"I can't believe everything's ready!" Alicia exclaimed giddily, tossing a pile of programs haphazardly into the air and spinning in an aimless circle.
Josh patted her on the arm and gathered up the papers. "Me neither." He grinned, and his warm brown eyes twinkled. "But we have the first rehearsal in an hour. You might want to get dressed." His eyes traveled over her bra and panties, the only things she was wearing.
"I think I should go in this," she teased flirtatiously. "Maybe it'll motivate you to get this right."
Josh pecked her on the lips. "I have no motivation to get this wrong."
She kissed him back, then pulled away and danced into her room. Josh had been over at her mansion more and more recently lately, simply because it was bigger and had more room to plan. Plus, Alicia had a wing awl to herself, so they had a perfect sitting room in which to prepare.
She pulled on a casual sundress by Charlotte Russe and slipped on silver sandals. She adjusted the straw hat that was low over her eyes, tilting it slightly to the left. "Cute, right?" she asked her fiance.
"Adorable," he agreed, winking. "What about me?"
He had on dark jeans. Over it was a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing off his muscled forearms. Just barely visible were Nike sneakers.
"You really should wear your dress shoes. It'll take you much more than three weeks to practice walking in them."
"Oh, shut up. Maybe you should wear stilettos."
"I've walked in heels my whole life. You, on the other hand, have never looked nice once."
He placed a hand over his heart. In a screechy soprano, he exclaimed, "You have personally insulted me."
She yanked him in for a kiss. "Just kiddding. You always look nice. But we need to go."
He took her hand, and they walked toward her car. "Who's going to be there?" he asked.
"Just Massie. And who did you decide on as your best man?"
"I don't know," he said. "I'm not that close with Plovert, so he's out. But then there's Kemp. He's my pick, but I know Massie can't stand him. So then I thought of doing Derrick, for Massie. Is that a good idea?"
Alicia shook her head adamantly. "They're fighting."
"Oh." He looked surprised. "Then maybe Kemp wouldn't be so bad."
"You're much better off with Cam. But Claire might be upset. She always thinks Massie is trying to steal him, and especially now that she doesn't have a boyfriend..."
Now he seemed downright upset, and slightly annoyed. "Alright, maybe we should just go with Chris, since he's not involved in this drama."
"It's your wedding," Alicia grumbled as she merged onto Lexington, giving the finger to college-age guy bobbing his head to his blaring radio. "You should be able to choose whoever you want."
"That's unfair to Massie."
"I'm sure she won't be planning her wedding around your preferences," Alicia pointed out bluntly.
"Yeah, but I won't be her husband's best man."
"I'm not so sure about that. The way things are working out now, who even knows?"
"Turn!" Josh yelled suddenly, and the brunette spun the car into a back lot.
"Gawd, you couldn't have warned me sooner?'
"I always forget the exit comes up so suddenly," he apologized. "Oops."
She rubbed his shoulders. "It's okay. Come on. Massie's already there. I can talk to her about Kemp, if you'd like."
"That would be great." He climbed out of the passenger seat, then walked around to the other side to open Alicia's door. "Isn't the boy supposed to drive?"
"Come on; this is the 21st century. Remember Social Studies? Girls have equal rights to boys."
"Yeah, yeah. Come on." He strode up the dirt trail to the field in which they were getting married. "See, there's the aisle." He pointed to a makeshift path cutting through the grass, decorated on both sides with quartz. Then there was a squelching sound. Josh lifted his foot with a look of utter repulsion and peeked at the sole of his shoe. "Yuck." He stuck out his tongue. "Someone forgot to clean up after their dog."
"Probably Massie. Look, she brought Bean."
"She better not walk down the aisle holding that thing's leash," he scowled.
"I'll tell her that too."
SORRY. KIND OF A FILLER, BUT IT'S SWEET AND TELLS ABOUT THEIR JOKEY RELATIONSHIP, SO I LIKE IT, AND I WROTE IT EASILY, SO WHATEVER. THE NEXT FIVE OR SO CHAPTERS WILL BE INTERESTING, BECAUSE THEY'LL BE THE END OF THE STORY. SO IF YOU WANT ANYTHING TO HAPPEN WITH 1.) ASHLEE DELEMONICO 2.) GRADUATION OR 3.) THE WEDDING, I SUGGEST YOU TELL ME SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. ANYWAY, KEEP READING!
