Cali Shore

Surreptitiously, I glance over at Bobbi Jo in the kitchen, just around Jimmy’s shoulder. I grin to myself, causing Jimmy to pause mid-sentence, “What?” he asks curiously.

I grin cheekily at him, “Oh nothing. Beej is just making her patented WTF.”

Jimmy raises an eyebrow, “What the fuck, is WTF?”

I giggle and he grins back, “It’s this magnificent mixed drink that Beej has been making for as long as I’ve known her. We always have the ingredients around. It’s strong as hell, but you can’t taste the alcohol at all. Which means that one minute you’re sober as hell and the next you’re basically shitfaced. Hence the name.”

He glances down at me with such mischievous glee that I’m almost afraid to ask what he’s thinking. Just as I’m about to brave the question, he’s got his hand wrapped around my wrist and is striding off to the kitchen table. He stops just short of the stools lined up against the counter, and pulls me up next to him.

Beej glances up with an a half smile on her face, “Can I help you?”

“Why yes bartender,” Jimmy places a hand on his hip, affecting a fake fancy accent, “The lady and I will take two of your patented What the Fuck drinks, and I will also have two shots of your finest Jack Daniel’s liquor to wash that down.”

She raises an eyebrow and glances at me, “Did you warn him?”

I smirk, “I tried, and pour two of those shots for me as well.”

A low whistle from my right brings my attention to Johnny, who’s looking at me with wonder in his eyes, “Are you seriously going to match Jimmy drink for drink?”

I grin, “Looks like it.”

He shakes his head in amazement and watches as Jimmy and I tap our plastic cups of drink together, and then chug simultaneously. Our eyes meet over the cups and I can’t tell if it’s the alcohol or the intensity of our gaze that’s causing the warmth that’s spreading from just above my heart. He slams his cup down for a refill just a few seconds before mine, and we grin at each other, elated, before downing the first of our two shots. I grimace slightly, then grab my next cup of WTF to drown out the taste of the shot. This time, my cup is down before Jimmy’s and I’ve swallowed my shot before he’s even got his shot glass in hand.

I raise my hands above my head and climb up onto a living room coffee table and yell “CHAMPION OF DRINKS!”

One of the guys from before glances over at me from where he’s leaning against the front door waiting for everyone to come down, and laughs, “What makes you think you’re ‘champion of drinks’, love?”

I step down from my lofty perch and saunter on up to him, relishing the fact that I’m a good two inches taller than him in my heels, “Well … uhm, Zack, right?” He nods and I grin even wider in triumph, “I matched your buddy Jimmy drink for drink in the kitchen.”

He laughs, “You matched him for one round. Let’s see you keep it up. He’s probably doubled the amount you two just drank in the time you’ve been out here.”

I stick out a pouty face, and he laughs, “You and your friend make me just a little bit happy I came on this damn show.”

He shoots a glare at one of the camera men, who have been circling us like vultures from the second we left for the house. I glance at the camera men as well, and lean against the wall across from Zack, “So you didn’t want to come?”

He glances back at me, “Not particularly. I like my privacy, to be honest, but the rest of the guys really liked the idea, so … here we are.”

I grin, “You’ll cheer up my man. No worries.”

He rolls his eyes and sucks in on one of his lip rings, “Let’s hope so.”

I raise an eyebrow, “Okay, now that is not the attitude that is appropriate for a night out on the town!”

He gives me a mistrusting look, “What are you implying?”

I simply smile, grab his hand in mine, and pull him back into the kitchen where Beej has been steadily handing out drinks, “Four shots of Jack, love!” I shout.

She rolls her eyes, recognizing the tipsy state I’m in, but pours the shots nonetheless. I grab two and hand one to Jack, “On three, yeah?” He nods with a shit-eating grin across his face.

“One … two …,” I start, “THREE!” Jimmy finishes, stumbling in from the bathroom and swinging an arm around Johnny, slumping his huge frame across the much shorter man’s body. I smile at him seductively, then down the shot, slamming it onto the counter and grabbing a second, finishing that one in short order.

Jimmy whistles softly, “Johnny my man, I think I may have found the girl of my dreams.”

Johnny rolls his eyes, “Oh really Reverend?”

He grins and straightens himself up, “Yes indeed. You know I’ve always had a weakness for girls in sparkles. Makes me think of stars. I like stars.”

Zacky snorts, “Too bad she’s going to be dancing with me all night, bud.”

