by P. G. Van
“I’ll be back. Will you go out with me?”
“What?” She shook her head in disbelief.
He smiled in response but did not say anything before closing his bedroom door.
“Hi, John.”
“We lost him, sir.”
“Was that what she was flipping out about?”
“I don’t know what happened in the apartment, but the homeless guy never made it to Lanesville,” John declared.
“They are up to something, John. I want you to add a few more bugs in her room. I will take her out for a few hours.”
“I think we should search her van, too.”
“Sure, can you do everything in the few hours I am away?” Sid lowered his voice.
“I need more time, especially for the van. If she is really hiding something in the car, I need a lot more time to pull it apart. It is parked on the street, and I can’t do my search out in the open.”
“Okay. Give me thirty minutes, and you will have the car for yourself for however long you need it and the apartment for a few hours.”
“That works, sir.”
“John, I want bugs in the bathroom, too!”
“I… I’m not sure if we have the moisture resistant ones handy today.”
“Fine, place the regular ones, and I will swap them out later.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Sid… John. Call me Sid.”
“You know I won’t. Bye, sir.”
Sid turned off his phone before stepping into the living area.
“Sid, were you serious about going out?” She sat with her feet curled up on the chair.
“Yeah… I need to shop for some clothes, and I was looking for someone to carry my bags.”
She flung the small accent pillow at him making him laugh. “I’d rather go with you and carry your bags instead of staying home wondering what is happening with my buddy.”
“What is happening?” he probed cautiously.
“When are we leaving?” He wasn’t surprised when she dismissed his question.
“Right after I am done taking a shower.” He went back into his room texting John about the plan.
“Amy, let’s go,” he called out stepping out of his room rolling up his shirt sleeve. She was on the phone on the balcony with her back to him. He stood quietly watching the softly rounded globes sway as she moved her legs. She had simple shorts on, but something about how they molded to her made him want to dig his fingertips into the soft flesh. His hungry eyes touched her to satiation as they ran down her long legs and then up to her rounded curves before they clashed with her mocking eyes.
She poked her tongue at him and gestured she was almost done. Sid turned away from her, partly embarrassed she caught him drinking in her curves.
Sid: I need bugs in the balcony, too.
John: Yes, sir.
“Are you done, Sid?” She mocked stepping back indoors making him stiff.
He looked up at her casually. “Done with?” He was convinced she was confronting him about his open drooling.
“Shower.” She shrugged innocently making him laugh.
“Let’s go.”
“Where are we going anyway?”
“Out, and I’m driving,” he declared.
“I don’t just get into strangers’ cars.” She scrunched her nose.
“Really?”
“Fine, I’ll go, but I will take a cab back if I need to leave.”
“You are a snob and a weirdo.”
“Hey,” she growled.
“Okay, out. I can lock the door.” Sid pulled out his phone before leaving.
Sid: Leaving the cove.
John: Got it, sir.
Sid: I want a team watching her. I need to know if she has any tails.
John: Done. Where are you headed, sir?
Sid: The pier.
John: Roger that.
“Where are we going?” Amy chirped.
“The pier.”
“I thought you wanted to buy clothes.”
“I changed my mind. I want to hang out and have lunch there.”
“Not happening, I don’t eat tourist food.” She turned around and started to head back toward the apartment.
Sid moved swiftly pulling her by her hand. “I know a place that doesn’t serve tourist food.”
“It doesn’t exist on the pier.”
“Yes, it does… let’s go.” He laughed pulling her into the elevator.
“You are one bossy roommate,” she mocked freeing her hand from his grip while ignoring the waves of zing that traveled through her.
“I’m trying to be a good roommate and show you what you’re missing out on by being a food snob.”
“Stop it.” She whacked his arm with the back of her hand.
“Accept it, you are one.”
She faked annoyance so she could feel his rock-solid muscles and gently slapped him on his chest.
“Should I keep calling you a snob so you can keep touching me?” He crooned, his eyes boring into hers.
She held her chin high refusing to look away. “Maybe I should turn around so you can gawk at my ass again?”
He smiled and took a step closer as the super slow elevator made it to the lowest level. “I admire beauty in every form.”
She felt the heat creep up her cheeks and knew they were visibly flushed, but she managed a nonchalant tone. “Thank you!”
Amy stepped out of the elevator ahead of him and walked away in hopes of hiding the grin that refused to go away. She knew he was playing with her, but it made her feel good, made her feel like a woman and not a girl, and she found it extremely entertaining.
Sid’s Hummer was parked on the street and gleamed under the California sun.
“Why do you need a car? You barely step out of the apartment.” She got into the passenger seat.
“To take my roommate out and show her what she’s been missing living under a rock.”
“On a farm,” she grumbled.
“Same thing. Why do you have yours, then? You don’t take it to work.”
“Oh, I need it when I go home on the weekends.” She poked her tongue at him.
