Acting Out: Chapter 13

"Chad, do you want to come into town with me again today?" Sonny asked as she ran her fingers through her hair after she had finished getting ready.

"Yeah, why not? I'll probably never come back to Wisconsin ever again." He teased her, making her laugh.

"I want to go check out my favourite music store; it's about time I get a new guitar." She told him, tossing various items in her handbag and unplugging her cell phone from where it had been charging.

"Don't you already have like four?" He asked amusement evident in his voice.

"You can never have too many guitars; kind of like shoes," The brunette declared, "A girl can never have too many shoes."

Chad chuckled, "Okay, let's go then." He relented, standing up.

...

The 'Mackenzie Falls' actor watched intently as the woman in front of him looked at a row of guitars that were hanging on the wall of the shop.

She looked so happy and it gave him an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't explain.

"What do you think of this one?" Sonny asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"A Gibson?" He asked knowing they were fairly pricey and that Sonny wasn't always one to splurge.

Sonny nodded, "Black and acoustic." She smiled.

"It's nice, you should play it."

Sonny smiled and gently got it off the rack and sat down on a nearby stool. The brunette began playing an amazing chord progression; she really knew how to play.

"You're good." He complimented her.

"Thanks." She smiled, "I think I'll get it."

"I think you should, it's a nice guitar."

Later that afternoon Sonny took Chad to a beautiful park where they got a hotdog each for a late lunch as they hadn't eaten yet.

"I rarely eat these." Chad commented as they walked along a path.

"That's right; you are used to lobsters all the time." His wife teased.

"I don't do the whole normal thing a lot. You know that." He pointed out.

They both had sunnies on, hoping to go by unnoticed for the afternoon.

"Well, we can be normal now. Let's go sit by the lake." Sonny said, grabbing his free hand with her own.

Chad took the remaining bite from his hot dog as Sonny dragged him in the direction of the lake.

"I used to come here sometime with friends." She told him as they sat down near the edge of the water.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they sat there, "You'll get to see them tonight won't you?"

She simply nodded as she finished off her hot dog, "Thanks for coming again. It means a lot, it really does."

"You're welcome." He smiled at her.

"You know I love my career and I know you do too, but do you ever wish you could turn it off sometimes?" She asked him seriously.

Chad let out a small sigh and leant backwards so he could lie down on the grass, Sonny did the same instantly so he still had an arm around her.

"Yes, I do." He whispered.

"Then why don't you ever take a break? Just so you can have some time to yourself?"

"I don't know because my career is the only thing I know, the only thing I'm good at. I've had a career since I was a few years old."

"You're a good person Chad, you may drive me crazy at times but you are a good person." She assured him.

Chad smiled, comforted by her words.

She rolled into him, "I couldn't choose a better person to be married to right now."

"Right back at you." He murmured as he held his wife in his arms.

He was happy just lying there with her.

It felt right.

...

"I need to get ready." Chad declared when they got back to Sonny's grandmother's house.

The brunette laughed, "Yeah, you will take longer than me to get ready." She said, referring to the party. From experience, she knew Chad took forever to get ready to go out places.

"Shut up." He chuckled.

"You know it's true." She pointed out.

"Yeah. You're right." He laughed.

"I'm just going to play my new guitar, when you're done getting ready I'll get ready. Otherwise we'll be fighting over the hairdryer." She teased.

"Shut up." The blonde retorted playfully.

...

Chad was proud of himself to say the least, he was ready a whole hour early for the party. He was downstairs watching television as he waited for Sonny to get ready.

He wasn't really paying attention to the television; he was browsing the internet on his phone, looking at some of the stories about him and Sonny over the past month and a half or so.

They had fought a lot but really had been getting along well as of recently; he really hadn't been so happy in a long time. Sonny brought out the best in him.

There were numerous photos of them and the recent ones he knew they both seemed genuinely happy, the smiles were not ones that they could fake.

He had really been happier the past week, and even more so being in Wisconsin with Sonny.

"Sonny it's time to go." Sonny's mum called up the stairs, snapping him out of his thoughts, "I'll be in the car waiting."

"Okay, I'm coming." Sonny yelled back as Connie walked out the front door.

Chad adjusted his tie and then looked up to see his wife walking gracefully down the stairs.

She was wearing a silvery-metallic coloured dress that was strapless and was short. The heels she wore matched the dress and her dark hair was in loose curls, cascading around her shoulders.

He was awestruck.

Chad always thought of Sonny as beautiful; but tonight she just looked simply stunning.

