Baby, It's You & No One Else

The alarm clock next to my bed blared a that following week on Saturday morning. I rolled onto Eric's side of the bed, immediately feeling alone when my back hit the cool sheets. Of course they wouldn't be warm, they hadn't been since he left Friday morning. I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face and thinking about what I had to do today. But then I bolted up into my bed, remembering that today was the day Jake and Holly were due to get married.

It had been a last minute decision. The place Holly had always dreamed of getting married had a cancelation and everything had to be pulled together in less than a week. It had been beyond stressful trying to make sure everything would be ready. I think in all honesty, Eric was happy to get out of Minnesota and away from me. I was the maid of honor from hell, as I had overheard Blake tell Kara on the phone one night, and my mood swings were crazy. But yesterday morning I made sure to be all hugs, snuggles, and kisses to my boyfriend who would be finishing out his regular season this weekend.

But that was the down side. Eric was currently in Iowa and would not be back in time for the ceremony which would be taking place at 6:30 followed by the reception at 8:00. The game was schduled to start at 3:00 and end by 5:00 but with the media and post-game business, the chances of him getting back in time were slim, especially since the team was bused down to Iowa. I sighed as I slid out of bed and into the bathroom where I started to strip down. It was early mornings like this that made me wish Eric was here holding me and pulling me through the day. He was good at that, taking the stress away with just a gentle kiss or touch.

The hot water slid over my body but I didn't let myself enjoy it. I had to be back to Cold Spring by 10:00 to go through all the pre-wedding crap and keep Holly calm. I was not looking forward to the stress of today, but I was looking forward to my brother finally being married to the love of his life. Jake and Holly were made for each other and I was glad they found one another.

I stepped from the shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a zip up sweatshirt before throwing my hair in a messy bun and running out the door. I locked up since I was the only one in our house since Katie was in Iowa with the boys. I envied her actually because until I got the call early Monday morning, I had planned on going to Iowa with her.

The drive North to Cold Spring was relatively easy and I arrived at my house in 45 minutes thanks to my petal to the metal mentality. I dragged myself up the porch and was met with my family, minus Jake, eating breakfast at the table. My mom bustled around the kitchen making pancakes while Austin fed some to Zoe who clapped her hands when she saw me. I gave her a small smile and poked her stomach. She giggled at me and I kissed her noes before grabbing the plate my mom had already prepared for me.

"Thanks," I mumbled, sitting down next to Austin and across from David. He was obviously hung over and he held his head in his hands like someone was blaring loud music. "Rough night?" I asked, a smirk on my face.

"No idea. I'm never drinking again," he groaned, putting his head on the table.

"I told you that you wouldn't be able to keep up with the pros," Austin boasted while David flicked him off. "Hey, my daughter is at the table," Austin snapped, slapping at David's raised finger.

"She doesn't know what it means," David argued as he stood from the table.

"It doesn't matter. I want her innocent."

"She's a Kennedy. That's not going to happen, look at Riley. Pretty soon she'll be having sex in the woods too."

"We did not have sex!" I exclaimed, dropping my fork. "And what is with your obsession with it?"

"It's not mine. It's Jake's. He still thinks he's scarred for life." David laughed walking towards the stairs.

"Whatever, he didn't even see anything," I mumbled. My dad folded the newspaper down and gave me a look over the top of his glasses. It reminded me a lot of the one he gave Eric when he caught us making out on the couch years ago. Now that I think of it, Eric and I always seemed to be getting caught. I guess it's because when I'm with him, everything besides me and him fades out.

"Riley, hurry up. You need to get to Holly's soon," My mom told me, grabbing my plate of pancakes before I was finished. I rolled my eyes at her and turned in my seat.

"Mom, Holly's parents live three houses down. I don't think I'm in any danger of being late," I glanced at my dad, sharing a smile with him.

"Better early than late," she told me, filling the sink with water and beginning to wash the dishes from breakfast.

"Do you want help?" I asked, standing up and walking towards her.

"No, I want you to go to Holly's. You're the maid of honor, make sure she's still going to marry your brother." I laughed loudly as Jake entered the kitchen when she said that, a look of horror on his face when he turned to me.

