Jack woke up in a strangers bed again. This time, though, she, whatever her name was, woke up before him. As he staggered into the kitchen, his throat still dry and his eyes crusted, he found her dressed in pajamas making breakfast.
“You,” she said, “you need to leave. Now.”
“…Sure…” Jack responded, “I promise I’m normally gone by now…”
“You don’t get it, my husband will be here any minute!”
“…Wha-? What!? What do you mean ‘husband’? You didn’t mention a husband last night!”
“No shit I didn’t mention a husband! I didn’t think you would care!”
“Why didn’t you wake me up sooner!?”
“Because I’m hungry and I thought we’d have more time. Now, get out!”
Of course, Jack cared a little bit. He was a whore, but he never liked the idea of being someone’s secret. What would happen if this husband walked through the door right now? It was self preservation for Jack. Without another word he ran back to the bedroom to get dressed, but he wasn’t quick enough.
As Jack put his shoes on the front door opened. It was the husband. Both Jack and last night’s fling made eye contact. But Jack quickly relaxed, as the husband too grew a confused, but familiar relaxation. As it turns out, Jack and this man, Gary, were already well acquainted.
“Gary!” Jack shot up from his seat to greet his previous one night friend, “So good to see you again!”
“…Jack,” Gary said, “good to see you as well…you know Miranda?”
Miranda! That was her name! She glared at Jack with a shocked confusion at the implications.
“Miranda,” Jack said, “yes…yes! But I was just leaving. I think you two have alot to talk about”
Jack left without giving either of them time to respond. As he closed the front door, he could hear muffled arguing over Miranda’s promiscuity and Gary’s repressed sexuality.
As he walked through the apartment complex, hungry, thirsty, and disheveled as ever, he checked his phone. He had four missed calls from Andrew, his brother, three of them from last night and one from this morning just before he woke up. He called him back as he stepped into an elevator.
“Andrew!” Jack said the moment Andrew picked up.
“Where are you?” Andrew said.
“I think you already know”
“Dammit, Jack, she’ll be here soon!”
The elevator opened into a lobby. Jack kept walking as he talked.
“Who?” he said.
“Veronica!” Andrew responded, “My girlfriend??”
“Right, right! I’m leaving this girl’s apartment now”
“Do you even remember what we’re doing today?”
While Andrew was speaking, Jack found a full bottle of water on a table in the lobby. Someone was sitting at that table; it was clearly their bottle. Jack took the bottle and kept walking.
“Mhm,” Jack affirmed through the gulping of someone else’s water.
“In that case,” Andrew said, “I will see you at the restaurant we agreed on”
“Restaurant?” Jack said, but Andrew had already hung up.
Jack threw the now empty bottle into a trashcan as he kept walking. Out of the building and into the city, he found his car parked on the curb of the street. The meter was six hours over. When he got into the extremely messy driver’s seat, he checked his phone to see if the restaurant in question was in writing. He felt lucky when he found the name: Ollie’s Olives: Mediterranean Grill. During this, he got a text from another woman:
>Are we still on for tonight? The message said.
>Of course! Can’t wait to finally meet you😏 Jack responded.
#
Just over a year ago, a younger Jack met a woman named Blaire. They met at a dance floor, where Jack often peacocked with drunk dance moves…
“You really know how to steal a spotlight,” Blaire said to him as she joined him.
“And yet,” Jack said, “you’re taking my spotlight”
“Oh? What do you mean by that?”
“You’ve got my attention is all”
“And you’ve had mine”
Jack danced for a bit more before asking, “what’s your name?”
“Blaire,” she said, “yours?”
“Jack”
“You like this club, Jack?”
“Alot more now that I’ve met you”
“[Oh, I like you now!]” Blaire said in Italian.
“Hey, was that Italian??” Jack said.
“Shit, I said I like you!”
“I know, I’ve been learning Italian”
“Really?? I’m from Florence!”
“[I’m from here]”
“Oh my god!! [Your Italian is so good!!!]”
“[Thank you]”
They danced for a bit longer before Blaire asked, “Do you wanna get out of here?”
