Nick sat there in the back of the church. His childhood best friend, Brizee, was getting married.  Nick couldn’t stand the guy. His name was Matt.  Nick told her that he wasn’t going to come to the wedding. She begged him to come but he refused. Now he didn’t know why he came.  His bandmates, Brian, Kevin, Howie, and AJ were beside him.  Brizee and Matt were pronounced husband and wife.  They kissed and everyone clapped. They walked up the aisle.  They walked past Nick and the guys without a glance. Everyone started heading to the reception.  Nick just stayed seated.

       “Nick,” a voice said.  Nick looked up and saw Brizee’s mother, Laura.

       “Hi Laura,” Nick said.

       “Are you okay,” Laura said. She sat beside him.

       “No,” Nick said.

       “You don’t like Matt, do you,” Laura said.

       “No,” Nick said.

       “You are in love with my daughter, aren’t you,” Laura said.

       “Yes,” Nick said.

       “Why didn’t you stop the wedding,” Laura said.

       “Because she loves him,” Nick said.

       “Nick, if you want her, go after her,” Laura said.     

       “Laura, she just got married, it’s too late,” Nick said.

       “Never too late for true love, she told me the real reason that she was marrying Matt, Nick, Brizee has been in love with you since you both were 18, that has been four years, she married Matt because she didn’t know how you felt about her,” Laura said.  Nick got up and went to the reception.  He walked over to Brizee and Matt.

       “Hi Briz,” Nick said.

       “Nickers!” Brizee said hugging him.

       “I could not be a no show at your wedding, I knew I had to be there,” Nick said.

       “I want to talk to you, alone,” Brizee said pulling him outside and down the beach to a secluded area.

       “What’s up, why are we here?” Nick said.

       “I want you, Nick, I want you to make love to me right now,” Brizee said.

       “What, Briz, you just got married, you are married to Matt,” Nick said.

       “Please, Nicky,” Brizee said.

       “I can’t,” Nick said.  Brizee took her dress off.

       “How about now,” Brizee said.

       “Briz, why,” Nick said.

       “I have been in love with you for four years, I want to know what it’s like to make love with you,” Brizee said.

       “Briz, I can’t, okay, it’s so wrong, someone could find out and it could get back to Matt, I can’t do that, Briz, I can’t do it, okay, you just got married today,” Nick said.

       “You don’t want me,” Brizee said.

       “God, Briz, I do, more than anything, but it’s wrong now,  you are married, I just want you to know that if you two break up and get a divorce, you know where to find me,” Nick said.

       “You’re in love with me, aren’t you,” Brizee said.

       “Yes, I am, but I can’t have you and I am not going to break up your marriage, okay,” Nick said.  He walked back to the reception.  Matt came up to him.

       “Nick, man, this was all a setup,” Matt said.

       “What do you mean,” Nick said.

       “Briz and I aren’t really married, we faked the wedding, everyone was in on it, she wanted to see how you felt about her, she loves you, not me, I have found the woman of my dreams, I have to go to her, enjoy the party!” Matt said.  He left.  Nick stood there. He went back out and went back to where he left Brizee and saw her sitting there.

       “You want me, you got me,” Nick said.  Brizee smiled and pulled him down and kissed him deeply. 

       “Take me to your house,” Brizee said. Nick picked her up and took her to his house and carried her in and up to his bedroom and laid her on the bed.  He closed his door and locked it and laid on top of her.  He pulled her clothes off and she pulled his off and he made love to her. Afterwards, they laid there holding each other.

       “I don’t want to lose you,” Nick said.

       “I don’t want to lose you, either,” Brizee said. They kissed and fell asleep holding each other.

Chapter 2

Nick snapped out of his daydream and watched as the woman he loved got married. Brizee and Matt kissed and went up the aisle.  She saw him and smiled and continued on.  Nick sat there staring at his hands.

       “Frack, man, you okay,” Brian said.

       “I lost her,” Nick said softly.

       “She is still your best friend, man, you haven’t lost her,” Brian said.

       “I know, I won’t get to be with her now,” Nick said.

       “You will as a friend, man,” Brian said. The guys got up and went out the door.  Nick sat there. Tears ran down his cheeks as he thought about everything that went on.  He got up and went to the reception.  He saw Brizee and Matt surrounded by friends. He went over to the drink table.  He got some water and sat down at the table where the guys were.

       “Nick, man, cheer up,” AJ said. Nick gave him a dirty look.

       “Bone, leave him alone, okay, his best friend just got married, he’s afraid he’ll lose her,” Brian said.

       “Sorry, Nick,” AJ said. Nick nodded.

Brizee and Matt came over to the table. 

