Alexa Chapter 35: London Calling, Part 1

“Do you guys always travel like this?” Katie asked as she nibbled on some flatbread and hummus before taking a sip from her Rum and Diet Coke. This was a new experience for Katie, while it was starting to seem like old hat for me. The Delta Sky Club was the kind of place that neither Katie and I had grown up with, but Jenny’s family connections had made it seem almost like part of everyday life now for me.

“One great thing about being with the Thompsons is traveling in style” I said. Jenny gave me a look of indignation before I snuggled up to her “Except for the best reason” I said before I kissed her. She gave up her pout and returned the kiss. “You better say that young lady” she said before we returned to sharing a kiss.

Just as we were breaking our kiss, our flight was announced, and we gathered our things and made our way to our nearby plane. Katie’s wonder didn’t stop. I knew that she had only flown one other time in her life and that was when we went to San Diego for Spring Break our Senior Year in High School, so everything was new to her. She spotted the Pods in the first-class section and asked if those were what we sat in when we flew over last time. All Jenny and I could do was giggle as we spotted the single pods that we somehow had cuddled into one together. “I hope you two aren’t going to get all freaky on this flight or I will have to sit between the two of you” We greeted the threat with stuck out tongues as we took our seats and I curled up into the arms of the love of my life. And as soon as the flight took off, the arm rest separating Jenny and I was lifted, and we somehow found a way to be even closer to one another.

The Delta Premium experience was excellent. It was nowhere near the level of service we had in First Class but was still very good. And when we arrived in London, we were almost as refreshed as last time. After collecting our checked bag and clearing customs, we started making our way to the line for taxis. During the flight, Jenny and I had gotten into a bit of a tiff over how we should get to Snikki’s flat. I said we would be fine taking the Underground, but Jenny was not. “It will take us an hour to get into Central London and then switch trains. We will get to Snikki’s next Tuesday. No, we are taking a cab.” And so there we were trudging through Terminal 3 at Heathrow when an exaggerated voice came from behind.

“Hey girly, need a ride?” the voice said. I turned and standing there was Nikki with a big grin on her face and Sarah shaking her head over her wife. We caused a bit of a commotion with the squeals of excitement. I hugged Sarah first before moving to the person that I had been dying to speak with. “You look great Alexa!” Nikki said as we shared a hug. I thanked her and returned the comment.

“You look incredible Nikki! I don’t know if I will be able to be seen with you all week” I joked before bringing Katie over to give her a better introduction to a woman she had only met once. Nikki was a bit embarrassed over that one meeting but Katie kidded her like she would either me or Jenny. I knew that this was going to be a fun week. “So why are you two here?” I asked. “We were just going to catch a cab.”

“That would have been too expensive” Sarah said, “Besides Nikki wanted to show off her skills” she leaned forward and with an exaggerated whisper and said, “she thinks she’s a professional.” and more giggling ensued. Nikki led us out to the parking lot, or car park as they called it, and we all piled into Nikki’s car. We listened to her try and explain that driving was a family business. Sarah couldn’t stop laughing “That’s like same I’m an expert on transgenderism just...” and she cut herself off. “Well I guess I kind of am an expert, now that I think about it” and we watched the Phillips-Thomas family share a kiss.

The drive from Heathrow into London was a bit crazy. I remembered Jenny’s and my drive back in October, but this seemed much crazier. I gripped down hard on the handle overhead and pulled Jenny in close to me. Sarah spotted us and gave a bit of a giggle. “She can get a bit crazy, girlies, so hang on.” I almost said let’s pull over and let Sarah drive, but I could see that Nikki was in a zone, so Jenny and I took Sarah’s advice.

Katie on the other hand was unfazed by all the commotion in the car. She just stared out the window and took in everything around her. As we made it closer into London proper, I could see her excitement and the realization that she was in London. Jenny looked up at me and we shared a proud look before turning back to watch Katie’s joy. It was great to be able to have her share this with us. She began asking about tourist sites in the area and we watched from the backseat as the Phillips-Thomas’ looked at each other. Nikki eased the car off the motorway and onto some side streets. Next thing I knew we were in a large expanse of green. It had to be a park, but what park?

Nikki found a little side street and parked the car. Katie practically sprinted out of the car to see what was there. “This is Kensington Gardens. It used to be the private gardens for the palace” Nikki informed us. I saw more excitement come over Katie as she asked if Kensington Palace was nearby. Nikki nodded. “We will try and drive by it on the way to the flat.” We crossed a few streets and started to walk along the outside of the gardens. There were people of all types just lounging about enjoying the beautiful day. The five us walked along for a bit taking in the sights before we thought we should get back to the flat. It was a great way to stretch out after the long flight. We got back in Nikki’s car and she drove by Kensington Palace. We begged Nikki to stop so Sarah could take a picture of us three roommates in front of the palace. Katie’s smile couldn’t be any bigger. It was great seeing her enjoy herself so much.

We pulled up in front of the girls flat and piled out. As we were pulling the luggage out of the ‘boot’ Nikki was instantly on my other half. “So, tell me Alexa, how did you get Jenny to pack so little.” Jenny shot back, saying that she was the one that had to control me. “I doubt that Jen. Remember I have slept in your closet.” Katie broke the stalemate between the two stating that she had been the one who had limited the packing.

