My Favorite Girl Pt. 02

I thought for a moment that maybe I didn't hear her right as I looked at her. She was straight faced and had this look on her face that said it all. She knew. The room started to spin, my heart shot up into my throat, stomach tied itself up into a knot. I felt faint, panic, real fear as I started to sweat and tried to work out my next move and do it quickly. My hands trembled as they set the coffee cup down.

"Oh shit," I croaked and tried to think of anything I could think of right now. "Listen, Emma and I...... we..."

"Jason," Dory interrupted me right away. "Stop. Relax. Take a breath. Your secret is safe with me."

"It-it-it... it is?" I stuttered.

"Yes," she reassured me. "It's not my life. Who am I to interfere with you two? I barely know you guys and I sure don't have all the details or the dynamics of what you two have going on."

"Are you sure?" I asked still stunned but feeling some relief.

"Yes!" she said firmly. "I don't want to interfere. I do want to offer you some advice if I can. And then, I want to let you in on one of my secrets. This way we both have something on each other so it's fair."

"Ok," I agreed and tried to swallow the lump that was still stuck in my throat. The adrenaline dump was making me shake as I sat there and tried to calm down.

"Maybe you won't listen to what I have to say now, but it will be in the back of your mind somewhere and maybe in a year or two it might become useful to you." She took a pause as I breathed and tried to settle down still.

"Please don't string that sweet girl along and hurt her," she started. "The way she is around you, the way she looks at you, the way you capture her attention, she's head over heels for you. I know you can see it too; you are still denying it right now. But there's no denying it, she sees you much differently then you see her at this point. Maybe you will come around one day, but I can tell she's more into you then you are into her. Maybe she hasn't told you yet, but if she does, don't string her along and lie to her. Even if it breaks her heart, or yours, you can't do that to that perfect little girl up there."

"I know," I sighed deeply. "I see it too. I've got the feelings too, but... it's just so odd and complicated. You know?"

"Do I ever," Dory replied. There was a pause before Dory started again.

"The second thing I want to offer you is pretty simple. You are a great bull shitter, but that's just a fancy word for being a liar. You have to stop lying so much. Sometimes the truth is a hard pill to swallow, but often times it's the best course of action. You can bullshit some, everyone does it. But, when it comes to the serious things and it's going to hurt somebody if they find out the truth, you might want to give it some thought beforehand."

"Ok," I nodded.

"Now, I could go on and on about life, but I won't bore you with all my wisdom today. Really take the first one to heart and be careful with the bullshitting."

"Ok," I agreed.

"Can I ask one favor of you before you tell me your secret?" I asked before she could start again.

"Sure," Dory smiled.

"Can you... not tell Emma that you know what her and I really are? If you tell her that you know, she's going to freak out and I don't want that. I'll tell her that you know, but I need to tell her when the time is right."

"I understand that, and I won't," Dory agreed. "I wasn't going to say anything to her anyway. I brought it up with you because they say that in a relationship, the one who loves the least has the most power. I can see you have the power, and I don't think you would abuse it, but I want to make sure you understand what is on the line."

"It's not that I don't love her," I defended myself. "It's a brand-new thing that just started so we haven't had any trials or tribulations yet. We were just seeing where the week took us and then going from there."

"How long have you two been together?" Dory asked. "Can I ask that or is it too personal?"

"It's a long story and I don't even know where to begin," I started then stopped to think.

"Can we start over?" I asked now. "Can you forget everything you think you know about her and I and let me tell you the truth about us? It will be easier to explain it that way."

"I'd be happy with that."

"I'm Jason, I'm nineteen and I go to college in Texas. That's Emma, she's twenty-one and goes to college in Florida. My mom and dad split when I was five. She moved to Africa to help save the people over there and left me with my dad. My dad died in an accident about two years ago. I went to live with Emma's mom and dad, my aunt and uncle, since my mom refuses to give up her work, I wasn't about to live in a mud hut with her and I wasn't old enough to be on my own at the time my dad passed away."

