by A Lexy Beck
This was it. Tonight was the night. Ryan had actually stepped up on this one and helped me plan the whole thing. Jenna and I had dinner reservations at Quill—an upper balcony overlooking Hacienda Avenue. I’d put flowers in the limo and champagne chilled in the limo’s bar. I had the ring in my pocket and I’d even taken the trouble of wearing a suit—minus a tie, of course.
Jenna greeted me with a smile. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, glasses perched on her nose and she wore a big, baggy shirt and boxers. She wasn’t anywhere near ready to go out, but then again, she didn’t know she was going.
“Hey! Come on in! Oh wow, you look fantastic. Kind of overdressed for beers with Jake and Sam, though. Oh my God! Are you going to a gentlemen’s club?” She laughed and took the box from me.
“Hmm, it’s nice to know that you don’t care about ‘gentlemen’s clubs,’ as you so gracefully put it, but no, I’m not going out with the guys.”
She slid the box on the counter and began unpacking it. “Dammit. I think some of this is missing. This is just Grace’s order.” She popped up the boxes and called her roommate. “Grace! Food is here! Dammit again…I’m starving.”
“Well, you’ll just have to get dressed and come with me.” Hmm…that wasn’t the best line, even for me.
She laughed and stole a crab rangoon from Grace’s appetizer order. “Yeah, right. You must be joking. Look at me. It’s okay, though. She can share. I always share with her.”
Grace popped in, sliding her headphones down on her neck.
“I thought I smelled something. Thanks, Sergeant Held. What do I owe you?”
“It’s on the house, Grace. How are you doing? Ready for finals?”
“Yessss…except for math. I hate math. Which is bad if you’re an accountant. Looking sharp, by the way.”
“Yeah, that could be a problem, and thanks.”
Jenna put a hand on her hip, striking a pose. “Casanova here thinks I’m going out with him tonight.”
“I was wondering why the limo was outside.” Grace took a pair of chopsticks and started digging into her food.
“What? What limo?” Jenna pulled down the blinds and stared outside. “I don’t see the limo.”
“Gee, thanks Grace. It was supposed to be a surprise. But yeah, there’s a limo outside.”
“Kind of early to celebrate,” Jenna said. “You’re going to jinx me, Torrey. We can’t celebrate yet.” She walked away and flopped on the couch.
I was completely flabbergasted. Maybe I should have told her ahead of time. Grace watched us carefully as she nibbled on her dinner. Suddenly her eyes widened. She smiled at me.
“No, he’s right. You need to get out for a while, Jenna. You know how you get. You can get really stressed out ahead of an exam.”
“What? What are you talking about? I’m not nervous at all—this is my easiest final. I’m just not ready to celebrate.”
“Can I be honest with you?” Grace said to her.
“Yes, of course.”
“You’re stressing me out.”
“What? That’s kind of harsh, girl.”
“I love you like a sister but I need some quiet time. Please go have dinner with your man. Maybe I’ll call Tristan and ask him to stop by. There’s no stress reliever like sex.”
“Oh, I’m so dumb,” Jenna said, blushing. “Sorry about that. I didn’t even think that you might want to hang out with Trist. We’ve been studying for days now. Give me twenty minutes, Torrey.”
“Take your time,” I said, feeling relieved, “but I made reservations for eight o’clock.”
She glanced at the clock. “Shit! That’s only thirty minutes. Okay, I can do this!” She yelled down the hall, “But I’m not wearing heels!”
Twenty minutes later, my gorgeous girlfriend walked out, of course wearing high heels. She wore a yellow dress with thin straps a pretty ribbon at the top. A gold necklace with a tiny sun on it shone at her neck. It had been a Christmas present from me.
I mouthed to Grace, I so owe you one, as Jenna and I set off for the limo.
Grace just winked. Good luck.
Jenna grinned, seeing Ryan behind the wheel of the Hummer. “Hey, Ryan! This is just too much, guys. Thanks for this.”
“You deserve it. You’ve worked hard.” Ryan kept up the charade thankfully, and rolled up the window between us.
“You guys are so thoughtful, you’re going to make me cry. So where are we going?”
“We’re having dinner at Quill. I don’t think we’ve ever been there.”
“I see some champagne for after. You thought of everything. Thanks, Torrey.”
All I could do was smile but I also felt like a nervous schoolboy. The ring felt conspicuous in my pocket. I wanted to pull it out now and give it to her, but it wasn’t time yet. This was it. The big moment. The moment we would remember forever. I glanced nervously at Ryan’s silhouette through the tinted privacy window as Jenna chatted away, pointing at the sights and sounds of Los Angeles.
Ryan got us to the restaurant and we were escorted right to our table. Things were going well. Jenna was still oblivious and I barely spoke to her. I was happy letting her talk about whatever she wanted to talk about. “Don’t you think, Torrey?”
“What?”
“Hey, have you been listening at all?”
“Yes…I mean no,” I said. “I guess I do have something on my mind.”
“Want to talk about it?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but a voice behind me said, “May I take your order?”
