My Plus One

He had her feeling so blissed out, licking her lips, she was about to tell him, 'I'm sure we'll be fine sharing a bed,' when Chris came up behind them and cleared his throat to get their attention.

His eyes narrowed, Henry turned his head and waited to see what he wanted. Chris was smirking as he leaned closer and said, "Sorry to interrupt. But Jenn and I kind of felt bad about you two losing the extra room. And the thing is, she's starting to feel a little superstitious about me seeing her tomorrow before we're married. So... we wondered what you'd think of the two of us sharing a room. Then Jenn and Marina could have your room. And they can both get dressed tomorrow without us seeing them before the wedding."

Henry held Marina's gaze trying to gage her reaction. But knowing it was probably for the best, before she could even think of what to say, he shrugged and said, "Sure, I'd be okay with that."

Marina managed to force a smile as she agreed. "I'd fine be with it, too."

When Marina unlocked the door to their room, and flung her purse on the bed, she noticed that Henry's suitcase was already gone, replaced by a trolley cart with everything Jenn would need for the wedding.

Taking her makeup off in the bathroom, muttering to herself, as she tossed each tissue into the waste basket; she noticed it sure as hell hadn't taken him long to decide that she wasn't his type.

She couldn't believe how fast he'd said, 'Sure,' when his brother had suggested that he bunk in with him and let Jenn share a room with her.

After she'd stripped off her clothes, and got into her pink boy shorts and matching T-shirt, Marina wrapped herself in one of the fluffy, white hotel robes hanging on the back of the door. She'd just reached for her toothbrush to brush her teeth, when she heard someone knocking.

Half-wondering if it might be Henry reconsidering, she opened the door and found Jenn standing on the other side in the hallway, looking a little sheepish. She looked so young and vulnerable with her face scrubbed clean and her blonde hair up in a pony-tail, that she barely recognized her. "I hope you're really okay with this," Jenn said, before she even stepped inside.

"Of course," Marina assured her, as she pulled the door open to usher her in.

Jenn walked over to the bed, sat down, and explained why she thought she should stay in another room. "I was talking to my grandmother this morning, that sadly won't be coming because she's not very mobile anymore. And she said she hoped Chris wasn't going to see me in my dress before the wedding tomorrow. According to her, it's really bad luck. Her brother saw his bride before they were married, and they broke up a few months later. Ever since, she and her sisters always wondered if that was why." She looked up at Marina and smirked. "I know it sounds crazy, but she kind of spooked me when she said that."

Marina got on the bed beside her, and they both scooted up to rest their backs on the headboard, like two old friends.

"I don't think it's crazy," Marina said, as she shifted the pillow behind her back.

"Anyway, that's why I asked Chris about Henry and I switching rooms." Jenn grinned. "I just hope I don't snore and keep you awake, or you'll be begging Henry to come back."

Then Jenn reached into the pockets of her robe and started to dump bag after bag onto the bed. She winked at Marina. "My naughty little secret. When I'm nervous, I indulge. Though, even Chris doesn't know how bad I am."

Marina's eyes flared as she thought about all the drug use amongst celebrities that she'd heard about. Nervously eyeing the little pile of paper bags, she winced as she admitted, "I'm sorry, Jenn, but I don't do drugs."

Jenn looked at her confused, then she looked down at the bags and threw her head back and laughed. Finally, she pulled herself together, and told her, "Neither do I. I know way too many people who've gotten into trouble, so I've never touched the stuff."

Then she opened a bag, held it out and said, "Look, it's just gummy bears and sour worms." Opening another one, she looked inside. "And I've got marshmallow bananas and strawberries and mint leaves, black balls and all kinds of good stuff." She shrugged. "I always brush my teeth after, but I still feel guilty."

Now that she knew it was just candy, when Jenn held open a bag, Marina dug in and took out a few gummy bears and worms. "I haven't had these since I was a kid," she said as she popped one in her mouth.

"There's an old-time candy store near where we live that's sells all my favorites. But Chris doesn't know that I'm in there every week topping up my stash." Grinning, she pointed at her as she chewed on a gummy. "So, this had better stay between us girls."

Marina made a gesture of zipping her lips, before she smiled and reached for a marshmallow banana.

Then she felt Jenn watching her, and she looked back at her wondering what was up.

