Last Minute Preparations

This one is a liiiiittle shorter than my normal posts, but it made sense to cut it off where I did, so that's what happened.  The next guaranteed post will be Friday.  I'd like to be able to get one up tomorrow but I can't promise that.  And Thursdays are pretty crazy for me.  So, stayed tuned to see if I can pull off anything on Wed or Thurs, but I promise a post for sure on Friday!  (And on Saturday, for that matter.)

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As I had predicted, Friday morning hurt.  Brody woke me up as gently as possible at 8:30, which was when I had requested to be woken up (I made that request while sober, knowing that Drunk Liv would have other ideas).  "Nooooo," I groaned, shoving my face deeper into the pillow.

"I know, it sucks," Brody said, with way more sympathy than I deserved.  "But you have a list of things we need to do before the rehearsal, including a 2pm salon appointment."

I groaned again, but rolled onto my back and opened one eye.  "Fuck," I said.

Brody laughed.  "Come on.  Get in the shower and I'll make some breakfast.  And coffee."

"No, no food," I protested.  "Coffee yes.  And tylenol."

"Coffee, tylenol, water, and something we can take on the road for when you inevitably decide you're suddenly starving. Got it.  Oh, and here.  Drink this first."  He handed me a bottle of Gatorade, which was a welcome sight.

"I don't deserve you," I replied, sitting up and trying not to groan again.  "You're amazing."

"I know I am, but you definitely do deserve me," he said with a chuckle.  "Up." I took the bottle of Gatorade and tentatively took a drink.  When I didn't immediately feel the need to throw up, I drank about a third of it.

Once I got myself dragged into the shower, I realized I didn't feel quite as awful as I probably deserved to.  I felt significantly better following the Gatorade and shower, at least.

When I came downstairs, dressed, hair blow dried, and a little makeup on, everyone was sitting at the kitchen table watching me.  "What?" I asked.

"How are you feeling?" Jen asked casually.

"Better than I deserve to," I replied.

"That was not the song you were singing 30 minutes ago," Brody was quick to point out.

"Brody was fearful for his life when he went up to wake you," my mom said helpfully.

I rolled my eyes and immediately regretted it.  I still had a hell of a headache.  "I did feel pretty awful when I woke up, and I definitely don't feel great, but I'll survive," I amended.

When we got to Colorado Springs, the first thing we did was drop off a couple final payments.  "Should we go pick up our rings?" I asked Brody.

"Nah, I can get them while you're getting your nails done," he offered.  So we went and checked into our hotel, which we were lucky enough to be able to check into early, and confirmed everything with room reservations.

I sat on the bed in the hotel room and made confirmation calls to all our vendors (more to soothe my anxiety than anything).  Then we went and got lunch before Brody dropped me off at the salon, where I was meeting Jen, my mom, Thalia, Lynn, and Lauren to get our nails done.

The rest of the day was a blur of rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and hanging out with our rehearsal dinner attendees for awhile after dinner.  I stayed far away from the alcohol, cringing at just the thought of drinking.  Finally, around 11, we left the restaurant we were at and headed back to our hotel.

"I'm glad we're spending the night together," I said, as Brody closed and locked the hotel room door behind us.  Most people had been shocked to find out we weren't sleeping separately the night before the wedding, but we didn't care.  I knew I'd sleep better if we slept together, and I wasn't worried about jinxing our marriage by seeing him prior to the wedding.

He looked at me and lifted his eyebrows suggestively.  "Me too," he replied.  "Is there some rule about having sex the night before your wedding?"

"I'm sure there is, and I also don't care," I said, closing the space between us and slipping my arms around his neck.  He grinned as he kissed me and lifted me off the floor.  I wrapped my legs around his hips as he walked over to the bed and sat down.

He pulled his lips from mine and looked at me seriously.  "I can't believe that by this time tomorrow, you're going to be my wife," he said softly.  He traced his fingers along my hairline and down to my jaw, then wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled my mouth back to his.  I pushed my hands into his hair and tugged lightly, and he groaned against my lips.

I'm not entirely sure how we got our clothes off, because our lips barely parted the entire time.  Even after we finished, we laid next to each other with our foreheads pressed together, our noses touching, and our lips close enough that when we talked, they brushed the other person's.

I didn't think I'd sleep at all that night, but Brody wore me out quite effectively, and I slept really well.  I didn't wake up even once, until I heard the hotel room door opening and quiet voices.  I sat up, confused, and was instantly grateful we were in a suite with a separate bedroom because I heard Brody thanking someone and assumed it was a hotel employee.  He or she would have gotten a nice view when I sat up if the bed had been visible from the door.

"You're awake," Brody said softly, coming back into the bedroom.  He smiled at me, and I couldn't help but notice his hair was perfectly disheveled from sex and sleep.  I wondered if I'd ever look at him and not feel insanely attracted to him--then quickly hoped that never happened.

"I am," I agreed.  "Who was that?"

"Room service," he replied.  He held out one of his t-shirts to me.  "Come have breakfast with me."  I sat up and took the t-shirt he offered, pulling it over my head.  Brody looked at me appreciatively.  "You look so much better in that than I ever will."  I blushed, which made him laugh.  He grabbed my hand and pulled me against him, kissing my forehead and hugging me tightly.  "I love that I can still make you blush," he said, still chuckling.

"It's not like it's hard," I retorted, but I smiled and followed him out of the bedroom

"I hope you don't have breakfast plans," he said, looking at me questioningly.  I shook my head.  In truth, I had been so caught up in making sure that everything else for today was perfect that I hadn't even thought about what I'd eat this morning.  "I know today is going to be crazy, so I wanted to have a little time with you to myself before the circus starts."

"That sounds perfect," I said, impressed--but not surprised--by his thoughtfulness.  I was grateful for it, as well.  The more I woke up, the more jittery I got.  It was nice to be able to take a half hour to enjoy breakfast with Brody before I moved into the crazy part of the day.  He had ordered omelets, French toast, bacon for him and sausage for me, fruit, coffee, and orange juice.  "Thank you," I said, smiling at him.  "This looks amazing."  We sat at the small table in the living area of the hotel room and ate.

As the food disappeared, I got quieter as my nerves took over.  I wasn't at all nervous to marry Brody, but I kept thinking about all the people.  I wished I could channel high school Liv, because she adored being the center of attention.  That part of me had disappeared somewhere around my junior year in college.  Now the idea of saying vows in front of 50 people had me on the verge of panic.

Brody took the tray and dishes and set everything on the counter, then pulled me up out of my chair.  "Are you okay?" he asked, a hand on either side of my face.  I nodded.  He frowned skeptically.  "You don't look okay."

"I'm nervous," I admitted.  "I know 50 people is a fairly small wedding, but right now it sounds like so many."

"I have a feeling that once it starts, you'll forget all about them," he murmured, taking his hands off my face to wrap his arms around me.  "I know I will.  As far as I'm concerned, it'll just be you and me."  I nodded, leaning against him and taking a couple deep breaths.  "And you're going to look so beautiful that even if you trip or something, people will still be jealous."  I laughed then andv felt a little calmer.

"Should we test that theory?" I asked, my voice muffled by his shirt.  Now Brody laughed.

"No, let's not," he said.  "Just believe in it."

I stayed for a few more minutes, but then it was time for me to leave to go to Lynn and Lauren's suite to get ready for the day.