“With you? [I would love nothing more]”
Jack woke up in a stranger’s bed for the first time. But Blaire didn’t stay a stranger to Jack for long, in the morning they quickly learned how much they like eachother…
“Did you enjoy that as much as I did?” Blaire asked.
“Absolutely,” Jack said, “I’d even do it again with you”
“I was pretty much sober by the time we got here, and I agree. I think I want to go out with you, on a real date”
“I’d like that. Anything specific you want?”
“Surprise me, you seem to be full of those”
“[I can’t disappoint you]”
“[You sure didn’t last night]”
…And at the first date, their chemistry was unmatched…
“Interesting choice for a date,” Blaire said, “[I didn’t take you for a five star type]”
“Well,” Jack said, “[I have good taste.] I’m here with you, after all”
Blaire giggled and said, “Didn’t you say this is your first time?”
“[On a date?]” Jack said, “No. With someone I actually like? [Yes]”
“[Oh, so I’m special?]”
“[I think so]”
“[Aw, I like you! But don’t think you have to spend too much on me]”
“[Well, tonight, it’s good for both of us]”
“[And con la tua compagnia, I couldn’t chiederne una migliore]”
“[Ah…I don’t understand you]”
“Of course not! I still know more than you! I told you I couldn’t ask for better company!”
“[Believe me,] you’re worth whatever bill I get here”
#
When Jack arrived at the restaurant, he met Andrew inside. Veronica was already there.
“Hello!” Jack said as he sat down next to Andrew and extended his hand, “I’m Jack, Andrew’s brother”
“Hi, Jack,” Veronica said.
“Sorry I’m late, had some personal business to take care of”
“Oh, Andrew told me all about it”
“…Ah”
“I’m not one to judge,” she said as she sipped her wine.
“So,” Veronica continued, “Jack, what do you do?”
“Other than sleep around?” Jack responded.
“She’s asking about your job,” Andrew said, “I told her you’re a bartender”
“Yes…I don’t talk about it much, but I do bartend. I’m actually thinking about getting a new job right now”
“Yea, I get it. Bartending is lucrative, but demanding. Kinda like my job”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a lawyer”
The rest of their lunch went pleasantly. Jack and Veronica got along well enough, but after she left, before the brothers diverged for the day, Jack and Andrew spoke about her.
“What do you think of her?” Andrew asked.
“I like her,” Jack said.
“Good. I hope one day you’ll find a keeper like her”
“What, a wife?”
“We’re just dating”
“For how long?”
“Three months”
“Well, either way, that’s your life, Andrew. I’m just having some fun. In my ho era”
“Ho era, right. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. You’ve been doing it for a while now, I will say. You sure you haven’t found anyone?”
“Nah. I don’t need anyone right now”
“Alright. You got anyone tonight?”
“As a matter of fact, I do”
“What’s her name?”
“Uhh…”
“Right”
#
Jack woke up in a stranger’s bed again. As usual, he woke up before her, whatever her name was, but as he was getting dressed he heard the murmurs of her awakening. He wasn’t yet fully dressed when she sat up to greet him.
“Hey,” she said, “that was alot of fun”
“Sure was,” Jack said, “I’ll have to get going, though”
“So soon? We just woke up”
“Yea…I know, but you know I have alot of responsibilities to get back to”
“Will I see you again?”
Jack froze at the sound of this.
“Yea…” he said as he picked up the pace on his dressing.
“Yea?” she persisted.
“I can talk to you later, but I have to go now,” as Jack was just dressed enough to avoid a public indecency charge, he remained disheveled and ill-prepared for a proper interaction with the world. Regardless, he sped out of the house as soon as he could.
When Jack arrived to his apartment, he saw that he had a text from her:
>Hey! Again, I had a great time last night and would love to spend more time with you. Do you want to plan a second date? I know of this one place downtown…
Jack blocked her before he even finished reading the message.
#
Jack and Blaire constantly visited eachother. Often, Jack made the food and Blaire brought the drinks. They had been dating for merely three weeks when they regularly ended their nights together with a coveted, fantastical lovemaking that put them both in ecstatic tranquilities.
