A Favour

C3: An Adventure

I felt a strange feeling rise in my stomach. I couldn't tell if it was nervousness, anxiousness, or guilt – for all I knew, it could've been all of the above. Throughout the entire flight, I'd had no idea that that was why I was here, that the entire reason behind my arrival was the fact that Marzia didn't wish to come, that she'd turned down Felix at the last second. He'd only brought me along because I was a friend in proximity, a friend nearby who would be easy to bring along like cargo. Obviously, I'd been honoured at the time – but now, not so much.

Finding the pending moment of silence to be the right time, I retrieved my phone from my pocket, going into the last conversation I'd had with Felix before meeting at the airport. His message had been so straight-forward, and yet so subliminal. Only then could I realize how obvious it'd been that he'd had a much different reason behind the invitation.

"Hey Jack! I know it's super SUPER random, but I was wondering if you wanted to come to LA with me for three weeks? Just gonna check the properties and stuff since Marzia and I were planning on moving there sometime this year. Just give me a call when you get this text. I think it'll be easier to sort out over the phone if you have any Qs. Thanks!"

I couldn't tell what to think of it.

Felix, recognizing how long it'd been since I'd last spoken aloud, turned to face me, eyes solemn and apologetic.

"I didn't mean it like that – I swear. It's not like I wouldn't've brought you along, but plane tickets from Ireland to L.A. are extremely expensive, yeah? There was no way I was going to let Marzia's stinginess get in the way of my having a good time." He smiled. "And, if there's anyone I know who's bound to give me a good time, it's good ol' Jackaboy!"

I gave a light smile, not willing to pass down the opportunity to forgive him. I could tell whenever Felix meant well, and it was obvious that he'd never want to hurt my feelings. I simply had to give him the satisfaction.

"Okay, okay," I continued to grin. "It's half-past five – how about we stop chit-chattin' and get to the good stuff, huh? I'm gonna starve if I don't eat."

"Fine," he agreed, sitting up. "What was the name of the restaurant that guy told you about? It'd be a shame to have gone through the trouble of asking him without any reward. Lord knows I waited long enough in that car."

I rolled my eyes. "Egoraptor's. Some bar, I think."

He immediately whipped out his phone, using the pamphlet left on his bed's sheets to enter the hotel's Wi-Fi password.

"It might not be as good as he's cracked it up to be," he mumbled as he typed on the keys. "It wasn't mentioned in the hotel brochure. Maybe it doesn't exist."

"Of course it exists," I promised uncertainly, climbing over to sit beside him. "It's not like the brochure would list off every restaurant in the area. And there would be no point in lyin' about nearby pubs."

A short moment of silence, seconds suffocating in silence underneath the pressure of his furrowed brow. Fortunately, he broke the spell of absolute quiet upon opening the first webpage to come up on a Google search.

"Surely enough, it's a thing. Seems... mediocre."

"Come on," I pleaded, politely tearing the phone from his grip to look at it. "It's perfectly fine. Four-star rating, amazin' staff, and – look! – a performance tonight."

"Probably just as mediocre as the restaurant itself."

He tore the phone back, clicking it off and forcing its way into his back pocket.

"I guess it'll make do, as much as you can request from the likes of Los Angeles." Standing from the imprint he'd made in the bed sheets so he could retrieve his wallet from his carry-on, he said, "You're just lucky I don't have high expectations."