I tried not to growl in frustration. But that was okay. We had to order food, the evening had to move along in a predictable way. There would be other moments to bring up the idea of the future.
The waiter poured our wine. I reached for mine and took a sip before Jenna could clink her glass to mine.
“Tor? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, everything’s great.” Even if it wasn’t, I couldn’t back out now. I’d already talked to Mr. Quinn.
Back out—yeah, right. As nervous as I was, Jenna was perfect, the best thing that would ever happen to me. I loved her so much, words couldn’t even do it justice.
I dug in my pocket and pulled out the ring box, but I kept it hidden in my hand under the table.
Jenna was looking at me over the rim of her wine glass.
“So, um, yeah, everything’s great. But I think it’s time to do something about the future.”
Jenna gave me the side-eye. “We’ve already talked about moving in together, Torrey.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” I said. “What I am trying to say is, I can’t imagine a future without you, Jenna Quinn. I think what we have is special—I mean it’s been…”
“I feel the same way, Torrey. I think…”
“Wait. Let me finish, please, or I’ll never get this out.”
She sat up straighter in her chair. I could see the realization of what I was doing hit her.
“Okay,” she said in a whisper.
“Ever since I came back to the states, I felt like a stranger in a strange land. I mean, the surroundings are the same but everything had changed. I changed. But then you were there and you were the same. You brought me back to life and made life good again. I can’t even think,” I stuttered with emotion. “I can’t even imagine what I would be without you. I don’t want to know.” I took the ring out and put the box on the table. Jenna wiped a tear from her eye and sat even straighter. Her sun necklace glinted against her skin.
I opened the ring box and thought about getting on my knee, but it didn’t seem appropriate. We were already gathering attention. “Jenna Quinn, it would be my great honor if you would consent to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
My hands shook as I took the ring out of the box. My hands felt so big and clumsy; the ring slender and light. It had belonged to my mother. My father had given it to me a few years ago when I first met Jenna, but I hadn’t thought about it until last year. I
held my breath and waited for her answer.
With a big smile and damp eyes, she nodded. “Yes, Torrey. I will marry you.”
I laughed, not realizing that I’d been holding my breath. It sounded loud but I didn’t care. I offered her my hand and she placed her dainty hand in it. I eased the ring onto her finger and she stared at it. Suddenly, we were hugging and kissing and the tables near us exploded with applause. Surprised and embarrassed, we waved sheepishly and Jenna waved, giving the room a view of her ring. For the rest of the evening, I felt as if I were walking on air.
Everything would be good now. I just knew it.
Chapter Six
“Well?” Dad stood next to the elliptical, his hands in his pockets.
I stared at him, making the adjustment with the Allen wrench. “Well, what? Is this about the car? I only borrowed it for a couple of hours.”
“I’m asking about the proposal, but we need to talk about the car, too.”
I sighed and squatted down to adjust the bottom of the machine. “She said yes.” I frowned and stood to face him. “Why? Did you think she’d say no?”
“Honestly? I wasn’t sure. It could have gone either way. You are a lucky man, Torrey. Jenna’s a nice girl—and honest too. Still, you should probably ask her to sign a pre-nup.”
I touched the keypad on the elliptical to reset the calibration. “How is this any of your business? You just said she’s a nice, honest girl and now you want me to ask her to sign a pre-nup? What’s the matter with you?”
“What’s the matter with you?” He raised his voice and it echoed off of the walls of the gym. “You need to think with your head, not your dick. What happens if you two go south? It’s taken me a lifetime to build what we have. If you screw up and she wants a divorce…then what? Is she expecting a payout? She’d probably deserve it, but you aren’t pulling your weight.”
“News flash, Dad. I don’t work for you and I never will, so no worries. Jenna isn’t expecting anything, especially from you. She loves me, not you or your money.” I walked toward the next machine but he followed me.
“Yeah, I know you don’t work for me but I still get your bills—all of them. I hope she knows what she’s getting. Do you talk to her about your money and your trust fund?”
“We’re getting married—this isn’t a merger. Fuck!”
“Sure it is. What do you think marriage is? It’s a merger, and she certainly has a lot to gain and little to lose.
“I’m not having this discussion with you,”
“Well, I’m only looking out for you. For us. I had to do what was right.”
“And what’s that, Dad? Tell me you haven’t been snooping on her.”
He didn’t back down but stared at me, neither denying nor acknowledging that he’d been running a background check on my fiancée.
“You need to back off! Now! Jenna’s life isn’t your business and it’s not your place to have one of your people hack into her accounts or run background checks on her.” I shook my head with disappointment but I knew I shouldn’t have expected anything less from him.
“Sure, sure. No problem.” Dad smirked. His dirty work had already been done.
Chapter Seven
“Aren’t you a little old to be bar hopping? I told you I would’ve thrown a party here.”
“Yeah, with all of your clients and everyone else you wanted to impress.” I snapped back at Dad at out of habit. I might have preferred a quiet party at home instead of what we were doing tonight, but I knew Dad’s idea of a party was anything but small or quiet. “I need to get going. This is what Jenna wanted, at least for now. Once we can plan something with her dad, we can talk.”
