"Lay, why are you up so early?" I rub my eyes. "Aren't you free this whole weekend?"
Lay's head pop out from the bathroom. "We have a big day planned. You and me....Tao and Julie. The vacation we've always wanted!"
I gasp. "Really! That's today!"
"Yes, so get ready!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~
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"Aiyo, princess, you look so beautiful." Lay wraps his arms around my shoulders from behind.
"You like my outfit?" I lean up and kiss his chin. "I knew you would."
We exit the hotel and hop into a rental car Lay prepared this morning.
"Where is Tao and Julie?" I ask while looking outside.
"We will meet them there, Gracie. Careful, don't flash your face around too much."
I nod. "Where are we going?"
"You ask a lot of questions." Lay chuckles and pokes my nose.
"I'm sorry." I pout playfully.
"It's a surprise."
"I love your surprises."
"I know you do."
Tao's POV
"Where are we going first?" Julie jumps onto my back, forcing me to carry her.
"The usual." I answer bluntly.
She smacks my shoulder. "I don't know what that is!"
"We're going to a popular restaurant in America."
"McDonald's!"
Her response made me laugh.
"No, that's a fast food place. We're going to a restaurant."
"What is it called?"
"Red Robin's."
"Ohh, I heard of that place....don't they have a long waiting line or something."
I smile. "That's why we're meeting someone that could change that."
"Who?"
"Are you that dumb?" I sigh loudly.
She jumps off and crosses her hands. "I've been hanging out with you for too long then."
Ouch.
"I'm sorry. It's a surprise." I groan like a little kid.
Lay's POV
We arrive at the Red Robin's and Gracie runs straight to Julie. I follow her slowly and scare Tao.
"Yah! When did you get here?!" Tao holds his chest.
I scoff. "You baby, I got here just now. Now tell me you're ready."
He pulls out a box and I help cover him so Julie or Gracie won't see.
"It's here and I'm ready to ask." Tao whispers. "I'm pretty nervous."
"You know where and when and how, right?"
"I know the when...the where...but not the how." Tao hides the ring again. "I need Gracie's help."
"We can't, Tao! She might blow it!" I whisper yell.
He stomps his feet. "I'm doing it today and we're going to make sure she keeps her mouth shut about it, ok? I bet she has a lot of great ideas."
I hesitate. "Are-Are you sure?"
"Yes, yes, I'm sure."
"Fine, but how will we distract Julie. If you're talking to Gracie just like that, Julie could get suspicious."
"Good point. You distract her with the food while I talk with Gracie."
I shrug. "That works."
"Hey! Tao, Yixing! Let's go, our table is ready!"
I give Tao a high five before following the girls inside the restaurant.
We sit down and order what the waiter suggested.
"Will gert tat peas." Tao's broken English makes us all laugh, except him.
"Yah, don't laugh, I've never been to America!" He yells in his native language.
I pat his back. "Don't worry, my girl's got this."
"We'll have that please. Thank you." She hands the menus to the waiter and smiles.
She's a natural beauty.
"Your order will be on its way. Thank you for coming to Red Robin's." The waiter waves and leaves.
"Don't worry, Tao, English is a hard language." Julie laughs.
Tao scoffs. "I'm too good for English anyways."
"Whatever you say." I whisper.
He snacks me. "I can hear you!"
"You two stop fighting! You're making people stare." Gracie scolds like a mother.
Tao and I glare at each other.
"Ok, I'm going to wash my hands before the food comes. Wanna come, Gracie?" Julie stands up and grabs her purse.
"Obviously."
They both walk away and Tao starts freaking out.
"What if I mess up horribly! You know me, Yixing-ah! I'm not an actor, I mean, I do have the face for it, but I could mess up so easily! You know I don't work well under pressure! Remember when we were at that event in Beijing and we had to put on makeup in under a minute. I'M AMAZING AT MAKEUP AND I STILL LOST, MAN! WHAT AM I GONNA DO!"
I smack Tao's cheek, not hard, but not soft. "Get your head in the game, dude. You are a man and you found someone you want to spend the rest of your life with! Don't screw this up! You are a man, you know how to fight and flip! Don't be such a chicken now!"
Tao holds his cheek in shock and just stares at me. "You just slapped me."
"That's how it's going to feel if you let pressure win over you AGAIN! It'll be much harder too. So...FIGHT THE POWER!" I take his collar and shake him around.
He shakes his head. "You're right, Yixing. I got this. I am so pumped! I am a man. I am DA MAN! John Cena got nothing on me! Pressure got nothing on me! Whoooo! I am DA MAN! NOTHING CAN TAKE ME DOWN, WHAT!" Tao starts slamming his fists on the table and changing his full name over and over again.
"Ok, but let's not get kicked out. I heard we get never ending fries here." I stop him from embarrassing us.
"But we still need to ask Grac-"
"I AM DA MAN!" Tao screams.
"Yo! Why are you making such a loud sound? This is a family restaurant." Gracie yells at us while walking back to the table.
"We don't want people to think you two are on crack." Julie adds in more quietly and Gracie hits her.
"Julie, my woman! I need to converse with you somewhere private." Tao blurts out.
