Chapter 58: The Best Freakout Is Yet to Come

*ZOEY'S POV*

After weeks of kicking my own ass, I have finally reached my goal.  Hell, my thighs don't even touch anymore.  

I guess it's a good thing because tonight is the night of my rehearsal dinner and tomorrow is my wedding day.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.  I can't believe the day is finally here.  I never really saw myself as the marrying type...and here I am...about to become somebody's wife.  

Of course, we still have to get things done today.  Amy has assured me that she has the rehearsal dinner under control, but I still have to go get my hair put in.  

While I'm out, I decide to get a new outfit for the rehearsal dinner, which I'm running late for.  Of course Amy is going to flip her shit.  I love the girl, but damn can she be anal sometimes.

I call Amy on my way home.  She answers immediately. "Where are you?  People are showing up!"

"I'm almost there, I swear...literally making the turn to the house now." I assure her.

"Okay, well I'll see you at home then," she tells me and hangs up.

Wow, stress becomes her.  Not.

I pull up and head into the house, seeing Kyra, Jake, and Robbie outside.  

Robbie greats me with a wolf whistle, "Day-um!  You look great!"

I blush and greet him, "Thanks!"

As I walk up to him he hugs me, in a completely platonic way.  Even though Robbie and I had something awhile ago, there is nothing but friendship now.

"So what have you been getting into?  How's the film career?" I ask.  Once upon a time, I had big dreams of becoming a big shot director and Robbie has always wanted to be an actor.

"Uh, good...actually...you know how Jake is living with me?  And he's trying to get his music career going?" Robbie asks.

"Yeah, sure.  He's wanted to be a musician since he was three."

"Well, we might have some more chances to do that...we're just thinking Harmony might not be the place to do it." he says.

"Oh wow, really?" I am surprised.  Even though I know he's not overly close to his family, I never thought he would consider leaving, "Are y'all gonna move?"

"Uh, yeah...we're thinking...maybe Starlight Shores?  There are so many more opportunities for actors there..."

As I talk to Robbie, Amy and Jake come over and are obviously talking about the same thing.  Huh, I guess they're serious.  (Another Broke Challenge with the Keagan men in the works?  Maybe?  What do you think?)

Pretty much everyone shows up...Brody comes in greeting, "Hi Aunt Z!"

Josh is his ride apparently...

Bec is last to arrive.  Good, now everyone is here.

I end my conversation with Robbie to go find my mom.  She slipped past me a minute ago.

I walk in and hear Terry and Kelsey talking.  I can't help but laugh at their conversation.

"You do realize you owe me big time," Kelsey is telling him, "you all wouldn't have met if it weren't for me introducing you."

T laughs and says jokingly, "Thank you, Kels.  How can I ever repay you?"

"I have a pile of reports on my desk that need to be done, you can start there." she says matter-of-factly.

"Ha!  Yeah, that's going to happen...you just keep telling yourself that." Terry is saying as I head further into the house.  I can hear my mom's voice coming from the kitchen.

I run up to her and give her a huge hug.

"Mom!"

"There she is!" Mom hugs me back, "Are you all ready to get married tomorrow?"

"Surprisingly, yes.  I couldn't be more calm," I tell her.

"Really?  Well, that's great baby.  I still can't believe you're getting married," she tells me.

I laugh, "I actually can't either.  I think it's such a far off idea right now, I feel like I'm in a dream."

"Hm, well, better a dream than a nightmare." she points out.

"Very true," I agree.

I can honestly say that I can't wait to marry Terry tomorrow.

Chapter 57 Pt. 2: Life Sucks When You're Hungover

*AMY'S POV*

The day after the bachelorette party, we are hungover as hell, but unfortunately, we have too much to do.

"Do we have to work out today?" I whine.

"Depends, do you want to blow out the stitching in your dress?" Zoey asks.

Grr...growl, pout..."What else do we have for today?"

"I'm going with Kelsey to pick out her dress..." Zoey starts.

"Oooh!  That sounds fun!" I exclaim before she bursts my bubble.

"And you have to get the guys to get their tux orders lined up." 

I groan.  I can't help it.  Dealing with Terry will be okay, but Mac is mad at me and AJ is always intolerable.

In fact, after our workout, as I am heading upstairs to change and get the guys together, I hear a giggle.

"AJ, you're so funny!" the maids voice trails through the house.

"So you think maybe we can head upstairs and see what a good job you did cleaning my room?"

Amazingly, this gets another giggle.

Ugh.  I don't know what people see in him.  He's so irritating. 

*ZOEY'S POV*

"So what kind of dress am I supposed to be looking for?" Kelsey asks me as we head into the store.

"Just black...that's all I want." I tell her.

