Ondine looked at Ben and laughed gleefully with him as the server brought the table their third round of sake bombs. The two of them set up each other's chopsticks on top of the glasses halfway filled with beer and perched the sake shot precariously atop the chopsticks. Jared watched them, his eyes in slits, not liking how Ondine has been touchy feely with Ben all night long. He had long ago gotten another chair for Callie to sit on, so that she can finally get off his lap. It was bad enough Ondine had issues with Clarisse, and now here was another woman who may have caused waves with his hot and cold, always tense relationship with Ondine.
"Ready?" Ben looked at Ondine's glassy eyes, his dimples showing on his face from his smile.
"Always!" Ondine chirped.
The whole group pounded on the table to cause the shots to fall into their beers before chugging on them, a little bit dribbling down Ondine's chin. Ben laughed as she tried to catch the liquid by putting a hand under her chin. He grabbed the napkin from his lap and wiped at Ondine's face.
"Oooops, sorry. Messy, messy," she tsked herself.
"I got you, don't worry. I won't tell you need a sippy cup like a toddler if you won't tell," Ben whispered to her and she giggled.
She turned her attention to Jared who sat with his arms crossed over his chest, unsmiling. She rolled her eyes at him and then turned to the faux tanned brunette bombshell next to him.
"So...Callie, was it...what do you do for a living?" she asked as she grabbed a piece of unagi sushi, freshwater eel with a sweet tare sauce over rice and wrapped with seaweed, with her fingers, chopsticks forgotten.
"I'm a swimsuit model," Callie answered good-naturedly.
"Of course you are!" Ondine said loudly. "Ben, of course she is! With boobs like those, of course she is!" she cackled. "Sorry, Callie, as you can see, I can't be a swimsuit model...I'm not quite as blessed in that department," she pointed to her chest and laughed.
"Oh, honey, these were bought, so you can if you wanted to. You can get really good ones, realistic looking ones, too, for like five grand. I can recommend my plastic surgeon. You've got a pretty face, a nice figure...if your boyfriend would let you, I'm sure you can make a killing being a swimsuit model," Callie told Ondine referring to Ben.
"Ha!" Ondine guffawed. "Boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend. I broke up with mine when I caught him cheating on me a couple of months ago."
"Ben's not her boyfriend," Jared said suddenly.
"Oh," Callie said. "I thought Ben was your boyfriend. Anyway, you guys are really adorable together. Have you thought of dating each other?"
"I don't know. I've never thought about it. Have you thought about it, Ben?"
"You're a very beautiful woman with the biggest heart I know. It wouldn't be hard to fall in love with you," Ben replied easily, looking deeply into her eyes.
"Awww, see?! Too cute!" Callie took a sip of her vodka tonic. "Mark my words, I think the two of you would make a great couple."
"I'm gonna go use the rest room. Excuse me," Jared pushed his chair away from the table and abruptly stood up.
Ondine grabbed another piece of her sushi with her fingers, getting the sauce all over her hands. She held her sticky hands up away from her and stood up from her seat. "Ew, gross, I'm sticky all over. I'm gonna wash my hands. Be right back!" she singsonged.
"I'll be here," Ben smiled.
She walked towards the direction of the bathroom and went inside the women's room. She washed her hands and looked at her reflection in the mirror, wiping at the smudged eyeliner in the corners of her eyes and fluffed up her hair before heading out. She stopped in her tracks when she saw someone from her past coming towards the rest rooms.
"Drake," she whispered.
"Ames, hi," Drake stammered.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm eating dinner with a friend."
"A friend? A date?" she couldn't help but ask.
"Um..."
Just then the women's restroom opened and her former friend Lisa stepped out, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, her eyes roving from Drake to Ondine and back again.
"Hi, Ames," Lisa said confidently.
"Wow, so I guess this is serious now," Ondine stated, pointing to the two people standing in front of her.
"Um..."
"You know what, Drake? Just shut it. Shut up. I don't wanna know. I'm sorry I even mentioned it."
