What is his deal??
Why is he acting like this?
Why was he acting like a "green eyed monster"?
"Maya I'm so mad!"
"Girl, what happened? I thought the trip had been going great so far?"
I needed to call Maya and vent. I know that Ari apologized for his sudden outburst, but I still don't know where it came from, and by the sounds of it, it didn't seem like he did either.
I understand that he didn't want to risk his family seeing me flirt with Jackson, but the family was nowhere near where we were, and we didn't know any of the people out there. There wouldn't have even been a way for someone to snitch to the family about me. Not only that, but if someone was out here snitching on folks to a family about the one of the son's girlfriends, they needed to get a life.
"It WAS going great at first until just now. Ari totally got pissy with me and yelled and cursed at me in front of all these people!"
"What??? What is going on over there?! That's so out of character for him. Why would he start cussing and yelling at you?"
"Man, I don't know! I had been talking to this super cute guy I met on the shore after I jumped out of the canoe and—"
"Wait, holdup, pause. You jumped out of a canoe? Like while it was still on the water?"
"There was a spider in the area I was sitting in."
"Understandable. Continue."
"So anyway, when I swam back to the shore, this really cute guy named Jackson helped me up and was talking and flirting with me—"
"Ooo! Get it girl!"
"Yes! Exactly what I was thinking! So, I'm in the middle of talking to this cutie when Ari comes back from the canoes, and he gets all defensive. He told Jackson that he was my boyfriend."
"Was the family somewhere nearby or within earshot?"
"NO! They were in a completely different area and nowhere near."
"So why was he trying to keep you from talking to this guy? I'm confused. Did he wanna try and holla at Jackson for himself?"
"Girl, who knows! I had to correct him and told Jackson that he was my friend who was a boy."
"Ahahaha, girl, you are a mess!"
"What?? It's true! So, after I corrected him, Jackson asked me out to dinner tonight. After he walked off, I asked Ari what his deal was."
"And??? What did he say??"
"Well, that's when he started getting pissy with me, yelling and cussing at me about me talking to other guys when we're supposed to be in a relationship."
"He means a fake relationship, right."
"That's what I said! I was like, dude we're in a "fake relationship", why are you trying to cockblock me?! And girl, do you know what he said?"
"What girl?"
"He said, "I don't know". Can you believe that!"
"Wait, Ari claimed he didn't know why he was getting so upset about you flirting with another guy even though he knew his family wasn't around?"
"Yes! Complete bullshit! I mean, yeah it's not like I'm gonna start a full-on relationship with Jackson, but—"
I didn't even notice that Maya had gone silent and wasn't making approving or disapproving sounds while I told my story anymore, so I droned on.
"—like who is giving him the authority to be like this?! I mean, yeah, I kinda liked seeing him getting all defensive, but he's not my actual boyfriend."
"Uh oh."
""Uh oh"? Uh oh what?"
Maya laughs like she's got an inside scoop that no one else is aware of until it will broadcast on the nightly news.
"Nothing girl."
"What? How are you just gonna say, "uh oh" and then laugh and not tell me what it's about?"
"Because the reaction needs to be genuine when you figure it out or until you find out."
I sigh frustratedly because I know Maya is not about to spill no secrets. That is one thing very admirable about this girl. She is like Apple. She will not spill any secrets and all the things you tell her will stay within her unless you tell her otherwise. That can be very annoying too, however.
"Whatever. I have a dinner date with Jackson tonight that I need to prepare for. I haven't even walked back to the room yet. I needed to cool down and I'm sure he did too, so I've just been sitting here on the shore with my toes in the water."
"Well, head back to the room and get ready for your date. Make sure you send me a pic of the outfit you're gonna wear and call me tonight to let me know how it went!"
"Ok girl, you know I will. Thanks for letting me vent and putting in your two cents even though you won't let me in on your little secret. I'll talk to you later."
"Hahaha, ok girl. Ttyl!"
I am really dreading this walk back to the room. Ari and I are sharing a room with beautiful summer inspired artwork, a lavish serene bathroom, and double beds, and I'm already imagining him just sitting there on his double looking upset. Sometimes that man can be a real whiny baby.
