Friends: Surprise

Part 3

Devin sighs as he stands in front of Chris apartment door, knocking.
Balz was such a fucking baby.

You intimidate him too much, and he’d been afraid he’d blurt out or hint at what Chris was planning, so he’d called Devin to take his place.
​And that was only after Ryan had bailed.​​
Chicken.
You weren’t that scary unless you were facing off with your sisters.
At least that’s what Chris had told him anyway.
Your sisters sound like bitches though.
He knocks again when no one answers.
Were you assholes not even home?
He’d dressed nice for this.
Sort of.
Okay so he’d lightly trimmed his magnificent beard for this.
“Hellooo!” he hits the door again, a little irritated he was having to stand out in the hallway like an idiot.
He hears a sudden thunk from behind the door, then lots of cursing about a table, and after a moment Chris appears at the door, still pulling his shirt on.
“What?”
“Well hello to you too,” Devin scowls, crossing his arms as he stares up at him unhappily.“I’m here to replace Balz. And Ryan. Where’s (Y/N)?”
“In the shower. Come on in,” Chris steps back, motioning vaguely, and Devin sighs as he walks inside, unbuttoning his coat.
Chris discreetly finishes zipping his jeans
Devin raises his brows at the knocked over end table and scattered magazines. “What happened here?”
“I tripped over the damned thing,” Chris sighed, running his hands through damp hair. “I got it. You’re gonna take her shopping, right?”
“Yup. To Kays, to some bridal shops — maybe we can even get our hair done together since I’m a fucking bridesmaid.”
Chris rolls his eyes as he lifts the end table up, gathering the magazines and papers with it. “Don’t be a prima Donna, you like hanging with her ”
“Yeah. But I’m not very covert.”
“Covert for what?”
Chris and Devin both hesitate as they hear your voice, and they look over to see you standing in the hallway, wearing a damp t shirt and towel drying your hair.
Devin let’s his eyes run down your legs appreciatively, just like he does every single time.
“Yknow, I seriously would agree to a threesome with you guys right?”
You go crimson. “Devin!”
Chris rolls his eyes. “Wouldn’t that be some great fan fiction?”
“Yup.” Devin grins. “I can already read it. We’d have so much fun!”
“Don’t be gross!” You burst, your face as red as the t shirt you wore. You hadnt realized Devin was there, and you’d only grabbed a shirt when you’d managed to peel yourself away from Chris for a shower. You had to step into the hallway from the bathroom, so it wasn’t like you could hide anyway.
Sometimes you miss your old apartment with the master bath.
You’d been a little spoiled.
“How am I being gross for appreciating those fantastic legs of yours? I can already imagine them wrapping around — fucking Jesus, Chris! I fucking need that arm!”
Chris merely grunts, lowering his hand as he flexed it.
He didn’t want Devin imagining you naked, or at all, really.
He was quite protective of you.
And admittedly a little paranoid.
There was always the fear you’d realize you weren’t in love with him, that maybe your CEO boyfriend would want you back and you’d go to him. He knows how beautiful you are, and your skills in bed would make other men pay thousands for.
And unfortunately he wasn’t the only man who knew that.
Fuck why hadn’t he realized how great you were twenty years ago and been your first?
Or even your second?
But then again, you wouldn’t have all the knowledge…. Oh who the fuck was he kidding?
The two of you would still be the kinky fuckers you were and nothing would have changed that.
“So what are you doing here?” you ask curiously, wrapping your hair up in the towel and twisting it onto a bunch on your head.
“Balz got, uh, sick. And he felt bad that he couldn’t make it so he called me to cover for him,” Devin explains, pretending he wasn’t noticing how high your shirt rose when you moved your arms, and the fact you probably weren’t wearing panties and that was actually —-.
“Stop fucking punching me, Chris!”
“Stop looking at my girlfriend!”
“For Christ’s sake, if I was gonna bone your woman I would’ve done it way before now, back when you were being a Jackass and didn’t know she liked you! And you’re gonna knock the circulation outta my arm forever!”
You roll your eyes.
