by Linn, A. J.
“Donovan 101” has failed me for the first time in my life. The drive did nothing to clear my head. I am now more confused than ever about things with Rebekah. I have never been cut out for long distance relationships but I thought that she might change that. With her having to cancel Vegas, it just gave me a glimpse of what the future would hold for us if we continued to see each other. Weekends alone. Trips cancelled. Sex only when we are in the same city. This is what I mean. Long distance is never good. But on the other hand, am I jumping the gun here? It was only one trip that was cancelled. Is she worth a little more time to see this through? Clarity, please…
So I pour myself an extra strong Jack and Coke, change into my black sweatpants and settle back on my bed, taking a deep breath before I make the call.
“Hello?” Rebekah answers on the second ring and she sounds out of breath.
“Hello, sweet girl. How are you?”
“Fine, I was just walking out. What’s up?” she asks, seemingly in a rush.
“What’s up?” I reply, confused. “Um, I’m returning your calls, that’s what’s up.”
“Oh right,” she laughs. “Sorry, I’m on my way out. Can we talk tomorrow?”
“Of course,” I respond, even more confused now. “Enjoy your night, Rebekah.” Click. Yes, I said, “click”. I hung up. Sue me. She doesn’t have time for me now? Maybe this was just what I needed. This isn’t going to work…I know that now.
Clarity.
Chapter Fourteen
~Rules are made to be broken~
The weekend is here and there are no bachelorette parties, weddings or shopping trips to deal with, so I decide to go across the street to Joe’s for breakfast before meeting some of my employees at the beach for a game of volleyball.
Joe’s is crowded, as it always is on Saturday mornings. Molly greets me with a bright smile and as usual, saw me coming and held my favorite table for me. I swear this girl has ESP.
“What are you having today, handsome?” she asks as she pours my coffee. She is always so bubbly and always very happy to see me. Again, too young…
“Bring me a number two, please,” I give her a wink as I hand back the menu. “How is life treating you, Molly?”
“Oh my god! I haven’t told you, huh? I have a boyfriend…I know, finally right?” She blurts out, laughing.
“Good for you, Molly. Is he worthy?” I reply in a playful tone before taking a sip of my coffee.
“Uh, I think so? Here, let me show you.” Still laughing, she pulls her cell from the pocket of her apron, sliding her finger along the screen before practically shoving it in my face. “Cute, right?” She smiles wide, beaming as she shows me a picture of him. I love how her eyes are lit up with such innocence and excitement.
That is how it should be when you begin a new relationship. I really envy her right now. I was hoping to have that with Rebekah. Well, not the innocence part…I haven’t been innocent since I was fifteen.
“Yes, he’s pretty dreamy,” I tease, laughing. “Where did you meet him?”
“Shoot! Let me get your order in… I have to tell you the whole story. I’ll be right back, ‘kay?” And she is off, practically skipping through the diner towards the kitchen.
I can’t help but feel excited for her. She is a sweet girl. She deserves this. We all deserve this. As I glance around the diner, I see happy couples holding hands, lost in each other’s eyes. Then there are the couples that don’t talk during their meal. I do not want the latter. I would rather stay single.
There is a group of young girls at a table in the corner booth. They are all dressed in beach gear, most likely discussing the many possibilities of their weekend. Then there is the lonely guy at the bar. He reminds me of my dad and of how I don’t want to end up. Old and alone.
Molly comes back and explains that it’s too busy right now for her to talk but “Oh my god, really quick I have to tell you that he is a doctor.” She makes a fist and holds it out in front of me. “Pound it,” she laughs. “Shoot, I have to go. Be right back…”
And there she goes again, pounding incomplete and back to work. I shake my head as I laugh and finish my coffee.
Molly sets down my breakfast, then refills my cup. “Enjoy your breakfast, handsome.” Just as I look up to thank her, who walks into the diner? You guessed it. Scarlett. Of all the places in all the world, she walks into my diner. Coincidence? Fate? Either way, I am happy to see her.
