I also got a text message from Stefen. That was weird because I had almost just written him off. The gap in communication made it seem like a Thank You Ma’am. His message was meant to address all points in one.
So sorry for the drought. I had some finance things with my business. Had to get new insurance for my business and I had to produce the maintenance documentation on my bikes. I have to do my own filing and I suck. Nothing to do with you. Just trying to stay on top of my livelihood. I’ll be back in Honolulu in two weeks. Would love to see you. S
It meant exactly what it was, a too-late text message. I responded with OK, working at the moment. I didn’t see any reason to get more involved. I didn’t even let on if I would see him when he showed up. The only issue was that he knew where I lived. I hoped he wasn’t the type to show up without an invite. But so many dudes were.
I made time to say hi to Camille. She was sweet but busy. She told me she was assigned to a project with the claims adjusters. She had to go through some claims and highlight items that might be part of a collection that were duplicated as individual items. It happened.
Monday was Monday. Tuesday was Tuesday. The week was going smooth but maybe I was settling into my role as office manager. It was nice to really be too busy. I didn’t have time to think about Stefen. I didn’t have time to think about Malia or Longboard or sex tape files. That was outside ish. I had my girl, Jessie, to worry about. I called her Wednesday night.
“Sup girl,” said Jessie.
“Just being a boss.”
“You sound like you’re finally fitting your new role,” said Jessie.
“That’s why I was cast. I’m like the DiCaprio of Key Way Insurance. No matter what role they put me in, I nail that shit.”
“That bravado never gets old,” said Jessie.
“It’s why you love me.”
“True, true,” said Jessie.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Why else would you have my number?” said Jessie.
“Was it just me or were you trippin’ out on Saturday at Tin Reef?”
“Naw, I was cool as always,” said Jessie, “It was just you.”
“You sure?” There was a long pause.
“OK, I was a bit bad,” said Jessie.
“Why?”
“Rough couple of days,” said Jessie.
“Is that it?”
“Why do you asked?” said Jessie.
“I’ve seen you going through rough work days. It seemed more personal than professional. Like something directed toward Camille, at least that’s what it seemed.”
“I got a little protective I guess,” said Jessie.
“In what way?”
“Well,” said Jessie, “I know you’re going through a lot at the moment and I think someone could take advantage of that.”
“In what way?”
“That last girl, Malia, was a coworker and look how she screwed you over,” said Jessie, “Just didn’t want someone else to be like that with you.” The next question was hard for me to ask. But friendships are always tested from time-to-time.
“Does it have anything to do with what happened on Kaua’i at the resort?”
“What do you mean?” asked Jessie.
“Is it the crush thing. I mean…is there still…do you still have a crush on me?”
“Well that kind of thing just doesn’t go away,” said Jessie.
“No it doesn’t. Thanks for looking out for me though.”
“I’m always looking out for you,” said Jessie.
“I know. I appreciate it more than I let on.”
“That’s always good to know and hear,” said Jessie.
“Yeah don’t worry about Camille. She actually has some serious personal stuff going on. And she’s young, so I let her stay Friday night at my place.”
“Are you really gonna try to get her your old job?” asked Jessie.
“I’ve already promised that.”
“No one keeps every promise,” said Jessie.
“You try ‘n keep the ones you didn’t have to make in the first place.”
“You’ve taken a shine to this one,” said Jessie.
“Honestly, you know what?”
“What?” said Jessie.
“You feel like you know the Real McKoy. At least, you like to feel like you know it.”
“That’s true,” said Jessie.
“What about this chick you met? Is she the Real McCoy?”
“Meh,” said Jessie, “Haven’t seen her in over a week.”
“That sounds a familiar story.”
“Oh the Jetovator guy,” said Jessie, “The one from the resort.”
“That’s the one.”
“What’s going on with him?” asked Jessie.
“I got a text from him Monday. First in a long time.”
“What did it say?” asked Jessie.
“How he’s so busy lately cuz he’s gotta find paperwork for his business.”
“You believe him?” asked Jessie.
“I don’t even think it matters.”
“Why?” asked Jessie.
“A call would have been more appropriate.”
“True,” said Jessie.
“We’re big girls now. We gotta be more interested in big boys. That was the deal with Hank, my boss. He was a fucking adult. He rolled like an adult.”
“Like a boss,” said Jessie.
“That too.”
“But you can’t compare every dude to the founder of Key Way Insurance,” said Jessie.
“True, but I’ve called a few times since we hooked up and he couldn’t even return the favor. He’s good at delivering the goods. But that’s not gonna save him.”
“Yeah that never saves anyone in the long-run,” said Jessie.
“It might buy him some time.”
“I could see that,” said Jessie, “What are you gonna do?”
“I’m gonna let him do what he feels he has to do, based on how he feels.”