"I'm sure Henry's glad that you're not into drugs, after the disaster with his last girlfriend."

Not sure what to say, Marina waited to see if there was more.

Finally, Jenn heaved a sigh, and looked her in the eye. "I probably shouldn't be the one telling you, but from what I've heard, he went through hell with her. Tatyana was a ballerina, and very pretty. I think he met her at a party. And they hit it off.

"She'd stopped dancing by then, because she'd been hurt. Her leg was broken in a fall, and she had a few surgeries to try and fix it. What Henry didn't know was she'd that gotten addicted to her pain medication. And when the doctor's cut her off, she started buying whatever she could find on the street.

"When she finally told him what was going on, he offered to put her in re-hab. I heard he had to spend a fortune to get her in a descent place. But she didn't like the rules and wouldn't stay, so she walked out. But he didn't find out, until after she was dead."

Marina eyes went big. "Did she die from an overdose?"

"No. Someone saw her trying to score some drugs, an argument broke out and she was pushed onto the road, and got killed by a taxi."

"Oh, how awful, to die like that. And poor Henry," Marina said, as thought back to the conversation in the car with his brother.

"I think they'd been done for a while, but he still took it pretty hard. I think Henry's the type who never gives up on anyone he cares about, like his dad."

Marina nodded and patted Jenn's hand. "Well, thanks for sharing that. I kind of wondered what happened, but didn't want to ask."

Since they'd both gone quiet, Jenn grabbed the remote off the night stand. And as they snacked on the little bags of treats, trying to put their dark conversation behind them, they laughed themselves silly over a hilarious old Britcom, aptly called One Foot in the Grave, considering where they were staying. It was so funny they were nearly rolling on the bed and wiping at their eyes as one ridiculous scene after another unfolded.

When a commercial came on, Jenn looked over at Marina and remarked, "As you can imagine, Chris and I were really happy to see Henry with you tonight. And I was wondering how you two met, since he's never mentioned you before, and yet Chris said you've been dating for a few months."

Marina wrinkled her nose as she picked out another candy. "My sister keeps enrolling us in different classes, because I work from home and she thinks I don't get out enough." She looked up at her, and pointedly said, "Probably because I've basically given up on dating. And right now, we're doing cake decorating with Henry."

"Oh, then you must be good for the two of you to have clicked, he's such a perfectionist."

Marina laughed. "Hardly. I think I'm the worst in the class. Which I think is why he took pity on me and helped me out. I guess we kind of connected over how awful I am with a piping bag." She reached for her phone. "Wait, I think I've got a picture, and I can you show what I mean."

When she showed her a picture of her horrible dick cake, Jenn's eyes went big and she looked at her and blinked. "Oh, my god. Is that a..."

Before she could finish, Marina chuckled and shook her head as she took a look at it, too. "I know what it looks like, especially with what's dangling from the bottom. It was supposed to be a rocket ship cake for my nephew's birthday, but obviously it didn't turn out that way. Which I think was why Henry was kind enough to help me do another one that I could show my family."

Looking across the bed at her Jenn wiggled her eyebrows. "Well, Henry seems to really like you. I can tell from the way he looks at you. And it's been a long time since he's been interested in anyone. So, I'm really glad you two are together."

Marina hated to lie, especially since Jenn was being so open. So, she took a breath and told her the truth. "Henry just asked me to come to the wedding as his plus one. And we're not even dating."

"Oh." Jenn looked a little confused. Then a light bulb went on and she pulled a face. "So... you two have never...?" When Marina shook her head, Jenn nodded thoughtfully. "No wonder you asked for separate rooms."

When Marina didn't say anything, Jenn eyed her for a moment, then decided she'd test her. "Then I guess you're glad that you won't have to sleep with him, at least for tonight." Waiting for her reaction, Jenn picked up on the fact that Marina didn't jump right in and agree, which had her slowly starting to smile. "Or, maybe you were looking forward to spending the night together. And now thanks to me and my silly superstitions, Henry's sleeping with his brother and you're stuck having to share a bed with me."

Marina looked up and met her gaze. "I really don't mind sharing a room with you, Jenn. But..."

"But Henry doesn't know that you're into him, does he?"

Marina looked down at her hands, shook her head and quietly said, "No."

