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Kayla
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After we landed in Newark from L.A., Bethany and I had remained inseparable. We went out drinking Thursday night, and afterwards we came back to my place and proceeded to sing embarrassing karaoke renditions of our favorite songs. Poorly would be an understatement.
On Friday morning, we moved slowly. We sat on the couch, sipping our coffee timidly, trying not to disturb the hangover. We had the TV on, with a game show that neither of us had ever heard of before. It served as background noise while we looked carelessly through our phones.
I looked at Justin’s itinerary, to see he was landing back here at 7:30.
“So, what time are you heading out to pick up Justin?” Bethany asked, as if she could tell what I was doing.
“He lands at 7:30, so I’ll probably head out just a few minutes before then,” I replied. “It takes forever for people to get through the airport these days. If I leave before then, I’m going to have way too much time to kill.”
“Like we have right now,” groaned Bethany. “I have no idea what I’m going to do today.”
“It’s Friday,” I reminded her. “Who says you have to do anything productive today?”
“Oh, you’re right, we could go cash in that check Leila sent you a couple weeks ago!” she said. “We can misbehave! Let’s go to fucking Atlantic City—the three of us, you, me and your man.”
I laughed at the idea, but it didn’t sound like an altogether bad one. “That could be fun. We should plan for it on another weekend though. Justin will love the idea once he’s worked a few more weeks at the accounting firm. He’ll be wanting a break.”
“I thought you were thinking about moving to California,” she said. “I think if we’re going to Atlantic City, we should do it tonight.”
“I wouldn’t be moving next week,” I said. “And, I never said I for sure. I’ve been thinking about it is all. I don’t even know what Justin wants.”
“Who says you’d have to take him anyway? He left without you, remember?” She winked. “I’m only half-kidding. But, you don’t think he wants to live there? He doesn’t like Newark.”
“I know, but he came back for me and has a job here now,” I said. “I don’t think he wants to keep moving back and forth.”
“But, if you move to L.A. now, you’re not going to move back to Newark,” she said. “It’s not back and forth—it’s just moving you forward. He just has to help you with your shit. And didn’t you say he liked the trip there? You guys would get to move your shit across the country together. I think you two would get a kick out of that, and it could be pretty romantic.”
“I know I would, I’d like it,” I said. “He does hate his job here.”
“See, it won’t take much convincing at all,” she concluded, standing up off the couch to refill her mug.
“So, you think Justin and I are okay?” I asked her. “You don’t think he’s cheating on me?”
She glared at me as she stirred her coffee, “Stop asking me that.”
I laughed, “Okay, fine.”
“Leila is pretty, but she does have a mean case of crazy-eyes,” said Bethany. “I could believe him if he says he’s not attracted to her.”
“If I were a guy, I’d want to fuck her,” I said.
“Well hey, me too!” she added. “But, we’re not guys like Justin.”
She got back on the couch, slugging me on the shoulder. “You guys are fine, quit worrying about it. Be happy that you have each other.”
“You’ll find someone, Beth,” I told her.
“Bitch, I know,” she laughed. “Don’t worry about me. I’m more worried you’re going to fuck things up in your own relationship.”
I grimaced, looking down at old text messages between me and Justin, reliving some memories.
“But, even with my cut from this check, I’m eventually going to have to go back to my old job at the marketing firm,” said Bethany. “I don’t know when, but probably soon.”
I looked up from my phone, hating the thought of her returning there. On many days, she had felt about that job the way Justin felt about the accounting firm.
“That sucks,” I told her.
“Well, unless we can get that new business started,” said Bethany, with a hint of encouragement in her tone. “If we had the next K-Plus figured out, I’d say we should do that.”
“Or, you could come out to L.A. with me,” I said.
Bethany raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. “You’ve brought this up quite a few times lately. When you say that, are you being serious?”
I shrugged. “Why not? You hate Jersey.”
“Hey,” she said, raising a finger. “I do not hate Jersey, it just pisses me off sometimes.”
“Right, but you loved California, right?”
“I liked what I saw. This is true.”
“I’m just saying, it might be something to consider,” I suggested. “Maybe you’d find a better marketing firm out there. In fact, it’s Los Angeles—you’d be guaranteed to find a better one out there, than you could around fucking Newark.”
She burst out laughing. “You’re probably right.”
“I don’t want you to go back to that place,” I told her, as I opened up a new tab on my phone’s Internet browser. “Let’s look for marketing jobs in L.A. that you can apply for from here. Shit, I could probably get you a job in about an hour.”
She leaned over to look at websites with me. “Okay, fine! Let’s check it out!”