Jimmy raises an eyebrow and leans on the counter, “Really. And what gave you that impression?”

Zacky opens his mouth to answer, but before he can get a word out I raise my hands in surrender, “Okay seriously boys, I’m a grown lady. I’ll dance with both of you, or neither of you. Whichever I choose.”

Jimmy grins and turns over to Johnny, “See – told you. Dream girl.”

I roll my eyes and grab another WTF and a water bottle from Beej’s stash, then head out into the living room to wait for the cabs. I hear Beej closing up shop in the kitchen and soon enough, she’s next to me, propping her heeled feet up on the living room table, looking at me with a shit-eating grin on her face.

I roll my eyes and down a gulp of water, “What? I know you’re not going to be satisfied until you say it.”

She looks at me innocently, “Who me?”

I glance up at Brian, walking into the room, who shares a knowing grin with Bobbi Jo. I roll my eyes, “Okay conspirators. What the hell are you two cooking?”

She grins at me, “Okay. Me and Brian here were talking and we think - ”

“Cab’s are here! Let’s go let’s go!” Matt’s voice echoes through the house and

I grin and shrug at Beej, “Sorry, love – you’ll have to explain in the cab.”

She laughs, “As if. I’ll just tell you tonight.”

I laugh and open my mouth to respond, but before I can get a word out, Jimmy’s pulled me up off the sofa and grins at Beej, “Tell her tonight? Please. The only way you two will be talking tonight is if you’re both in my bed.”

Beej rolls her eyes, “As if, loverboy. Men have been trying to get us in bed together for ages. We save our girly-kisses for when we’re alone”

Jimmy’s eyes get wide and he looks down at me, “So … if I were to hide in your closet … eventually I’d see … girly kisses?”

Beej rolls her eyes and slips an arm through mine, effectively pulling me out of Jimmy’s grasp, “Back off Slim Jim. She’s all mine.”

I send him a wink, “Besides – we catch you in our room after 5pm and we’ll chop your balls off - inch by inch.”

I catch a glimpse of Jimmy’s mischievous face as Beej drags me out the door. The guys all file into one cab and the girls in the other. It’s a fifteen minute drive to the club.

“So,” Hazel turns around in her seat to grin at Beej and me, “You two seem to have a bit of a connection with the guys, hm?”

I raise an eyebrow, “I’m sure we don’t know what you could mean.”

Korynn turns around too, “Oh please. You and Jimmy were basically eye-fucking the entire day. I’ve got $20 bucks that says you two are the first to hook-up.”

Beej snorts, “Can I join that betting pool?”

Hazel grins at her, “I’ve got $50 on you and Brian being the two that leave here a couple.”

I elbow her in the ribs, “Still want in on that?”

She rolls her eyes, “Whatever.”

Mel takes a sip of the drink she brought with her and smiles back at us from her seat, “You’re both kind of stupid, if you ask me.”

The alcohol I’ve already drunk and my naturally hostile nature get the better of me and I glare at her, “Actually, no one asked you. So shut the fuck up.”

She grins and holds up her free hand in a mock surrender gesture, “Wait no! I didn’t mean it like that. I know it sounds awful, but really – think about it. You’re on an MTV show, in the middle of the summer, in Huntington Beach. Oh, and they’re a band. You’ve got no chance of having legitimate relationships with them, so give up your ‘claims’ and have fun! Fuck them all!”

Beej stiffens next to me and I place a calming hand on her thigh. She glances at me and nods. Korynn looks back at Mel, “Well, fine. Who would you fuck?”

Mel takes a moment to think theatrically and then looks me directly in the eye, “Jimmy. He looks like he’d be the best in bed.”

I raise an eyebrow, “I think I beat you there sweetie.”

She laughs, “All’s fair in love and war.”

I open my mouth to respond when the cab suddenly stops, pulled up out front of Avec, and we’re all piling out of the vehicles. I step down onto the pavement and stumble slightly, grabbing onto Korynn in front of me, “Sorry girl,” I murmur into her ear.

She laughs, “Whoa there Allie – you alright?”

I grin, “I’m perfect,” then frown slightly, “actually. I could probably go for another drink. You?”

Then suddenly, Jimmy and Zack’s booming laughter is on either side of me and I’m being swept into the club, people pressing all around me, lights down low and flashing in my face, and the beat of the music infecting my body.

