outtakes

Please tell Bess that if she ever dares to show her face at Emerson again, all bets are off.

Nancy's eyebrows rose as she glanced from her phone over to Bess. The other girl was absorbed in a magazine, half-slumped in the uncomfortable seating at their departure gate. "Before I answer this, Bess, any idea why Ned would be... maybe nuclear-level pissed?"

Bess's entire face lit up, and she clapped her hands. "Really?" she squealed.

Nancy tilted her head. "Please don't leave me in suspense," she told her best friend.

Bess sighed, although her eyes were still sparkling. "It was just an idea," she said, her voice bright with false innocence.

"What kind of idea?" Nancy asked, emphasizing each word.

"Seriously, you're gonna enjoy it," Bess said, her eyes wide. "You will."

"Enjoy what?"

--

Bess tried to minimize her role in all of it, but when Nancy called Trish, the Theta Pi sister came clean.

Bess followed several members of the Theta Pi sorority on social media, and one day they had been brainstorming fundraiser ideas. The conversation had quickly devolved into completely absurd chaos, with people suggesting selling the right to name a star, apple bobbing for dates with members of the sorority, timed pumpkin carving, butter sculpting. Then someone said "we could always do the calendar thing again."

Thanks to her time helping out with the Harrison campaign, Bess was always on the lookout for ideas for them and for a few of her other pet causes, like the River Heights Animal Shelter and the local homeless shelter. So she'd asked about the calendar, and then she'd looked it up.

And then... she had suggested it to the Omega Chi president.

The president, who wasn't an idiot, had selected the twelve most popular fraternity members and put up a poll to see who should pose for which month. And Bess had made sure Ned won for each of them. By a significant margin.

Then... then she'd come up with outfit ideas.

"'Judge'?" Nancy said, her voice thick with disbelief.

Bess just clasped her hand to her chest. "Excuse me for thinking that he would give off a 'Stern Legal Daddy' vibe in some black robes, holding a gavel."

Nancy shook her head. "I..."

Bess let out a sigh of exasperation. "With God as my witness, I will not bang Ned. I mean, unless you two have been broken up for like a year, and you've signed an affidavit saying you're okay with it."

Nancy, filled with mingled fury and bemusement, just shook her head. "Never gonna happen."

"Which I know." Bess sighed again. "So just give me this, Drew, dammit!"

Ned had let the fury win, by the time Nancy called him. "What are you so upset about, Nickerson?" she asked. "I have a very vivid memory of you almost accepting a major modeling contract. It's like that."

"If we were talking, I don't know, a well-supervised hot-air balloon ride, it would be different," Ned retorted. "I don't even know what the hell 'stern legal daddy' means."

Nancy burst into laughter. "Did she actually say that? Poor baby."

"It makes me wonder whether she has some sort of weird crush on your dad."

Nancy paused. "Okay, now I want to throw up," she said. "I'm ninety-nine percent sure she doesn't. Also, any combination of my father and—those words you just said..."

"Stern legal daddy?" Ned repeated.

"Yes, those," Nancy replied, shuddering a little in genuine revulsion. "No. Plus, given some of what I've seen on her social media, I think it might involve you growing a graying beard..."

"Which I have zero interest in," Ned sighed. "Ugh. This is the worst. And it's for a good cause, so I feel shitty if I say no."

"The 'good cause' being Bess's intense interest?"

"No, the Emersonville Women's Shelter."

"Definitely a better cause," Nancy agreed.

"So you're gonna come up for the shoot, right?" Ned paused. "Uh, alone?"

Nancy laughed again. "I wouldn't miss it for worlds," she told him. "And I won't tell Bess until it's over."

Ned grumbled, "She probably already knows."

--

An Omega Chi brother who had graduated had his own photography studio, and had volunteered to take the photos at a reduced rate. Nancy was disappointed to find, when she arrived, that this also meant the backgrounds would be digitally added after the fact. She'd wondered how they were going to pull off the firefighter one: shooting on location, maybe?

Bess's suggestion of "judge" hadn't made the cut, but Nancy was intrigued by the rest. "Firefighter" had probably been inevitable, and Ned trudged to his marked spot before the green screen, wearing charcoal smudges of soot that served to highlight his already magnificent cheekbones and, somehow, made his dark eyes look even more sultry than usual. He looked weary, resigned, but still ridiculously hot.

Nancy fanned herself.

He'd borrowed legit turnout gear, and was wearing the jacket open to reveal his bare, sculpted chest, the heavy pants hanging tantalizingly low.

Nancy kept fanning herself, pursing her lips. Damn.

