Set sail my love

16

It's been a hot day.
Jessi and I have been washing linen all morning and we took a couple hours off to treat ourselves at the massage parlor but now, we're back to business.
"Are you absolutely sure you can't come tomorrow? Even just for an hour babe?" I sighed out of annoyance now because Jessi was refusing to let up.
"In as much as I would love to third wheel on a date with you and Keon I have other commitments that my father insists I attend to." She nodded just like she had been doing for the past six hours she's been trying to convince me.
"Mhh. I got that. Buuuuuuut I need one hour babe, before your prissy dinner thing." I began to roll my eyes when a cry of victory broke my reverie from the rugby field. Both Jessi and I looked over in curiosity but I had a hard time looking away. There stood Chase Waters, in his white wife beater and tiny pink shorts. It's been four days since I last saw him, two since I last spoke to him, and my heart was experiencing uncommon palpitations at seeing him up close today.
He looked... weary.
The general atmosphere on the field was excitement but he stood there behind everyone, aloof and disinterested.
"Yeahhhhh... I wouldn't do that if I were you. Remember last time?" At Jessi's words I managed to pull my eyes away from him.
"What do you mean?" I asked as I continued to unpeg my clothes and drop them in my laundry basket.
"That body will fool you, but inside there's a ghost without feelings Lee." She piped up from her spot on the grass where she sat cross legged. I averted my attention back to the man of the hour. There's nothing human about him right now, he looks eight inches shorter, his cheeks are hollowed in and he's standing there like someone dumped the weight of Africa on his shoulders.
We both broke each other in his living room that night so why do I want to go and hug him back together?
"Is that why you don't want to give Keon a chance?" I heard Jessi scoff and figured it was because I totally evaded answering her question.
"Keon and I are just friends. Shocking, I know. I've never gotten along with self assured, narcissistic people before." I laughed at her lightly.
"Geez girl why are you describing yourself??" She pulled at a clump of dirt and threw it at my stomach.
"Jessi!!" I screamed. She threw her head back in laughter at my frantic movements to dust it off me without smudging it into my person. "Great now I've got to wash this."
"Relax, it's barely visible." I rolled my eyes at her.
"He seemed very assured of his position in your life that night you went bat shit crazy on your ex's apartment..." I snuck a look at her from the corner of my eye and noticed Jessi squirm from her memory of that night, or was it my question.
"Friends check up on each other. You were there too."
"Jessi,"
"We're barely even friends, he's so rude and such a know it all, I don't know why he convinced himself to even come."
"Jessi..."
"And let's talk about how he's so assertive of what goes on in everybody else's lives apart from his own, god forbid he's got the spirit of Jah and is a seer or something."
"Jessi! What is going on with you?" She held my gaze for a long moment and I stopped dealing with my clothes so I could kneel in front of her and hold her face in my hands.
"We slept together when he first moved here."
"Noooo, no Jessi you cheated on Sasha?"
"No of course not. This was before him and I were official or even dating... Keon just, he slid his way into my pants after convincing me he was perfect and I was settling for trash. And then I saw what grade of trash he was in the morning, when I woke up he was gone..." I sat back on my heels and hugged my knees. My mind was spinning with wheels of realization.

*Flashback*
We walked out the front gate and onto the Sandy Beach.
We got to where the rest of the gang had set camp while they played at the shore. We plopped down under a sunken umbrella and started talking. He's been in South Africa for almost a month now, thinks all the food is tasteless and lacks zest, says the women here are really beautiful and I noticed he said that last part while looking over his shoulder at an approaching Jessi although she was surrounded by everyone else.
"You talk to Jess?" I couldn't hide my smirk.
"Yeah she umm...was really helpful when I first got here. I didn't know anyone and she took me to Lasizwe's." That's weird, she never said anything to me about him.
"I'm surprised nothing happened between you two... I mean, did it?" He looked away at the ocean for a while before he smiled wistfully at me.
"No... nothing happened." I knew he wasn't going to give me anything else on it.