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Author's Chapter Notes:
So we are officially one chapter away from the wedding! Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-Four: Tux and Cocktails

Kellie burst into the hotel room entirely out of breath. "Fuck..." She muttered as she stretched out her muscles. They screamed back at her as Alyssa came into the room as well chuckling.

On the opposite end of the room Nick and AJ sat flicking through channels as AJ held little Cedric nestled in his arms, a fresh bottle of breast milk in his hands. Kellie looked over and grinned widely before plopping down on the arm rest of the chair AJ sat in.

Alyssa sighed and drank half of her water bottle before throwing one leg over the arm of the sofa, then the other as she stretched out on the cushy sofa, throwing her legs across Nick's lap. "So what'd you boys do today?" She asked with a bright grin her breathing still slightly labored and a film of sweat over her skin.

Nick ignored her question as AJ answered her with a simple ‘nothing'. A moment later Nick looked over at her knowing that normally after a workout she'd be running to the shower to wash all the sweat off of herself. "You're not even going to shower?" Nick asked giving her a wayward sly glance. Alyssa snorted and cozied up to him.

"Do I smell?" She said trying to annoy him as best she could. Years ago on his solo tour she'd do something similar to this just to see what type of reaction she'd get from him.

He chuckled and shook his head, "Still trying to annoy me with that one eh?" He replied.

Alyssa smiled and sighed, "Yep. I didn't even work up that much of a sweat today." She answered back with a sigh. "I suppose I will though, since I smell so wretched." She added sarcastically making him chuckle at her. "Kels do you mind if I use your bathroom?" She asked not really wanting to go down the hall to their hotel room.

"No problem." Kellie answered back watching as both Nick and Alyssa stood. Kellie snickered and Nick rolled his eyes as he went to the door.

"I'm getting her some clothes..." He reminded as he went down to their hotel room grabbing himself some clothing as well. It made him chuckle a little bit to himself at how accustomed they'd grown even to just showering together and not even caring to take it anywhere past that. He came back into the hotel room making Kellie snicker again at the small stack of clothing he carried under his arm.

"Just don't fuck in the shower okay?" Kellie pleaded making Nick roll his eyes at her.

He knew it was more a jab at the fact that they'd purposely decided to suspend their sex life until the wedding. Sighing he let it slide as he made his way into the bathroom. It wasn't that he didn't entirely disagree with Alyssa's reasoning but at the same time he did think it was slightly bogus to be able to do certain things as mundane as a shower together and not have sex at all. As quietly as he could he slipped off his clothes and slipped into the shower with her.

"How did I guess you wouldn't have been able to stay away?" Alyssa asked as she turned herself halfway toward him.

Nick shrugged, "Because, hot water, and my naked fiancée is always an irresistible combination." He replied with a crooked smirk.

Alyssa felt a small blush creep up her cheeks as she smirked back at him. "Even knowing you won't get laid? Sounds very masochistic to me." She said keeping her resolve firm about their decision.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I'm beginning to think it's not the best idea." He said his mind going in a million different directions as he watched her rinse the shampoo from her hair then switched places with him so he could wash himself as well.

"Is that because you're not getting laid on a regular basis at the moment or just that you've got a major case of blue..."

"Alyssa..." He interjected. "It's not that...well it's part of it but still I mean we've been living together and having sex for hmm almost four years now I think it's a little too late to regain any semblance of virtue here."

"It's not that I'm trying to reclaim my virtue or anything and you know that. I want us to really want each other on our wedding night. Like in a way that we haven't had in a while. I mean don't get me wrong or anything, it's amazing and I love it, but sometimes I just want to lighten the mood a little."

He smiled and nodded, "Yeah I get that but why can't we have fun now and still have fun later?" He countered trying to find some flaw in her logic that he knew was there to begin with and exploit the living hell out of it until she would give in.

Alyssa sighed and stepped in closer, "Because I've noticed that when we hold back for a little bit, the sex is always better when we've waited a little while in between. And it's our wedding night I kinda want it to be a little special as compared to our everyday life." She reasoned back as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

"So what is kosher in this situation you have us in?" He asked looking down at her with a crooked grin.

She smirked back at him and leaned up gently brushing their lips together. As the moments passed their kisses grew more and more intense. He tangled his fingers into her wet hair as she wrapped her hands under his arms and up to his shoulder blades.