"What did I miss?" He asked a little panicked.

"I haven't checked this morning, but last night she still wanted to marry you," I giggled and pulled him into a hug, clutching him to me like he was a teddy bear. "I can't believe you're getting married today," I mumbled into his chest, my face pressed into his shirt. I breathed in the smell of clean laundry and sighed as my phone vibrated in my jeans. I pulled it out and hand to manuver fast so Jake couldn't grab the phone from me.

"I want to talk to her," Jake howled at me as I picked up and walked outside. Holly laughed lightly.

"Tell him I love him and I'll be seeing him at the altar," she told me, knowing that would ease his mind a bit. It was obvious Jake was nervous which was very uncharactoristic of him.

"Holly says she hates you and to not expect her when the doors open. She hired a stripper to take her place," I told Jake who growled at me. "I'm kidding!" I screamed as he approached me. He backed off and hooked a right toward the stairs, bounding up them two at a time.

"I'm on my way over," I told her.

"Good because I need my MOH!" She exclaimed, her airy laugh coming out again.

"See you in a few," I told her before hanging up. I didn't even have time to put my shoes on before my phone was blaring again. I groaned and looked down at the screen, my heart skipping a beat when I realized it was Eric.

"Baby!" I yelled happily.

"Hi honey!" He replied with as much enthusiasum. This caused a ruckus to break out from around him, cat calls and "awes" could be heard as he yelled at Adam to shut up. He was most definitely on the bus heading to the stadium. I giggled and took the time to pull on my shoes and head out the door.

"How are you?" He asked me once things had died down.

"Right now, I'm fine. Call me in a couple hours when it's crunch time and I'll probably be freaking," I told him as I stepped onto the street.

"The wedding is going to be great. Everything will be just fine." He assured me.

"I don't know. I just wish you were here," I whispered, hoping he wouldn't catch it.

"Me too," he whispered back followed by a deep sigh. "Baby, I have to go. We just got to the stadium."

"Oh, right. Okay, well have a good game, I'll try to get access to a TV. I love you, good luck." I told him as I climbed the steps of Holly's house but she flew out the door, pointing to her car and telling her it was time to head to the beauty shop. I nodded and turned around, hopping into the car.

"Thank you. I love you too and tell your brother to not be a cry like a pussy." Eric laughed as Adam referred to Jake as the chick in the relationship. I giggled and told Adam and Eric to start focusing on their game.

"Bye honey," He cooed to me as I smiled, closing my eyes and momentarily pretending he was with me.

"Bye babe," I whispered before the line went dead.
***

I checked Holly's dress for the 16th time in the past hour, fluttering over it to make sure every piece of fabric was perfect, along with the other part of her attire, including her makeup and hair. I sighed, happy when she asked me for a minute alone. I ducked out of the room and sprinted down the hall to where my brother was waiting to walk out to the front of the church. I slid in front of the door and barely stopped before I pushed through the door.

"Score update please!" I screamed as I dive bombed onto the couch, not even caring if I made wrinkles in my dress or if I messed up a piece of my hair. My family surrounded the couch, Jake next to me and David next to him, all of them leaning forward, forearms resting on their knees as they watched the Gophers battle it out in over time.

"Still tied, we have the ball. Decker just got us a first down and we're now at mid field." David relayed, never taking his eyes off the screen. I watched as the ball was hiked back to Adam and he looked to pass to Eric, but made it incomplete after one of the Hawkeyes batted the ball out of the air. Every member of my family groaned, including my mom as we watched Eric clap his hands together, disappointed he didn't have that.

"It's alright, Decks. Next one. Let's go!" Jake clapped his hands together with enthusiasum, calm and collected because of the game despite the fact that he was to be married in a half hour.

My whole family sat on the edge of their seats, staring at the TV when the ball flew into Adam's hands one more time. I bit my lip nervously, watching the offensive line crumble against the strong Hawkeye defense, the black and gold moving closer to Adam with each movement. I swallowed hard, watching as Adam scrambled away from a tackle and throw the ball down the middle of the field to one of the recievers. I had long since lost Eric off the screen of the TV, but found him again as the football landed safely into his arms and he sprinted into the end zone. The whole room erupted in cheers and I screamed, hugging Jake in a tight headlock as the Gophers ran onto the field to celebrate with Eric.