Jenn's face broke into a smile, as she excitedly reached out and squeezed Marina's arm. "Well, then I think we're going to have to do something to get Henry to sit up and take notice, before he crawls back into his shell and we lose him again."

"I'm not about to chase after him, if that's what you're thinking."

Jenn flashed a sly little grin. "You won't have to. Once he gets a look at you tomorrow, he'll will be the one doing the chasing."

The little spark of mischief in Jenn's eyes as she grabbed her phone and started texting, had Marina wondering if she should just play along, if only to see what would happen.

After they'd turned off the TV, they still laughed and talked for a while, till Jenn took a look at the clock, pulled a face and decided it might be time to get some sleep.

In the bathroom, side by side, sharing their guilty secret, they grinned at each other in the mirror as they gave their teeth a good hard brushing.

Though Marina had wondered what it would have been like to share a bed with Henry, she was glad now that she and Jenn had gotten a chance to get to know each other. It felt like they'd already bonded. She realized too, that though Jenn was pretty famous, she was also surprisingly down to earth and someone she'd enjoy having as a friend.

Once they turned out the lights, Jenn surprised her again, when she crawled across the bed, pressed a kiss to her cheek and quietly whispered, "Thanks for this, Marina. Not very often I get a chance to kick back and have fun and just be myself. And I really had a good time with you tonight."

She felt kind of sorry for her, as she realized the life of a movie star wasn't always a bed or roses, Marina patted her hand and murmured, "I had a good time with you, too."

Heaving a happy little sigh, Jenn curled up on her side of the bed and started to drift off almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

In the morning, as they cracked open their eyes, they both looked at the door and groaned at the sound of someone impatiently knocking, like a woodpecker, relentlessly tap, tap, tapping, demanding to be let in. "Oh god, whoever the heck that is, make them stop," Jenn pleaded, pulling her pillow around her ears to try and drowned out the sound.

Since she was closer, Marina grabbed her robe, tugged it on, brushed the hair out of her eyes and went and looked through the peep hole.

"Oh, it's Darius," she said smiling over her shoulder at Jenn who was sitting up in bed rubbing at her eyes.

Darius's face broke into a big broad smile when Marina pulled open the door to let him in as he looked back and forth between them. "Just look at you two lovelies, all fresh-faced and ready to be transformed."

Handing a tray with two coffees and a bag of biscotti to Marina as he glanced around inspecting the room, he informed them, "Hair and makeup people are on their way, so I thought you could use a little something to wake you up, before we get started."

Waggling his eyebrows, he eyed the bed, with a naughty laugh. "Oh, if I were into women, the fun we three could have in that nice, big bed."

Jenn just laughed as Marina handed her a coffee, and she took her first sip and rolled her eyes. "Thanks for being such a life saver, Darius. Sometimes, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well, lucky for you, sweet thing, you'll never have to find out."

After she'd had her shower, Marina could barely believe what was happening, when "the team" went to work on turning her into the sexy vixen that Darius envisioned.

There was such a buzz of activity going on around them, that she couldn't see what was happening with Jenn, until they were both done, and staring amazed at their reflections in the mirror.

"Holy smokes, look at you," Jenn said, flashing a grin as her gaze swept over Marina. "Wait till Henry gets a look at you. I think his eyes are going to pop right out of his head."

"And you look absolutely gorgeous, Jenn. I never would have thought that Marie Antoinette would be a perfect costume for a bride. But wow, I've never seen anything so beautiful. And your hair looks amazing, all swept up in that nest of curls."

Jenn smirked, as she tucked in a tendril. "Well, some of it's mine, and some of it's extensions, but I think it turned out okay. I almost got to play her in a French Historical Drama, but they picked a French actress instead. But I fell in love with the era and all the elaborate clothing and hair pieces they wore. So, I decided it might be fun, since I've only got a little time off at Halloween between shoots, if we had a costume wedding instead of going traditional. We also decided that having it over three days would give our two families a chance to bond, while they're here to celebrate."

"I think it's was a wonderful idea. And I'm sure everyone will have fun."

Darius came up behind them, admiring their reflections in the mirror, he heaved a satisfied sigh. "I think you both look absolutely divine." Then he checked the time on his phone, and his eyes popped as he said, "Now, you'd better get a move on, Miss Jenn, or your groom is going to wonder if you've changed your mind."