"You okay, Drew?" Ned called, a smirk turning his lips up.

"I'm not sure," she called back. "Also, I might end up buying all the copies of this."

The photographer chuckled as he peered through his camera to line up the shot. "If Ned's cool with it, I can send you the whole thing, with all the outtakes."

"Yes," Nancy agreed, so quickly that both Ned and the photographer laughed.

While Ned did occasionally keep grumbling, his mood had definitely improved after the fourth costume change. Nancy was laughing so hard during the "cupid" shoot that the photographer swore he'd only been able to get maybe two decent shots, as Ned mugged mostly for her. Nancy was pretty sure Bess had specifically ordered the "leprechaun" outfit, it was so deeply scandalizing. Ned wouldn't even let Nancy see what it did in the back.

"It's traumatizing me enough," he told her. "Just... it's bad, babe."

Then Ned walked out for the next session, wearing a classic tux. He'd shaved off the stubble that had added some ridiculously hot edge to the "cowboy" and "firefighter" outfits, styled his hair, and...

Jesus.

He was carrying a black velvet box, too, which he pulled out of a pocket with a sigh. "All right, Ben?"

Ben tapped his chin. "We'll try a few like this, then a few with the shirt open," he decided.

Nancy shook her head vigorously. "No. No, you won't."

Ben and Ned both turned to look at her.

"Uh, this? Is already gonna make—well, anyone with ovaries... excited. This, open shirt? Like, also maybe with the shirt wet?"

Ned and Ben cracked up. "Babe, look, I am all for you hijacking this thing for yourself. Especially if it all ends up being outtakes."

"For my own... personal use."

Ned arched an eyebrow and made an inquisitive sound so close to a growl that Nancy's knees almost buckled. Their gazes were locked, and suddenly there wasn't enough air in the room.

Then she gasped. "The ring? Another Bess idea?"

Ned shrugged. "Probably," he said, his shoulders relaxing slightly. He'd been just as caught up in their sizzling attraction as she had.

"Why are you acting natural? She's probably standing outside in a wedding gown!"

Ned's eyes widened. "Shit. You're right."

Nancy checked her phone and, knowing she was—hopefully—being ridiculous, dashed for the door. No one was outside, just the few cars she had seen there when she had pulled in.

Still. Ned in a tux with a ring? The thought of Bess—

No, actually. It wasn't Bess. It was any woman gazing longingly at that image of Ned for an entire month. Nancy had experienced it herself, and while he hadn't been in a tux, while she hadn't said yes, it had still been a very special moment in their relationship.

What would you have done if I'd said yes?

Nancy tried not to think about it that often. She hadn't been able to help it, though, on some nights. The nights after miserable, terrible fights that had left her heartsick and wondering if their relationship would survive until the next morning. The first night she had spent in his bed, terrified of what it meant and what it didn't.

What would it have meant, and how much would have changed?

When she strode back into the main area, the photographer was collapsing his tripod, and Ned was nowhere in sight. "What—finished?"

The photographer shook his head with a smile. "He's out back," Ben replied. "Some inspiration struck. We'll do the next shots out there."

The building was older, and out back, Nancy saw what must have drawn the photographer to the office in the first place. An old brick courtyard, a little timeworn around the edges, detailed in vintage wrought iron, a few vines crawling up to explore a post or two. The fountain, the centerpiece of the whole scene, bore traces of moss but was gently splashing away.

Ned stood beside it, and he'd taken what she'd said to heart. His hair was slicked back, the tux jacket off, shirt open and translucent with more water, tie hanging loose.

The sight was more than enough to send anyone to their knees in speechless adoration. And Nancy wasn't immune, not at all.

All of it, the whole look... "Damn," she whispered, shaking her head. A very unwelcome tear swelled, and she impatiently dashed it.

"Here," Ned said, his lips curving up as he beckoned her. "Let's do some outtakes, babe."

Nancy laughed, but she couldn't say no. She didn't want to say no. She walked toward him, suddenly a little embarrassed by her more casual outfit, a turquoise cotton sundress and leather sandals. No woman would want her in the photos to impinge on their fantasy of this, and that galvanized her. For just a moment, she could be a part of the fantasy too.

She heard the shutter cough behind her as she closed the distance between them, and then Ned wrapped her in his arms, holding her tight, the wet fabric pressing against the bodice of her dress. "I love you, babe," he said, and smiled, that slow, sweet smile that completely melted her.

"I love you," she replied, just as softly.

His gaze lingered, locked to hers, for a long moment. "They say third time's the charm, right?"

"Yeah," she agreed, slowly, not sure what he meant.

