Meet Me in Silicon Valley

by Anita Claire

  Mark gives me a bewildered look, like he doesn’t get the joke. Really? Is it only the women that find Ian revolting?

  Chapter 7

  Hita and I meet Caroline and her coworker, Kami, at the cafeteria for lunch.

  Caroline starts going on about the guy she’s sort of dating. It sounds like Caroline makes herself too available. She keeps throwing herself at him while he’s only showing up for booty calls.

  After listening to Caroline complain about his failure to make any effort, Hita pipes in. “Caroline, have you ever thought that maybe he’s just not be that into you?”

  Hita gets points for saying what I was thinking, that’s for sure. I’m always too concerned with hurting someone’s feelings to say what I think. Although, Hita doesn’t have much of a filter, or any fear of angering someone when she makes an unpopular comment.

  Caroline’s jaw clenches and her breathing intensifies from that remark. She quickly retorts, “He’s just playing hard to get.”

  Kami sarcastically responds, “I don’t think guys play hard to get.”

  It’s obvious that Caroline is looking for a different type of girlfriend support. Not wanting a contentious lunch, I change the subject. “The hottest guy was at swimming today. He reached into the bin to get some pull buoys and his perfect six pack just rippled.”

  That gets everyone’s attention and turns the conversation around.

  Kami is on the “voluptuous” side. While munching on a French fry, she reflects, “If I didn’t have such a phobia about putting on a swimsuit, I would swim just so I could see some beautiful bodies in real time.

  Hita follows up with, “So what does he look like?”

  “I told you, he has the most impressive six pack.”

  “Juliette, what does his face look like?” the always practical, Hita, asks.

  I start chuckling. “Face, he has a face? I never looked that high up. I was too mesmerized by his abs.”

  Caroline’s now laughing “What is it with you and guys body parts, yesterday it was the wiener, today it’s the abs.”

  Hita follows up with, “Not many guys walk around wearing speedos reaching into bins picking up pull buoys. How’re you going to recognize him if you have no idea what his face looks like?”

  “Good point. If he’s at swimming on Friday, I’ll make sure to move my eyes north.”

  Chapter 8

  When I moved back from London last month I contacted Alex, my high school fencing coach. He was thrilled to hire me for Monday and Wednesday evenings. Now I’m teaching a women’s beginner class at his fencing studio. At about 6:15 p.m., I pull into the studio, which gives me a chance to say hi to Alex while I put on my fencing attire. With about thirty minutes left to get in a good workout, I practice with one of Alex’s high school students.

  There are ten women in my hour-long class. They’re all in their twenties and thirties. They treat it as a good workout. Teaching them the basic skills takes up our time. We spend the first fifteen minutes just warming up; I have them follow me as I run different exercises up and down the court. Then I show them the basic positions. We work on the proper stance for en garde—specifically working on advancing with their dominant leg, retreating with their back leg, and the lunge. The second half of class, I watch them use these skills as they practice against each other.

  Chapter 9

  It’s about 8:30 p.m. when I finally get home to find Cassie sitting on the couch—watching Keeping up with the Kardashians. As I sit down next to her, I notice that she’s all dressed up.

  “Are you going out?”

  “Yeah, dinner,” she casually retorts.

  On my drive home, all I could think about was how nice it will be to get home and crawl into my bed. Looking at Cassie, I comment, “It’s eight-thirty. Who goes to dinner after eight-thirty?”

  “Luke, my hot athlete from the other night.”

  “…So I’m guessing you decided to return one of his texts.”

  Cassie exudes confidence as she dismissively says, “He’s hot, rich, and good in bed. I’m not really interested in hooking up with any of the old high school crowd. I figure a professional football player is a good way to get back into the dating scene around here.”

  I nearly swallow my tongue, realizing I can’t fathom what level Cassie operates on. “Wait a second, your hook up that’s been blowing up your phone the last couple of days is a professional football player?” Cassie blows my mind. She’s off dating professional football players as I stress out about getting the name of a cute master’s swimmer.