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THE WAIT AT THE AIRPORT wasn’t very long. I had decided that rather than drive around the airport pick-up area repeatedly, I would park and wait for Justin by the terminal.
I was even happier that I had decided to park when I saw him. In additional to his carry-on luggage, he held a bouquet of flowers. I bit my thumb, feeling like I might actually emit a high-pitched squeak.
He beamed at the sight of me, “Hey, you!”
Walking up to him, I went in for a hug. He gave me the flowers first, which I took to admire and smell. They were a gorgeous assortment, with flowers of all kinds, featuring primarily lilies, one of my favorite flowers.
“I didn’t think you’d be over here,” he said, happily.
“Well, I’m so glad I am,” I said, feeling weak in the knees. He kissed me, making me feel as though I might literally fall onto the ground if he held it for too long.
He eventually allowed me to breathe, moving the hair that had fallen into my eyes. “I missed you.”
I chuckled, “It’s only been like two days.”
“That’s like two days too many,” he replied. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“Oh really,” I said. “What’s brought this sudden surge of happiness out of you?”
“I’ve had enough of L.A.,” he answered. “I’m happy to be back with you.”
“Well, I’m happy you’re back, too.”
“I’ll save you some suspense right now,” he said, guiltily. “I don’t have the title to K-Plus in my luggage. I stayed an extra day to try and get Leila to give up the company.”
My heart skipped a beat, frantically wondering where this was going.
“I really thought—I thought I was going to get it,” he said. “But, I wasn’t able to, again. I’m sorry, K.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me that’s why you wanted to stay?”
“I thought you’d try to stop me and I didn’t want to fight about it.”
“Well, you’re right, I probably would have,” I said, honestly. “What more could you have possibly done?”
He looked down at his feet. “I thought I would be able to convince her.”
I turned his head so he’d have to be looking at me. “It’s okay, Justin. It was my decision to sell the company to Leila. I have to live with that decision. It’s not your fault that you weren’t able to convince her to give it back. What was your plan?”
“I was just—I don’t know, to be honest,” he replied. “I just thought I’d go with it and see what happened. But, she’s a psycho, and I somehow keep forgetting just how bad she can be, then she finds new ways to remind me.”
I kissed him again, getting a good whiff of my flowers as our faces pressed together. “You don’t have to talk to the psycho anymore. You’re back, and you’re coming home with me.”
“Sounds good, babe,” he said. He stuck out his less encumbered arm for me to grab onto, and I took it quickly.
“So, are you hungry at all?” I asked him. “Do you want to stop for something to eat?”
“Actually, why don’t we just head on home for the night,” he suggested. “How about we go out to dinner tomorrow night instead? Let me take you out.”
I snuggled up into him as he walked. “Sounds good, sweetie.”
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JUSTIN AND I LAY IN bed together. My laptop was seated at the edge of the bed, streaming ‘Friends’ for us. I was snuggled up into him, listening to his heartbeat.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked him.
“I’m thinking about work on Monday,” he sighed.
“That’s in like three days, you’re not allowed to stress out about shit that isn’t going to happen for three days,” I said, lightly smacking him. “Quit it.”
“Well, I’m probably going to get some shit from a few people for skipping work the week after I started,” he commented.
“Hey, I did not ask you to come chasing after me, young man,” I said. “I didn’t want you skipping work.”
“Ooh, maybe they’ll fire me,” he said, with a hint of excitement.
“You know, you could probably take a little time off from work if you’d like. We’ll be okay for a while, I mean, I’m going to have plenty of money after I get the last check for K-Plus. I have a lot in savings, you have some savings. We’d be fine for a while if you wanted to take a breather and maybe look for a better job. Don’t let Grant pressure you. Do what’s right for you.”
His grip on me got slightly tighter. “Maybe I should. You say ‘we’ like I’m getting money out of this sale.”
“Hey, what’s mine is kind of yours,” I said to him without thinking. “You know?”
We looked into each other’s eyes. He smiled, “I do know.”
He leaned up, going for the laptop.
“Oh no, what’s up?” I wondered.
“I thought maybe we could snuggle for a while and I could go to sleep,” he said. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, and I’m just a little jet-lagged.”
He closed the laptop and we got under the covers, wrapping ourselves up into fabricated burritos and getting cozy. We each turned off our lights and closed our eyes.
“Where do you want to go for dinner tomorrow?” he mumbled.
“Mmm,” I hummed. “Maybe someplace Asian?”
“You ever been to Tasty Wok?” he asked.
“No,” I said, remembering how badly I’d wanted to try that place.
“We’re going there,” he said, assertively.
“Yes sir,” I complied.
“I can’t wait to see what you’re going to wear,” he said.
“It’ll be sexy as hell, baby,” I promised.