“If it wasn’t for me, we would have had to paid as much as for baggage fees as we did for our seats!” Katie informed our friends. Sarah asked Katie if she was the voice of reason around our flat. After the explanation of what a flat was, Katie confirmed that she was. “I can only imagine what is going to happen when I move away from these two. Clothes everywhere, dirty dishes and who knows what else.” Katie said with an accusing, motherly glare. Nikki and Sarah giggled at the bashful expressions Jenny and I had adopted. We knew we were busted. Katie laughed at our predicament and said that was why she was there “to keep you two in line.”

Sarah and Nikki led the three off us up to their flat. “It will be a little tight, but we will make it work.” Nikki said. “Now Katie, you can have the sofa and Jexy you two can have our bed”

“We’re not kicking you out of your bed” I told my British sister. “We will sleep on the floor like we planned” I said.” Sarah spoke up next.

“No. You are our guests and we wouldn’t feel right about that.” Before I could even refute Sarah’s argument, Jenny spoke up.

“No, you two. We will stay on the floor. Besides it won’t be the first time we have slept on it.” Jenny said with a giggle as we remembered our last time here. Sarah showed us where we could put our luggage while Nikki went to put on the kettle. We hauled our thee suitcases in to the couples’ bedroom where Sarah showed us a corner to stash our stuff. She told us not to worry about disturbing them if we needed anything, just to knock.

“Don’t worry we will definitely knock.” Jenny said with a laugh that made Sarah blush a bit. We all returned to the living room where we sat back and relaxed, allowing Sarah and Nikki a chance to get to know Katie a bit better. Jenny curled up in my arms and rested her head on my shoulder as Nikki began in on the questioning.

“Well, Katie. Now that we FINALLY get a chance to spend some time with you” Nikki said with a smirk directed at me “is there anything you really want to do.” Katie recognizing the teasing that was underway, looked me right in the eye and said something about not going to Harrod’s. Sarah and Nikki laughed, while I shot my big sister a look. A whimper came out of my fiancée as she tried to sneak in a cat nap. “We won’t object to that” Nikki said. “We can’t afford to go there with these two.”

Katie sat for a moment and spoke up. “I really don’t know where I want to go. I guess the typical things that tourists want to see, but I am not into crowds. Mostly I just want to hang out. It’s good to get away from school, even if it is with these two.” I gave the fake laugh in response for Jenny and me as she had drifted off. Katie, Sarah and Nikki continued to chat. That was the last thing I remembered.

The next thing I knew I felt something brushing across my nose waking me up. I brushed it away and tried to fall back to sleep. I pulled Jenny in tighter and just as I felt myself drifting off again, whatever had brush against ne earlier returned. This time I heard giggling, one voice I was used to hearing the other I only heard in nightmares. “Stop it Katie!” I barked, followed by “I haven’t even been here a day and you are already waking me up Nikki!” But I wasn’t the only one that was getting the treatment. The precious bundle in my arms suddenly jumped.

“Aahh! What the hell was that!” Jenny screamed out as thrashed about with her feet. This time a giggle from Sarah could be heard. Jenny and I looked at each other. A smile crept across her face and I returned it. She whispered a “Hi’ and gave me a kiss. I returned the greeting and the kiss. She spoke a little louder next, “I think we made a mistake introducing these people.” And once again I agreed with her.

“And the worst part is we are stuck with them” I said, causing Jenny to giggle. I sat up and eyed my two sisters. As I tried to give them an evil look I couldn’t help but laugh. “Whose idea was it to do this?” I asked and the two pointed at each other. I looked at Jenny as the two began laughing, “This is going to be a long week.” The two collapsed back in their seats. Thank god for Sarah. As usual she seemed to be the most level headed one.

“Did you two have a good nap” she asked as Jenny and I tried to straighten ourselves out. We nodded. “Good, you probably needed it. Dinner will be here shortly and then it’s time to get ready”

Jenny and I both perked up at the suggestion of getting ready. “What’s the plan?” an anxious Jenny asked.

“We thought we would hit a few clubs tonight. And not just the four of us, but our whole gang.” Nikki said. Jenny and I were beyond excited. We had heard about ‘the Super Six’s’ Friday nights and how they could get a bit crazy. Also, Jenny and I were looking forward to meeting their closer group of friends. We had shown Katie pictures of the Club nights that Nikki and Sarah had sent, Katie seemed like she was ready for the partying. But I could tell there was something bothering her. I asked her what was up, and I witnessed a change before my eyes. Gone was the confidant woman that I had come to call my sister and back was that 15-year-old girl with too many freckles and was a bit chubby. “I can’t look as good any of you. All of you are beautiful, even you Lex, but me? No way I can equal you four.” And just as I was about to say something, my other sister came to the rescue,

“Katie, don’t worry about a thing. We know you have a boyfriend back home, but we will make you so hot all the guys will be after you. We have everything to make you the hottest girl in all of London.” Nikki told her, and a reluctant smile came to Katie’s face as she nodded her head in agreeing to turning herself over to Nikki and Sarah.

We enjoyed the ‘takeaway’ as Snikki called it, and it gave us a chance to find out what the other three talked about while Jenny and I napped. “We got to know each other a little bit. Told embarrassing stories about you two, especially you Miss Quinn” my British sister said to me while my American sister looked on. At that point I knew I was either the luckiest girl in the world to have two sisters like these two or the most cursed. When the three of them wouldn’t give up any more details on their conversation, Jenny and I pressed a little more about the night’s festivities and what we need to wear.