They both were so caught up in the moment that neither of them heard the bathroom door open. "I'm not looking at anything I promise!" Kellie exclaimed partially shielding her eyes.

Alyssa broke the kiss and snickered, "Keller! Get out of here!" She exclaimed back.

Kellie grabbed the diaper bag she was looking for and looked back to them smiling a little at how close they were and the fact they seemed to be practically frozen in place waiting for her to leave. "Okay I'm going, sorry." She said making her departure.

Alyssa broke away from Nick reluctantly  and finished up her shower. They both stepped out and dried off getting dressed in silence. Just as she was about to walk out of the bathroom Nick stopped her by grabbing her arm. He pulled her to him and kissed her fiercely. He smirked when he broke the kiss and pressed their foreheads together. "You're getting off easy this time. Next time I'm not going to want to stop."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and smacked his shoulder. "Well then I guess for the next two weeks that I'm not going to try to tempt you."

He laughed a little and followed her out of the bathroom. "Yeah because your very existence isn't enough of a temptation." He quipped back as they resumed their earlier position on the sofa.

A few days later...

"Mom I know, don't worry about paying for a hotel room, I've got it all covered. I figured you wouldn't be able to afford it so I covered it." Nick spoke into his cell phone talking to his mother.

"Nick you don't need to pay for me. You've done that enough in your life." She said catching Nick off guard. Normally she'd always expected him to at least foot the bill for something whenever it dealt with her traveling for him. He hoped that maybe this was a very good sign that she was ready to be mature enough for them to have a relationship again.

"I know but the resort in Hawaii is a little pricey and I know money's an issue for you right now so just accept the generosity and repay me by behaving at the wedding."

"Nick..."

"I don't care Mom, Dad is going to be there, with Ginger and their little family. I'm counting on you to behave yourself. Dad's already gotten this little lecture that you two are to be civil to each other. One snide remark from either of you and you're both thrown out."

He heard Jane sigh relenting silently. "All right...I can't say that he won't do anything but I will be civil."

"Believe me I have people that are going to be watching the two of you very carefully and if you cause any semblance of trouble they will not hesitate to kick you out."

"I can't believe you're being so hard about this honey."

Nick rolled his eyes, "You've had a knack for destroying things since I was a kid...please don't do this on my wedding day. It's supposed to be my day with Ali and I will not have yours and dad's petty shit destroy it for us."

"Are you sure about getting married honey? I mean look at us your parents...I'd think that'd push you away from marriage forever."

Nick sighed and shook his head. "I'm not you. I've found the one I'm supposed to be with, she's my best friend Mom. She's never expected me to do anything but just to be myself. I know that sounds clichéd and corny but it's the damn truth. She's never cared about my job, my money or any of that. You knew her when she was younger and you liked her because she was always so kind and generous and never treated our family like we were different because of money or fame. I fell in love with her Mom, accept it, and move on she's going to be your daughter-in-law whether you like it or not. If you'd just let go of this twisted notion that every girl I fall for is somehow unworthy you'd be able to see that she's it. She's the one a mother should be proud of her son to find okay?" He explained standing firm against her questioning. He knew that she'd try to find any weaknesses and exploit them.

He knew that it was part of her twisted idea of protecting him from getting his heart broken again but it seemed as if she always hated the women who were good for him and liked the ones who did only end up hurting him. He'd seen it with the entire relationship with Mandy ad then again with Paris just a few years later.

He listened to her for a moment wondering what she was thinking. "Okay...I promise I'll be on my best behavior. I can't promise your father won't do something but I will ignore it for the few days we'll be around each other for the time we'll be there for the wedding."

"Thank you." Nick replied sincerely. After a few more minutes of small talk he rang off with her taking a deep breath before walking back into the back of the tour bus flopping down on the bed with Alyssa. He let out a huge sigh and buried his head in the comforter already worn out just from a simple phone conversation with his mother.

"That good eh?" Alyssa asked as she noted his behavior. "Are you sure you want her there?" Alyssa asked sincerely hoping that he was truly making the right decision. She knew she'd forgiven Jane for what had happened between them but that definitely didn't mean that she trusted her even in the slightest capacity either. She thought it was terribly dangerous to trust her any bit at all and if it had been her choice she would have merely just sent her an announcement of their nuptials, after the fact. She sighed resigning herself that it wasn't her decision that as much as she still felt uneasy about Jane being present that it was Nick's choice to have his family there or not. And soon, they would be her family too, one that she'd chosen to be a part of.