“Fine. Tell Jenna congratulations on her finals and welcome to the family.”
I rolled my eyes and headed out to Jenna’s apartment. We had decided to hit a few of the local clubs to celebrate Grace’s birthday, their graduation, and our engagement. It seemed kind of fitting to have something with just us and our friends and then include the parents and all of the relatives a bit later. We all needed to let loose a bit.
Jenna’s apartment was just outside of campus, but close enough to all of the action. I considered it one of those starter apartments that people move into right after college to show their independence and that they can live on their own. Jenna didn’t need to prove that to anyone, and I honestly couldn’t wait for us to get our own place.
I made my way up the stairs and gave the door a quick knock before heading in. Music blared from the kitchen and laughter filled the room.
“Hey, there he is. Hey Jenna, your husband is here.” Graced scooted through the few other people packed in the kitchen and gave me a hug. “Congratulations!”
“Thanks…and we’re not married yet, so don’t rush it,” I laughed. “And congrats to you too. Time to get a job, huh?”
“Nah, I’m going back for another degree to delay paying these school loans back.” Grace took a sip from her cup and giggled. “Maybe someday he’ll propose.” Grace nodded at Tristan who was taking in the conversation from the other side of the kitchen and pretending not to really listen.
“Hey sexy! You ready?” Jenna stood at the doorway to the kitchen, looking amazing. “I’m ready for a little celebration tonight with my fiancé.” She giggled.
“You look so cute!” Grace squealed. “Is that the new black romper you bought the other day? It looks awesome with those wedges. Good thing you’re taken.” Grace giggled again as Jenna rolled her eyes.
I turned to Grace and Tristan. “Are you guys riding with us?”
“No,” Grace said, “Tristan has to drive. We’ll probably go to his place afterwards so I’ll just meet you there. We’re going to Roadhouse first, right?”
“Yep!” Jenna said. “With that electric cow.”
“You mean mechanical bull?” I laughed at her. “You want to ride it—not milk it.”
“It looks more like a cow—I haven’t seen any bulls with big spots like that one,” she joked. “Let’s go.” Jenna grabbed my arm and tugged me toward the front door.
We stepped out into the warm LA evening, ready to celebrate our future and possibly get a little wild. I still had mixed feelings about heading out to a bunch of bars. For once, Dad was right, but I didn’t want to ruin the evening for the girls. They worked hard for this, and Jenna deserved to let loose and have some fun as well.
“Okay, Miss Magna Cum Laude. I’ll buy the first round to start the evening off right.” I smiled and kissed her softly.
“I won’t be ‘Miss’ for long! What do you think about a December wedding?”
I squeezed her hand. “Sounds perfect. I’m sure my father is already planning the guest list. Typical.”
“It’ll be okay, and you let me handle your Dad. I’ll have to give him a number. I do have a budget.”
“I can help, you know.”
“No way. You know how traditional my dad is—he’s paying and there’s no arguing with him. He won’t even take money from me.”
“He’s an honorable man.”
“Yes, he is, and he loves you.”
* * * * *
Roadhouse was exactly as I had remembered it, a rowdy bar with a country flair. I always thought it was an odd type of bar for LA, but it seemed to draw in a lot of people. It was a mix of wild college kids and rednecks looking for a wild night out. We were neither.
Old street signs hung from the ceiling and walls and the wooden floors were covered in spilled beer. It smelled like an old fraternity, musty and dingy. Country music blared from the huge speakers spread throughout the bar.
I chuckled and smiled at Jenna. “This is really where you want to celebrate?”
“It’ll be fun. Come on, watch me ride that cow!” She quickly kissed me on the cheek and galloped off, grabbing Grace on the way.
Tristan and I stood shaking our heads. “Let’s get some drinks, it’s going to be a long night,” he said and made his way towards the bar. “Four beers,”
he barked at the bartender who was easily three times the size of him. The long-bearded, burly bartender sneered and grumbled something to himself before getting our order.
A crowd had gathered around the mechanical bull ring and was cheering on the girl who was bouncing up and down on its back. Her arm waved in the air as she hollered along with everyone else. Jenna loved the attention and it was no surprise that she was going the full eight seconds on that mechanical beast. I laughed to myself and smiled. That was my girl.
The place erupted in applause as she hopped off of the bull and she and Grace bounced over to meet Tristan and me at the bar. “Did you see? I think that was a new record.”
“You’re a lucky man, Torrey,” Grace giggled. “Hopefully you last more than eight seconds.”
“On a good night,” I quipped back to Grace and then gave Jenna a kiss and handed her a beer. “Great job, gorgeous, but save some of that energy for later.”
“Oh, I will, don’t you worry. Will you order us some of those amazing nachos they have here? Grace and I will go grab a table over there.”
Before I could answer, the girls had escaped into the crowd on the hunt for a table.
“How about a shot Torrey? Looks like it may be a long night.”
“Sure. Sounds like a plan.”