Chapter 82

The guys showed up around 7 that night. Pearl was thankful Rhys invited them, Dylan had no family and Blake's lived in California and were a bit estranged. John and Janie didn't have kids and they had already done their family thing and Tony's family was kind of like Pearl's. There where there, but not. Pearl knew she would have to tell her parents about the engagement sooner or later but she hated the anxiety that came with speaking to them, so she was putting it off as long as possible.

They all brought a dish and Pearl walked out to the guesthouse and dragged Jim inside to hang out with them, too. Dylan put his arm around Jim and said, "Save some room on the couch for me." And winked. Jim looked thrilled. Pearl told them the bat story and Jim, once again, didn't think it was funny.

Their ugly sweaters were hideous. Blake's said "Jingle my Bells" and had two low hanging bells that landed right at his pants zipper. They toasted to the album and to Rhys, who made it all possible. Then John gave Rhys the band's gift to him. An oyster Pearl Rolex with "Welcome to the Family, We Love You" engraved on the back.

Rhys broke down in the kitchen and hugged them all. "I've been in this business since I was small. I never made friends like other kids. I have friends in the business, yes. But not real friends. Not like this. I am very grateful for you all. Thank you for accepting me." He said, putting his fingers on his eyes, wiping away the tears.

"This is all possible because you saw Pearl, really saw her. Like I did. Do. Like we do. And you wanted to be a good guy to her. You're a giver and you have such a good heart, man. We are the ones lucky to have you. And we are happy you and Pearl found each other. We will always be grateful for what you gave us. You changed our lives." Dylan told him, patting his back. They told them all about the wedding. They were all excited to be there and Rhys was happy because the show would be finished shooting by then for the summer break.

"Let's get drunk! I'm going to smoke you guys in beer pong!" Blake said.

The night was great. At some point, Blake got out of hand and they had to pry him out of the hot tub because he was posting naked selfies and diving into it like a pool. They all had a blast. After everyone left, Pearl watched Rhys, cleaning up the mess and couldn't believe how amazing he was. Him in his ugly sweater. This movie and television star was sharing a home with her and going to marry her.

"What? What Pearl? Seriously, why are you looking at me like that?" Rhys asked, dropping the trash bag.

"Can I see you in the bathroom for five minutes?" She asked

He grinned. "Of course."

And 5 minutes turned into a shower and all night.

"Shit! We overslept! Martha will be here in like 10 minutes. Jim texted and said they were like 30 minutes away 20 minutes ago." Rhys jumped out of bed, naked, searching for something to put on.

"I say stay like that. I like that." Pearl yawned. "Come here, I have to tell you something." She said, gesturing with her finger for him to come to her.

"Oh no. That's a trap." He said, pulling some sweats on. She frowned and stuck her lip out.

"Ok, you convinced me." And he climbed on top of her, pulling the front of his pants down and sliding his fingers inside of her. "We are going to have to be quick" he whispered.

"Of course." She said and she grabbed him and pulled him inside of her.

"Hello! Anyone home?" They heard Jim say.

"We're coming!" Rhys yelled, still thrusting into her. "We are definitely coming" she said and laughed.

"Fuck Rhys." Pearl moaned. "Ssshhhh" he said, covering her mouth as he came.

Rhys smiled, still inside of her.

"Woman, you are going to be the ruination of me."

"What a lovely way to burn" she giggled. "Now pull out of me and go see them." She pushed him off of her and he managed to pull his pants up and throw a wrinkled t shirt on from the floor. Pearl grabbed a pair of Rhys' boxers and her ugly sweater from the night before and ran out to meet them.

"Oh hey! Glad you could make it Martha." Rhys said as Martha and Jim stood in the foyer looking at the beer cans and ping pong balls all over the house and both of them looking a hot mess. Blake's underwear were still hanging from the stairs. Martha muttered something in Spanish and made a cross over her body.

"We will clean this up. No worries." Rhys said. He looked at Pearl. "You ready to meet my family?" He asked.

"I think so." She said as she grabbed him around the waist and followed him into the kitchen.