Emerging

Chapter 16: Vincent

I tried to practice as much stealth as possible while I was escaping from that awkward encounter with Mr. Marlon. I opened the trunk silently and grabbed all of my bags to transfer the cargo into my car, it seemed that the situation was tense enough for me to go almost entirely unnoticed until I started my car to leave, Jesse watched me pull out and drive away, and it took part in how anxious I felt.

I didn't necessarily care if my mom had a boyfriend, every few years she'd get a new one that lasted a few months. I knew never to get attached to the men, burnout losers were her type, once they showed their true colors they were out of the door. I suppose it actually hurt my mom, to go through so many boyfriends but she was a pretty bad judge of character. But when I saw her kiss Mr. Marlon, I thought of how I was just admiring his son, but now they were dating I couldn't be remotely attracted to my mom's boyfriend's son.

This is what I thought about while driving back to my hotel, I made into my hotel room with the plethora of shopping bags, but the bag from, Icing on the cake, seemed to make everything heavier, figuratively anyway. I was curious about what Jesse bought me, but the bag weighed my conscience down like a boulder.

I figured I'd have to look in the bag eventually, not that  I wanted to anyway. The first thing I saw was were a loose auburn colored pair of shorts and a cute black frilly blouse, it definitely complimented my skin tone, but I was a little alarmed at the length of the shorts they stopped just at the middle of my thighs. Exploring further into the bad I found small trinkets and accessories some matched the outfit some didn't.

  I was trying on a pretty looking choker in the full-length mirror when I heard a knock at the door, and I immediately thought it was my mother. Throwing the choker off and hiding my guilty pleasures under my bed, I rush to the door and jerk it open, without checking who it actually is.

   In the doorway, panting and slightly sweaty is Jesse. I'm not really surprised that it's him since I literally don't know anyone else to have them visit me, "Hey, what's up?"
I was excited to see him again, especially after our excursion.
"You and I need an explanation, come and get some coffee with me."

I guess I was going to get coffee.

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"Why did we need to come all the way back to work for coffee?" I already had no idea where this was going but Jesse seemed to have a motive for coming to this particular cafe.

   The appropriately named cafe, Home Spice, smelled of desserts and caffeinated delights and had a homely and rustic vibe. "How do you like your coffee?" Jesse queried while I surveyed the warm space. I hated the taste of coffee but I didn't want Jesse to think I was any less of a man even though I was sure my preference for feminine clothes already tarnished the image I aspired to become. "Black," I tried to sound cool but my guise was discovered by his unwavering eyes.

"I'll ask again, and I expect the truth, what do you want to drink?" How did he do that? Maybe I wasn't as sneaky as I thought. Glancing at the menu I noticed a chocolate cream frappuccino and went with that. We walked towards the register to place our order and our server was a gangly looking boy with mousy brown hair but before I could tell him what I wanted Jesse was spitting it out and handing him cash.

   It was a speedy transition with our drinks and the extra desserts Jesse had gotten to a small nearby table at the back of the establishment. And we sat in silence until Jesse felt it was appropriate to inform me of his troubles.

    To say I was shocked would be an understatement. Jesse's dad was bisexual and the reason we were in this particular cafe was to spy on his boyfriend. I was mad because Jesse just outed his dad to me, it felt nice though that he could confide in me. But I was embarrassed, my mom just kissed a guy with a boyfriend. She was going to be pissed if she ever found out.

"Sorry, about my mom," I muttered before taking a long sip of the drink I was now in love with. "Don't worry about it, sorry you had to see that." We silently eat the desserts and look around the cafe out of awkwardness.

I finished my food but Jesse wasn't ready to leave even though it was 6:30. After about ten more minutes I heard him sigh and get up from the metal chair he was sitting on. "Come on, I'll take you back."

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It was rush hour, it seemed that it was always rush hour whenever I went along with Jesse. But he was in a rough spot, unlike me he wasn't ok with his parent moving on. It made me wonder what happened to his mom, I knew better than to ask. He took advantage of the traffic and used me as his bootleg therapist.

By the time I got back to the hotel he was still torn up but better than when he first started driving. He insisted on walking me to my room, we stopped at the door and as I opened it, I turned to verbalize my thanks and farewell. But instead of feeling the words fall out of my mouth, I felt another pair of lips on mine.

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As I was finishing this, I was in a bad mood, and I feel like it shows in the ending. I'm not really sure how to feel about this chapter but I'll do better next time.
Au Revoir!