Closing Time

by E. L. Todd

  Thankfully.

  Flynn and I got back into our usual routine. I worked for Sean’s company and he worked on his TV show for HBO. Cade still lived with us, but he had a small part in Flynn’s production, so he was in LA a lot of the time. I was fond of Flynn’s brother but I was glad we had our privacy once in a while. It was nice to do it on the couch or on the kitchen counter. And it was nice not to be quiet.

  We never spoke about that night when Kyle came in and sabotaged everything. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t think of the right words. Maybe I was totally wrong and he was never going to propose. Maybe I misred all the signs. But I was pretty sure I didn’t. The look in his eye told me how serious the moment was. I knew the ring was in his pocket, hidden from my view.

  I kept waiting for him to ask but he never did. Why was he waiting? I knew it was coming so why postpone it? I was growing more impatient with each passing day. Every time he took me to dinner, I hoped it would be night I would get engaged. Of course, it never was.

  We stayed home on Saturday and did nothing all day. I wore the same clothes I woke up in, one of his t-shirts. He wore his sweatpants that hung low on his hips. The V of his stomach was noticeable, and the thin line of his happy trail disappeared down into his pants.

  It was very distracting.

  We watched a marathon of Full House, a show Flynn and I both loved to watch.

  “Nothing on TV is clean anymore,” Flynn said. “It’s like a breath of fresh air.”

  “I thought you were a fan of the nudity and vulgar language?”

  “Of course I am,” he said with a smile. “But everything on TV is provocative. It’s nice to watch something rated G.”

  Flynn was an enigma at times. He did things I never expected, even now, and after months of knowing him, he still surprised me. But he had so much life to him, and found small things to be excited about. Whenever I was down, he picked me up again. He was hardly in a bad mood and it took a lot to anger him. He was just a happy guy, carefree and full of joy. After coming from a past full of sorrow, it was nice to be happy for once.

  “What’s for dinner?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “Do I look like I feel like cooking?” I was still wearing his t-shirt and a thong.

  “I wouldn’t mind watching,” he said with a cocky smile.

  I smirked. “Take out?”

  He rubbed his chin. “Nah. We’ve been eating out too much. How about breakfast?”

  I chuckled, unable to stop. “Breakfast for dinner?”

  “Yep.”

  He was the only person I knew who did that. It became a pastime we both did when we were too lazy to go out. “I could eat some pancakes.”

  “From the pan or off the ceiling?” he teased.

  “Well, the ones on the ceiling have a nice kick to them,” I said with a laugh.

  “But that’s how we like them.” He jumped up from the couch and prepared the batter.

  I got the pan ready and rubbed butter on it to act as a buffer.

  Flynn poured the batter on then let it cook for a minute. Then he grabbed the handle, preparing to flip the flapjack.

  “Don’t throw it so high,” I warned.

  He smirked, not listening to me, and then threw it high in the air.

  It stuck to the ceiling.

  I shook my head then looked at him. “We’re never going to get that down.”

  “It’ll fall…eventually.”

  “You’re definitely not getting your deposit back.”

  He shrugged. “Eh, whatever. Life is about losing your deposit, not spending your life trying to keep it.”

  Those words were wise in a way I couldn’t explain.

  Flynn poured more batter into the pan then prepared to flip it.

  “It only needs to go an inch or two in the air,” I said quickly. “You aren’t winding up for a pitch at the major leagues.”

  He disregarded my words and threw the next pancake into the air, making it stick to the roof next to the first one. “Whoops.”

  I covered my face and laughed. “Gosh, we’re never going to have breakfast now.”

  “Then why don’t you give it a shot?” He stepped away from the pan then nodded for me to give it a try.

  “Fine. I will.” I poured the batter inside and watched it bubble. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m watching.”

  I waited until the pancake was slightly hard around the edges before I grabbed the handle with both hands and flipped it just an inch from the pan. It landed perfectly, being cooked on the other side. “See? You should let me do all the cooking.” When I turned to him, he was gone. Then I realized he was down on one knee.

  He held the ring out to me, looking up at me with a serious face. “Marry me.”

  I was so stunned I dropped the pan on the stove. It clattered loudly and the pancake burned, completely forgotten. It was so unexpected that I couldn’t react. I processed what I was seeing, watching the smile on his face. “Oh my god…”

  He smirked. “Is that a yes?”

  “I wasn’t expecting this.”

  He laughed. “That was the point.”

  I came to my knees in front of him and looked at the beautiful ring he had for me. The band was thin and the diamonds were small, but they had such a clarity to them that they cast rainbows every time I stared at them. It was perfect, just right for me. I still couldn’t believe this was happening.

  “I’m not waiting for you to say yes. I know your answer anyway.” He took the ring out of the box then slipped it onto my finger. It slid on smoothly and fit perfectly.

  “Flynn…”

  “Baby.” He smiled down at me while he hugged my waist.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “I know.”

  I cupped his face and kissed him. I didn’t realize tears were sliding down my face until I felt them drip from my chin. “And my answer is yes.”

  “But I already knew that.”

  I smirked. “You’ll always be cocky, won’t you?”

  “Would you want me any other way?”