Who needed actual children when you had the boys?
“I’ll be ready in twenty minutes, that fine?” you ask when Devin stops whining and rubbing his arm.
“If I’m still alive by then yeah.”
You chuckle as you walk away.
Devin glares at Chris.
“Asshole.” They mutter at each other.
~~~~~
“Oooo, look at the dresses!” Devin says, his arm wound through yours. He stops walking in the middle of the mall, pulling you to a stop as well. You cast a glance at the wedding dresses in the store window.
They probably cost a fortune.
“They’re pretty,” you comment, gazing at the veils.
You’d always liked the dresses.
They just don’t look as pretty on.
“You wanna go look at some?” Devin asks, giving you a mischievous grin. “We could pretend we’re a couple and fool around in the dressing rooms.”
You snort. “You really are gonna make Chris hurt you, Devin.”
He merely shrugs.
“Cmon, let’s go look,” he urges, and practically drags you into the bridal shop, you trying to pull away reluctantly.
These shops made you uncomfortable.
You wouldn’t ever get married, so why pretend?
You can’t imagine Chris ever wanting to stay with you forever, especially since the two of you were so on opposite sides when it came to children; he’d met your family, he knew what terrors they were and that you could be when around them, so why tie himself to you semi-permanently?
It was just depressing.
But the dresses were certainly gorgeous.
Your eyes light on the veils, which for some reason you’d always liked, the band slim, the white shimmery and so long it would probably drag.
“Hello! Can I help you two?” you hear a sales associate ask brightly.
“Yep!” You hear Devin respond, and you send him an incredulous look. “We’re looking to find her a dress. Something not too over the top, but fitted in the waist and with a long train. Maybe some clear or netted sleeves, a round bodice so her breasts are really —.”
“Devin!”
“— pronounced in all their glory. Can you help us?”
“Of course,” the associate was half-grinning at Devin. “I’m sure we’ll have something to your liking. Miss?”
“Yeah?”
“Come this way and let me measure you. We’ll find all the dresses for your size!”
No.
No fucking way.
This was humiliating.
“Um, actually, we —.”
“Oh, we have all day!” Devin rolls his eyes, and his hands close over your shoulders as he steers you after the associate, your horrified expression totally worth it. “What else are we gonna do?”
Die.
Get eaten by lions.
Have a bird rip out your vocal cords.
All were preferable to this torture.
“Devin —.”
“Stop bitching and let me have some fun!”
Ugh!
​~~~~~​​
“You look stunning!” Devin gasps, his eyes wide as he stares at you. You frown at your reflection in the mirror.
The dress was really pretty.
And though you were pale skinned and darker haired, it for some reason worked.
“You do look beautiful,” the associate agrees, only a tiny bit jealous as she brushes at the skirt. “It’s like it was made for you!”
It’s only the eighth dress you’d tried on.
And probably the only one you really liked.
The sleeves had a place where it slipped over your middle finger, white sparkles that were bright but not overbearing. The skirt was full but no so much you looked like a miserable princess at a ball, and it bunched at the back of your hips to trail down behind you probably a foot or so. The bodice was heart shaped, and it laced in the back so of course someone would have to help you get out of it.
And your boobs…
They were definitely pushed out there.
“You just need a veil to complete it,” Devin says, studying you. “I’ll be right back!”
You sigh.
What was the point of all this?
Chris wouldn’t ask you to marry him.
You gaze at your reflection unhappily.
“Do you not like the dress?” the associate asks hesitantly, noticing your expression.
“I love the dress, it’s beautiful,” you shake your head, your braid trailing over your shoulder. “I’m just not getting married any time soon.”
“So the man’s not your fiancee?”
“God no.” You snort, shaking your head. “He’s friends with my boyfriend.”
“Ahh.” the associates face lights back up. “Then he might know something you don’t, miss! Maybe you will be getting married some time soon!”
Wasn’t she optimistic?
Before you can form an answer, Devin is returning with the very veil you’d eyed when you’d come in. He steps up to the platform where you stood in front of the three mirrors, as if you were on display. Devin makes you bend a little so he can put the veil on, and the associate quickly helps you situate it in place.
