Block Party

by Stylo Fantome

  “I-I'm sorry,” she stammered. “But no. No. I couldn't possibly. I've never had a roommate, didn't even have any siblings. I wouldn't know what to do, I wouldn't be able to help.”

  “You're driven,” Wulf said, and started holding up a finger for each point he made. “You're successful. You're smart. You're clean. You don't take any shit, and you get a lot of shit done. I think you'd be a lot of help to a girl like Brighton.”

  “I wouldn't even know where to being,” she insisted.

  “You wouldn't have to do anything. I would set the rules – you would just enforce them. That apartment has three bedrooms, you can have the spare two for your own private use. I will double your current salary, you would essentially be getting paid twenty-four hours a day. I would also pay for any and all transportation while you live there, all groceries, and anything else you can think of,” he said.

  She wanted to argue, but doubling her salary? That would be a lot of money. She wanted to buy her mother a Jaguar for Christmas.

  But worse than that, it was a challenge. Her instant, gut-reaction was to say no. That she couldn't possibly do what he asked. But she'd been raised to be competitive. Never settle for just an A – strive for an A+. Never be second best, always be first. If you can't accomplish something, then you're not good enough. Not as a human being, not as a daughter, not in life in general.

  So saying no to a challenge – any kind of challenge – just wasn't possible for Ayumi.

  Even when I really, really, really don't want to do it.

  “When would I have to move in?” she asked on a sigh. Wulf smiled big.

  “Sooner would of course be better, but you should take time to pack and to find someone to take care of your house,” he suggested.

  “Take care of my home? How long are you expecting me to live with Brie?” she asked. He shrugged.

  “I don't know. Maybe you'll be such a positive influence, she'll start taking classes next semester. Maybe she'll rebel even more. I was thinking of putting a time limit on it. If she hasn't registered for classes by summer, I'm sending her home. So June, at the very longest.”

  June. Jesus. Half a year, living in an apartment with Brighton Stone.

  “Is my job contingent on my doing this for you?” Ayumi asked.

  “Of course not. I offered it to you first because I know you'll do the best you can and you're worth every penny I pay you, but I could actually go out and hire a nanny, I suppose,” he said. She thought about it for a second longer.

  “Double my salary, all transportation and grocery costs, and triple my normal Christmas bonus,” she negotiated.

  “Triple! You're fucking stoned,” he laughed at her.

  “Excellent point. Quadruple,” she upped her bid, narrowing her gaze at him. He glared right back, but she knew he'd take the deal. Wulf was a hard ass with almost everyone in his life, but for some reason, he'd always been somewhat of a softie with Ayumi.

  “Fine. You just love taking my money,” he grumbled as he grabbed some papers out of his desk. While he made some notes at the bottom of it, adding her bonus stipulation, she glanced over the text that was visible to her. He'd already had a contract drawn up for her nanny job.

  While he wrote, she stared out the window over his shoulder. How depressing. She worked ten hour days, and then she'd be going home to a full time babysitting job. More like asshole-sitting. Brie was not a very nice person. It was going to be awful. Definitely a challenge. A long, long challenge.

  She frowned as she realized how nice it was outside. Bright sunlight was pouring through the windows, he didn't even have any lights on in the room. It looked like an amazing summer day, but she knew better – winter was making itself known in San Francisco. It was chilly outside, and blustery. It rained more often than not, which just made her situation more depressing. Babysitting in cold, shitty weather.

  She sat up straight as a thought ran through her head. San Francisco was cold, but it would be warm in San Jose. Or Malibu. Or San Diego.

  No, no, no, such a bad idea.

  She licked her lips and glanced around. Six months of hell. Two weeks of sunshine. Could she stand annoying banter and constant tacos for that long?

  “I want to make another amendment to the offer,” she found herself saying, even before her brain had made a decision.

  I have sex with Liam Edenhoff one time, and he turns me crazy. He should come with a warning label.

