Chapter 68: Cheap Plot
After spending the weekend in Vegas, our whole family went to have dinner at a restaurant near Jay's house.
"Jay, I think Gloria didn't really like Barkley," I commented, referring to the statue he bought in Vegas.
He dismissed it. "Nonsense! He's a butler and a dog - who couldn't love him?"
Pretty sure the answer is your wife…
Jay went to talk to the waiter.
Phil was excitedly talking about some gadgets we'd bought at the convention, but he froze when Claire inquired if Seth, Ryan, and I had done anything inappropriate for our age.
Haley, who was texting on her phone, came closer to me and asked, "Have you met this Alex that Marissa's dating?"
"No," I replied.
"You're not jealous, are you?" she teased.
"Why would I be?"
She leaned closer and whispered, "Oh, it's just us here. You three are totally in a love triangle," Haley teased again.
I pushed her head away. "I don't do teen drama, cousin.", but I wouldn't mind a threesome…
"I hear drama?" Cam approached, with Mitchell beside him.
I denied it. "There's nothing going on, guys."
But since my life seems to be a TV show (well, there are Modern Family and Two and Half Men...), Marissa showed up - with someone.
"Marissa??" Haley noticed too and called out.
Before she could say anything, the blonde next to Marissa spoke surprised, "Jake?"
"Alex?!" I exclaimed, eyes wide open.
Oh, you must be kidding me. This is just a cheap plot…
"Alex?" Haley looked at the blonde, her eyes widening as she noticed Marissa's awkward, slightly trapped expression.
"Alex!" my cousin repeated, probably putting the pieces together. "Let's get this straight," she started, staring at the two of them.
I cut in, "There's anything but straight happening here, Haley."
Marissa shouted me a glare while Alex burst out laughing.
I turned to Cam and Mitchell. "And I'm not talking about you two."
"Yeah, we got it," Mitchell replied, and Cam nodded, clearly enjoying - or maybe supporting - the moment.
"Alex?" This time it was Manny speaking, also looking surprised.
"Hey, poet boy," the blonde smiled at him.
Jay also came closer and murmured to me, "She's one of the girls Manny gave a love letter to."
"Alex Kelly?" I asked.
"Yep," she confirmed.
She was the girl Manny wrote a love letter to after he found out I was dating Brenda...
Manny looked embarrassed. "Oh, this is pretty awkward - having two girls I sent love letters to here together."
We all turned toward him. "Yeah, pretty awkward moment," I stated, not really because of his love letters. "And when did you give a letter to Marissa?" I frowned.
"On New Year's," he replied.
"Hey, what's going on here?" another voice asked, noticing the small crowd forming around us.
I waved her off. "Alex Dunphy, go over there," I pointed toward the other end of the table. "You're only gonna make everything more confusing," I remarked.
Dealing with one Alex is enough.
She spread her arms, not understanding anything, but sat down at the other end, like a good NPC who realized she was interrupting a cutscene.
Haley finally spoke again. "Doesn't matter what you like, you're my friend, Marissa," she said supportively, and the two hugged. Marissa then looked at me.
"Of course we're still friends, Coop," I hugged her too. "We have so much in common - we like beaches, good food, kids, drinks, books... and chicks," I smirked at the last word.
She rolled her eyes but hugged me tighter. "Thanks, Jake."
"We need tissues here!" Cam screamed in a high-pitched voice, "and champagne!" he added.
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Afterward, we all sat down and placed our orders. Marissa, Haley, Alex Kelly, and I were sitting at the end of the table, with Haley already chatting with Alex for more gossip.
Then my girlfriend showed up and introduced herself, "Summer."
"Alex," the blonde replied.
From Summer's expression, Marissa must have already told her that Alex was a girl; she just hadn't introduced them in person.
Summer went to hug Marissa too. After a moment, she whispered jokingly, "This isn't turning you on, right?" making Marissa give her a playful nudge as the two giggled.
Having overheard it, I leaned closer and whispered, "It's turning me on," receiving a not-so-playful punch from both of them.
"I was joking," I pulled Summer by the waist, and we all sat down again.
The waiter soon served our food, and while we were eating, Marissa seemed to notice something. "Hey, now that I think about it, you two already looked like you knew each other from the start," she pointed out to me and Alex.
Alex gave me a glance, and I said with a straight face, "She was the one who sold me the Ferrari."
She nodded. "Hard to forget a young guy who bought a Ferrari M575," she added.
Especially one you gave a BJ to - and a few other things - I thought. But like her, I figured it was better to leave that unsaid for now.
"I love the Ferrari, everyone here has already ridden in it at least once with Jake," Haley commented.
I glanced at my cousin. Way to phrase it...
Alex raised one eyebrow. "Glad to see you're enjoying it," she smirked, since only the two of us understood my cousin's words differently.
I waited for Alex to take a sip of her drink. "I am, but I'm also using my Porsche Cayenne so Marissa and Haley can join in too," I commented, making her choke.
Marissa handed her a napkin. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just surprised by how rich Jake is," she replied.
Then we heard Claire shouting loudly, "They did what?? They were gambling using fake IDs?"
I could feel a few eyes turning toward me.
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Author Note: This is a canon relationship: Marissa Cooper and Alex Kelly, in The O.C..
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