       “Hi guys, thanks for coming,” Brizee said.

       “Hey, you are our friend, we wouldn’t miss it for the world, even if we postponed a couple of shows, it’s worth it,” Kevin said.  Kevin, Howie, AJ, and Brian all hugged Brizee. They congratulated Brizee and Matt and sat down.  Brizee looked at Nick.

       “Nickers, you okay,” Brizee said.

       “I’m just a little tired, but I’ll live,” Nick said.

       “Aren’t you going to give me a hug?” Brizee said. 

       “Oh yeah, sorry,” Nick said standing up.  He hugged her tight. She smiled and hugged him back. She pulled back and saw tears in his eyes.

       “Nickers, are you crying?” Brizee said.

       “No,” Nick said wiping his eyes.

       “Nick, come on, I know you, what’s wrong,” Brizee said.

       “Nothing, okay, I need some air,” Nick said.  He walked outside.  He stood there staring at the stars.

       “Remember when we would lay on the beach and just stare at the stars,” Brizee said.

       “Yeah, I do,” Nick said.

       “Nick, something is bothering you, what is it and don’t lie to me,” Brizee said.

       “It’s nothing, I just feel like since you are married, you won’t have time for your best friend,” Nick said.

       “Nickers, you are my bestest friend, I could never not have time for you, when I get back from my honeymoon, I will come see you and we can hang out, Matt and I talked about this and he knows how much you mean to me, so he won’t have any problems with it,” Brizee said.

       “Really?” Nick asked.

       “Yeah, you really thought I wouldn’t want to hang out with you, think again, Nickers, you are stuck with me as your best friend,” Brizee said.  Nick hugged her.

Two weeks went by and Brizee and Matt returned from their honeymoon. She sat down in their house.

       “Briz, call Nick and hang out with him if you want to,” Matt said.

       “Should I?” Brizee asked.

       “Yeah, Briz, we talked about this, I can’t keep you from seeing your best friend, I may be your husband but you can make your own decisions,” Matt said. 

       “Okay,” Brizee said as she ran to the phone. She called Nick and talked to him. She hung up.

       “I’m meeting Nick at his boat, do you want to come?” Brizee asked.

       “Briz, you know I get seasick,” Matt said.

       “I know, but I wasn’t sure how you would feel about me going out on a boat alone with Nick,” Brizee said.

       “Briz, he’s your best friend, you have known him since you were a baby, okay, I can’t compete with that, I can’t keep  you from spending time with him, go, have fun, I’ll see you when you get back,” Matt said.  Brizee hugged him and grabbed her suit and a towel and she went to the marina. She saw Nick sitting on his boat.  She saw a girl standing there with him. She went over to the boat.

       “Hi Nick,” Brizee said.  Nick smiled.

       “Hey girl, glad you could come,” Nick said hugging her.

       “You know I like being on the ocean,” Brizee said.

       “I know you do, so where’s Matt?” Nick asked.

       “At home, he gets seasick easily,” Brizee said.

       “Oh Briz, this is Tiffany, my new girlfriend, Tiff, this is Brizee, my best friend,” Nick said.

       “How long have you two been best friends?” Tiffany asked.

       “Since we were babies, her family lived next door to mine and her mother and my mother became best friends, so that means, so did me and Brizee,” Nick said.

       “Well, nice to meet you, Brizee,” Tiffany said.

       “You, too,” Brizee said as she got on the boat and shook Tiffany’s hand. Nick drove the boat out and stopped it a half hour later. Brizee came up dressed in her bikini. Nick noticed something and came over to her.

       “Briz, where did this bruise come from?” Nick asked.

       “Oh that, I’m so clumsy, I got out of bed and hit the nightstand while I was in Hawaii,” Brizee said.  Nick looked at her. She knew she couldn’t lie to him.

       “Briz, I know you are lying,” Nick said.  Tiffany came over.

       “Matt hit me,” Brizee said.

       “That bastard, you’re not going back to him,” Nick said.

       “Nick, he apologized, he is sorry, he lost his temper,” Brizee said.

       “He hit you! You got hurt!” Nick said.

       “Nick, I’m fine, okay, Matt knows what he did was wrong, he apologized, that’s all,” Brizee said.

       “Brizee, please, just come to my house tonight, call him and tell him that you are spending the night with me, he’ll understand,” Tiffany said.

       “Yeah, Briz, you know I care about you, please,” Nick said.

       “I’m sorry, Nick, but he’s my husband,” Brizee said.

       “Fine, be that way,” Nick said.  He went up to the controls and drove the boat back to land. He parked the boat.

       “Nick, please, everything is fine now,” Brizee said.