“Now I see how you Americans dress for a night out, but tonight you are going to be as glamourous as possible. Ophelia, Lauren and I came up with some proper clubbing dresses. So, you guys get cleaned up and we will get ready to hit the town our way!” We all cheered. Jenny and I for the chance to get glammed up and spend the night with our three best friends and I think Katie was cheering because she was feeling part of the group.

We let Katie get cleaned up first, so we could spend some time with Nikki and Sarah and after Jenny and I cleaned up, we all sat down in the living room. Sarah spoke first. “All right girlies, it’s time to get ready. The two fun ones are going to be you two” she said as she pointed at Jenny and myself. “We decided that the two of you need to get used to a few things before your wedding, so we let Ophelia come up with your dresses!” Nikki gave out a bit of an evil laugh as her wife finished, but Jenny and I were not in a laughing mood. We had heard about Ophelia and her love of tight fitting garments, namely corsets. While we had played with them before, neither Jenny and I had ever really worn one.

“Come on girlies, get over here and get ready to be trussed up!” Nikki said. We got up and held on to each other like we were walking to the gallows. “Come on, we are all women here. Drop those robes and spin around.” I followed Nikki’s orders nervously as I watched her reach for the black garment with strings. “Alright, hands above your head Alexa. Exhale.” And then it began.

Now as I have said many times, Nikki is my British sister and I love her to death. However, at that moment, I wished death upon her. “Oh my god Nikki! What did I ever do to you?” I asked as the corset was tightened up on me. I could see the other three standing in front of me laughing. Katie asked if she could give the laces a pull. “NO!” I screamed out, earning giggles from everyone around me and a disappointed look from my big sister.

Nikki finally stopped and tied up the laces. She stepped in front of me and began looking me over. “Worried you won’t have enough to fill out the dress? Hello Miss Upton, nice to meet you.” I wanted to tell my friend she was number one, but realized it was too early in the week to begin that. Jenny looked confused and asked me what Nikki was talking about, but before I could say anything, Nikki spoke up. “Alexa called Sarah a few weeks back worried she wouldn’t be able to fill out a dress properly. But look at Miss Parton now” Nikki said. And as much as I wanted kick Nikki in the shins for teasing me, the smile she flashed me lets me that she was complimenting me.

“Okay, blondie. Your turn.” Sarah said, and we watched as Jenny went through the same procedure as I did. The curses aimed at our host and declarations of now former friendships were quite funny. I was directly told by my love that this was all my fault. Sarah made quick work of Jenny and soon we were both standing there struggling to breathe but looking as slim as ever. We looked at Katie and watched as a moment of horror came over her face. Sarah got an evil grin on her face. As sweet as Sarah seemed, I knew she had a wicked sense of humor. ‘Ok Katie, you are next” Sarah announced. Sheer panic overtook Katie, she began stammering away and Sarah broke out in laughter. “We wouldn’t do that to you. These two deserve it for getting a couple of innocent young girls from another country all drunk a year ago.”

“You two are as innocent as O.J.” I said.

“We made the perfect dress for you Katie. IT will involve a little lacing, but not as extreme as these two. Why don’t you come back with me and we will help you get changed? Nikki will keep the bad influences away while we get you ready.” Sarah said as she led Katie back into the bedroom, only stopping to stick her tongue out at us, an action that Jenny and I returned. Just we got settled in, there was a knock at the door and in entered two young women. I knew who they were from some of Snikki’s Facebook posts, but this was going to be the first time I met Katie and Lauren.

‘Hey Girlies” the blonde, who was about the same height as me, said as they came towards us. “You girls must be the infamous Jexy. I’m Katie and this is my roommate Lauren.” Katie said as she pointed at the brown-haired girl holding a large garment bag. Nikki spoke up and handled the introductions. “It is so great that we finally have the chance to meet you’ Katie said somewhat enthusiastically. Lauren was a bit more reserved than Katie, but her comment that they regretted not going to the Vikings match with us when we over last time was nice. As soon as Lauren said ‘match’, I looked over at Nikki who had a huge smile across her face. I rolled my eyes as I recalled our infamous argument that Sunday morning back in October.

“So, are those the dresses you and Sarah made?” An obviously excited Jenny asked after some opening pleasantries. The smile on Lauren’s face went from being polite to engaged as she handed the bag to Nikki and began unzipping it.

“Yes, they are. I see Nikki has you in your battle armor already. Jenny, we decided we would get a little creative with yours and Alexa, we had some help in designing yours, so you wouldn’t feel as self-conscious as you have said you have been.” Once again Nikki stood there with a smart alek grin.

“I am never telling you anything again.” I tell Nikki, who just laughs and said that’s what friends are for. Jenny is practically jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas Day as she reached for the dress. She drops her robe and slowly slips on the bangled dress. It is short, white and skin tight. At the top and bottom of the dress there are large sequin like objects sewn to it and the pattern slowly disperses as it reached the middle of the dress. The unique thing about the design is the single sleeve. Jenny is over the top once she gets it on.

“Oh my god! This is beautiful! This is the most gorgeous dress I Have ever worn!” Jenny squeals out. She profusely thanks Lauren for the dress. Lauren stands back and looks at it like only a true artist would do. She makes little adjustments to the dress before deeming it fit. She turns back towards Nikki and reaches into the garment bag and grabs the dress for me.

