Making Hits for Your Heart

John and Jamison were on a necessary trip to the mall as John had only packed a few of his many t-shirts he had accumulated over the years, a few plaid shirts to layer over the t-shirts, some jeans, and a leather jacket in case it got cold. None of which were appropriate for a wedding.

“Do these pants make my butt look big?” John asked, self consciously as he walked out of the dressing room in a pair of black slacks and a white form-fitting button up shirt.

“Is yes the answer you’re going for?” Jamison asked partially sarcastic as she cocked her eyebrow at John causing him to laugh.

He shook his head, “No.”

“I think they fit nicely. That’s all I can say…” She shrugged nonchalantly as she was leaning against the wall looking at her phone.

“Then I will purchase the pants… and this shirt.” John announced, “Do I need a jacket to go with the pants? A necktie?” He asked to no one in particular, somewhat speaking to himself.

“Just wear a bowtie and suspenders… or something.” Jamison looked at John completely amused by his worry over everything. “This wedding isn’t super formal.”

“I still don’t want to offend anyone by showing up in my normal attire.” He gestured behind him to his current attire that was in a pile—vintage Tom Petty t-shirt, a plaid shirt he wore over it, and a holey pair of jeans.

“Don’t worry about it, 90’s grunge is making a comeback…” She joked causing John laugh at himself in embarrassment.

“Shut up.” He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck averting eye contact with her.

“I think this will be more than fine for the wedding. You gotta thank H&M for having super cheap shit but still makes you look super dapper.” She pointed over at the mirror for John to look at himself.

“God, I hate shopping…” John said while taking a look at himself in the mirror.

Jamison laughed at his remark, “It’ll all be over soon…”

“I only have my chucks with me…” He said self-consciously looking at his shoes.

“Dude, just wear them. I’m pretty sure no one will be “offended” if you wear sneakers. I did kind of ask you spur of the moment.” Jamison offered, as she was sticking her phone into her bag.

“You’re taking responsibility…” John joked, pointing a finger at her.

“Alright alright, I will… go change.” She pushed him into the dressing room.

“Your eyes can’t handle me looking this amazing?” He teased closing the curtains and getting dressed back into his own clothes.

“No… I just really want a pretzel. I mean I could leave you here.” Jamison answered nonchalantly, catching John completely off guard.

John stuck his head out of the curtain and looked at her, “You’re mean.” He joked.

“Boohoo O’Callaghan.” She mocked, pretending to wipe her imaginary tears as John went back to putting on the rest of his clothes.

“Let’s go ring this up and you can get your damn pretzel.” John said, coming out of the dressing room and putting his arm around Jamison and pulling her into a semi-headlock hug blend as they were walking towards the register.

“Thanks sucka.” She laughed, grabbing the clothes from John’s free arm.

“What are you doing?” He asked, as they stopped by the registers not getting in line.

“Buying these clothes…” She answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“No way, you are not buying me clothes.” John said, attempting to grab the clothes from Jamison.

“I think it’s only fair since I am dragging you to this wedding.”

“You aren’t dragging me… you invited me as your date. This means I will buy my own clothes and that’s the end of this conversation.” He said taking the clothes from Jamison and tucking it under his arm. “Sweet innocent Jamie, trying to put a fast one on me.” He said in a teasing voice using his free hand to pinch her cheek.

“Alright crapbag.” She chuckled swatting his hand away, “I will be outside, I have to make a quick call.” As she pulled out her phone and gave it a little shake.

“Alright.” He laughed getting in line to purchase his items.

“I can help the next person in line.” The girl at the far end of the cash counter said. John walked up to the girl with his clothes and placed them on the counter.

“Hi.” John said, as John was watching her scanning each item.

“Hi, how are you today?” She asked cheerfully folding each article of clothing and placing it into a bag.

“I’m doing good, and yourself?”

“I’m alright.” She smiled, “Your total is 112.87.” She said reading off the register.

“Here you go.” John handed her his credit card.

She began swiping the card and pressing a few things on the register before handing John back his card, “Just sign here.” She said gesturing to the small electronic machine in front of John. “So special event?”

“Going to a wedding…” John answered, as she signed the electronic receipt.

“Is that your girlfriend?” The girl nodded her head towards the exit where Jamison was standing outside of on her phone completely engrossed in her phone call.

John looked at Jamison and smiled to himself before turning his attention back to finish his purchase, “Oh no, we’re just friends but we are going to the wedding together.” He said, with a chuckle completely caught off guard by the question.

“I thought you two were dating after seeing your lovers quarrel by the dressing rooms.” She admitted with a chuckle, causing John to slightly blush.

“No, that’s just us being… us.” He said laughing nervously, not knowing how else to explain the dynamic that was John and Jamison.

“Well, just so you know… you two are quite cute when you are in a tiff.” She said, as the receipt was coming out of the machine. “Anyways, I hope you guys have a great time.” She put the receipt in the bag and handed it over to John.

