Jeanette, Chapter 22

Sergio, Out!

After an uneventful, alien-less day at work, I received a call from Sergio, asking me out to dinner at the Pelican. “Fine,” I thought.  Maybe I should just give in and start dating this twerp.  He *was* the first person who’d talked to me when I arrived here, but he’s just so … so… Sergio.

Anyway, it’s a nice evening out.

I got in line to book a table, and the place started filling up.

I mean, it’s like everyone arrived at the restaurant at exactly the same time.  Odd.

Anyway, we ordered and had a good chat.  Maybe, Serge isn’t such a twerp after all.

I was telling Sergio about my day at the lab, explaining a little bit about my latest experiments, when he stood up suddenly.

“Uh… just a sec Jeanette, I just…”

“I mean, I um… I need to…”

“Now where’s my … it’s just…”

He left the restaurant, and just kept going. I could still hear him mumbling as he walked away.

Fricken’ jerk. You’re dead to me, Serge.

I paid the bill (thanks Sergio!), and went home to bed.

chapter 23 …

Jeanette, Chapter 19

JERK

The day started beautifully. I woke up thinking this was the greatest day ever.  I should have been paying more attention.

11-14-16_2-33-05-pm

We did sleep in.  It was a long, marvelous night of …. getting to know each other. And myself. Who knew? I just doubled my chances of getting a date. Wait… or being rejected for one.  Damn.

11-14-16_2-40-09-pmI made pancakes, Kimberly flirted and told me how perfect I was.

11-14-16_2-41-26-pm Like I say, it started off as a fantastic morning.

11-14-16_2-42-23-pm But the least I can do is cook breakfast for the first person I’ve ever slept with!  I HAD SEX!

11-14-16_2-43-26-pmWuf! Hopefully I was better at that than making these pancakes. Well, I know where to get a good breakfast and some decent coffee.

11-14-16_2-47-11-pm And it’s really only a short walk down the path on this beautiful island.  We held hands, silently enjoying the outdoors, before arriving at the cafe.

11-14-16_2-48-25-pm Don was, apparently, on a break.  I don’t recall him ever actually working here.  Maybe he just likes the outfit and hanging around in coffee bars. Luckily I know how to use one of these things.  Just gimme the coffee.

11-14-16_2-48-55-pm We were both still in a glowy mood. Kimberly let me know she couldn’t wait to get back to the house and spend more time spending time.

11-14-16_2-49-53-pmI suggested a further walk around the island first, to show her a couple of my favourite places. She agreed, asking if there were any more … “private” areas we could visit.  I knew just the place.

There was a decently unknown swimming hole further down the island, with many small, secluded picnic areas surrounding it.  I took her hand, and we meandered down the path through the woods.

11-14-16_2-56-02-pm Arriving at the pool, I was overcome with happiness and satisfaction. I knew I was smitten with Kimberly, and just had to tell her.

And that’s when things went completely off the rails.

11-14-16_2-56-34-pmI asked her to be my girlfriend.

11-14-16_2-56-37-pm She snorted.

11-14-16_2-57-17-pm “Girlfriend?” <giggle> “No no… why would we do that?”

To say that I was stunned would be an understatement.

11-14-16_2-57-36-pm “But… but last night, I thought…”

She laughed!  “Look, I mean, I like you and all, and last night was really…  really… a lot of fun.  But you have to understand…”

11-14-16_2-58-16-pm I think I lost it.

“No!  YOU understand…!”

I kinda blacked out after that, trying to keep it together as I yelled at her.  She kept this patronizingly bemused, sad look on her face as I ranted about my feelings and privacy and anything else that was bugging me since I got to this stupid island.

11-14-16_2-58-19-pm I called her a few things that I’ll probably regret later.  She just sighed sadly, and walked away.

11-14-16_2-58-30-pmFor a brief moment, I felt good for getting that all off my chest.

11-14-16_3-00-54-pmA very brief moment.  It all hit me on the way home; I felt used, and betrayed, and … terrible, and… I just couldn’t think in clear thoughts any more.