“Do you have a halter bra with you Alexa?” Lauren asks. I shake my head no. “Well I guess you will just have to go bra less then.” As she hands me the purple cloth hanging from a hangar. I can see that it is a halter dress of some type, but the design is a bit odd. I step in to the dress before I modestly take of my bra as I hold the dress in front of me. Of course, Nikki laughs at my attack of shyness. I pull the dress up and slide my head through the neck loop of the sleeveless dress. Lauren steps in front of me and adjusts the front. It is a cowl neck front that does show a bit of cleavage, but the front gives the illusion of much more behind the dress. I am in awe. I have never been in a dress quite this tight and short. I knew it must look good as I see the same look from Jenny that I saw back at Harrod’s when I tried on the purple cocktail dress. I watched Nikki give my fiancée a slight nudge as she giggled. Jenny blushed as she looked at me.

Jenny and I moved closer to one another and let each other know what we thought of the others dress and shared a quick kiss. “Aww!” Katie said. Not our Katie, she was sick of us, but Sarah and Nikki’s friend. “You two are so cute. Just like Snikki.” Lauren though was making me a bit nervous. She kept floating around me adjusting the dress, making sure that it hung properly. She stood back checking us once again. The tight smile must have meant she was pleased with the dress. Just as Jenny and I were about to say something, there was another knock at the door.

“Jenny, Alexa! You guys made it back!” Jacinta squealed out as she rushed into the room and gave both Jenny and I hugs. Behind her trailed a girl slightly shorter than us, fuchsia and gold colored hair in a tight fighting long but still quite amazing dress. This could only be one person. Jenny walked up to immediately.

“Hi, Ophelia I am Jenny. We finally get to meet!” The bubbly Jenny was in full force. Ophelia smiled politely as Jenny stammered on. “We have heard so much about you from Sarah and Nikki that I feel like we know you already. This is my fiancée, Alexa” Jenny said and waved me over.

“It is a pleasure to meet both of you as well. Nikki and Sarah have sung your praises for so long.” And we shook hands. “Could you tell me where Sarah may be? She texted me to say she needed my assistance with the dress I made for your roommate.” We pointed towards the bedroom and Ophelia excused herself. She knocked before entering. As the door was opened, I could hear Katie questioning Sarah’s dress design rather loudly. Jacinta was a bit surprised by this and asked if Katie was going to be OK.

“This is nothing. It would be worse if Alexa was in there helping. You know sisters.” Jenny said which earned a hip check from me and laughs from the other people in the room. We all settled back into a seat. I asked Lauren what they had done for my Katie’s dress, my worst fears taking over me. Lauren tried to ease my concerns and the glass of wine that Nikki brought me helped a bit. However, knowing that Ophelia had a hand in the design made us worried. Those worries were put to rest a moment later. Sarah was the first exit the room, followed closely by Ophelia. Then came Katie. Jenny gasped while my eyes bugged out my head.

Standing there was someone I had known forever but felt like I was meeting for the first time. The woman who stood in front of me was a complete knockout. The dress that Ophelia had designed was strapless and obviously had a built-in corset. It was covered with a load of silver sequins except for the bottom six inches of the barely thigh length dress, which was covered in black sequins. The most amazing part was the top. Katie was practically spilling out. Katie spotted me and said the thing that would calm me down the most.

“Don’t you dare say anything to Danny!” At that very moment a flash went off and there was Jenny standing there with her camera pointed at Katie.

“You don’t have to worry about me, but you might have to worry about his future sister-in-law” I joked. Katie’s look went from angry with me to pleading with Jenny. After a few promises were made by our roommate for when we got back home, did Jenny finally agree not to send the picture. Katie seemed to relax a bit.

“All right enough of this arguing” the other Katie bursts out. “It’s time to party!” and we all shouted our agreement. After a few more glasses of wine at the flat, it was deemed time to go and hit the clubs. Since we all couldn’t fit in one cab, two were ordered up. Jenny, Snikki, Katie and myself went in one while the rest went in the second. The quarters were a bit cramped, so I in some strange twist, I wound up on Jenny’s lap. It was difficult for me to keep up the modesty between the shortness of the dress and Jenny’s roaming fingers. I had to playfully chastise her a few times to stop, even though I didn’t want her to, to keep up appearances. Jenny didn’t stop until the voice of reason, Katie, came down on us.

“Would you two knock it off! Bad enough you do that with me around, but we are with other people.” Katie said. We mockingly sat back in fear which got both Sarah and Nikki laughing.

“How do you put up with these two?” Sarah asked. Katie stated that it was difficult, especially when she didn’t have her chair and whip with. This got all of us laughing and the ride to the club was a blast.

This was to be only the third time I had really gone to a dance club, and both times were the same one about a year apart. And I have never worn a dress quite like this. The line (or queue as Lauren called it) was huge. It wasn’t cold, but these skimpy dresses and our light overcoats were not going make for a pleasant wait. But leave it to Nikki and her connections. Just like she had when we went and saw Out of Heaven, Nikki took Sarah’s hand and led the group up to the front door. I don’t know what she said but, next thing I know the doorman was lifting a velvet rope and moving to the side to allow us to enter. Nikki was lead us to the VIP area of the glitzy club. I caught up to her and asked how she did that.

“Just have to know the right people. Besides, it frees up more of your money for buying the drinks tonight!” The memory of the deal I made back in December came back. I sighed and got ready to pay.

And pay we did. The night was crazy. We danced until our feet hurt and drank until we could no more. And we made new friends. The biggest issue came down to the two Katie’s “We need to figure out how to differentiate between the two of you Lauren said to the two same named women who had seemed to become good friends. “We can call our Katie, Kathy” I said knowing that she hated being called that. She didn’t take the bait bit did shoot back at me.