“Noted, and thank you… I hope you have a great day—” John looked at her name tag. “Amy.” He said with a smile.

“You too…” Amy said, pausing and waiting for John to introduce himself.

“John.” He smiled sheepishly.

“Have a good day John.” Amy smiled, giving him a small wave.

“Bye.” John said, before taking his bag and heading out the door to see Jamison finishing off her phone call.

“You ready?” She asked putting her phone back in her bag.

“I’m set. We can go on the grand search for your pretzel.” John said lifting his bag of purchases.

The two walked over to the mall food court and got Jamison a pretzel. The two were talking about random things till two girls stopped them. They both had looked no older than 17 and completely opposites of one another—one was blonde, the other brunette, the blonde had short hair, the brunette had long hair… one thing both had were nervous smiles and excitement plastered on their faces.

“Excuse me?” The blonde one said, timidly.

“Yes?” John said, with a smile trying to ease the situation.

“Are you John Oh from The Maine?” The two girls both asked in unison.

“Sometimes.” He joked, causing the two girls to giggle profusely.

“We’re huge fans… we were wondering if it wasn’t a problem, if we could get a photo and autograph?” The brunette asked, gesturing to her phone.

John smiled happily, “Of course!” he went over to the blonde one and posed with her first as her friend took a few photos of them together on her phone before her friend did the same for her.

“Thank—thank you.” The blonde said, as John began signing the napkin the two handed him.

“What are you names?” John asked, as he wanted to personalize their napkins.

“I am Taylor and that’s Allison.” The blonde said pointing to herself than her friend.

“Here you go Taylor.” John handed one napkin to her, “And for your Allison.” He handed the other napkin.

“Thank you… we also love the new single “Happy” it sounds awesome.” Allison gushed as Taylor nodded her head in agreement.

“Well, that’s thanks to this lovely person here.” John chuckled, gesturing over at Jamison who was mid-bite with her pretzel. “That’s Jamison Song, she co-produced the new album. So when it comes out and you hate it—blame her.” He joked, as Jamison rolled her eyes chewing her pretzel.

“Thanks dude, just thanks.” Jamison said, as she swallowed her pretzel lightly pushing John.

“She produced the album? We thought she was your girlfriend or something.” Taylor said as she and Allison had completely baffled expressions after finding out who Jamison actually was (and probably thankful she wasn’t who they thought she was).

“No, I am just a friend… and one of the producers for their upcoming album.” Jamison said, with a smile assuring the two girls that the beloved John Oh was not taken off the market.

“That’s so cool, how did you get that job?” Allison asked, seeming genuinely curious on how Jamison was a producer.

“As a producer or specifically for The Maine?” Jamison asked with a smile.

“Both.”

“For The Maine, it was more they were forced to…” She said jokingly while looking at John who was shaking his head in disagreement, “The producer part… lots of learning, working hard, and more hard work.” She explained.

“That’s something I want to do when I’m old enough…” Allison said, with a dreamy sigh.

“If you are serious about it…” She handed her pretzel to John before digging through her bag, “Here’s my card. Email me sometime if you have any questions or need advice.” Jamison handed her card to Allison who looked at her in complete disbelief.

“Really? Wow, thank you…” Allison said, staring at the card like it was a goldmine.

“You’re welcome.” Jamison said, giving her a smile.

“We should get going… you have a rehearsal dinner.” John said, as he handed Jamison back her pretzel.

“Right…” She said, “It was nice meeting you guys.”

“It was nice meeting you both, hopefully I’ll see you guys at a show?” John said with a hopeful smile.

“Of course.” The two girls said in unison causing John and Jamison to smile at their adorable tendencies.

“It was so nice to meet you both.” Allison said, giving them a wave.

“Bye guys.” John said as he and Jamison gave the girls a final wave before walking off.

“They were nice…” Jamison said, as they were heading back into John’s truck.

“We have nice fans…” He said proudly, “But that was nice of you giving your email to those girls.”

“It’s hard being a girl—especially in this industry. I feel like I should especially help girls out if they ever wanted to learn about the industry. Plus, you and I both know if they have the wrong intentions of getting into the industry whether it’d be to date a band dude or whatever, they won’t get far…” She explained, as they got into John’s truck.

“True.” He said, “Doesn’t make your gesture any less nice.”

“I guess.” She shrugged nonchalantly.

“You really know how to avoid compliments…” He chuckled, watching her casually eat her pretzel.

“Yep.” She said, smiling as John started his car and began driving back to Jamison’s house.

“So, what is the dress code to the rehearsal dinner?” John asked.

“90’s grunge.” She laughed as John swatted his arm trying to hit her.

“You are such an asshole.” He said, as he saw Jamison stick her tongue out at him.

“I was going to actually wear some flannel.” She said sarcastically causing John to laugh hysterically.

“You’re so mean, you words they hurt me.”

“No, but seriously… it’s casual. It’s at Matt and Renee’s condo. Just friends…” She said, as the laughter in the car died down.

