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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.
TWELVE
“HALO”
(BEYONCÉ)
I pried open my eyes only to see the sea of gray sheets across Javi’s big bed.
I was sprawled on my stomach, and it felt like my mouth was stuffed with rags and my veins had been injected with lead.
There was also a hand gently rubbing circles into the small of my back.
“Baby,” I heard Javi call.
I turned my head on the pillow, my ponytail moving with me, these minor things causing major things to happen that weren’t all that great, so to be safe, I only shifted my eyeballs to look up at Javi who was sitting beside me on his bed, fully clothed, his hair still damp from a shower.
He was also grinning like a gorgeous lunatic, but when he caught my eyes, he burst out laughing.
The sound cracking through the room made me grimace in pain, and as my eyes were closed, all that had happened at Alexis and Jacob’s impromptu engagement party came crashing into my brain.
Jessie’s Fallen Angel cocktail was a little bitter, so I switched to the Appletini, which was not. They were delicious.