“Only if we can call you Aly” she said with a grin as she finished of the last of her glass. Snikki giggled at the mention of Jenny’s name for me when I was being ditzy, and I had to explain it to the rest. It was decided that the British Katie would be Hendo for the rest of the week, though it really didn’t matter. The term ‘The Katies’ was used a lot that night. As in “Where are the Katies now?” Usually they were on the dance floor but occasionally at the bar. This allowed us to spend some time with Lauren and Ophelia. Jacinta seemed to float between the Katies and us. That and trying to attract the attention of as many guys as she could.

As the fun increased, so did Lauren’s personality. The quiet, withdrawn woman we had met back at the flat, slowly opened to us. She was a very bright and funny person who seemed to have a bit of a mischievous side. She was good at getting her roommate going about boys and teasing Nikki. And Jenny and I found Ophelia to have a very wonderful sense of humor. It took a bit to get it out of her. Or maybe Jenny and I were bit slow on picking up on it, but by the end of the night we both realized that despite her outward appearance we had another friend.

And that’s when a new thing hit me. Friends. I had never had a lot of friends, and neither had Jenny nor Katie. But now here we were with a group of incredible women, half we had only met that day. And I felt like I could call them friends. Rather than let this get me down, I decided to slam down the glass of champagne I had my hands and announced that it was time for some more dancing. And that is exactly what we did. The nine of us took over the dance floor. We danced as a group and laughed and teased each other and the British women adapted us as one of their own. And even though Katie, or should I say Hendo, and Jacinta would look for boys, it seemed we never left the group. We stumbled out of the club at closing time. All a bit tipsy but still smiling and laughing. We all said our goodbyes and broke off into different cabs. That was about all I remember of the night. Other than the laughter and friendship. And the bar tab. I sure hope my cousin was enjoying those CDs.

The next morning marked the return of my British alarm clock. I could feel the air mattress being kicked “Hey get up.” Nikki said. I groaned loud enough to wake up Jenny who was cuddled up next to me.

“What is going on?” she asked, her voice croaking away.

“It’s that damn British alarm clock“ I mumbled in reply. Jenny giggled as she lay there trying to squeeze in closer to me. I opened one eye and saw Nikki standing there in a dressing gown with a cup in her hand. She looked like she had been through a war. “Why do you insist on waking me up Nicola and what time is it” I asked her as she stood there.

“It is quarter of eight and if I am going to be up, so are you. Besides, Katie is the one who got up. She is anxious to go out and see more of London. And since we are having lunch with my parents today, I though you may want to look respectable.” Nikki told me as she sat down on the sofa next to us. It took me a minute to gather my senses and ask where Katie was. “She is already in the shower. I figured you two would want to go next.” The next thing I knew I was practically pushed to the side by my fiancée who shot up.

“We are going to see your sister today?” Jenny asked excitedly, seemingly having overcome her hangover instantly. Nikki laughed at Jenny and I pulled her back down to try and get her relax a bit. She fought me the whole time and eventually I gave up. She hopped up off the air mattress and started trying to pull me up. “Come on Lex, we have to get ready” she ordered. Nikki and I both began laughing at Jenny’s eagerness and soon the pout came out of my 22-year-old going on toddler better half. “Please Lex! I want to see Jenny!” I gave up the fight and followed Jenny to the bedroom.

We took our shower and left it for Nikki and the newly awake Sarah, who blamed Jenny and I for her hangover. Both Jenny and I opted to go with a fun look of skater skirts, mine in black and Jenny’s in grey. I went with a black and white sweater that was cut at the midriff and Jenny a similar one in maroon. The shoes were the final touch. But as I went through the shoes, I realized I didn’t bring the ankle boots I wanted. Jenny smiled at that “Oh darn. I guess we will have to go buy you some. I wonder where we could go?” I know exactly where she was thinking, and I didn’t need that much prodding. “Harrod’s!” We both shouted out.

We exited the bedroom to find our roommate, but this was not the ‘normal’ Katie. Gone were the leggings and sweatshirt. Now Katie was standing in front of us in a tan flared A-Line skirt and black sweater like the one I was wearing. Jenny and I stared at her in shock. Katie did a little twirl. “You like?” She asked. We sat down on the sofa and asked her to explain. “I thought it was time to change my look a bit, plus I looked at your pictures from your last trip and knew I had to up my game. Does it look OK?” She asked, and we could only nod. She smiled thanks and took a seat next to us and we waited for our hosts, who were not long behind us.

“So where do you want to go Katie?” Sarah asked. ‘These two have seen the main sights already so we thought we would give you the choice today, Katie was almost bashful in her response of wanting to see Buckingham Palace. Sarah proved once again why she was one of the sweetest people we knew. She gave a very comforting smile and said “No problem. We figured you would plus it is near where these two want to go.” Katie asked where that was. In unison Jenny and I answered.

“Heaven!” Quickly followed by Nikki’s response.

“Oh God!”

Jenny and I laughed. Sarah then explained to Katie what ‘Heaven’ was. Katie just shrugged her shoulders and said she figured that no matter what she said there was no we she could keep Jenny and I from going. We all grabbed a coat and made our way to the Tube station and were on our way. We exited the Underground and walked across Green Park to the official residence of the Queen. It was cool out, but a beautiful day. Katie was in awe of the Palace and had the requisite pictures taken. We found someone to take a group picture of us with one of the guards. It was a teenage boy who was clearly a bit in awe that 5 beautiful young women would ask him to take their picture. Katie even flirted with him a bit, which floored me even more. I asked Katie jokingly if she was feeling OK.