"Then that takes the pressure off, I think."

Her brow furrowed slightly, and she felt him flex against her as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out the black velvet ring box, and her lips curved back up in a gentle smile as she saw it, as she heard the camera snicker somewhere behind her.

"This is the ring I didn't have, that first time," he said, his voice pitched low, just for her. "And we can have dinner after this, regardless, really. This... will only mean something if you want it to."

Nancy searched his eyes, and saw the warmth and sweet anxiety there. Her stomach flipped as her lips parted. "Ned...?"

"Will you marry me, sweetheart?" His gaze stayed locked to hers, and nothing could have made her look away. "Once I'm graduated and we can start to make a life together?"

The camera snickered again beside them as Nancy's eyes filled with shocked tears. "This... it's real?" she whispered, her voice high as she fought back the tears, the last word cracking slightly.

His fingertips stroked up and down her back. "It is," he confirmed. "But you don't have to answer now, or tonight..."

Everything. She had thought of this so many times, and while she'd never seen it this way, it was still somehow perfect. Her incredibly handsome boyfriend, scrubbed clean, in a wet translucent-white shirt, the heat of him against her, the backdrop of the fountain and the towering wall of leafy green behind them, the perfect weight of the late-summer afternoon, and... this.

"I..." Her heart was pounding.

His expression softened, and then he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a long, sweet kiss. Nancy relaxed as she slid her arms around him, clinging to him as he picked her up. They kissed again, again, and while her mind was spinning, her body was very familiar with this. Her pupils were blown wide, her lips still parted, as he pulled back.

"You—" he began.

"Yes," she said on a soft sigh, at the same time.

Ned's eyes widened as he processed what she had just said. "Yes?" he repeated, his voice bright too.

She nodded, a pair of tears slipping down her cheeks. "Yes," she confirmed. "In a year. Oh, I can't believe this is real!" Her voice rose to a quiet squeal at the end, and she sniffled and reached up to dash her tears again.

He boosted her a little higher, so their eyes were on the same level, and while the camera was still clicking behind them, she couldn't even register it. Ned was grinning, and the pure joy on his face made her shiver. "You haven't even seen the ring yet," he commented softly.

She shrugged with another sniffle. "It could be a fifty-cent ring out of a little vending machine for all I care," she commented. "But I know your mom and I trust her judgement."

Ned made a quiet outraged sound, but his eyes were still warm. "Not mine?"

"Of course I trust your judgement." She grinned. "You chose me, after all, even though... well, you'd have every reason not to. But I also know how interested your mom probably would have been in all this."

"And why would I get her all excited, not knowing what your answer would be?"

Nancy smiled, tilting her head. "'Ned's been saying he wants to marry you for years now,'" she repeated.

Ned blushed—he actually blushed!—and ducked his head. "Well," he murmured. "I have every reason to choose you, Nan. You're the most incredible person I've ever met, and when I'm with you, I feel like anything is possible. Including..." He chuckled. "Including this."

"Including this Pride and Prejudice-meets-romance-novel photoshoot."

"Is that a complaint?"

"The opposite, really. I mean, sure, I could have walked out with perfect hair and a prom dress, but... this..."

"Is us," he replied. "Were you surprised?"

She nodded eagerly. "I mean, a part of me has been waiting for you to ask again for ages now, but..."

"Ages?" He shook his head. "I hope it was worth the wait, then."

"It was." Her gaze was intense as she held his. "It definitely was."

--

"Were you surprised?" Bess was so excited that the question nearly came out as a shout. "Oh my God look at it!"

Nancy laughed helplessly as she splayed her fingers and let Bess scrutinize the ring. Edith Nickerson hadn't disappointed, not at all. It was tasteful, classic, with enough of a modern edge that it didn't look like it had been lovingly passed down from a ninety-year-old great-grandmother. The stone was large, but not gaudy, and the profile was low enough that Nancy wouldn't be continually snagging it on her hair, her clothes, what anyone else was wearing around her.

Ned had given Bess and George a heads-up, and in exuberant celebration they had showered the newly-engaged couple in a fine rain of glitter as they had walked into the back room at an Emersonville restaurant. Nancy's and Ned's parents were there too, along with a few of Ned's closer friends at the fraternity, who had shared knowing grins and backslaps as they greeted him.

"Was this all just to set this up?"

Bess shrugged, looking up from her menu. "I'd been thinking about it for a while?" she volunteered.

Nancy's eyebrows rose.

"My idea involved a rented yacht, a staged speedboat chase, and probably a chocolate fountain," Ned said, though he was grinning.

