Jessica's pretty face turned beet red as she scrambled to fix her dress and get up. The whole church was silent and by now the music had come to a stop as everyone waiting for her to get up. She looked up and Brian was trying hard not to laugh, along with the priest. Brian then bursted out laughing and thats when whole entire church joined it. Harold looked down at her with a smile on his face and put a hand out for her. Jessica took it and got up muttering a 'thank you'. She was beyond mortified. She didn't even want to see Nick and she could just picture her mother saying,"All those years of dance gone to waste!" The laughter died down and a minute later the ceremony procededed. It was hard for Brian to keep a straight face and when he caught her eye he gave her the thumbs up sign jokingly. If it wasn't his wedding day she would've flipped him off.
Jessica just wished she could crawl in a hole and die. Whoever she looked at smirked at her like she was a total idiot. She tried to concentrate on Leighanne, who at the moment was looking at Jessica amused, coming down the isle. Instead she snuck a peak over at Nick who was still, surprisingly, staring at her. He caught her gaze and smiled sympathetically. She saw him mouth 'It's ok'. Jessica smiled at him gratefully then looked at Leighanne who was now approaching Brian.
Before she knew it the two of them shared a sweet kiss and the the church errupted into thunderous applause. Everyone was smiling widely, happy for the couple and Jessica thought everyone had forgotten about her 'incident'. She thought wrong.
"You know, I'm impressed. That was a nice little move there Jess. The spin and then the little tumblesault at the end. A definate 6.0,"Brian laughed as she got outside.
Her face regained the redness,"I could've died. I can't believe I fell like a friggin' idiot, tripping on myself. What kind of moron does that?"
"You,"Leighanne joked with her best friend, then gave her a reassuring hug. "As hysterical as it was, I'm sure no one cares."
Jessica rolled her eyes,"How reassuring. I just know I'm going to hear about this 20 years from now when your telling your kids,'Did I ever tell you the story about when Aunt Jessica tripped over herself like a total dumbass at our wedding?'. To top it all off, I get to relive the moment a million more times when you get the wedding videos back. This is just great. Just freakin great."
Brian and Leighanne bursted out laughing as they hugged guests who came up to them to congratulate them.
"We'll definately pick up on this conversation later Jessica,"Brian promised with a grin and got back to the guests.
Jessica groaned then walked through the mass of people and came face to face with AJ,"Well, well, well if it isn't our little acrobat."
"You guys are really enjoying this aren't you?"Jessica asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh more then you know doll,"AJ smirked."And I'm sure Nick enjoyed seeing your underwear as much as the rest of the us."
Jessica's hand flew to her mouth,"Nuh uh! My underwear was NOT showing."
"No it wasn't, I'm just really enjoying getting a rise out of you. Did I tell you that you look beautiful today?"
"Go to hell AJ,"Jessica smiled then pushed him lightly.
AJ laughed, then kissed her cheek,"It really wasn't that bad. It lightened the mood. I saw Mrs. Wallace starting to bawl and when you did your little routine she wasn't crying anymore."
"Oh my god, would you stop?"Jessica moaned.
"Ok ok, I'm done,"AJ smiled and put an arm around her. "So did you see your Nicky?"
"Why do you think I tripped?"Jessica mumbled.
"No way,"AJ said, wide eyed, then laughed hysterically.
"Oh here we go..."Jessica muttered.
"Alright, sorry. I'm finished. Promise,"AJ said and bit his lip to keep from laughing. "On the serious note, are you going to talk to lover boy?"
"No clue,maybe. At the reception,"Jessica said.
"Oh Leighanne didn't tell you?"AJ said regretfully.
"Tell me what?" Jessica replied, clueless.
"We're not going,"AJ said.
"Huh? Why not?"Jessica asked.
"Well the four of us talked about it and we decided that it's Brian's moment. We don't want to steal his thunder,"AJ said.
Jessica nodded slowly,"Do you know what room Nick's staying at?"
"Yeah...3321 on the 28th floor. I know he wants to see you, even though he's petrified,"AJ informed.
"Me too,"Jessica admitted, quietly. "I don't know. Maybe I'll visit him."
"You should,"AJ said touching her shoulder. "He misses you."
"I miss him too. I miss him so much,"Jessica said softly, averting her gaze away from his.
AJ cupped her gorgeous face in his hands and turned her head up softly, so that she was looking at him,"Forget what he did Jessie, please. As much as I don't want to say this, go back to him. If he could turn back time, he would. I wouldn't say it, if it wasn't true. He's really broken up about it and hates himself for it."
"It's not that easy. I know things were rough for him when he did what he did but he didn't have to push me away. I would've helped him, but he didn't want my help. Is this what it's going to be like every time things get rough? I don't want that AJ."
AJ was silent for a moment,"All I gotta say is that you don't know what you have until it's gone. Just think about it Jess."
"I have thought about it,"was Jessica's reply.
"Well then you need to talk to him about it,"AJ said, taking her hand in his. "I think I better get going. I hope you go and at least tell him what's on your mind."
Jessica shrugged,"I don't know. Maybe I will."
AJ gave her one last kiss on the cheek and whispered a goodbye, then walked off.
Jessica turned and saw the wedding party getting into a limo and walked that way. She slipped inside, next to Harold.
"Those were some tight moves you had in there Jess,"he joked.
"Great. I get rid of one Littrell, now I have to deal with the other. I don't need another Brian to deal with about this. You two have the same sense of humor. Not good,"Jessica said.
Harold grinned,"Well considering you took me down with you, I'm a bit entitle to tease you a little don't you think?"
"No I don't,"Jessica smiled.
"Well tough,"Harold said. "You know, you wrinkled the suit and-"
"Please Harold, enough,"Jessica begged.
"Sorry,"he said and held her hand. "I'm just playing."
"Yeah I know,"Jessica said. Soon they were all back at the hotel. The reception was being held in a huge ballroom inside the hotel. Jessica fished around in her purse for the bracelet. They guests were all given bracelets to be able to get in. Leighanne's idea.
The reception went beautifully. Brian sang Leighanne a song that he had written called 'You Are'. It brought tears to everyone's eyes, and Leighanne ended up crying. Everything went as planned and Jessica had never seen Leighanne so happy before. It seemed as though the smile was permanently engraved on her face. After all the had guests left, Jessica gave Leighanne and Brian each a kiss on the cheek and congratulated them once more.
She headed up to her room. When up in her room, she impulsively decided to go to the bay she had seen on her way to the church that morning. It was somewhat late, but she needed a peaceful place to think about Nick and what she was going to do. After slipping out of her beautiful dress, she put a pair of denim capris on and a bright pink short sleaved shirt. She let her hair down, leaving it a mess of dark blond curls, and put on a pair of sandles. She called a cab and slipped out of the hotel unnoticed.
Jessica smiled at the serenity of the lake when she got out of the cab. The moon was directly above it, casting a bright light on the shimmering water. The scene was one of the most peaceful ones she'd ever seen and it made her relax almost immediately. She walked slowly over to the dock and sat down at the edge, indian style. Jessica carefully took off her sandles and placed them right next to her. She slowly stuck her feet into the calm water. She got completely lost in her thoughts as her feet softly kicked through the shining water of the bay. The scene mesmerized her and made her feel like she never wanted to leave. Jessica was too caught up in her thoughts to hear the soft sound of the footsteps against the wood of the dock.
A familiar voice said to her softly,"Looks like we had the same idea."
