The Carousel

Cinq

Ondine sat in the breakfast nook in Shey's apartment with the newspaper opened in front of her as she sipped her coffee. She was looking for a new place to live the old fashioned way, dialing promising looking ones hoping to find a suitable place to live, preferably still in the Williamsburg or Greenpoint neighborhoods in Brooklyn. She hung up on yet another apartment that just became no longer available.

"Ames, you don't have to move out, you know," Shey said to her.

"Shey, I can't sleep on your couch forever. I'm trying to find an apartment before my free month at the storage expires," Ondine laughed.

"You're crazy, Ames. You're the most frugal rich person I know!" Shey joshed.

"That's why I'm so rich...because I'm such a cheapskate," Ondine reasoned playfully.

"But your family is so freakin' rich!"

"I know, but I just wanna forge my own path, you know? Make my own money, be proud of what I can afford on my own."

"You've got a point there...such a smart girl you are, Ames."

"Well, yeah...but I'm dumb with some things."

"Like what?" Shey said excitedly as she sat across from her friend.

"Do you know what a small world it really is we live in?" Ondine asked. "Jared Ethan Miller is my future sister-in-law's little brother. How crazy is that?!"

"Whoa, no way!"

"Yeah, girl. I met him again in LA."

"That's crazy."

"He's still the same pompous ass we met."

"Who cares, from what you told me, he has every reason to be. Four times, Ames?!"

"And four more times in LA," Ondine muttered under her breath.

"What the f..." Shey covered her mouth with her hands and stood up. "Holy crap! Are you serious?"

Ondine nodded in embarrasment, biting her bottom lip. "Is it still considered a one night stand if it happened again but for only one night again?"

"I don't know, I'm not sure. I've never had a one night stand. So what happened?"

Ondine recalled how when he drove her to her parent's house, she had to change in the back seat of his car because she had left her overnight bag in there. She didn't want to meet her parents for brunch wearing the same clothes she had been wearing for 24 hours. She had to do some serious gymnastics in order for the other cars on the road not to get a free peep show and also to keep her driver from running them off the road from being so distracted; she caught him stealing glances at her through the rear view mirror and smiling wickedly from time to time. She managed to change into a floral printed collared shirt dress, dark purple tights, and gray oxford lace ups. She gathered her long hair into a messy side braid, and retouched her make up using the rear view mirror. When the coast was clear, she climbed back over the middle console and took her place by him, holding on to his shoulder for support. He instinctively grabbed her hand to assist her and drove with just one hand until she was safely in her seat.

"Thanks for dropping me off," she told him.

"No prob. I did promise I would, albeit some 10 hours later," he chuckled. "We were rather preoccupied."

"Um, Jared, about that...that shouldn't have happened again."

"Babe, you wanted it as much as I did! And this time you can't blame the alcohol," he glanced at her cheekily.