Just Friends

“Holy crap. I'm gonna die.”

“Jen, if you die, I will kill you,” Teal stated, fixing her brown hair in the mirror.

She looked so pretty in the dark green bridesmaid's dress. I looked at myself in the long, white dress, unable to believe I was getting married. To Rob, my best friend. I
chided myself for thinking like that. Yes, he was my best friend, but we weren’t ‘just friends’ anymore. I hadn't had those thoughts in forever, why were they coming up now? Rob and I had been together for a over a year(the best year of my life!) and getting married was exactly what I had hoped for. So why were my knees shaking? Talinda came up and fixed a piece of my hair.

“Relax, Jen. Its just pre-wedding jitters,” she said smiling at me.

She looked just as gorgeous in the same bridesmaid's dress. Teal, her, Heidi, Jimi and Sarah–who were two of my college buddies–were my chosen bridesmaids. Anna, Linsey, and Elisa(the wonderful women who owned Mike, Phoenix, and Brad) were running the wedding, since I had never been one for something like that...And the fact that I was a nervous wreck. I'd be eternally loyal to those three.

It was a small wedding, just close friends and family. Rob was Jewish, but we decided to have a Protestant wedding. I think he didn't want to piss off my mother anymore. My parents were surprised to hear I was dating Rob. They didn't know it until I announced we were engaged. My mom went off her rocker and Dad didn't seem too pleased, but when we were in private he was happier. I remember the very interesting conversation my mom and I had when I had come to visit them with Rob.

She told me it was a bad idea, mentioning how he'd upset me in high school. Her first excuse was that “he was a musician”. I shrugged it off, telling her I could have been a musician too, if I would have tried. Then she brought up that he’d be “leaving me alone when he went on tour”. My justification was that I had a job that I couldn’t ever abandon for that long to go with him. The final straw was: “What if he...is with other women while he’s on tour?”

I’d never been so pissed at my mom in my entire life! I couldn’t believe she’d ever say something like that! “Well, you obviously don’t know Rob then, do you?! You didn’t freak out on Trish(my younger gold digging sister) when she married that seventy-seven year old golfer, did you?” I yelled and continued without waiting for an answer.

“No, you didn’t! You were happy that she found some rich, old guy! So screw it! You don’t have to come to the wedding! I’d actually prefer it if you didn’t. I love Rob and I'm marrying him, so get used to it!” That shut her up...for a little while.

Rob’s parents were the coolest. They were nice to me just like they had always been and Rob’s mom admitted that she’d always thought I’d be the one for Rob. That made me feel special. Now, I was here, actually on the day and I felt like throwing up.

“I'm gonna die,”I repeated. Teal shot Talinda a look and they both shook their heads at me.

“No, you're not.” Talinda swept her arm to the side. “Let's go. Your man awaits.”

I took a deep breath and made my way out to the hall, Talinda and Teal right behind me.

Rob’s POV

I ran my fingers through my hair over and over, trying to stabilize my heart. I never got this worked up except during concerts. “Shit...”I muttered.

Mike opened the door and stepped in. “You ready?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Dude, don’t you dare get cold feet on us. You’ll be fine. Unless her mom comes up and tries to kill you with her purse or something.”

“Way to help out, Mike,”I said sarcastically.

Mike rolled his eyes. “Come on, Rob. Relax, its just Jen.”

“Just Jen?” I questioned raising an eyebrow. A big understatement in my opinion. Jen was...my other half. She was always there for me and, I hoped I’d been for her. Now I hoped we’d be there for each other for the rest of our lives. Unless her Mom killed me in my sleep or something...

“What’s up?” Chester’s head poked around the door.

“Rob’s freaking out,” Mike sighed.

Chester rolled his eyes. “Really?” He chuckled. “You’ll be fine.”

“I was nervous at my wedding, but it turned out alright for me,”Mike said.

“Dude, I was married twice and I was never nervous,”Chester smirked.

“That might explain why you were married twice,”Mike replied.

Chester looked at him. “How the hell would that explain why I was–”

“Okay, while you two fight like you are married, I’m leaving,” I said, pushing past them out of the room and towards the front of the church. Those two, I swear...

Jen’s POV

We walked out to the lobby, the rest of the wedding party waiting. The guys didn't look bad in tuxes. It was the five of them, plus Dustin. He fit in pretty well with the rest of the group. With
six groomsmen and five bridesmaids, we'd ran into a problem. Jimi, however, had volunteered to walk down the aisle with a guy on each arm. Only she would...

“Lookin’ good,”Chester smiled, giving me a one-armed hug.

I returned a wavering smile. “Jen, don't look like you're about the puke,” Mike said.

“I can't,” I replied tensely. “I feel really...terrified right now.”

“Why? You just go up there say a few words, the preacher says some stuff. Boom! You're married!”

“Way to make one of the best days of my life sound special, Mike...”I mumbled.

“Fine! Be nervous. You should be. All those people staring at you as you get married. What if you screw up? Don't screw up, Jen. It might end the world.”

Heidi came up and smacked Mike on the back of the head and then walked away. “Joe! Your girlfriend just hit me!”