"Hell yeah! That's how Decks does it! Another Golden Gopher win!" Jake howled, before giving my dad, Austin, and David high fives. He wrapped my mom in a hug and then was immediately ushered back into getting ready.

I watched with a huge grin on my face as his teammates slapped Eric on the back and roughly pulled him in for a hug. He did the same to Blake before he threw his arms around both of their shoulders and leaned his head back, screaming towards the sky. I laughed and clapped my hands, still bouncing up and down as I watched him celebrate with his teammates. The pure joy on his face slightly took my breath away as the camera zoomed in close on him.

I wanted to scream with joy when one of the ESPN reporters pulled him aside for an interview. I watched, returning to my perch on the couch as they asked him multiple questions about the game and then the upcoming bowl game that was yet to be determined. I rolled my eyes at all of his responses, knowing most of them were just a load of bullshit and he was reciting the same old stuff. But the sound of his voice wrapped around my body and created a safe blanket around me that would help get me to the moment where I could be back in his arms.

"Thank you Eric and good luck in January," the reporter said.

"Oh one more thing," Eric said, looking directly into the camera. My already shallow breathing hitched again as his goofy grin presented it's self on his face, the determined football player gone and replaced with my Eric. "I just wanted to say congrats to Holly and Jake, this one was for you. Sorry I can't be at the wedding. And Riley, I love you, I'll be home soon," He waved slightly into the camera and then headed off to the locker room to celebrate with his teammates.

I could tell by the sudden heat that ran down my skin that I was blushing like mad. I stood up, smoothing my dress out and avoiding the smirks and eye roll, I'm sure you can guess who did that, my family was sending my way.

"I'm going to go back to Holly now," I muttered, fleeing from the room and returning to where I was supposed to be. Holly was waiting for me and we locked eyes in the three way mirror when I slipped back into the room.

"Did they win?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow at me. I grinned and shook my head. She screamed and clapped her hands, "YES!"

I laughed and replayed the last play to her along with Eric's little shout out. She grinned at me, "You're next you know." She told me, gesturing to her wedding dress.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"You'll get married before David," she shook her head while I gave her an annoyed look. "Hell, I thought you would get married before Jake and I." She waved her hand at my head shake. "plus, David will never find someone in time to beat you to the altar."

"it's not a race Holly." I told her, getting up and grabbing her flowers.

"No, but I give it two years tops. You and Eric will be married in two years." She told me, taking the flowers from me and giving me an amused smile.

"How about we focus on the present. It's your day and when my day comes, you can tell me I told you so." I was desperate to change the subject, not wanting to go down that road. I still had to graduate from college and needed to get to a job. Plus, we always had to factor in the professional career Eric would most definitely have when we got married. It was just too much to sift through and I didn't want to get into it when there weren't currently any impending plans.

"Honey, they are ready for you," Holly's mom poked her head through the door. We both nodded and joined the other bridesmaids out in the hallway. I didn't know any of them since they were mostly Holly's college friends. I stepped in front of Holly, turning back to her and pulling her into a quick hug.

"We're about to be sisters!" I exclaimed as I pulled away, jumping a little.

"I know!" She squealed as we reached the big oak doors.

I barely had time to get into position before the music was playing and I was forced into the aisle, walking towards my beaming brothers. I grinned at all of them as their eyes sparkled with love. I knew I was lucky to have such a close and caring family. I owed them everything and I would never take them for granted nor trade them for anyone. I wanted to run to Jake and pull him into a hug, the little sister part of me wanting him to stay unmarried and have me be his number one girl, but the rational side of me told me to take my spot on the stairs.