“It’s so interesting to hear you talk like that now from the boy-crazy girl I knew in high school,” said Jessie.
“I miss that girl too. But she’s gone. I’m a woman now. I gotta be one.”
“We both gotta be,” said Jessie, “Here’s to keeping each other accountable.”
“We gotta get some one-on-one time.”
“True that,” said Jessie. We did end up getting that one-on-one—Friday at Ginger Snap. But not before another text from Stefen.
How’ve you been? Let me hear from you.
“I guess the brevity of my last text got to him.”
“Brevity is good,” said Jessie swallowing a bit of her heavy-poor Cape Cod.
“Brevity works for dudes.”
“Trust me it works with the females as well,” said Jessie.
“That was gonna be my next question.”
“Being lesbian is the same as being straight in the sense that you don’t always see straight or think straight. Attraction is attraction,” said Jessie.
“It gets you thinking sideways. It comes from somewhere you can’t see. And it works through people you don’t know.”
“Yeah,” said Jessie, “It gives you more and more reason not to trust it. You can’t control it and it manifest through strangers.”
“Fuck it. I should just be about getting my needs met and not try to humanize it. It’s just biology. Animals fall into heat and do what they do, then go on. That’s pretty civil. And we’re supposed to be the gods of civilization. The ones who created it.”
“Yeah that’s just cuz we surround ourselves with all this technology to make it look like we got problems solved,” said Jessie, “But that little gizmo in your purse is the source or more miscommunication that communication. It’s the same, no matter which team you’re batting for. In fact, this girl that I’m kinda seeing…”
“What’s her name. You still haven’t told me.”
“Eileen,” said Jessie.
“Sounds like a douche.” Jessie laughed.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just wanted to let some shit out. And you set me up.”
“Naw,” said Jessie, “But just to be fair. She is a douche. But flake dominant. So I’d say she’s more of a flake than a douche.”
“A douche but flake dominant. We should be on a reality show. This shit should be recorded. There should be memes all over the internet for that kinda stuff.”
“I’m just brilliant,” said Jessie.
“Yeah, I agree. That’s why you’re smart enough to date chicks. Mean time I’m still riding dicks.”
“Patience young one,” said Jessie, “You will learn your place in the Force.”
“Nice little Star Wars reference there.”
“I try,” said Jessie.
“Speaking of, we need another round. Wonder if there are any Star Wars themed cocktails.”
“There are but do you really think they serve them here?” said Jessie.
“Good point.”
“I’ll tell you what,” said Jessie “I’ll go get us another round. And I’ll surprise you.”
“Fair enough.” She was gone and came back fists full.
“Cheers,” said Jessie.
“Cheers.”
“So tell me what’s with this Camille,” said Jessie,”Why so protective of her?”
“Am I protective?”
“It’s an adjective,” said Jessie, “It’s used to describe. Doesn’t make you protective. Just trying to tell you what it seems like.”
“Well as happens, I let my jealousy get the better of me and now I suppose I’m feeling remorseful.”
“Do you do remorseful?” asked Jessie.
“Don’t we all?”
“Dunno,” said Jessie, “But it always seemed like you were always goal-oriented. It’s just hard to imagine you having time to look back.”
“I guess cuz I’ve always been looking sideways.”
“In what way?” asked Jessie.
“Well I’m goal-oriented. That’s true. But it’s like when we ran track. You just gotta run. I was always slowed down by looking out of the corner of my eye. It’s just my personality to have side-eye going on.”
“And that came into play with Camille?” asked Jessie.
“Yeah well, she was this bubbly little girl from California. When she came to the office she seemed like she was trying to create this breath of fresh air.”
“What’s wrong with that?” asked Jessie.
“Nothing. It’s that she was trying to do it or so I thought.”
“Still don’t see what’s wrong with it,” said Jessie.
“Nothing’s wrong with it. That’s the point. I was trying to find something wrong with it. It was the fact that she was trying to be a breath of fresh air instead of realizing she’s supposed to show off her work ethic. I was like just do work goddammit.”
“Geez,” said Jessie, “And you’re accusin’ me of being hard on the girl.”
“I was hard on her, when she first started. But I didn’t let it show. I was just being jealous me.”
“I bet you think it didn’t show,” said Jessie, “She didn’t seem like a ditz. She probably caught on to the undertones.”
“She’s not a ditz. But…”
“See that,” said Jessie, “We’re in agreement.” Jessie took a sip.
“My point being that she is, in fact, a breath of fresh air. She wasn’t just trying it on for size.”
“Then good for her,” said Jessie, “Actually good for you both.”
“You said it right. Good for us both. Plus, I thought her boobs were fake.”
“They’re real?” said Jessie.
“Yep.”
“Did she tell you?” asked Jessie.
“She did.”
