บท 48: When is my turn, dear?
After the breakfast was over, Bella excused herself and went to take a shower, leaving Olivia and I to do the dishes. With me doing the actual washing, while my girlfriend was wiping the plates dry. Not like there was a huge pile or anything, since I had a habit of rinsing everything right after finishing my meal, and yesterday was the day of fast food.
Against her usual habit, my special woman decided not to take an eternity, and a few minutes more, and was done with her shower surprisingly fast.
I checked the time, eleven o'clock. Another hour to kill. After some consideration, I decided that today should be a rest day. Even with a body like mine, I couldn't ignore the importance of proper recovery occasionally.
So, I chose a beanbag to sit in and was currently reading my chat backlog, giving away the generic excuses why it took me so long to answer.
Bella was drying her hair, still wearing my shirt, which was now clinging to her body. Or, well, clinging even more than it was previously. While Olivia was lazing on the bed, chatting with someone on her phone. Overall, it was an idyllic scene, and my mind had a bit of a problem to wrap itself around the reality of the situation.
My phone pinged, as I received a new message.
Counter Girl: [I finally got him to take me out!]
The message had an attached selfie. The interior of some family restaurant, the wooden table by the window with food on it. Claire, with a wide smile on her face, doing a peace sign. I absentmindedly noted the shoulder-length hair with no touch of stylist, as well as the fact she was wearing the same light gray hoodie with the band print I've seen on her previously. Then I turned my attention to another person in the frame.
Across the table from the Counter Girl, with an awkward excuse of a smile on the boring average face behind the thick glasses, slouched a lanky dude wearing the dark green jumpsuit over the black t-shirt with the same band print. I could feel the pushover vibes even through the screen of my phone. The guy looked so utterly spineless, it wasn't even funny. Well, or maybe I was a bit biased here? Nah, that couldn't be the truth.
It took me a long moment to actually think about why the fuck did I even receive this message. Either Claire tagged me via accident, or… Was this an attempt to make me jealous? The very notion was so adorable, I couldn't find it in myself to feel irritated for real. Still, I decided to retaliate in kind anyway. As they say, you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.
I turned around in my beanbag, and took a selfie of my own, angling the camera in such a way, so I could get both Bella and Olivia into the picture, and sketched a condescending smile. Pairing it with a short caption. And sent.
Me: [good for you]
Counter Girl: [...]
Counter Girl: [It's an old pic.]
Me: [yeah, the hair gave it away]
Counter Girl: [You know what's the most irritating?]
Me: [?]
Counter Girl: [He still hasn't noticed haircut!]
Counter Girl: [Can you believe it?]
Me: [bruh]
Counter Girl: [Btw, if you have time, how about hitting the gym together?]
Counter Girl: [I could use a good spotter.]
Me: [sorry, busy today]
Counter Girl: [Is it because of my prank?]
Me: [nah, I have work today]
Me: [will leave at noon]
Me: [and for the rest of the day]
Counter Girl: [Oh.]
Counter Girl: [How about tomorrow, then?]
Me: [should be free in the first half of the day]
Me: [will need to pick up Olivia around 3:30 tho]
We chatted a bit more and decided to discuss details tomorrow via the call. Hm, getting a gym buddy would help my motivation quite a bit, especially with those shapely glutes in yoga pants.
"Dear," Bella's voice rang just above myself. "Something good happened?"
"Yeah," I confirmed. "Got myself a date tomorrow."
"Did Claire actually send you that pic?" Olivia added her bit into the conversation. "I told her it will work."
"So Olivia got a date yesterday, this Claire of yours is getting one tomorrow. When is my turn, dear?" My special woman sounded a bit irritated.
"Eh? Today." I felt a bit confused on how she failed to pick something so obvious. "Duh?"
My response made Bella actually halt her hairstyling efforts. I looked at the time again, eleven twenty-seven. Hm, time to get ready, I guess. As I was getting dressed, with incessant comments and suggestions from both girls on what I should wear, I decided to ask Olivia about her plans for the day.
"Since there is nothing better to do for me today anyway, I asked if the girls want to do something as a group," she answered. "Su is busy for the whole day, so it's me, Mimi and Pat. By the way, will you be returning home today?"
"Hm." I looked at Bella, who responded to me with a meaningful smile. "I don't think I will."
"Oh, then it will be a sleepover at Mimi's place." Olivia received the news better than I thought. "I will also make sure that you have your meeting with Su tomorrow. You will come to pick me up, yes?"
"I planned to pick you up whether you would do so or not," I clarified.
***
Eleven fifty-five, Bella received a message that the rest of the crew arrived and were waiting for us. Double-checking that everything was in place, we said our farewells to Olivia. In response, each of us got back a goodbye kiss from the girl, though mine was on the lips, while Bella received one on her cheek. With that done, we left the apartments.
I sent Bella the address and pre-planned route, so she could distribute it further down the line. Our destination was about two hours away from the city, in unremarkable countryside.
"Anything else to add to the briefing?" the full on business-mode Bella asked the important question.
"Nah, that's all the info that needs to be known," I replied. "The place should be empty. Worse comes to worst, I have a valid cover story ready."
We got into her car of the day, a four-by-four business class crossover, and gave a signal for the second vehicle to follow us.
***
About forty minutes later, we finally got out of the city and were currently on a highway. I let Bella drive, since I couldn't be bothered to do that for two hours straight. Nuh-uh, nadda. Not it.
"Dear, was this your idea of a date?" I heard a sarcastic remark.
"No, it's not mine," I responded, feeling a bit confused. "It's yours."
"Huh?" It was her turn to be puzzled.
Oh. Had I mistaken my future knowledge for the current state of affairs again?
"Or at least it was for the future you," I said, trying to sound apologetic. "Sorry, I have a really hard time separating the two of you."
"Oh," was the only thing my special woman could vocalize. "That's a bit concerning, but it's not something you should apologize for, dear."
The next few minutes went by in an awkward silence.
"Hey, can you tell me more about us, dear?" The question from Bella broke the silence.
"What would you like to hear about?" I decided to comply.
"Hm… How exactly did the two of us get together?" She let her curiosity be known. "No offense, but it took you to come back from the future, to finally ask me out."
"That's… a very complex story. And not a very pleasant one, either." I shook my head, chasing away the bad memories.
"Well, we have." She paused and glanced towards the navigator screen. ETA, One hour Thirty Six minutes. "Enough time on our hands, and, well, I think it's something I have the right to know."
"Well, it started on one fateful Friday evening, when a stupid beast was bored out of his mind and met that one cute stray…"
***
Following my first life's encounter with Olivia and her two stooges, for the next three years, I lived like a true animal. Led by my basic instincts, I did everything to satiate my urges, no matter what needed to be done. I robbed, fought, and hunted. Always on the prowl, looking for prey.
It felt like I was in a state of blackout for the most part. The days, nights, sometimes the whole weeks, everything kept merging into a twisted stream of barely discernible episodes. I could fall asleep in one place, and wake up a week later, in an entirely different one, in the middle of doing something bad, stupid, or dangerous. Mostly all three at the same time.
Until one day my luck, or maybe Heaven's tolerance, ran out, and I had bitten more than I could swallow.
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