  8

  So stupid. I am so stupid. What if he says he changed his mind? What if he decided to cancel the trip? What if he's got some girl in there?

  Ayumi took a deep breath and knocked on Liam's door. There was shuffling sound inside, but no one answered. Maybe he really was with someone. Her nerves went up a notch, which of course made her force herself to knock again. That time, she could hear actual footsteps. She schooled her features into their usual look of boredom and disdain just in time for him to pull open the door. He stared at her in surprise, a toothbrush hanging out the side of his mouth.

  “I have to babysit Brie,” she blurted out, not sure what else to say. His eyebrows shot up.

  “Excuse me?” he asked around the brush.

  “Can I come in?” she asked, then she didn't bother waiting for an invitation, she just pushed past him to walk into his apartment.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he said, shutting his door and then hurrying into his kitchen. He spit out of the toothpaste then turned to face her. “So what's going on?”

  “Brighton hasn't done any of the things she promised Wulf she'd do,” Ayumi explained. “He's at the end of his rope. He's trying to make her grow up, and he thinks I'll be a positive role model.”

  Liam burst out laughing.

  “I'm sorry, has he met you?”

  “Shut up.”

  “Okay, so how did this all come about? And why did you agree to it?” he asked, leaning back against his counter.

  “He offered me a lot of money,” she replied.

  “I don't think I could get paid enough to live with Brie.”

  “That's what I thought till he named the amount,” she said. “And I just ... the minute I thought I couldn't do it, I knew I had to at least try. It's just in my nature.”

  “Not shocked. But how does all that lead you to my door?” he asked, then he glanced at the luggage she'd wheeled into the room behind her.

  “I told Wulf I needed some time off before I started this new job,” she said. “And the other day you invited me on a trip. I assumed the invitation would still be good.”

  A huge grin spread across his face.

  “I knew it.”

  “You didn't.”

  “I so knew it. Why do you think I'm still here? I could've left last night.”

  “How you could possibly know I'd be forced to babysit some brat?” she demanded, putting one hand on her hip and gripping the handle of her luggage with the other.

  “I know because I have Jedi powers,” he said, tapping his temple with his toothbrush.

  “You are quite literally a stupid person.”

  “And you, my dear, are a sexy talker.”

  “This isn't, like, a vacation together,” she babbled. “This is me escaping before I start a job from hell. You were just already going somewhere.”

  “See? More sexy talk,” he sighed, then he tossed the toothbrush into the sink. “You are just going to be the most fun, aren't you?”

  “Hey, we both know I'm not fun – you knew it when you invited me. If you don't want me tagging along, just say so,” she said.

  “Oh no! I feel it is my mission in life to show you that having a good time won't entirely melt you, Ice Queen. We're going to have the most epic fucking road trip you've ever been on in your entire life,” he informed her as he marched into the bedroom area of his apartment.

  “That shouldn't be too hard, I've never been on a road trip,” she said.

  “See? Progress already. This is going to great. I can just tell.”

  A HAL
F AN HOUR OUTSIDE of San Francisco, Ayumi could feel the beginnings of a panic attack starting.

  What am I doing? What in the hell am I doing?

  She could've gone anywhere. Two weeks was a long time. Paris, Singapore, Bali. Spend a week in Bora Bora, and then a week in London. Literally anywhere, she had more than enough money.

  But instead of any of those places, she'd panicked and she'd needed to get away fast, and Liam's trip had barely popped into her head before she'd found herself knocking on his door.

  “Are you okay?”

  She refused to turn her head, but she knew he was looking at her.

  “Fine,” she said through clenched teeth. “Keep your eyes on the road.”

  “You look kinda green,” he ignored her instructions and kept his eyes glued to her face.

  “I just ...” she tried to think of something to say. “I'm under a lot of stress, and it's all sort of hitting me right now.”

  “You? You feel stress?” he burst out laughing, and she finally glanced at him. Only for a second. She wouldn't allow herself any long looks. “I didn't think the ice queen felt anything.”