Jimmy steers our group directly to the bar where he pushes me back against a chair and leans on the countertop. I raise an eyebrow at Beej who somehow ended up on the other end of the counter with Korynn and Hazel, then look around for Mel. She’s currently flirting with Johnny. I roll my eyes, and glance back at Beej – catching the look on Hazel’s face when she see’s where Mel’s gone. As Jimmy orders me a drink, I pull out my phone and text Beej:

Tell Hazel to get
her fine ass over there &
TAKE J away from that
slut … or I’ll do it my
way ;)

As I sip the drink Jimmy got me, I watch Beej open her phone, snicker, and nudge Hazel and Kor, showing them my text. Hazel grins, holds her shot in a toast to me, downs it, and pushes her way over to Johnny. I giggle slightly and take another sip.

“Allison.”

I look up at Jimmy, “Hm?”

He rolls his eyes, “You haven’t been paying me any attention have you?”

I grin mischievously at him, “Well, no. You know what – I haven’t. And isn’t that just so awful of me? Whatever can I do to make it up to you?”

He raises and eyebrow and I raise one of mine in reply. He growls deep in his throat, so low that I can barely hear it, and grabs my hand, “C’mon woman. You’re dancing with me.”

I throw my head back and laugh, letting everything go, all the worries that have been eating me up, all the past boyfriends that fucked me over – I was just going to let whatever happened, happened, and, yeah, maybe that was the alcohol talking, but so be it. Tonight is going to be my night, and God help any man that fell into my path.

---

Several songs later and Jimmy and I are lost in a haze of beats and sweat and alcohol. Vaguely I can see Beej hovering to the side, dancing with Brian, but clearly watching me to make sure I don’t do anything stupid. Suddenly, horribly, and irrationally – I want to do something stupid, something that would make the cameramen swarming around us nearly come in glee. I turn my head to tell Beej to fuck off, but then Jimmy’s face is there, and, well, it’s already there so I kiss it. Except I miss his mouth and kiss his jaw instead.

He chuckles, and it irritates me because he still seems sober and I’m so far gone, but then his mouth his on mine and he tastes so damn good and feels so damn right that I’m fisting a hand in his hair and pressing myself against him before I can even think that maybe I’m too drunk to be kissing a roommate like that.
He moves his lips away from mine and I gasp slightly when they move to my neck. I want to pretend like he’s got no affect on me, I know I should maintain my “I’m in charge” demeanor, but when his lips move against my skin there’s goosebumps and is it’s like a frozen fire and I just want to feel his skin everywhere but I can’t make the first move. Then his lips are at my ear and the tip of his tongue traces the shell of it, before he whispers in a voice that drips of sin and promise, “Let’s ditch your babysitter and go back to the house for some free drinks, yeah?”

I nod, and he steps back, taking my hand in his as he pulls me sideways through the crowd. We take two steps away, when he stops suddenly. I look up at him in confusion and see him looking at someone, I glance back as he starts to lead me to the exit of the club and catch Brian just looking away from us and leading Bobbi Jo in the opposite direction.

As we exit the club, the cold air catches me by surprise and sobers me up enough to figure out what that little exchange was all about. I punch him lightly on the arm, “You just told Brian to keep me and Beej apart so you could get laid!”

He flags a cab, then grins down at me before swiftly covering my mouth in a dirty, open-mouthed kiss that should really be illegal. He pulls away and grins at my heavy-lidded eyes, “Yeah. I did. You’ll thank me later. Now let’s get to bed.”

As the cab pulls away from the club, I can’t help but wonder what the hell I’m doing. I barely know this guy who’s hand his lying higher up on my thigh than it should be, and yet I’m definitely about to sleep with him. There’s just something about his easy confidence. The way he doesn’t try and bullshit me – doesn’t spend all night acting like I’m some sort of princess. He treats me like his equal, a girl who can match him drink for drink and move for move. There’s something intoxicating about the way he gives himself over to the physical nature of things. He lets his personality and his instincts take over and I’m powerless before them.

The cab pulls up at the house, and he leans in to pay as I walk up to the empty house. I open the door and step into the hall, slipping off my heels as I go. Barefoot, heels in hand, I wander into the kitchen and pull out two beers from the fridge. I straighten up just as Jimmy enters into the room. He stops short and I grin, “What? You promised me free alcohol. You never specified what I had to drink. I want beer.”