11-14-16_3-01-29-pmAs I’d said, it started off as the best day ever.  But it ended with the worst feeling in my life. Adulting shouldn’t be this painful.

11-14-16_3-01-56-pm I curled up in a ball and cried myself to sleep, where I stayed for a few hours.

11-14-16_3-04-15-pmWhen I woke up, I was feeling better about things.  Not … completely fine, but better.  Kimberly was still a giant jerk, but I wasn’t going to keep that from hurting so much.  I was still doing well, and the night before was still a lot of fun.  She didn’t ruin dating for me, just dating her.

I swore that – next time – I’ll find out someone’s commitment levels before I suggest one of my own.  Adult stuff.

11-14-16_3-04-49-pmI cleaned up the awful pancakes I’d made her earlier (maybe if she’d just choked on them… Augh!  No… stop it Jeanette…), and started to look around the place.  Maybe, it’s time for another change.  I had some spare time, and a chunk of cash in my purse; time for some added space, I think.

11-14-16_3-40-32-pm I expanded the main room and kitchen, giving a little more breathing space.

11-14-16_3-41-44-pm Then added some kitchen cabinets!  It’s starting to look a little more grown-up over here.  A new stove, a new fridge, and I had the sink moved off the island.

11-14-16_3-42-11-pm With more space, I moved the chair out into the main room, for a nice place to sit and read.

11-14-16_3-42-32-pm Replaced all those awful plain interior doors, to match the exterior.

11-14-16_3-42-51-pm Added some space to the bedroom, and reorganised the furniture.

11-14-16_3-43-09-pm And finally, a back door!  Out to …

11-14-16_3-43-28-pm…well, the back.  Okay, it’s a small house, but it still felt good to know there’s another exit, for the next time I set fire to something.  From several thousand dollars, I finished the day with a grand total of $84 in the bank.  Thankfully there’s work in the morning.

As this horrid day of extreme emotions came to a close, I could only think that I’d grown a lot.  Not an experience I want to repeat, but a learning one.  I guess.

Kimberly’s still a jerk.

chapter 20 …

Jeanette, Chapter 13

A Date Gone Awry

11-11-16_9-36-40-am At work the next morning, I confronted Caitlyn about her actions the day before. She was very apologetic, but had received a call just before arriving at the cafe. It seems that the lab had been contacted by aliens, and she was needed at once. It was above my pay grade, so I wasn’t needed.  I don’t know why Shelley was hanging around outside the lab today, but there she was.

11-11-16_9-37-13-amI forgave Caitlyn for taking off on me, and we hugged it out.

The rest of the day at worked passed uneventfully, and I left feeling good about my job.  When I arrived at home, Rashawn called me up (Sam’s name was Rashawn) and invited me out to the Shrieking Llama for drinks and games.

11-11-16_10-26-17-am“Absolutely!” I said.  It sounded like fun.

11-11-16_10-46-11-am It wasn’t.  At least, not to begin with.  Ol’ Rashawn spent the first hour or so watching the soccer match. His team wasn’t doing well, from what I understand.  There was a lot of yelling and cursing, and mother-llama-ing the referees. Eventually, whichever sports club he was cheering for lost their game, and the bar staff turned on the figure skating competition.

11-11-16_10-46-22-amRashawn wasn’t happy, and he left shortly thereafter.  Jerk.  Well, that was your last chance buddy.  Don’t call me again.

11-11-16_10-47-41-amAnd that’s when Myron spotted me. Or, at least that’s when I spotted Myron spotting me. He bought me a drink, and let me know that the guy I came in with was a jerk. Preaching to the choir, my friend, but thanks.

11-11-16_10-50-26-am He challenged me to a game of foosball, to which I accepted. I needed to whack at things and blow off some steam.

11-11-16_11-07-41-am The game was wicked.  We were evenly matched, and the bar patrons started noticing.

11-11-16_11-09-46-amEventually he beat me with a score of 21-20.  By the time we finished, the bar was closing up, and I was exhausted.  I headed home to bed, alone still, but feeling good.

chapter 14 …