  “Liam, I regularly work ten-plus hour days, six days a week – not including the almost pro-bono accounting job I do for you. Wulfric is one of the top real estate agents in the entire country, which means also the entire world, and it is my job to ensure he stays at the top of his job. Does that sound stress free to you?” she asked. “And I won't even get into the multiple Stone businesses I help run. You may have heard of some of them, a tiny one called Masonry Management might sound familiar.”

  There was a long pause and she hazarded another glance. Liam was staring out his windshield.

  “Huh. I never would've figured,” he mumbled.

  “Figured what? That I have a stressful life?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “That's ridiculous. Everyone has stress – except you.”

  “Me?” he laughed again. “Have you met me? I'm always getting myself into trouble, and then before I can get out of it, I usually get into even more shit. I'm a fucking mess about ninety percent of the time. Compared to me, you're practically perfect.”

  Ayumi scowled.

  “Don't say that, that's awful. I'm not perfect. Perfect is impossible,” she snapped.

  “Whoa. Okay. Not perfect. Incredibly fucked up, duly noted,” he said quickly.

  They went around a curve and Ayumi held onto the door drip with both hands.

  “Are we going kind of fast?” she asked.

  “We're going ten under. Do you get car sick?” he asked back.

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn't you say anything?”

  “I didn't want to make it a bigger deal than it is.”

  “Well, I'd rather you not puke in this car,” he laughed. “C'mon, I'll pull over and you can drive.”

  “I can't,” she replied.

  “Why not?”

  “I don't know how to drive a stick.”

  “No way,” his jaw dropped as he looked over at her. She shook her head.

  “Never learned. Watch the road!” she snapped as they drifted too close to the center line.

  “Oh, sweetheart, you are missing out. Gunning the engine off the line, shifting gears, taking corners hard – gotta be the best feeling,” he said, and as if to prove it, she could feel the car start to accelerate quickly.

  “What? No, don't! I don't want to die!” she shouted above the wind whipping around them. He just laughed at her and kept moving the stick around.

  “Don't worry,” he said, and she almost did throw up when he took his hand off the gear shift and grabbed hers. “I'll keep us safe.”

  She felt even sicker.

  When Ayumi had first seen the car they were taking on their road trip, she'd tried to back out. Had started babbling excuses and tried to walk away. Liam had blocked her path, then eventually just picked her up and shuffled her back to the vehicle.

  She didn't really know much about cars, but she knew a piece of shit when she saw it, and that description was being a little too generous for their car. It was a sort of gold color, or had been at one point. One of the doors was a buffed silver. There were patches of rust on the hood. It was a convertible, as was evidenced by the lack of a top, but Ayumi was pretty sure it didn't have any top, at all. What would they do if it rained?

  “We're going to be in southern California, it never rains. Get in the car, Ice Queen.”

  He'd explained to her that they were in a classic. A 1963 Pontiac Tempest. She should feel honored to be riding in it. Liam had been storing it for a friend, keeping it in the tiny garage under Twin Estate building two. The friend had moved to San Deigo, which wasn't a long drive at all, so of course Liam had agreed to take the car down there. It would be easy peezy, a nice leisurely trip.

  “When you said 'road trip',” Ayumi started, sinking lower in her seat. “I imagined like a fully loaded Escalade. Possibly with a driver.”

  “Oh, you're too much fun. This is going to be the best time ever,” he laughed loudly, then sped the car up even more.

  Everyone babbled on and on about the coastal Highway One – it was beautiful! Stunning! A road carved out of the California coastline with the most amazing views, it had to be experienced.

  Fuck that. Ayumi had never liked it. It was too curvy, it made her motion sick even when she was driving. And for the short distances she was able to drive, the constant speeding up and slowing down between curves was awful. A person couldn't enjoy the view because they were too busy concentrating on making turns and not killing themselves. She didn't understand the point. Now I-5, that made sense to her. Straight shot, from the Canada-Washington border clear to Mexico. Multiple lanes, true and straight. Orderly. Simple. Boring.

