Bad Luck Charm - 4. Chapter 4

I’d deemed Sunday as the best day of the week. It’s a day to relax and rejuvenate. Our usual practice would be to sleep in and spent time making some homemade brunch. I was the earlier riser, hence I would set the coffee to brew and started to toast the bagel and cooked some slices of bacon. He would join me once he’s awake enough to function. “Morning babe,” the blond greeted me with a kiss and took over the cooking and toasting.

“You are sure getting better in the kitchen.” I teased.

The blond snorted, “Excuse me, since when I’m bad?” His blue eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Well, you tried to burn down my kitchen didn’t you? The first time you were here,” I laughed when he rolled his eyes.

“You distracted me.” He countered.

~~*****~~

“Carlos, can you get this report to Mr. Brightman please,” I handed a set of documents to my assistant. I was glad to be back at work, however, the amount of work accumulated during my absence had the potential to rival Mount Everest. This was the sole reason I was still at my desk churning out financial reports after 8 pm. And, I finally got rid of my crutches two days back, it felt good to have normal functions of my limbs.

This past week was hectic and needless to say, as much as I wanted to meet John, I simply just did not have the luxury to do so. We’d only managed to exchange a few phone calls and text messages here and there. I was mildly worried about our relationship, worried that the spark shared between us would fizzle out soon if we remained this passive. Then again, our schedule always seemed to clash constantly proving to be a real challenge. A loud rumble made me decided to end work for the day, it’s time to appease the hunger, the rest could wait till tomorrow. It was a quarter after 9 pm when I walked into the diner located two blocks away from my apartment. I took a corner seat, needing the privacy and peace. “What can I get for you?” A motherly figure asked.

“Just a BLT with sweet iced tea,” I closed my eyes after I gave my orders. I was exhausted.

I fiddled with my phone, contemplating if I’d drop John a call, but he might be in the operating room. I missed him loads, I couldn’t help but compare our relationship with the one I had with Brian. Two dates and it had surpassed the 18 months, unbelievable. While waiting for my supper, I rummaged through the leaflets placed at the side table since I’d nothing better to do for now. I saw a place of interest; a night carnival. It's been a long time since I last visited any, it’d be romantic I hoped. Before I changed my decision, my fingers flew across my phone, ‘There’s a carnival at Street 50, Henderson Lane, wanna go this weekend?’

“There you go, enjoy!” my supper had arrived. It didn’t take long for me since I was famished.

I’d sent the text message on Tuesday night, since Wednesday, I’d been busting my ass off trying to clear off my workload that I didn’t really take notice of my phone. By Thursday, I was wondering what was holding John up with the reply. Today, I think I’m going crazy. I threw all caution to the wind and dialed his number, ready to blow a gasket.

After umpteen rings, the call was finally picked up, “Hello?” a male voice came through the phone.

I was taken aback momentarily because I’d expected John to be at the end of the line instead of another guy. At the same time, my mind further betrayed me with uncalled images which literally pushed me to the brink. Taking a huge effort to control my voice and the raging storm that was brewing inside me, I inquired, “Hi, can I speak to John?”

“Who is this? He’s busy,” he replied tersely.

‘Who’s that on the line?’
‘Some telemarketers.’
‘Well hang up and get back to bed.’

That fucker hanged up on me. I exploded, needless to say, it’s not pretty with fireworks. Yes, I had rain rage and firestorm to anybody I’d encountered at work. I was a walking nightmare, and throughout the day, people started to avoid me totally. I had millions of questions running through my head which I’d zero answer to it. It’s driving me insane. I’d have barged into his home but I’d no idea where he stayed. I felt stupid and toyed with. It was then that I’d realized, Fuck! I’d fallen in love with John.

Sigh. What a mess!

I was strung so tight for the rest of the day, my colleagues were actually worried I might get into a cardiac arrest any time. Even Carlos decided it’s for the best to have minimum contact and conversation with me for the time being. However, the storm raged on and seemed to be gaining momentum. There’s no stopping me now, especially when my phone rang at 6 pm with the caller ID reflected John’s name. I saw red, not just red, I saw Hurricane Katrina!

I shut off the door to my room before shouting into the phone, “Where the fuck has you been?!”

“Wes? What’s wrong?” John asked.