“Really?” Sid pulled the beast of a car away from the sidewalk and attempted to make a U-turn, and she screeched his name holding on to the door handle when she realized a car was headed their way at a high speed. She sat frozen and watched in horror as Sid turned the wheel to avoid the incoming vehicle and rammed the front of the Hummer right into her minivan parked across the street.
“Fuck, are you okay?” His voice was shaky.
Amy felt fine physically but was shaken on the inside. A few pedestrians came by to help, and Sid assured them they were fine. As she slowly got out of the vehicle, she saw how the solid metal brush guard on the Hummer had punctured the entire side of her mom’s minivan.
“Amy, I’m so sorry.”
She didn’t respond as she stepped onto the sidewalk to look at the vehicle her mom used to drive her and her brother to school in, miles and miles of road trips, and the day she drove away with it to college.
Sid was on the phone while she walked around and looked at how much damage the vehicle incurred from one thrust. He hung up after a few minutes and walked up to where she stood in silence. “Hey, I’m sorry. I… I had to avoid the car.”
He was thrilled his plan worked to the ‘T,’ but something deep inside bothered him when he saw the sadness in her eyes. He reminded himself he did what he did so his team could have her car for inspection for more than a few hours. He cautiously put an arm around her unable to comprehend her state of mind. “Amy, the tow truck will be here in a few minutes, and I will get your car fixed.
“You better,” she snarled, gently pushing him away to look at him. “Aaron was supposed to take it to college, and I wanted to repeat all the mean things he said to me when I was packing the minivan for college. He needs to drive the ‘mommy van’ too.”
“Huh?”
“I want i
t fixed,” she barked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And fast, I need to go back home in a few weeks, and I need it back as if nothing happened to it. I want my little brother to drive to his college campus in this car.”
“You are one loving sister.” He laughed knowing it would annoy her, but he was glad everything was working as planned.
“Not funny, Sid.”
“I’m sorry. Other than the fact I crushed your dream of seeing your brother drive this minivan, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she grumbled.
“Good. I’m glad to hear it. Oh, here’s the tow truck.”
“That was fast. What towing company do you use?”
“My own.” He laughed signaling the driver.
Twenty minutes later, they were on their way to the pier after watching her van being loaded onto the truck. Sid was impressed with how well one of the guys on his team did as a tow truck driver. The guy gave Amy all the details, the location of her vehicle, and what she needed to tell her insurance.
She sat next to him texting, and he drove in silence toward the pier. He glanced sideways a few times, but she refused to look at him.
“Are you mad?”
“No… I… I just have too many memories in that car, but I know you didn’t do it on purpose.” Her voice was so deep something inside him twitched. The chirpy easygoing woman was lost in thought like she had lost something important.
A few minutes into the silence, he heard a low hum, her sweet voice sent waves of thrill to his chest. “What are you singing?”
She turned slowly to look at him. “My happy place song… it’s a song my dad taught me so I would feel better when I’m feeling low.”
“Wait, what kind of a college student are you? Don’t you get high when you feel low?” He laughed thankful the silence had died.
“A slightly sensible one,” she retorted.
“What’s the song that gives you a high?”
“The Rabbit’s Home.” Her voice was soft, and he could tell she was fond of the song. It was something no woman he had met cared to show. The women he had known tried too hard to be strong or sassy not caring for the little things in life, but for him, with everything he had been through, the small things in life mattered a lot.
“Umm… should I know that song? Is that some kind of a kindergarten poem?”
She laughed easing the guilt of making the big brown eyes gloomy.
“It was a song my dad taught me. It’s about a little rabbit that forgets how to get home every day, so he makes up a song to memorize the landmarks and the signs that would help the rabbit take the correct turns to get home on a prairie where everything looks the same.”
Sid took his eyes off the road to catch a glimpse of her face and caught the glow in her eyes. “I don’t know what to say. Am I supposed to say it’s cool you have a song to take you to a happy place?”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you think, I told you because you asked.”
“I know, and for the record, I think it’s pretty cool you remember something your dad taught you when you were little.”
“Yeah, it’s my own song and my happy place.”
“Very cool, are we still on for eating out?”
“I am with the ‘out’ but skeptical about the ‘eating’ part.” She scrunched her nose.
“Trust me?”
She looked at him for a long moment. “Well, after that homemade pizza… I do.”
“Homemade Italian food,” he declared making the engine growl through the streets of San Francisco.
Chapter 5
Almost two hours of typical tourist shopping on the pier, Sid took her to an Italian restaurant on the lower level.
“How do I not know about this place?” Amy whispered sitting at a table in a private lower level room with the view of the beautiful San Francisco Bay.
“This place is off limits for food snobs.” He smirked.
“This is so cool and the private deck is so fantastic.” She looked at a family gathered at a big table under a pergola.
“Yeah, I come here when I miss home, and my buddy, Alberto, fixes me a killer dish that makes me feel so good I keep smiling like a fool all day.”