I hold back for just a moment, making sure that she is alone before getting up to go say hello. She is looking around the room for… a free table? A date?
Her eyes scan the diner then stop on mine. We have what is known as a “moment”. I have never had one of those before. I have heard about them though. I have to admit that it was actually pretty cool.
Snap out of it, Donovan. I finally blink, then I wave her over, mouthing, “Join me?” I point to the empty bench in the booth, with a huge grin on my face, of course.
She keeps her eyes on mine as she walks over to the table. “Are you sure?” she asks, now standing before me. And I have to mention that she is not in her usual work garb, but she is wearing tight cut-off shorts and a light pink figure-hugging tank top. I try my best not to let her catch me checking her out. But trust me, I am checking her out.
“Yes of course. Please, sit…” I manage to spit out, then I catch Molly’s eye and wave her over to get Scarlett’s order, unable to stop from smiling like a jackass.
“Thanks…as long as I’m not intruding.” But before I can answer, she sits, a vision of lovely sitting across from me.
“Not at all.” I flash her a smile. “I’m happy to have some company.”
Molly comes over, looking at me, a bit confused by my new breakfast companion and takes Scarlett’s order before pouring coffee for us both.
“Me too. I hate eating alone.” She smiles before taking a sip of coffee, then continues on, “Don’t you usually work on Saturdays? I would imagine this is a crazy day at the hotel.”
“I do, yes. But my manager can handle things without me for a day.” I wink before I can stop myself…shit, I did it again. I have to stop winking at her.
“Sure, you need a break too sometimes. So, what are you up to today?”
“After I finish eating, I will be meeting some of my employees down at the beach for a game of volleyball. You?” Stop staring at the poor girl, Donovan. Eat your pancakes.
“I was actually thinking about going to the beach too,” she replies with that beautiful smile of hers. Molly arrives with her meal, gives me a curious look, then trots off, back to work.
“You should definitely do that.” What? Ask her to join you, idiot! Fuck. I can be so dense sometimes. She mentioned the beach…that was her way of asking to be invited. “Why don’t you join us? Do you play?” Better, much better. Pull your head out of your ass, man.
In my defense, I have to say that I would never want to lead her on. I just cannot date her. She is working for me. Remember how I never date ladies that I do business with? Danielle? Alright. Moving on.
“Oh, really? Umm, I play but I’m not good,” she laughs softly as she shakes her head. “No, I couldn’t…I’d feel like an intruder.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You have already met most of the people that will be there. It will be a lot of fun. You should come, I mean, if you want to…” Blathering idiot. Smooth, Donovan. Very smooth.
“Okay. Then, I will. Thanks,” she giggles. “But don’t be mad if I throw the game. But I’m going to try, I swear. Um…you know what I mean…” She rolls her eyes, laughing. She is blathering as well. And I like it.
“Alright,” I nod, grinning from ear to ear. That should put an end to the uncomfortable yet adorable conversation. “You will need your strength, so eat up.” I wink…shit. I did it again. I am going to stop winking as well as talking for a minute and finish my pancakes.
I pay the bill, and we walk across the street towards the hotel where my Hummer is parked, alread
y having decided that I will drive us. Everyone is meeting at Venice Beach for the game, so we have to drive. Once again, I will have to suffer with her perfume trapped inside of my vehicle. Torture.
We arrive at the beach, and I see that everyone is already there gathered around the cooler full of ice cold beer. I introduce Scarlett to the few employees that she hasn’t met yet, grab two cold beers from the cooler, and delegate the choosing of teams.
I am always one of the “team captains” and Reggie is usually the other. After choosing our teams—Scarlett being my first pick for my team of course—we take sides and get ready to play.
Scarlett pulls her tank top up over her head, revealing a tiny red triangle bikini top that barely covers her ample breasts. Nice. She turns around to toss her top near her bag, and I can now see that she has a rather large tattoo spread across her lower back.