       “I just don’t want you to get hurt, Briz, you are my best friend,” Nick said.  Brizee hugged him.

       “I know and you are mine, I know you are always there for me when I need you,” Brizee said.

       “I always will be,” Nick said.

       “I gotta go, I’m a newlywed, gotta be with my hubby, see ya!” Brizee said. 

       “Bye,” Nick said.  Brizee went home and walked in and saw Matt lounging on the couch.

       “Hi babe, have fun?” Matt asked.

       “Yeah, Nick’s got a girlfriend, her name is Tiffany, she’s really nice,” Brizee said.

       “Really?” Matt asked.

       “Yeah, I think she is right for Nick, I like her,” Brizee said.  Matt sat up and hugged her close.

       “Briz, I’m sorry for hitting you,” Matt said.

       “Matt, it’s okay,” Brizee said.

       “Briz, I know we just got married, but I can’t be with you knowing that I hurt you, I don’t want to hurt you again and if we stay together, I know I will hurt you, I’m going to file for a divorce tomorrow, I’m sorry,” Matt said. Brizee ran out the door and went to Nick’s house.  She rang the doorbell.  Nick opened the door in his boxers.

       “Briz,” Nick said.

       “He’s filing for a divorce,” Brizee said.  Nick pulled her close and hugged her.

       “Why,” Nick said.

       “He doesn’t want to hurt me again and getting a divorce is the only way he could think of to keep from hitting me,” Brizee said.  Nick hugged her tight.

       “You can stay here if you want to,” Nick said.     

       “I don’t want to impose,” Brizee said.

       “Briz, you are my best friend, you won’t be, you can stay here as long as you want to,” Nick said.

       “Thanks,” Brizee said.  They sat down and talked.

Chapter 3

The next day, Brizee went back over to pack up her things. Matt was there.  She walked in and saw him kissing Tiffany. She snuck back out and went back over to Nick’s. She went in and saw Nick.

       “Hey, where’s your stuff,” Nick said.

       “I didn’t get it, I went in and saw him and went back out,” Brizee said sitting down beside him.

       “What’s up,” Nick said.

       “He was kissing another girl, Nick,” Brizee said.

       “You said it was over, what’s the big deal?” Nick said.

       “It was Tiffany,” Brizee said.

       “What, are you sure,” Nick said.

       “I’m positive, it was her,” Brizee said.  Nick sat there.

       “I can’t believe this, why would she do this to me,” Nick said.  Brizee put her arm around him.

       “I don’t know, I’m sorry, Nick,” Brizee said.

       “Why did I get together with her in the first place, knowing that I was in love with someone else,” Nick said.

       “Who are you in love with?” Brizee asked.

       “Just someone, I can’t say, it will jinx it,” Nick said.

       “Nick, do you remember when we made a promise to each other, that if we were in relationships and both got hurt,” Brizee said.

       “Yeah, if we both got hurt, we would sleep together to forget the pain,” Nick said.

       “Well, we both got hurt,” Brizee said.

       “Briz, what is it,” Nick said.

       “We promised each other, Nick, I’m in pain and so are you,” Brizee said.

       “I don’t want to do anything I’ll regret,” Nick said.

       “I won’t regret it, and I’ll make sure you don’t either,” Brizee said.  She ran her hand down his chest. She saw the affect that she was having on him.

       “You want me, I know you do, and you can take me,” Brizee said. He crushed his mouth to hers and picked her up and carried her upstairs to his bedroom. He closed the door and laid her on the bed and laid on top of her.

       “There’s no going back after this, Briz, are you sure,” Nick said. 

       “Make love to me, Nicky, make me yours,” Brizee said.

       “Briz?” Nick asked.

       “I want you and only you, you are my soulmate, Nick, I didn’t realize it until now, it’s you I wanted all along, I shouldn’t have married Matt, I should’ve married you,” Brizee said.  Nick stroked her cheek.

       “It killed me to watch you marry him, it hurt so bad, I guess I got together with Tiffany to make the pain go away,” Nick said.

       “We can be together, Nick, I want to be with you forever,” Brizee said.

       “I want to be with you, be my girl,” Nick said.

       “Forever,” Brizee said. They kissed and pulled each other’s clothes off and made love.  Afterwards, they laid there holding each other.

       “Now, what about our friendship?” Nick asked.

       “It’s still here, just stronger and more than friendship,” Brizee said resting her head on his chest.

       “I need to officially break up with Tiffany,” Nick said.

       “I need to get divorce papers from Matt,” Brizee said.

They went to sleep holding each other.