“Good,”was all Joe said.

“Why does everyone always take me so seriously?” Mike grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

I laughed at his irritated expression and hugged him. “I get your point, Mike.”

He put an arm around my shoulder. “You'll do fine, kid. Rob's nervous too and neither of you have got a reason to be.”

I noticed my dad standing a ways back, just surveying our crowd of...odd people as we talked. Before I could think, music started playing, and Mike and Teal were already walking down the aisle together.

“You ready, kiddo?” Dad said, standing beside me.

I let out a long breath. “Yeah, I think so. I'm just nervous.”

He patted my arm. “That's fine. I'm sure Rob is too.” I could see Rob from my standing point, but he couldn't see me. He’d cut his hair a little just for me and I smiled at how sweet I thought that was. Then it was Chester and Talinda down the aisle.

“Yeah,” I said. “You're okay with it right?” I looked at him, hoping that he wasn’t freaking out like Mom without me seeing it.

He raised an eyebrow at me. “You marrying Rob? Honey, it does not matter if I do or not as long as you’re happy. Sure, I was surprised that it was him, but he's not a bad guy when you get to know him.” Joe and Heidi were walking down then Dustin and Sarah.

I hugged him. “Thanks, Dad.” And finally it was Jimi with Phoenix and Brad. She seemed rather pleased.

Anna walked over to us, smiling. “You two ready?”

I slipped my arm through my dad's and stood at the door as the crowd rose from their seats. Oh wow...My stomach plummeted. There was more than I thought. My dad led me slowly down the aisle, aware of my leeriness. We got closer and closer, I kept my eyes locked on Rob the whole time.

“Breath, Jen,”Dad whispered in my ear as we got closer. I gave him a nervous smile.

I'd taken a chance for my eyes to wonder to Chester and Mike behind Rob. Bad idea. Chester was grinning like an axe murderer and I almost burst out laughing. He's such a douche! My eyes found my mom. She was crying. If it was just the usual “moms’ cry at weddings” deal or if it was that fact that she couldn’t believe I was still marrying Rob, I didn’t know. I didn’t care either. This was Rob and me day.

Dad handed me to Rob. I felt dazed and weak-kneed, unable to really focus on anything. When I faced Rob, the preacher began,“We are gathered here today...”, but I kinda blocked him out.

Rob said his vows as he slipped the ring on my finger. I barely got the vows out of my mouth, my eyes never leaving Rob's. I was too scared to look at any one else. The preacher’s voice seemed to be muffled like cotton was stuffed in my ears as I continued to look at Rob. He was giving me a lopsided smile that seemed only to be for me, one that made me wonder how I got so lucky.

“I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Rob Bourdon,”the preacher announced. I was Jen Bourdon. I hadn't actually thought of that before and now it hit me like a train. In a good way.

Rob dipped his head to kiss me, wrapping his arms around my waist, lifting me clear off the floor; my arms secured around his neck. Everyone applauded and I could hear the guys hooting behind Rob more than anyone else, which made me laugh into the kiss. Rob set me down and we made our way down the aisle, followed by the rest of the party.

We climbed into the black limo, not before I noticed a very unique and artful poster on the back of it that I immediately recognized as Mike's work. It read “Rob & Jen: Just Married”.

“I brought beer ” Dustin announced, hauling in a cooler.

“Oh, God,” I groaned, tipping my head against the back of the seat. All of us packed into this limo with a cooler full of alcohol was going to be very bad. Someone might die or get thrown out of the limo.

“Nobody give Jen any!” Chester said, grabbing a bottle from the cooler. “She'll give you a lap dance if you do.”

Everyone burst out laughing, even Anna, Linsey, and Elisa who must have been told the story sometime. I smacked him, feeling my face heat up. “I told you never to speak of that again.”

Chester just grinned at me and put his arm around Talinda's shoulders. “Maybe, but things like that I worth telling again.”

“I hate you,”I stated, trying to keep a straight face.

I didn’t take any of the beverages passed out, and neither did Rob. I wanted to remember this night in all its insanity. Chester attempted to moon people and Teal and Jimi were getting people to honk at us from the sun roof while we drove through LA. Frickin’ lunatics.

I leaned my head against Rob's shoulder and sighed, completely at peace there with all my friends and my husband. Husband. Rob was my husband. That thought was so unreal, yet it felt right.

His thumb drew circles on the side of my hand. “I love you,”he suddenly whispered in my ear.

“I love you too,”I whispered back, over the noise of our friends.

I went through the events to when we'd met in seventh grade, our fights and Sam(who knew where she was), becoming close friends, realizing my stupidity in that situation, and finally where we were now.

If someone would have told me when I first moved to Los Angeles that I would marry Rob, I would have laughed at them. Rob Bourdon, the guy who I didn't care about anymore was going to marry me? Yeah, right. But, apparently it was always supposed to happen. I was never the real romantic kind of person to express affectionate feelings, but I felt completely right with Rob and he made me the happiest girl in the world. Everything came naturally when we were together and we loved each other so much. I would admit to anyone, Rob was–and always had been–the best thing in my life.