I wake up in a room dim and heavily perfumed. Smells a lot better than my dorm. The bed is soft beneath me and the comforter heavy on top of me. I sigh. Aside from the slight throbbing by my eye and the aching bruise on my side, I feel amazing. Part of me thinks I should grab my phone to check the time, but I feel like I've slept for two years and I don't want to ruin the bliss.
I hear a slight sound... trickling water? I remember the little waterfall she has by her bed and reach my hand out to touch... nothing.
She's gone.
Now would be a good time to catch up on all that has happened. Not that there is a huge amount. Sure it feels like it's been a long time, but in reality? It was just one night.
Mack and Jasmine wait with immense patience for my shift to end, and after I drop Alex off at Rosy's I join them at a small coffee shop and bookstore, the kind of place that can only justify being open as late they are because of their location in a college town. I'm starving and buy myself a biscuit, offer the girls something but they say they just want tea. We settle in a corner table in a book-crammed nook.
"No trick or treating for you guys tonight?" I ask. Mack chuckles. "We had our share of costumes last night. Kept it pretty low-key."
"I get it it," I say, about to follow up that genius thought with another when I lock eyes with Jasmine. She smiles at me, and for a moment I can't remember who or where I am. I break eye contact so I can regather my thoughts. Mack looks t me with a questioning gaze.
"So how did you wind up working at the Nipley?" She asks. I tell her about me and Alex finding our way to the bar, during which time my biscuit shows up and the three of us fall into an easy conversation, thank God. Both of them are good conversationalists, funny and witty. Maybe too much so. I wince more than once as I laugh, my aching side protesting my mirth. Jasmine is the first to notice.
"You okay?" She asks. "That prick last night popped you pretty good."
"I'm fine," I say, only partially lying. "Good thing for him my buddies took him down before I reall laid into him." The girls give me a sympathy giggle. I eat it up. I had finished my food some time ago, and the dish hits me then like a firetruck.
"I cannot tell you how glad I am both of you came back," I say. After a moment's hesitation, I take the plunge. "I've been kicking myself all day for not getting some sort of contact info last night."
"Yeah," Jasmine says. "We were wondering if we did something wrong. Did we dress too sexy? Not sexy enough?"
Her questions take me back to the previous night, their barely-there princess costumes. "Not sexy enough definitely wasn't the problem," I say. "I was just too stupid to say anything."
"I figured you were just too gentlemanly after rescuing us," says Mack. I think about it. "Yeah, we can go with that one. It sounds better." Mack chuckles, rolls here eyes. Jasmine giggles and leans towards me, her blue eyes bright.
"Well, we wanted to say thanks," she says. "So we came to find you. We're definitely glad you were working tonight." She shoots a glance at Mack, who gives her an encouraging nod. "We have a little something for you, back at our place. We wanted to talk to you a while first, make sure you seem like a decent guy."
How do I respond to that? "I mean, I try."
"You sure we don't owe you days of non-stop sex because you helped us out last night?" Mack asks.
"What? No," I say, master of repertoire. "I mean, I probably wouldn't say no, but..."
"I think Mack is trying to say we were curious if you were going to be a douche or not," says Jasmine.
"Oh. Did I pass the test?"
"It wasn't a test, we just had an idea but we wanted to get to know you a bit before we tried it out." Jasmine says. I nod, waiting for her to continue. She doesn't.
"What's the idea?" I ask. Mack and Jasmine look at each other.
"Want to come back to our place?" asks Mack.
---
I follow them to their house. I am exhausted, but also not going to pass up on the offer. Not that anyone has made an offer yet, other than the invitation to their residence. But in my overarching wisdom, I thought just maybe something might happen after we arrive that is worth the loss of a few hours sleep. The drive is a short one to their apartment, not far from the school.
"We can bike to class most days," says Jasmine as she unlocks the door of 2D. I am struck immediately by the warmth and comfort of the place, something usually lacking in college apartments.
"This is amazing," I say, feeling immediately at home with the soft lighting, warm smells, and decor. "Just the two of you here?"
"Yeah," says Mack, kicking off her boots by the door. I hurriedly remove my shoes. "My dad is a bigtime defense lawyer."
"Really?" I ask. She laughs. "No. Lawyer yes, big-time, not so much. Jasmine's mom is actually the hotshot."
I glance at Jasmine, who blushes. "She kind of is. Works a bunch of international deals for her company."
"Nice," I say. "That's really cool." She shrugs. "It's fine." She disappears into the kitchen. I glance at Mack, but she has already made her way down the hall. I stand in the small foyer until Jasmine steps out of the kitchen, a small plate of sliced fruit and vegetables in hand.
"Snack?" She asks. I chuckle. "Do you always have a snack ready in the middle of the night?"
She blushes, and I kind of feel like an ass. All of her confidence from last night and earlier this evening seems to have evaporated.
"Always try to be a good host," she says, her voice uncertain. I grab a handful of apples and celery from her plate.
"I love it," I say, hasty to correct the situation. "Where'd Mack run off to?"
"Probably getting ready," she says. "Maybe I should see what she's doing. Grab a seat on the couch, alright?" She nearly runs down the hall, and I sit on the overly stuffed and overly comfortable couch, kicking myself for making Jasmine feel uncomfortable. Everything had felt so comfortable at the coffee shop, maybe she was hit with nerves once we got here? Whatever it was, I felt like a jerk, even though I don't know if that is warranted. I sit on the couch, taking in the apartment. Even a guy like me, who knew nothing about interior decorating, could tell this place was well-done. Art, plants, throw rugs, the lighting, everything was gorgeous. If it was my guess, it was professionally done. A lot better than my dorm room, which smelled like sweat and had three posters on the walls wilting under flourescent lights.
Honestly, the couch and warmth was affecting me too much, and I let myself sink into the cushions. My exhaustion was catching up to me, and I let my head drop onto the back of the couch.