  I knew the answer to that. “No. Never.”

  “I thought so.” He pulled me to his chest and we sat on the kitchen floor together. I didn’t want to move from this place, the place where my life forever changed. His proposal caught me by surprise, but it was so perfect. It was much better than being asked in a restaurant. This was intimate and special, something that was unique to both of us.

  “I want to have breakfast for dinner with you for the rest of my life,” he said as he kissed my hand.

  “Me too.”

  The pancakes detached from the ceiling and fell on our heads. The batter was cooked and they bounced from our bodies then landed at our feet.

  Flynn and I looked at each other, growing smiles on our faces. Then we both burst out laughing.

  “We need new sheets,” I said as I tore them off the bed.

  Flynn shrugged. “I like the taste of pancakes.”

  We spent the past few days in bed, wiping pancake batter on each other then eating it off. But now the sheets were demolished. “So do bugs, especially cockroaches. We don’t want them coming around.”

  “Well, they are your friends and follow you everywhere you go,” he teased.

  “They do not,” I said, offended.

  “It must be your smell.”

  I hit his arm. “It’s not.”

  He pulled on a shirt and changed into his jeans.

  “Where are you going?” I was too happy to let him out of my sight.

  “We have dinner plans.”

  “We do?” I came to him and hooked my arms around his neck. “Let’s just stay here…”

  “As tempting as that sounds, I don’t want to stand up eight people.”

  “All our friends will be there?” I asked.

  “Yep. Want to kick off our engagement with a bang.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good id
ea?” I asked.

  “I talked to Sean. He said Scarlet will be fine. She’s enormous though.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “Now put on a dress so I can show you off.”

  “I should be showing you off,” I said.

  He smirked. “I’m eye candy...”

  I rolled my eyes. “You’re so full of yourself.”

  “And you love being full of me.”

  I rolled my eyes again. “I can’t believe I’m spending the rest of my life with the cockiest man in the world.”

  “I can.” He winked. “Just remember every time we’re together and that’ll remind you why.”

  “Again with the cockiness.”

  “Let’s go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come home and do what we do best.”

  “Don’t you mean what you do best?” I teased.

  “Exactly.”

  “I was joking,” I said with a laugh.

  “No you weren’t. Let’s be real here.” He put his wallet in his pocket then walked out.

  I rolled my eyes for the third time then followed him out.

  “You’re engaged?” Monnique asked excitedly. “That’s so great!”

  I showed off my ring to everyone, proud of what he picked out. It wasn’t a huge diamond with a bunch of bling. It was small and pretty, just right for me.

  “It’s beautiful,” Scarlet said. She stayed in her seat because she was about to pop. I came to her and showed it off before I shared it with everyone else.

  “Yep, I did good,” Flynn said as he leaned back in his chair.

  “Nice ring,” Cortland said. “Where did you get it?”

  “Tiffany’s,” Flynn answered.

  “That’s where I got Cassandra’s,” Mike said. He had Trinity in a satchel over his chest. Every time I saw him, he was holding Trinity or taking care of her.

  “When do you not wear that damn satchel?” Sean asked his brother.

  “What?” Mike looked down at Trinity, who was staring at everyone like we were on a TV screen. “It’s easier this way.”

  Cassandra smirked then shook her head slightly.

  “It seems like he’s hogging your baby,” Sean said.

  ‘That’s an understatement,” Cassandra said. “We have to fight over her, and most of the time, Mike wins. But there’s really nothing I can do about it. Trinity loves her dad so much.”

  “She loves you the same,” Scarlet said.

  “No,” Cassandra said with a laugh. “She definitely favors Mike. Whenever I can’t get her to stop crying, Mike just picks her up and she stops—every time. Otherwise, I’ll spend three hours trying to figure out what she wants, and at the end of the three hours I come up with nothing.”

  Mike shrugged. “I guess she likes my smell or something.”

  “No,” Cassandra said fondly. “She’s just a daddy’s girl.”

  Mike smiled wide. “Maybe.”

  Ryan turned to Flynn. “You better not get married before Janice and I. I’ll be pissed if I’m the last one to get married when I proposed months ago.”

  “What happened to not being a girl?” Cortland asked.

  Ryan gave him a glare then sipped his drink. “Shut up.”

  “Just don’t be the runaway groom again,” Scarlet jabbed.

  We all laughed while Ryan’s face became sourer.

  Janice rubbed his arm. “Don’t tease him, you guys.”

  “No, we’re gonna,” Scarlet said. “My brother is never stupid, but that time, he was exceptionally stupid.”

  “I can say the same about every decision you’ve ever made,” Ryan snapped.

  “Someone’s getting defensive…” Cortland said.

  Ryan got in his face. “You’re this close to being demoted from being my best friend.”

  Cortland shrugged. “I got a lot of people who would be willing to take your place.”

  “I’ll do it,” Mike said. “I like Cortland.”

  “Me too,” Flynn said. “I’m always looking for a best friend.”

  Ryan narrowed his eyes at them all. “Forget it. He’s mine.”

  “Wow…I didn’t realize you two were so close.” Sean had a knowing look in his eyes.