He WILL tell me what is on his mind whether he likes it or not.
He wasn't there.
I guess he decided to go find his family instead of coming straight back to the room. I wonder what he told his family when he showed up without me.
"Nova? Oh, she wasn't feeling so well but didn't want me to miss out on what you guys were doing."
"Nova and I got into an argument and agreed that it be best if we both cool off in separate areas."
Or did he let his petty side rear its head?
"I caught Nova flirting with some random handsome guy she met on the shore after she abandoned ship, and she saw no problem with it so I left her so I wouldn't end up saying something I would later regret."
I roll my eyes, instantly annoyed again and picked up my duffel bag to set on the bed. Ruffling through the garments I brought, I finally find something that would be suitable date attire: dark blue jeans and a dark mustard yellow see-through long-sleeved lace crop top with a black bralette underneath.
Ya girl was gonna look muy caliente. But I kinda wish I had Ari here to hype me up.
When I opened the bathroom door after my shower, I was hoping to see Ari there.
He wasn't.
I was starting to feel really bad for flirting with a random guy even though I am fully single. For some reason it seemed like it hurt Ari's feelings, and that alone made me feel terrible. It's only been a couple of hours and the lack of hearing his voice is seeping into my consciousness. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but also, he refuses to tell me why exactly they were hurt in the first place.
I picked up my phone to see if maybe he texted me to let me know where he was.
He did.
Nova, I'm sorry again for yelling at you. I've just been a little stressed lately and had so much on my mind that I'm not ready to talk to you about yet.
I'm gonna safely assume that you are worrying about me currently. I'm alright. I just need to clear my mind on a few things. I'll be back in the room tonight. Have fun on your date.
Love you Nov.
I'm glad to know that he's ok. That releases a little bit of stress from my shoulders, but I'm wondering what has been stressing him out lately other than this whole thing with his family?
I make my way back inside of the bathroom to get dressed and to continue getting ready when my phone chimes again with a text message from Jackson on where to meet up.
I really hope I can have some fun on this date.
"Damn girl! If I had known you were gonna come this hard I would've come to match! I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb."
Jackson spotted me as I was making my way through a crowd of early dinner people also heading to their destinations. He looked good. He himself, was dressed in a pair of dark colored jeans, a thin rolled up long sleeved Fendi black shirt with a small embroidered flower design on both sleeves, a red beanie, and black and white Converse.
"I don't know what you're talking about. You look just as good! But I do look better by far," I say jokingly and giving him a 360 view of my cute outfit.
"You're so right," he says laughing.
Jackson walks next to me as he leads me to our dinner destination, Great Wolf Wine & Dine. It was one of the nicer, but not super expensive, young adult food spots here at the resort.
The restaurant was one large room that probably consisted of about forty round tables, booths, and a twenty-person green marbled bar. Jackson was able to score a reservation for us at a prime table that was located not far from the performance stage that was also inside of the restaurant.
Apparently, according to him, they do jazzy performances every night here. I happen to enjoy the more upbeat and rnb side of jazz, so this was a pleasant surprise.
After ordering from a mostly Creole and Italian menu (a strange mix of cultures if you ask me), one of the performers came on stage, a beautiful, thick, brown skinned blasian woman with a Queens, New York accent. She sat at the black grand piano in the corner and spoke a little about the piece she was about to sing and her inspiration for the song that she had written.
The mildly dim lit room a soft stage spotlight helped to set the ambiance for the stage performer and the tone for the entire restaurant. As soon as she commenced, I was hooked. Her voice was so expertly practiced, soulful, smooth, and harmonious. She played about her troubles and allowed her voice to paint the pictures of her rough upbringing in the unforgiving parts of Queens.
I found myself closing my eyes to visually picture the scene and swaying a bit to her voice. Every once in a while, sipping from my sangria that was ordered previously. I could see Jackson from the corner of my eye, also enjoying the melodic croons as he also sipped from his glass of champagne and swayed.
Our food was delivered to the table just as the storytelling jazz singer was finishing up her second song and leaving the stage, but I wished that she would continue. I could listen to her at least three hours a day.