By then, three weeks into the relationship, Blaire was no longer just someone Jack was seeing. Every minute and trivial detail of her was something to behold for him. Her voice was soothing and comforting to listen to. Her mannerisms were eccentric and made her captivating to interact with. Her eyes were a deep emerald green that Jack always found himself lost in. And her brightening smile, Jack loved the most. When she arrived, her mere presence stunned Jack into a dropped guard.
“[My love,]” she said while embracing him, “I’ve missed you”
“And I’ve missed you,” Jack said while kissing her, “Are you hungry?”
“[Yea, for dessert]”
Jack woke up with Blaire in his bed again. He developed a habit of waking up before her just so she can wake up to a freshly made breakfast.
“[Are you ready for today?]” Jack said.
“[Cosa hai in programma for me?]” she said.
“Ah…”
“What do you have planned for me?”
“A trip to the zoo!”
“[Really?! I haven’t been to this zoo yet!]”
“[I think you love it, it has—]”
“[You will! You will love it!] How have you not learned future tense yet??”
“You try learning a new language as an adult!”
“[I have!] But either way,” Blaire said while kissing him, “[I’m happy to have met someone to speak Italian to, Amore mio]”
“[Amore mio? I understand that one]”
“[Amore mio], that’s you, my love”
#
By the end of the year, Andrew and Veronica bought a house together. It was a small townhouse in one of the city’s wealthier neighborhoods. One of those with a small backyard Veronica always talked about having a garden in. Jack was helping them move in.
As Jack and Andrew walked outside to lift a heavy box together, they had a brief moment where they were alone.
“I’m surprised you’re moving in with her so quickly,” Jack said.
“She’s special,” Andrew said, “I couldn’t imagine my life without Veronica, really. I know you felt that before, Jack, so you might think I’m naive, but you’ll find someone”
“I get tired of hearing that, I talk to plenty of women, and sometimes men too!”
“Yea, but, someone to last?”
“Last?”
“Who will you die with, Jack? It shouldn’t be me, I’m older than you”
“Who says I want to die with someone?”
“You’d rather die alone?”
Jack felt almost offended by the assertion.
“What is this really about?” he asked after a pause.
Andrew let out a heavy sigh, “I don’t think you’ve completely healed from Blaire”
“That’s what this is about?! Andrew, come on, man, it’s been damn near a year now since I’ve spoken to her!”
“Exactly! You haven’t been the same since her! I knew the breakup would be hard on you, but, Jack, are you happy with your roster?”
“Of course I am! You never had one, you have no idea how fun it is”
“Fun, sure, but don’t you get tired of having to learn someone new all the time? What do you do if they catch feelings?”
“That’s the best part: they don’t!”
“…I just don’t think this is the best way to cope with Blaire”
“What else am I supposed to do?”
“Work on yourself”
“Christ, could you be any more vague?”
“I mean you need to find something else, get a hobby!”
“I have hobbies!”
Veronica interrupted them.
“What the hell are you doing?” she said, “Bring some more shit inside!”
Andrew grabbed another box and began walking inside, “find purpose to live within yourself, Jack,” he said, “not from others”
Andrew walked inside, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts.
#
Jack hosted a new guest in his apartment: Amanda. They met at a club where Jack peacocked as he always did, but the conversation went a bit differently.
“Hey!” she said, “I like your style, can I join you?”
“My style?” Jack said, “sure, I like yours too”
“I see what you’re doing, and it’s working”
“What’s working?”
“You’re peacocking, dude! And I’m here for it!”
“Peacocking?? Me?? Never!”
“Don’t deny it, I love a man who isn’t afraid to show off the way you do”
“And I love a woman who shows me it works, the way you do!”
“Oh! [Amore mio!] You come here often?”
“Was that Italian?? [I speak Italian!!]”
“[You too?? I’ve been learning for a while, how much do you know?]”
“[Not much]”
“[Me too!!]”
“[How about you?]” Jack continued, “[Are you here often?]”
“I might just start doing that with you around,” Amanda said.
“This place is new to me, but I’ll come here more if you do”
“You sound like you wanna go out with me”
“I’m already out with you! Let’s get through tonight, first!”
And in Jack’s apartment, Amanda was more welcome than most others on his roster…
“[So, what now?]” Amanda asked, “[Do you have any food?]
