The menu looked delicious. It was Spanish and Latin American food. I ended up getting a Peruvian bass with dark rice and green plantains. Katherine ordered a lemon jerk chicken breast and Aimee got a blackened skirt steak. It wasn’t as expensive as I thought it was going to be, especially for how nice everyone in the restaurant was dressed. But the place was packed, and they probably made their margins on the booze.
The group made small talk back and forth across the table until Aimee asked me about my car, and I told her how it was quite a step-up from my ancient Honda.
“You will have to take us for a ride in it,” Aimee said with an excited smile.
“Well, it’s not that big of a deal. You all have nicer cars than mine.”
“Aww come on, dude. It’s your first new car that you bought yourself. We’re really happy for you. My parents pay for everything for me. Same with Aimee,” Jack said. He meant well, but I felt the familiar lump in my throat.
“My parents paid for my car too,” I choked out. Jack and Aimee’s eyes got as big as saucers. I didn’t mean to say that. It just slipped out. It was true though. I could only afford the car because mom and dad left me the house, their life insurance, and their savings. If they were alive, I’d still be driving that old, beat-up Honda. Fuck. I wanted to be driving that Honda again. I wanted to see them again so bad.
I was freaking out. I knew it. It was about to crash into me like a landslide.
“I need to use the restroom. Sorry,” I said to Aimee as I scooted toward her. My eyes were on the ground and my jaw clenched. I wasn’t going to make it.
She pushed Jack’s arm, and they ejected from the booth like the place was on fire. I got out of the seat and almost ran to bathroom at the other side of the restaurant. By the time I opened the doors, tears were streaming down my face. Luckily no one was in the bathroom. I found the handicapped stall and closed the door behind me. Leaning against the wall while I gulped down air, the tears burst out like Niagara Falls.
“You alright dude?” It was Jack. Ahhh, fuck me. I hadn’t heard the bathroom door open.
“Sorry man, I just need a few minutes.” I tried to stifle my sniffles.
“Can I come in?” he asked. I debated and unlatched the door.
“Shit, dude, I am sorry.” His face was ashen as he stepped in and closed the stall door behind him.
“What are you sorry for?”
“I shouldn’t have said that about your car.”
“Dude, you were just trying to be nice. You wouldn’t hurt a fly. I’m the one who freaked out like a fucking psycho. I’m such a nutcase. I can’t even have a conversation with people.” I was wiping my eyes with the back of my hands.
“Your parents died in a freak accident! I think you have some justification for going psycho every once in a while.” He put his hand on my shoulder and then pulled me into a hug.
“But everyone’s parents die eventually.”
“When they are old and gray and get to see their grandkids and great-grandkids. Stop trying to pretend you are fine. You’re fucked up and it’s going to be okay.” So he didn’t make much sense, but I understood what he was saying. I started to calm down as he crushed me in a bear hug.
“Yeah, you are right, dude. Sorry again.”
“No sorry! It’s fine. You’re going to get better.” He held me out and looked at my face. “Dude, we have a much bigger problem than your parents’ death that we have to deal with right now. I started at him in shock. What else could there be?
“Doesn’t it look totally gay that we are hugging and crying in a men’s stall?” We both burst out laughing. I felt all the despair fade from my body. Thank you Jack.
“Hey, at least it is the handicap one. More room for homosexual shenanigans.” Now we were crying from laughter.
“Ahh shit,” I said after the laughter passed, and I grabbed some toilet paper to wipe my face. “Does everyone know now? I kind of left in a hurry.” I was checking my face out in the mirror above the sink.
“I don’t think so. The food came right as you were leaving; I told them you had a really important call and I was going to let you know the food arrived.” I nodded. It may work.
“I’m going to go back and eat. I’ll tell them you are still on the call. Just make something up and come back when you are cool.” He gave me a pat on the back and then walked out. I took a few minutes to splash water on my face and then headed out the bathroom and back to the table.
