is something special,” Lauri answered. “And, looks aside, he’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever met.”
Continuing to get myself ready, I asked, “Then why didn’t you two ever give it a go?”
“We were always friends. Sure, he’s gorgeous and I’m definitely attracted to him, but I have no interest in him. He’s more like my brother, you know, like you and Matthew.” Matthew is my best friend at home. He is a few years older than me and we met when we started working together a couple years back at a pharmacy that had opened up near our houses. Matthew was tall, dark and handsome and one of the greatest people I’ve ever known, but he really was more like my brother. We tried acting on our impulses one night after a few beers, but it was the most awkward situation I’ve ever been in. The kiss was sloppy and uncoordinated, and one of the worst I’d ever had, probably because it felt like I was kissing my brother. I’m glad it happened though because after that we knew things would never go any further between us, which made our friendship so much easier and more genuine.
“I get it. He’s coming to the bonfire with us. I hope that’s ok with you,” I said.
“Yeah, I don’t mind. I just wanted to spend some time with you. I feel bad that I invited you down here so you can have fun and get your mind off of David, meanwhile, I’m spending all of my time with Danny,” Lauri admitted.
Hugging her, I said, “I am having fun, Lau. Don’t feel bad. We’re gonna have fun tonight.”
She hugged me back and after we pulled away from each other, we finished up getting ourselves ready for the night. After we were all prettied up, I tied a sweatshirt around my waist and grabbed my purse. I told Lauri that I had to run down and get Ramsey and that we’d meet her and Danny on the boardwalk by our motel in fifteen minutes.
“Ok, see you then,” Lauri shouted as I closed the door behind me.
To my surprise, Danny was sitting outside of our room on one of the plastic chairs that sat next to the protruding air conditioner.
“Hey, what are you doing out here? You haven’t been out here the whole time, have you?” I asked, feeling guilty that he was probably sitting outside because of me.
“No, I went for a walk. She almost ready?” Danny asked puffing on a cigarette.
“Yeah, she should be out any minute. I’m just gonna go grab Ramsey and we’ll meet you guys on the boardwalk in about fifteen minutes. Sound good?” I asked.
“Sounds great, Karen. See you later.”
The trek to the stairs was quiet and empty as everyone was probably in their rooms getting dressed for the night. I walked all the way to room 133 with a huge smile on my face. I knocked once I got there and was a little disappointed when Billy answered the door.
“Well, don’t you clean up nice,” Billy said to me. “What can I help you with tonight sexy girl?”
Ew. Standing there, thinking to myself, “Why the hell do you think I’m knocking on your door?” Ramsey finally appeared.
“Stop being a dick and let her in, Billy,” Ramsey said.
Billy opened the door all the way for me and waited for me to step in before closing it. As usual, I took in my surroundings. Ramsey was right when he said our room was nicer than his. Well maybe not nicer, but neater. The furniture was the same, but you could barely see it in this room because there was a mixture of clothes and beer cans on anything that was standing on legs. The beds were unmade and there were bathroom towels all over the floor. The musty smell in this room was masked by pot and cologne. There wasn’t even a place to sit, so I just stood there, appalled by how gross guys could be.
Looking at Ramsey all showered and fresh, took away my disgust for the moment. His brown hair was a little wet but styled perfectly messy. He had gotten some color that day and it was accentuated by his baby blue tee shirt. His jeans fit in all the right places and he had the newest Nikes on his feet. As he got some money together and put it in his pocket, I noticed a huge silver watch on his wrist. He looked amazing.
“Ready to have some fun, Kid?” he asked me, right before bending down and gently kissing my lips.
“Definitely,” I replied, with a huge smile on my face. “I told Danny and Lauri that we’d meet them on the boardwalk in 15 minutes. Well I guess more like 10 now.”
“Ok, then we have 10 minutes to run to the store and grab some beers,” Ramsey said, now reaching for his car keys. “Come on, let’s take a ride. See you later, bro,” he said, saying goodbye to Billy.
“I’ll see you guys on the beach,” Billy responded.
Ramsey grabbed my hand and we headed for the door. As soon as he slammed the door shut behind us, he grabbed my waist with his free hand and pulled my body close to his. He bent down and passionately kissed me, causing chaos in my body.
It was only a moment before he parted from me and said, “I’ve been thinking about kissing you since you left the pool.” He chuckled as he said, “Too bad Billy was in the room or I would have thrown you on the bed and had my way with you.”
He was chuckling as he said it, so I knew he was sort of kidding, but I didn’t think it was funny. I was thinking the exact same thing. Friggen Billy.
“Ok, so now we have about 8 minutes. Let’s go,” he said as he led us to the parking lot.
He stopped in front of a Jeep that looked brand new. It was hunter green on the outside and beige on the inside. I could see the interior because it was one of those Jeeps where the whole top came off, and the top just happened to be off. Ramsey walked me around to the passenger side and opened the door for me.
“Hop in, Kid,” he said.
I did as he said and buckled my seat belt as soon as I sat down. He opened the driver’s side door and hopped in himself, immediately buckling himself in. He put the key in the ignition and the truck came roaring to life.
“This is such an awesome car. Is it yours?” I asked.
“Yeah, I bought it for myself for my birthday this year,” he said as he started backing out of the parking spot.
“You bought it for yourself?” I questioned. “What are you a secret millionaire or something?”
He laughed as he made his way to the motel exit. Making a right out of the parking lot onto the main road he said, “Not exactly a millionaire, but I have a couple of bucks. I don’t feel like talking about it now. I’ll tell you about it another time.” And before he was finished speaking, he was pulling into the parking lot where the words Liquor and Beer were illuminated in bright yellow lights. He put the car in park and asked, “What can I get you?”
“Um, I think Lauri got wine coolers for us before, but I’m not sure if she ever really got them.” Grabbing my wallet out of my bag, I asked Ramsey to get me some wine coolers if he could. I opened my wallet and handed him a 20 dollar bill.
“Put your money away. I’ll be right back, Kid,” he said opening his car door. “Oh wait, you want me to get you cigarettes?”
“Sure, Newport Lights,” I answered. “Thanks.”
He got out of the car and was greeted in the store by a loud chime. I looked up and he had disappeared down an aisle. I sat there, fidgeting. He left the car on, so I sang along to the radio as I pulled down the visor to check out how I looked in the mirror. Seeing that my lipstick had vanished, I reapplied a coat of gloss and flipped the visor back up. My nosier side getting the better of me, I opened his glove box and looked around.
He had the basics in there, car manual, car insurance and some cassette tapes. There was a half empty pack of Marlboro’s, a few books of matches, a bowl for smoking pot, and a bunch of teeny, tiny empty bags, with remnants of their white contents still inside. I curiously picked one up to examine it, but quickly put it back in the glove box and slammed it shut upon hearing the familiar