by the time we get back anyway. He won't mind. I'll just text him to let him know to go to bed instead of falling asleep in his recliner." Ricky nudged her a little. "Come on, show off your mad skills to everyone, including your musical idol."

"Yeah, come on, Julie! Plus this way me and the girls can tell you all the ridiculous things about Ricky and EJ from before you knew them. It'll be great!"

Julie tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Well, with an offer like that, I can't possibly say no!"

"Of course not! When the bride makes an offer, you can't refuse!" Ashlyn said, doing a poor imitation of the Godfather. The group laughed, and Ashlyn shook her head. "Sorry, I wouldn't have brought out the Godfather, but you kinda set me up perfectly for that. Anyway, I can't wait for karaoke! Come find me after dinner, and I'll make sure you have a ride! But until then, dinner is about to be served. Mrs. Red is going to make a speech first, though, so go find a seat!"

"Or a drink! You might want both once my mom starts talking!" Big Red joked.

Ricky pulled out his phone to check the time, and saw an unread text from his roommate.

EJ: Told ya so! Julie's not into Nick. He's *boring*

Ricky: The weekend's not over yet! She could still change her mind!


When she walked into the karaoke bar with Kourtney and Gina, Nini was surprised to see Ricky's date already there, seated between Ashlyn and her bridesmaids. "Hey guys! Welcome to the rehearsal dinner after party!" Ashlyn squealed when she saw them. "Now, I think you guys mostly know each other, but this is Julie. She's a singer and I've just nominated her as our first karaoke contestant!"

Julie waved. "Hey, I'm Ricky Bowen's–" but she was interrupted by the MC calling her to the stage. "Oops, I guess I'm up!" she giggled and stood, making her way through the crowd to the karaoke machine. She whispered something to the guy operating the karaoke machine who nodded, and then Nini heard a very familiar intro.

"Oh wow, Nini, she's singing–" Kourtney began.

"The Rose Song." Nini nodded. "Yeah. Wow."

"That's either really stupid or completely brilliant, but either way it's ballsy as hell," Carrie said with a grin. "I'm kind of hoping it's stupid."

"I don't know, Ricky and EJ both swear she's one of the most talented singers they've ever heard. And they grew up with Nini, " Gina said. "I've been dying to hear her for a while now, but she doesn't post any of her songs on her socials and they're not supposed to film her recitals. Apparently EJ got kicked out of one for trying." She laughed. "Her best friend is really intense."

Nini felt surprisingly nervous about hearing Julie's rendition of her song. But as soon as she opened her mouth and started singing, she was just amazed. She felt her jaw drop and she looked at Gina. "You're hearing this, right?"

"She's amazing! " Carrie exclaimed.

It was like the whole room went silent to listen to her sing, and when she finished, everyone exploded into cheers and whistles and applause.

Julie laughed nervously and bowed before practically running off the stage and back to their table.

"Holy smokes Julie Molina! My producer's gonna want to meet you! You're gonna blow up as soon as you make your way onto the music scene!" Nini practically shrieked as soon as Julie sat back down.

Gina smirked. "Yeah, I sent Jamie a short video of that, and he's already asking for your contact info."

Julie blushed and took a sip of her margarita. "That was just for fun, not a serious performance or anything. I just really love that song, ya know? I was in a bad relationship a few months ago and Ricky sent it to me after I complained about Josh one too many times. Then EJ sent me a video of Ricky singing it after his big break up from a couple years ago and told me to really listen to the words. It reminded me of my value and helped me dump his sorry ass."

"You've known Ricky for a long time, then?" Nini asked, suddenly wanting to hate this girl but not really able to.

"Well yeah, we're–"

And then Ashlyn interrupted. "Neen, Kourt, Gi, it's time for 'Stick to the Status Quo' for old times' sake!" And Nini was whisked off to the stage with some of her oldest friends.


As most of their group rushed up to the stage, Julie took another sip of her marg. "I can't believe I just did that," she laughed.

"You were incredible," said the other dark-haired woman left at the table. "I'm Kayla, by the way. I'm an actor, like Ash. We met on this pilot a couple years ago. It didn't get picked up, but we had a lot of fun shooting, and we've been really close ever since."

"Oh, so you live in LA?"

"We both do," said the blonde woman. "I'm Carrie. I'm the singer for the house band of this jazz club, but I also met Ash doing a pilot, but for a music series. It was never gonna get picked up, but my friend Lily begged me to help her out. We're all roommates now."

"Oh my gosh, when I graduate, I want to move to Los Angeles. I mean, I know it's so hard to really make a name for yourself to break into the music industry, especially as a solo, but I wanna try."

"Well, you should take Gina up on her offer to give your contact info to Jamie. He's this bigshot producer, and he discovered Nina that way. They all went to high school together."

"No way! I had no idea!"

"Yeah, the music industry is big, but it's also pretty small. Make every connection you can," Carrie advised. "And when you get to the city, let me know. It's good to have people who are already established to lean on while you're trying to get your footing." Julie was surprised when Carrie held out her phone.

"Wow, thanks Carrie. That's super cool of you."

"Enter your number and I'll text you. That way we'll be able to get in touch when you come to town." As Julie took the phone, Carrie laughed a little. "You're lucky we met as adults. 'Cause if I'd first heard you sing in high school, I would've considered you competition. And my competitive streak is ugly."


Quick note for anyone who's more normal/less ridiculous than me: my friends and I have random "save me" phrases that we text if we need an emergency call on a bad date or get caught in an awkward conversation at a family gathering, etc. When Julie texts the guys about the Final Rose Ceremony, that's what that was supposed to be. It's an inside joke from watching The Bachelor together that signifies their need for an escape. In my head, they've had that in place for over a year and they've all used it several times, for EJ when he's been home with his dad and Julie mostly with awkward roommate stuff and Ricky on bad dates.