He shakes his head slowly and comes around the kitchen counter to my side. I watch transfixed as he takes my heels and sets them on the counter, then takes the beers and opens them, takes a sip of one, then hands me the other. I take a liberal sip of mine then lean back against the fridge, looking at him.

He smirks, “You shouldn’t look at a man like that.”

I tilt my head to the side, “Why not?”

He sets his beer down and closes the distance between us, taking my hips in his hands, “Because it drives us insane.”

I tilt my face away from his lips, so they come down on my shoulder instead of my own, and take another sip of my beer, “Do you really mean all men? Or just you.”

He pauses and becomes so still I can hear our heartbeats racing, pounding faster and faster, impossibly fast.

“Just me.”

His reply is barely a whisper, and it affects me more than his growls, his kisses, and the feel of his skin. My heart pumps even faster and goosebumps rise across my skin. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, he reaches a hand over and pulls the beer out of my grasp, setting it on the counter next to his. Then his hands are cupping my face and his lips are on mine, teasing them, licking them, nibbling them, until I open my mouth just enough to let his tongue slide in. Suddenly he lifts me off the ground, wrapping my legs around his waist. I gasp and grip his shoulders, then laugh and kiss him softly. He gently rests my back against the fridge as I rest my forehead against his.

“You okay?” he asks softly.

I grin and kiss him, slowly and languidly, filling it with all the need and want I feel, then pull back to look at him, “I will be okay, just as soon as you carry me up those stairs to my room and fuck me senseless.”

He laughs raucously, “You are unbelievable,” before turning to head up the stairs.

-----

Its several hours later when I’m rudely awakened by a cool breeze gliding across my bare thigh. Shivering slightly, I feel behind me for my blanket, but my hand hits a bare chest instead. I sit up straight and look down to see a very naked Jimmy lying next to a very naked me. I barely have time to wonder what happened when it comes back to me like a freight train. I sigh and hug a knee to my chest.

I watch his chest rise and fall, blissfully unaware of me at the moment, and can’t help but think that at least he wasn’t ugly. He too skinny, and too tall, that’s for sure, but there’s an easy grace to him, even in sleep, that I can’t help find attractive. I glance to the side and see Beej’s empty bed. I wince, knowing I’m going to get the bitch out from hell for sexiling her in the first night.

Suddenly, I can’t be in this room and I slide out of the bed. I pad across the floor to the drawers and pull out a tank top, a pair of underwear, and some boxers. Pulling them on, and grabbing my favorite flannel to wear overtop, I slip out of the room and head down the hall to the kitchen. I’m starting to feel the beginnings of a hangover, so as soon as I get into the kitchen I grab a Miller Lite from the fridge and pop it open. I take a sip and glance at the stove clock – 3:57.

I sigh, and take another sip of the beer. It’s going to be a long morning. I can never sleep with one-night stands in my bed. I always wake myself up a few hours after sex, and then wander the house drinking my morning away until they leave and Bobbi Jo’s done being disappointed in me. It’s not that she hates me because I sleep around – she simply doesn’t approve. She thinks I could get a nice guy if I try, and doesn’t listen when I try to explain that I would eat a nice guy alive.

I glance over at the camera guy that followed me downstairs and raise my beer to him, “Here’s to giving you some good material, huh?”

He smiles, but doesn’t say anything. I feel awkward, so I point at the fridge, “Do you, like, want a beer or something? I dunno. I feel weird since you basically just filmed me naked.”

He smiles slightly, “Don’t worry hon. Its pretty commonplace. We edit out the nudity, and we didn’t film you guys having sex. This is a TV show, not a porn movie.”

I giggle, “I didn’t think you guys talked.”

He smiles again, “We’re not supposed to, but it’s been known to happen.”

I grin at him then take another sip of my beer, turning to look out the back doors at the ocean. I pad my way across the kitchen and head out onto the back deck. It’s warm outside, with a cool ocean breeze that plays with my hair and cools my neck. I pull myself up on one of the flat railings and lean back against the side of the house, watching the ebb and flow of the waves.

A few minutes after I’ve finished my beer and have just started contemplating getting another, someone slides the glass door open and steps out onto the deck. Jimmy looks at me and heads over to lean on the rail just in front of me. He’s silent for a beat, watching the ocean, before he turns to look at me.

“I woke up and you were gone.”

I nod, “I usually can’t sleep after.”

He nods, “Me neither.”

