11. “Love Story” #2
I burst out laughing, because that was so good , and then I ordered two cocktails.
Javi was not a cocktail drinker, but if he didn’t want to try it and instead grab a beer out of the cooler sitting on the ground by Jess, it wouldn’t go to waste.
I was handing over ten bucks to Bill and Zach to cover Javi’s and my drinks when Javi joined me.
He was frowning at the money.
I was offering up his cocktail.
He transferred his attention to the drink. “What’s that?”
“A Fallen Angel.”
I was relieved when I noticed my answer made his lips curl up.
I got why he was in a bad mood. What happened with Cody would put me in a bad mood too. And no one could be in a good mood all the time.
But if I could do something to help get him out of it, I would.
And I was pleased I did.
He took the cocktail, sipped it, then gave his verdict. “Not bad.”
“Jessie shook it, so of course it’s not bad.”
He did his arm-slinging-around-my-neck thing and led me to the food.
We loaded up and moved to the chairs. He sat me next to Luna, who was next to Raye, who was beside Shanti, with Willow next to her.
The dudes stood off to the side because apparently badasses didn’t sit during ad hoc apartment resident meetings.
When everyone was seated, Bill stood up at the front.
He was carrying a microphone.
“Is that from his karaoke set?” Luna asked.
It didn’t look like it, since the machine wasn’t there. Just a couple of speakers set up on a table behind him.
“Testing, testing,” Bill said into the microphone.
“We can hear you even without that thing,” Martha shouted.
“Right,” Bill muttered into the microphone.
Then, he said, “Okay, first Oasis Square Residents Meeting is called to order. We have an agenda we have to get through so,”—he pinpointed Martha with his stare—“no comments from the peanut gallery. If you want to say something, wait until I open it up for commentary and raise your hand.”
Martha broke Bill’s rule instantly. “Who made you boss?”
Zach got up and took the microphone from Bill. “Excellent segue, Martha. The first item on the agenda is that we’ll now be voting on me and Bill as co-presidents of the Oasis Square Residents’ Association.” He addressed the crowd. “Who votes aye?”
Everyone raised their hands, except Martha.
“You can’t run unopposed on a ballot no one knew we were voting on!” she yelled.
“We can and just did,” Zach said. “The ayes carry it.”
Bill clapped his hands together loudly like he was a human gavel.
I heard Jessie chuckling, and I was right along with her.
Seriously, I loved this place.
“Second item on the agenda, the two-bedroom unit that’s coming up for rent since Maggie’s being permanently relocated to Seattle,” Zach announced.
I’d only met Maggie a couple of times. Her job required a lot of travel. So much so, she’d been on an extended assignment in Seattle for months.
And apparently, now, it’d be for a lot longer.
“Maggie’s leaving?” Sally cried in shock and despair.
In case you hadn’t noticed, we had a tight-knit group. This was one of the reasons why it was the best apartment complex in all of Phoenix.
“What is this?” Martha demanded. “The whole reason we’re here is to discuss the crazy shit that Raye, Luna, Harlow, Jessie, Shanti and Willow are up to their necks in.”
Bill took the microphone from Zach. “That’s item five on the agenda.”
“Item five ?” Martha spluttered. “It should be item one!”
Bill ignored her and said to the crowd. “Now, we got two couples who are probably eyeing that unit, Alexis and Jacob, and Raye and Cap. Raye and Cap squeaked by Alexis and Jacob in becoming a couple by, our estimation, a couple of days. Since this is so close, we thought we’d give the floor to a member of each couple to state their case before the decision is carried on who gets that unit. ”
Raye looked to Cap.
Cap was looking at his boots.
I didn’t know how to take that until he lifted his head, and I saw him smiling.
Raye stood. “I didn’t know the unit was opening, or that we’d be put on the spot to stake our claim, so I haven’t discussed this with Cap. But Harlow organized the shit out of our pad, and it’s working. So?—”
What she said after that was drowned out when Patsy shrieked, “ What’s that? ”
Everyone looked her way.
But Patsy was staring at Alexis, who was blushing so profusely, I felt the need to run and get my thermometer.
Martha stormed to where Alexis was sitting, seized her left hand, lifted it in the air, and shook it.
I gasped.
There was a huge diamond on her ring finger.
“Are you two secretly engaged?” Martha accused.
“It’s not a secret when my woman is wearing my rock,” Jacob drawled, all leaned back in his chair like he just ate the best Thanksgiving dinner ever , his arm slung around the back of Alexis’s seat.
“Jacob asked me last night, after the police left,” Alexis announced shyly. “Obviously, I totally said yes.”
That must have been why Jacob was scowlier than usual when he found out stuff was going down with the Angels. We were ruining his pop-the-question jam.
“ Oh my God! ” I squealed, jumping up, dumping my plate on my seat, handing Javi my drink, and dashing toward Alexis.
I heard my girls, and, well, practically everyone dashing after us.
There were a lot of exclamations, hugging, jumping up and down (me, also Willow), some tears (me, also Alexis, Willow, Patsy, Linda and Zach), and shouts of, “Oh my God, it’s so beautiful !” in regard to the ring, which was simple, but the stone was not small.
“Shit!” Jessie yelled. “My cocktail is all wrong. I should have made an appletini.”
“Why?” Shanti asked.
Jessie grinned. “Appletini of my eye.”
There were some happy groans at her bad pun and then suddenly the opening chords of Taylor’s “Love Story” were playing on Bill and Zach’s speakers.
“ Perfection! ” I screeched.
It was so much so, obviously, we all chimed in, dancing around Alexis and Jacob, singing the song, which of course meant Alexis started bawling. And that meant Jacob had to curl an arm around her and tuck her tight to his side, though he did this with a big, happy smile on his face.
God.
I just loved those two!
Naturally, during the “he knelt to the ground” part, we all knelt on the ground around them and belted out the last verse of the song.
Alexis was cry-sobbing at this point, and I was right there with her.
The song ended and my eyes flicked to where Javi, Cap and Eric were standing where we left them, in a row to the side of the chairs.
They all had their arms crossed on their chests and they all had versions of Javi’s adoring expression on their faces, but only Javi’s was aimed at me.
I grinned madly at him, so happy for Alexis and Jacob I could just die .
At this point, Jessie ordered anyone with apple schnaps or calvados, vodka and Cointreau to bring them to the cocktail table.
Folks raced to their units.
The first Oasis Square Residents Meeting agenda was tabled.
And the engagement party officially began.