"How many damn movie theaters are in this city?" I wipe a bead of sweat from my forehead, glancing over at Noah as we walk down to a café shop.
Despite being a Floridian, where summers are usually incredibly brutal which I should've already been used to, I cannot help but feel like my insides are on fire under the current Honolulu afternoon sun. I'm sweating in all places I didn't think would be normal to secrete liquid in the human body. Yes, including my butt.
I swear, the devil escaped from hell and sat on the world today.
Let's just say there's a reason my favorite season is winter.
"Let me ask Siri," Noah pulls out his iPhone from his jean pockets and long presses on the home button, bringing the phone up to his mouth. "How many movie theaters are in Honolulu?" He says into the phone.
Immediately, various answers pop out from the internet and he reads them carefully. "It says here there's fifteen."
"Great.
Seeing Cory at the front row seat just makes me realize how much I missed him. It also makes me feel guilty I didn't realize he was missing till Noah brought it to my notice. Don't blame me, I've been too busy trying to get my brain in proper check after that kiss.Just thinking about it again has my stomach doing somersaults."What are you waiting for?" Noah steps in beside me, completely oblivious to my inner battles not to yell 'YOU KISSED ME, YOU FUCKING IDIOT' at his face. "Go to him. I'll wait right here."Gripping both my shoulders, he nudges me forward and occupies a seat at the rear end of the hall, watching as the movie plays on the screen.Shoving all hormonal thoughts to the back of my head, I begin to walk down the stairs where the front row seats are arranged and as I near where Cory is seated, his full profile comes in view. Ruffled hair, puffy eyes, stubbled chin, a half empty bottle of beer in his hand— what the he
I was sixteen when I got the news. The news that changed my life. It was the first of the biggest surprises I had gotten that day and I thought nothing would compare to the emotional turmoil I had gone through that day.Honey, your father and I are getting a divorce.It took me several seconds to finally comprehend what my mom had said. And when I finally managed to get my composure back, it felt like all blood had drained from my body.Now, what Noah is currently telling me a mere two years later, comes close to a third."What?" I splutter out.He looks over at me, a frown etched on his face, and for the first time, I finally understand why he's the way he is. A criminal for a brother, two unsupportive parents— it's terrible to imagine."Ever heard of Nathan G. Johnston? He was all over the news two years ago."I shook my head. "I don't exactly watch the news.""That's my older brother. And he's in jail
"Are you guys official?" I ask Simone as I flip over the pancakes on the pan."Well, he asked me out a week ago and I told him I needed time to think. And then this morning I went to his room wearing his sweater and I was like 'hey, do you like this sweater?' and he was like 'yeah' and then I said 'thanks, it's my boyfriend's'. Then he smiled and like picked me up and hugged me.""Oh my God, that's so sweet.""That's so cliche," Lacey forks a pancake into her mouth."I say you're jealous," Simone crosses her arms over her chest. "I say you probably met a good guy too but the Dora in you still want to explore.""Did you just call me a hoe?""Maybe I didn't. Maybe I did."Lacey's eyes narrow into slits. "Well, fuck you too."She forks another pancake into her mouth and walks out on us, slamming the kitchen door in a loud thud."Did you see that? What's wrong with her?" Simone
I have come to the conclusion that I'm not the sporty type.Sporting requires so much strength and body fitness. I lack those two terms.In high school, I once joined the junior soccer team because Simone always spent too much with basketball and I didn't want to feel left out. Shane Dawson, our soccer captain, kicked me out just a week later after I kept running from the goal post instead of stopping the ball from going through the net.I never gave up though.I signed up for cheerleading auditions next. Lacey was the cheerleading captain back then and I knew she was going to take me in because I always let her copy my history homework. The audition was going successfully until she told me to do a split.I couldn't do a split. I wasn't about to tear open my anus because I wanted to hang out with some group of cheerleading bimbos.Long story short; she didn't take me in, I no longer let her copy my homework, she
If I could turn back the hands of time, I'd rather choose to stay in my room, have girls night with Lacey and her girly girly friends instead of having a gun pointed at my head in the middle of the night at someone's else's house.I would've been less freaked out if that was Miss Renee's voice. But it's not. It sounds more deep and masculine that I'm starting to fear if I'm facing a real burglar here."Where is the money?" The voice asks, with the gun still pressed to my head.Yep. That's a burglar. And I would've readily shown him where the money is except for the fact that it's not my house and I don't know what money he's talking about. I only have two cents in my pockets, but I have a feeling the burglar wouldn't be too satisfied with that."Are you deaf or stupid?" He says again when I'm taking too long to reply as he presses the gun tighter to my head. "I said where's the money.""I... well, you see-"A smash cr
I try to think of something to say, but my mind comes up blank. Everything is just a mixture of jumbled up words in my head that if I were to say it aloud, it wouldn't sound English."Does Jane have an imaginary friend? She says she can't sleep without Mr. Lulu." Noah's footsteps thunders down the stairs as he stops on his tracks, pausing to notice the room's awkward atmosphere. "Did someone die?"It feels like I'm riding a roller coaster. All twists and turns with uphill climbs that sends me plummeting to the bottom at dizzying speeds. I can't even begin to imagine the sort of childhood he must have had.I don't want to make any assumptions yet. Though it's tempting to do so.With a frown, Noah raises his gaze above our heads to the picture on the wall. I see his eyes darken, his jaw ticks."We talked about this." He slowly grits out through clenched teeth, shooting Miss Renee a deadly glare."She needed to know!"
