by Alexa Land
“For the squirrel that’s possibly still living somewhere in our house?” That had become a running joke with us. The squirrel that had invited himself in a few weeks before had probably run back outside that same day. But every time we heard an unexplained sound, we both looked at each other and said, “Squirrel.” We found it endlessly amusing.
I grinned and said, “No, not him. I’ve always wanted a pet. Actually, I’ve always wanted a lot of them, and my life’s finally settled enough to be able to take in a shelter dog or cat, or rabbit or guinea pig, or you know, one of each.”
“So a menagerie, basically.”
“Pretty much. It obviously won’t be until after we move, but I’d like that to be one of the criteria for our new apartment.”
He kissed the top of my head and said, “If that’s what you really want, then sure.”
After a minute, I asked, “Are you going to miss the duplex when you sell it?”
Duke said, “If I’m being perfectly honest, then yeah. I’m going to miss it a lot. It was a financial burden, but it was also my home. I went straight from living with my parents to the duplex, and it meant a lot to me. It made me feel safe and secure, which I’d never felt growing up. But giving it up is the right call, because I just can’t afford it. Once we move someplace cheaper, we can fix up our new apartment and really make it feel like home, and it’s going to be wonderful, because you’ll be there.”
I smiled at him before settling comfortably on his chest again. After a minute, I noticed a switch on the rim of the tub, and when I flipped it, a dozen jets whirred to life around us, churning the water like a tropical storm. Immediately, the body wash I’d dumped into the water started foaming up. Duke and I looked surprised when it quickly reached our shoulders. Then we both burst out laughing as we disappeared into a bank of fluffy, white bubbles.
*****
Duke’s ringing phone jarred us awake the next morning. Or technically, afternoon. After our bath, we enjoyed the hell out of the tiki bar until it closed, then moved to an after-hours dance club on the strip. We’d finally fallen into bed around dawn.
Duke stabbed the speaker phone icon on his screen and murmured, “Hello?”
Xavier said, “Duke? Is that you?” When he muttered something like, ‘mmm’ our neighbor asked, “Did I wake you…at three p.m.?”
“Yeah, but that’s fine. What’s up?” Duke rolled onto his side facing me and rested his hand on my belly.
“Can I come over once you’re fully awake? I need to speak with you about the note you left under my door about selling the duplex.”
“Actually, Quinn and I are in Las Vegas for our birthday,” Duke said. “And don’t worry. We’re not going to sell it out from under you. I spoke to a real estate agent last week, and she told me we might be able to make your tenancy a condition of the sale. In other words, we’d only sell it to someone who agreed to keep renting your apartment to you. Apparently that’s fairly common, especially when multi-unit buildings are sold. Whoever buys it will probably want to rent out half the duplex anyway, so this way, they already have a tenant.”
“Are you sure you want to sell it?”
“Yeah, just because I need to move someplace more affordable.”
“Do you mind telling me what you’re going to ask for it when you put the house on the market?” Duke repeated the figure the real estate agent had quoted us, and Xavier murmured, “Holy shit.”
“I know that sounds exorbitant, but after I pay off the bank and my parents, it’s not like I’ll be making a huge profit or anything.”
“No, I know,” Xavier said. “It’s perfectly in line with San Francisco housing prices. I’m just surprised, because it’s exactly what I hoped you’d say.”
“What do you mean?”
“I got an inheritance last year when my father died. Actually, these last two weeks, I finally went back home to Seattle and cleaned out his house so I could sell it, and someone made an offer the day I put it on the market. I’d been thinking about buying a condo with the money I’ll have coming in from the sale of his house, but I really love where I am now and wasn’t looking forward to moving.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your dad, Xavier. I had no idea that’d happened.”
“I didn’t mention it at the time. He and I weren’t close, and I’ve been having a hard time processing it.” Xavier sighed and said, “In fact, he’d be so angry if he knew I’d inherited his assets. He never planned on dying at fifty-seven, so he didn’t have a will in place. Otherwise, my father would have made sure it all went to anyone but me. Anyway….” His voice tightened, as if he was fighting back a strong emotion.
