Chapter 74: Fly Before You Fall

Mylan

Daddy: Do you have everything covered?

Mylan: I think so, you said around six right?

Daddy: Yeah just make sure she doesn’t know. Play stuff off and act a little.

Mylan: Did you forget who you’re talking to? I’m an amazing actress

Daddy: Alright, just have her here by six. I gotta go but I love you baby girl

Mylan: I love you too Daddy

“Can you get off your phone for two seconds?” I heard Mom say from behind me. She’s been bugging me to get off my phone for the last twenty minutes. I hopped off the couch and turned to look at her.

“I was texting Dad,” I used as an excuse. It was true for the last five minutes but not the first fifteen.

“Where is he and do you know when he’ll be home?” She questioned me.

“He said he had to help Uncle Shad with something at his house,” I shrugged. That’s a great excuse because she would never go by his house.

             “Alright,” she sighed and went back into the kitchen.

Blake

“Please don’t say anything okay?” I pleaded to Nae. We all were supposed to meet up at Mere’s house and I didn’t want anything to pop off.

“Just keep her in her place,” she crossed her arms.

“Y’all act alike,” Paris said from the back. I cringed at the same time Nae went off. That was the worst thing she could possibly say.

“I don’t act anything like her!” She snapped. Jessi started laughing and Cassie couldn’t hold it in either. I chuckled because I knew exactly why they were laughing. “What’s funny?” She eyed us.

“Mere said the same thing last night,” Paris giggled when Nae went quiet and turned around. We pulled up to her house and I let everyone else go in first. I grabbed Nae’s hand and made her look at me.

“You two do not act alike, you have certain moments but that’s it,” I didn’t want her taking their words the wrong way. She nodded her head slowly but didn’t say anything. “Come on Nae,” I rubbed her hand.

“I’m not mad Blake. I just don’t like being compared to her in any way, shape, or form. She’s your ex, who wants to be compared to their girlfriend’s ex?” She had a point there.

“Aye! We’re running late already!” Paris shouted from the front door.

“Are you gonna be okay?” I eyed her.

“I’ll be fine,” she gave me a small smile and we got out. I walked in and Ryan immediately wrapped his arms around me.

“Hey Ry,” I hugged him back. I went over to Mere and hugged her. “Don’t say anything okay?” I whispered. She pulled away and shot me a look.

“I have absolutely nothing to say to her,” she shrugged before sitting down. We all sat down and started putting stuff together for the wedding. There was an obvious tension and no one seemed to be able to break it. Even Ryan couldn’t break it.

“You need help babe?” We all turned and saw Antonio standing there. Mere got up and walked towards him.

“I think we can handle it. You’re about to meet the boys at the church right?” He nodded and she smiled.

“Tell Aubrey I’ll talk to him before the wedding,” she kissed him and he left. That seemed to help lift the tension.

“You need help babe?” Jessi looked towards Paris.

“I think we can handle it,” Paris batted her eyes. We laughed as they mocked Mere.

“Oh shut up!” She playfully rolled her eyes. I looked over at Nae and she seemed to be less tense so I was thankful.

Nicki

Okay everyone was acting weird today. I couldn’t get in touch with anyone and suddenly Alexis appears out of nowhere. No one was answering my calls and Mylan was even acting weird. “Auntie Nicki! Can we go by Auntie Mere’s house!?” Alexis asked me.

“I don’t know if she’s home sweetie,” I couldn’t contact her either.

“Oh trust me, she’s home,” Mylan said as she walked in with her phone.

“How do you know that?”

“I just texted her,” she shrugged. I didn’t even want to begin to wonder why no one will answer my calls or text.

“Sure,” I sighed. We got in the car and I drove over there. I knocked on the door and Ryan answered it. I’ve met him a handful of times.

“Hello Nicki,” he hugged me.

“Hi! I’m Alexis and I like cookies!” Alexis beamed.

“Hi! I’m Ryan and I love cookies!” he smiled.