She was breath-takingly captivating and he was temporarily speechless.

"You look good." Sonny told him as came to the bottom of the stairs.

He couldn't speak for a few seconds and eventually could respond, "You look amazing."

Sonny's smile made him smile.

Her smile was simply contagious and he couldn't help himself.

"You ready to go?" She asked, putting her phone in her clutch.

He nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

She linked her arm with his and they made their way out to the car that Sonny's mum was waiting for them in.

...

Once arriving at the venue and walking inside, Sonny immediately spotted her Grandma talking to Lucy.

"Grandma! Lucy!" She squealed, hugging each of them.

Chad stood aside a bit as Sonny began speaking to her Grandma at a hundred words a minute.

Lucy noticed him and gave him a hug. He had met her several times over the years when she came to visit Sonny.

"So, how's the marriage going?" Lucy asked, putting emphasise on the word 'marriage'.

Chad looked around to make sure no one heard her.

"You know?" He asked.

His wife's best friend nodded her head, "Sonny tells me everything. I'm her best friend remember."

Chad didn't get a chance to respond to his wife's best friend as Sonny was done talking to her Grandma and grabbed his hand, "Let me go introduce you to my family." She said before telling Lucy that they'd see her later on.

Chad swore he met every single living relative that Sonny had, but he didn't really mind that much. He was surprised to find that he was actually enjoying himself and he could tell that Sonny was enjoying herself as well.

As the waiters came around offering champagne, he politely turned it down as did Sonny. Neither had really drunk since Vegas.

There was a DJ at the party and Chad found himself up talking to him whilst Sonny went to go say hello to some old friends. He wanted to talk to someone his own age and that wasn't Sonny's ex-boyfriend as he was there also.

"You are that actor from that television show aren't you?" He asked him.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Your Sonny's husband right?"

Chad nodded, concluding that practically everyone on this side of town must have known Sonny.

"I grew up with her and never pictured her as the type to get married on impulse."

"It was planned," Chad lied, "We just never had a reception or anything. It was very small."

"No reception?" The DJ asked in astonishment, "Did you get your first dance as husband and wife?"

"No, we didn't."

Before Chad could protest, the DJ grabbed the microphone and turned down the music on his controls, "Hello everyone, how are we all enjoying Mrs Nancy Monroe's sixty-fifth birthday? Here with me I have Chad Dylan Cooper who recently married our very own Sonny Monroe and I have just learnt that the two never got their first dance as husband and wife."

"You don't have to do this." Chad protested, but the DJ went on.

"Sonny Monroe, can you please come to the dance floor while I find an awesome song for the two of you to dance to?"

...

Sonny looked up from talking to one of her old school friends and she saw Chad standing on the stage.

For once, he didn't look comfortable on the stage so she knew he hadn't arranged this for her.

Regardless though; she made her way to the dance floor and Chad stepped down from the stage as music began to blast through the speakers.

The party-guests crowded around the dance floor to watch them and Sonny handed her clutch over to Lucy.

"Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth ?
Ooh heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
We'll make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth"

Sonny smiled as she recognised the song and Chad held out his hand to take hers.

Sonny placed her hand in his and he led her onto into the very centre of the dance floor.

"Kiss her!" Sonny's grandmother yelled out to them over the music, making them smile.

A few other people yelled out in agreement and Chad placed his hands on Sonny's waist, "Should we?"

Sonny shrugged her shoulders and gave him a grin, "It's up to you Mr Cooper."

She was surprised that Chad instantly leant down, placing his lips on hers.

Sonny kissed him back immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

"When the night falls down
I wait for you
And you come around
And the world's alive
With the sound of kids
On the street outside"

Sonny broke away from the kiss and everyone started clapping.

"Let's dance Mrs Cooper." Chad murmured to his wife.

"When you walk into the room
You pull me close and we start to move
And we're spinning with the stars above
And you lift me up in a wave of love...

Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth ?
Ooh heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
We'll make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth

When I feel alone
I reach for you
And you bring me home
When I'm lost at sea
I hear your voice
And it carries me

In this world we're just beginning
To understand the miracle of living
Baby I was afraid before
But I'm not afraid anymore

Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth ?
Ooh heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
We'll make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth"

Sonny felt butterflies in her stomach as the song came to an end and he spun her around one last time.

She was gazing into Chad's eyes as the song came to an end and he let go of her, all the while keeping his eyes transfixed on her own.

His eyes were sparkling and Sonny Monroe surprised herself by kissing Chad tenderly on the lips once more.