"Ames?" Jared's voice cut through the tension as he stepped out of the men's room and into the hallway.
"Oh, Jay, hey."
"Are you okay?" he touched her hair, swinging his arm to protectively drape over her shoulder.
"Yup, I'm good," she choked out.
"Ames? Who's this?" Drake questioned.
"None of your business."
"Jared," Jared stated, but didn't offer his hand for a handshake.
"Is he your new boyfriend?" Lisa asked.
"You don't get to ask me that, you fuc..."
"Ames, relax, babe," Jared rubbed Ondine's arm up and down, stopping the curse words ready to come out of her lips.
"Honestly, I don't see why you're still so upset and treat us like crap when you've got this new man yourself!" Lisa huffed. "Move on, Ames. You're starting to look pathetic. Bitterness doesn't suit you," she continued condescendingly.
"You know what, tramp?! Don't you dare tell me how or how not to treat you lying sacks of crap. Don't you dare even compare me to you! You slept with my boyfriend while we were still together! On numerous occasions! Do you get it?! There was no moving on to a new guy for you, you were moving in on my man!" Jared felt Ondine shake with anger, her muscles tensing up.
"Babe..." Jared tried to calm her down.
"And you two look so cozy, acting all boyfriend and girlfriend-y already, going out on precious little dates! You make me sick! Remember this, he cheated on me, he'll cheat on you!"
"Babe..."
"What? Am I embarrassing you?! Am I talking too loudly?" Ondine eyed Jared.
"No, but you need to calm down."
"Well, guess what, Jay? Don't you even start on me. Don't tell me to calm down. You're not my boyfriend. You're just some guy I screw whenever we find ourselves in the same city!" She broke away from his hold, his face looked like she slapped him, even if she hadn't. "I need some air."
Ondine pushed past Drake and Lisa and out the side door to the patio area. She squatted underneath the lamp post by the wall and covered her face with her hands. Jared followed her out and let her cry for a minute, sending Ben a text that he was taking Ondine home; that he ran into her outside the rest room and that she'd had too much to drink. Ben was worried, naturally, but Jared said he would drive her, he's had the least amount to drink, and that they were already in the parking lot. He told Ben that he would just have Ondine call him in the morning.
"Babe," he squatted in front of her, caressed her hair then her back.
Ondine looked up at him, her tears staining her face. She reached for his nape and kissed him, aggressively, demandingly. "Do you have your car keys?" she asked him in between kisses.
"Yeah, I'll take you home," he helped her stand up even as her assaulting kisses continued.
"No, let's go inside your car. I want you...right now."
"Babe..."
"Please don't deny me right now. I can't handle the rejection right now," she looked up at him with those sad, sad eyes.
He leaned down and kissed her sadness away, kissed her long, kissed her hard, kissed her deep. He intertwined their fingers and they ran to the parking lot, forgoing the valet and just looked for his car using his clicker. He found his car parked in a dark corner, unlocked the door and let Ondine in. He followed her in and as soon as he sat down, she straddled him, pushing his jacket off his shoulders. She unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his jeans, lifting his hips up to push them down to his knees. She worked on her jeans next, struggled to take them off, had to get off him and lay on her back on the seat. He helped her pull them off, her legs up in the air. She pushed him back and got on top of him again, kissing him as their bodies joined together as one, the almost illegally dark tint of his car hiding them from any prying eyes that could be walking by. She moved above him slowly, not wanting to rock the car so much, her lips on his lips. She bit his bottom lip when she reached her peak, her thumb soothing it when she came down. He hugged her to him, rubbing her back, burying his face on her neck.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. Can I spend the night with you?"
"Of course," he dropped a kiss on her lips and helped her straighten her clothes back up.
He drove to the valet station to get his other set of keys and drove home where they continued the slow exploration of each other's bodies. Ten. Eleven. Twelve.
