Status: DISCONTINUED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Master of Sardonic Wit
5.
April 4 1994
“So, what are your plans for the future?” Chantal asked as she leaned back against James' chest as they laid on the couch, watching an old movie that both of them loved. James shrugged and wrapped his arms around Chantal's waist before giving her a small kiss on the crown of her head.
“Maybe try to make a full-length album with my Atari and messing around,” James said, still keeping his eyes on the screen of the television as he tried to keep his attention to the movie. But that proved to be more difficult than it was when Chantal decided it was a good idea to sit on his lap and blocking the screen. He sighed and tried to maneuver around her just to make sure he saw the screen but Chantal seemed to keep on trying to get his mind of the movie.
“Honey, you're blocking the view,” James muttered.
“I know,” Chantal shot back, smirking a little as she turned around and wrapped her legs around James' waist, something he didn't exactly mind but right now, it was just annoying him since he couldn't see the screen at all now.
“Aren't you going to do something about it?” James inquired, raising his eyebrow at the woman sitting on his lap. Chantal shook her head and wrapped her arms loosely around James' neck. The man sighed and pulled the woman close by the hem of her shirt, pushing his own lips against hers. Chantal didn't protest against the kiss when James carefully pushed her off his lap and placed her down on the couch, laying on top of her.
“You're blocking my view,” James whispered as he pulled back from the kiss and smirked at her, “then again, I think this view is much better than that TV,” he muttered as he looked at Chantal laying under him.
“Oh really?” Chantal looked at James, her arms still hanging loosely around his neck and resting on his shoulders. He nodded and bended down to give her another kiss when he heard the key get in the door. Giving Chantal a quick kiss, James winked at her before sitting up and looking at the front door.
“Kayleigh! I thought you weren't supposed to be home until 11!” James said, his eyes slightly widened at his friend entering the apartment while undoing her coat.
“James, it's midnight,” she said, frowning at him and wondering if he could even read the clock even if he had a wristwatch.
“Is it?” James asked, more to himself than to Kayleigh or Chantal who giggled slightly and sat up herself from the couch when she heard the other woman enter the kitchen. Touching James' cheek with the back of her hand, she gave him a small kiss before winking at him and walking towards the bedrooms. James sighed and tossed his watch on the coffee table before walking to the kitchen.
“Chantal here?”
“She sure is,” James said with a smile that could easily mistake him for a love-sick puppy. Kayleigh chuckled and patted his shoulder before walking out of the kitchen with a bottle of water.
“Going to bed already?”
“James ... it's midnight you dumb ass, I'm tired as hell,” Kayleigh said, pausing at the door frame when James asked the question. The man frowned and then nodded, pouting a little at the fact that she kept reminding him of the current time.
Taking a bottle of cold water out of the fridge himself, he opened it and took a long sip before frowning and taking another one out of the fridge and then making his way towards the bedroom, shutting down the lights in the living room and the hallway as he passed them. As he entered his bedroom, he smiled at Chantal sitting on the bed in one of her pajama's.
“I brought you some water, if you get thirsty during the night,” he said, putting the bottle down on her nightstand before bending down to give her a kiss. Chantal grabbed his shirt and pulled him down as she fell back on the bed. James smiled in the kiss and supported his weight on his hands while kissing her back.
“How did we go from hugging on the couch to this?” Chantal said, pulling back from the kiss by pushing James away from her lips a little so she could breath.
“Hell if I know, admit it, you like it,” James said, slightly out of breath from the kiss.
“Actually, I love it,” she muttered before pulling him in another kiss.
“Now if you could let me go for a few seconds, I'm going to put on my own pajama's and we can go to bed,” James said, this time being him who pulled out of the kiss first.
“Or you can undress and stay that way,” Chantal suggested, looking at James with a sly smirk on her lips.
“No.”
“Spoilsport,” the woman mumbled, giving James another small kiss on the lips before letting him go so he could put on his pajama's, or at least his pants since they still slept with the winter blankets instead of somewhat lighter sheets, whenever Chantal asked James about changing them, he's just complain about how he was too tired to do so.
“Always honey, always.”
“Hey you two lovebirds, I'm off to bed, goodnight okay?” Kayleigh popped her head into the room and smiled at Chantal who nodded and said a goodnight to the girl at the door, “hey, where's our stick?”
“In the bathroom,” Chantal nodded towards the closed door of the bathroom where there was still a ray of light shining through from under the door.
“Well tell him I said goodnight alright?” Kayleigh winked before closing the door after Chantal nodded and smiled, laying down on her pillow and sighing as she felt comfortable.
“Don't you look comfortable,” James said, smirking a little as he entered the room again, only wearing a pair of pajama pants as he knew that the combo of the shirt and the pants would be too warm to wear anyway. Chantal looked up and nodded before yawning slightly and stretching her arms out in front of her. Climbing in the bed next to her, James leaned on his elbow and laid on his side, watching the woman next to him before giving her a kiss on the forehead and yawning himself.
April 29 1994
“I love you.”
“I love you too, but you got to let me go anyway because otherwise I'll miss my plane,” Chantal said, looking at James with a little bit of annoyance in her eyes. James sighed and let his arms hang next to his body before pressing his lips to Chantal's.
“Call me when you're in LA alright?”
“Sure, but I got to run right now, love you,” Chantal quickly gave his lips a peck before adjusting her bag over her shoulder and running towards the gate. James watched her check in and wave over her shoulder before she boarded the plane. A smile appeared slightly on his face as he walked over to the window so he could see her plane get up and disappear into the direction of Los Angeles.