“You sure I’m allowed to crash?”

“Your presence is required—the minute I told Matt and Renee heard I was bringing a date. They want living-proof.” She said half jokingly with a laugh.

“Are you always at the singles table?” He asked teasingly but also genuinely curious on how she would answer.

“Pretty much.” She said with a sheepish chuckle.

“Come on, let’s go get ready… and we can prove to your friends I am real.” John said, happily trying to liven the mood in the car even more. As he stepped on the gas a bit more and sped his way back to Jamison’s house.

After stopping by Jamison’s house and getting ready for the rehearsal dinner, the two drove to the Twin Peaks neighborhood over to Matt and Renee’s condo. John had gotten the breakdown about Jamison’s two friends who were about to get married. Renee was a PR maven mostly for corporate events and Matt was a product engineer at Apple. He had laughed as Jamison kept mentioning that these were the friends with the most normal jobs and would always rag on Jamison since she was the youngest, she had cautioned John about the possible heaps of questions he might be receiving as the night went on.

The two got out of John’s truck grabbing the box of crème pie they bought on the way and knocked on the door.

“Renee!!!” Jamison said happily opening her arms for a hug as the door opened.

“Jamison!!!” Renee said embracing her friend. “I am so glad you are here—with—oh my gosh… you’re—“ She looked up in surprise at who was standing at her door holding a box of pie.

“Renee, this is John O’Callaghan. He’s in that band you kind of like—The Maine.” Jamison said in a causal manner but with a smirk upon her face seeing her friend’s reaction.

“Hi.” She simply said, a bit speechless but not taking her eyes off John or blinking.

“Renee, you’re getting married tomorrow. Don’t look at John like that…” Jamison said, snapping her fingers in front of Renee’s face to bring her back to reality.

Renee came out of her daze and focused her stare on Jamison. “Sorry, you just didn’t mention you’d bring someone work related. I thought you just met a nice guy somewhere.” She said, “Not that you’re not nice. I’m sure you are.” She said looking at John with a semi-apologetic smile causing him to chuckle.

“I’d like to think I am.” John said, jokingly causing Renee to blush significantly.

“Come inside… everyone is already here.” She said, guiding them into the house as they all walked toward the dining room.

“We bring dessert…” Jamison announced walking into the room as one of the men sitting at the table immediately got up and walked towards her.

“Matt!!!” Jamison yelled happily, embracing the tall sandy blonde man who opened his arms to embrace her.

“Jamison!!!” Matt yelled, giving her a small lift while hugging her.

“Is the iPhone 7 coming out yet?” Jamison joked, as Matt put her back down.

“I’m keeping my mouth shut for now…” Matt smiled, as Jamison and John took the two empty seats at the dinner table.

The girl with long blonde wavy hair who was sitting at the middle of the table with a smirk upon her face looked at John for a moment before reverting her gaze back at Jamison. “Jamison, you actually brought a date… and a really good looking one at that.” She said, which cause everyone to laugh.

“That is Ava, maid of honor… and her boyfriend Jake.” Jamison said, as she gestured her hand over to each person introducing John. “Ava has no filter… Jake doesn’t either.”

“It’s what has kept us together for 4 years.” Ava said proudly putting her hand over Jake’s.

“And the sex.” Jake said jokingly, causing everyone to laugh.

“That too.” Ava agreed, causing more laughter to erupt.

“That is Sarah and Meg—the other two bridesmaids.” Jamison continued to introduce. “Their boyfriends Caleb and Jude—the groomsman.” Everyone began giving John a wave and smile. “Matt’s brother and best man—Henry and his partner Mark, who is also a groomsman. Everyone this is John.” Jamison introduced gesturing over at John as all eyes became to be on him.

“Nice to meet you all.” John said, giving a small wave and smile to everyone.

“Same. We opened wine and we’re about to have dinner.” Sarah said, as she got up and brought over wine to Jamison and John. “Do you want a beer or anything?”

“I’m fine with wine for now…” Jamison said, as she shook her head while Sarah began filling her wine glass.

“Same.” John said, as he watched his wine glass being filled.

“Alright dinner is ready…” Renee said, bringing out the last plate of food. “Let’s eat!”

During dinner John had learned a lot about Jamison— beyond the girl in the studio. From stories about how she once attempted to make beer in her bathtub to how Jamison was Jude’s wing woman and helped him snag a date with Meg. Lots of laughter and smiles were surrounding the dinner table while sharing a meal with (new) friends.

“So John, what’s it like working with Jamison?” Caleb asked John, with a smirk looking over at Jamison who just shook her head in embarrassment.

“She never brings over any of her musician friends… I think she’s embarrassed by us.” Henry joked, taking a sip of his beer.

“Because every time I think about it—one of you has to always ask if I can bring Adam Levine over… or something like that.” Jamison said rolling her eyes, “The worst kind of embarrassment is second hand… which I know I’ll be getting if I brought someone over. I am taking a risk with John. Behave yourselves.” She pointed a finger at each of her friends while giving them a half joking stern look causing everyone to laugh.