"Emma and I have flirted and goofed around and there was some panty stealing but there wasn't anything physical until Tuesday night. When you saw us fight and then make up, that was the first time we had ever done anything like that. After we got physical, we set up some rules and have been going by them ever since. That's the truth about us, the short version anyway."

"Ok," Dory said after she processed the information. "So, there is a little history there. But the first time was only three days ago?"

"Yeah, this is all very new and all kind of scary. Honestly, before it all happened, I thought about what it would be like to have Emma. I never actually put any thought into what it would be like after I had Emma. There are so many emotions wrapped up in it. You're intimate with somebody and there are feelings that your body and mind can't turn off and exclude. Talk about confusing."

"I don't know what's going to happen after tomorrow either," I continued. "I go one way, she goes the other, and we won't see each other until she graduates. What the hell happens when we see each other again? I didn't really think about that either."

"It's confusing, I know that," Dory said. "I can't tell you what to do and what not to do or what's best or not best. That's between you and her and what your heart feels is the right thing to do. You and her are going to have to sort that out on your own. All I can say is you surprise me with how levelheaded you are and how wide you are thinking in this situation. Most guys conquer or destroy and then move on. At least you are thinking things out and trying to look at all angles of the dilemma."

"Emma's not just some girl," I offered. "She's possibly my best friend and the only stable female in my life besides Joy. I can't risk destroying that, she's too important."

"And you won't, Jason," Dory said firmly. "You are a very intelligent man and you will do what is best."

I took a deep breath then exhaled slowly as Dory pushed the buttons on the coffee maker and started to make herself a cup. I was still shaking a little but at least she wasn't going to tell anybody and actually took the news with less shock and disgust than I had imagined anyone would. She looked at me and took a breath before speaking what was on her mind again.

"You and I, we aren't that different."

"No?" I asked. "How so?"

"Remember my secret I was going to tell you about?" she asked.

"I do," I said slowly.

She sighed now as she tried to relax before speaking. It was the first time in this conversation that she was nervous about something.

"When I was a young lady, twenty years old to be exact, I got into a relationship with my fifty-five-year-old uncle."

"You?" I stuttered. "You did what?"

"I was involved in a romantic relationship with my uncle," she repeated.

"Whoa," I croaked. "How did that happen?"

"The details aren't important," she replied. "I could get into everything, but it doesn't really matter. The fact is I was so in love with that man. He made me feel like I was the only woman in the world every single day. He worshipped the very ground I stood on and I loved him dearly for that. We spent ten years together building a life and a solid foundation of love, trust, and honor. I cherish every minute of it and I wouldn't go back to change one thing, not one single thing, in the time we shared together."

"What ah, what happened to the relationship?" I asked carefully after a moments pause.

"He passed away suddenly," she sighed. "He had a heart condition and it finally caught up with him one day."

"Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Thank you," she said and wiped a tear from her eye. "Everything I have is because of him. He had never married, he had no kids, and all his siblings were gone so he left everything to me. I honestly couldn't care less about the money; I'd give it all away if I could just have him back."

"I know what you mean," I sighed. "Boy, don't I know."

"Ever since then I've had a broken heart. It's mended now but it won't ever be the same. That's why I am the way that I am. I don't like to open myself up to people until I've had a chance to get to know them. These people involved things, as I like to call them, are a good way to get a read on people so I like to have them."

"What's your read on me and Emma, or should I not ask?"

She smiled now. "Emma is probably one of the most genuine people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger. And you... you and I, we can read people and make most of our decisions based on the feedback we get from reading them."

"Having said that, I knew there was something just a little off with the two of you when I asked questions about your relationship. But you, the people reader and the bull shitter, saved the day. I know now why you had to lie though. You did it to protect her and I can't fault you for that."

I was nodding now in agreement and about to speak but she continued on so I had to remain silent.

"You two are good kids, but you two are just that, kids. I've been through what you are potentially going to go through, so I want to offer you a lifeline. I want to give you my number so you can call me if a situation comes up and you need some help working through it. And, call me if you want somebody to talk to. It gets kind of quiet around here when Doug is at work."

"Thank you," I said sincerely. "I'll be sure to call you once in a while. Other than Aunt Joy, I don't really have an older female to talk to."

