Give it Away

The boys and girls placed their orders. The conversations between the three couples trickled along. The food arrived. They all seemed to enjoy themselves. But there was a pair of eyes, somewhere in a corner, fixed on them.

Robert took a bite of his sandwich. He had just finished pestering Kim about her hometown. She had enjoyed his teasing and drizzled some lime juice over her dish.

“Now that you know where I come from, I want to know where we're going after dinner. Eve mentioned a boat?”

Robert rolled his eyes, chewed some more of his food, and swallowed.

“Yeah, it belongs to Gail's mother, Waverly.”

“So, judging by the look on your face you are not thrilled to sail around the bay at 38 degrees to impress a few high school girls?”

“I would be thrilled to impress you. I'm not thrilled to babysit Gail on a boat when he's had too much to drink.”

“Don’t worry. I think Abby will manage today.”

Kim ate some of her salad. Robert smiled and then gave her a questioning look.

“Do you feel like sailing around the bay, Kimberly?”

Kimberly laughed quietly and looked down.

“No, I don’t.”

“Do you feel like spending a little more of the night with me?”

Kimberly looked up and blushed a bit. She couldn’t read his expression. But he didn’t seem to insinuate anything while chewing on more of his sandwich. Kim tilted her head and brushed a strand of hair from her face. Robert scratched his head.

“You really are beautiful and all, but don’t worry. I don’t mean it like that. Not yet at least.”

He gave her a sly smile. Kim pouted a bit.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Have you seen much of the city yet? Trinity Falls, Sambuca Beach, any islands?”

“No, only moved here in December. Too cold.”

“Too cold for you?”

“Too cold for Eve and I don’t have any friends except for her.”

“So, you're not the lone adventurer type?”

“It’s not like that. I’m just also very busy.”

“Hmm, sounds like a lot of excuses.”

“Will you just tease me, or are you going to tell me where we would be going?”

“Sorry, a cute girl pouting is just too tempting… I would like to show you a few of my favorite places up at Fortune Hill.”

“That’s one of the hills of Trinity Falls, right? How would we get there?” Kim asked blushing.

“Don’t worry, I got my driver's license a few months ago.”

“And you also got a car?”

“Yeah, my allowance is a bit above average.”

“I’ll think about it. But let’s finish dinner first.”

Robert had still half of his Sandwich ahead of him. Kimberly poked around in her salad until a hand landed on her shoulder. Eve’s hand.

“Hey, how about we step aside for a moment?”

“Sure.”

“Please excuse us for a moment.” Eve said to Blake and Robert.

Kim followed Eve and they entered the restroom to the right of the bar. They were alone. Eve hogged one of the mirrors and started to touch up her makeup, while Kim just watched her from the side.

“Did you take me with you so I could help you with your makeup?”

“No?” Eve laughed.

“I just overheard you two talking about your plans for the night. What do you think of Robert? Will you accept his invitation? You can get to know him better on the boat first and then decide what to do next.”

“Sorry, but I don't feel like drinking alcohol in a tiny space with no way to get away. I can't judge Abby and the boys when it comes to alcohol. I don't want to deal with them puking all over my shoes or something like that.”

“Abby knows her limit and the boys seem fine. But you didn’t answer my question. Will you leave with him? I haven’t seen you talking to anyone like that since you moved here. Especially not to a boy.”

“I don’t know. He seems nice. But I don’t really know if I want to end up alone in a boy’s car I barely know. My manager also wouldn’t like that.”

Eve finished her make up and faced Kim with a raised left eye brow.

“Come on, it’s not like you are some all-American pop star.”

“Whatever. I’ll leave after dinner. Maybe with him, maybe not. We’ll see. What about that Blake guy? You like him?”

“He’s cute. A bit unexperienced. But I can appreciate that.”

“Should we get back then?”

“Let’s go.”

The girls returned to their table. Blake ate some kind of soup in silence. Robert was done with his sandwich and leaned back in his chair. They seemed to ignore each other, while the third couple was hitting it off.

“Uhh, are you finally enjoying your meal?” Eve teased.

Blake choked and only managed to produce a coughing fit, which promptly elicited Eve's charming laugh.

“Already done?”

Kimberly's smile was somewhat tired.

“Yeah, the sandwich was great. You barely touched your salad. Is it too spicy?”

“Hmm, no. I always eat like that. I’ll finish the rest. The spice level isn’t that high.”

Robert watched her intensely as she continued to eat.

“Do you want to try some? It’s quite good with the lime juice and the chilis. Especially the duck skin.”

He smiled and nodded.

“How could I possibly refuse to be spoon-fed by such a pretty girl?”

Kim blushed a bit and prepared a good sample with all the ingredients on her fork and held it out to Robert. Just as he took the bite, she thought she saw a flash of lightning outside. But it must have been her imagination.

“Wow, that’s quite great. But the spice is a bit too much for me.”

“Oh, there weren’t even any peppers in that bite. You're more of the sensitive type, huh?”

“Whatever.” He chuckled.

“Will you tell me a bit more about the places you want to show me?”

“Nah, you’ll have to come and see. But I promise you at least one surprise and some dreamy vistas.”

“Dreamy? Really?”

“Yes, dreamy. That's all I'm saying. But otherwise, I could just drive you home. You live in the dorm, right?”

“Uh-huh. You too? I mean at the boy’s dorm.”

“Strensall Hall? No. I have an apartment in West Green.”

“Your own apartment at eighteen?”

“My own studio. I paint there, so the air isn't the best.”

“Ah, stale air. Quite alluring.”

“Come on, it’s not like that. But sometimes I use oil paint.”

“Don’t know what that smells like.”

“Gasoline.”

“Ugh.”

“Yeah.”

Kimberly took her last bite and sipped on the water.

“I’ll come with you. But I’m not certain yet if you should take me home or to your surprises and vistas.”

“How generous of you.”

Kim smiled sheepishly and tapped on Eve’s shoulder.

“You two are leaving already?”

“Sorry, Eve.”

“Hey, you played your part. I'll only get angry if you go home now and skip the hills.”

“We’ll see.”

Robert had meanwhile waved over the server.

“Already finished? Did you enjoy your meal? Maybe a dessert?”

“Nah, we are fine. I'll cover the bill for her and me, including the tea platter.”

“Alright, so we have the tea platter, a double shot espresso, the duck larp and the pâté sandwich.”

Robert nodded and she vanished out of sight.

“Do you think you'll make it big with painting?”

“That's sudden... I don’t know. Does it really matter?”

“Living off your own money? Yes, I think so.”

“Hmm, I would like to be completely independent. But art is like music in that regard. You don't earn a living simply because you're good or because your work has some inherent value. First, you have to be seen. Your self has to be seen. Your work... I don’t know how to do that. Sometimes I feel like I only have a last name.”

“I…”

Kim was interrupted by the server returning with the folder. Robert didn’t read the bill. He just put his card in the folder and the server vanished again.

“Maybe…”

“Take care, okay?” Eve interrupted Kim.

“When I compare our plans, you should be really careful with the boat and all.”

“You know what I mean.”

The server had quickly returned with the folder. Robert scribbled over the three empty lines of the merchant copy and they were ready to go. The farewell was brief and concise. As they left the restaurant, Kim once again had the feeling that she had seen a flash of lightning out of the corner of her eye.