5. Alicia and the Chance of a Lifetime

"What box did you want this putting in, love?"

Alicia looked up at the sound of the deep English accent that floated into the bedroom of her childhood home. She smiled dreamily as the man it belonged to followed, his large frame taking up the entire doorway. Alicia sat cross legged on the floor, rifling through some boxes she had found at the bottom of a cupboard.

"Come check this out babe," she beckoned, holding up a stack of photos. Wade smiled and placed the jewellery case he had inquired about on her bedside table, crouching down to join her on the carpeted floor.

Alicia grinned as she flicked through an old photo album.

"I have so many of these. They're amazing, aren't they? I mean, who even has photo albums anymore? I totally think we should bring them back when we move into our place. I want everything documented. Our first meal in our brand new home, our first..."

"Night together in our brand new home?" He smirked, as she giggled and smacked him lightly against the arm.

"Babe!" She got back to showing off her photos. "I can't wait for you to meet them," she said with a contented sigh. "I have told the girls so much about you, and they're determined to see what the hype is for themselves before we move to New York."

"Well, I hope I don't disappoint."

"Of course you won't. Trust me, they've never not liked any of my boyfriends. I know how to pick 'em. Especially this time..."

She turned and placed a light kiss across her boyfriend's lips, before letting out another dreamy sigh and resting her head on his shoulders. He wrapped his large arm around her and pulled her closer towards him.

"Not long now," he murmured into her hair. "Just a few more weeks and we'll be in New York."

Alicia nodded.

"I'm so excited, Wade. We've got our jobs lined up, our apartment lined up... it's all just falling in place so perfectly. Honestly, babe, it's just my luck. Falling in love with the man of my dreams, landing the job of my dreams... I just can't believe it!"

"Neither can I."

He began placing soft kisses on the top of her head, before working his attention down to her forehead, her cheek, the tip of her nose, her lips, all the way down to her neck and her shoulder. As he moved down her body his kisses became all the more urgent, and Alicia knew what was coming.

"Babe..." She giggled in reciprocation to his affection but felt herself slowly squirming away. "Not here."

Wade groaned and peeled himself away from her, leaning back on the bed behind them in exasperation. Alicia bit her lip and looked away from.

"I've been staying here for a week now," he said after a brief silence. "And it's been two months since you moved back here and I went back home for a while. I don't mean to complain or to be pushy but... it's been a while, Alicia."

"I know," she said quietly. "But it feels weird doing it in my parents' house."

"They're away for the week!"

"Yeah, but this is still the house, the room I grew up in. Do you know how many times me and Maria sat right here on this floor, right in this spot, and flicked through fashion magazines together? Or how many times me and Kaitlyn would get emotional and needy and would snuggle in that bed?" Alicia looked around her room, suddenly becoming engulfed in this trip down memory lane. "Kelly spent so much time sat on that windowsill, studying literally non-stop. And Eve would always be dancing around and singing along to all the hits on the radio."

She grinned, turning around to face her boyfriend.

"It's just so weird, Wade. Coming back home as an adult and reliving your adolescence. It's almost as if high school never ended."

"Yeah, Alicia, but it did, and we're grownups now," Wade grumbled. "Grownups who tend to have sex with each other, in stranger places than your childhood home, I might add."

He winked and once again pulled his girlfriend closer. She giggled and snuggled up against him.

"But I understand and I respect your wishes," he added with an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose once we're in New York there'll be plenty of time for me to have my wicked way with you."

"Exactly," Alicia concurred, reaching up to plant a kiss on his lips.

Alicia had gone through many 'Mr Right Nows' to eventually find her 'Mr Right' in Wade Barrett. They had initially met through friends in freshman year and had gone on a few dates before the two decided that the chemistry just wasn't really there. They remained friendly with each other, often bumping into one another at classes, or parties, or just out in Tallahassee, and after a few drinks at a friend's house one night in sophomore year, they had rekindled the dim romance that had briefly taken place a year earlier and the sparks flew. More so than they did during Alicia's previous relationship with Sheamus O'Shaunessy, who, as her friends had predicted, Alicia had met and begun dating just a few weeks into freshman year. Sheamus, incidentally, was the 'friend' through whom Alicia and Wade had originally met. And then following Sheamus was Evan Bourne; with whom Alicia had broken up three months before getting with Wade.

"There it is again," Kaitlyn had joked over the phone. "The three month itch."

"That is so not a thing," Alicia had protested.

"Leesh, when was the last time you went more than three months without a boyfriend? You truly are a serial monogamist! You are literally incapable of being single."

"Not true," Alicia had urged but deep down she knew that her friend was right.