“What’s wrong? Don’t play dumb with me. Do you think I’m that stupid to let you string me along on dates and smiling like a fool while you are fucking other guys behind my back?” I snapped, my words laced with venom.

“What are you talking about? I did not sleep with anybody,” he countered with raised voice, perplexed by the temperament and anger which was directed on him.

“Don’t take me for a fool, fuck off!” I ended the call.

I paced my room, rubbed my face in frustration and let out a bellowing shout. It didn’t improve my mood at all. How dare him, such preposterous! I’d turned off my phone to ignored the continuous ringing, packed up and left the office. It’s a good thing I’d the weekend to pull myself back together before I faced my colleagues on Monday to offer them my apologies for the outburst.

***

I sat opposite John at the kitchen counter, with freshly brewed coffee, awaiting whatever explanation he’d to offer. Apparently, after the whole drama in the office, he decided to come knocking on my door demanding to see me. Well not literally demanded, but he’d stood at the entrance of my apartment pressing the fucking doorbell relentlessly for 10 minutes. It’s 1:17 am and I couldn’t take it anymore, I definitely needed to uninstall that thing. It didn’t occur to me that a fancy doorbell could be used in such a way; to drive people crazy, trapped within the confines of their own home. Come on! Narrowing my eyes, I noticed John looked disheveled, his clothes slightly rumpled, the shadows were prominent due to being sleep deprived.

“I’d no idea what’s going on Wes,” he admitted with a slow sigh.

There were thousands of toxic remarks I could use to retaliate, I was fuming. “I bet you had some good time with another guy.”

He raised his eyebrow in question, “I’m baffled, another guy?”

“Ok, I'm no idiot,” pushing away my coffee mug, I continued, “I called this afternoon, some guy picked up the phone. We chatted before you asked him to get back to bed with you and--”

I guessed he managed to finally piece altogether, “Fucking hell!" he stood in exasperation, “Omg I’m so gonna kill Timmy!” He looked alarmed, “Wait… you’re the telemarketer?” he added with a chuckle.

“What the fuck is so funny? Do I look like a fool to you? I sent you a text message on Tuesday, which went unanswered,” I crossed my arms across my chest in a defensive posture. I was not going to make things easy for him.

John took a moment to collect his thoughts before sitting back down and replied in an apologetic tone, “First of all, I was away at my parent’s place. I missed your text message because I didn’t bring my phone along, there’s no reception anyway. I brought them hiking and camping. When I came back and saw the message, I tried to call you immediately,” he paused to look at me, I maintained the eye contact but I did let him know through by body language to further explain, in which he continued, “Secondly, Timmy is my sister’s son, which I’m going to ground him the next time I head over. He’s 15 and currently in his rebellious stage. He got this habit of pranking people, this is not the first time it happened. Please… believe me, you could call my parents if you want,” he finished.

I let out a deep sigh, his sister's son... I couldn’t fault him, it’s not like we’re dating seriously or exclusive, to begin with. I wondered if I was behaving like an ass. I couldn’t help but laugh at my own stupidity, I’d created such a complicated and ridiculous charade. Oh god! John seemed bewildered by my laughter, however, it wasn’t long before he joined me. It felt good to be able to laugh, easing away the tension.

“I’m sorry, god I feel like an idiot. I was stupid,” I walked around the counter towards John who had his arms opened, I leaned into his embrace feeling satisfied. “I’m such a drama queen, you should dump me on my ass for pulling a soap opera on you. I don’t deserve you.”

He pulled away and lifted my chin with his finger, “Don’t be silly. If you’re stupid, I guess we’re both the same. I drove 2 hours down to look for you.”

That pulled my heart string, only adoration and tenderness were reflected in his eyes for me.

“Do you wanna stay the night?” I took a quick glance at the clock.

He clasped his hands with mine, pulling me along into the bedroom, “What’s with us and 2 am,” he asked amusingly. I laughed.

***

The morning after was pleasant, lying next to his warm body had appeased whatever demon I was facing, or had faced. We even made breakfast together, another feat achieved. I never got to do anything domestic with Brian, it’s always one-sided.

Looking back, damn I sure sounded just like his sugar daddy.

“Why don’t you head for the shower while I take care of breakfast, the coffee is set to brew, I’ll fry us some eggs, toast, and bacon,” John offered.