Tribal artwork all done in black with what looks like barbwire from what I can see at this distance. Two small cherries on a green stem set off to the right side and one single word, “Sinful” perfectly centered in the middle of the tattoo. Very, very nice.
Does Scarlett have a naughty side? I have to wonder…
The sand is flying and the game is well underway. Scarlett is much better than she let on and is knocking out some pretty nice serves. I have to say that I am very impressed. Everyone is enjoying themselves, and they all seem to like Scarlett. It is nice to see her out of “work mode” and having a good time with my work family. She just fits right in with us, like she was always meant to be part of the group.
At one point during the first of many one-minute beer breaks, Reggie takes me aside asking if she is single. I immediately blurt out no, but…No! Don’t even think about it buddy! Trying hard to not sound like I am interested in her, I just explain that I would frown upon him pursuing her. He nods, understanding all too well what I actually meant by that. But do I actually understand? I will not admit it, but I am interested. Fuck my rules. Rules are made to be broken.
After a few games and many beers, everyone begins to head home. I ask Scarlett if she needs to get home, and she quickly says “No”. Do I take this as another sign that she would like to continue hanging out or continue in my usual dense ways? I invite her to lunch. We sure seem to eat together a lot these days.
I suggest a hole-in-the-wall pizza place on the strand, near Muscle Beach, where the guys, most of whom are from Gold’s Gym, lift weights right on the sand. Venice Beach has a lot of interesting “street entertainers” as we call them, and they are always fun to watch. We have the famous chainsaw juggler, tarot readers, street musicians, food and shops, all right here along the strand. People-watching here is always hilarious.
So we start walking towards the pizza joint, discussing the volleyball game and stopping to watch the bodybuilders, just for a minute. These guys are huge. Steroid huge. We walk about 30 feet and stop to listen to a guy sing and play acoustic guitar. His rendition of Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl” done in a reggae-esque way is quite good actually. Like I said, entertaining. You never know what you will find here. I toss a twenty in his guitar case and we move along to the next “act”.
Right across from the pizza place is where the chainsaw juggler is usually tossing his three chainsaws up in the air, expertly catching them without missing a beat. He is definitely more adventurous than I am. I like both of my hands attached to my arms, thank you very much.
We walk up to the window and order two slices and two beers, with Scarlett mesmerized by the daredevil juggler the entire time.
We decide to take our slices down to the sand, finding an empty spot near the shoreline to sit, eat and talk. This is starting to feel like a date—oh hell, who am I kidding?—that started back during breakfast.
Now for the inner dialogue to begin once again. Should I or shouldn’t I? That…is the question. Is she even interested? I’m not one to ever feel insecure. I used to be known as the “biggest playboy in Malibu” back in the day…well, just a few months ago to be honest.
Since beginning my search for “the one”, I have had nothing but shit slung my way. Am I even cut out for monogamy, or am I meant to be a lonely old bachelor?
Rebekah’s body isn’t even cold, and I am already moving on. “But on from what?” is the question. That burned out before it began. So what is my next move here, you ask? Stay tuned is all that I will say at this point, because I don’t even know the answer to that burning question.
“This has been a great day, Donovan. Thanks for letting me tag along,” Scarlett says out of nowhere, as she watches a young surfer out in the water.
“Yes, it has,” I agree quickly, trying not to overdo my excitement that she came today.
“I should really consider moving closer to the water…I love it here.” She looks behind us at the small houses that line the strand, just beyond the shops and small restaurants.
“Do you have any idea how much those places go for?” I ask out of curiosity, already knowing the answer.
“Nope, not a clue. But after you pay me for my work, I bet that I could afford one,” she laughs.
“Good point, Scarlett,” I laugh right along with her. But she is right, she could.
“I am looking for a place though. My place is small, and I was thinking about getting a dog.”
“Where do you live now?” I ask, feeling like an idiot for forgetting. She had mentioned it when we first met actually.
