Pushing Forward (Sequel to An Unlikely Duo)

Chapter 29: Two Couples, One Big Night

"Are you eating buttery popcorn in your pristine white wedding dress an hour before you have to walk down the aisle?" I nearly lost it as I caught site of Paige with her feet up on the vanity, popcorn in hand.

"Oh calm down. I'm starving and this thing is going to be long" Paige's words were muffled by the copious amounts of popcorn in and falling out of her mouth.

"Do you know how long it took us to find a store that could deliver your dress in less than six weeks? Oh wait you do know because it was nearly impossible. And you can't refer to your own wedding as 'a thing that's going to be so long'" I pulled popcorn out of her hair that was precariously piled into an intricate up do.

"It's just some big elaborate ceremony where we're supposed to confess our love for each other in font of all our friends and family, but that's not what really matters. Stephen knows I love him so much it hurts some times and I know he loves me the same way. We're going to start our lives together, but that's not because of a ceremony or a couple of signatures on a piece of paper, that's because two crazy people like us found each other and fell in love" Paige shrugged as if that whole idea was simple and not one of the most complicated things to find or understand.

"I'm happy for you and not the slightest bit jealous" I hugged her as I subtly pulled yet another piece of popcorn out of her hair.

"Your time will come faster than you expect, especially considering the fact that Mr. Right is sitting in that church probably looking fine in a suit just waiting for your big talk after all these months" Paige wiggled her eyebrows at me.

"Hey this is your day. Talking about Jake and I can wait" I insisted as I checked and rechecked my folder of papers in an attempt to calm my nerves.

"No way. You're talking to him and I expect to hear all about it afterwards. No more avoiding it and no more running from it" Paige tossed me my bouquet of flowers as we heard the music start in the church. I mentally screamed as the bouquet flew through the air before safely landing in my hands.

I never thought I would be the girl freaking out about the details of a wedding, but then again it wasn't my wedding and I had pulled several all nighters to make sure everything was perfect for my best friend; however, I had the feeling we could hand Paige and Stephen some sunflowers and plop them outside the courthouse and they would be perfectly fine.

I spent my whole walk down the aisle focusing on not tripping over my floor length deep purple dress. About the only perk of having to plan a wedding was getting to help pick the dress I was forced to wear.

When I got to the front I ascended the steps and turned to watch Paige walk down the aisle. As my eyes drifted over the crowd, despite how much my brain screamed not to, my eyes stopped on Jake. Third row, right side, three people in from the left.

He stood there looking at me in his suit with his hair clearly showing the number of times he ran his hands through it on the drive over. As I stood there not able to break eye contact, I was slightly relieved to know he was as nervous about this as I was.

I finally tore myself away from his gaze as the doors opened and Paige walked out. She practically floated down the aisle toward her soon to be husband. What bride wasn't frantic, nervous, or crazy on her wedding day? The girl who fell in love and got married at the age of twenty one without overthinking every little step along the way, that's who.

Then the vows came and I was a mess.

"Stephen, when I thought about how my life would pan out I never would have guessed I'd be standing here today, getting married when I was twenty one. But the thing is you don't plan when you're going to fall in love, it just happens" I couldn't help but smile as the tears welled up in Paige's eyes. My gaze drifted out over the crowd and I locked eyes with Jake again as I remembered the day we first met. Seventeen year olds trying to forget about all the complications of the real world by losing ourselves in a volleyball league for the summer, never expecting to lose ourselves in each other.