  They drove in silence for a while – most of it spent with her looking into her lap, praying for it to just end. Liam attempted to make conversation a couple times, but she'd gone into what she liked to call “shut down” mode. She tuned any and everything out, just focused on her breathing and her heart rate. It's how she got through her grueling work outs.

  Good to know it's good for something else.

  After another hour of torture, they finally came to a stop. She looked up as he pulled into some tiny road side diner. She could just imagine the different kinds of hepatitis she was about to contract, but she didn't care. Anything to get off the road.

  “Thank you,” Ayumi groaned as the car lurched to a stop.

  “You were starting to look pretty green,” he commented as they both climbed out of the vehicle. “I seriously don't want you ralphing on the leather. It's original.”

  “My 'ralphing' would be an improvement to that piece of garbage,” she informed him. She reached out for the door handle, but he hustled ahead of her and grabbed it, holding the door open for her. They stared at each other for a second, Liam smiling. Her not. She would not fall for his shenanigans. She was not Katya, or Tori, or Brighton Stone. She wouldn't be blinded by his false idolization. So she breezed on by him.

  “You can't call American Muscle 'garbage',” he said, walking around her and heading to the counter. “What do you want? I'm buying.”

  “Do they have anything organic?” she asked, glancing up at a menu that hung over the bar. Liam laughed loudly, catching the attention of several women in the establishment.

  “No. Want me to order for you?”

  “I literally cannot imagine anything more terrifying than you ordering food for me. I'll just have water for now.”

  “Suit yourself,” Liam sighed, then stepped up to the register. An very eager looking blonde girl smiled up at him.

  “What can I get you, Tiger?” she asked, showing all her pearly white teeth. Ayumi snorted, which just made Liam smile even bigger.

  “I dunno, I'm not very hungry today, so maybe juuust ...” he dragged the word out as he leaned down and put his elbows on the counter. “Two orders of shrimp poppers, curly fries, some jojos, a double b
acon cheeseburger, a large Dr. Pepper, aaaaaand ... hmmm ... what is the best dessert you've got?”

  Ayumi wanted to vomit, and not just because of the ridiculous amount of food he'd just ordered. The blonde was clearly already in love. How did he do that? He was advertising himself as a human garbage disposal, and this girl looked ready to propose marriage. It wasn't fair.

  “Oh gosh,” the girl breathed, leaning close to him as if to share a secret. “Most people say ice cream, but between you and me, I think the cherry pie is to die for.”

  Liam's smile shifted almost imperceptibly from innocent to naughty, and his eyes dipped down to the cashier's lips.

  “Then I'll also take a piece of cherry pie – have the ambulance on stand-by.”

  Ayumi made a gagging noise and turned around. She couldn't watch this, it was just making her motion sickness even worse. She headed for a booth in the farthest corner of the tiny restaurant and sat next to a window, pressing her head against the glass and trying to cool down. After what felt like forever, Liam slid into the seat across from her.

  “You engaged yet?” she asked, not bothering to look at him.

  “Not quite yet,” he replied. “But I think she gave me her phone number.”

  “Seriously?”

  Ayumi lifted her head. He was busy slurping down his jumbo sized soda, but he managed to nod and held out his receipt. At the bottom, where his customer order number should've been, was a ten digit long number that did look an awful lot like a phone number.

  “You asked for it?” Ayumi checked. He shook his head.

  “Nope. Gah, brain freeze,” he groaned, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead.

  “You're awful, you know that, right? You're like the embodiment of ... awfulness,” she told him.

  “Jealousy is sexy,” he managed to laugh. “Green looks good on you. Wanna make out?”

  Ayumi just snorted and turned back to the window.

  Plastic basket after basket of fried food was delivered to their table, all by the love-struck blonde girl. Liam smiled and winked at her each time, throwing out cheesy one liners like it was his job. When he'd polished off a basket of poppers and jo-jos, Ayumi finally spoke up.