“Sorry guys. Had an important call.” They all looked to be halfway through the meal. “How is it?”
“Really good!” Brent said through a mouthful. He accidentally spat some back on his plate.
“Ewww chew your food!” Katherine yelled to him. Jack and Aimee slid out of their seats so I could squeeze in. Aimee looked at my face with obvious concern. I smiled at her and gave a thumbs up with my right hand. I sat next to Katherine. “You have to try a bite of this Eric!” she said as she scooped up a fork-full of chicken and pushed it into my mouth. It tasted great and it looked like no one seemed to notice I had a brief, nervous breakdown. I sighed as I dug into my food. It also tasted great.
In another fifteen minutes, the food was gone and the conversation was back in full swing. I caught Aimee giving me wide-eyed looks during the conversation. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“I’m okay. Just got a bit emotional for a few minutes,” I whispered close to her ear. Her soft hair tickled my nose, and she smelled like sweet, like peaches.
“Sorry, I’m just worried about you. Sure you’re okay? Anything I can do to help?” she whispered.
“No, I am fine. Thanks. Jack talked to me,” I said, as I looked back to the other side of the table. Brent was impersonating Tyra Banks for some reason. He was in top form, and Sam looked like one of the characters from the old Bambi Disney movie who was all twitterpated. I felt a tug on my sleeve.
“You can talk to me, too, if you need to. I want to be there for you,” she whispered back in my ear. Oh no. Not this again. I just looked at her and smiled. Her face didn’t seem to hint at any sort of seducing antics, though. Maybe she just really wanted to be a good friend and she didn’t know the right way to communicate it?
“Alright folks, we are going to get started in five minutes. Make sure you get a spot on the dance floor,” an announcer said from a microphone on the stage. We all slid out of our booth and claimed about an eighth of the total real estate of the dance floor. Other couples joined us, and the floor became almost too packed.
“Get ready to see my Dancing With the Stars abilities.” Katherine told me with deadpan seriousness. I chuckled. She was standing close to me with her arm wrapped around my waist.
“Okay folks, are we ready?” The announcer was dressed in a flowing gray silk shirt and what looked like velvet pants. On the stage with her was a greasy-looking guy with a V-neck, buttoned-up white shirt, tight black pants, and shiny black shoes. He held an athletic woman with an outfit similar to Daya’s, although neither she nor her outfit was even a quarter as good-looking.
The announcer began the introductory course. First, they started by showing us how to hold our partners, then basic steps. The two dancers on the stage demoed each move, and the announcer had a remote he used to start and stop the music. After fifteen minutes of basic instruction, we went through a full dance with the few movements we had learned.
Katherine’s athletic prowess showed on the dance floor. Her rhythm was impeccable, and she moved with an easy grace. “I told you I learned how to dance from watching TV!” she yelled over the music as I spun her around in a movement we hadn’t learned yet. I looked over at the rest of the group to see how they were doing. Jack and Aimee looked like they were having a good time. They were moving to the music, and no one was stepping on anyone’s foot. Brent and Sam looked like a cross between what we were supposed to be learning and classic ballroom. But they both had huge smiles on their faces. Patrick and Daya looked like a mess. But she had a huge smile
on her face as the big guy mixed in disco-type movements, with his complete lack of rhythm.
We danced two more songs and then learned a couple of new steps. Then it was on to a few more dances. Then the announcer called out: “New partners! Ladies’ choice!”
In less than one second, Aimee was in my arms, with a shy smile on her face. I looked past her to Katherine, who looked shocked. Aimee practically plowed her over to get to me. Katherine gained her composure very quickly though, and jumped to Jack.
“Hi stranger,” Aimee said as everyone else tried to find new partners. I knew she was going to try to talk to me more about what happened at dinner. I need to go on the offensive, to take control of the conversation.
“Hi back,” I said to her with a smile. “You know, I never got to hear how was your trip to Catalina? Did you have a good time?” Her eyes lit up with excitement, and I knew I could keep her talking for as long as we were going to be dancing together.