Although I was happy for Holly and Jake, I was still feeling a little upset and alone. I never had to share Jake before Holly, I still didn't really have to. If I needed him, he always dropped everything and ran to my side, giving me a shoulder to cry on and the best advice. He knew me better than I knew myself and helped me through some difficult times in my youth. I was worried that all of that would change when he got married. Holly would become the number one priority and I didn't take well to being number two to any of my boys, including Jake. I was just scared that I would lose a part of Jake the second he said I do.

The doors opened once more and I kept my eyes locked on Jake as he took in the sight of Holly in her white dress. I grinned, tears poking the backs of my eyes as Jake's whole world lit up when they smiled at each other. I watched him rock slightly on his heels, bouncing with anticipation to have her in his arms. I bit my quivering lip, wondering if Eric looked at me like that. It was evident in that moment how much Jake loved her and I felt my fears lessen as he took her hand from his dad. I watched him fight with himself, knowing he wasn't allowed to kiss her yet. Holly handed me her boquet and I smiled at her, more tears forming in my eyes as I saw some in hers.

The preacher started talking and I droned him out, taking my duties as a MOH very seriously. I straightened out Holly's train slightly and then tilted my face back to the ceremony. I felt my eyes trailing over to my parents where my mom dabbed at her eyes, trying to keep her makeup from running. A few of my tears leaked out and I wiped them descretely. I glanced back towards Jake who held a slight smirk to the corners of his mouth, satisfied that I was showing some sort of emotion. The vows started and I soon had to hide my face as the tears streamed down at my brother's kind words. I was always a sucker for a good romantic speech and Jake was killing me with his vows at the moment.

Before I could even compose myself, the preacher was announcing them husband and wife and Jake pulled Holly in, pressing a firm kiss to her lips. He whispered how much he loved her over the cheers of the congregation. I smiled at Holly and handed her back her white roses, watching as they headed down the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Jake Kennedy. I sighed, contently happy that the whole wedding really did go off without a hitch. Eric was right, I had nothing to worry about.
***

Nothing sucks more than being at a very romantic event and not having the one you loved next to you. I was finding this out the hard ways as I sat at one of the empty tables, watching as everyone danced and got tipsy around me. I sipped my water, yes I opted to stay away from alcohol, and surveyed the room around me. I laughed at my mom's drunk smile and the content smile my dad held as he watched my mom tell stories about Jake when he was little. I shifted my attention to David who was hitting on one of the bridesmaids with no luck. I giggled as Austin sat down next to me with Zoe asleep in his arms and scoffed.

"He's doing everything wrong. And here I thought I taught him right," Austin shook his head in disgust.

"Obviously not," I giggled, brushing some of Zoe's hair away from her face. "You should bring her home."

"I will after I dance with my baby sister," He told me, waving my dad over so he could take Zoe. Austin grabbed my hand and spun me out to the dance floor as one of the various remakes of I Don't Want To Miss A Thing came softly through the speakers. I gently laid against his shoulder, content in the moment despite the obvious feeling of lonliness that hovered over me at Eric's absence. I cringed at the thoughts in my head, feeling incredibly ridiculous that I missed Eric when he was only a state away compared to an internity away. I could tell that Austin was putting up a front for Jake but he was hurting a bit, remembering his wedding with Morgan.

"Are you okay?" I whispered to which he nodded.

"I'm not going to lie to you, it's hard. But I'm happy for Jake. I want him to experience what I got to for three wonderful years and I want that same thing for you too," He whispered, his cheek leaning slightly against my head. I nodded, feeling a lump form in my throat, upset that Austin was hurting.

"Do you miss her?" I whispered, knowing he needed to talk about it for a little bit.

"Everyday. I wish she was here to watch Zoe grow up and be her mom, she would have been better at this whole parenting thing than I was. But even though I miss her as a whole, I also miss the little things like getting to kiss her goodnight or waking up next to her in my arms," He told me, his eyes having a far off look to them. "Don't ever take that stuff for granted with Eric. And always tell him you love him."

"I know. When she.. left, I learned to not fight about the little things and to cherish the time I have with him. It was a hard lesson to learn from such a difficult consequence." I sighed.

"Yeah, but I'm glad she isn't suffering anymore. Those last couple months were rough." Austin mused, rubbing my back as a tear escaped down my cheek.