“You do that?”
“What?”
“Smile like a fool?” She laughed.
“Rarely, but I’m capable.” He looked away as his mind went down a dark lane. The darkness that sucked away his childhood molded him to be the person he was and still played a role in his life.
“Does this food remind you of your childhood?”
He looked at her in shock. “Only the part I want to remember, the rest of it…”
“What’s your story, Sid?” She probed softly when his voice trailed off.
He didn’t respond immediately but held her gaze for a few moments. It was a novelty for him to have someone be so interested to know him for who he was as a person and not the hero who was perfect and capable of doing anything. She had no expectations from him, allowing him to be his real self, which he didn’t know existed. Everyone around him thought of him as a hero, but deep inside only he knew about the wall he built around his darkness, and she threatened to get close. “Why do you wanna know?”
“I’m intrigued. I don’t know what you do, and I have no idea how you ended up in the apartment when I specifically asked for a female roomie, but I’m glad you showed up.”
“Really?” A smile played on his lips as he leaned back looking at her.
“Yeah, you’re half decent.”
“Just half?” he snorted.
“Don’t challenge my opinion, the word you’re looking for is ‘thank you’ because I haven’t told a single guy what I said a second ago.”
“Interesting. So… you okay with not knowing anything about me?”
“I know what I need to know… for now.”
“Really? What do you know about me?”
“Stop fishing for a compliment ‘cause there ain’t anymore.” She winked looking out of the window at a little girl standing on the deck throwing popcorn into the water for a family of sea lions.
He shook his head laughing. “You are a good roommate.”
“Oh… I’m the best roommate you’ll ever…” Her words evaporated in her mouth just like the moisture at what she saw. She got up from her chair knocking it over and dashed toward the deck where the large family was gathered.
“Amy?” Sid looked at her run toward the back of the restaurant and followed her. He watched in utter shock as she dove into the bay water and a second later he kicked his shoes off and dove right after her.
The cold bay water hit his face, and his mind questioned his motive, but he had no answer. No reason why he dove into the water right after her without another thought.
Sid saw her surface holding onto a little girl holding her head above the water, and he swam to her. “Amy, are you all right?”
“Yeah, watch for that frigging sea lion.”
Amy happened to see the girl being pulled into the water by the sea lion, and the girl’s squeal was lost in the music and the family chatter. She dug her fingers into Sid’s arm as she held the terrified child who seemed to be frozen in shock.
Sid pushed the little girl out of the water and handed her to the eagerly waiting arms of her family members. Two adults diving into the bay surely caught everyone’s attention.
“Take my hand,” a man called out to Amy, and she was grateful to be out of the cold bay water in spite of the bright sun. Sid pulled himself onto the deck and started to squeeze the water out of his shirt. “Is the little girl okay, Alberto?”
“Yes, thanks to you and your guest, Sid.”
Sid threw an arm around Amy. “Thanks to Amy.”
The group on the deck applauded as they followed Alberto indoors to change. “I have extra uniforms you guys can change into, and we have a tiny shower if you would like to use it before you change.”
“I wanna go first
,” Amy called out laughing.
“I would never fight you after that heroic save, my lady.” He drawled making her core warm.
“Amy, the shower is down the hallway to the left. I will have Sid bring you some hand towels and clothes.” Alberto declared gesturing Sid to follow him.
Amy had no energy to protest, she was shaken up not just from the cold but also mostly from what she had witnessed. She never in a million years expected a sea lion to jump out of the water to pull a child into the water. She didn’t want to think about what would have happened if she weren’t looking in that direction.
She opened the door marked ‘Employees Only’ to find a small room with a tiny shower stall to one side of the room. Diver suits hung on one side of the wall, and she wondered why they had such a room in a restaurant but was grateful they did.
Amy stepped into the shower with her clothes dripping. She turned on the hot water with her clothes on to curb the shivering that had started right after she stepped out of the water.
A few minutes later, she heard a knock, and the door creaked open slowly. “Amy?”
“In here.” She raised her hand above the shower door.
“I have matching t-shirts and shorts for us.”
“Yay! But I’m not getting out of the shower any time soon.” Her voice wavered.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m cold.”
“Are you still in your wet clothes?”
“Yes.”
“You need to get out of them and shower.”
“I have no energy to change. How are you not cold?”
“I’m trained for this, don’t worry about me. Change out of your clothes and let me know when you are ready for your dry clothes,” Sid urged.
“Sid, find another shower. I’m not leaving anytime soon.” Amy let the hot air run down her body as she hugged herself.
“Amy, you need to get out of your jeans.”
“No… why don’t you go check on the little girl and come back in two hours?”
“The girl is doing fine. She is on her way to the hospital to be checked for injuries.”
“You get two minutes, and you need to get out of the shower.”
“No… go away,” she grumbled.
