The plane landed safely in Sydney. Gina Barese was jolted awake from her long sleep. She panicked as there was total darkness, only for her to realize that she still had her sleeping mask on. She started to stroke her hair back and wrapped it up with her hairband. She guessed she must have looked like a mess, flying from Chyenne to Los Angeles, then here to Sydney, and finally over to Perth.
The plane de-boarded, and the passengers were filed through Australian customs. Gina had applied for an expedited visa online to get into the country. She was starting to become aware of how much the trip was starting to cost. She had been trying to save up enough for a down payment for her own home. She was by no means broke, but it was still hitting her in the pocketbook.
She made way out of customs into the airport, then found a day hotel to relax in. She got a much needed shower, then went to lie down for a couple of hours. She awake terribly hungry, so she went over to the food court to enjoy herself.
Gina took her meal over to a table and sat down. The food court was extraordinarily busy, and she was lucky to find one. She began to eat when a young lady approached her. "This seat taken, dear?" She had a casual Australian accent, much different from the more posh one Jake had.
"No, go ahead," said Gina, thinking that she wanted the chair. The girl sat down and put her phone on the table. The Aussie girl had lovely straight blonde hair, with gorgeous blue eyes and a deep tan. Her body was slim, and her breasts were modest but nice and round. She wore a loose-fitting blouse with cut-off white jean shorts, and her shoes were bamboo-weaved platforms.
The girl smiled. "Sorry, I just needed to rest here," she said.
Gina smiled. She held up her sushi tray. "Go ahead. I bet you're hungry."
The girl's eyes lit up, and she carefully picked up a sushi roll and jammed it all in her mouth at once. She covered her mouth, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry, mate. My name is Josie." She offered her hand.
"Gina," she replied, and grasped her hand. The Aussie girl had very tender fingers.
"You sound American," said Josie.
"You got me!" Gina said, giggling. "I'm here just for some vacation time."
"Oh, that's so nice," Josie cooed. "I'd love to get to America. You always hear that it's so scary, but you meet them in person and they're the sweetest people."
"Oh, thank you," said Gina. "Actually, I came for a man. I met him just a week ago, and I came out to surprise him."
Josie put her hands to her mouth. "That is so romantic!" she said. "Oh, I wish a boy would do that for me."
Gina and Josie chatted for some time. It turned out that they were both taking the same flight to Perth, where Josie was visiting with her sister. Gina and Josie chatted as if they had been friends for years all through the flight.
Eventually they landed in Perth. Josie gave Gina the address to her hotel. Despite Josie being so much younger than Gina, Gina felt like she could relate to this woman so well. She had so much promise and potential in her future. Gina prayed that she did not end up like her, her heart broken and her wealth wiped out.
They said their goodbyes, and Gina caught a taxi to Jake's apartment. She still could not get the image of the two of them together that night at the ski lodge out of her head. That young man left a great impression on her.
Gina wheeled her suitcases over to the lobby. She searched for King on the buzzer but to no success. She wheeled them back out to the curb and sat down on one of her suitcases.
A young Asian man walked by wearing a Murdoch University shirt. He looked about Jake's age, and his jersey looked like something a rugby player would wear. "Oh, excuse me!" she exclaimed at the young man. He stopped walking and looked at her. "I'm looking for a Jake King. Do you happen to know him?"
The young man smiled. "Ol' Eggs and Bakey Jakey? Yeah, we're good mates. I'm on the rugby team with him." Gina was surprised that he spoke with an Aussie accent. The young man walked over and offered his hand. "I'm Bings Phan."
Gina giggled. "You're my biggest fan?"
Briggs laughed. "No, love. My first name is Bings, short for Binghamton. My mother couldn't speak English well when I was born, and I think she read it off a sign or a postcard or something. People just called me Bings and it stuck. Phan is a somewhat common surname from Vietnam."
Gina nodded knowingly. "Ah. But you were born here, right?"
Bings smiled. "Don't let the face fool you, dear. I'm as Aussie as they come."
She smiled. "Well, I guess I should find where Jake is."
Bings snapped his fingers. "Now I remember—he was down at the pitch today. We're all trying to get some practice in." He looked around. "He might not be back for some time. I'd hate to leave you out here. Are you checking in to a hotel?"