***
"So that was him?" Jared asked bravely as they cuddled. He'd never cuddled afterwards before, not even with Ondine, but he wanted to really spend time with her, get to know her beyond sex.
"I don't want to talk about it," she traced his bottom lip where it started to form a scab from where she bit him earlier.
"Okay, we don't have to talk about it."
"You don't have to pretend, I know you're not interested. Let's just go to sleep."
"Ames."
"What?"
He looked down at her now closed eyes. "Nothing. Good night."
"I'm sorry I was so hysterical earlier," she said after a few moments of silence.
"When are you not?" he chuckled.
She slapped his chest. "I'm trying to be nice to you. Can you stop being an ass for a minute?"
"I'll try," he smiled.
"Good. Thank you for being there. You were in the right place at the right time. I don't know how I would've handled seeing them together so soon after, you know, our break up by myself."
"I'm glad I could be there for you."
He kissed her forehead. She tipped her head up and he dropped a kiss on her lips. She smiled a small smile at him, and he felt his heart swell. A smile. A genuine smile. A smile only meant for him, no matter how small. He smiled back at her and turned the lights off, falling asleep with the only woman he wanted to sleep with.
When he woke up, a familiar scene greeted him: she was gone. He sat up and pounded the empty bed with his fist. Why did she keep doing this? She kept making a great escape when she was the one woman he wanted to see still in his bed the next morning when he woke up. He found a note on his bedside table.
"Thanks for last night."
She echoed what he said the very first night they spent together. He fell back down on the mattress, not sure what to do. Did he want something more with Ondine? Shouldn't he be grateful that she always took it upon herself to leave and not force herself to stay longer than necessary or overstay her welcome? Why did he feel differently about it?
***
White Noise guested on a popular late night talk show in New York. Jared was especially ecstatic. He missed Ondine and there was a chance of him seeing her in the city. If he had to follow Ben around to find out her whereabouts, then so be it. He was willing to be the third wheel just as long as he was the one in her bed by the end of the night.
He lit up when he sat behind his drum kit and saw Ondine sitting in the audience. He saw her beam and was about to wave at her when he saw Ben motion to her. Ondine waved at Ben and he felt sick to his stomach. Was this was it felt like for all the girls he only used as a bed warmer? He felt like he only served that purpose with Ondine, and he didn't like it. She was special to him, and for the first time in his life, he wanted something more with a woman. He played his drums, just going through the motions, not feeling particularly in the mood to entertain.
After the show, Ben made his way to Ondine, helping her get down from her seat to hang out with the band as they watched the roadies pack up their gear. The two sat next to each other, eating chocolate chip cookies and drinking diet soda from their table in their green room.
"I'm so glad you're in the city!" Ondine excitedly said to Ben. "There's this new ramen place that opened up just a few blocks from my place. I am so excited to eat some ramen with pork belly and soft boiled egg...hmmm."
"Sounds good."
"The band can come, too, of course, unless they want to hit the clubs or do something more wild," she laughed.
"Guys? Ramen?" Ben asked. Lucas and Jackson declined, citing previously made plans.
"I'm in," Jared said with his jaw clenched. Ondine smiled at him.
"Okay. Shall we go?"
"Yeah."
"I'll just use the rest room real quick," Ondine excused herself.
Ben stood up from the couch and took a seat next to where Jared sat. "I'm gonna do it, dude."
"Do what?"
"I'm gonna confess to Ames that I'm interested in her. She's amazing, and I want to move our friendship forward."
Jared felt like he was punched in the gut. "A long distance relationship? Really, though? It will never work."
"She's graduating soon. She'll be in LA for the summer before heading back here."
"I think it's a bad idea."
"Why? We have a lot of things in common, we like the same things, we're practically the same person."
"Exactly. Your whole relationship will be boring and predictable."
"I don't even know why I told you. From the very beginning you never liked her," Ben said sadly.
"Dude..."
Jared couldn't finish his sentence. Ondine came back and they used the car service to take them to the ramen place by her house.