"What about your mom?" Dory questioned.

"The satellite phone she uses changes weekly depending on where she is, so I have to wait for her to call me. That happens every six to eight weeks unless she wants something."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she offered.

"Please," I sighed. "Don't be. I've learned to live with it."

She sighed now and didn't press any further about my mom. That would have been another long subject and I'd rather talk about Emma and I having a relationship over that any day.

"So, that's my big secret," Dory finally said. "Not many people know about my secret either. Doug doesn't even know about it to be honest."

"You ever going to tell him?"

"Maybe in due time," she replied. "We just aren't at that level yet."

"Oh," I said.

She looked at me as I sat thinking about what she had just revealed until another question popped into my head.

"Now, was this uncle related or by marriage?"

"It was my mother's brother," she replied.

"How did you hide the relationship for ten years?" I asked. "I don't want to pry but I am curious."

"Things were quite different back twenty-five, thirty years ago," she said. "There was no social media, no cell phones, and no Hollywood types selling stories and pictures to make a buck. You just kept things quiet and went about your business and didn't put it on display and people didn't know about it. Just be quiet and as low key as you possibly can. If you're not interesting, they won't find you interesting and they won't bother you."

"Good point," I smiled then took a sip of coffee.

"Dory," I said after another sip. "I'm sorry I lied to you about us."

"Don't be sorry about that," she said sincerely. "I completely understand why you did what you did. People can be mean, especially if your family finds out."

I nodded and thought about what would probably go down if Ronnie or Joy found out. That would be it really. Emma had no siblings, I had none that I knew about. My dad was out there after my mom left but he was pretty careful. I had no clue about my mom, but I'd dare to say that if she didn't want me, she didn't want anymore. She probably got fixed after me.

"I'm sorry too," Dory said and broke me out of my thoughts. "I'm sorry I brought this up the way I did. I wanted to say something but, as outspoken as I am, I hate starting conflict."

"I hate it too," I agreed.

"Good morning, Dory," Emma called as she entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, darling."

"Jeez, Jason," she laughed. "Did you get lost or forget about me? Where is my coffee?"

I looked at her and smiled as she stood there with her hand on her hip and a sassy smile on her face. Her hair was all disheveled and a tangled mess as she waited for my response.

"Where did you get the robe from?" I asked as she was now dressed in a nice cotton robe.

"They were in the bathroom," she replied. "I found the note on my bikini so I figured it was implied." She looked at Dory now.

"Perfectly fine darling," Dory smiled. "The maids will be here later and everything will be taken care of."

"Ha," Emma gloated. "See? Now, where's my coffee at?"

"Right there," I pointed. "I had to wait for Dory to make it. You need a degree in aerospace engineering to operate the machine. It's a good thing she came to the rescue or I might have burned down the house. I think I almost pushed the self-destruct button by accident."

The girls laughed now as Dory pushed the cup over to Emma. She cupped it and took a sip.

"Holy crap, that's perfect," she cheered. "Can we get one of these when we get back home?"

"Maybe," I sighed. "I might need the rest of the semester to figure out how to operate it though."

They laughed again before Emma looked at me then looked at Dory and figured out pretty quickly that something was going on.

"Everything all right?" she asked. "What were you two doing?"

"We were having a conversation about life and growing up and making some hard choices," I offered.

"Oh," she said. "You don't have to stop because of me. Unless it was about me. Then it would just be awkward."

"We were just finishing up," Dory said. "I've got to get ready anyway. I've got hot yoga in a half an hour."

"Hot yoga?" Emma asked.

"Yeah," she smiled. "You do yoga in a hot room. You get a great sweat going and it loosens everything up."

"I take a hot shower for that," Emma said.

"You guys can stay as long as you'd like," Dory offered. "I'll be back in a little while. We can go out for brunch, or stay here and relax then go out for lunch, or you can come with me."

I looked at Emma as she looked back at me with a look I knew well. She would have loved to have stayed here another couple of days, but she knew we would have to go back and face Ronnie at some point.

