Me: Not so well. But it was my first time. First times always suck, don't they?
Danny :) Not what I heard ;)
Me: Yes, I lost my virginity. Again.
Danny :) That's pretty funny. You need to get Lori to do a naughty dream week for me.
Me: She's planning a babymoon. Close enough?
Danny :) Doubtful. I do have another idea for your wedding though.
Me: Do tell.
Danny :) Install multiple stripper poles at the reception to encourage (in)appropriate dancing.
Me: You do know your wife bought our sorority the stripper's aerobic workout DVD and was voted to have the best stripper moves?
Danny :) I did NOT know that. WHY do I not know that?
Me: She can show us all her moves at my wedding. On the poles.
Danny :) I think I'd rather see those moves in private. On my pole. Gotta go;)
I wake up to Phillip kissing my shoulder. My back is spooned tightly into his chest. I'm still half asleep, half dreaming, but notice his kisses feel rough. The scruff on his face is tickling my shoulder.
"You need to shave," I whisper.
He runs his scruff up the side of my face and pulls my hips into a serious case of morning wood.
"Dang, Phillip, been having some good dreams?"
"Reliving last week, I think. We should have naughty dream week every week. Starting now."
After an amazing wake up, Phillip left for work, and I texted Danny.
Me: You awake?
Danny :) Yeah.
Me: Skype me?
Danny :) Cool.
I open up my laptop and see just part of Danny. One broad shirtless shoulder, half a muscular pec, an angular jaw, messy blonde hair, and one blue eye. Danny sucks at Skyping.
"Danny, the computer is your like your center. Line up under the ball."
He grabs the sides of the computer with both hands, and his whole face comes into view.
"You need a haircut," I tell him.
"What are you, my mother now?"
"No. How come you're up so early?"
"Lori was craving blueberry muffins."
"So you had to go get her some?"
"No, she's baking her mom's recipe. I'm keeping her company."
Lori yells from nearby. "Jade, why aren't you at work?"
Shit. She's way too smart for her own good. Who would even think of that?
"Um, I'm going in later. Working from home this morning," I lie.
Danny can usually tell when I'm lying. He says I always look up at the sky. He grins at me. His Devil Danny grin. Shit. He knows I'm lying.
I try to play it cool by saying, "What?"
"So, I heard the big news." He keeps grinning at me.
What!? Phillip promised he wouldn't tell. No. Phillip always keeps his promises. Danny must be talking about different news. "Um, what big news is that?"
"Naughty dream week was a big success."
I inwardly sigh with relief. "Yeah, it was a lotta fun. Phillip seemed to like it."
"He did. I talked to him on his way to work this morning. Heard all about how naughty you were."
"Did he say what he liked best?"
Danny looks at me confused. "Shouldn't you know that?"
"Oh, yeah, probably. I think it was the baseball. We almost got caught. Like if Cookie would've shown up a minute later, we would've been doing it."
Danny shakes his head at me. "Nope, that wasn't his favorite."
I squish up my nose. "Then it must've been the tent."
"No, don't you know your own fiancee? He liked Cancun."
"Really? Cancun wasn't that naughty."
"You attacked him in a beach chair in front of the restaurant where, if it weren't for your long dress hiding things, people could've seen?"
"Oh, yeah, that. That was kinda naughty. Okay, so I have a question for you. Hang on. I'm gonna get some cereal. I'm starved."
I quickly pour a bowl of cereal, add some milk, grab a spoon, then sit back in front of the computer. "Okay, so how did you set your wedding date? Did it have any significance?"
Lori's face comes rushing into the screen. She has a little bit of flour on her cheek. Danny gently wipes it off as she says, "Jade!! Are you setting a date? Did you set one?"
"Not yet, but we're talking about it."
Her face looks bright. "That's so exciting! And no, we just had a timeframe of when we wanted to get married. We picked three resorts and called to see if they were available. They all were, so we chose our favorite."
"It was a really pretty resort. We had a fun weekend. Not that your wedding wasn't great, but Phillip was pissed at me, which sort of made it seem not as pretty."
"You look tanner," Danny says.
"A little. We laid out in the sun a lot. You should see Phillip. He's way darker than I am."
"He always gets tanner than us."
"I know. It's sexy."
Lori sighs, "At least you don't burn like I do. So what do you think you want? Maybe you should start by picking a season. Which sounds best? Winter, spring, summer, or fall?"
I go out on a little limb when I say, "I was thinking a winter wedding might be pretty."
Danny and Lori's eyes both get big. Lori says, "Like this winter? That'd be so great! I won't be huge."
"I don't know when. I just thought winter might be cool. It might be next winter."
"Why would you wanna wait that long?" Danny asks. "I couldn't wait to marry Lori. I'm glad we had a short engagement."
"Did people give you crap about that?" I'm a bit concerned about this part.
Lori says, "My parents were sure I was pregnant. That pissed my dad off a bit. I assured them that I wasn't, and they got over it. They love Danny. I mean, who wouldn't?" She plants a sweet kiss on the side of his neck.
Danny says, "My mom thought we might be rushing things a bit."
"She did?" I pause and let out a sigh. "I have been dragging my feet a bit on the wedding planning."
Lori says, "I've noticed that, but why? You love Phillip."
"It's just hard without my parents. Like my mom would've helped me find the most amazing dress. I went shopping with Katie and Lisa, and I have no idea what I want. Well, I guess I know what I don't want. I don't wanna look like Cinderella."
"Jay..." Danny starts to say, but I keep going.
"And the Macs are great, but Phillip's mom is so like.....she's..." I struggle for the right word.
"She's a steamroller," Lori says.
I nod my head at her. "Yes. And I don't wanna get smooshed. Danny, I have a really big favor to ask."
Danny nods his head at me.
"You know your dad's been there for me through like everything."
"I know, Jay."
"I wanna know if it's okay with you if I borrow him."
"What do you mean?"
"I wanna ask him to walk me down the aisle."
Danny stares at me solemnly. He knows all the emotions wrapped up in what I'm asking. "Jay, you know he'll be honored."
"I feel bad though. I feel like all I ever do is go out there, eat your mom's cinnamon rolls, whine, beg for advice, or ask them to do something for me."