“Did you tell John story about us?” Matt asked looking at Jamison with a smirk.

“Nope, I think she kind of blew her cover though when she answered the door.” Jamison said, with a laugh causing John to look at Jamison and Matt with a quizzical expression.

“What’s going on?” John asked, with a chuckle as he looked around the table at everyone.

“Well, I am sure you gathered but Renee is a fan of The Maine… Matt is too. But back in the day, before those two got together and we were all just friends, but those two had some serious more than friends tension going on they weren’t embracing till I don’t know who did it first but I do know the first time you guys kissed was at a Maine show.” Jamison explained, with a smile looking over at Renee and Matt who looked at each other with a loving gaze.

“It was…” Renee admitted, “An Evening with The Maine tour.”

“It was totally during ‘Whoever She Is’ you all thought I was singing along with the crowd like a goober. I totally saw you guys out of the corner of my eye.” Jamison said, pointing at the two as everyone at the table was laughing.

“We can’t be sneaky with you…” Matt said, smiling over at Jamison.

“I see all…” Jamison joked, “And before that Renee and I went to your shows and she was totes in love with you.” She looked at John who let out a laugh.

“3 years later and now… marriage.” John said as he looked over Matt and Renee who were both looking at one another happily feeling a bit envious.

“If it wasn’t for you and your band… we might still be just friends.” Matt said, with a smile.

“Nonsense. I’m sure you guys would have just found a better band to have your first kiss to. But that’s so awesome to hear…” John said, as he smiled. Stories like this always tugged at his heartstrings and made what he did that much more fulfilling and amazing.

“Oh right, I called everyone to make sure everything is ready for tomorrow and the DJ is actually going to be there a half hour later but we’ll still be on schedule.” Jamison mentioned randomly.

“You know, despite having to step down being my maid of honor cause of work… I hope you know you still planned a shitload more than Ava did.” Renee said, looking at Ava with a smirk.

“Hey, I assumed I would just be the bitchy bridesmaid not HBIC.” Ava said, nonchalantly causing everyone to laugh.

“I did what I could… I will be there in the morning to make sure sound check goes well with the DJ before you get there.” Jamison said, assuring her friend she had everything under control.

“Thank you.” Renee said looking at Jamison completely grateful.

“Of course.” Jamison said smiling back and shaking her head.

“We should call it tonight, we all have a big day tomorrow… some bigger than others.” Meg said, with a smile looking over at Matt and Renee.

Everyone got up to help clear the table then began grabbing their coats getting ready to leave.

“It was very nice meeting you John and so glad to have you apart of our festivities… we’ll see you tomorrow.” Renee said giving John a hug. John saw Matt and Jamison holding back laughter at the sight they were seeing.

“Thank you for letting me join, and congratulations once again. I’ll see you tomorrow.” John said, giving Matt a handshake.

After saying their final greetings to everyone they headed back to John’s truck and to Jamison’s house. The two walked through the door and quickly plotted on the couch.

“Did you have fun? I’m hoping they didn’t grill you too bad.” Jamison asked, looking over at John who was completely lounging happily on her couch looking completely content.

“No, I had a wonderful time. You have quite lovely friends.” John said, with an assuring smile.

“That I do…”

“Did you really drop out being the maid of honor to work on our album?” He asked, feeling a bit guilty the minute he heard Renee words but wanted to hear the words from Jamison.

“Yeah but… it was worth it.” She smiled, “I mean I didn’t plan on working on your album as a producer. I thought if I was just part of the engineering or something I could fly back and forth to help with the wedding but when Brendan suggested I produce it with him… things had to be rearranged and honestly, I kind of hoped you guys would have ousted me. But no regrets. If none of that happened, we wouldn’t be here at this very moment—you probably wouldn’t be coming to this wedding and maybe we wouldn’t even be friends.” She shrugged.

“I don’t even want to imagine that…” John let out a nervous chuckle as he learned his head on his arm but not dropping his attention on Jamison.

“It worked out well, I just did what I could via Skype and Ava did an awesome job with it all cause she is an assertive-no-filter-force-of-nature… I think the only reason why I was even picked to be maid of honor was cause I introduced the two. The whole wedding planning thing—I don’t think I could have done it right.” Jamison said, as even the thought of helping plan a wedding was freaking her out a bit.

“I think you never give yourself enough credit.”

“I don’t think you realize my only skills are within the studio.” She said jokingly but meaning every word. “Kind of useless beyond that.”

“Nonsense.” John said with a smile, “I hope you can just accept that everyone considers you a wonderful person and that you’re capable of doing anything really.”

“I don’t feel like I am…” She said nonchalantly before getting up from the couch, “I gotta get up early, so I am going to crash… I’ll see you tomorrow John.”

“Night Jamie.” John said, hoping he hadn’t upset her or anything.

“Night John.” She said, heading to her room.

