Imagine Us

Chapter Five • Sink or Swim

Beth sat uneasy on her chair, as oppose to the girl calmly sipping on her lemonade across from her.

“When I saw this sketchy looking guy with a baseball cap come in, I just had this strange feeling it was you— and I was right! No offense but you kinda just have this shifty vibe that’s distinct to you.”

Jun's radiant smile helped to numb the blow of the nail driving in harder to Beth at how dumb she was to believe even remotely that her disguise was foolproof.

“So do you live around here?” Jun questioned.

Beth nodded. Technically, the next district was somewhere here.

“I wish I'd known. I didn’t think I'd run into you again but I really wanted to thank you for the cheesecake.”

Beth blinked. What? She was pretty sure she hadn’t left a note or anything to indicate… “How’d you—?”

“I guessed,” Jun confessed, bearing a smug grin. “Maybe I should’ve just been a detective after all huh?”

“Mmm, maybe.” Pure relief flooded Beth. She feared Jun had questioned the hotel staff and since the gift was purchased through the joint account with her mother…

The idea of it reaching her ears made Beth squeamish. Except, that had been a more likely outcome. The whole thing had been so reckless and stupid. What was she thinking?

She pulled herself out of her mulling to listen as Jun went on, “The flavour is just amazing. Like, I started wondering if I've ever tasted cheesecake before this, y'know?”

Beth nodded along.

“It was just so good. I couldn’t get enough of it.”

“Oh, I know. I watched you.”

She observed as the smile on Jun's lips faltered right there, face fallen. Beth let the dead air fill in for a few seconds before forging a soft chuckle. “Not like that. I mean at the counter, when you ordered the extra large.” She nodded to the nearly wrapped bakery parcel by Jun's feet.

Almost as if unwinding like film, Jun fluttered her eyes from their perturbed stare to stiffly regard the parcel, then turn back to Beth. Her jaw unslacken, she forced out a chuckle that wasn’t too obvious. “… Oh, right.” Absentmindedly, she tugged at the straw in her drink.

The air returned to that former lighter tone, but ultimately, on the staler side. Beth knew the drill from here on that it wouldn’t last out for much longer now. She might’ve played it off as a joke, but it was clearly an off putting joke and no matter how harmless Jun may have perceived her, Beth was still a stranger.

Every female had a built in sense to be cautious. Even amongst their own gender. That was what Beth was betting on to get out of this.

The plan had been to stargaze from afar, a little bit of guilty pleasure. Not get together under a picnic table outside a café and making small talk.
Jun's outrageously generous gestures were throwing Beth way off. Her resistance was skirting along the brink of the deep end, any more and she’d plunge right in with no sign of resurfacing.

Beth needed to leave. And fast.

The conversation proceeded with Jun sharing she was in the city to attend a wedding of one of her relatives as a bridesmaids. She’d already planned to find a place to rent for the performing arts school she was enrolled at in the same area so she sought the opportunity to fly out earlier and get acquainted with the area. She already scheduled dates to go apartment hunting separated from planned activities to spend the summer.

Throughout all of which Beth restrained herself from trying to enquire for more details. Otherwise, she’d be finding herself lurking around the receptionist venue or rifling through ads for one bedroom apartments and mapping all the popular attractions the city had to offer for the season.

Reece may have been confident but Beth really couldn’t trust her own self-control at the moment. Overall, mutely nodding along had been the hardest part, supplying her own once that time reached would be much easier.

That time soon arrived as Jun was done and Beth kept it short and precise. “I’m going to Verdant to study law and probably spend most of the summer at home. Not much of an outdoorsy person.”

Short and precise. Perfect. Beth concluded there, grabbing her idle strawberry smoothie.

“You seeing anyone?”

That had Beth nearly losing her grip. Not from the question but from how speedily Jun had dished it out, as if knowing that Beth was intending to end the discussion. If that were really the case though, just why?

What did this girl want from her?

Nonetheless, Beth answered truthfully, “I guess. But we're breaking up. His name’s Reece.”

Jun hummed at that, finger lightly tracing over the rim of her now empty glass. “You got a photo? Let me see.” She said it without any leeway for Beth to refuse.

Not that Beth would have bothered to. She scoped her favourite picture taken on their graduation day. A rare occasion Reece had his hair groomed and was smiling widely into the camera. No one in their entire year was happier than him to be leaving.

Jun took in the photo with that same expression the handful of people who knew about Beth’s relationship did: pure surprise.

