The next day, Rylee and Alexa went out shopping while Sebastian and Chris ran around the city pulling together Sebastian's vision.

As they looked through different dress racks, they conversed about what exactly they were looking for.

"I don't know. I don't really want a full out wedding dress for this, you know?"

"What're you thinking then?" Alexa asked curiously.

Rylee stopped perusing for a second and turned to Alexa, "I dunno, like...knee length, simple. I don't need some big fancy..." Rylee gestured haphazardly with her hands.

"I've gotcha. I've gotcha." Alexa said as she turned back towards the rack, sifting through the dresses in front of her.

"Are you nervous?" Alexa asked simply.

"Surprisingly, no?" Rylee turned and smiled, "I'm just dying to be married already."

"You two...I can't."

"What?" Rylee laughed.

"You're just so cute. You're both just so goddamn in love. It almost hurts. He still looks at you the way he looked at you that first week you two met."

Rylees cheeks turned a bright pink at her comment, a smile crossing her lips.

Alexa pulled out a dress and held it up, "Oo! What about this!"

Rylee nodded and grabbed another, and they walked back to the dressing room, where a handful of other dresses waited.

Rylee slowly tried on each dress they chose, both reviewing each one as she came out. One too puffy. The next too skin tight. Another just, yikes. After about five of them, Rylee came out again and Alexa's hands shot over her mouth.

"Oh my god, Ry."

Rylee walked out in a stunning knee length, light, flowing dress. Lace covered the top and flowed down to her elbows, the flowing bottom, a simple satin white. The top of the back covered in lace as well, but opening at the corset ties in the middle of the back.

"Alexa. It has pockets." Rylee said as she quickly wiggled her hands into the pockets on either side of the dress, swinging the flowing skirt delicately along with the movement.

"Rylee, its so you. It's perfect."

Rylee turned to view it in the large floor to ceiling mirror, admiring it for a moment, speechless.

"I...wow..I-It's perfect. Exactly to a T what I was looking for."

"Are you gonna say the thing?"

Rylee turned to Alexa confused.

"You know, like on those shows. Are you going to say yes to the dress?" Alexa giggled.

Rylee laughed, but nodded, "Yes."

Alexa jumped up and clapped, squealing lightly in excitement. She closed the distance between her and Rylee and took her into a tight embrace.

They stayed together for a long moment, before Alexa whispered, "You know, your mom and dad would be so happy for you. And so, so proud."

At her words, Rylee felt a tear form and slowly roll down her cheek. She didn't talk about her parents often. It just hurt too much.

They had died when she was 26.

She had just gotten out on her own, finally able to buy her first apartment in Pittsburgh.

She was a few years into her first profitable venture with her business degree from the University of Pittsburgh, a business she started from the ground called RAS Events, helping others plan various events and celebrations.

To some people, her job was minuscule and unneeded, but she loved the idea of event planning and had a keen eye for putting the finishing touches on things that most other people just couldn't quite do. She just had a knack for it, and always had, so she ran with it.

She would humbly tell people about her business and her planning skills but if you really knew her or had her plan one of your events, you knew she wasn't ever giving herself enough credit. She was damn good at her job.

Her parents had helped her build her business when she started it at 23. Her dad, Thomas, using his truck to lug around large loads for weddings, as well as expending his carpentry skills to build large items and other bits for her. Her mom, Mary, helped to piece together decor for clients when Rylee herself had burnt out for the day.

RAS Events would not have existed had it not been for her parents. And yet, it now no longer existed because of her parents.

July 9, 2011 was a beautiful summer day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and her mom and dad had been on the way to meet her at a bank's annual charity event she had asked for their help with. As they drove to meet her, they crossed an intersection, where someone ran a red light and t-boned their truck, sending them into the lane of an oncoming delivery truck, where they were both killed on impact.

Rylee had woke up that day thinking it was a perfect Saturday morning, and it ended as the worst.

It took Rylee a while to process her grief, and the guilt she felt for their deaths. And as she fell apart, her business did as well. She put it on the back burner, never coming back to light the flame.

After a few years of leaning heavily on Alexa for support and love, she had met Michael. Who was charming, and kind, and loving. He helped pull her up from the depths of the emotional ocean she had been drowning in, and helped her to finally find some light in life.

Until...well.

Rylee was brought back to herself when she felt Alexa squeeze her tighter in their embrace. Rylee had begun lightly sobbing and didn't even realize it, lost in her own head.

"God..I wish they were here." Rylee choked out, burying her face into Alexa's neck as she held a grip onto her back for dear life.