------

The next morning John woke up in the spare bedroom to the sun shining through the blinds. He looked at his cell phone to see it was 10AM and the wedding would be at 1PM. He got out of bed to see if Jamison was still at home or if she was already out to help with the wedding. He got to the kitchen to see coffee already brewed in the machine with a note attached to it.

Good morning sunshine!
I bummed a ride early with a friend… here is the address to the wedding venue.
Help yourself to anything in the house, if you need anything call me immediately or raid the place till you find what you need.
Also, wear sunglasses as it is a sunny beautiful day…
I’ll see you later!
Let’s have a great day (date)!

- Your date aka Jamison aka Jamie aka Me

John smiled to himself and placed the note back down next to the coffee machine and grabbed a mug, poured some coffee, and started his day.

After showering and getting ready, John took a final look at himself in the mirror and grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. The drive up to Napa Valley was scenic and quiet with just George Harrison filling the speakers. These were the kind of drives John loved taking. He parked his car and got out, putting his sunglasses atop of his head before grabbing his cell phone and calling Jamison while walking around to look for her.

“Hey you, where are you?” Jamison asked cheerfully as John walked to what seemed to be where the reception would later take place.

“I think I’m walking to the reception area right now…” John said into his phone, while looking around his surroundings.

A few seconds later he felt a hand tap his shoulder before turning around to see Jamison in a short sleeve light grey lace dress that cut off right above her knees with her just above the shoulder length hair in light waves and her makeup perfectly done. “Hey.” She greeted him with a smile.

“Hey—oh wow.” John said, staring at her completely taken aback by how amazing she looked. Sure he had seen her in skirts occasionally while they were in the studio but seeing her dressed up was something completely different and a pleasant surprise.

“What’s up?” Jamison asked, putting her hand on John’s shoulder looking a bit worried.

“Nothing… you clean up really nice Jamie and it’s nice to know you actually don’t have a wooden leg.” He joked, looking at her legs.

“You never know.”

“You look beautiful.” He said feeling like he muttered and whispered his words.

“Thanks, it’s cause I’m putting on my other face. But you look good too.” She smiled, pointing to her made up face. “Come on… I’ll take you to your seat then I gotta put on the rest of my face.” She grabbed John by the arm and dragged him to wear the ceremony would be.

“This is a really beautiful wedding…” He said to himself, as he looked at the seats being filled with Jamison dragging him along.

“You’re sitting next to my good friend Mike, he will keep you entertained.” Jamison said, gesturing over to the empty seat in front of them with Mike in the seat next to it giving a slight wave to the two. “Mike, take good care of him… or I’ll kill you.” She said jokingly with a smile.

“Yes ma’am.” Mike said, giving a mock salute to Jamison.

She placed hand on John’s shoulder and smiled. “I’ll find you at the reception…” She said.

“Alright.” John said with a nod before Jamison gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before running off.

“Hi, I’m Mike.” Mike said, letting out his hand for John to shake.

“John.” John said, accepting his hand and giving it a firm shake.

“Nice to meet you man…”

“Same here.” He smiled, “How do you know Jamison?”

“I work with Matt at Apple, she came to a office holiday party once and we became friends—bonded over our love of craft beers.” He chuckled, recalling the story. “How about you?”

“She helped produced my band’s latest record.”

“That’s awesome…” Mike shook his head, “She’s a good person.”

“She is…”

The ceremony began, and slowly the wedding party were making their way down the aisle. Matt and Henry walked down the aisle then slowly the bridesmaids and groomsmen walked down— the bridesmaids all wearing different style of dresses to suit their style and taste. Meg and Jude walking down first then Sarah and Caleb, finally Jamison and Mark walked down the aisle. John smiled to himself as he watched Jamison hold her bouquet of various light pink flowers linking arms with Mark and carefully walk down the aisle. John had saw Jamison give him a quick wink as she was walking past him before making it down the aisle. He chuckled to himself as she quickly composed herself when she got to the end of the aisle.

Throughout the ceremony, John felt a mixture of happiness and envy. Weddings always made him happy—seeing two people celebrate their love for one another but on the other hand it made him sad, he was alone. He wanted to look at someone as lovingly as Matt did to Renee and share that with all his friends and family. He watched as the two say their vows and look at one another desirously in love. He couldn’t help smile the entire time.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife…” The minister said with a smile, “You may kiss the bride.”

Renee and Matt kissed happily as everyone began applauding for the two. John watched Jamison look at him and smile giving him another wink, he gave her a thumbs up. After the wedding, Mike and John had headed to the reception and went to the bar and shared a beer with one another before heading to their table.

John felt someone grab him by the shoulders he turned around to see Jamison with a smile, “Hey.” She said taking a seat next to John.

“Hey you.” John said, happily.

“Was Mike nice to you?” Jamison asked looking at Mike teasingly.

“Perfect gentleman.” John said, jokingly looking at Mike with a loving gaze causing the three of them to laugh.

“Awesome.” She said, giving a fist bump to Mike.