Nick rolled over and crawled up to her laying his head in her lap. She smiled down at him and began massaging her fingers over his forehead and temple knowing he was getting a full blown migraine just from his reaction. "Yeah I want her there. I want my parents to be proud of me is that so much to ask?" He asked with a dark tone to his voice.

Alyssa sighed and ran her slender fingers through his hair. "I know, and it's not so much to ask. I understand where you're coming from most definitely. Don't you think that if I could, I'd have my Dad be the one to walk me down the aisle?"

Nick nodded and looked up at her. "I know that's why I want them there. They know if they do one thing wrong that they're done. Just talking to her is so exhausting sometimes. You'd be proud though I told her that I don't give a shit what she thinks that I love you and she just better get fucking used to it."

Alyssa smiled at him and had him move so she could lay down with him. "Don't worry about it lover, it'll work out. Fate owes us one so I think we're going to be okay." She assured trying to convince the both of them. "Okay is it okay to change the subject now? I have something about the wedding to discuss."

"Shoot..."

"Bang." She quipped back making his face break out in a grin at her little joke. "Well you know how our song is Stellar right?"

"...Yeah..." He said slowly not knowing what she was getting at.

"Well I was thinking that we'd choose a song that fits us better now. Like that song was more for us earlier on in our relationship where things were different than they are now, like less intense and all that."

He thought for a moment his brow creasing pensively. "Okay what do you have in mind...? As long as it's not something cheesed out like Umbrella or something....It's not is it?"

Alyssa rolled her eyes, "No but I had thought about it but it doesn't really fit."

"I like our song..." He said not wanting to change it.

"Yeah but it just doesn't fit us anymore. I mean the song is all about new love. And we're anything but new in our relationship. We could go old school like my parents and use something completely off the wall and use Free Bird..." She joked making him give her a look.

"Hell no. If that's your suggestion I'm not agreeing to it one bit." He said giving her a look.

Alyssa giggled at him, "I was kidding geesh Carter." She shot back seeing him relax at her words. "No I was thinking of keeping it in the Incubus family." She said referring to how their song was by the band Incubus.

"What song?" He asked wanting to know now that he was intrigued.

"Dig. It's perfect, like go look up the lyrics it's jut so perfect for the stage we're at right now. Especially the part where it says ‘remind me that we'll always have each other when everything else is gone'. It's perfect for us. With where we are right now because when we're all old and wrinkly it will be just the two of us yeah we may have kids, grandkids and such but we need to remember why we chose this and that song does it perfectly."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her pulling her to lay across his chest. "Thought about this much have you?"

Alyssa smiled and kissed his jawbone. "Yes, this is a big thing for us, we're getting married in less than a month and now all the little details are falling into place."

"See I told you not to stress about it months ago."

"Yeah, yeah I know, I just hope I don't turn into a bridezilla like Lori was, have Kellie and Olivia slap me if that happens."

"How about I just kiss you and remind you that it's just a wedding...and you'll never remember if one flower is out of place thirty years from now?" He replied making her smile at him.

"Sounds like we have a deal." She replied before leaning up to kiss him. He pulled away a few moments later making her get a confused look on her face. She saw the emotions run across his brow and he sighed making it dawn on her. "Sorry..."

"It's okay I'm getting used to not getting laid." He replied lying to her. She smirked and snuggled into his chest.

"Wanna hear something kind of hilarious to me at least?" She asked hoping this could at least make him laugh a little bit. He nodded and she raised up on one elbow. "Well you know how I was raised Catholic and all right?"

"Duh..."

She smirked and laughed, "In college I took a class about medieval religion which is pretty much Catholicism and the crusades and the Reformation and stuff like that."

"And what does that have to do with us not getting laid? Are you considering a nunnery instead of a wedding now?" He chided sarcastically.

"Let me finish and you'll find out." She replied smacking his chest. "No, just back then in Catholic law there was this thing called a marriage contract that listed all the duties and obligations for two people entering into a marriage. Sort of a binding contract."

"Like a business merger?"

"No like an agreement or compromise to do certain obligated behaviors. And the part that made me laugh was that there was a rule where it was the wife's obligation to satisfy her husband whenever he wanted it."

He smirked at her admission and replied, "Hmm...maybe I should rethink the whole religion thing..."