I decided a long time ago that I wanted the bridesmaids of my wedding to wear black dresses of their choosing.  It makes it so much easier, and I won't get blamed for picking out an ugly dress that they'll never wear again.

Kelsey nods distractedly, "Ok, that should be easy."

"Is something wrong?" I have to ask her.

She turns and sighs, "I don't know, it's just...marriage is not exactly what I thought it was going to be."

"What do you mean?" I ask her.  I'm not sure she should be telling me something like this, given I'm about to be married myself, but here we are.

"Eddie and I have been fighting a lot lately...I'm not really sure what to do about it." Kelsey continues.

"Oh, well, that's going to happen...it's when you stop talking that things get difficult." I assure her.

"We haven't spoken a word to each other in a week." She reveals.

"Oooh...shit." I blurt out before I can stop myself, "Uh...I mean...uh...that's okay...maybe it's just a rough patch."

Kelsey laughs, "Thanks, but I think it's more than that.  I keep thinking maybe...I made a mistake."

With that she turns around and walks into the store.

Even though I am worried for Kelsey, I can't help but wonder if I am making the right decision myself.

*AMY'S POV*

So...Terry comes in and we get his measurements and his order quickly before he heads off to the gym, Mac is finishing up his order, and AJ has yet to show up.  Once again, he annoys the hell out of me.

"Where is AJ?" I ask Mac.

"Uh...I think he might be upstairs..." Mac tells me.

"Ugh...I think I'm getting a migraine."

"I'm coming, I'm coming..." I hear AJ pounding down the stairs and rounding the corner to the living room.

"And my migraine worsens," I mutter.

"Come on Ames, perk up...the way I see this, you've got a pretty good gig...getting to hang out with us all day..." he jokes.

I roll my eyes, "Oh, yeah, my idea of a great time.  Can I just get your measurements?"

"Sure," he sneers, "don't let your hand linger anywhere it shouldn't."

"I am literally fighting the urge not to punch you in your nuts right now," I tell him.

"Oooh, da-yum!  You can't mess around with a guy's nuts!" he jokes.

Thankfully I get through ordering the tuxedos without killing AJ, of course there is something else I would like to discuss with him.

"What are you going to do about your hair?" I ask.

"What about my hair?  Oh, wait, do I need to tone it down...so I don't steal the awesomeness from the groom?" he asks.

"Ha-ha," I laugh sarcastically, "No, I would prefer that you didn't soil Zoey and Terry's wedding with your piss yellow hair."
He dramatically puts his hand to his heart, "Ooh, that hurts!"
"I'm sure." I roll my eyes, "So do I need to set you up a hair appointment?"
"Hell no, I happen to like my hair." he digs in his stubborn heals, "I'm not messing it up for one day."
"You have to sleep sometime." I tell him.
"Oooh, you touch my hair, Ms. Keagan, and I will give you a buzz cut while you sleep." he threatens.

Ugh.  I hate him.

Chapter 57 Pt. 1: Rock Your Body

*AMY'S POV*

Z & Terry's wedding day is getting closer and closer and even though I really don't have time to be stressing about my relationship with Mac, things have been strained.  We barely speak to each other and our sex life is in the crapper.  I honestly don't know how we are going to make a long distance relationship work if this is what has become of our current one.

"Are you going to speak to me today?" Mac asks the morning of Zoey's bachelorette party.

"I haven't stopped speaking to you, where do you get that?" I ask coldly.

"Come on, babe.  Things haven't been right with us since I told you I was moving.  I thought we were going to make this work..." he lets it all out.

"Yeah, well...maybe it won't work..." I tell him.

"Wow...seriously?" He honestly looks heartbroken, "I would have thought you would be willing to work harder than this."

"Look, I don't have time to talk about all this right now...in case you didn't notice, I have a wedding to help plan..." I say, cutting him off.

"Fine, whatever," is his reply.  I am fairly sure "whatever" is code for "screw you."

I rehash all this to Zoey during our morning workout.  It got too exhausting heading to the gym every day, and I don't like people watching me work out anyway, so we sprung for some equipment to put down in the basement.

"I can't believe what an ass he's being right now," I complain, "especially with all the wedding stuff.  Like I have time for that."

"Hmm, maybe he's feeling like you're neglecting him because we've been so busy planning.  You know, as much as I greatly appreciate it, you didn't have to take so much on."

I laugh, "Are you kidding?  My inner control freak is doing a song and dance right now.  You know I'm never going to be able to plan my own wedding, so I've been having a blast planning yours."

"Aww, thanks friend...and you will definitely find someone to marry.  If it happened for me, it will happen for you." She replies.

"Hmm, I don't know about that, you've got your common decency and general awesomeness going for you.  I'm just a stone cold bitch anymore," I tell her.  Sad thing is, I'm really starting to believe that.