“Yeah, I had a great time. We try to do something like that for each of our birthdays. Beth really wanted to paint some underwater, reef-type settings; umm, I don’t really know what it is called in ‘art speak.’ But, she wanted to snorkel so she could get a good idea. It was very relaxing. My parents really like Jack.” Ahh, talking about Jack was good.
“Yeah, he is a great guy. You both seem very good together. I am glad he found someone who makes him happy,” I said. I didn’t wait for a response, but I noticed her face twist a bit, like she had tasted a lemon. “So, what did you get your sister for her birthday?”
“I got her a new field easel that is a lightweight aluminum, bunch of different paints, brushes, a digital camera, and some Japanese language courses on CD.” She absently ran her hand from the top of my shoulder to my back. I glanced over at Jack, who seemed to be engrossed in a conversation with Katherine. They weren’t paying attention to us.
“Japanese language?” I had to keep asking her questions.
“Yeah, she wants to go to Kyoto next year to study traditional Japanese art. She said her Japanese was a bit rusty. Last time she went there, she was eight.”
“Whoa, she speaks Japanese? Isn’t that a hard language? Wait. Jack told me she is going to Italy. She is going to Japan instead?” I was confused.
“She is going to Italy in the summer, and then probably Japan after a year or two. Depends on how much she likes Italy. Yeah, she speaks Japanese, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Latin. It’s pretty annoying.” She rolled her eyes.
“Wow, that is a tough act to follow.”
“You have no idea. She is the baby, too. I’m supposed to be the big sister, but I was never able to teach her anything. She passed me in school by the time she was seven; she has a BS in chemistry, biology, mathematics, and linguistics. My parents thought she was going to join their company and help develop hundreds of new patents, but she decided to spend the next couple of years working on art before she gets a doctorate. Oh, and she is absolutely charming and gorgeous. She does part-time runway modeling when she happens to be in town. She’s got tons of shows coming up this spring. Ugh. She also really knows how to push my buttons.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, she just knows exactly what to say to get people to do what she wants them to do. She doesn’t sugarcoat anything, at least with me she doesn’t. For example: after she met Jack, she asked me how he was in bed. I told her it was none of her business, and she said, ‘Is it none of my business because he isn’t sleeping with you or because he is bad in bed? I thought you were supposed to brag when your lover was talented?’ She is such a pain in the ass. It’s funny though, because I think she is actually autistic.”
“Really? I thought autistic people weren’t really social butterflies.” This was good. Aimee’s sister seemed to be a hot spot. The conversation was really moving as the teacher started the next song.
“I don’t know that for sure. I guess autism isn’t really that well understood yet, and I am definitely not a psychologist. But, sometimes I catch her just staring at something, like a leaf, or out the window, or a remote control once. She just looks at it for hours. I think she just thinks of people as objects and understands how they work so she can manipulate them. I don’t think she has ever had a boyfriend, either. I mean, if you’re sixteen, you should have had at least a love interest. Right? When I ask her about it, she just doesn’t seem interested and changes the subject. Maybe she is gay. Which is totally fine. I just want her to be happy. If she was getting laid, maybe she wouldn’t be such a sassy bitch to me.” She wasn’t even looking at me now; she was looking at the far wall, probably recalling a distant memory.
I thought about mentioning how I thought of Jack as my brother, but I thought that would have easily led to a conversation about my parents, so I decided to talk about something else.
“So, what are your plans after school?”
“Still have three years left. I was thinking about Stanford for an MBA. Or I may just find a job somewhere to get some work experience. I could always go work for mom and dad, but I don’t think I’d get any real life experience there, being the boss’s daughter. How about you?”
“The job with Patrick’s dad’s firm is working out really well. I’ll probably get my license and do investment sales. We’ll see. Three years is a long time. I’m just happy for the opportunity right now,” I said.
