Chapter 140: Chapter Two

Nat

“We totally lied to them.” I laughed.

“Go to the spa, girls,” Alyssa mimicked Demetri's voice. “Relax, be girlie, while we go do man stuff.” She hit her chest like a caveman.

We fell into fits of laughter as Alyssa turned the corner and waited for the guys to drive off.

“You think he's going to be mad?” I asked as I got out of the car and walked up to the beach house.

“Nah, he'll love it.” Alyssa smirked knowingly. “I promise. It's the best idea we've had… ever.”

“Ever huh?” I grinned. “I'm not so sure about that.” I stuffed my hands in my jean pockets. It was abnormally warm for August, especially by Seaside's standards.

“The caterers should be here in a bit.” Alyssa looked at her cell phone. “And Jaymeson said that the rest of the crew would follow about an hour later.”

“Amazing.” I snorted.

“What?” Alyssa's dark hair blew across her face as she made her way to the front of the house.

“That Jaymeson can actually keep a secret.”

“This is true,” Alyssa admitted. “But he's all about pulling pranks on the guys, though this isn't really a prank.”

“Surprise.” I cleared my throat. “It's a surprise.”

“That may give your future husband a heart attack.”

“Everyone deserves a real bachelor party.” I winked. “And I'll be sure to make this one Alec won't forget.”

“Or Demetri.”

Laughing, I pushed through the door and said, “Admit it, those lessons totally paid off and toned our legs like crazy.”

“I lied for a month to Demetri. He thought I was at the library.”

“Wow, could you come up with a worse lie?” My eyebrows lifted.

Alyssa waved her hand at me. “Please, it's Demetri.”

“Good point.”

“So.” She set her phone on the counter. “Let's start moving the furniture around.”

I pushed the couch out of the way just as my mom walked in, eyes narrowing. “What are you two girls up to?”

“Uh…” Yeah, I really didn't want to tell my mom the truth. Sure I was already pregnant but—

“Feng Shui!” Alyssa half-shouted. “It's good for the baby.”

“How so?” My mom squinted at the couch and looked back into my guilt-ridden face.

“It helps Nat relax, kind of like… nesting.” She nodded confidently. “I looked it up online.”

“Oh… hmm.” Mom shrugged then pulled her phone out. “Nat, I just had a question about—”

The doorbell rang. Crap. The caterers were there with our chocolate-covered strawberries, amongst other things. My eyes widened as I looked at Alyssa with what I hoped was a help-me expression.

“Why don't you two go talk on the back porch? Have some iced tea?”

“Sounds great.” Mom sighed. “I've been on the phone all day with the wedding planner and I'm about ready to lose my mind, and don't even get me started on that Jaymeson guy.”

“Crap.” I grabbed two glasses of iced tea and led my mom outside. “What did he do now?”

“Nothing.” Mom took her iced tea and sipped lightly. “Yet.”

“Yet?”

“The pastor's concerned about a man such as Jaymeson stepping onto holy ground.

“He said that?” I winced.

“I may have embellished a bit.” Mom winked. “Just keep your eye on him, Nat. I know he's your friend, but the last thing you want is drama during your wedding.

“Because of Alec?”

“No, sweetie.” Mom grabbed my hand. “Because of Jaymeson.”

“Sorry.” I sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. I just wanted everything to be perfect. It was hard to explain Jaymeson to my mom.

I always felt like I was defending him or his actions, but he was just — Jaymeson. He did whatever he wanted and got away with it, but in the end he was a fiercely loyal friend.

I always forgot how famous he actually was — maybe that was the problem. He put people at ease so much that they didn't even realize they'd been had until it was too late.

I always pitied the constant stream of girls going in and out of his bed.

“Nat? Where'd you go, sweetie?” Mom pressed her cool hand to my forehead. “Are you okay?”

“Just thinking.” I gave her my brightest smile. “You know, pregnancy brain and all that.”

“Well…” Mom checked her watch. “Will you just do me a favor and talk to the boys about Jaymeson? I know you say not to worry, but I don't have time to babysit him and neither do you.

Smiling, I patted her hand. “No worries, Mom, the guys will take care of it.”

And I knew they would, in more ways than one. They didn't do anything halfway.

“So…” Mom squinted when something clanged from inside the house. “What was that?”

“Uh, probably Alyssa. I should probably go in and see if she needs help, you're welcome to stay if you want.” Please don't stay, please don't stay!

“That's sweet of you.” Mom rose from her seat. “But I have a lot on my plate today. I'll just go out through the back gate.”

Score.

“Love you, baby.”

“Love you too!” I said a little too excitedly as I rushed her toward the back gate, hoping to God that the caterers decided to park on the other side of the house.

Mom waved again from her car and then sped off toward downtown Seaside.

I walked around the front of the house. The catering truck wasn't in front of our house, so I looked further down the street. Awesome, it was parked in front of an abandoned beach house.

Alyssa came running out of the house. “Hurry! We have to get everything set up before the rehearsal dinner.”

“Coming!” I laughed and waved over the catering truck. “Why do we need catered food?”

Alyssa smirked.

“Right.” I whistled at the truck, trying to gain their attention since clearly they were ignoring my wave. Finally, it started toward us.

“They'll like this, right?” I bit down on my lip.

“They better,” Alyssa grumbled. “Or I'll murder them.”