Grown ish: Zoey and Aaron, The Future (BOOK 2)

Part 2: Will you be my...

Zoey narrates.

This morning, I was setting up the apartment for a girl's day. I'd decided I wanted to make it special when I ask my girls and my sister Diane to be my bridesmaids.

Aaron had other plans for his best men.

As I'm cooking in the kitchen, I hear a knock at the door. I go to open it, and to my surprise, it's Doug and Vivek.

'Oh...hey guys. What are you doing here?' I ask, confused, as I gesture them to come inside.

They both hug me, before Doug hands me a bunch of flowers.

'We're here to see Aaron. These are for you.' He says, handing them to me with a smile.

'Thank you! They're beautiful.' I say.

'Is Aaron home?' Vivek asks, taking a seat on the couch.

'Yeah, one second...Aaron?' I shout his name, and he comes downstairs from the bedroom.

'Hey man.' He says, pulling them both in for a brotherly hug.

'Yo, why did you call us here today? Is everything okay?' Doug asks, sitting down.

After putting the flowers in water, I sit close beside Aaron, who places a hand on my leg.

'Actually...I wanted to ask you guys something.' Aaron says.

'Dude, you're making me nervous.' Vivek says.

'I want you both to be my best men at our wedding. I couldn't think of any one better.' Aaron says, as he looks at me and I smile, reassuringly.

'Of course, man!' Doug says, smiling.

'I'd be honoured to!' Vivek adds.

'Great, thanks guys. First job, we need to go and buy the ring.' He says, looking at me, as I stare back at him, my eyes widening with excitement.

'The ring...' I say, smiling.

They get ready to leave, and Aaron takes both of my hands in his.

'I hope your day goes well. Maybe when I get back we can go out for dinner? I love you.' He says.

I snake my arms around his neck and pull him into a hug, kissing the back of his neck.

'I love you too.'

_____

Later that day, the girls arrive at our place, followed by Diane. I have a beautiful lunch set up at our dining table, each with a name card and a hidden box.

'Okay, take a seat guys, but don't open your box yet.' I say, sitting at the end of the table.

'Zoey, what is going on?' Diane asks, confused.

'You'll see. Open them now.' I say, smiling.

They each open their boxes to reveal a beautiful selection of flowers and a personalised necklace for each of them, coupled with a note that says 'Will you be my bridesmaid?', with Diane's being maid of honour.

'So...what do you guys think?' I ask, cautiously.

'Zoey...of course!' Ana says, speechless.

'I'd be honoured.' Nomi says, excitedly.

'We'd love to.' Jazz and Sky add.

'How cute, Zoey!' Jillian says, as they admire their flowers.

'Diane? I know you're not in to all this kind of stuff...' I say, but she takes my hand on the table, squeezing it gently.

'I would love to be your maid of honour.' She says, with a smile, as I pull her in for a hug.

'I'm so excited for you, Zoey.'

_____

My idea was a success, as usual. On a high from the day, I finally get ready to go and meet Aaron for dinner.

He was waiting for me, in the lobby downstairs. I go over to him, as he smiles widely and pulls me in for a kiss.

'How was it?' He asks, as he holds my hand and we leave the building, taking a nice, slow, summer walk.

'It was perfect. Diane actually agreed to be my maid of honour!' I say, and he laughs.

'Do you have the ring?' I ask, straightforwardly, much to Aaron's surprise.

'Well...I chose the ring, and then I sized it up, and then yeah, I bought the ring.' He says.

'Can I see it?' I ask, although I know what his response will be.

'I want you to wait until the wedding. It will be a surprise.' He says, as I make a sad face.

'Besides, I don't have it. Doug has it, so don't even think about asking him to see it.' He says, as I laugh.

'Fine. But you saw your ring.' I say sadly.

'That's because you wanted me to see it.' He says, as I decide to give up. I'll just have to wait until the wedding.

We continue on our walk, my arm linked with Aaron's.

'Anyways, Doug and Vivek were talking about my bachelor party and....' He starts, but I interrupt him.

'When did I say you could have a bachelor party?' I ask, jokingly.

'Oh...If you don't want me to then it's fine...' He says, shocked , but I laugh.

'I'm kidding. It's fine! You should have it the same night of my bachelorette party. Our last moments before we're bound to each other.' I say.

'I wouldn't have it any other way. I want to be bound to you forever.' He says, kissing the side of my forehead.

'Luca actually found a nice place downtown, so we were thinking to go there.' He adds.

I nod. Luca and Aaron had become pretty good friends, since he and I now worked at Vogue together. I was glad, since Jillian had become one of my closest girls.

'You can live out your wildest dreams that night, and I won't say anything, but after that you're no longer a bachelor, okay?' I say, sternly.

'You're sure?' He asks, laughing, as I nod, resting my head on his shoulder, unknown to what I had gotten myself into.

_____