“Fullerton? I thought I had told you before. Great memory,” she teases.
“You did,” I laugh. “And I do have a bad memory. I’m sorry.” Slightly embarrassed, I shut up and drink my beer.
“No worries. I do too, actually,” she smiles in an attempt to put me at ease. “I would forget my own phone number if it wasn’t on my business card,” she laughs, then continues, “but I never call myself, so…”
“That is very true,” I reply, laughing along with her. We sit in silence just for a moment, looking out at the water. Funny thing about silence. It can be uncomfortable, or it can be just silence: a moment of peace shared with another person that you don’t really worry about it being uncomfortable with. I feel that with her.
“So last night you told me that you’ve just started seeing someone? Where is she now?”
That’s right. I never actually told her that Rebekah lived in Florida.
“About that…” I have to explain this carefully so that I don’t come off as a “player”. “She actually lives in another state. She was here for one of my employee’s weddings, and we seemed to hit it off, but we sort of decided that it isn’t going to work. You know, the distance thing…” I shrug my shoulders and hope that my explanation was satisfactory.
“Oh. That’s too bad. How long were you seeing her?”
So, not satisfactory, like I had hoped.
“Well, it lasted a weekend… the weekend that she was here.” I try to laugh this off…but will it work? Will she see the humor in this at all? I hope so. “I tried to see her again, but we just couldn’t come together.”
“So you’re just over it now?” She is searching for something here. Possibly the “all clear” sign that I am indeed done with Rebekah?
“There is really nothing to be over. It never really got started. She is a great girl, but she just isn’t the one for me.” I smile, hoping that this will be the end of the inquisition now.
“But…if she lived here? Would she be the one then?”
Christ, I feel like I am on trial now. The interrogation continues.
“No. Can we talk about something else, please?” I respond, sounding slightly irritated.
“I’m sorry, I was just curious.” She looks away from me, frowning.
Shit.
“Don’t be. It was three days out of my life. I just don’t think that it’s relevant enough to even discuss,” smiling at her, hoping desperately to lighten the mood here.
She smiles back and nods her head, as if to say, “I understand and let’s m
ove past this now. I am a woman, and we must have all of the information that we can get our hands on.” Yes, her nod told me all of that.
“Would you like another beer? Do you need to get home?” Subject change. And not a moment to soon, because out of nowhere, it begins to pour down rain.
“Where the hell did that come from?” She laughs as we both get up and start to run towards the car.
“It is really coming down!” And I laugh with her as we reach the Hummer, getting in quickly, both of us shaking the water out of our now-drenched hair.
“So can I still take you up on that beer?” She smiles and gives me a playful wink. Yes, this time, she is the one that winked. I do believe that Miss Scarlett is flirting with me. I am a goner.
Chapter Fifteen
~B.Y.F.F.?~
“Where would you like to go?” I ask, still trying to wrap my head around that wink. Tread lightly Donovan. She is working for you, I continue to remind myself, feeling like a broken record.
“I’ve never been to your club. Could we go there?” she says, lit up with a curious smile.
“We could do that,” I respond quickly, not thinking.
The club is more of an “adult” scene on the weekends, a regular live sex show, if you will. Saturday night just happens to be “B.Y.F.F.” night. Translation: “Bring Your Favorite Fetish”. This is why it is a “members only” club, and new members are through word-of-mouth only and thoroughly screened before they are able to join. Memberships are hard to acquire and extremely pricey…to keep away the deviants.
“On second thought, The Underground is loud and extremely packed on Saturday nights. Why don’t we go to The Blue Martini, on Second Street? Have you been there?” I fire up the Hummer as I wait on her reply. My nightclub is no place for a good girl like Scarlett.
“Yeah, I have. And it’s jazz night I think,” she smiles graciously at my suggestion, hiding her obvious disappointment.
“Perfect. The Blue Martini it is.” I pull away from the curb and drive down the rainy coastal highway. Bullet dodged…for now anyway.