He looks at my empty beer bottle, “Been up long?”

I shrug, “A bit.”

He nods again and we lapse into silence. I can’t figure out why he’s out here with me, when he could have simply slept through into morning. I bite my lip slightly, then say, quietly, “You know, you’re not obligated to stay up with my. You can just go back to bed. I know it’s early – you’re head must be …”

He shakes his head, “I can’t sleep after. I was just going to make some food before the nausea set in. Sometimes if I head it off, I can beat it completely. You want some?”

I nod, completely thrown off and follow him into the kitchen. Sure enough, he’s got all the ingredients set up on the counter. He flips one of the switches and a dull light turns on, just above the stove. He smiles and hands me another beer, “Mood lighting. It’s too early to have bright lights on.”

I nod as he turns and takes a sip of his beer, “They belong in the day. It’s still night.”

The light sizzle of the stove as he pours the batter on has my mouth watering, “That’s exactly what I say,” he says as he cooks, “Well, think, I suppose. I’ve never had anyone to say it to.”

I take a sip of my beer, “Me neither.”

We lapse into silence, habit having us holding our tongues. I’m so used to it just being me and my thoughts and my guilt that having someone with me, let alone the cause of that guilt, throws me off. Especially if he’s making me French toast. In his boxers.

A few moments later and he’s placing a plate of two slices of French toast in front of me. I grin at him and he grins back, handing me butter, syrup, and powdered sugar. I grin even wider, “That’s exactly what I put on mine!”

He laughs as he settles into a seat across from me, “Good. It’s the only way to eat these motherfuckers.”

I load them up and take a bite, closing my eyes in bliss, “Ohhh my God – they’re amazing Jimmy. So fucking good.”

He grins, “Worked up an appetite, did you?”

I open my eyes and raise an eyebrow, “Confidant, are we?”

He raises an eyebrow back, “Yeah. I am. I know what I want, and I get what I want.”

I set my fork down and look him straight in the eye, “And want do you want Sullivan?”

Something changes in his eyes. The atmosphere of the room changes from light and teasing, to tense and loaded. There’s something moving between us and it’s stretched taught, ready to snap and hit one of us in the face. He swallows and sets his fork down, “What do you want?”

Suddenly it’s all too much, too soon, too fast. He’s too much, too soon, too fast. He’s filled with too many possibilities, asking too many questions in one, and his gaze is just too intense. I close my eyes and suddenly Mel’s voice is in my ears ‘Think about it. You’re on an MTV show, in the middle of the summer, in Huntington Beach. Oh, and they’re a band. You’ve got no chance of having legitimate relationships with them, so give up your ‘claims’ and have fun! Fuck them all!’

“Allison?”

His voice is confidant. He’s so sure of himself, sure that he knows my answer, sure that he’s got a steady lay for the duration of the show. He sure that he’s got himself an easy little slut in his back pocket that will always come running when he calls ‘cause she fucked him the first night.

I’m not that easy.

I open my eyes and take a sip of my warming beer. It tastes flat and stale in my mouth. I swallow then look at him. The intensity in them dies as he looks at me and I know he can tell that something’s backfired. I shrug, deliberately nonchalant, and say, “Nothing really. I mean, we both already got what we wanted, right?”

He blinks, “Yeah. I guess. But …”

I laugh, “Jimmy – really. This isn’t going to become anything, right? So don’t worry. I’m not one of those dumb girls who doesn’t understand that it’s not for real. I know that life’s not a fairy tale and what we had was just sex. You don’t have to have the morning after talk with me. We had sex and you made me breakfast. I’m just another girl to you. It’s fine.”

I smile and hop off my stool, taking my plate to the sink. I step up next to him and grab my heels from the counter where I left them last night. I lean in and kiss him lightly on the cheek, “Thanks for the breakfast,” I murmur softly, “It was nice to not be alone for a little while.”

It’s only after I’ve grabbed another beer from the fridge and are stepping out onto the porch to escape down the beach for a few more hours that he replies. It’s soft, so soft I very nearly missed it, and afterwards I wish I had. I close the door and walk off the porch, stepping onto the sand, wishing with every step that his voice would stop reverberating in my skull. I settle into the sand behind a dune, the house completely hidden behind it, and try to drown it in the sound of the sea.

But, over the pounding of the waves, over the birds calling in the air, over all of my own thoughts - all I hear is “But … you’re my dream girl.”