You can't go back...

Carmen, Act I, Scene II

I was late, spending 20 minutes trying to avoid a $25 valet fee. I was in grad school for fuck's sake, and spending the summer of my internship travelling around the West while I still had the freedom to do so.

Carmen was sitting at the bar, drinking... scotch, maybe? At least she handn't given up on all of her pretensions - that was something.

I stood behind her, watching her in the mirror behind the bar, waiting to see if she'd recognize me. I must have waited a whole 10 seconds before I couldn't take it any more and leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Carmen? You look like you've surpassed the promise of the woman you might have become. Amazing."

She turned. Looked at me. Smiled. Spent what felt like an hour looking into my eyes before taking a head to toe inventory.

"You have no idea."

She was right. And in the space of a minute, I was 20 again. Lost in my head, wondering what the fuck I was doing, and how not to fuck it up.

So, just in time, I decided to pretend I had a clue.

We ordered again, and went to a table out by the pool overlooking the city. I had a LOT of listening to do.

Carmen had met the love of her life - but couldn't tell me more. They had broken up, and it had been nasty. Very nasty. She couldn't tell me more without crying.

So we talked about everything else.

The more we drank, the easier it got. She was never sloppy. It just doesn't exist within her. It did come out though, that she wasn't ANYONE's little sister.

She liked fucking. Her ex was preoccupied with work.

She liked giving up control.

She liked girls.

As a prelude to cock.

While we were sitting, drinking and talking, I excused myself to the restroom.

I returned to find Carmen at the outdoor bar talking to what looked like a gaggle of models, if not super models.

When she came back to the table, she said they'd invited her up to their suite. She said she'd check with me. Do you want to go?

Are you fucking kidding me?! I'm supposed to leave for Vegas tonight to catch up with a bunch of my friends from high school, and one of my neighbors from Texas. Models? I can't explain what came out of my mouth next.

"No. I'd rather just talk to you. It might be another ten years before I see you again."

Another smile.

"You're sweet. And I had such a crush on you. Now I'm going to the ladies room. Will you get us another drink?"

"Yes."

While she was gone, the models were checking me out from the other side of the pool. In my head I could hear their thoughts, as clearly as my own.

"Is he rich? Hung? Both? How'd he get HER?!"

Carmen got back just as the drinks did.

After the waitress left, I said, "Carmen, I have to say something - and please don't take it the wrong way, I value what I sincerely hope will be a strong friendship in the future. If I don't say this though, I'll never forgive myself, and I can't live with that kind of regret."

"What? Is something wrong?"

"Not at all. Maybe inappropriate, but not wrong. I'm going to go get a room. Will you settle our tab, while I do that? When I come back, I'm going to invite you to spend the night with me. It won't hurt my feelings if you don't, but I can't sit here anymore listening to you tell me about who you are now, and not want you. I'll get to Vegas when I get there, and I don't expect that we'll have more than tonight, if we have that. If I come back and you say no, I'll see to it that you get home, and I'll call you tomorrow, and we'll talk about how we can do a better job of keeping in touch."

"If you say yes, though, you get to realize what you called your 'crush' a few minutes ago, and I... Well, I've wanted you since well before we went skiing."

"You'll get the check?"

"Yes."

"I'll be back."

I got the last room available. I can't tell you how relieved I was it wasn't a suite. I won't get into how much it was - but if it hadn't been her, and I hadn't had a half dozen cocktails, and she hadn't become something else entirely than I was prepared for, I would have probably just got into my car and headed East.

I came back, smiling.

"Carmen?"

"Colton?"

"Will you stay with me tonight?"

"Yes."

posted by Colton @ 10:00 PM