“Really!?” Her eyes bucked out. Mylan chuckled at Alexis and that made Ryan look behind me.

“Oh this is my daughter Mylan,” I introduced the two.

“Hi,” he smiled.

“Hi,” she returned the smile and I noticed her nervous demeanor. Just wait till Aubrey sees this.

“Come on,” I grabbed Mylan and walked into the living room. I was shocked to see all of the girls here, including Nae. “Why are you all here? And why didn’t anyone pick up when I called?” I eyed them.

“I actually have to go. Blake, you can lock up right?” Mere looked over at her.

“Yeah,” she nodded.

“She has a key but you refuse to give me one!?” Ryan exclaimed.

“Yeah because I trust her and not you,” she moved him aside and walked out.

“I guess she has her reasons,” Ryan nodded slowly.

“Let’s go somewhere,” Jessi hopped up.

“What are you doing in the same room as Mere? I thought you guys couldn’t stand each other,” I looked at Nae.

“We can’t,” she mumbled. I looked at her weird but she shot me a look meaning that she’ll tell me later.

“Come on,” Paris got up and so did the other girls.

“I should be with the guys,” Ryan grumbled. He turned and saw Mylan helping Alexis fix her shoe and smiled slightly. “Actually, I’m good where I am.” I knew Aubrey wouldn’t be happy with this little crush.

“Come on,” Jessi grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the house.

Mere

I walked into the dressing room for the guys but didn’t see Aubrey. “Hey baby,” I felt Antonio wrap his arms around me.

“Hey, where’s Aubrey?” I couldn’t find him.

“He’s in the bathroom and refuses to open the door,” Shad said.

“What a wimp,” I walked towards the bathroom and picked the lock. I walked in and closed the door. “Being scared I see,” I crossed my arms.

“I can’t do this. What if she thinks that this is ridiculous and that it’s too much of a rush? I can’t lose her again Mere,” he paced.

“Aubrey!” I grabbed his arm so he would stop moving. “Everything is gonna be fine. How many times have I told you that?”

“A lot,” he shrugged.

“And how many times did things not turn out fine?”

“Never. Thanks Mere. Thank you for everything. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without you,” he smiled.

“Go and marry Nicki then we’ll be even,” I pulled him into a hug. “Make your mom proud,” I whispered.

“You know I will,” he gave me a small smile when we pulled away.

“Are you ready now?” I eyed him.

“Definitely.”

Jessi

We pulled up to the venue and Nicki looked at us weirdly. “Where are we?” She asked but we all stayed quiet and got out. “Hello?” She called but we kept walking and went inside the side door. It was a small room and Nicki looked around confused.

“Well Nicki, we’re here,” I turned and smiled at her. I tried to not get emotional but my eyes filled up. I needed to get myself together but it was hard. She’s getting everything that she ever wanted.

“Why do you look like you’re about to cry?” She walked towards me.

“Nicki, can you trust me?” I eyed her. I knew she would trust me with anything because I would never lead her wrong.

“Of course Jess,” she nodded.

“Go in that room and get dressed,” I pointed. She looked like she was about to say something but decided against it and went to the room.

“JESSICA!” I heard her call out. I walked in the room and saw tears fly out of her eyes. She stared at the wedding dress in shock. I think I picked out an amazing dress with Blake’s help.

“You’re getting married cuz,” I wrapped my arms around her. I was truly happy for her and just wanted what was best for her. Drake was trying to prove himself and this is the exact way to do it.

“Are you serious?” She cried. She looked like she couldn’t believe what I was saying.

“You can thank me years from now for helping you and Drake get back together,” I flipped my hair with a laugh. I was the one who knocked some sense into her so I deserve some credit. I helped her into her dress and touched up her makeup. “Stop crying!” I snapped as I fixed it again.

“I’m sorry but this is unbelievable,” she shook her head. She kept crying and I had to fix it so it was perfect.