“Wow, you guys are really opening up, if you’re already on the boob conversation,” said Jessie.
“Well she’s not from Hawaii. Cali girls are more open aren’t they?”
“I guess,” said Jessie, “But believe you me, I’m in the hospitality industry. You never wanna have the boob conversation or the butt conversation.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you never want to introduce the idea of relative size,” said Jessie.
“What’s wrong with that? Your hotel has rooms of different sizes doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” said Jessie, “But do you think we mention that? Every room is an excellent choice and has a great view. The price is the only thing that fluctuates. And the theory behind that is that we are trying to accommodate your price range. If you’re in town for a wedding then you’re not gonna be in your room much anyways. So you might want a cheaper room just because the room isn’t your main concern. But we don’t want to have a conversation about one room being bigger than another. That’s relativity. No way in hell do we wanna touch that. We’re all about selling abundance, hospitality is just what they call the industry.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“It’s the straight up truth,” said Jessie, “You don’t want to be talking about relative shit. In fact, the only relative thing we talk about in our industry is time. Like, how long will you be staying with us.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
“I think your jealous streak makes you seek out relative advantages or disadvantages between you and others,” said Jessie.
“Not gonna argue with you. You know me well enough.”
“You gotta get off that train,” said Jessie, “Let that shit go!”
“I think that’s why I like Camille now. Maybe I’m growing up. Honestly, being envious is a lot of work.”
“Yeah!” said Jessie.
“But that was the thing with Camille in the beginning. I was like look at this little California blondie. She walking around all smiles and acting like a living Barbie. It was that kinda attitude where you would have to guess she was an attention-starved slut, just beneath the surface. And I guess that’s what lead me to start thinking she had fake boobs. I just formed this whole mental imagine of who she was and getting fake boobs to get attentioned fit the profile.”
“Takes one to know one,” said Jessie.
“Yeah but come on now. Those things are ginormous, for that little girl.”
“But they’re real,” said Jessie.
“True. But if they weren’t, she’d be straight up attention-seeking.”
“She’d be getting attention,” said Jessie, “It wouldn’t matter if she was seeking it or not. Both guys and dolls would be turning their heads.”
“And that would be all the good for her. She deserves it. I mean honestly she kinda is Barbie. She’s blonde with big boobs and she’s from California.”
“Yeah but I think I read somewhere that Barbie would be like seven feet tall with her proportions,” said Jessie.
“Yeah and she wouldn’t be able to stand.”
“I guess Mother Nature had to scale back a bit on Camille,” said Jessie.
“Yeah, if you got big ol’ boobies I guess you need a lower center of gravity.”
“That’s awesome,” said Jessie, “You’re like a boob physicist.” I laughed.
“But she’s just a sweet girl. She really is. She would’ve fit our clique back in the day.”
“Maybe not,” said Jessie, “We weren’t the same as we are now. We were more about our clique.”
“I guess you don’t realize how you were really. Back then it seemed like we were just doing it. But I guess we might have been some catty little things.”
“We were kinda the sporty girl clique,” said Jessie.
“Thank God we never named ourselves that.”
“Oh my God, you know how stupid it would sound in hindsight,” said Jessie, “Even if it was a pretty boss name, then.”
“It would probably sound stupid now.”
“Oh of course it would,” said Jessie.
“Now that I’ve had time to sober up and grow up, I like that you’
re looking out for Camille,” said Jessie.
“You weren’t really drunk.”
“I mean sober up from the week,” said Jessie.
“Did it have anything to do with that Eileen chick?”
“Yeah,” said Jessie.
“You wanna elaborate?”
“Well she’s not working at the moment,” said Jessie, “Which, for me, means she has more time on her hands. Not necessarily more money but more time.”
“So what’s with that?”
“Well she’s always absentee,” said Jessie.
“Even though she doesn’t work?”
“Yeah,” said Jessie, “She dropped by the hotel Monday to say hey. But I checked the parking lot security footage and there was someone waiting in the car.”
“Driving or sitting?”
“Driving,” said Jessie, “Someone just dropped her by to say what’s up and then she ran back and got in the car and they left.”
“Was it a girl or a guy?”
“Not sure because of the angle and the camera isn’t HD,” said Jessie, “You can tell the person has short hair and big forearms but it could just be a bull dike not a dude.”
“If you had to guess, dude or dike, what’s the first thing that hits you in the head.”
“Fuck. I’m thinking a dude,” said Jessie.
“Really?”
“Yeah,” said Jessie.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t think she’s in to bull dikes or else why would she be dating me?” asked Jessie.
“Could be a gold-digger.”
“True,” said Jessie, “But she just knows I’m a front desk manager at a hotel. I never told her about my dad or anything.”
Choppy (Desk Surfing Series Book 2) Page 9