“I feel great. Maybe I just want to fit in a bit. Maybe I just want to prove I still have it. But most of all I am just having some fun!” Katie told me. She must have sensed I was having some thoughts that things were strained with Danny. Her attitude last night about her dress, her and the other Katie running off together at the bar and now flirting with the boy. Katie being Katie picked up the conflict I was starting to go through and came closer. “Don’t worry, I still love your brother and I am not going to do anything to mess that up. I just want to let loose a bit.” I smiled, and we shared a quick hug.

We spent some more time around the palace and strolling down the mall and part of St. James Park. We purposely avoided Birdcage Walk, though we did roughly point out where our previous encounter had occurred. When we got near the Horse Parade grounds it was decided we should head to Harrod’s. Nikki asked Katie is she was ready for this, as Jenny and I walked along with Sarah. “I was there when Alexa’s fascination with shoes began. But do you want to know something, I think when we were I high school, Alex might have had three pairs of shoes. Now she has more than Jenny!” Nikki told her she might have been witness to the beginning of my shoe fascination, but this was a whole new level of excitement for us, and it was. Jenny and I were practically shaking with excitement as we rode the lift to the what we felt was the greatest floor in the world. And while Katie tried a few times to control us, she enjoyed both our excitement and the variety of shoes. We managed to leave with only three pair of shoes, mostly because Nikki was pushing us because we had to go meet her parents and little sister.

We entered the coffee shop and before Nikki could even find her parents, a little voice could be heard calling her name. Soon the little blonde girl came running over “Nikki, Sarah” little Jenny yells out. Nikki reaches down and snatches her little sister up for a quick cuddle. “Mummy said you bring a surprise” the toddler said. Nikki turned to the side and directed her sister’s gaze back at us. You could see the recognition come into the youngest Thomas’ eyes. “Big Jenny!” she yelled out. Little Jenny wiggled out of her sister’s arms and ran over to my now crouching fiancée. The two shared a quick cuddle.

As my Jenny was standing up, I could hear Katie ask the question, “Big Jenny?” she said, earning a glare from her roommate. Little Jenny pulled ‘big’ Jenny along while the rest of us explained that we were not allowed to use the name. “Even you Alexa?” and I nodded. Katie was shocked by this. We followed the Jennys over to where to where the parents were sitting. Jenny and I had met Mrs. Thomas once before but that was very brief. “Mummy, Daddy this is my friend Jenny, just like me.” The little blonde girl said.

‘Your friend Jenny? I thought she was your sister’s friend?” Mr. Thomas asked. “Hello girls, glad you could come. Please have a seat.” Little Jenny maneuvered it so she sat between her mother and my Jenny. Nikki and Sarah sighed a bit as we all took seats around the table. Sarah teased my Jenny about stealing her normal spot as she sat down next to Jenny. “Okay we have established who Jenny is, so who may you other two be? Nikki jumped in and introduced Katie and I and we shook hands with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. Jenny took a break from her viewing of Little Jenny’s art work to introduce herself to Nikki’s father.

“So, were you girls out last night, celebrating your arrival?” Mrs. Thomas, Sandra as she insisted on us calling her, asked. Nikki sighed again and shot her mother a look across the table.

“Mum, we are young and of age. Of course, we went out. What, did you think we were going to sit at home and play Scrabble?” Nikki said and this time the look came from the older woman. “We were good mum and home at a decent hour. We knew better since we were meeting up with you.” I don’t think Sandra was completely buying her oldest daughter’s explanation.

“Other than our clubs, have you seen anything else?” Chris Thomas asked. Sarah let him in that we had been to Kensington Gardens and Buckingham Palace. “And of course, we had to go to Harrod’s” Sarah said. Chris laughed at that. When Chris asked who was so anxious to go there everyone pointed at me. I tried to play innocent and tried to deflect some of the guilt towards my other half, who was too engrossed with her young friend to pay any attention to this. It took me tossing a sugar packet at her to get her attention. Jenny admitted that she was just as guilty as me, thanks to some teasing from the rest of us.

We ordered lunch and continued to chat with Nikki’s parents. They were such nice people, Mr. Thomas, Chris, wanted to know all about what we had planned as far as excitement. We told him our plans had changed from our original itinerary, since Man City would not be playing Brighton on Sunday. Chris began to tease Jenny and me about jumping on a bandwagon. Jenny got a bit defensive and I tried to challenge him on his club. Chris got a bit quiet at that point. “My club isn’t the issue here” Chris said with a smile, a smile that instantly reminded me of when Marty would tease me. “the issue is you come over once and instantly are supporters of the club breaking all the records.” Before I could even get a comment out, Chris’ daughter spoke up.

‘Where is West Ham on the table, dad?” Nikki asked. Jenny and I couldn’t help but laugh at Chris, while his daughter just starred him down with a smirk. We continued on a bit about things we thought we should see and Chris had some great thoughts of sights we should go and see, especially places we should take Katie. He claimed he was a bit of an expert, being a taxi driver and all. Katie mentioned that Nikki had tried to show off the family skills for us yesterday, which earned Nikki a look from her father.

Sandra began asking about our wedding plans and if we had seen the dresses yet. Sarah handled that response. “No, they have not. I figured that I would get Nikki to take Alexa and Katie out on Monday, so Lauren and I can check Jenny’s fitting and then we have to figure out what to do with Jenny when we get Alexa into her dress.” Both Sarah and Sandra looked at me with big smiles after this and I got a bit excited. Jenny piped up that she could hang with Nikki then.

