Disclaimer: Still not mine. Never have been, never will be. Unless, of course, KA Appelgate reads this story and likes it better than me, in which case she could make a gracious donation and give the rights to the characters to me…ah, never mind. It'll never happen. Last names are still mine, and still totally guessed. So are any middle names that I put in here. Oh, and another thing. I'm a huge fan of Rachel/Marco, so if you don't like that, I apologize ahead of time. One more, then I’m done. I have no idea what the cost of tuxedos is, so I just made up a really high price in my head. So, y'all could put in your reviews the actual prices of tuxedos, and maybe I'll change the price in this chapter.

 

Chapter 2: The Planning

 

"It doesn't fit, Rach," Cassie complained to her best friend. Seven months after Jake's proposal, Cassie was trying to pick out her wedding dress. The wedding was in less than a month.

 

Rachel Lopez, Cassie's best friend and the maid-of-honor-to-be, smiled. "Why don't you just wear overalls?" she asked, referring to an old joke that Cassie would probably go to her own wedding in overalls and socks that didn't match.

 

Cassie looked at Rachel with an exasperated look. "Rachel Marie Lopez, I can't even zip it up all the way," she pointed out.

 

Rachel gave her a sly look. "I'm sure Jake would love that," she said, then laughed when Cassie slapped her on the arm. "Ouch."

 

"Shut up, Rachel," Cassie grumbled, and went back into the dressing room. Even after all these years, Cassie still hated to shop. It made her grouchy. She took off the dress and put on another one that Rachel had picked out for her. She walked out to the wrap-around mirror and twirled around. "I like this one," she announced.

 

Rachel gasped. "Cassie likes a dress? Cassie, my best friend and cousin-in-law-to-be, likes a dress? Hold the press! Buy it, and hurry. There's a sale at the bookstore and Marco wants a couple of his espionage and spy books. There's also a sale at the Bon that ends today. Maybe we can find you some shoes," she said in a rush and grabbed Cassie.

 

Cassie stopped Rachel and went back into the dressing room. "I have to change, girl," she yelled through the door.

 

*          *          *          *          *

 

Meanwhile, Jake was at the tuxedo store, looking for a tux that fit. He was with Marco Lopez, his best friend and Rachel's husband.

 

Jake was having a hard time with finding a tux because the ones that fit were all too expensive, and the cheap ones were either too small or the wrong color.

 

He was trying on one that was about $700, and fit perfectly. Unfortunately, Jake didn't have $700.

 

"Come on, man," Marco said, looking at his watch. "We need to get going. Remember, Cassie and Rachel are meeting us for lunch at the food court in like ten minutes."

 

Jake turned around again. "I would hurry, but I don't have the 700 bucks to buy this tux," he complained.

 

"How much do you have?"

 

"500."

 

"I'll pay the rest and you can pay me back," Marco said. "Come on. Cassie will love this tux, and you're getting the tie and belt thingy for free. Come on, man," he said again.

 

Jake thought about it for a second. "Sure?" Marco nodded. Jake walked into the dressing room and changed. He came out in his regular clothes and smiled. "Okay. Thanks."