The ceremony was beautiful, and surprisingly Nikki stood there without fidgeting in her stupid sweetheart cut pastel pink dress. Occasionally, she would shoot a 'get me out of here' look to Micah in the pews, and he would just smile and flash her a thumbs up. Once the wedding was over Chase carried Jen to their Just Married limo and drove off to the reception while everyone threw bird seed in delight. Then the bridesmaids and groomsmen got into their limo's while the rest of the party followed.
Once at the reception hall, the wedding party sat at their table, while the guests went around finding their assigned seats. While dinner was being served, Courtney clinked her fork to her wine glass and stood up.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, now is the time that I give my speech, so here it is. I never for one second thought that Jen would marry before I did, but here we are now, and I couldn't be happier for my little sister! She's grown into such a beautiful woman and sometimes all I can do is stare at her in awe. She's no longer my clumsy little tomboy sister that I grew up with, she's a college graduate, in school getting her masters degree, sitting before me married to such a wonderful and handsome man and all I can think is 'Mom, Dad, you did a good job.' So please, let's honor my little sister, the former Jennifer Elaine Masterson and now Jennifer Masterson Rhodes!" Jen got up and hugged her older sister with tears in her eyes, as Jen's mother, step-father, father and father's fiancé stood up to join her.
Then is was the best man's turn to stand up, a man Nikki had a very fast paced whirlwind relationship with that lasted for six months and ended horribly. His speech was just as good, albeit funnier than Courtney's, and Nikki couldn't help but laugh. After all the dinner plates were sorted out, Nikki picked at her penne pasta while downing her wine.
"Nikki darling slow down!" Micah whispered in her ear.
"Micah…" Nikki looked him in the eyes and grabbed his hand "Wedding's aren't my thing really, and Justin being the best man… it's a little crazy."
Micah kissed her forehead "I know it is. So let's get your mind off of it! Where is that one lover boy you had in high school! You said he'd be here, I want to see your little high school sweetheart!"
Nikki rolled her eyes and scanned the area for Jonesy. She saw Marissa first, which wasn't too surprising since she was really noticeable. No apparent reason really, she just had a face easily spotted in a crowd. "There, the douche bag in the navy blue suit. With the hair…" Nikki nudged her head.
"Darling, you're going to have to do better than that! You described like half the guys here!" Micah sneered.
"Don't make me point! The table directly behind us and one to the right, he's the one sitting next to the girl in the peach dress and the pumps."
"Well why didn't you say so! He is cute!" Micah laughed, and then looked back at his food.
"Yeah he's not ugly…" Nikki started, still looking in Jonesy's direction until she saw Marissa look up, which made Nikki turn away before either of them saw.
Once dinner was over, Jen and Chase stood up near the stage where the DJ was setting up. "Okay ladies, you all stand here, it's bouquet time!" Jen squealed, as Nikki reluctantly made her way to the front. She knew how it went, the maid of honor was supposed to be the one to catch the bouquet. As long as it wasn't her she was happy. Nikki crossed her arms as Jen got ready to throw the bouquet, watching Courtney intently. Next thing she knew the bouquet passed right in between Courtney's hands and through all the other girls jumping to get it and right into Nikki's arms. Nikki froze up suddenly as she felt all eyes on her, and then backed up, pushing her arms out in front of her and letting the bouquet fall to the ground, where all the women dived towards it. Courtney stood up, her hair mused and her eyeliner a bit smudged, but with the bouquet above her head.
"I got it!" she screamed, as all the girls cheered around her. Nikki slipped away from the chaos and squeezed Micah's hand.
"Girl, you had that!" Micah laughed in her ear.
"Yeah, top ten things I don't want number one is to get married! No sir!" Nikki laughed.
"That sounds like the Nikki I remember…" Jonesy's voice rang out, causing Nikki to jump.
"Oh my God… hey!" Nikki turned around and laughed, hugging Jonesy. Soon after, Marissa came up beside him.
"Hey Nik, you remember Marissa right?"
"Yeah! Hey! You look so good!" Nikki smiled, not quite sure what to say.
"You do too! Is this your boyfriend?" Marissa elbowed in Micah's direction.
"Oh…" Nikki started, almost laughing.
"Yes! Yes I am!" Micah pitched in, putting his arm around Nikki.
"Micah!" Nikki looked at him angrily.
"Yeah, Nikki doesn't want anyone knowing, but I just cannot hold it in any longer!" He smiled.
"Stop! He's my room mate. Not my boyfriend!" Nikki pulled away from him, glaring. Jonesy and Marissa looked around awkwardly.
"I'm gonna get a glass of champagne, anyone else?" Jonesy asked.
"Yes please!" Micah and Nikki said in unison, making the situation more awkward.
"Yeah I'll go with you, to help you carry the glasses!" Marissa smiled, and Jonesy led her toward the bar. Once they got halfway, Nikki saw their heads lean together as if telling secrets. Or talking shit.
"Micah why did you do that!" Nikki hissed.
"I don't know, your ex is here with his girlfriend or whatever, isn't that awkward for you?" Micah hissed back, ignoring the old couple ear hustling behind him.
"NO! Not until you made it awkward! I could not care less about Jonesy! We've been broken up for five years and when we broke up it wasn't because one of us was doing bad things, it was because we realized that it probably wouldn't work if I was going so far away to school. We both came to that decision."
"I'm sorry…" Micah pouted, and Nikki kissed his cheek.
"It's okay, you're my plus one, you can be my pretend boyfriend all you want."
"Good, now it's time for the garter toss, and unlike you, maybe I want to get married soon!" Micah laughed, and made his way toward the stage.