  Casually laughing she continues, “I told you, they only had old men and professional athletes at that party. I learned my lesson with Cody; don’t go after trust fund babies. If I could catch myself a young billionaire, I would.”

  Wow, that’s calculating, Cassie was never a gold digger. I just thought she liked running with a fast crowd. A hot body might turn me on, but what I really want is some guy who gets me and vice versa. My hope is to have a relationship based on common values and interests, not the size of the guy’s bank account. The doorbell rings while I sit and ponder the difference in our values. Cassie stays on the couch.

  “Cassie, are you going to get the door?”

  “Juliette, no wonder you have such problems with guys. The last thing I want is for this guy to suspect that I have nothing better to do than wait around for him.”

  “Cassie, you’re watching reality TV as you wait for him.”

  The doorbell rings again. Cassie shakes her head and saunters over to the door. Before opening it, she turns her head and says, “Girlfriend—you have a lot to learn.”

  Even though I’m only seeing her back, I know all too well the coy look she has on her face.

  “Hay you; I’m glad you were able to accommodate my busy schedule. Let me go grab my purse.” She purrs at the person on the other side of the door.

  Leaving the door open, she turns around and proudly winks at me as she heads out of the room to get her purse. A huge, handsome; dark haired man enters. He reeks of confidence and masculinity. His eyes slowly scan the room, when he spots me, he lightly nods. This is “Mr. Full Frontal” from the other day. I’m not much for blushing, but if I were, my face would be scarlet.

  Cassie enters the room saving me from having to say anything. She has the most amazing charisma, it’s like there’s a light emitting from her body. She just glows, rendering everyone else a shadow in her wake. Guys are programmed to be attracted to her. They both take off without even a second thought about me. I silently pray that they consummate their date at his place instead of ours, since I really need the sleep.

  Chapter 10

  After a number of revolving texts, The Princesses decide to meet for happy hour on Friday. Conveniently, Cassie’s grandma’s condo is walking distance from all the restaurants and bars on Castro, the main drag in Mountain View. I wonder if her grandma was as smooth and sexy as she is. Then I stop wondering that, cause it’s kind of a weird thought.

  While Cassie and I watch Project Runway on Thursday night, I ask, “Do you want to join some of my college girlfriends tomorrow for happy hour?”

  She pulls out her smartphone and checks her calendar. “I’ll need to take a rain check on that. Luke invited me to some big gala event.”

  “Do you have a problem if I we meet up here?”

  She gives me a casual smile. “Juliette, you live here too. Feel free to invite your friends over.”

  “I know they’re going to ask, is it OK if I give them a tour of this place including your bedroom and dressing room?”

  Cassie raises and points her index finger at me. “Juliette, you can show them my dressing room, but I don’t want anyone touching my things. They can only look from the doorway, is that clear?”

  “No problem, I get it: look, but don’t touch.” I reassure her.

  Chapter 11

  On Friday morning, I race to my swim workout just so I’m there a couple minutes early. My mission of
course is to find out Abs Guy’s name, or at the least get a look at his face. Now I’m standing on the deck waiting for the 5:00 a.m. swimmers to complete their workout. This gives me an opportunity to look around; there are a number of big guys on deck waiting to get into the pool. Most of them are too old, or they’re too heavy. None of the younger ones are reaching into the bin to get out a pull buoy. Was the other day just a figment of my imagination? Well, I’m getting ready to jump in.

  Out of the corner of my eyes, I spot a young guy in jeans and a hoodie heading to the locker room. He is tall and lean with short, dark, uncombed hair. This could be him. After jumping in, I swim a couple of laps. Wanting to check this guy out, I grab a kick board. This gives me the opportunity to watch him as he walks across the deck. While kicking, I see him exit the men’s locker room wearing a speedo. Definitely. He has Abs Guy’s body. Forcing myself to focus on his face, I see that it’s nice with a strong jaw, even features, and no facial hair. Next step is to find out his name….