Suddenly the entire reception area was filled with music. “We’d like to welcome the newly wedded Mr. and Mrs. Connor.” The DJ announced, as Renee and Matt walked into the reception. Everyone cheered and the festivities were about to continue.

“Let’s go eat…” Mike said, nodding his head over to the buffet.

“You guys go ahead…” Jamison said, getting up from her seat. “Can you make me a plate, I just gotta go check on something and I’ll be back.” Before running off to where the stage and dance floor were.

After a few minutes Jamison got back to the table to see John and Mike with plates of food surrounding their table.

“I brought you extra macaroni.” Mike said with a smile, as Jamison sat back in her seat and grabbing a fork digging into her plate in front of her.

“Thank you Mike… where is Holly?” Jamison asked realizing Mike’s fiancé wasn’t present.

“She couldn’t make it, she’s in New York for some conference.” Mike said, as he took a bite of his food.

“Sucks… I was looking forward to see her.” She said, genuinely feeling a bit bummed out by the absence of one of her friends.

“Next time, whenever you’re here to make a record…” Mike half joked, causing Jamison to laugh.

“I’ll make time before that happens.” She told him.

“You always do…” Mike smiled, “So John, do you want to hear stories about Jamison?”

Jamison’s eyes widened, she quickly swallowed her food. “No—“ she said, trying to sound stern but failing and sounding like she was in panic more than anything.

“Yes I do.” John said happily smirking over at Jamison.

“Shut up and eat this macaroni and cheese.” She said, shoving her fork into John’s mouth causing Mike to laugh as John playfully shoved Jamison.

Meg came up to their table and greeted John and Mike before looking at Jamison with a knowing look, “Jae, it’s about time…” Meg whispered,

“I gotta go up there…” Jamison said to John, “I’ll be right back.”

“I won’t promise this macaroni will be here when you get back.” John joked as Jamison playfully pushed him before walking up to the stage and taking the microphone.

“So, hi. I am Jamison and I am one of the bridesmaids and I am horrible with public speaking so, I’m going to try to make this short and sweet. Bare with me folks.” She with a nervous chuckle as everyone laughed, “Matt and Renee made me in charge of the music and stuff for the wedding cause of what I do. And I thought really long and hard about who to book for your DJ and things but one thing I really needed to do was this…” She let out a happy sigh as people behind her ushered in a piano onto the stage. “You guys choose your first dance as a married couple to be, “ More Than Anyone” by Gavin DeGraw… and I thought it’d be better to dance to Gavin actually singing that song for you guys instead of a recorded version of the song… so my gift to you besides a toaster is… Gavin DeGraw.” Jamison introduced as Gavin DeGraw walked on stage and everyone exploded into cheers.

“Can we get the couple out here on the dance floor?” Gavin said, into his microphone as he made himself comfortable on the piano bench. Renee and Matt walked onto the dance floor and looked at one another completely shocked wondering if they were witnessing the same thing. “Congratulations to you Renee and Matt, I only wish you guys amazing things and it’s an honor to play this for you guys. I hope you guys like it… this is the first dance for the newly wedded Mr. and Mrs. Connor.” He began singing “More Than Anyone” as the newly wedded couple began dancing together alone on the dance floor.

Jamison made it back to her table as she had a smile on her face looking at her two friends both in pure bliss.

“You’re like Santa and it’s not even Christmas…” John said, whispering in her ear causing her to stifle a laugh.

“Well, it helps Butch and I worked with Gavin and we’re friends… so, I called in a favor.” She explained.

“Anymore other surprises?” John cocked an eyebrow, “Is Adam Levine coming?” He teased.

“Nope. I wish.” Jamison said, shaking her head. “Come on…” She got up from her seat and grab John by the arm before dragging him away from the reception area.

“What are we going?” He asked, as he was lead to the guestbook signing area where there was a vintage photo booth.

“Get in.” Jamison pushed him into the booth. “To commemorate this date… and cause I am obsessed with photo booths.” She said, taking a seat next to him in the tiny cramped booth.

“I haven’t been in one of these in ages…” John said looking around the booth.

“Okay, 4 poses… let’s do this O’Callaghan, vogue your heart out…” Jamison said, as she pressed the button for the machine to start.

First pose they had both winked to the camera.
Second pose John had put his arm around Jamison’s shoulder and put her in a headlock.
Third pose Jamison had taken John’s sunglasses and wore them.
Fourth pose was the two looking at one another.

They got out of the photo booth and waited a few minutes for the machine to produce their photos.

“I like it…” John said, looking over Jamison’s shoulder as she held the strip of photos.

“Do you want the top or bottom?” Jamison asked, looking up at John.

“Which do you prefer?” He said suggestively in a joking manner.

“Top.” She answered completely nonchalant as she ripped the top half of the strip. “Also, get your mind out of the gutter…” She chuckled, handing him the bottom half.

“You just made that one so easy…” John said laughing as he took the photo from her and placed it into the inside of his jacket pocket.