Duke and I sat up, and he said, “Cleaning out his house must have been upsetting.”
“It really was. But the reason I’m telling you all of this is because after taxes, the money I’ll be making on the sale of my father’s house is almost exactly half the amount you just quoted me. So, I have to ask, would you consider accepting a cash payment for my half of the duplex, then maybe refinancing the remaining amount and staying where you are? Or I could buy the whole building when you put it on the market and finance the balance, which I guess would make me your landlord if you chose to stick around. I’m just thinking out loud here, but I’d love it if we could work something out.”
Duke looked at me, and when I nodded enthusiastically, he told Xavier, “Actually, one of those two scenarios might be perfect, since we really didn’t want to move. Let’s talk about this when we get back to San Francisco on Thursday and run some numbers, see what we come up with.”
They spoke for another minute, and after they said goodbye, he tossed the phone onto the mattress. Then Duke pulled me into his arms, kissed me passionately, and said, “Happy birthday, Quinn.”
I beamed at him and said, “Happy birthday, Duke. I’ve never gotten to repeat that back to someone before.”
“Wait here, I have something for you. Let’s hope it survived the flight.” He went to find his luggage, then returned a minute later with two plastic forks and a little, sky blue cake. It was delicately decorated with white icing, sprinkled with edible iridescent glitter, and topped with a lit candle. “It got a little dented in transit, but you get what I was going for.”
“It’s so cute! Thank you!” I closed my eyes and made a wish, which had to do with the answer to a certain question I’d be asking later that day. After I blew out the candle, we sat cross-legged on the bed and shared the tiny confection. “I assume you made this,” I said, “since it’s absolutely delicious.” The chocolate cake really was perfection.
He nodded. “Not that we couldn’t have found something in Las Vegas. I just really wanted to be the one to make your birthday cake. I have a present for you, too, but I’m saving it for later.”
“Ditto. I also kind of brought you a birthday cake, but it’s just a Twinkie and a candle. Your version is way better.” I fed him a few more bites, and when the cake was gone, I licked the little plastic plate.
Duke smiled at me and asked, “What do you want to do once you finish licking that?”
“Let’s explore the hotel. There are all kinds of crazy things listed in the directory, and I want to see them for myself, including the swim-up bar in the pool. But first, we need a huge breakfast. Think we can find that at this time of day?”
“It’s Vegas,” Duke said. “I think we can find absolutely anything.”
*****
He wasn’t wrong. We stuffed ourselves with French toast at a twenty-four hour diner right inside the hotel, then tried our luck at the casino for about ten minutes, before we both decided it wasn’t fun to lose money. Next, we visited the gift shop and bought each other a bunch of souvenirs. Because the hotel was inexplicably called the Polynesian Princess Resort and Casino, most of it was Hawaiian-themed. We ended up with matching T-shirts that said ‘I got lei’d at the Polynesian Princess’, straw hats, shot glasses, rainbow-colored silk flower leis, and giant foam hands with the pinkies a
nd thumbs extended and the words ‘hang loose’ on the palms. I wore both of them and strode through the hotel lobby with my arms over my head on the way to the pool. Duke laughed and hurried after me.
The sprawling grounds were framed on three sides by the hotel’s towers. Clusters of palm trees swayed in the warm breeze, and grass-roofed cabanas lined the far side of a huge, sparkling pool. The best part was a twenty-foot volcano, which dominated the landscape. Fake lava glowed orange, and red lights shone out of the caldera, illuminating a steady vent of steam. There was even a miniature village at its base. I exclaimed, “Volcano selfies,” shook off my foam hands, and pulled out my phone. Duke and I mugged for the camera, pretending to look terrified as fake Kilauea loomed menacingly in the background.
“I’m proud of you,” I said as I stuck our foam fingers in the shopping bag, and we continued our walk.
“Good to hear. Why, exactly?”
