The Proposal

by Jasmine Guillory

  “Carlos!” Courtney came running to the car, with many colors of frosting all over her pink and white apron. “You’re a hero and a saint, and I’ll find a way to thank you but I can’t do that right now because we’re in a time crunch. Help us load up.”

  Carlos jumped out of the car.

  “Aye aye, captain.”

  They very carefully loaded what felt like hundreds of boxes of cupcakes into the two cars, while Courtney ran back and forth bringing more boxes out.

  “Only on the floor!” Courtney shouted. “No boxes on seats! They’ll fall off at the slightest hit of the brakes and disaster will strike.”

  He couldn’t look at Nik, otherwise he knew he would laugh out loud.

  “See what I meant about her freaking out?” Nik said as soon as Courtney went back inside.

  He nodded.

  “You weren’t kidding about a cupcake crisis.”

  They unceremoniously tossed all of the crap that had been in both his and Nik’s trunks into the back room at Cupcake Park to maximize the space for the cupcakes. When they were all loaded up to Courtney’s specifications, she programmed the address of the place they were going into Nik’s phone, and took Nik’s car key out of her hand.

  “I’ll take your car and meet you two there.” She pointed her finger at Carlos. “No crazy driving, do you hear me?”

  He turned to Nik.

  “Why would she say that to me? I’m an excellent driver.”

  Nik laughed at him and got in the passenger seat.

  “You’d better drive like you’re transporting a tiny baby. If a single one of those cupcakes arrives with even slightly smashed frosting, Courtney will murder you.”

  He pulled out of the alley and zoomed toward the freeway.

  “I’m offended that you would even feel the need to tell me that. I’ve been driving on L.A. freeways since I was practically a toddler. Those cupcakes will arrive in perfect condition, mark my words.” He revved the motor at a stoplight, and Courtney, in the car next to his, looked over at him in horror.

  “You just woke up the baby in the back seat, and it’s pissed,” Nik said.

  He sped through the light when it turned green and laughed on his way to the freeway entrance.

  “I was in a terrible mood, but that look on Courtney’s face just cheered me right up. She might kill me, but it’ll be worth it.”

  “Oh, she will definitely kill you, but she’ll kill you after you get her cupcakes to the event.” Nik relaxed into his passenger seat. “Speaking of babies, how’s your cousin?”

  He ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

  “She’s hanging in there, thanks for asking. Oh, she told me she tore through that Jamestown book and loved it. I’m not sure if that’s because she was anxious or bored, but either way it helped, so thanks for the recommendation.”

  “My pleasure.” He glanced back in her direction just to see her smile. “It’s always good to find people who seem nice and normal and share my love for this genre. It makes me feel less evil to be so into such terrible stories. Wait. Your cousin is nice and normal, isn’t she?”

  To be honest, he’d always kind of thought that Jessie’s love of true crime showed the evil side to her, but he probably shouldn’t say that out loud.

  “I guess that depends what you’re comparing ‘nice and normal’ against,” he said.

  Nik laughed.

  “Well, you and your sister both seem . . .” She looked sideways at him. “Nah, I take that back. Your sister seems nice and normal, maybe. You, I don’t know.”

  He shook his head.

  “See, this is what happens when you go out of your way to help people—they spend the whole time insulting you.”

  Nik patted him on the thigh. He wished she would leave her hand there, but no luck.

  “But seriously,” she asked, “did you have to go far out of your way to come help? Where do you live, anyway?”

  He pretended he was checking to change lanes just to look over at her. He would have driven from clear across the city just to see the way she looked in that tank top.

  “Atwater Village, not too far from here. But I was even closer, because I was at the Vons in Silver Lake when I got your text.”

  “Oh wow, Atwater Village is such a great neighborhood,” she said. “How long have you lived there?”

  Her hair was back in one big ponytail. His fingers ached to pull it out and run them through it.

  “Let’s see, it’s the end of May? Almost six months. I bought it in January, which is a terrible time to move, especially with a brand-new job. But it was all kind of a fluke. I lucked into it. The seller had just gotten a new job on the East Coast and had to sell fast, so I got a good deal.”

  “Congratulations, that’s fantastic,” she said.

  “I still can’t believe I’m a homeowner.” Sometimes when he looked at his house keys, it still blew him away that the place was all his. “It’s tiny, but it works for me.”

  He pulled onto the freeway exit.

  “Oh look, there’s Courtney in my car,” Nik said, gesturing to the car in front of them at the light.

  “Have you been friends for a long time?” Carlos asked.

  Nik nodded.

  “We went to Stanford together. We lived next door to each other junior year. One night she got locked out and knocked on my door, and we’ve basically been friends ever since.”

  He and Courtney both turned to head up into the winding roads into the hills. He hoped that none of the cupcake boxes moved while they went around curves. As much as he’d teased both Nik and Courtney on the way here, he really did want the cupcakes to arrive looking perfect.

  “Is that how you met Dana, too?”

  She nodded.