She rolled her eyes and cocked her head to the reception area, “Come on…” she grabbed him by the arm again and heading back not before running into the groom.

“Jamison Song…” Matt said with a smile so wide it looked like it would rip his face.

“Matthew Connor.” Jamison said with a laugh looking at her friend’s overjoyed expression.

“You outdid yourself…”

“I did nothing…” She assured him. “But Gavin is going to do a set for you guys…”

“Thank you… for everything.” Matt said sincerely as he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

“You’re welcome. Take care of each other… be good to each other.” Jamison said, embracing her friend and giving him the biggest hug she could possibly muster.

“Of course.” He smiled, “Gosh, I hope you find someone just as amazing as you. I don’t think you have any idea how amazing you are… I wish you could see how amazing you are.” He said, holding her by the shoulders again and giving her a little shake.

“Matt…” Jamison said, self-consciously looking away as John just smiled to himself watching the two interact.

“Learn how to take compliments. Give yourself some acknowledgement. You deserve it… you really do. You are a good person, don’t let anyone let you hesitate in thinking otherwise.” Matt said to her like an older brother giving a pep talk to his little sister.

“Thanks…” She said, pulling him in for another hug.

“I am going to go greet the rest of the guests with my wife.” Matt said with a blissful sigh, “You two behave yourselves… have fun.” He pointed at the two and gave them a smirk and wink. “Good having you here John.”

“Good to be here…” John said with a smile.

After watching Gavin’s set he had taken a few photos with the wedding party and walked over to Jamison who was standing at the bar with John.

“Jamison.” Gavin said, opening his arms for her to embrace him

“Gavin, thank you thank you thank.” Jamison said, hugging him.

“For you? Anything.”

“You know how to flatter me real well.” She jokingly clutched her chest.

“This mean you’ll do more co-writing with me, right?” He teased causing her to laugh and shake her head in agreement.

“Anytime, I’ll be on a plane to wherever you are.” Jamison said.

“Holding you to it.” He looked at her slyly shaking his finger at her.

“Thank you. I really do owe you…” She said, putting her hand on his arm and patting it.

“Seriously, for a friend… for you. No problem, I’m glad I can make this special for them.” He said, looking over at Matt and Renee who were dancing on the dance floor.

“Call me next week when you start going into the studio, I’ll come down to check things out.”

“I will. I gotta get going but you’ll hear from me.” Gavin said, giving her a final hug before walking off.

“So popular.” John said, teasingly smirking at Jamison who just rolled her eyes.

“As if…” She chuckled, “You ready to possibly do some karaoke? It’s a tradition for us…”

“If you jump, I jump…” He told her with a smile as they headed back to their table.

After a few more minutes of dancing they decided to make the dance floor a karaoke bar. Renee and Matt both sang “I Was Made For You” by She & Him followed by Mike singing a grand rendition of “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. Jamison and Caleb had gotten up and sang “Quicky” by John Legend together both using mock intensity of emotions as they sang—over exaggerating their gestures and body motions. After they were done the two embrace before Jamison headed back to the table and looked at John who had a smile plastered to his face completely amused by what he had just witnessed.

“Your turn O’Callaghan…” She simply said, looking at him than the stage.

John looked at the stage for the moment and an idea popped into his head, “Can I use that acoustic guitar?” He asked pointing at the acoustic guitar that was on stage amongst a bunch of other instruments.

“Anything is at your disposal…” She gestured to the stage.

John went up to the stage as he grabbed a stool and placed it by the microphone and then grabbed the acoustic guitar and giving it a strum to see if it was in tune. “Hi, I’m John… I am here with Jamison today.” John said into the microphone as he pointed over to Jamison, “So, I thought since I kind of crashed this wedding the least I could do was this… I wanted to congratulate Renee and Matt. You guys seem so wonderful and I hope I get to see more of you in the future. Hopefully this song sparks some good memories…”

John began playing the chords to “Whoever She Is” and sang the song watching Renee and Matt look happily at one another. The crowd began swaying along to the song as well as most of the female attendants gushing over John and his impromptu performance.

She could be rainy days, minimum wage,
A book that ends with no last page
Whoever she is, whoever she may be
One thing's for sure, you don't have to worry

John sang the last line looking at Jamison who was at their table mouthing along to the words with him just like she had when they were recording “These Four Words” he looked at her and smiled as she gave him a thumbs up while everyone was applauding his performance.

After the reception was over and everyone said their goodbyes John and Jamison headed back to Jamison’s house and once again plotted on the couch exhausted from all the fun they had.

“That was a lot of fun… thanks for bringing me along.” John said, letting out a content sigh.

“Of course, thank you for coming with me.” She smiled, “So, how am I as a date?”

“Quite a good date… and that was the first time I’ve done an impromptu performance like that.”

“First time for everything… thanks for doing that. You didn’t have to.”

“For some reason, I couldn’t not perform the song they had their first kiss too…” He chuckling smiling to himself remembering the story Jamison had told him during the dinner rehearsal.

