Zoned: Waking Up

"So this 'house' of yours....when are you going to tell the others about it?" I said to Dylan as I got onto the highway.

"Later today. I don't even know why I'm wanting the girls to move in. They won't help any. They don't have jobs, so how are they going to help pay for the house? I'm not even sure how they're paying for college." He said. I glanced at him and then back at the road.

"Are you serious?" I asked confused. They were obviously strippers, I thought.

"Yeah? Maybe they're hookers." He chuckled.

"Nah, they don't seem like those kind of girls..." He clearly had no idea that they were strippers. I only knew because I've worked with strippers for years, and I've been to Neverland before. I worked there for a few months. It was only during my last week there did the girls start working as dancers. I never formally met them, but I gave one of them water once. I thought they looked familiar. I was actually surprised that I could even remember where I've seen them before, considering I haven't worked there since 2010.

"Yeah, well....one girl clearly doesn't care." He sounded hurt.

"Why do you say that?"

"Eh, it's not important. The point is that they'll just take up space we could use for recording equipment or something useful."

There was an awkward silence emitting from me. "Where are we going? The address you gave me...it's not to a house, is it?"

"Nope. It's where our tour bus is parked. We all sold our places so we could get the one big house. Jorel and George already lived together, and Jordon lived with his mom since he couldn't afford his apartment. Matt, Danny, and I all shared a tiny ass apartment, too. So there were only like 2 places we needed to sell or just get rid of."

"How long have you guys been living in the bus? Do the girls have houses?"

"Yeah, they share an apartment. It's really shitty. Like our bus is nicer than their place. I guess the new house would help them, too. We've been staying in the bus for a week, now. Jorel said he got a call this morning about the house getting ready and that he texted everyone but no one responded except me."

"Well you can't just kick the girls out. They're already expecting to move in. Why are you wanting to change your mind, anyway?"

"In all honesty, it's because this girl I've liked for about 6 years, now had sex with one of my best friends. I thought we were kind of 'reserved' for each other. I don't know, I'm just hurt."

"Six years, eh? Well have you even talked to her about being together?"

"Nope. Kind of freak out every time I try. I've never been nervous around girls, actually. I've always been the ladies' man with all the bitches and hoes."

"And I wonder why you don't have a girlfriend..." I said sarcastically. He glanced at me and then forward.

"Ha ha, funny. She's not a bitch or a slut. I like that about her."

"Is that it?"

"Well obviously not. There's a lot I like about her. Look, I'm not a mushy romantic kind of guy. I'd rather not get into this, okay?"

"Okay, sorry. Is this it?" I asked as I pulled into an empty parking lot with a huge bus in it. He gave me a look that made me feel stupid. Duh, this is the place, I thought.

"Yes, thank you."
I felt kind of awkward, so I asked a question to get his mind off my stupidity, "Last question; what's her name?"

"Richi."