  Chapter 12

  I’m looking forward to happy hour. It’s been a while since all the Princesses have been together at one time. Only my parents and my friend Jennifer have been to Cassie’s condo. Back in college Jennifer was Mullen. She’s from Hawaii. Her mom‘s parents were born in China, while her dad’s great grandparents came from Japan In college she was a liberal arts major, now she teaches 8th grade history at a local Middle School. In college she made all our princess costumes, she is our go to princess for all things craft related.

  The princesses are all right out of grad school or two years out of college. Most of our apartments look like second hand thrift shop meets an Ikea showroom. Cassie, on the other hand, is living in the beautiful condo her parents bought for her grandparents back in the 1980s.

  About five years ago, after her grandmother fell, Cassie’s parents had to make safety changes. While Cassie’s grandmother was in rehab her mom completely renovated the large three-bedroom, two-bath condo. The result is stunning. They installed new doors and windows along with tall molding and dark hardwood floors. The kitchen was replaced. Now it has painted white wood cabinets, gray counter tops, a sparkly white glass subway tile back splash, and high-end stainless steel appliances. Both bathrooms were updated with painted white wood cabinets, gray countertops, and white sparkly glass tile. Cassie now inhabits the master bedroom with its large closet and master bathroom with a walk in shower. The shower includes hand rails and a built-in bench to accommodate her grandmother. Considering comparable apartments in Mountain View rent for $5,000 a month, I feel unbelievable fortunate to live here with Cassie.

  When Cassie’s grandmother moved to the assisted living center, her mom sold off most of her old fashioned furniture. Cassie had the entire apartment painted a light shade of gray. From her high end, modern style home in Los Angeles she brought up furniture for the living room, dining room and one bedroom. The central element in the living room is a large, dark gray, Roche Bobois sectional couch. A matching oversized ottoman sits on top of a large, modern, dark gray rug overlaid with light gray and white spiral designs. A large thick glass top, over two large white lacquered X’s make up the dining room table, with two hanging lights with drum shades over it. The dining room chairs are high backed, dark gray, and deeply tufted. Taking up the entire dining room wall is a large modern painting of Cassie. A large flat screen TV hangs over the white-painted brick living room fireplace. The effect is amazing. The condo has a sleek, classy, modern look.

  At about 6:30 p.m., the Princesses start arriving. Isabelle (Belle) and Meredith (Cinderella) show up first. They’re blown away by the condo. Apartment prices in this area are astronomical, and no one our age lives in a place as nice as this.

  Isabelle gives me a wide-eyed look. “No wonder you wanted to move in with Cassie. This place is beautiful. I feel like I’m in the home of a real adult.”

  Less than five minutes later, Hita (Pocahontas) shows up with Caroline from work. Caroline looks at the apartment, then me, then the apartment, then back at me. It’s obvious she is trying to figure out how a recent graduate can live in such a swanky place.

  Hita starts laughing. “Wow, you said that Cassie lives a different lifestyle from us. I had no idea how different.”

  With a big smile on my face, I explain to Caroline, “I grew up with Cassie. Back in the 80s, her parents bought this condo for her grandparents. Her grandfather died about eight years ago. They just put her grandmother in an assisted living center. The decorating and furnishings are all Cassie. Back in LA, she lived a very high-end lifestyle.”

  Meredith is intently texting when she looks up and announces, “Jennifer and Olivia are on their way.”

  Olivia was Jasmine. Her mom’s half Syrian and Egyptian, while her dad’s Palestinian. She always jokes she has continual indigestion since all of her ethnic heritages are at war. We don’t see Olivia too often. She’s busy with Medical School.

  “Has anyone heard from Kelly?” I ask. Kelly is the wild child of the group. In October of our freshman year, right after we came up with the Princess idea, Olivia and Jennifer spotted Kelly in the student union and recruited her to be Marida. Kelly is a six-foot tall wall of lean female muscle. You can’t miss her since she has a massive head of red ringlets that go out past her shoulders, blue green eyes, and millions of freckles. She is an amazing athlete, and can drink any guy under the table. She’s also funny and fun to be around. Kelly competitively rowed in college, but now is competing with cross-country (XC) cycling.