"So... is the calendar real?"

"Yes!" Howie replied. "Yes, definitely. It's just not gonna be wall-to-wall Nickerson. Plus I get to dress up as a firefighter." He flexed his biceps with a grin.

Nancy laughed and shook her head. "Sorry I ever doubted you, Bess."

Bess grinned. "It was worth it, though, right? I mean... he's your soul mate. Your deeply hot, just..." She fanned herself. "Just absolutely perfect soul mate. And the best seat I can imagine is your co-maid of honor on your wedding day OH MY GOD!"

Nancy, Bess, and George all dissolved into laughter, as did the rest of the table. "That's a given," Nancy said, her cheeks flushed, still hiccuping slightly as she recovered. "Of course you two will be there, by my side."

"Guarding her against all enemies both foreign and domestic in my absence," Ned added with a stern look.

They didn't have a single drink all night, but at the end of it, Nancy felt drunk, buzzing with happiness and excitement and love. She hugged and kissed all the guests who hadn't even been sure whether they would just be having a nice dinner with them or not, and heard their eager congratulations.

"Oh my God," Nancy sighed, as she dropped her purse just inside Ned's bedroom door, as he closed it behind them. "Am I awake? Today was just... surreal."

Ned snickered. "Tell me about it. For you, only you, was that leprechaun outfit worth it."

Nancy dissolved into laughter again. "You sold it," she agreed. "You definitely sold it. I had no idea at all."

"Like you did the first time?" He slid his arms around her, and Nancy's pulse rate jumped at the feel of him so close to her, the knowledge they were finally, truly alone.

"I had no idea the first time," she admitted. "I just thought we were going out for a very nice date, to make up for how completely absent you'd been."

"And we did," he replied. "Which meant I couldn't do that this time."

"Well, you could have."

"And you would have been anxious the entire meal."

"Yeah."

"Were you waiting, every meal, every opportunity...?"

She shook her head. "I guess sometimes... some times felt more likely than others. Like the first time we..."

Ned's lips curved up in a grin as she trailed off. "Slept together," he filled in.

She nodded.

Ned pulled in a deep breath. "Talk about pressure," he said on the exhale.

"What? The... sleeping together?"

"All of it?" He carried her over to the bed. "I was so concerned about it being good for you."

"And it was." She held his gaze, without a hint of hesitation, as she agreed. "It was better than I'd ever imagined, and more."

His mouth met hers, and she shivered and melted into his arms, drawing him close even as he lowered her to his bed. His hand snaked down and he pushed the long skirt of her dress up, and she wrapped her legs around him.

Her husband. He would be her husband. It was more than she had ever imagined.

"When you—" She was panting when he broke the kiss to reach for his fly and kick his shoes off. "Like, the whole wet shirt tie hanging loose, look—like, this..."

"You were hot for me then, huh, Drew."

"Very much so."

"Well, I can go run an undershirt under the faucet..."

Nancy laughed. "Maybe, after midnight, we can just sneak into the shower together. Same aesthetic."

"Mmm. My girl, wet hair, slick skin, all steamed up?" He growled in appreciation.

She chuckled. "Weird strangers' hair strands stuck to the shower curtain, no way to get any leverage, the constant risk of someone walking in on us?"

He paused, spellbound, as she tugged her bra off. His thumb was hooked in the elastic band of his underwear, and he pushed them down. "In the common one, sure," he replied. "We're sneaking into the nice one."

"Mmm." She opened her legs to him as he slid onto the bed again. "I love it. Getting this relationship on the right foot..."

He perched over her and smoothed her hair back from her temples, searching her eyes. "I meant what I said," he said softly. "I didn't want to put any pressure on you, or us. If it had been up to me, yeah, I probably would have told Ben to get lost and let us have the courtyard to ourselves for a while. Bess thought it would be important to you to have the formality of it, the announcement, everything, I guess..."

Nancy shook her head. "I still can't believe she kept it a secret," she marveled. "I would have sworn she would give something away. And I guess she did. All that excitement over the calendar was really her disguising the excitement over the surprise. I was half-convinced this was her way of saying she was going after you."

"She did, just for you, in a way," Ned said with a smile. "Seriously. Are you okay with this?"

"I'm more than okay. This was nothing like I expected, but it was perfect." She slid her arms around him, her gaze centered on his. "And the perfect ending for this incredible day... is just a few feet away..."

Ned laughed easily as she wrapped her legs around him. "No pressure," he joked.

"I'm so wet for you that you'll be lucky if you can get it half in before I come."

Ned grinned. "Challenge accepted."