“That’s real sweet of you, I’ll be right back,” I gave him a light kiss before I went about for my morning routine in the bathroom.

I took about 15 minutes which breakfast should be readied. I didn’t wanna stall too long before the food gotten cold. So what I didn’t expect was breakfast not served, instead, the apartment smelled of something burning. I quickly entered the kitchen only to get choked on the fumes. If the situation was not that serious, I’d have laughed at John, who was flinching with one hand holding onto the spatula, while the other on the pan. “Help Wes!,” he pleaded.

I moved forward hurriedly to switch off the fire, shut off the toaster, opened up the windows and got him out of the kitchen into the bedroom. “Go ahead and wash up,” I urged.

If there were something I learned about the outstanding blond surgeon, it’d be having no talent in the kitchen department. I’d cleaned up the kitchen to the best I could, reset the toaster, and poured two mugs of coffee. I also plate the toasted bagel spread with cream cheese on the counter. John re-entered the kitchen with an apologetic grin, “I’m sorry… the oil was mean,” he pouted.

I cracked up laughing my head off. John was tall and sturdy, how the heck would he be afraid of hot oil was beyond me. Then again, it made a good laughing material. I was not going to ever let him live that down.

“You do great things with your hands, but I doubt cooking is one of them,” I joked.

“Asshole,” he quipped.

We were seated in his car heading towards his place. I was kinda intrigued, people often said a house would say a lot about an individual’s personalities and traits. I wasn’t sure what to expect, in fact, I wasn’t even sure what my place had shown about me. John had mentioned he lived in a 1-room rental apartment, just a short 5 minutes drive from my apartment. When we arrived, I’d observed that his place was furnished with basic pieces of furniture, nothing fanciful. I was a little surprised and he went on to explained, “There’s no point in me living in a huge house alone. This is easier,” he shrugged.

***

The carnival was huge, I didn’t expect to be the size of approximately three football fields. There were the food and beverages section, rows and rows of vendors selling snacks of all shapes and variations. The other section was filled with game booths such as hoops, cans, darts, and etc. The last area was filled with different attractions and rides like haunted house, Ferris wheel, bumper cars, Viking, and more. There was a screening zone, which would be playing some classic movie later on in the evening. The energy level was high, we’d hear screams, shouts, and lots of loud laughter. It’s a good vibe. “Shall we?” I smiled widely at John.

“Let’s go kiddo,” he grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me over to the ticketing booth.

We bought our entrance tickets and headed in along with the rest of the crowd. For the next few hours, we ventured and explored almost everything the carnival could offer. As the sky turned dark, the lights were turned on, myriad of different colors lit up the night sky. I turned towards John, “Wanna take the Ferris wheel?”

“Why not? We can smooch in there,” he grinned as we made our way over.

It was huge, bigger than usual. Every individual cabin was lighted up with a different color. We were told by the ground staff the ride would take up almost up to an hour. We chose the hot neon pink, and as our cabin ascended, the noise level reduced, and soon we were almost at the top of the ride. I reached for John’s hand and smiled at him, “Thanks for coming with me, it was fun.”

“I had fun too, besides I get to smooch with you in here,” he laughed.

I chuckled lightly before inching forward and locked our lips together for a sweet kiss. He tasted like melted caramel, and he smelled nice… like John. Leaning my forehead against his, I whispered softly, “I like you, John… and I can’t help it.”

“Me too babe… me too,” he concurred and leaned forward, touching my lips with his tender touch.

We broke our second kiss of the night, azure met honey, both of us in each other’s gaze. I glanced downwards as we continued to ascend, reaching almost the pinnacle. All of a sudden, the Ferris wheel jerked hard and with a loud clang, it stalled. John did nothing but started laughing at my facial expression. “We’re stuck, fuck,” I announced wide-eyed.

‘Attention: We’re in the midst of fixing the technical error on the Ferris Wheel, please be patience and we apologize for any inconvenience caused.’

No no no no no…. Are you fucking kidding me?!

I bet I looked damn desperate because John couldn’t stop laughing out loud. I feigned pissed, grabbed hold of our cabin gate and bellowed into the cold night, “LET US OUT OF HERE!”

And what did John did? He continued to laugh his ass off. Asshole!