Gina grew red. "Well, I was kind of hoping to stay with Jake. Now I might have to. I was kind of hoping I could do this trip on the cheap."
Bings licked his lips. "Well, look, if you need someone to show you around, I could spare the afternoon. I had nothing planned. You can leave your bags at mine."
Gina sat up excitedly. "Are you sure? Oh, I hate to be a bother."
"No bother," he replied. "I get to spend the day with a fine bird. No downside."
They took her baggage to Bings's apartment, a rather nice ground-level condo. Jake lived in the taller building across the street. Gina loved the spatial simplicity. "Wow, and you have a garden out back?" she said from the living room.
Bings was putting her luggage into his bedroom. "Yeah. See the hedges? Total privacy. I'm on a scholarship as well as getting some money from my mum. Our family is a small partner in a rum business." He came back out to the living room. Gina admired how tall and athletic he was, probably the same build as Jake. She loved his eyes. She thought Asian men were so darling to look at.
To make up for the trouble that she put him through, Gina offered to take Bings to an early dinner. She could pass the time away in Perth with a new handsome man while she waited in anticipation for her lover to come home.
Bings was definitely more comfortable with women than Jake seemed to be. He was just as courteous, but there was a sense of relaxation with this new man, as if he saw her company as the gift, rather than anything Gina had to offer him as a favour. She felt warm around this man, and she hung on his every word.
"So we're in the scrum, yeah?" said Bings as he reminisced about one of his big rugby matches. "Now, what Jake is
supposed
to do is hook the ball back so we keep possession. He's a hooker, as you might know."
Gina was enthused with the story. "Yes, he told me. Go on."
Bings took a bite of his chicken wing. "So he dives in, but he panics and decides he'll try to break the scrum instead. Now, I'm a prop, so I'm just on his left and trying to push my opponent over. Jake just jumps right up in the air and tries to go sideways so that he can knock two or three of them over." Bings laughed, and Gina offered her own laughter even though she had no idea what he was saying.
"All I can tell you," Bings said, leaning in and being quieter, "is that one of those poor sods got a my man's donga right in his face. Bloody crazy strategy, but we kept possession."
Gina put her hand to her head and rolled her eyes. "My innocent little Jake," she sighed. She took a drink of her cocktail. The rum drinks they mixed in this little bar were to die for.
"How do you know him again?" asked Bings.
Gina's eyebrows perked up as she was sipping her straw. "Oh. Well. That is a story," she said. "I met him while I was doing some IT work for a ski lodge out in Wyoming. That's the state I live in."
"Oh, right!" exclaimed Bings. "Jake has a summer job in America." He twisted his lips. "So I guess you two were...involved?"
Gina smirked and bobbled her head. "Mmm, sort of. He invited me out here just on a whim. Actually, I don't even think he knows I'm here!"
Bings continued telling stories about rugby and school, but seemed a little more guarded with Gina. He was willing to go shopping with her, taking her to some of the nicer tourist attractions and down to the CBD.
Once they got back to Bings's condo, Gina dropped off her purchases. She went up to Bings and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thank you so much for taking me out," she said. "I know it's not easy for men to watch us girls shop all day."
Bings smiled and shrugged. "I didn't mind. You're really nice company."
"Okay," she said, gasping in a huge breath. "I'll go and surprise Jake. Will you still be around so I can get my bags?"
"Yup," he replied. "Come on over any time."
She gave Bings a handshake, then left for Jake's apartment. The apartments had outside access, and Bings was able to tell her which one to go to. She made her way up the stairs to the second tier apartments. When she got to unit 29, she wanted to knock but stopped herself. On a whim, she went to check the doorknob. The door was unlocked.
She decided to step in and surprise Jake. She peeked her head in and saw no one inside. Stepping into the apartment, she closed the door behind her. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom. This reminded her of the time she almost caught a peek of Jake in the shower at the Graymont.
Quietly, she stripped off all of her clothes. She hoped that Jake had no roommates, unless they wanted to catch an eyeful of Gina in the nude. She looked down at her snatch, and gave it a mild passing grade. She decided to trim the whole business this time, and she only had a couple of days of stubble.
She crept into the bathroom. There was definitely someone in there, as she could see from the shower curtain. Gina struck her best pose on the other side of the curtain, then grabbed the edge and pulled it back.