"Come on, I know better."

"Yeah, your vision is skewed because you're my best friend and I like you, I pretty much hate everyone else."  Another true statement.  Geez, when did I get so bitter?

"Yeah, yeah, I don't believe it." 

I change the subject, "Regardless, you know what tonight is, right?"

"Uh, hell yeah, my favorite part of this whole wedding thing!"  She exclaims.

I can't help but laugh, "You could do without everything else, huh?"

Zoey laughs, "Yeah, well...everything but the groom..."

"Awwww, is that a sappy remark coming from you?" I ask her.

Zoey blushes before changing the subject, "So what are we doing tonight?"

"Eh, you know how we do things..." I say nonchalantly, "Are you sure you're up for it?"

"Hey, I've talked my liver into one more night of crazy.  I'm good to go." She says.

A night of crazy is certainly what it is going to be.  We're going to meet at Rebecca's house and hit this little club Bec found that caters not only to dancing and drinking, but male strippers.  Woo-hoo!

Before we head out, we have dinner with the guys.

"What have y'all got planned tonight?" Terry asks.

"Eh, little bit of this, little bit of that," Zoey tells him.

"What happens in da' club stays in da' club," I joke.

"Don't worry about it man," AJ tells him, "they're probably going over to Rebecca's and watching Grey's Anatomy or something."

I roll my eyes, "Yeah, that's it."

*ZOEY'S POV*

After dinner, Amy and I head over to Bec's to get ready.  She is armed with hot outfits for all of us and Kelsey and my mom are here too.

When we get into the club, it's awesome.  It's a very small building, but it has everything.  There is a stage with a stripper pole, a dance floor, a bar, a buffet of food...there are even barely dressed men walking around us all night...um...Best.  Night.  Ever.

Amy and I are decked out in black and white dresses and we do look smokin' hot, if I do say so myself.

Bec and Kelsey opted for the more country girl look...

Of course Bec is horrified when she sees this picture, "Ick...it looks like I'm giving the stink eye!  Hold on, Take another one..."

Of course, just when I'm about to click we here, "Ladies, please welcome to the stage these sexy men, ready and willing to make your dreams come true..."

As we head to the stage, we are entertained by hunky cop (which gets Kelsey going), hunky firefighter (Amy and I like him), and hunky cave man (Bec whistles a little louder at this one).

We watch the performance and then hunky cop grabs the mike and works the crowd, "How are all the ladies in the house tonight?"

He is met with raging, horny squeals.

The drinks are flowing, we're laughing and having a blast when the hunky firefighter grabs the mike and asks, "Any ladies about to get married in the house?"

My traitorous friends start screaming and pointing at me, "I am going to kill you all!" I scream at them as I am being dragged up on stage.

After being treated to a lap dance and being thrown around much like a sack of potatoes...well, a sack of potatoes with a fist full of dollar bills...I got a chance to try out the pole...and to my surprise, I didn't fall flat on my face.

Of course my attention starved friends have to join me, but I think we look pretty good, huh?

We dance and drink for the rest of the night, stopping to pose for a few pictures every now and then.

The dancers even come out and dance with us..in their underwear...um, thank you.

...never underestimate the powers of a few drinks and a night of fun to bring out our inner camera whores...

Even though we are all extremely intoxicated, we prop ourselves up at the end of the night for one more group photo before Josh picks us up and takes us back to Bec's.

Where we all pass out...

one...

by one...

...paying no attention to where we land....

...obviously...and it's a good thing Brody spent the night with Richard because otherwise, Rebecca would have smashed her child.

...and Kelsey doesn't even make it to a bed...or a vertical position before passing out.

What a night!

Chapter 56: House Guests

*AMY'S POV*

"Mmm, good morning...something smells delicious..." Zoey asks when she comes downstairs.  

"Mornin'," I greet her, "Egg, turkey sausage, and cheese bake.  It's just about done...is everyone else up?"

"Terry's slowly rousing, Mac is on his way down, and that AJ guy was still sawing logs when I came downstairs," Zoey replies.

I growl and get a look of disgust on my face, which of course makes Zoey look at me strangely.

"Okay, what is it?" She asks.

I try to blow it off and shrug, "Nothing, just...something about that guy rubs me the wrong way."

"Hmm, ok...I didn't get to meet him last night..what's he like?" She asks.

I can't help but roll my eyes, "Irritating."

She raises her eyebrows, "Ok...hmm...T says he's one of his best friends...there must me something good about him."

I get out the casserole and put it on a serving plate before setting breakfast on the counter, "I seriously doubt it."