“Oh no we won’t. I am one of Alexa’s bridesmaids. I must be there for the fitting. Same with Katie.” Nikki said. Jenny began to mock pout a bit. It was little Jenny who broke the mood.

“You can come play with me Jenny” the toddler said. My Jenny giggled and said she would. “It will be more fun the being with your silly sister won’t it?” Little Jenny giggled and agreed.

The food came shortly and soon Katie was being quizzed a bit. Katie explained how she and I had been friends forever. “Now we are sisters. I would do anything for these two. Mostly though I have to keep them in line. They can get a bit full of themselves” Both of Nikki’s parents nodded and said they understood. “Nikki can get that way at times. Thank god for Sarah.” Chris said.

Little Jenny started to get a bit rambunctious as we sat around visiting after our lunch. Chris and Sandra took this as their cue to head out. We exchanged goodbyes and the Jennys made plans for later in the week. Since we had some time this afternoon, we once again asked Katie what she wanted to do. Her answer was a bit surprising. “I want to go to Abbey Road and get our picture taken. With that announcement, we found another taxi to take us to one of the most photographed places in London. Jenny wanted to have four people in the picture, but Katie got a bit sentimental. “Would it be OK if it was just the three of us?” Katie asked. There was no way either Jenny or I could turn that down, so we lined up and re-created the famous Beatles album cover. But then Katie came up with another idea. She pointed at Sarah and Nikki. “Your turn with those two” she told them. “You are the Fearsome Foursome from what your friends have told me.” So, we obliged, and I had to admit I wanted that picture too. When we were done I gave Katie a hug and thanked her for setting it up. “Why wouldn’t I? I love you guys.” I couldn’t help it and began to cry as I held on to my big sister and before I knew it Katie had turned me over to Jenny, who hugged me as tight as ever.

Jenny discovered something while we were at the crosswalk, she spotted the ‘Abbey Road Shop’ It was a store, so of course she screamed out that we had to go. The five of us made our way over to the shop. The teasing of our two British friends came along with us, but it was worth every second. The shop was neat. Lots of not only Beatles paraphernalia, but souvenirs representing some of the other great albums recorded at this studio. But it was the Beatles items that caught our attention. Katie’s mom was a big Beatles, so she picked up a cool scarf for her. Jenny and I found a charm that would be perfect for the bracelets that my mom had gotten us for our birthdays. The saying on it was perfect for us ‘All You Need is Love’. As soon as we saw them we knew we had to have them and snatched them up.

After making our purchases, we realized how close we were to Snikki’s flat, so we decided to make the less than a mile walk back. The day had turned a bit overcast, but it was still nice just to be able to walk along the street with these four amazing women. I had a flashback to when we went to lunch with Jamie and company last time. This time however my mood had changed. I was no longer thinking how odd it was to be in this situation. This was real, this was my life, and I couldn’t be any happier. I was with four people who had supported me and cared for me. One more than the other three and I reached for Jenny’s hand and flashed her a smile. She returned the smile and I think she knew what I was thinking.

We got back to the flat and began getting changed for the big night at Charlotte’s. Katie couldn’t believe my and Jenny’s excitement. Nikki however began to tease us. “We are just going to Charlotte’s. Typical Saturday night.” Nikki said with a shrug. Jenny and I were all over our host and Sarah just laughed as her wife continued with her teasing. “I mean sure they are on TV and they are supermodels, but big deal.” Nikki broke after that and began giggling as well and told us how she can understand our excitement.

Another taxi was called and the five of us pilled in and began the trek to Charlotte’s house. Sarah had explained to us before we left that our skimpy little clubbing dresses from the night before would not be needed but dressing up was quite common. The three of us roommates had packed with the night in mind. Jenny slipped into a red skater dress that came down to just above her knees and matched that with a pair of sand colored platform pumps. Katie had brought along a green bell sleeve dress that accented her eyes and hair perfectly. The dress caused me to tease her again about being on the prowl. This earned me a kick in the shins. “As I told you I am here to have fun. But there will be no boys!”

“I’m with you Katie!” Nikki said as she wrapped her wife in a hug. “But I don’t know about Alexa over here. She looks like she is out to tempt a few young men” I just simply stuck my tongue out at Nikki.

“She better not be. She is all mine!” Jenny says and gives me a kiss. I will have to admit that the dress I am wearing is a bit more daring than I would wear back home. The tight-fitting bodice gave me a little more than I naturally had and showed off enough cleavage to give my mother and brother a heart attack. And other than the dress I wore last night, this might have been the most form fitting dress I had ever worn. Jenny really seemed to like the short length of the dress, as she kept running her hand up my leg, which I liked too. And of course, it was purple. I was getting a bit of grief from Nikki about the color, but I didn’t care. I like the color. And so does Jenny.

We pulled up in front of a very large home after a drive that left us a bit turned around. Once again Nikki led the way to the front door of the house. Jenny and I were so excited Katie had to tell us to calm down, but we were having a hard time doing that. Just as we were reaching the door, it swung open. Standing there were two beautiful blonde women, one we knew personally and the other we only knew from television. Jenny and I were star struck. Nikki turned and saw the look of awe on our face as we looked at Charlotte and Jamie standing there welcoming us in. “Knock it off you two, it’s just Jamie and Charlotte” Nikki said before being admonished by her mentor and her mentor’s best friend. Jamie welcomed us in to the house and greeted us with hugs.