But was it really such a bad thing, being a romantic? Besides, it was all worth it now that she had found Wade. After two years of being together, she was certain that it was him that she was going to spend her life with, and in her head this was confirmed when he confessed to her that he felt the same way about her. She just couldn't explain what it was that made him so different to the other men she had dated over the years. Originally from Manchester, England, Wade Barrett had a certain... swagger to him, if you will. She was attracted to his confidence, as well as his intelligence and unbelievable charm. He was bold and brash but he doted on Alicia; treating her well and refusing to let her slip through his fingers.

At first they seemed fairly different to one another. Alicia was the giggly romantic who loved fashion, whereas he was the serious Economics major who took no nonsense. He had definitely lightened up over the years, though, becoming more and more carefree as his relationship with Alicia progressed. Either way, the chemistry between them was strong, and they had decided before graduation that they were going to stay together long-term, which meant there were some big decisions to make. The easiest choice seemed to be to remain where they were in Florida, but the ambitious nature they shared meant that they needed the hustle and bustle of city life. Alicia toyed with the idea of moving to England with him, but he had been the once to squash that ("I chose to study in America for a reason, Alicia.") She scoffed at his idea of them setting up a home in her hometown of Connecticut ("I chose to leave home for a reason, Wade."). Then out of the blue, Wade had come across a job posting in New York City for a major investment banking firm, and it had all come together just like that. New York City... it was the perfect choice: a huge city with huge opportunities which would give the couple the chance to start afresh for real.

As soon as Wade had received his job offer, Alicia began applying for countless positions at countless fashion magazines in the city.

"Don't worry about too much, love," Wade had said as they lay in bed one night. "We'll be able to manage even if you don't find something straight away."

Alicia knew that the main thing on his mind whenever he tried to comfort her like this was their knowledge of how sizeable his start-up paycheck would be. Wade's salary alone would definitely cover the rent of one of the many New York City apartments they had looked at, but Alicia was determined to not make the move to New York until she too had a full time job lined up.

She was finally afforded the chance of a lifetime a couple of months later when one of her lecturers, after a long conversation about Alicia's plans for the future, had referred her to a friend in the city who worked for a major fashion publication. The friend, who Alicia was thrilled to hear was in fact the magazine's Editor-In-Chief, was in the midst of recruiting new contributors from all over the country and had been impressed by Alicia's portfolio of work and interviews; enough so to offer her the job.

It felt like a stroke of dumb luck, Alicia and Wade both being afforded similar big city opportunities so soon after graduation. Alicia knew that most of her friends were nowhere near as lucky thus far. Alicia took this as a sign; a stroke of fate, even. What other signs did she need to prove Wade's status as Mr Right?

"I think we should go out for dinner tonight," Alicia said, coming out of her daydream. "Kaitlyn's been telling me about this new Thai place that's just opened downtown, and I guess it would be nice to get out of the house and forget about packing for one night. I was thinking we could stay out and maybe even rent out a hotel room or something... So, what do you say?"

The devilish grin on Wade's face was all the response she needed.

"If you keep looking at me like that," he whispered into her ear. "We're not even going to make it to dinner."

Alicia shrugged and stood suddenly, holding out her hand to bring her boyfriend up with her. She let out another giggle as he wrapped his large arms around her tiny waist and brought her closer for a passionate kiss. When they eventually pulled away from each other, they stood staring at each other in silence; both trying to catch their breath.

"I love you," he murmured finally, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Love you more," she replied with a grin.

Wade took a deep breath and stood back.

"Could you give me a second? I need to go and make a quick phone call and grab something from downstairs."

She nodded and watched in adoration as her boyfriend turned and left the room. Almost as soon as he had gone, her phone had started ringing.

"Hey Kells, what's up?" Her bright voice called out. She frowned as she swore she could hear the sound of sobs on the other end of the line.

"Oh Leesh..."

Alicia took a seat on the edge of her bed and listened with a sympathetic ear as Kelly sobbed uncontrollably through the phone. It took several minutes to get her old friend to say something intelligible and when she did, it made Alicia's jaw drop in horror.

"Justin did what?!"

"He's cheating on me. I know he is," Kelly said through gulps and sobs.

Alicia did her best to remain calm, and put on her best soothing voice; reminding Kelly that she didn't know anything for sure, and that she just needed to calm down and think about this for a second. She remembered giving her the exact same advice several years ago in response to Kelly's concerns about Dolph Ziggler's infidelity; it was almost as if high school had never ended.

As she continued her calm words of understanding, Wade returned to the room, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. She looked up at him and gave him the look he knew all too well: "I'm sorry babe... but my girls need me right now."

He sighed but gave her a nod of understanding, stepping back to allow her to deal with whatever crisis her girlfriends had going on today.