"Well, I can't have that," she said laughing, as she picked up her full skirt, took Marina by the arm and headed for the door.

Jenn made her way to her parents' room first, so they could all head downstairs together.

The moment her mother opened the door and saw her daughter, she instantly burst into tears. "Oh, sweetheart, you just look so beautiful. I can't wait to see the look on Christopher's face when he sees you in that gown."

"You look really pretty too, Mom." Smiling, Jenn looked over her mother, dressed in pale pink as a nineteen-twenties flapper with a little feathered head band and her blunt-cut blonde hair softly framing her pretty face.

Her father smiling proudly, walked out to join them, dressed as an old-time mobster in a black pinstripe suit with a wide burgundy tie and white rose on his lapel. Pressing a kiss to his daughter's cheek, his voice cracked with emotion as he told her, "You look like an angel."

Then his eyes grew wide, as he gave Marina a once over and told her, "You look incredible, too. I think that boyfriend of yours won't know what hit him, when you walk up and take his arm, dressed like that."

They were at the door leading out to the garden, the string quartet striking up the first notes of Here Comes the Bride when Jenn gasped, and looked at Marina in a panic. "Oh, no, I forgot my bouquet!"

Darius, rushed up to her murmuring, "Calm down, sweetie. Darius has everything under control." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, as he handed her the bouquet of white lilies, tied with a white satin ribbon. After slightly adjusting her low-cut bodice, heaving an elated breath, he smiled into her eyes. "You look absolutely stunning. Now, go and marry your man."

Then he winked and said to Marina, "And you, my darling, are coming with me. I want to try and shield you as best I can till the ceremony is over. So, that man of yours has nothing to distract him when he gets his first look at you, in that gorgeous, sexy red dress."

Marina felt a shiver go through her as she looked up and got her first look at Henry. He made such a dashingly handsome James Bond, standing beside his brother as his best man, just to the right of the white rose covered wedding arch.

Henry flashed Jenn a warm smile as she began the walk up to meet her groom. She looked gorgeous in her off-white gown, clutching her father's arm as she wiped away a tear. As she took the last steps to join them at the archway, Henry had her grinning and blushing as he whispered to her, "You look beautiful."

As Chris stood waiting for his bride to join him, Marina decided that the only way to describe the groom was absolutely resplendent. He looked so regal in his pale blue, heavily brocaded velvet suit, gold silk waist coat and buckled shoes. And with his white knee britches and high-necked lace shirt, he really looked the part of Marie-Antoinette's husband, King Louis XVI.

Jenn and Chris tenderly smiled into each other's eyes as they joined hands to commit their lives to each other.

Out of the corner of her eye, Marina noticed Darius wiping away a tear and sniffling into a lace hanky she'd seen him pull from the pocket of his purple velvet disco suit. Seeing her smirk, he just shrugged, gave her a little smile and pulled a second one out of his other pocket and offered it to her.

They were seated behind a group of people that all seemed to be wearing either very tall hats, or big elaborate wigs. Marina quietly laughed, seeing the way that Henry was tipping his head, trying to find her in the crowd. Though she realized, she had to carefully peek around their big heads, just to be able to watch the ceremony.

The wedding itself was short and sweet, though filled with emotion. Everyone seemed to be wiping at their eyes as Jenn and Chris read the vows, they'd written to each other. Not only promising to love each other in good times and bad, and for as long as they both shall live, but as expected, taking the opportunity to playfully tease each other a little, too.

Chris looked into Jenn's eyes and trying not to laugh, solemnly told her, "And I promise to try and keep you safe from falling equipment, even if I owe this day to a light that nearly crushed you." Then he pointedly eyed her as he grinned. "I also promise to try and tame your sweet tooth, at least as much as I can."

Jenn giggled as she looked over her shoulder and spotted Marina quietly laughing.

Then Jenn's expression sobered, as she gazed up at her groom, and the crowd hushed as she kept a straight face as she told him, "And I promise to love you... and your Star Wars Collection, and even give it its own room in the basement once our new house is finally finished."

Everyone laughed out loud at that, and Chris just shook his head, though Henry could see his brother was laughing, too. Since anyone who knew him, knew that he was a total Star Wars geek from the time he was a kid.