A few days had gone by and everything had been relatively quiet. Noah’s name wasn’t brought up again amongst anyone. D and Nick felt bad for keeping the secret from AJ, Dawn felt bad that it may have happened, and as much as she knew in her heart that she would never cheat on AJ, she couldn’t remember, and AJ felt bad because, as much as he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He tried as hard as he could to put it out of his mind, but it still bothered him. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Dawn, it was that she didn’t remember for sure if it happened or not, and he knew how slimy Noah was. There were times that he wanted to bring it up to Dawn, just so they could get it out in the open and not repress it, but he didn’t want to upset her. He knew it would probably start an argument, just the sheer mention of Noah’s name made his blood boil.

The following afternoon, Dawn and AJ were sitting in the living room, watching television and flipping through bridal magazines. They were discussing their not too distant wedding as AJ rubbed her stomach, as he so often did whenever he got the chance.

"What color do you want for the dresses?" AJ asked, looking through a magazine full of bridesmaids dresses.

"I was thinking Peach. It’s one of my favorite colors and I think it would go with an October wedding, too."

"Yeah, I like it. Are we still having it outside, like we discussed before?"

"I would love that. I don’t want to have it in a stuffy church. Outdoor weddings are so much more romantic and intimate. We’ll still have Father Jim marry us, though."

"Intimate? By the time we’re finished with out guest list, we’re gonna have to rent out the White House to have it outside!"

"Alex, I don’t want a huge wedding. Just close friends and family. Can we try to keep it under 150?"

"I doubt it," he laughed. "We’ll work on it, though. Who’s gonna be your Maid of Honor?"

"I was thinking of asking D, what do you think?"

"Perfect. I was hoping you were, I was gonna ask Nick to be my Best Man."

"Aaww, they’re gonna look so cute!"

They both laughed.

"Okay, who else? We only want one other couple, right?" AJ asked.

"Yeah, what about Kevin? I mean, if it weren’t for him, we may have never gotten together to begin with."

"Yeah, you were such a pain in the ass back then," AJ teased as he put his arm around her.

"Well, you’re still a pain in the ass…" She joked back.

"And you’re stuck with me forever!" AJ leaned over and tried to kiss her as she playfully avoided him.

"Nah, just until we get old and I find a young stud to satisfy my every desire."

"Never will a day go by, as long as I’m alive, that you won’t be satisfied," AJ stated matter-of-factly.

"You better stop while your ahead, mister. You’re turning me on."

"Too bad we can’t do anything about that…" He joked as Dawn hit him with a magazine.

He laughed as he pulled her into his arms. "You know I’m just kidding, Angel."

"I don’t care, I don’t like you anymore."

"Does this mean I get the ring back?"

"Hell no!" Dawn exclaimed in between giggles.

"Hey, speaking of which, I guess we should talk about what we’re going to do concerning a prenup."

"I haven’t really thought about it," AJ admitted.

"You know, I’ll sign one if you want me to."

AJ looked over at her.

"I don’t want you to. I mean, I’m sure people are gonna try to convince me to have you sign one, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Christ, we’ve been best friends for years, you knew me when I was a no one. I know you don’t want my money. Not to mention, the majority of the money I’ve made has been since we’ve been together. Heaven forbid, if we ever did divorce, which we won’t, but if we did, you would deserve at least half of whatever I have. You’ve been there by my side during it all…"

Dawn just watched him talk. He was so intense, so determined to make their relationship work. It made her love him that much more. She quickly leaned over, while he was still talking, and kissed him on the lips, quieting him instantly.

"What was that for?"

He smiled as their lips parted.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For trusting me, for loving me…..for everything…"

He gently caressed her cheek as he looked into her eyes. He had never been as positive about anything in his life as he was about wanting to marry Dawn. He gently laid her back on the couch and tenderly kissed her, getting more passionate the more she ran her hands down his back.
Suddenly, they heard the front door open and D and Nick appear.

"Hey, none of that kinky stuff on my couch!!" D teased.

"Yeah, you guys can’t be doing that stuff anyway…doctor’s orders," Nick added.

"Ha! Shows how much you know!" AJ stated. "There are ways around everything, Nicky. So young you are, so naive….."

Everyone laughed as AJ got up and helped Dawn to her feet.

"Let’s ask them," Dawn whispered, poking AJ in the side.

"You sure?" He asked, looking at Dawn as she shook her head.