“This is why you are a good guy John O’Callaghan.” She said with a smile.

“I thought about it, it’s weird knowing you were at that show… what would it have been like if we had met then.”

“I don’t know…” She chuckled, trying to imagine the scenario. “We could be nothing like we are now… we could have already dated and broken up.”

“I could have written a slew of songs about how you broke my heart.” He said teasingly as they both began to laugh at the idea.

“Or vice versa…”

“True.”

“I’m glad we met when we did… cause we’re friends now. Who knows what it would have been like if we met earlier.” Jamison said, looking at John with a smile.

“It’s fun to think about…” He admitted, “How long have you been going to our shows?”

“My first show was with you guys touring with Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls and Metro Station.” She said remembering the exact date when she had first seen The Maine perform.

“You were there since the beginning.” John said, surprised it had been that long since Jamison had been seeing him perform live.

“Joel and Benji said, I had to listen to you guys before that tour. I liked what I heard… I liked what I saw. I’ve been a fan…”

“You mean the lyrics, ‘she’s fresh to death, she’ll be the death of you’ was moving for you?” He asked jokingly looking at her in mock astonishment.

“Never said that…” She laughed, “It was catchy… but what was with those matching outfits? Except you didn’t wear them…”

“Oh man… and that was my idea.” He said laughing recalling their stupid ideas they had when they first began as a band such as matching stage outfits.

“How was that your idea and you didn’t even wear it?”

“I thought since I am the lead singer I was exempt from the rule.”

“I have no words…” She chuckled completely speechless.

“Please don’t judge me too much. I was young… and stupid.”

“No judgment. I just find it kind of hilarious.” She said letting out another chuckle, “I need to take off my face…” She stood up from the couch as she grabbed a bag of baby wipes from one of the side tables in the living room.

“You don’t look that different with makeup on…” John said getting up from the couch as well, the two just stood in front of each other without moving.

“It’s the subtle differences—contour, define, and all that junk. Today we went above and beyond for the wedding… as much as I like putting on make up. Taking it off is such a process…” She said, as a dreadful look washed over her face as she said the latter statement.

“Well, your hard work paid off. You looked absolutely beautiful.” He told her trying to sound completely genuine and honest.

“Thanks…” She smiled as a blush crept through her checks.

“You’re taking a compliment. It is a new day…” He teased, causing Jamison to laugh.

“Trying to improve on my bad habits and things…”

“You have bad habits? I find that hard to believe…” He said half jokingly, waving his hand in dismissal at her last statement.

“I have tons, I have this weird feeling you think I’m some kind of perfect person…” She teased.

“Hardly… I just think very highly of you.”

“That’s really daunting…” She said candidly nervously chuckling.

“I don’t mean to… honestly, I just… you really are just someone I admire for always being so together.” He said, not knowing how to phrase his own words hoping he wasn't freaking her out.

“I’m really not…” She shook her head, “You know that to an extent.” She looked at him reminding him of the story she told him when they had met about her darker times.

“I do…” He shook his head.

“Confession: I can’t take a compliment cause I don’t think I deserve it…”

“Because?” He asked completely shocked by her confession.

“You remember my ex? We broke up and I didn’t know… until I saw him with someone else one day.” She sheepishly admitted.

“I didn’t know—wow that’s shitty.” John was completely at a loss of words, he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“It is what it is… but I mean it made me feel, it still makes me feel horrible.” She said letting out a sigh. “If he didn’t have the decency to break up with me. Basically insinuating I wasn’t even worth speaking to… like, it makes me wonder and that just lingers… was I just not even worth telling ‘it’s over” to?”

“Your shitty ex-boyfriend is just shitty… it has nothing to do with you.” He assured her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

“Logically, I know that too. But it doesn’t feel that way. It’s been forever but I guess the band aid on that hasn’t fully been put on.” She shrugged, “I need to just figure out how not to let it linger… having feelings stink.”

“Feelings are a tricky thing…”

“It fucking is…” She let out a laugh, “It messes with me so much. It fucking sucks.”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.” He pulled her into a hug.

“Don’t apologize, you have nothing to apologize for.” She told him as they pulled back from their hug.

John grabbed Jamison by the shoulders and looked at her straight in the eye, “Jamison Jae In Song, you are a good person. Too good of a person… I actually wish you were a bit more selfish at times. Cause… you’re too nice, I am actually worried you might kill me in my sleep or something.” He teased causing both of them to laugh.

“Thanks John.” She smiled at him looking at him completely grateful for his words.

“Promise me whenever I flatter you, it’s because I genuinely appreciate you and you need to accept that I’ll be doing it often.” He assured her, “And please don’t ever change… or leave my life. Both would suck…”

“You do the same.”

“I promise.” He let out his pinky for her to link with, “Do you?” He looked at her waiting to see if she would undertake his pinky promise.

“One thing’s for sure, you don’t have to worry.” She sang teasingly, as she linked her pinky with his.