  “Yeah, but not in the dorms. I met Dana through a theater group on campus. One night, the director hit on Dana in a pretty gross way, and Courtney came with me to rescue Dana.” She shook her head and laughed. “Long story short, that guy woke up the next morning with spray paint all over his beloved car. I’m not going to say how it happened, because no one ever found out. I’ll just say that Courtney is a really good person to have on your side.”

  He’d be sure to keep that in mind. He loved his car too much not to.

  “Did you move to L.A. together?”

  She shook her head.

  “No, Courtney moved here right after graduation and has been here ever since. I moved to New York after graduation, but I couldn’t stay away from California too long.”

  He had always fantasized a little about moving to New York, but both the weather and the distance from his family had always held him back.

  “Do you think you’re going to stay here?” he asked.

  One of her curls had escaped from her ponytail. She tucked it back in.

  “Oh yeah. I’ve been in L.A. for six years, and it’s home now. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

  He nodded.

  “Granted, I’ve lived in L.A. most of my life, but I agree. Also, how much farther?”

  Nik looked at her phone for the directions.

  “Only half a mile.”

  He grinned at her.

  “How much do you think Courtney is freaking out now?”

  Nik leaned back against her seat and considered.

  “Well, she’ll definitely be calmer now that we’ve got your help, but she’s always hyped up before she does an event. She’ll be in drill sergeant mode when we get out of the car; I’m going to prepare you for that now.”

  Just then, the GPS told them that their location was up ahead on the right. Courtney was already there. She jumped out of the car right when they pulled up and came straight over to his car, already talking.

  “Listen to me very carefully. Do not take a single box out of this car without my s
upervision. Open the trunk and all of the doors, but don’t touch anything yet. I’ll go inside to see where we should unload, I’ll be right back.”

  She pulled her apron off to reveal an identical clean apron underneath, flipped her head upside down and redid her ponytail, and walked up to the house. Carlos got out of the car and obediently opened his back two doors and the trunk. He and Nik leaned against the car, almost, but not quite, touching.

  He looked down at her. That rogue curl had escaped her ponytail again. He couldn’t resist tucking it back in. She smiled her thanks at him.

  “Hey.” She put her hand on his arm. “Thank you so much for helping us. We could have done this ourselves; it just would have been much more stressful for both of us, especially Courtney.”

  He slung his arm around her shoulders.

  “Does this mean that I get free Cupcake Park cupcakes for life? Because I think that would be an appropriate token of gratitude.”

  Nik relaxed against him.

  “I don’t know about for life, but I’m pretty sure you’re going to get quite a few free cupcakes out of this. Just make sure to say—”

  Courtney came racing out of the door, flanked by two waiters.

  “We have reinforcements! Okay, everyone. I’m going to hand the boxes out of the cars to each of you, and we’ll all walk inside carrying a box and put them on the designated table in the kitchen. Nik and Carlos, follow Andre and Kevin here once you have your cupcakes. We’ll do this until we get them all unloaded.”

  * * *

  • • •

  As the five of them went back and forth from the cars to the kitchen, Nik shook her head at herself. Most people who had the hots for the sexy doctor nearby would ask him to get a drink, or would text him increasingly suggestive jokes until he got the hint, or would “injure” themselves and call him in a panic, preferably while wearing a casually elegant sundress and a sexy bra. No, she’d asked him to come help her and her panicked friend drive dozens of cupcakes up into the hills and then carry them as gently as they would bombs about to detonate. And she was wearing an old tank top and torn jeans. And not the artfully torn kind.

  Courtney owed her big for this one.

  “Okay.” Courtney glanced at the clock after the four of them had stacked all twenty boxes on the table. “I need to set up my trays and arrange the cupcakes, but I don’t need help for that; I have plenty of time. Thanks to you two. You can go.”

  Nik turned to Carlos and hugged him.

  “Thank you so much. Go and have your relaxing evening.” She turned back to Courtney. “Where should I wait for you?”

  Courtney looked at her like she was an idiot.

  “You don’t have to wait; you can go, too.”

  Nik returned her look.

  “You don’t have a car, remember? I have to drive you home.”

  Courtney pointed at Carlos.

  “He can drive you home. I’ll bring you back your car tomorrow. If you’re waiting around for me, it’ll stress me out.”

  Nik looked at Courtney. She saw the glimmer in Courtney’s eyes. Ohhhhh. Courtney was trying to throw the two of them together. Nik looked away.

  “I can drive you home, no problem,” Carlos said.

  Courtney looked victorious. No one ever called her subtle.

  “Are you sure? I’m not really on your way, am I?” Nik asked him. Why was she asking him that; what the hell was wrong with her? Just get in the damn sports car with the hot man, Nikole.

  He shrugged.

  “No, but you’re not that far out of my way.”

  Courtney winked at her and turned to open the cupcake boxes.

  “Thanks for your help, Carlos. Your next dozen cupcakes are on me.”

  “Are you sure she doesn’t need us to stay and help?” Carlos asked as Nik got back into the passenger seat of his car.

  Nik shook her head and put her seat belt on. Okay, this was it, right? She didn’t remember how to do this kind of thing. She hadn’t been at all interested in the past few guys she’d dated until well after they’d asked her out . . . and sometimes, not even then. Should she ask him if he wanted to get that drink after all, on her? Should she just invite him up to her apartment when they got to her place and pounce on him? Or should she just wait to see if he made a move?