"Did you enjoy that?" Jackson asked me just before I was going to dive into my Gumbo.
"I loved her! She was amazing! I really need to see about buying some of her music. What about you? I noticed you swaying along too."
"Oh yeah, definitely! She has such a beautiful voice. Hearing her sing from a record or your phone is just as good as hearing her in person, but I feel like her live performances always outweigh."
"You knew who she was before coming tonight?"
"Yep! That's why I booked a table at this place. I took a chance and hoped you would like her too, and I'm glad to know you do."
I smile widely to let him know he was correct and take in a big spoonful of my food, which was so good that you would believe you were in your grandmother's kitchen back home in New Orleans.
I continued to eat and chat with Jackson until the next performer graced the stage. So far, this date was going better than I expected!
The rest of the date with Jackson went really well! We ordered desserts and continued to talk and learn about each other. He told me that he had recently moved to the U.S. from Korea to for a change of scenery and adventure, and I told him I was here with my friend and his family vacationing as a college graduation gift.
That wasn't exactly true, but I didn't need this stranger, even if he was nice, knowing all my business.
Even though we got along with each other well and the instant attraction was present for both of us, we both mutually agreed that nothing romantic was going to come of this.
We both liked spending time together, but this was definitely just for fun. However, we agreed to keep in touch with each other, and if I was ever in Memphis, where he is currently residing, that I should hit him up to hang out.
When I made it back to my room around 9:45pm, I was already not expecting to see Ari there. He wasn't there the last two times, so I wasn't expecting him now.
However, he was there this time. The only thing that wasn't there were his clothes.
"FUCK, NOVA!!"
"AHHHH!!!!"
As soon as I opened the weighted hotel door, I came into contact with a fully naked Arizona across the room by the bathroom. He must've had in headphones and not heard me unlocking the door or I'm sure he would've wrapped himself up in a towel before I entered or gone back in the bathroom.
For a few seconds, all I could do was gape wide eyed at my well-endowed friend before me. He seemed to be at a loss for words as well. His embarrassment seemed to keep him in shock for a few moments longer before turning red, apologizing, and covering himself quickly with a towel he found in the bathroom.
"You look really good tonight," he sputtered trying to change the subject and fix the awkward situation.
"Thanks," I said rubbing my hot arm, embarrassed, "Why are you naked?" I asked accidentally allowing my eyes to waver over him again.
He noticed and turned a shade brighter.
Was that a bit of a lump?
"I took a shower and wasn't expecting you to be back so soon. I figured you would text me letting me know you were coming back," he says sitting on his bed.
"Sorry, I guess I should've let you know. I wasn't expecting you to be here either."
We sit in silence for a while as I put my things away and pack up my stuff to prepare for our drive back to his family's vacation home tomorrow.
I gather my pjs and make my way to the bathroom as he says something to me finally.
"Nova, I need to talk to you about something."
"What's up?"
"Well, first off I want to apologize again for earlier. I would hug you, but uh, I kinda can't at this moment."
We both laugh and I throw his clean boxer briefs and pjs at him that were waiting for him in the bathroom.
"I want to apologize to you too. I didn't know you had so much on your mind," I say back to him while standing in the bathroom doorway and leaning on the threshold.
"I know you didn't. I didn't let on that anything was wrong with me, but I know the reason for my outburst now and why I reacted the way I did. It has been a buildup of frustrations for a while now and I just wasn't dealing with it or accepting it and it all just came out at you. I needed to step away for a few hours so I could think on everything and how I plan on handling the situation."
"Okay. Are these frustrations something you want to talk about?"
"Not yet, but soon. Really soon in fact. But one of the frustrations I think I'm ready to finally let go of."
"Which is?"
Ari sighs heavily like he's preparing himself for battle, "Nova, I think I'm ready to come out to my family."
What's that meme? "And I oop..." Lmao
What ya'll think? Is Ari really gonna spill the metaphorical beans this time?
Also, I got the character Jackson from my homegirl's fanfic story that she is in the process of writing. It's about the one and only Jackson Wang from the famous Kpop group Got7. Just thought it would be cute to incorporate him.
Check her out! : grizzlygrillz