Chapter 4

The next day, Nick met with Tiffany. Brizee met with Matt. Brizee looked over the divorce papers.  She signed them.

       “That’s it, the marriage is over,” Matt said.

       “Yup, I’ll get my stuff,” Brizee said.  She went upstairs.  She was packing up when Nick came in.

       “Hey,” Nick said.

       “I signed the papers,” Brizee said.

       “Good, now we can be together,” Nick said. Brizee smiled.

       “The only place I want to be, Nickers,” Brizee said. He smiled and kissed her lips softly.

Three years went by since that day.  Nick and Brizee were getting married.  Brizee walked down the aisle with her father. She looked at Nick and smiled. Her father placed her hand on Nick’s.   Matt and Tiffany stood beside them as best man and maid of honor.  Matt and Nick became best friends. Tiffany and Brizee became best friends. They double dated a lot and hung out together. All of them remained the best of friends up to this day.  The ceremony began.

       “Do you, Brizee, take Nick to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day on?” The minister asked.

       “I do,” Brizee said.  Nick smiled.

       “Do you, Nick, take Brizee to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day on?” the minister asked.

       “I do,” Nick said.  Brizee smiled. Matt and Tiffany handed them the rings. Nick slid the ring on Brizee’s finger.  Brizee slid the ring on Nick’s finger.

       “Brizee and Nick wish to sing a song together symbolizing their love for each other, the song is called From This Moment On, sung by Shania Twain and Bryan White,” the minister said.  Brizee and Nick went over and got the microphones. The music started and they sang to each other. 

From this moment life has begun

From this moment you are the one

Right beside you is where I belong

From this moment on

From this moment I have been blessed

I live only for your happiness

And for your love I’d give my last breath

From this moment on

I give my hand to you with all my heart

Can’t wait to live my life with you can’t wait to start

You and I will never be apart

My dreams came true because of you

From this moment as long as I live

I will love you, I promise you this

There is nothing I wouldn’t give

From this moment on

You’re the reason I believe in love

And you’re the answer to my prayers from up above

All we need is just the two of us

My dreams come true because of you

From this moment as long as I live

I will love you, I promise you this

There is nothing I wouldn’t give

From this moment

I will love you as long as I live

From this moment on

After the song was over, they hugged. They went back to where the minister was.

       “I now pronounce you, husband and wife, you may kiss the bride,” the minister said.

Nick cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly. Everyone clapped.

       “Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Nickolas Gene Carter,” the minister said.  Everyone stood up and clapped. Nick and Brizee walked up the aisle.  Once through the doors.  Nick pulled Brizee close and kissed her deeply.

       “We did it!” Nick said.

       “Yes, we sure did, Nicky!” Brizee said.

       “I hate that name,” Nick said.

       “I know, Nicky!” Brizee said.  They went to the reception where they had a blast. Brizee was talking with Tiffany.

       “How does it feel to be Mrs. Nickolas Gene Carter,” Tiffany said.

       “Feels great,” Brizee said smiling.

       “Can’t wait for the honeymoon, huh,” Tiffany said.

       “Oh yeah, oh a song!” Brizee said.  She went over to Nick and whispered something to him. He smiled and they went up onstage.

       “Everyone, can I have your attention, okay, my new wife and I are going to sing a song, it is originally sung by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw,” Nick said.

       “It’s called Let’s Make Love, goes out to all the couples out there,” Brizee said.  The music began. They sang it while facing each other.

Baby I’ve been drifting away

And dreaming all day

Of holding you, touching you

The only thing I wanna do is to be with you

As close to you as I can be

Let’s make love

All night long

Until all our strength is gone

Hold on tight

Just let go

I want to feel you in my soul

Until the sun comes up

Let’s make love

Do you know what you do to me

Everything inside of me

Is wanting you, needing you

I’m so in love with you

Look in my eyes

Let’s get lost tonight

In each other

Let’s make love

All night long

Until all our strength is gone

Hold on tight

Just let go

I want to feel you in my soul

Until the sun comes up

Let’s make love

After they were done, everyone clapped and cheered. Nick hugged her close.  They enjoyed the rest of the reception and then left for their honeymoon.

Epilouge

Nick and Brizee laid in bed in their hotel room in Hawaii.  They spent the last hour in bed, making love and were now holding each other.

       “I love you, Mrs. Carter,” Nick said.

       “I love you, too, Mr. Carter,” Brizee said.

       “I love holding you,” Nick said.

       “I love you holding me,” Brizee said.

       “We are going to be together forever, I have a feeling that we will be together forever,” Nick said.

       “I hope so, I’m lost without you,” Brizee said.

       “One thing I know, you are my angel from above,” Nick said.

The end