“You totally went along with the super crazy selfies. I particularly enjoyed your level of commitment with that Blair Witch-style close-up. Your fake fear was palpable!”
He chuckled and said, “Why, thank you. It’s nice to be appreciated.”
At the back of the tropical oasis, we came to a tiny, white church with a pointed steeple, lots of stained glass, and a huge, neon sign proclaiming it ‘The King’s 24-hour Aloha Wedding Chapel.’ There was a wedding in progress right in front of it, under an arch covered in silk hibiscus flowers. The bride and groom were probably in their late fifties, totally decked out in tattoos and black leather, and were being married by an Elvis impersonator in a Hawaiian shirt. Their witnesses were two pit bulls wearing bowties and a man with a camcorder who looked a hell of a lot like Christopher Walken. We stood back and watched the ceremony, along with a few other hotel guests. When Elvis pronounced them husband and wife, the crowd applauded, and I told Duke, “That was literally the best wedding I’ve ever seen.”
“Me too, actually. Want to cool off in the pool? I just spotted the swim-up bar down at the far end, near the…are those llamas?”
I followed his gaze and spotted the animals in the far corner of the sprawling outdoor area. They were in a temporary corral, under a big, white canopy. “Actually, those are alpacas.”
“Why do you know that?”
“Because alpacas are awesome.”
“What do they have to do with the Polynesian theme?”
“Nothing, but there’s a convention for alpaca enthusiasts at the hotel this week. I saw a sign in the lobby. We just got lucky that they’re here at the same time we are,” I said as I dropped our shopping bag onto a lounge chair, peeled off my T-shirt, and retied the drawstring on my swim trunks.
Duke deadpanned, “That is lucky.”
I kicked off my flip flops and walked to the edge of the pool as I told him, “Prepare to be impressed by the world’s best cannonball!” I launched myself high into the air, hugged my knees to my chest, and plunged into the cool, sparkling water.
A moment after I bobbed to the surface, Duke landed with a tremendous splash right beside me. Then he popped up, shook the water from his short hair, and said, “Nice try, but my cannonball rules them all.” I was laughing as he pulled me into his arms.
Chapter Sixteen
“This is what happens when I let you dress me,” Duke said with a grin. We were in an elevator on our way up to the Halloween party at The Venetian, a lavish hotel on the strip, and my boyfriend was checking his reflection in the mirrored walls. He adjusted the utility belt on his little black shorts, then tried to pull down the cuffs before resigning himself to the fact that they weren’t going to get any bigger.
“You should let me dress you more often, because wow.” The Batman and Robin costumes I’d put together for us were definitely sexy. Duke wore a black cowl with a built-in mask and pointed ears, along with black gloves that nearly reached his elbows, combat boots, and a shiny black cape, in addition to the aforementioned shorts. I’d also drawn the bat symbol in a yellow oval on his bare chest with temporary tattoo pens.
“You’re pretty wow yourself,” he said. “I’m trying not to stare. If I get turned on, I’ll immediately be arrested for indecent exposure, because these micro-shorts aren’t going to keep the situation contained.” My costume was composed of a black mask, yellow cape, boots, and tiny green shorts with a red waistband. An ‘R’ in a circle drawn on the left side of my chest completed the look. I grinned at him and playfully brushed my ass against his bare thigh just as the elevator doors slid open, and he groaned and adjusted the front of his shorts.
Like the rest of the hotel, The Venetian’s grand ballroom was elegant, golden and sparkling, with giant chandeliers and ornate frescoes on the high ceilings. But it had been transformed with flashing lights, pulsating techno music, and a huge throng of costumed partygoers, who were moving to the beat like one giant, living organism. A wave of excitement surged through me as we joined hands and waded into the crowd.
*****
We’d been dancing for a couple of hours when Duke leaned in and asked, “Want to show off a little?” The crowd had stepped back to create an open circle on the otherwise packed dance floor, and couples were taking turns in the center, busting out their best moves.
I grinned and called over the music, “The answer to that is always yes.”
“In that case, act three, fourteen minutes in, beginning with the lift.” My grin turned into a smile, and I nodded.