Alexa shushed her gently, rubbing her back with one hand in their tight embrace as the other drifted up to the back of Rylee's head, running her fingers comfortingly through her hair.

"I know, babe, I know," Alexa sniffled as well.

Rylee wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but the comfort that Alexa was always able to bring her in life still carried into today.

Eventually they parted, reduced to mere sniffles between the two of them, sitting on a bench in the dressing room. Rylee leaned her head over onto Alexa's shoulder as she clasped her hand in hers.

"I love you, Lex, thank you for always being there."

"I love you, Ryles. I told you when we were like six, you're stuck with me....yes at that moment our hands may have literally been super glued together because we were idiot kindergarteners...but I meant it metaphorically as well."

Rylee laughed lightly, remembering the moment, the last of her sniffles escaping as she sighed, "God. They would've loved Seb."

"My god. Could you imagine your dad with him?"

"Oh my god. They would've ended up inseparable." Rylee replied with a chortle.

"Your mom probably would've tried to steal him." Alexa laughed.

"I definitely would've had to pry her off of him once or twice." Rylee laughed in return, eventually dying down as they still remained sitting together.

Alexa stood up and offered out her hand for Rylee to help her stand as well, which she took without hesitation, wiping the tear trail from her cheeks.

"Alright. Let's go find someone and buy this damn dress!" Alexa spoke a little too loudly for a small bridal boutique.

Rylee laughed and went into the dressing room to change and they went to do just that.

——————————

The girls got back to Alexa and Chris' place well before the boys did, so they tucked away Rylee's dress in her closet, just to be super sure Sebastian wouldn't see it.

The two curled up on either side of the couch with glasses of wine, legs tangled together.

Rylee's phone vibrated in her hand and she looked down to see a text from Tom.

🕷

🤓 hey, haven't heard from you since your "I fucked up seb's car" fiasco of a night. You good? Alive?

🍷

1) I didn't fuck up his car...I was just in it while it got fucked up.

2) yep. Alive and well. Sebastian actually came home for the week! 🥳

🕷

No kidding! Nice. Maybe he had a tingle about his car and knew he had to come home.

🍷

Haha. Very funny.

At least I can laugh about it now.

It's all fixed.

Rylee was always surprised by her friendship with Tom. She had become close with him since her and Sebastian started dating. She didn't get to see or talk to him much because of his crazy work schedule, but she enjoyed the time she did get to talk to him.

Even though he's only 25, he's very well rounded and worldly. And listening to him and Sebastian talk always cracked her up. She was extremely happy to be able to call Tom her friend. Hell, he almost felt like a little brother at this point, but her heart ached that she couldn't tell him that her and Sebastian were getting married this week.

They had decided not to tell anyone but Chris and Alexa. The less people that know, the less of a chance everyone finds out and turns their marriage into a spectacle or a way to sell a magazine.

She was brought back to the present and out of her thoughts when her phone vibrated again.

🕷

Seriously though. I'm glad you guys could see each other. I know you were super bummed about your flight getting canceled.

🍷

Believe me. I'm over the moon 🌙 🥰

🕷

Good. You deserve good things.

🍷

Thanks Tommy

Appreciate you ✨

🕷

Appreciate YOU.

Tell Seb boy I say hi

🍷

Will do ✌️

At that same moment that she slid her phone back into her pocket, Chris and Sebastian came walking through the front door, grinning ear to ear.

"Howd everything go boys?" Alexa asked, sipping from her glass.

"I'm just gonna say, Rylee, ya man's got some good ideas in that dumbass brain of his." Chris laughed.

Sebastian punched him in the arm, "Gee thanks, for five whole seconds I thought I was catching a compliment."

They all laughed together and Rylee swiftly stood up and closed the distance between her and Sebastian, pulling him in for a tight embrace.

While they were close, Sebastian whispered to her, "How's tomorrow night sound, sweetheart?"

An excited chill ran down her spine as he asked, and she quickly replied, "Can't come soon enough."

Sebastian pulled back a bit to look at Rylee, raising an eyebrow, smirk crossing his lips at her phrasing.

Rylee rolled her eyes with a chuckle and playfully smacked his chest as they parted.

"Alright. Well," Alexa started, "Are you going all traditional and spending the night apart?"

Chris inserted as well, "We could all just sleep here, we've got plenty of extra bed rooms."

Sebastian and Rylee looked at each other with a shrug, "Sure." They both said in unison.

They could spend one night apart. Right?