"The bedroom's that way," Noah points upstairs and joins Miss Renee in the kitchen.Taking the will power in me not to eavesdrop on their conversation, I head towards the stairs and mount them two by two. At the top, I hit a switch. A stream of slightly yellow illumination cast shadows on the walls.The three bedroom doors yawns wide-open. One door is painted pink with a paper sign glued to it that reads: JANE'S TERRITORY. STAY OUT. How friendly.I slip into the last room I'm guessing is Noah's, hugging the shadows while my gaze roves the space before slapping the wall switch. The large room is a hedonistic delight to the eyes. I survey the room, taking in the small details as I do so. It seems like it's been years since someone had stayed in the room, yet it's so fully decorated and warm.I stride into the bathroom next. The tub sprawls on a raised dais, twice as wide and half again as long and deep as a normal tub. Jets a
"You led him on, and then you pushed him away? How monstrous can you get?""I... I didn't exactly lead anything on. We were kissing this second, and the next...""There's a difference." I stare at Lacey in bewilderment. She's making this whole thing confusing for me."What do you mean there's a difference?" I ask, shuddering as she digs her hands up to her elbows inside a cow.We're currently in the hotel's barn I didn't even know existed till today. The woman in charge of the barn took a leave before one of the cows went into labor. No one had the courage to drag out a newborn calf from a huge cow which may or may not be taller than I am. Lacey was the last person I thought would take up the job. Turns out she has a little cowgirl in her.Never thought I'd see her in ugly brown boots that are covered in dirt and mud."There's a difference between 'kissing' and 'making out' alright? Just like how there's a difference
I've always suffered from this horrible disadvantageous condition— it's called waking late on days I'm supposed to have early flight schedules. I'm starting to think it's an actual thing, so I'm not surprised it's less than an hour for my flight and I'm still on bed, feeling something fat and fluffy on my face. "Whiskers?" Its Mabel's voice that wakes me up. Not the fluffy stuff on my face. Whatever it is. Gradually, I open my eyes, and I'm face to face with a white feline. It brings out its tongue to lick my nose before purring with pleasure. Last time I checked, we didn't have a cat. "Whiskers! There you are." I hear footsteps approach my bed as Mabel carries the feline off my face. "Sorry. I thought I left her downstairs." I ask the obvious question. "When did we get a cat?" "Last night. I found her outside beside our waste bin. She seemed so lost. Is it okay if I keep her?" I ease out of my bed. "Just make s
Five years later."Fuck out of my room.""It tastes good, you should try it.""You know I hate pineapple toppings on pizzas."Mabel dumps the box of pizza on my bed. "Have you ever wondered why pizzas come in rectangular boxes, shaped in a circle, and eaten in triangles?""I guess we'll never know."With a sigh, Mabel folds her arms across her chests. "Could you at least act like you're happy to be home for thanksgiving?"I point towards the door. "Leave. I have work to do and I won't get it done if you're going to stand there all day and talk about pizzas.""Work?" She scoffs. "The only work you do is sit behind your laptop and stalk your boyfriend on Instagram.""He's not my boyfriend! MOM," I call out. "Mabel's bullying me!""Real mature."Zack, Simone's brother, walks into the room and hugs her from behind. "Hey babe."Even now that Mabel's much old
It feels like the first week of summer all over again where we hosted this Welcome party. Now we're hosting another, and this time it's a send-off party. The kind of gathering where we say goodbyes to the friends we made over the holidays.I overhear a couple promising each other to call and text everyday, some breaking up because they can't commit to a long distance relationship. I can't even find Noah anywhere, and I'm nervous about how we'll end up after this summer. I don't want to be remembered as some random girl he hooked up with during a summer vacation in Hawaii. Yes, I want to be remembered, but not that way."Hey, lover girl." I holler at Simone, signaling for her to come over. The sun went down hours ago and it's a beach party with bonfires lighting up the whole place."Hey to you too." She downs a bottle of beer in one gulp and throws the empty bottle to the sand. "So, this summer ended, and so did my relationship.""W
It's 2' O clock Pm on Thursday, and I won't stop pacing my room.I'm already dressed in a maroon dress, the skirt flowing smoothly below my knees with a pink cardigan on top of my shoulders to make it look a bit more casual, and my black flats are beside the door, ready to wear. I leave my hair falling loose to my shoulders, its waves free from the hairband I'd used on it almost everyday."Would you chill? It's not like it's your first date with a boy." Lacey lays upside down on my bed. "Or is it?""It's not. Last date with a boy was just before this vacation.""How'd it go?""We were in a fancy restaurant. He left for the restroom halfway into our meal and never came back.""At least he paid the bill before he left." I give her a look. "Oh, he didn't.""I just want tonight to be perfect, but I'm scared I'm going to mess things up.""Relax. I'm sure Noah's as nervous as you are right now.""You th