“I can cook,” Jack said, “what do you want?”
“I think I said food, but I don’t want anything you cook”
“Oh?”
“You’ve got something else for me to eat!”
Jack woke up with this stranger in his bed, and since he woke up before her, he couldn’t be more excited to make breakfast for her. He had ideas that maybe this stranger wouldn’t remain a stranger for long. He fantasized about a potential future with her, where he comes home to her and spends his days with her. She might have been someone to die with, just as Andrew said.
Amanda woke up when the eggs were done. Overwhelming glee and excitement possessed Jack as he served her breakfast.
“You always do this much for the people you hookup with?” Amanda asked.
“Only the ones I really like,” Jack said, “The ones I’d do it with again”
“Oh? Well…maybe…I’d have to think about it…”
After breakfast, they both got dressed for the day. Both of them were actually ready to go out into the world. Jack was well groomed and well dressed, not the disheveled mess he was often used to. As Amanda was heading out, Jack wanted to get a last word in.
“Hey,” he said, “before you go, I just wanted you to know that I had a really good time with you. I would like this again”
“Oh,” Amanda said, “I did too, I’ll have to get back to you on that”
“Sure thing, Blaire, just let me know”
Amanda’s face shifted from pleasantly satisfied to slightly disturbed.
“—I mean,” he continued, “Amanda! Sorry!”
Amanda’s silence at this was eerily long; her face held even more offense than the first mistake.
“Jack,” she said, “my name is Jennifer”
She left without another word and without Jack being able to move a muscle. How could he have made such a mistake? Of course it was Jennifer! Jack had a date with someone named Amanda later that week, but he wondered if he even wanted to do it at that point.
#
Jack and Blaire had dated for four months when they decided to meet their families. Jack had gotten used to the multilingual flirting, but if anything, it had died down as he and Blaire got more and more used to eachother’s company. The spark was, by no means, dead, but they were much more serious about their intentions with eachother.
As he was getting ready to go to her parents’ house, Jack got a text from Blaire.
>Jack, can we talk?
>Yea, what’s up?
>Don’t come over, I have to cancel today’s plans.
>Oh? What happened Amore mio??
>Yea, that
I’ve been thinking alot about our relationship. I have had such a great time with you, but I don’t think this should continue. I just don’t feel like I can commit to anything right now. You are really fun to be around, but I don’t feel the way I did when we first met anymore. I just don’t feel the same connection I did back then. This isn’t your fault, I’m just not ready to commit right now and I don’t think I’m good for you for it.
>You’re breaking up with me? [After everything we did together?]
>It’s better if you speak English, your Italian was always a bit off. And yes, you were alot of fun but again I just can’t commit to anything serious.
>I see. I may have misread your intentions and I’m sorry for that.
>No, you didn’t misread anything, I misread myself. I wish you the best in your life, Jack.
There was no response after this.
#
“I’m here for Jack,” Andrew said to the bartender, “is he in here?”
The bartender pointed towards Jack on the other side of the bar. He was slouched over in a booth in the corner completely alone in this crowded bar. Here, Jack moped and wallowed in a sea of pity.
Andrew approached and got Jack’s attention.
“Jack,” he said, with no response at first, “Jack!”
“Mmh?” Jack lifted his head and groaned a curious sight at his brother.
“Oh,” Jack said, “Andrew! I thought you quit drinking…”
“You called me,” Andrew said, barely understanding the slurred speech Jack stumbled out.
“I…I did?”
“What the hell are you doing? You look miserable!”
“I’m sad, Andy…”
“No, shit, Jack, what are you doing here?”
“What do you think!? I’m here to pick up fine shit for tonight!”
“Hey!” Jack announced loudly, “Who want me!? Get over here and—”
“Holy shit, Jack!” Andrew said as he covered Jack’s mouth, “I’m bringing you home immediately!”
“What? NO! NO, I’m not done…I just spotted me a fine specimen, Anjy…”
“How much have you had to drink?”
“Svenenbean”
“Jesus fucking Christ”
Andrew tried to escort Jack out, only for him to ragdoll himself refusing to go.