She's laughing at me as she takes her food to the dining room.  Hmph.  Well, I can't help it if this guy is a pain in the ass...of course...I suppose I could be hospitable.  I grab a plate for myself and am heading to the dining room when - speak of the Devil - AJ walks in....

In his underwear...

"Uh, did you forget something?" I ask him.

He looks around oblivious before replying, "Good morning?"

I roll my eyes, already annoying, this early in the morning.  What an overachiever.

He's reaching out for a plate of food before I stop him.

"Are you seriously going to eat breakfast like that?"

More cluelessness.  I can't tell if he's really this dense or just doesn't care...both of which upstanding personality traits in my book, "Like what?" he asks.

"In your underwear...hel-lo."

He looks down and back up at me without even a lick of shame, "That was the idea..."

"Ok, how about at least putting on a shirt first...at least," I instruct him.

An annoying sneer comes across his face, "Why Amy, does my current state of undress make you uncomfortable?"

I'm just going to keep looking up at the ceiling...my eyes continuously find their way up there when talking with him anyway, "No, Andrew, just...you know what, never mind..."

I walk away and head to the dining room, expecting him to follow me.

I sit down at the table, exasperated already.  Zoey's almost done.

"What's wrong with you?" She asks, noticing my irritation.

"AJ, once again...I swear, two encounters with him and he just keeps getting better...do you know he was going to come in her and eat breakfast with us in his underwear?  Ewww." I blurt out.

Zoey makes a face, "Ew...well, the guys walk around with not much more on all the time..."
"Yeah, but that's different...we know them..." I tell her.

Zoey shrugs, "I guess."

She finishes up and as she gets up to clear her plate, AJ walks in, fully clothed, thank goodness.

"I hope my breakfast attire suits you for breakfast, Ms. Amy." He jokes.

I am so not in the mood.

Zoey is stifling laughter.

"Har, ha, har.  You're sooo funny."

He just grins and sits down, obviously pleased with himself.

Wanting to change the subject, Zoey introduces herself, "So this is the infamous AJ...Terry has told me so much about you."

He laughs out loud, "Oh shit...yeah, I'm the bad influence!"

Zoey laughs, "Yeah, he said every bit of trouble he ever got into was your fault."

I continue eating my breakfast as they talk, trying to get myself in a better mood.  We have a week before the wedding, Z's bachelorette party to plan, our workout routine to get into, and I don't have time to get bogged down by an annoying house guest.

I am so wrapped up in thought that I don't realize Zoey has left the table.  I hear Mac and Terry coming downstairs, but it's just AJ and me for right now.

"I have to say, this is really good..." AJ tells me.

Okay, he's trying to be cordial, "Thank you."

"Yeah, no problem...that's one thing I love about curvy women, they know how to cook."  There's that shit-eating grin again.

Ugh.  We are so never going to get along.

*ZOEY'S POV*

As much as I would have loved to stay at home and listen to AJ and Amy spat, we have to go work out, which I have been dreading ever since I got engaged.  I know I need to slim down and tone up, but I am not good at it.

My case in point.  Not to mention, Amy isn't any better.

After falling at least half a dozen times, we finally figure out how to slow the treadmill down to where we don't fall on our faces every five minutes.

"How long are we supposed to do this?" I ask Amy.

"Until we feel the burn, I guess," she replies.

"Well, that was when I stepped up on the damn thing," I say.

She laughs, "Yeah, they say we're supposed to be able to hold conversations while working out..."

"In order to do that, I'm going to have to stop jogging, go sit down, and wait to catch my breath."

We work out in silence the rest of the time, mostly because both of us are panting so hard we can't do anything but try to breathe.

By the time our workout is over, it's night time, which means we got nothing else accomplished.

***THE NEXT DAY***

*AMY'S POV*

As difficult as the first day of our exercise plan was, the second day was easier.  No falling on our faces and we weren't so out of breath that we couldn't hold a decent conversation.

Once we're done, we decide to go for a dress fitting and bridesmaids dress shopping!

"So what are you wanting for us?" I ask her.

"You know what I have always wanted.  I just want you all to wear a black dress.  I don't care if it's long, short, whatever." Zoey says.

Hmm, well, one would think that would be easy.

Zoey tries on her dress and she looks just as beautiful in it as she did before, even though she's not convinced.

I only look a short time when I see this flowy black dress and I know it's the perfect one for me.

I call Rebecca and she says she has already bought her dress.  Then I call Kelsey and she needs to go buy one.  While I'm talking to her, she sounds weird.

"Is everything okay?" I ask her.
"Oh, sure, I'm just...tired..." Kelsey replies.

"Uh-huh.  Well, whenever you're ready to talk about it, call me." I tell her.  I can always tell when something is bothering her.  I hope everything with Eddie is going okay.