"How can you be so collected when you talk about it. How did you ever find the strength to move on?" I asked, knowing it had to be harder than it looks.

"Faith, Riley. I had to have faith that this is what was best for her and our family. I still don't think it is but I know there's a reason for this, a plan. The man upstairs wouldn't do this if he didn't think I could handle it. I know it seems cruel but when you think about it, what other choice do I have? She would want me to move on and be happy, I need to." He had a faint smile on his face as he looked over my shoulder before he dropped a kiss on my cheek. "Just remember, to tell Eric, everyday, no matter how mad you are at him, just how much you love him."

"He'd never understand how much it is though," I let a soft smile turn the corners of my mouth up.

"I think I have a pretty good idea," a deep voice came from behind me as Austin dropped his arms from around me. A pair of familiar arms encircled my waist and Austin grinned down at me. I closed my eyes and leaned into Eric's chest, enjoying the scent that filled my nostrils and intoxicated my brain. He dropped a kiss on my shoulder as Austin walked away, bidding us a good night and heading off to find a very drunk Jake. Eric stayed pressed against my back, swaying us to a random love song and staying silent.

"I am so proud of you," I whispered as I laced our fingers together and letting our intwined hands rest on my hips where his hands had originally been.

"Thank you," he whispered. I didn't have to see his face to know that a slight blush was dusting his cheek bones. He always did that when anyone close to him gave him a compliment. He was an incredibly modest person but he handled the compliments better in the limelight than when he was one-on-one with a family member or a closer friend. "How was the ceremony?" He rested his chin on my shoulder, the stubble on his cheek and chin rubbing against my bare skin.

"It was very romantic and nothing like Jake at all. But you would have been proud, he didn't cry at all."

"Mmm, that's an impressive feat for little Jakey," Eric smirked as Jake walked by, flipping Eric off.

"Nice of you to show up, superstar," Jake slurred slightly, a goofy grin on his face. I turned in Eric's arms, pressing my face into his neck so I could laugh at Jake. My body shook and Eric smiled, feeling my giggles against his neck.

"Sorry, I had other priorities," Eric dodged Jake's attempt to slap him upside the head and reached out to steady him as Jake tipped a bit to far to the right. "Lay off the booze, Jay. You need to start sobering up if you want to get lucky tonight. Passing out on top is not attractive."

"Fuck you Decker," Jake punched his shoulder, this time getting a direct hit.

"Nah, that's Holly's job now," Eric insisted.

"Whatever. You keep this punk under control. And if you want to bang, don't do it around me." Jake mumbled to me as he walked away to find Holly, not that she was hard to miss in the puffy white dress and all.

"He's waaaaasted," I told him, making myself sound like Jake. Eric laughed and twirled me around by my hand before pulling me back into his body again.

"That he is. But it's a celebration which means it's okay."

"Yeah, a celebration that he won't be single the rest of his life," I giggled, watching across the room as Jake tried to get Holly to dance with him. She shook her head and laughed as he nuzzled into her neck.

"Cheers!" Eric yelled and I ducked my head as people gave him a weird look.

"You're so ridiculous," I laughed, squeezing his hands. I stopped moving and swung his hands around.

"What are you doing?" He questioned, "dance with me." His voice came down into a low whisper as he pulled me close again, pressing our bodies together so that not even a breath was in between us. I smiled at him, not tucking my head under his chin, but instead using my heels to my advantage and placing kisses on his face and lips. He pressed my lips to his tightly, his tongue slipping along my bottom lip, teasing me by pulling away when I tried to deepen the kiss.

"Marry me someday?" He asked, a look of complete seriousness on his face. I smiled at him, my heart breaming with love and affection knowing he wanted me in his life forever. We had been together for so long already and he still wanted to make that commitment to me in the future which meant it would turn into our future. I felt my body relax into his chest as he pulled me in for a simple hug.

"There's no one else I'd rather marry than you, Eric." I murmured next to his ear, kissing his cheek softly before laying against his shoulder, perfectly content as we swayed to the music the rest of the night, our future locked up with a simple promise.