“Is she ready?” I heard Blake ask from the door.

“Yep,” I let Nicki walk out of the room and the girls stared at her in shock.

“You look beautiful Nika,” Cassie complimented. She looked absolutely stunning and I couldn’t be happier for her.

“You look amazing Mom,” Mylan hugged her.

“Now, we have a wedding to attend,” she heard her dad say as he walked in.

“Dad!?” She hugged him. “What are you doing here?” She questioned.

“I have a daughter to walk down the aisle,” he held out his arm. She smiled before placing her arm through his.

Drake

I swear to you that my world stopped when I saw her walk in with her dad. I’m relieved that she’s actually going along with it. She looked absolutely beautiful and I couldn’t be more proud to call her my wife. I heard someone whistle at her and tried to see where it came from. I rolled my eyes when I saw that it was James. She finally made it to me and I took her hands in mine. I could tell that she was shocked that all of her friends and family were here. It was tough pulling this off but this was worth it.

“Stop crying,” I whispered to her. I knew she was happy and I was just proud that I could make her feel like this. This is how she should feel for the rest of her life.

“I can’t help it,” she smiled.

“Are you ready to begin?” The pastor asked us. He doesn’t know how long I’ve been ready to do this.

“More than ready,” I nodded. I was too focused on Nicki to pay attention to anything he was saying. Before I knew it, it was time for the vows. “Onika, I know I’ve probably given you enough long drawn out speeches by now,” she chuckled and so did some of the people in the church. “I love you more than life itself and this is just the beginning of our lives together.”

~~~

“This is unbelievable,” Nicki said as we shared our first dance as husband and wife.

“I told you that you deserved this and much more. I love you and I knew that this was only right,” I kissed her hand.

“I love you so much Aubrey,” she leaned up to kiss me.

“If you love me now then you’re really gonna love our honeymoon to the Bahamas,” I smirked when I heard her gasp.

“Is this real life?” She looked up at me.

“It is and I promise you that I will continue to do everything that I can to make sure that you’re happy,” I kissed her again. I looked around at all of our friends and families. I looked for Mylan and saw her dancing with a guy. As I looked closer, it looked like Ryan. “Oh hell naw,” I tried to move but Nicki held me back.

“Just let it be for tonight,” she pleaded.

“If his hands start to drop, I have no control over what I may do,” I eyed him.

“May I have this dance?” Nicki’s father held out his hand.

“Of course,” I moved and let her dance with him. “May I have this dance?” I looked at Mere. She looked up from her phone and laughed at me.

“One dance Aubrey,” she got up and I led her to the dance floor. “I can’t believe that you actually did it,” she smiled small.

“I can’t either but I’m happy that this all turned out perfect.”

“I think I remember someone saying that everything would be fine,” she gave me a knowing look.

“Okay, Mere knows best,” I chuckled.

“Don’t fuck this up Aubrey,” she cut her eyes at me.

“Just when I thought you trusted me,” I acted hurt.

“I did but you fucked up one too many times,” she grinned.

“You better get your cousin,” I eyed him with Mylan. She turned and laughed a little.

“Why don’t you just ask her to dance?”

“What a lovely idea,” I walked over and grabbed Ryan by the back of his shirt and pulled him away from her. “Excuse me boy but I’d like to dance with my daughter,” I shot him a look. He quickly caught on and disappeared.

“Dad!” She hissed.

“What? I just wanted a dance,” I acted innocent.

“You’re unbelievable,” she mumbled but still agreed to dance with me. “So does this make us a complete family? You know the wife, kid, maybe a dog?” She raised a brow.

“Yeah your mom isn’t gonna allow that,” I chuckled.

“Worth a try.”

“We’ve always been a complete family and we always will be,” I promised. This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time and I’m determined to keep Nicki and Mylan as happy as I can. Nicki’s the love of my life and she’s my wife pregnant with our baby; there’s nothing I want more. A family was all I wanted and all I’ll ever need.