I wake up with Noah braced on his elbows and gazing down at me, idly playing with my hair. The sheets are covering my body up to my bare chests, and his is just above his waist."Hey," I murmur."You sleep with your eyes open, do you know that?" He says it with a smile. "It's quite mesmerizing."I glance towards the window and see it's still night out. "How long was I gone for?""A little over an hour. It's 10' pm.""I'm sorry I feel asleep.""It's alright." He rubs a thumb between my eyes. "I liked watching you sleep."I stretch, then shift so that I'm cradled by the pillows. Experimentally, I lay a hand on my breast. My heart is bumping along at a normal rate now rather than with that snare drum riff it had reached when he nuzzled just there. It's an odd feeling, to have someone suckling you, to have him pull you inside him. And to experience those mirror tugs in the womb.Everything he did makes my body feel diff
Noah's clicking away on his phone when I meet him in the private room and my stomach jumps again.I could always change my mind, I remind myself. There is no obligation there. But his head shoots up from his phone to study me before I can turn back and run away.Like I always do."Sorry I'm late," I say.He waves it off. "Lacey told me to meet you here.""Yes, that was the idea."He doesn't ask any more questions like I thought he would, just steps forward. "You look great.""I feel great." I smile. "Lacey and Simone get a charge out of going through my closet and criticizing my wardrobe. I'm told this is about the only decent thing I own." I pluck at the skirt. "They've threatened to take me shopping."Stop babbling! I order myself, moving behind the mini bar. "Want a drink?""I'm driving.""Actually, I was thinking we could just stay in." There, now I'd done it.
Every night for three days, I wake in the grip of a nightmare, drenched in sweat, with screams locked in my throat. Always the same: I'd be in Noah's house again from two years ago, and everything would play out accordingly the way it did that same night, except it's Clarke aiming the gun at Noah and pulling the trigger.Night after night, just before I pull myself awake, I'd watch him whimper and writhe as the bullet bites into his flesh, draining all life from his eyes.But this night, it gets too intense that I wake up with a scream, my whole body trembling with fear and terror. I pull the sheets off my body and head out the door, walking straight down to his room to see if he's okay.I know he is, but the dreams are beginning to get out of hand that I now fear for his safety. What do the dreams mean? Should I be worried? Or is my head just playing tricks on me?It's midnight and the halls are empty. The door to his room creaks open w
It's not until I'm back at the hotel and unpacking that I realize that through the last twenty-four hours of my stay at the spa, I hadn't thought of my troubles, my responsibilities at all. And now that I do realize it, there's a quick wash of guilt that it should have been so easy to leave it all behind, to immerse myself in pampering and pleasure.Like walking into an alternate reality, I suppose, and grimace as I tumble pretty gold boxes onto my bed. Which might explain why I'd barely put up a struggle when Lacey and Simone had urged me to buy creams, lotions, scents, shampoo.Christ Almighty, hundreds of dollars worth of female foolishness that I'm unlikely to remember to use.I tug my jeans on, trailing my shirt from my fingers as I walk to the window. The air swooping down from Oahu is bitter. There's no sun in the sky, and I'm grateful for that.I study the scatter of gold boxes over the simple quilt on my bed which looks li
"Oh. My." Is all I can say. Almost all I'd managed to say since we'd driven to the Mountain King Spa and Resort. And by 'we' I mean Lacey, Simone and I.The main lodge of the Spa spreads for acres, glass and wood and clever pebbled paths through evergreens and heated pools where steam curls in dreamy mists.I clutch the strap of my purse tightly as we check in, my head swiveling in wonder around the plush lobby with it's double fireplace, atrium ceiling, and lush plants.They somehow managed to drag me down here for a proper clean-up after I told them about my not so official date with Noah. I wasn't even half as excited about it as they were, and it's almost as if they've been planning this for a long time.Lacey greets the desk clerk with a friendly smile, calls him by name, and chats easily about how much she and her companion had enjoyed their stay earlier in the season.He all but simpers over her, calling up a bellman