  “Just leave me alone.” Ryan downed his entire beer then ordered another one.

  “So?” Scarlet said. “When and where?”

  “When and where what?” I asked.

  ‘The wedding,” Scarlet said with a laugh.

  “Oh.” Duh.

  Flynn shrugged. “Whatever my fiancé wants.”

  I hadn’t thought about a wedding. I didn’t have a lot of friends and I didn’t have much of a family besides my brother. “We could have a wedding but I’d have no one to invite.”

  “Ouch,” Mike said. “That was cold.”

  “Besides you guys,” I said quickly.

  “So, what do you want to do?” Flynn asked.

  “Honestly, I just want to get married,” I said.

  “The courthouse wasn’t that bad,” Cortland said.

  “Not that bad?” Monnique asked, offended.

  “I meant, it was the most romantic setting you could have asked for,” Cortland said quickly.

  “Yeah,” Mike added. “All the jury summons really sprinkles the magic in the air.”

  Monnique narrowed his eyes at him. “Excuse me?”

  “I mean…” Mike looked at Trinity. “Look at how cute my daughter is.”

  Cassandra smirked. “He pulls the same stuff on me when he wants to change the subject.”

  “Does it work?” Monnique asked.

  “Well…she is pretty cute,” Cassandra said proudly.

  “She’s going to be so damn beautiful,” Mike said with a sad sigh. “I’ll have to keep my shotgun on me.”

  We all looked at Scarlet at the mention of a gun.

  “I’m fine,” she said to all of us. “Really.”

  Sean had his arm over the back of her chair. “She is. We both are.”

  Ryan eyed her stomach. “So, we can tease you for being a fat ass now?”

  Scarlet glared at him. “I’m not a fat ass.”

  “Moo,” Cortland said. “Moo…”

  Her eyes burned in flames. “You’re so lucky I can’t kick your ass right now.”

  “Why?” Ryan pressed. “Is it because your stomach is so big you can’t see your feet?”

  Scarlet gave him an evil smirk. “Just because I can’t beat you up doesn’t mean my husband can’t.”

  Ryan laughed. “I’m not scared of Sean. I deal with riff-raff at the shop all day. Sean is nothing.”

  “But he’s a little more formidable when you throw his brother into the mix,” Mike threatened.

  Ryan knew he was outnumbered. “Well…actually…you look breathtaking.”

  Scarlet smiled. “That’s what I thought.”

  We all laughed and Ryan downed his beer.

  I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for our wedding. “Could we just get married on a beach and have only our closest friends and family there?”

  “Is that all you want?” Flynn asked. “We can have a nice wedding. Remember, you’re marrying a millionaire.”

  “I still don’t want your money,” I said firmly.

  “Half of it is going to be legally yours.”

  “We can sign a pre-nup.”

  Flynn rolled his eyes. “You’re so annoying.”

  “So are you,” I snapped.

  “Just think about it. If you want a nice wedding, we can do it.”

  “I’d rather give the money to charity.”

  He looked at me in surprise. “Really?”

  “Yeah,” I said with confidence. “Whatever money we would spend on a wedding should be given to people less fortunate than us. We already have everything we need. Why should be spend money on just a single day? All I want to do is be married to you. That’s all.”

  “Wow,” Janice said. “I couldn’t give up my own day like that.”

  “Becau
se you’re a gold-digger,” Ryan said.

  She looked at him like she might rip his head off.

  “But I like you that way.” Mike smirked at her then gave her a kiss. “Baby, you know I’m kidding.”

  Flynn looked at me fondly. “That’s what you really want?”

  “Yeah.” There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.

  “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

  “Just don’t get married before me,” Ryan added.

  “That would be pretty hard to manage since you’re getting married next weekend,” Scarlet said.

  “Well, Cortland swooped in and got married in an instant,” Ryan snapped. “It seems to be pretty popular lately.”

  Janice smirked and shook her head. “Seeing all of you guys get married just makes us more excited for our wedding day. That’s what he meant to say.”

  “No,” Sean said. “He meant to say he was a girl and he made his point pretty clear.”

  “You’re lucky you’re sitting way over there, buddy,” Ryan said.

  “I’d like to see you do something,” Sean said. “I’ll use my wife as a shield.”

  “That’s romantic,” Scarlet said sarcastically.

  Sean laughed. “You know I’m kidding.”

  Ryan threw a crumpled napkin at Sean’s head. “Maybe we should take this outside.”

  Sean rose to the challenge. “Or we could just do it here.”

  Cortland rolled his eyes. “Seriously? You’re going to fight now?”

  “Arm wrestle,” Ryan said.

  “That’s still lame,” Cortland said.

  “We need to change the subject,” Scarlet said.

  Mike looked down at Trinity. “Look how cute my daughter is.”

  Everyone laughed then admired the baby at the table.

  After all, she was pretty cute.

  19

  Ryan

  It was the night before my wedding.

  I was getting married the next day.

  Like, tomorrow.

  It was really happening.

  Janice stayed at Scarlet’s house while Cortland stayed with me. I didn’t want to be alone the night before the wedding, even if I didn’t say it. Somehow, inexplicably, my best friend knew.