  It’s strange and wonderful how the crazy idea of going as princesses to a Halloween party our freshman year, has created such a strong, and lasting, bond between us.

  Hita has now introduced Caroline to the other women. Isabelle looks up from her phone to report that Kelly’s on her way.

  While Isabelle takes over my phone so she can change my Pandora station from mellow acoustic to Beyoncé, I pull Hita into the kitchen to help me make a pitcher of margaritas.

  In a low voice, Hita says, “I hope it’s OK that I brought Caroline. I figure that girl needs an intervention. She just sits around texting that jerky guy of hers waiting for him to call her back.”

  Smiling, I nod. “Agreed.”

  My friends are great; we always have each other’s backs.

  Hita and I pour and distribute Margaritas as Jennifer and Olivia show up. Of course, we have to start again with the whole condo backstory.

  Olivia walks into the dining room and stands square in front of Cassie’s portrait—the one that takes up the entire dining room wall. “Snow, is that your roommate?”

  “That’s her.” I laugh.

  The other women join Olivia. They all have expressions that range from horror, to surprise, to repulsion.

  Hita, the pragmatist, comments “She must have a crazy big ego to hang a larger than life sized picture of herself on her dining room wall.”

  “Cassie is a unique human being.” I say as my friends all give me an appraising look.

  Kelly finally shows up with a bottle of tequila. In her typical over-the-top fashion, she makes a grand entrance. “Hey, I’m here so the party can start.” She looks around the stunning living room, stating, “Snow, what have you been doing in your spare time? This place rocks!” I need a tour, show me the rest of it.”

  After taking my seven friends down the hall, I stop at the last room. Cassie has the large master bedroom. It’s painted the condo’s ubiquitous light gray. The room is anchored with a king-sized bed that sports a large, dark gray wingback, tufted headboard. The light gray pillows, sheets, and dark gray blanket are all twisted on top of the mattress. Clear glass lamps with white drum lampshades sit on the nightstands. And many framed pictures top the mirrored dressers on either sides of the bed. A carpet—similar to the one in the living room—covers most of the floor. A large floor-to-ceiling mirror, with a wide ornate silver frame, leans against the wall opposite from the bed. Two large wingback chairs—in a subtle dark gray, light gray,
and white design—are located in front of the sliding glass doors that are framed by gray silk floor-to-ceiling curtains. The sliding glass doors lead to a small private patio. They all raise their eyebrows and whistle at the room. It’s as sophisticated and beautiful as the living room. Closing the bedroom door, I take them down the hall.

  When I open the next door, many eyes pop open, and a few tongues hang out. Cassie has turned the third bedroom into a dressing room. She has a double-sided white lacquer dresser in the middle of the room. Both sides of the room are lined with chrome dress racks crammed with expensive designer clothes and topped with shoe boxes and purses that are three levels deep. A settee is located under the window at the far side of the room. A large mirror with an ornate silver frame—similar to the one in the bedroom—is leaning against the wall next to the door.

  “Wow. Does someone our age really have a dressing room like this?” Kelly said.

  “I thought you were exaggerating when you told us about Cassie. This dressing room is amazing.” Olivia added.

  Interrupting the admiration, I state, “Well, of course the next room is the best.” Leading them to the next door, I open it with a flourish. My queen bed is framed by two dark gray Ikea Edland chests. The chests are topped with white, modern lamps from Target. Last weekend, Jennifer helped me make my headboard from a sheet of plywood. Then we covered it with foam rubber, and then covered that with orange material we bought on clearance at Jo-Ann Fabrics. My sheets and pillowcases are medium color gray, whereas the pillow shams and comforter are white with a gray scroll pattern down the center. Pulling the bedding together is a long thin orange pillow that matches the headboard. It’s a great looking room for a newly minted grad student.