“So glad you two could make it. And who is this?” Jamie asked. I pulled myself together enough to introduce Katie to Jamie. Jamie made a comment to Katie welcoming her to the party. I noticed that the tough demeanor that Katie had put up had vanished as she shared a hug with the beautiful model I had come to call a friend. Not to be out done, Charlotte welcomed the three of us, saying how sorry she was that she didn’t get a chance to meet me and Jenny the last time we were here. We told her we more than understood if she had better things to do. She laughed at that.

“Yes, like taking care of sick little boy while the father runs off to a gridiron match. Plus, mornings were a little tough for me right around then!” Charlotte said with a chuckle as she patted her extended mid-section. I had forgotten that she was pregnant and instantly both Jenny and I were asking her how it was going. “It is a little tough getting up from the sofa sometimes, but not as bad as it will be” Charlotte said with a smile. Jenny turned towards me with a gigantic smile across her face. The look made me think that as much of a traumatic experience as it had been, my time at the ‘milking parlor’ was well spent. I smiled back and new that someday that would be Jenny.
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Jamie and Charlotte led us in to Charlotte’s home and the party. We were instantly met by the models’ husbands, who we knew. Stuart commented on the color of the dress and began asking me questions about the Vikings and if Cousins was going to be better than Keenum. Jamie rolled her eyes and gave me a little bit of a hard time about her husband’s newest passion. I asked him about his football club, but he warned me not to start. He was well aware of Jenny and I aligning ourselves with the Cityzens.

We began to make our way through the crowd and were amazed at all the people here on a Saturday night. “This is nothing. You should have seen Nikki’s birthday party” Charlotte said as they followed us in and introduced us to Viks and Hannah. Hannah was nice as she kidded her fellow Angel about already knowing us. Charlotte then led us on the meet more of the Angles. It was kind of like the three if us were being paraded about and meeting everyone. We lost Nikki and Sarah somewhere along the way as we were introduced Abbey-Gayle, Alice and Kelly. I was excited to meet Kelly as I knew she had gone through surgery as well and had learned almost about her as Jamie in recent months. It was as we turned to another group that the fun really began.

“Oh look, it’s the entertainment for the night” I heard from a sarcastic voice. Jenny and I turned to see one half of our favourite group in the whole world standing there. The petite blonde had a genuinely warm smile as she giggled. The brunette standing next to her had a smart-ass smile stretched a mile wide across her face. Rather than go into fan frenzy like we had over the Angels, we stuck our tongues out at Miss Abbott before sharing hugs with the two singers. “great to see you guys!” Stephanie said as she returned to the normal wonderful person she normally was.

“Will you ever let us forget that?” Jenny asked Steph as they released their hug.

“Never” Stephanie said with a twinkle in her eyes. “I have saved that clip. I can’t wait to play it for your children when they get old enough.” Nikki and Sarah began threatening their friend as they came up. It was then Katie let her presence be known.

“You should have been there for the live show.” Katie said with a laugh.

“Stephanie, Kayla, I would like to introduce you to our roommate and my wannabe sister-in-law Katie Fahey. Katie this Kayla Ford and Stephanie Abbott from Out of Heaven.” Katie exchanged greetings with the two before Stephanie began asking not only Our and Snikki’s drunken night of singing but about living with Jenny and me. I was excited for Katie to meet these two, but soon we found we were almost excluded from the conversation. Katie went on at how shocked she was that Jenny and I were not in histrionics over being so near us. I gave Katie a little kick which got the two singers laughing. As we were standing there, Lauren and Hendo showed up. They decided they needed to drag my sister over to the bar. Jenny and I were kind of grateful for that, because it gave us a chance to talk to the two singers.

“How’s it going you two?” Jenny asked in a whisper while I looked on. We watched the two turn and look at each other with a familiar looking smile before retreating back into their public shell.

“Really well.” Kayla stated. The pair continued to smile but I could see that Steph’s was somewhat forced. From past texts, I knew a little of the frustration Stephanie had in regards with everything, but I also knew how much the pair cared for each other. We talked some more, and I asked Stephanie if she would have some time this week. There was something more private I wanted to ask her. Before she could answer, her girlfriend spoke up. “Let’s get together for lunch. Does Monday work for you two?”

I laughed as I watched Jenny frown a bit. “How about another day?” I said. “Someone has their fitting with Sarah that day.” That changed the discussion into our wedding plans, which we were happy to discuss. I noticed the two share a smile as we were talking that was much different than the one before. I don’t know if Jenny picked up on it, but I sure did. It put me a bit on edge as if there was something was in the works.

The music had begun, and before we knew it, the Phillips-Thomas’ were dragging us onto the dance floor where the four of us spent nearly an hour enjoying ourselves. That was quickly followed by the need to re-hydrate ourselves. We enjoyed the drinks on one of the many couches and watched the festivities around us. Jenny cuddled in close to me and gave me a kiss on cheek. It wasn’t long before we were joined by the Katies, Lauren and Snikki. As I sat there and looked around, I was once again amazed at how far I had come since that fateful day. I found the person I was supposed to be. I was not that dweeby guy that I had been for the first twenty-one years of my life. I was a twenty-two-year-old FEMALE college student. I had made some incredible friends both at home and here in London. And here I was in that same ‘foreign’ city celebrating life with those friends, but all of that paled to the most important happening of my life. That person kissed me again. And then stood up. “Come on babe, let’s dance.” Who was I to say no to that offer?