Throughout their relationship, Wade, although having only met Kelly as she went to college in Florida too, had been privy to a range of different dramas. He and Alicia were in bed together about to make love when Eve had called to ask for advice on how to end her relationship with her new, clingy Long Islander boyfriend; then as they were out for dinner not long after, Alicia's jaw had dropped in horror as she had received a text letting her know that Maria's NFL player ex-boyfriend was now engaged. He had cringed in horror as he walked in on a Skype conversation between Alicia and her friends in which Kelly was displaying the new lingerie she had purchased as a treat for her new South African boyfriend. And then there was one of the few times Wade's opinion was requested, when Kaitlyn and Alicia were involved in an intense deliberation over whether or not the third date was too soon to, in their words, 'give him the cookie'. Needless to say, Wade's love for Alicia had taken him way further into the realms of womanhood than he would have ever wanted to voyage.

As he stood in the doorway, it was as if he was not even in the room at all despite his eyes roaming her every move. She switched from calm and collected to animated and agitated as the conversation intensified, and her gorgeous features looked as upset as they would if she was the one needing to be consoled. Admittedly the constant presence of each of the five women in each other's lives could be a nuisance to Wade. He had lost count of the amount of times where he and Alicia would be about to make love as her phone buzzed, or how many dates had to be cancelled or delayed so that Alicia could speak to her girls during one of their 'emergencies'. But as he watched her now, in the midst of a deep conversation with Kelly, as he had gathered from the small bits of the conversation he had picked up on, he couldn't help but admire her constant and consistent love for the women she would always gush about being her best friends. He valued Alicia's ability to love as intensely as she did, even more so now that he was one of lucky people on the receiving end of it. He loved that woman wholeheartedly and couldn't wait to do with her all that they had planned – and then some he thought to himself as he played with the small box in his pocket.

"Phew. Sorry about that babe." He snapped to attention suddenly as Alicia finished her phone call and threw the phone down on the bed. "Kelly's going through some really crappy stuff with Justin."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Wade said as he approached her, taking a seat on the bed beside her. "I hope she's okay."

"Yeah, she will be. Kaitlyn's the one who would have dealt with all of that in a snap. She's good at telling people what they need to hear, whereas I'm too much of a softy and a romantic to play bad cop."

Wade smirked.

"That's not a bad thing."

"I guess not," Alicia said with a shrug. "But – and please don't get made babe – but I've promised her I'll keep her company for a little while tonight. She doesn't want any of the others to know about what's going on so I'm the only one who can..."

"It's okay, love," Wade said with a sigh. "I understand. There'll be other date nights."

She jumped up with a squeal.

"Thank you so much for understanding. You are the best boyfriend I could ever have asked for."

He stood and opened up his arms as she rushed to hug him. He leaned down and kissed her lips.

"Alicia, before you go, there was something I wanted to talk to you about tonight."

"Yeah?" She frowned, looking up at him. Wade took a deep breath.

"I've been thinking about this for a while, and I'm not one to rush into things but I know I'm making the right decision here. Our relationship has been amazing and I am truly in love with you. I know you just said I'm the boyfriend of your dreams, but... but what about being the husband of your dreams?"

He stepped back to lower himself onto one knee while Alicia stood, open-mouthed in shock, feeling as if she was going to faint.

"I can't wait to move to New York with you and start our lives together. So I want to make this official, I want to make this real. My dad once told me that finding the woman who will never want to make you want another ever again is the chance of a lifetime, and I am so fortunate to have found that in you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Alicia. Will you marry me?"

Alicia had spent her entire life fantasising about those four words. She had dated several Mr Right Nows and would always complain about not yet having met Mr Right. What she hadn't bargained for in this journey to finding the man who would ask those four words of her and make her sure that she wanted nothing more than to say yes, was that at some point Mr Right Now and Mr Right would become the exact same thing. As Wade Barrett stood bent below her, she was sure that this was exactly what she had found.

"Of course I will, Wade," she breathed, eyeing the diamond posed in the box he had pulled out of his pocket in disbelief. Her heart raced as she allowed him to place the ring on her finger, before planting a soft kiss on her hand and returning to his feet so that he could engulf her in an embrace.

"Now, go off and see to Kelly. I'll be here when you get back and maybe we can see to getting that hotel room?"

Alicia nodded vigorously and kissed Wade passionately before grabbing her purse and racing out of the house. As she stepped into her car and turned the engine on, she let out a small scream of excitement before taking a few deep breaths. As much as she wanted to call all the girls together right there and then to give them the news, Kelly needed her tonight. With a sigh, Alicia slipped the sparkling ring into the glove box and began driving down to the diner they had agreed to go to. Looking back at the house as she pulled away, Alicia felt a pang of longing hit her.

Next up is Kaitlyn's introductory chapter and then the story will be fully caught up on where their lives have gotten to post-college! Thanks for all the great reviews so far!