"Hey D, I have a big favor to ask of you," she said, turning to face her.

AJ stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, gently rubbing her stomach.

"No, I’m not touring with you anymore," she laughed.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. No, Alex and I were discussing the wedding a little while ago and…..I want to know if you would be my Maid of Honor."

D looked at her surprised, she didn’t know what to say.

"Omigod! Of course I will!" She exclaimed as the two girls hugged.

"Ahem," AJ tried to quiet the room as the girls started to ramble on about the wedding. "My turn now."

He turned to Nick and jokingly knelt down in front of him.

"Dude, you’re already engaged. I don’t think this will go over well," Nick joked.

AJ laughed and stood up.

"I want you to be my Best Man."

"Are you sure? I mean, don’t you want someone more reliable or something?"

"Yes Nick, I’m sure," AJ laughed. "The only thing you have to worry about are those rings. If you lose them, I’m shoving my foot so far up your ass…"

"Okay, I’ll do it!"

They all laughed as AJ hugged Nick.

"You are gonna look so sexy in your tux baby," D commented, putting her arms around his waist.

He smiled that killer smile and nodded.

"Yes I am."

"Modest much," she laughed.

"You're gonna look hot too," Dawn whispered in AJ's ear.

He smiled at her and gently kissed her.

"So, who else is in it?" D asked, turning back to Dawn and AJ.

"We were thinking of asking Kevin, but who’s gonna be his partner?" Dawn wondered.

"How about my cousin, Kelly?" AJ suggested.

"Oh yeah! You think she’ll do it?!"

She leaned over and kissed AJ.

"I’ll be right back," she whispered as they kissed again.

She pulled away from him, but he gently grabbed her arm.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Huh?" Dawn looked at him puzzled.

"We’re getting married," he smiled.

"Yes we are," she smiled back, kissing him again and heading to the kitchen.

"AJ, man, are you sure you want me as your best man?"

AJ looked at Nick strangely.

"Yeah man. Why the hell wouldn’t I?"

"I don’t know," he shrugged, looking down at the floor.

"I just figured you’d want Howie or Kevin. You and Howie go way back and Kevin helped you out when you and Dawn were having problems…"

"Nick, dude," AJ stopped him and put his hands on his shoulders. "You and I have gotten really close these last few months with you dating my future wife’s best friend and with her living with D. You’ve helped me put up with the Noah situation and we kept each other busy when we missed them like crazy while they were on tour…remember?"

Nick smiled and nodded.

"There is no one else I want as my best man. Don’t ask me again, or I'm kicking your ass," he warned, pointing a finger at him.

"I won’t man," Nick laughed.

He was very touched by what AJ had just said. He felt closer to him than anyone, except D of course. He was honored to be apart of one of the biggest days of his life.

Kevin and Kelly arrived an hour later. They were a little surprised to see each other. They hadn’t all hung out in a while.

"There is a reason why we invited you guys over," AJ told them, sipping his beer.

"I knew it wasn’t to see our shining faces," Kevin laughed.  "Uh oh…what do you want?" He wondered suspiciously.

"I want you to be in my wedding dude," AJ laughed.

"Oh," Kevin smiled, surprised. "Wow...I’d be honored, bro."

Kevin stood up and hugged AJ. He really was honored to be in his wedding. It touched him more than AJ would ever know.

"And I want you to be my bridesmaid," Dawn said, addressing Kelly.

"I would love to be in your wedding!" She accepted excitedly, giving her a hug.

"Who is your best man?" Kevin asked AJ.

"Nick."

Kevin’s eyebrows shot up and he looked over at Nick. He pointed at him and looked back at AJ.

"That Nick?" He laughed.

"Hey! What the hell’s wrong with me?" Nick asked, mock offended.

"Where shall I begin?"

"That’s it…"

Nick attacked Kevin and started wrestling with him in the middle of the living room floor. AJ found this to be too good to miss so he jumped on Kevin too.

The girls stood back and laughed, cheering for their respective men. Kelly rooted for Kevin because he was being double-teamed. Nick and AJ finally pinned Kevin and they did a victory dance around the living room.

"I’m getting way to old for this shit," Kevin moaned, sitting up.

"That’s why I’m the best man," Nick quipped.  "You’re so old you may forget where you put the rings!"

Everyone laughed. Kevin pulled Nick down on the floor for round two and this time he won.

Chapter 48
Back