It was the Beach Bar opening weekend. I had hoped my invitation would get lost in the mail and not only because it had sounded more like a guys’ hangout. I had no problem with that bit. It was the part where I knew I wouldn’t say no.
It was a little after eight in the evening and I found myself standing at a tall one-legged table on the roof of Greendale Mall. It was a warm night and even though we were in the open, I didn’t feel cold in my strapless white dress. I had taken my time to get ready so I trusted I looked good in it - it fell freely from the waist down until the middle of my thighs. My hair was glossy and grazing over my shoulders, along with my long pair of earrings, and my light make-up highlighted just the right features. The one mistake I made - I chose six inch stilettos. Bad idea. The roof concrete was hidden under a thick layer of sand.
Rob and Jason were on my sides, none of their girlfriends present. I knew about Nadia, but I had no idea where the other brunette was - not that I was complaining. Dan was also missing – he was at some event with Sylvia in Boston. And Chloe had the flu. No, really. That wasn’t some excuse I invented just so I didn’t bring her here because Jason showed particular interest in her. She really had the flu.
So that left just the three of us, sipping our drinks, the two of them watching a live stage performance of some unknown artist, while I only pretended to do so, every so often stealing glances at the sexiness on my right. He had gone for a causal beach outfit with khaki shorts and a short-sleeved white shirt. His hair was, as always, tousled – like a sea breeze had been playing with it all day. Gosh, how I envied that breeze.
“It’s not exactly like on the beach,” Rob commented loudly, over the music and my eyes glued to the stage, like they had never left it. My anklet-slash-bracelet dangled on my wrist as I lifted my drink off the table, acting cool.
“It’s the best we’ve got that’s not three hours away,” Jason replied, leaning closer to the table so we could hear him. The side of me that was to him prickled even more.
“I’d still rather go to a real one. Speaking of, when are we going?”
“Not tonight, obviously so let’s just pretend we’re there, okay?”
Rob made an unhappy face.
“The cocktails look beachy,” I offered as I let go of the straw and placed the glass back on the table. It had an umbrella and lime hooked on its edge. “No girls in coconut bras, though,” I added teasingly.
Jason put his arm around my shoulders, casually pulling me to himself, and I froze. So much with my coolness. “Our hopes lay in you then,” he said, his eyes challenging. “Do you have one?”
Rob grabbed his arm like it was toxic and removed it from my shoulders, putting his there instead and pulling me back in his direction. “Keep your dirty hands off my girl, Jason!”
Usually, I would be grateful to Rob for his protectiveness. But couldn’t he keep quiet at least once? I was a big girl! I could get out of it myself! If I wanted to.
The ghost of the touch of Jason’s arm on my bare shoulders was still lingering there when he laughed. “Chill, Rob. I’m just messing around.”
“I know how your ‘messing around’ ends. Take it elsewhere. Nikki’s off limits.” Rob gave him a mean look. I wasn’t sure what exactly was happening here.
“Of course she’s different,” Jason said and my heart did a double dismount. “She’s your friend. One of the guys. You know I would never…” And just as fast, it was over.
“Guys, do you mind?” I interrupted, not wanting to hear the end of that sentence. I pulled myself out from under Rob’s embrace, feeling the sudden need to separate myself. “I’m standing right here.”
“Sorry, Nikki.” Rob’s eyes shifted to me for a second but quickly returned to Jason. “Jason needs to be reminded every now and then that not every girl falls in the one-night-stand category.”
I stared at Jason puzzled. What was that supposed to mean?
“Speaking of one-night stands,” Jason muttered, his attention clearly elsewhere, “I may or may not be right back.”
He took another sip of his drink, left it on the table and set off with a determined pace.
“He’s joking, right?” I asked Rob when I saw him lean against another table, a few feet away, and start a conversation with a girl in a pink miniskirt and a too tight black top.
“Nope,” Rob uttered, taking a gulp from his beer, his eyes darting to Jason.
“So he didn’t just go there to ask that girl for the time or something?” There was a clenching in my stomach.
Rob looked back at me and chuckled. He lifted one hand in the air pointing to his wrist with the other. “I have a watch.”
I blinked a few times, blankly. Jason was still at that table with the girl in the pink miniskirt. He was saying something in the girl’s year and she giggled. The unwelcome realisation was slowly making its way through my brain activity. He was flirting! He didn’t need to know the time. Or a light or anything. He went there to hit on that girl! Some random chick! I could feel my insides shrinking. He preferred the company of her! Who didn’t even have an ounce of sense of style! What was that - ‘flash him’ night? Your boobs are supposed to stay under the top, girl! Ugh!
But hey, what did I have to complain about? I was Rob and Dan’s ‘friend’! One of the ‘guys’! Awesome.
The lump in my throat was no ice-cube from my cocktail.
I shook my head. All this shouldn’t matter. I wasn’t just Rob and Dan’s friend, I was also Brandon’s girlfriend. Jason could do whatever he wanted. I didn’t care.
I peeked at the other table where he was listening to something the girl was saying. ‘Ooh, I’m so dumb, blah-blah, blah-blah.’ I averted my eyes from there before I puked.
I turned to Rob as the question tickled my tongue. “So when did he and Dayan break up?” And how had I missed it? It was the fourth time I was seeing him without her. He was so eager to come here, where there were supposed to be half-naked girls. And he had even asked me to bring Chloe. I should have seen it.
“They didn’t. She’s out of town.”
“What?” I needed a moment to process that. “So he’s doing this behind her back?”
Rob shrugged. “What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her, right?”
I looked at him baffled.
“Oh come, on, Nikki. You’ve seen how Jason is. He doesn’t exactly give the perfect boyfriend vibe out.”
A few flashes of moments with Jason rushed in my mind, like pieces fitting together - smug comments, teasing smiles, glances. Hanging with his ex at the bowling hall, a cash-slip tucked away in his back pocket. A party invitation. Maybe Chloe had been right. Maybe he really was flirting with her.
I let my eyes travel to the distant table where the subject of our conversation leaned closer to Pink Mini, flashing her one of his teasing smiles. He oozed confidence. His eyes never left hers and she was clearly happy with the attention. Could she shove her almost popping out of that top breasts in his face some more? Ugh! I could really throw up now.
“But he’s only flirting, right? I mean…”
Rob looked at me like I was a gullible child. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
I shook my head.
“Up until a month ago he dated another girl,” Rob added and my eyes moved back to him.
“You mean he and Dayan hadn’t been together that long?” Not that that was an excuse but I guess it made it a tiny bit more acceptable.
“No, I mean, while he was dating Dayan.”
Huh?
I looked at Pink Mini’s table again. Jason was playing with her hair, twirling it around his finger. It was like I was seeing him with new eyes. Not new – open eyes. That had always been there but not in my idea of Jason. In my idea, he was unattainable because he had a girlfriend.
“You look surprised.”
“I just. I didn’t figure Jason was the cheating type, that’s all.”
“You know, he has this theory,” Rob’s voice echoed. “About cheating.” I shifted my eyes to him. “Cheating is like casting. You need a lot of candidates to find the right person for the role of your soul mate. And you don’t stop at your first selection, because someone more suitable for the part might come along. But you’ll never know unless you give them a chance to audition.”
I stared at him without blinking for a moment. “You really believe that?”
“It makes perfect sense when you think about it.” Rob lifted his beer and took a sip directly from the bottle. “I know your naïve brain probably cannot process that, but not everyone shares your view on monogamy. Some people just live for the moment.”
Monogamy. Right. Maybe I was naïve - probably the last one on Earth. I did believe monogamy was the way to be in a relationship. But, Jeez! Why did Jason have to be so damn hot?