Oh wow, this feels awkward but at the same time, it’s so warm and relaxing. I looked up real quick and smiled. At least Daxter was freaking handsome and the feeling of his arms crushing me towards him was just an icing on the cake.
“Well, she is a lovely girl and one that the family is at least familiar with,” Joel said, commending Daxter and I. Joel then turned to me and asked, “Has he cheated on you yet?”
The mayor chuckled but Carmen nudged her husband with a disapproving look on her face. I just simply laughed and shook my head before replying, “No, we’ve moved passed all that. He was a little bit of a handful back then but things have changed.”
“Dear, you haven’t even told me about this relationship,” Carmen touched Daxter’s hand. “Since when did you two get together?”
I was about to answer but I feared we’d answer simultaneously and blow our cover. I just bit down on my lip and asked Daxter, “Dear?”
“Huh? O-oh – about a year ago, actually,” Daxter stuttered as he tried to think of an answer on the spot. It was a good thing he did too because I was going to say we started dating only a few months ago.
“What are your plans now that you’re getting married?” the mayor asked us both. As soon as he did both Carmen and Joel looked at us, waiting to see what we had in mind. I knew this put a lot of pressure on Daxter and even Sonya was fidgeting a bit as she waited for our answer.
My head was on Daxter’s chest and I could feel his heartbeat begin to accelerate. He was nervous and probably thinking about something to say. However, if we waited too long it would look like we had nothing planned out.
“We’re aiming to launch our own fashion line soon,” I blurted out. “We know a lot of professional designers and we’ve met some really talented people in the media too. Putting those together we could come up with a hip but also trendy fashion line for both men and women.”
“Y-yeah,” Daxter then cut in to add more. “We want to explore modern clothing but to also blend in some traditional styles to make clothes that look cool but are also appropriate for social gatherings. We want clothes you can wear to a club or a party but it’s also fine to wear when you’ve got friends and family coming at the house or when you just need to go to the mall.”
Sonya raised a finger as if she recalled something and then said, “Oh yes! Weren’t you two telling me all about that like a few months ago?”
I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Sonya knew this whole relationship wasn’t real but here she was chiming in to help us. Seeing her help her brother like this was honestly a little sweet and it made me believe in this crazy plan a little more.
“That’s right, we mentioned it before,” I replied, hoping their parents wouldn’t ask how often Sonya and I got together.
Fortunately, Carmen had something different to point out, “You two do know that wearing clothes for the cameras is a lot different than designing and selling them, right? You’ll have a lot of work cut out for you.”
We laughed and agreed to that. Daxter finished his drink and told his parents and the mayor, “We understand the difficulties which is why we’ve been scouring the city for talented designers and market analysts. We’re also looking to build a strong research team and a team that could focus solely on social media marketing too.”
It was a little strange to hear Daxter talk business so seriously. I saw even Sonya was a little impressed because she was staring at her brother with a really big smile on her face. The mayor, on the other hand, seemed to be getting in a little over his head and his mouth was just open as he tried to absorb all the information as best as he could.
“My, my, you’re quite different than how you were last year,” Joel commented. He had this really proud look on his face. He then faced me and said, “You know, the last time I got to sit down with Daxter was a good year and a half ago. Back then, he was still a know-it-all rascal. I think you’ve been a good influence on him dear.”
Once again my cheeks flushed red and I bit down on my lip as I suppressed a smile. I just gave him a “cute” look and let Daxter carry on with the conversation.
The mayor then poked at my arm and asked, “When do you plan to get married?”
“Before the end of the month,” we both answered and everyone at the table looked at us like we were mad.
“That soon?” Joel echoed, unsure of what he heard.
Daxter nodded, “Look, I know there’s a lot of paper work and stuff like that but I’m hoping we can fill all that stuff later. I want to marry her now.”
I just giggled and then went along with the plan, “That’s right. Oh, he loves me so much and I really do love him too. I can’t wait another day!”
Mayor Khatib pressed his lips together for a minute and then said, “All right, here’s how we can work this out. Get all your papers ready and we can conduct the marriage by the last weekend of the month. I will give you two a six-week deadline to get everything in order.”
His words were like magic to our ears.
Throughout the night we also got to meet some of Daxter’s other friends such as Marcus, a famous banker and before the occasion was over, I got to meet Preston and his wife Lyla. It was a little weird socializing with the likes of Trevor Wild and the others but as time went on I was enjoying myself.
Maybe it was the alcohol or the fact that I was getting comfortable with Daxter’s social circle, but soon enough I was enjoying his company as well. I kept on clutching onto his arm, I didn’t mind it that much whenever we’d have to fake a kiss or when he made me sit on his lap.
Maybe I was starting to like this plan more than I should.
8
Daxter