"Thank you," Emma replied. "But we have to get back to the room and let my dad know we are still alive."

"How about we meet you somewhere for dinner?" I suggested. "Any hidden gems that you know about that we could go to?"

"Yes," Dory cheered. "I know just the place. The fish house. They have seafood, steaks, and a mean coconut rum drink that goes down smooth but knocks you on your ass if you aren't careful."

"Sound good to you?" I asked Emma.

"Yeah," she smiled. "Sounds good."

"Ok," Dory cheered again and took out some paper to write something down.

Emma leaned in and whispered to me. "If, I'm not grounded for the rest of my life."

I looked at her and raised my eyebrows in agreement.

"Ok," Dory said as she handed me the paper. "That's my number, this is the place, that's the time I'm going to book it for. If anything changes, let me know."

"You got it," I smiled.

"Thank you," Emma said and took Dory into a hug. "Thank you for your hospitality, thank you for inviting us, thank you for letting us stay, thank you for being so nice to a couple of strangers."

"You aren't a stranger anymore," she laughed. "I'll see you tonight."

She grabbed her cup of coffee and headed back up to her room. Emma and I took our cups and returned back to the room we had stayed in last night. She went to the porch and sat in one of the chairs with her cup so I joined her.

"How many times has he called you?" I asked.

"None," she laughed. "Can you believe that? Not one time."

I laughed. "Maybe he forgot his phone somewhere."

"Not likely," she laughed again.

"How long are we going to stay here?"

She looked at me and smiled her cute little smile, the one that showed her teeth as she batted her eyes. "Forever, if we can."

"I'll call the hotel and have them send us our stuff."

We both took sips of our coffees as we sat there and watched the creatures as they went about their lives foraging for food and singing their happy songs. She reached over and took my hand to hold it as we sat there for the moment in silence. We knew we had to go back at some point, we just didn't want to admit it.

"Let's finish our coffee and head on back," she sighed after some time.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I've got to find Hank anyway."

She looked at me. "Jason," she whined in her little girl voice. "You are dumping me for Hank?"

"He has something you don't," I said coyly.

"Like what?" she asked in her sing song voice still.

"My money," I said in a goofy voice.

"Oh, jeez," she laughed.

"I have to put some money back into my account for the fishing trip and to pay for dinner tonight."

"You really think Dory will let you pay?"

"Probably not, but I'll try anyway."

"That's even if we go," she sighed. "I'm so going to be dead when we get back."

"Don't worry," I assured her. "I'll get us through it and take the blame."

"K," she smiled as she took another sip.

We fell silent again and just sat there watching nature and thinking for a while. Eventually our cups were empty and we knew we would have to head back and face the inevitable.

"Oh, gawd," she sighed. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," I exhaled. "I guess."

I had never dreaded something so much in my life as we headed back to the hotel. I slipped the key card into 116A and waited for the light to flash before pulling it out and opening the door. I poked my head inside before stepping in. The room was silent, the beds were made, the lights were off, and the curtains were open. I turned and looked at Emma then shrugged.

We braved a look into the adjoining room as we set some of our stuff down. We both poked our heads through the open doors and looked around. More silence met our ears as we took in a clean, reorganized room. We both looked at each other again.

"Mom?" Emma called. "Are you here?"

"Uncle Ronnie?"

We walked further into the room and peeked into the bedroom. The bed was made, the lights were off, and the curtains were pulled open. The cleaning staff must have been through already as it was clean and organized. The only thing that gave away that we were still renting the room was the luggage that was on the dresser in the corner.

"Well?" I asked. "What now?"

"Beats me," she replied. "But you sure as hell aren't leaving me here and going golfing."

"Let's go then," I said quickly. "We better get on with it then before our luck runs out and they come back."

"I'll get changed."

"Me too."

We were in and out and heading to the golf course with no clue where they were or if they knew we hadn't come back last night. I was tempted to call Ronnie but if I did that it would possibly tip him off so I let a sleeping giant rest. Then I thought about Dory and our long conversation we had this morning. If he asked, I'd tell him the truth. We stayed out all night and it was my fault.