I readied my next question, but the announcer interrupted us to switch partners. “Man’s choice, brand new partner! No one you have danced with!” he said. I managed to grab Daya before anyone else.
We chatted about her school and her father’s business. I think she was grateful to show off a few of her moves that she couldn’t do with Patrick. I’m not a very good dancer, but the music training made me a fast learner with perfect rhythm.
“Original partners! Last four dances!” the announcer called out.
“Jack is fine with Kim coming over; I just have to make sure everyone else is cool with it!” Katherine said. She couldn’t contain her excitement.
“Well, hopefully everyone else won’t mind…” I felt the flutter of indecision again. Was this a good idea?
“I already asked them. They are all cool. Let’s dance.” The song started, I placed my hands on her hip and back as the music started.
Chapter 15
We got back to Jack’s parent’s house around half past ten. Katherine kicked Jack from the front seat of the Escalade, since there was no way she could get into the back seat without all the valets seeing her ass, so I rode back to the house sitting next to Brent.
“Jacuzzi time!” he yelled, as he bounded down from the seat next to me. Everyone laughed as they walked into the house and went up the stairs toward their rooms. Three minutes later and the guys were downstairs mixing drinks, while the girls were still getting ready. Typical.
I grabbed vodka and cranberry juice and proceeded outside. I figured I could end up waiting fifteen more minutes for Katherine to come down, and I’d prefer to do it soaking in hot water. Patrick and Brent ended up joining me. Jack wanted to get everyone situated with drinks before he jumped in.
I was sitting with my back to the house so I could check out the view from the top of the mountain. The night had gotten a little chilly, maybe sixty-ish, but it felt great in the Jacuzzi. I felt the tension leaving my muscles, so I leaned back, rested my head on the tile concrete, and closed my eyes for a bit.
I heard giggling as the girls approached and slipped into the pool, then moans of pleasure as they stepped into the spa.
“Is Eric asleep?” Samantha asked.
“No, just really relaxed. I can’t remember the last time I did this.” I opened my eyes to look at the girls.
It was just Daya and Samantha. Daya was wearing a white bikini top. The white contrasted with her dark skin. Her hair was up so it wouldn’t get wet in the water. Samantha was wearing a pastel-yellow bikini with small white and black polka dots. Her hair was up as well. I imagined it would be
too much of a hassle to wash the chlorine out of their hair, so they were choosing not to get it wet. I took a deep drink of my beverage, stared up into the night sky, and wondered how long it would take Katherine and Aimee to get here.
After ten minutes of the Jacuzzi group chatting, Jack and Aimee came out carrying booze-making equipment. Jack had a large bucket filled with ice cubes and various bottles of hard alcohol, Aimee had plastic cups and more bottles.
“I figured this would be easier, so we wouldn’t have to go inside to mix drinks.” Jack said as he set the goods down on the nearby table. I already finished my drink, so I carefully got out of the hot tub to prepare myself another one. “Katherine’s friend just got here, so they’ll be out in a second,” he told me as I walked over to mix my drink next to him and Aimee. I nodded and couldn’t help but check out Aimee. She was wearing a pink, frilly, triangle-top bikini. The edges were of hot-pink lace, and the fabric was a mix of purple paisley. She had a belly-button ring that drew attention to her flat stomach and augmented her pale skin. The ring had a dangling silver chain that went down about two inches. There were a few blue gems on it. She had her hair up in a high ponytail. She looked over at me, and unfortunately I think she caught me checking her out. I glanced away quickly.
Patrick asked Jack to mix him another drink, but I volunteered so Jack and Aimee could jump in the tub. I crafted the drink, handed it to Patrick, and then jumped back into my spot. I think my ass was starting to make a dent in the concrete seat, since I hadn’t moved in, like, twenty minutes.
We all made small talk for a bit, but I could tell that the couples seemed more into each other, especially Brent and Samantha. They were looking like they wanted to just go to their room.
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