“He looks… fun,” Jun said with a smirk. “Why are you guys breaking up?”

“Well, he's got no interest in college so we figured we’d be better off ending it once term starts.”

Jun's brows pinched. “Wait… that’s it?”

“Um, yeah.”

Jun tilted her head with this expectant look like she was waiting for Beth to say it was a joke. When no such response came, Jun scoffed. “Wow, you’re actually serious. How can that be it? I mean, I'd understand if it was something petty even like he was shit in bed but that guy looks like he'd be a rockstar under the sheets. That is just ridiculous.”

Beth blinked back, stumped beyond words. In all the time anyone had cared to question her about the predetermined break-up, the reactions were always the same. Nonchalant, or curt nods. No one gave her funny looks or said anything. After all, it wasn’t that strange to part ways with a high school sweetheart, was it?

“Well, sorry but I don’t know what else you expect me to say,” Beth replied. “It’s the decision that we agreed on.”

“By we, you mean you and Reece?”

It was Beth’s turn to look utterly confused. “Of course.” What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“Alright, alright. I overstepped, you do you.” Yet, Jun's resignation felt more out of formality as the look of askance didn’t simmer from her gaze.

“I think I should go now.” Beth stood to her feet.

“What?”

“I have some things I need to be doing so…”

Jun cocked a brow. Her expression was evident to that of disappointment but Beth wasn’t going to let her dissuade her. “Sorry if I inconvenienced you.”

“It’s fine, really.” Her feet were itching to bolt but Beth couldn’t neglect manners, reaching in to her purse to cover the bill.

She aimed to place it down on the table, but a hand gloved around her wrist. Beth froze on the spot. Goosebumps rippled along her skin at the brush of slender fingers, eyes inevitably yielding to look at Jun staring up. “There’s gonna be this party for the bridesmaids and my aunt. Like a bachelorette party but no strippers and stuff, just lots of drinking and food. Wanna come?”

It took biting down her tongue to prevent the yes from slipping out. The thumb lightly tracing Beth’s wrist was practically all she could concentrate on, it seemed to just been an absent-minded gesture but it was getting Beth dizzy. “I… I'm not invited to the wedding though. Won’t that be weird if I come?”

Jun shook her head. “Loads of the other bridesmaids are going to be bringing dates and colleagues that aren’t invited too. I don’t really know anyone else in this city besides you.”

“But…”

“Beth, come on. You said it yourself; you don’t have any plans.”

Well, damn. That certainly backfired. The longer those brown eyes bore into Beth, the more her resistance was fleeting. She would’ve certainly agreed right there, if the sound of her phone ringing hadn’t blared out.

It was Reece. Her lifesaver.

She hurriedly texted that she’d be on her way, then politely declined Jun. The girl thankfully released her hold, much to the relief of Beth.

“Can I have your number though?” Jun pressed. “In case you change your mind.”

Beth convinced herself that saying no twice was not possible, that it was too rude. It would still be her choice in the end to call or not. So, they exchanged numbers and parted ways for what Beth assured herself would be the last time.

Deep down, she knew that was nothing but a lie.

**

Beth swung by her house for a change of clothes before heading to Reece’s. Though a hassle, it was either that or deal with questions she'd rather not answer.

Furthermore, the detour was necessary to fetch the keys to the Volvo. Earlier on, her mother had sent a voicemail (since Beth was ignoring her calls) that she wanted to sincerely apologise for springing up the whole cohabitating with Siddh thing on her so suddenly. As if that was the main problem.

Hence, her mother would postpone the apartment tour until Beth felt good and ready, along with offering Beth full access to her precious set of wheels. The act was a blatant incentive to push Beth to concede, the crafty woman had used the tactic plenty times before.

There was the Barbie dream house with the limited edition wedding chapel, complete with bridal gowns and such in order to make an eight year old Beth take piano lessons. In high school, it was the backstage passes to the concert of Beth’s favourite band so that in return, she’d feel too guilty to accept the student-exchange program to Germany she was chosen for. Or the time Beth profusely refused to get laser eye surgery from the fear so her mother bargained that Beth could quit the chess and debate club. That ended up with Beth collapsing on the day of the operation so her mother compromised for getting contacts instead.

That being said, experience had taught Beth that if she didn’t feed into the treats her mother offered first, the repercussions were extremely nasty. So, Beth learnt to just enjoy the bribes and estimating her mother would lose all patience after a week, Beth couldn’t waste any opportunity to cruise around in the Volvo.