  “Oh, she definitely doesn’t need us. Courtney is the ultimate micromanager when it comes to her cupcakes. She only let us carry the boxes tonight out of sheer necessity.”

  Carlos nodded and turned the car on.

  “Well, she’s done a great job so far doing it all herself,” he said. “I get the impulse.”

  She could put her hand on his leg or something? Why was she so bad at this? She was usually great at flirting with men. Had she lost her mojo?

  “I do, too, but I wish she had more reliable help. Thank goodness I live close by and could race down to the store today.”

  Carlos touched her hand.

  “You’re a good friend. She’s lucky to have you.”

  Nik felt her cheeks get warm.

  “Oh, well—”

  His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket.

  “Oh shit. I’m going to have to take this. Sorry about that.” He pulled over under a clump of trees and turned the car off.

  “Hey,” he answered the phone. “Is something wrong? What’s your blood pressure?”

  Really? His cousin, right now? She tried not to let out a frustrated sigh. She was pretty sure this meant the universe was against this whole rebound idea.

  She sat there silently, trying not to listen. Which was impossible because he was two feet away from her. She pulled out her phone to text Dana so she wasn’t too obviously eavesdropping.

  Sitting here, next to Carlos, I think I’ve forgotten what to do with men, all I can talk about are cupcakes and I keep laughing too loud, help—erase erase erase erase. Just because he was facing out his window didn’t mean he wouldn’t turn around at any moment and be able to see everything she was typing.

  “Don’t give me this ‘I just wanted to talk to my cousin’ bullshit—you know I’m going to worry whenever you call me from here on out. And I already told you that engagement party was fun, and that I think two of Alexa’s friends secretly have the hots for each other. Did you forget that phone call? Oh! I get it! You’re bored stiff. You’re used to talking to people at work all day and now you’re stuck at home. I get it, bed rest would bore me to tears, too. We have to find more ways to entertain you. What about those books I got you?”

  Carlos turned to her and smiled, and she smiled back. He reached up and tucked that annoying curl that kept falling out of her ponytail behind her ear. God, she loved it when he touched her like that.

  He moved his hand down from her head to her shoulder. His fingers moved gently, up and down her bare shoulder. She sighed.

  Suddenly he let out a bark of laughter. It made her want to laugh along with it.

  “You’ve read how many?” He looked down at Nik with a huge smile on his face. “Which was your favorite?”

  Oh good, she could stop pretending she wasn’t listening.

  “You loved them all?” He held eye contact with Nik, and his smile got even bigger. She could feel a matching smile spread across her own face. “I’ll be sure to tell my friend who recommended them how you felt about them.

  “I guess I’d better buy you some more. In the meantime, I’ve heard there’s this thing called Netflix. You should look into it.”

  He kept smiling at Nik. It took all she could to resist leaning against him. His eyes crinkled with the laughter she could tell he was holding in.

  “As a matter of fact, people do tell me that I’m funny. I’ll bring more books on Saturday, okay?”

  He hung up the phone and tucked it back into his pocket. He pushed his hand through his hair a
nd smiled at her.

  “As you heard, Jessie loved the books.”

  She bit her bottom lip. Good Lord, this man was more attractive by the second.

  “I’m glad.” She leaned toward him and willed him to start playing with her hair again.

  A car shot past them on its way up the hill, and they moved away from each other.

  “We should get you home.”

  He turned the key and gunned the motor to get them back onto the roadway. The engine sputtered and stopped.

  “Uh-oh.” Carlos turned the key again, and nothing happened. “Shit.”

  “Did you run out of gas?” she asked him.

  “What? No, that’s impossible. I never run out of gas. I went to the gas station tonight, right after I went to the grocery store . . .” He trailed off, then looked at her in horror. “I didn’t go to the grocery store. I didn’t go to the gas station! I was on my way to the grocery store when I got your text. Shit. I did run out of gas.”

  She patted him on the shoulder.

  “It’s okay; it’s no big deal. We can call Triple A. You do have Triple A, right?”

  He nodded, but made no move toward his phone or wallet.

  “I never run out of gas! I can’t believe I let this happen to my car. I never even get down below a quarter tank, but this week has been so busy and I let it go way longer than usual.”

  Nik narrowed her eyes at his steering wheel.

  “Didn’t you notice your gas light go on?”

  He refused to make eye contact.

  “The thing is . . . I always keep my gas tank at least a quarter full, so the gas light in this car has never gone on before. So . . . yes, it went on, but I was preoccupied, and I’d never seen it before so I didn’t . . .” She held her laughter in so well, even when he finally turned to look at her, but something in her eyes must have betrayed her. He frowned at her. “The gas light in this car is in a weird place, okay? Are you laughing at me?”

  She shook her head and rubbed her hand up and down his arm.

  “No, I’m not laughing at you. I’m desperately trying not to laugh at you, here.”

  She knew how touchy men were about their cars. He would probably get mad at her for that, but she couldn’t help making fun of him.