She smooths it out along your back, the thickness of it enough to hide the lace in the back.
“Now it’s complete!” Devin beams, gazing up at you. “The blushing bride.”
The red in your face was because you couldn’t breathe, not because you were blushing.
Soon you’d be blue.
Although begrudgingly you do really like it.
You twist a little so you can see the veil better.
“Do you like it?” Devin prods.
“It’s beautiful. But —.”
“You look amazing in it.” Devin says, letting his eyes run down the skirt. “You’ll make an amazing bride.”
Your eyes cut down to him sharply. “Oh really?”
“Yup.”
“Too bad I’m not getting married, huh?” you say dryly, seeing the red creep up his neck at the comment.
“It really is a shame,” he agrees, avoiding eye contact and getting your curiosity.
Was Chris gonna propose?
You swear if Devin drags you into a Kays or something next you’ll have a heart attack.
“How much is the dress?” you ask, just for future reference. “And the veil?”
“The dress is three thousand,” the associate responds. “And the veil two seventy five. We require a down payment here if you wish to leave the dress and make payments, but we do knock fifty dollars off if you buy it today completely.”
You almost choke.
Three thousand dollars for a dress!?
You need to get it off now before you rip it or something!
“Why don’t you go change and we’ll get some food?” Devin suggests at your worsening expression. “You must be starving.”
More like dying but okay.
Devin waits until you disappear behind the dressing room curtain before whispering to the associate, who grins and nods along.
She could put the dress back, no problem. And the veil. And because she kind of wants Devins number if he wasn’t gay she’d still knock off fifty dollars.
Devin grins.
Maybe he’d get to fool around with someone in the dressing room after all.
~~~~
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
“What do you mean she suspects!?” Chris hisses into his cellphone, hunching into his jacket as he stands nervously by his car.
“Welllll, so I like took her to this bridal shop and made her try on wedding dresses,” Devin hedges, “and the cute associate might have like hinted or something.”
“Devin!”
“It’s not my fault!” Devin gasps indignantly, and Chris swears he hears a giggle in the background and then something rustle. “She’s a clever one! I had the hot associate put the dress back so you can buy it when you get here.”
Another giggle.
…
“How much is it?”
“Like three thousand and —.”
“Three thousand dollars!?”
“And two hundred and twenty five.” Devin adds. “But man did she look gorgeous in it! It’s the perfect dress for her, Chris!”
“God.” Chris runs his hand down his face. “I wanna make sure she fucking wants to marry me before there’s a dress.”
“Dude she totally wants to marry you; what woman doesn’t wanna get married?” Devin snorts, and there’s more giggles and rustling.
Chris frowns.
What the fuck was going on?
He glances at his phone as he hears it beep, seeing your name light up on the screen.
“I gotta go,” he mutters to Devin. “Don’t fuck up the surprise.”
He doesn’t wait for a response.
“Hey, babe!”
“Hey!” You sound relieved he answered. “What are you doing?”
“Picking some things up. How’s shopping with Devin?” Chris asks, leaning back against his car as he glances around the parking lot, people meandering around to the stores and their cars .
“He abandoned me to go fool around in the dressing room with one of the cashiers,” you sigh. “I’m waiting for him at the food court.”
Oh.
Well that made a lot more sense now.
Chris purses his lips.
“Well did you have fun before that?”
“God no. Devin made me try on these hideous wedding dresses,” you shudder. “I looked like a reject for Say Yes to the Dress.”
Chris chuckles. “I can see that. When are you gonna be back?”
“I suppose when Devin gets off.”
“(Y/N)!”
You laugh. “Well its the truth!”
Chris doesnt doubt it.
He talks to you for a few more minutes until Devin apparently finishes his business, and then you hang up to finish your shopping.
Chris casts an apprehensive stare forward at the jewelry store in front of him, his black hair moving in the cold Pennsylvania breeze, his sunglasses obscuring the top half of his face.
He prays you wanna marry him.
Because he’s going all out for you.