Alyssa snickered loudly. "I think they changed the rule though but it made me laugh. Figured it'd cheer you up about the no sex thing for now. Besides after we're married I'm kinda obligated to let you have your way with me." She added with a devious grin.

"Don't sound so enthused. You make it sound like it's a bad thing you're obligated to."

Alyssa giggled and traced little circles around his abdomen. "It's definitely not a bad thing. Remember I do happen to enjoy it too."

"Hmmm, maybe you need to refresh my memory there." He said turning them over so that he was laying on top of her.

She giggled a little and pushed him off of her, "I will after the wedding believe me you're going to get sick of me."

"That will never happen." He replied kissing her temple.

About a week and a half later...

Alyssa grinned widely as she placed her diamond stud earrings in seeing Nick standing behind her in his suit shirt and tie, the arms of his white shirt rolled up his forearms. "Are you excited about tomorrow night?" She asked referring to their earlier scheme.

He grinned at her and nodded, "Hell yeah..."

"Good. You better be excited." She shot back as she stood up showing him her dress, a simple off-white silk slip dress and her hair curled lightly.

He smiled and placed his hands on her hips. "You look amazing..." He said as he marveled at the simple-ness to her outfit. It made him want to know exactly what her dress would look like when they tied the knot in just a little over twenty-four hours. "I'm glad we decided to spring the wedding on them twelve hours earlier than they expect. It'll definitely throw off the tabloids that's for sure."

"I am too, that and being able to watch their faces as they see that it's not a cocktail party and rehearsal dinner but the actual wedding." She said with a bright grin. "So really tonight is your last night as a single man."

He brought his hands up her back and pressed his forehead to hers closing their eyes. "Took us long enough didn't it?" He said joking making her grin at him in response.

Just then Kellie walked in rolling her eyes at the two of them, holding Cedric to her chest. "Jesus you're not even married yet and you're disgusting. It's going to be a whole other level of nasty cuteness with you isn't it?"

Alyssa giggled hard as well as Nick as they looked over at her grinning like idiots. AJ walked in a moment later and roll his eyes as well. "Please tell me we weren't this bad after we got married?" He said directing his question at his wife.

"You two were worse, all cute and pregnant." Alyssa quipped back as she got her clutch and the four of them walked out of the suite and to the patio of the hotel where the co-ed party was to be held. Everyone grinned as Nick and Alyssa walked in, their hands clasped tightly together as they moved through the crowd seamlessly never parting their hands as they hugged and greeted their friends and family.

Jane came up a moment later and asked to have a moment with Alyssa alone. Nick gave her a look then turned to Alyssa who nodded and let go of his hand and leaned over giving him a quick peck on the lips. "What did you want to talk about?" Alyssa asked after they had detached themselves from the crowd.

Jane sighed and gave Alyssa her best apologetic look that she could muster. "I wanted to apologize..." She started but stopped when Alyssa held up her hand.

"I don't want to hear it. Tonight is a happy night and I don't want to ruin it by talking about the past and how things were between us. We're going to be family soon and I would really like to put all that nastiness behind us." She stated giving her a look.

Jane nodded and held her hand out to Alyssa as a sign of peace. Alyssa shook her head smiling and moved forward and hugged her. Jane looked over Alyssa's shoulder seeing Nick watching the exchange and she teared up slightly before breaking apart and smiling at Alyssa. "I know this won't mean much now, but I'm so happy he has you."

Alyssa stood there taken aback by Jane's statement. "Well thank you. I hope you can find it in your heart to be at least a small part of our life. Especially when we try to have children. I know he'd never want to deny you your right as a grandmother." She replied as they nodded at each other finally making their peace with each other. "Now come on this is a party, so have some fun okay? It's not everyday that your eldest son gets married." She added making Jane smile and go back to the crowd.

Nick came walking over and wrapped his arms around Alyssa's waist from behind "You made her cry." He whispered.

"I know, it was odd to see that."

"Hey at least it proves she's not completely devoid of emotion." He replied making Alyssa laugh and turn in his arms. She leaned up and kissed him sweetly both of them smiling into the kiss only to be interrupted as everyone in the party started whooping and hollering their approval. The broke apart and laughed at everyone before immersing themselves with their friends and family.

Chapter End Notes:
thanks for reading! lemme know what ya'll thought ok? awesome! have an awesome weekened!