“NO!” Jack said, “I CAN’T GO! YOU CAN’T MAKE ME! I’M MY OWN MAN!”
Andrew had to get the bouncer to help him. Finally, Jack was out of the bar and shoved into the back of Andrew’s car.
At Andrew’s house, he was finally able to confront Jack as he began to sober up.
“What the hell was that?” Andrew asked, “I get a call from you asking to pick you up, I drop what I’m doing, come get you, find you wallowing in the corner perving on everything that goddamn moves in that bar!”
“You know,” he continued, “I had plans tonight, and you’re lucky I didn’t have to cancel!”
“You’re mad at me?” Jack said, still tipsy with tears building up.
“Yes! You never do this! I have much to say about your lifestyle, Jack, but I can usually rest assured you’re responsible about it! This is not like you!”
“It’s that bitch, Blaire!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Jack, of course it is! You’re still thinking about her? Always her! What did I tell you about moving on?!”
“She was everything to me, Andrew!”
“You dated for four months!”
“I don’t care! She was my first, my only, and it felt real! Everything I do, I do in hopes of finding her again! What she gave me! But she left me! Everything was perfect and she left me!”
“I just want her back,” Jack continued, “I just want that intimacy again!”
“Jack,” Andrew said, “I get it. You found someone and she just completely stomped on you. But you gotta move on from her. This is why you sleep around? Because you think you can recreate that?”
“I just need someone else. Someone to replace her.”
“No, you don’t. You need to be single. It’s been a damn year but you never fully recovered from Blaire, and it’s holding you back!”
Suddenly, Veronica arrived.
“Jack!” she said, “You doing ok?”
“No,” Andrew said, “he isn’t.”
“Oh…is this about Blaire?”
“Who else would it be?”
“I told you he wasn’t over her!”
“Listen, Jack, you need to be single for a while. Get a therapist, and talk to us. We’re both here for you”
Andrew put on his coat as he was about to leave.
“Where are you going?” Jack asked.
“My plans for tonight,” Andrew said, “it’s dinner with her.”
Veronica and Andrew looked at eachother and kissed. By this point, he had proposed to her and they lived together as fiances for a few weeks. They gave eachother a short, but loving kiss with a smile. Not one Jack had experienced in a while.
“Stay here for a bit,” Andrew said, “spend the night even. You need to sober up.”
They left him with much to think on, not much to do. Jack spent that night in reflection on his love life up to that point.
A few hours went by, Jack made himself a sandwich and drank plenty of water. Suddenly, he got a text from Miranda. After all this time, maybe he just forgot to remove her.
>Heyyy, how you been? Miranda said
>Ok, I guess, Jack said.
>That’s good…can I ask you something though?
>What’s up?
>So…we hooked up not long ago, and I learned you and Gary already had an affair before me. I’ll admit, I was pretty hurt by this at first, but Gary and I have reconciled and learned we would be happier as a polyamorous couple. We’ve never done it before…but we both did it with you already! So we figured…do you want to be our third?
A third was an intriguing option to Jack. Of all things, he’d never had sex with multiple people at once. But maybe in another time he would have done this.
>No thanks, good luck to you, though, Jack responded.
#
Jack attended Andrew’s wedding, where he didn’t bother making any new friends. After Andrew and Veronica kissed, Veronica threw her bouquet in the air. Jack was in the prime position to catch it. Any bystander would assume, in the half-second as it fell, that it would be Jack to catch it, as if Veronica aimed for him, and he would give it to the bridesmaid he liked the most.
But Jack made no attempt to catch the bouquet as it landed at his feet. It remained there, as he didn’t even attempt to pick it up. At this wedding, nobody got the bouquet. Jack wouldn’t meet his future wife today, nor would he for quite some time after this. As it turned out after the ceremony, Veronica did aim for Jack.
“You didn’t catch the bouquet!” She said.
“No,” Jack said, “I did not.”
“You know she aimed it at you!” Andrew said, “We’re trying to help you!”
“I figured,” Jack said, “but you already did.”
For the first time in a while, Jack was content with his solitude. He picked up some other hobbies to distract him and maybe meet someone organically when the time was right. Jack woke up in his own bed, alone, and for this he was happy.