As soon as a pair of dancers cleared the circle, Duke strode into the center of it and turned to face me. I ran at him, leapt high into the air and spun twice before he caught me. The crowd actually gasped. When he put me down, I danced around Duke while he pivoted with me. Our movements synched surprisingly well to the pulsating beat of the techno music.
He’d chosen one of the most intense scenes from my recent performance, one he’d rehearsed with me dozens of times, and the crowd was riveted. For the finale, I reached up and dragged my hand down the side of Duke’s face, and he grabbed my arm and spun me around, tossed me into the air, and caught me a foot above the floor. We kissed as our fellow partygoers whooped and applauded, and then we got up and held hands as we took a bow.
We decided to get some air after that and left the ballroom by a side door. It was much quieter in the hallway. Duke pulled off his cowl and gloves and stuck them in a pocket hidden inside his cape, and as he ran the back of his hand over his sweaty forehead, he said, “I have to admit, I fantasized about being the person dancing with you the night of the performance. And yes, I know that’s nuts, because I’m not a dancer. But being with you in the spotlight just now was really satisfying.”
“It felt like you were with me onstage that night.”
He kissed me and caressed my cheek. Then he smiled mischievously and said, “Let’s go downstairs to the gondolas. I want to take you for a ride.”
“Yes, please!” He laughed as I practically dragged him to the elevator.
I’d been looking for the right moment all day to give Duke his birthday present, and once we were seated in the long, black gondola on the indoor canal, I realized it was my perfect opportunity. As the gondolier standing at the back of the boat propelled us through the water, I slipped the gift from a hidden pocket in the waistband of my costume. Nervous energy crackled through me.
Duke was looking to his right, away from me, and taking a few deep breaths. I figured he was winded after all that dancing. As we glided past make-believe Venetian buildings under a painted sky, I took a deep breath too, picked up his hand, and said, “I want to ask you something.”
When he turned to face me, I blurted, “I adore you, Duke. Whenever I think about my future, whether it’s a year from now, or five, or fifty, I always see you right there, by my side. This might seem crazy since we’ve only been together two months, but I’m asking you to take a chance on me, and on us.” I opened my hand to reveal a silver ring and asked, “Will you marry me?”
Duke stared at me for the longest momen
t of my life. He looked totally stunned, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. My heart was beating so quickly that I thought I might pass out. I really hoped I didn’t land in the canal water.
Finally, he blurted, “I had a whole speech prepared!” He pulled something from the little pouch on his utility belt, then held up a gorgeous silver ring, inlaid all around with a rainbow of square stones. “I can’t believe you beat me to it, by about ten seconds!”
“Wait, you were going to ask me to marry you?”
“It’s why I planned this entire trip, so I could get you here, in a gondola on our birthday, and propose! I even went to Oakland last week and asked for your hand in marriage. Your parents started crying, and your mom kissed my cheeks. It was so sweet. They made me promise we’d call them tonight, no matter how late it was. But then, as I was building up enough nerve to pop the question, you snuck right in there and beat me to it! You even had a ring and everything!”
Behind us, the gondolier chuckled and murmured, “That’s a new one.”
I burst out laughing and threw my arms around Duke’s shoulders as I said, “I want to hear your speech. Tell me what you were going to say.”
He hugged me tightly. “I can’t remember all the words now because you totally threw me for a loop, but here’s the important part: I adore you, Quinn, and I need to spend the rest of my life with you. I know we’ve only been together a couple of months, but I’m asking you to take a chance on me and be my husband.” He leaned back to look at me and added, “I didn’t copy the ‘take a chance on me’ part. It was in my original version.”
“Yes! Of course I’ll marry you, Duke!” He slipped the sparkling rainbow ring onto my finger, and I murmured, “It’s beautiful.”
“It made me think of you.”
As I slid the carved, silver band into place on his left hand, I said, “This ring has been in my mother’s family for five generations. She gave it to me last week, when I went to visit her and Dad to tell them I was going to propose.”