Sighing, James made his way towards the Starbucks a little bit farther and ordered his favorite coffee before trying to find his car back on the underground parking lot of the airport. As he sipped from his coffee and tried not to burn his tongue, James thought of the month he would have to spend without Chantal, since she was visiting her family in Los Angeles.
A few weeks ago, she had chosen not to go back to film school for the rest of the year, wanting to focus more on actually trying to get a job instead of going to school. She knew that graduating in school would mean she could get a better job but right now, she didn't really care about what sort of job she had. Naturally, James had tried to talk her out of it anyway, telling her it would be better for her if she did finish her year, she could always take vacation after that but no matter how hard he tried, the girl didn't want to hear it.
Entering the apartment reading the newspaper, James frowned a little at the front page before tossing it on the table and walking towards his own mixing studio, where he spend most of his time 'messing around' as Kayleigh put it friendly. Even Mark hadn't heard anything from the things James did in there even though he had asked it plenty of times, James kept refusing anyone to hear it before he was finished with what he was exactly making.
Chantal had said several times before that he should get someone to work with, just to make things going again when he was stuck and to get more inspiration, or social contacts like she often added afterwards in a mutter, hoping James would catch it but not say anything about it. James himself, had also thought of getting someone to help him with some tracks, a guitar player to be more precise but he had no single idea to find one or where to look for that matter.
“James! Come out of your cave and get some food, Chantal is going to kill me if you still look like a walking stick when she comes back!”
The man sighed and looked at the equipment in front of him before pushing his chair away from it a bit, knowing it would be better if he just did what Kayleigh told him.
“Where's Mark?” James asked as he entered the kitchen and saw that Kayleigh was just putting the things on the table.
“He'll be here later why?”
“Just the fact that he's late for dinner, brothers these days,” James sighed, sending an amused glance at the girl bending down to get the lemonade from the fridge.
“Leave him alone, he's a busy guy!”
“I know!” James said back with just as much amusement in his voice as before, letting Kayleigh know he was just pushing her buttons and nothing else.
After dinner, James decided to disappear in his cave once again, much to the annoyance of Kayleigh who had decided to keep a marathon of Friends in the living room with ice cream to accompany her.
“I miss Chantal!” James slumped on the couch and looked at the television that was playing commercial, something James hated but had to endure whenever he watched television.
“Have you called her already?” Kayleigh asked, coming back to the television with two pots of ice cream and handing one of them to James who opened it and also took one of the spoons the girl gave him.
“I called her an hour ago,” James pouted.
“I'm just about to watch some reruns of Friends, care to join me?”
James shrugged and took a bite from his ice cream before pulling his knees up to his chest and keeping his eyes on the screen.
May 2 1994
“Are you kidding me?” James said to the phone in his hand and his mouth slightly open from what Chantal had just told him.
“No I'm not, now close your mouth,” Chantal said, probably smiling a little at the sound of James' voice.
“But, but, you can't stay another month! I miss you too much!”
“Trust me James, that month will go by so quickly you'll probably won't even notice it,” Chantal assured him.
“But I miss you!”
“I miss you too James, but I got to go now, we're going shopping alright?”
“Alright,” James sighed, “love you Chantal.”
“Love you too James, see you in a month.”
Hanging up, James sighed and looked at the cellphone in his hand before putting it back on the table and walking towards the fridge with the left over ice cream in his mind. Another month without Chantal would be hell to him, who knows, maybe he could indeed handle it like she said, but then he would need a lot more ice cream, and a good workout program to loose all the pounds again before she got home.
“Ice cream again?” Kayleigh asked as she entered the kitchen, drying her hair with a grey towel in her hands, “I'm guessing Chantal isn't coming back anytime soon by the looks on your face.”
“Another damn month!” James complained as he sat down at the kitchen table with the ice cream in front of him. Kayleigh shook her head and took a spoon herself before taking a bite from James' pot. Even though the man protested against it by slapping her hand away, the girl ignored it and still took a bite. James glared at her but was more interested in his ice cream anyway to keep on glaring at her.
“Another month? Come on, that's not that long,” Kayleigh said, looking at James who sighed and took a big chunk from the cold dessert in front of him.
“It's another whole month of me not seeing her!” James said, his eyes wide open as Kayleigh looked at him with a raised eyebrow and trying to figure out if he was just acting or really freaking out about that small fact.
“So, how is the messing around going?”
“Pretty good actually, I just need a guitar guy for a few things and then I should be done,” James smiled, slightly cheering up as he talked about his project. A week ago he had told both Mark and Kayleigh of his project of making a solo-album, he already had 7 of the 8 songs finished but refused to let anyone hear them until it was completely finished.
“Now are you sure I can't read it?”
“Yes, stop asking,” James rolled his eyes at the question that had been coming from the girl's mouth ever since he had told her and his brother about his project. Not that it annoyed him, he loved how she kept asking about it and seeing her face every time he said 'no' to her, something that was proved very hard to do because Kayleigh kept using puppy dog eyes.
“Stop giving me those puppy dog eyes, they won't work anyway!”
“It's worth a shot,” Kayleigh pouted, hanging the towel around her neck before rubbing James' shoulder and giving him a peck on the cheek.
“Try art school!” the girl yelled over her shoulder as she walked out of the kitchen and back to the bathroom. James looked up from his ice cream and sighed, realizing that it was worth a shot, after all, it is art school, there is bound to be some guy out there, or girl, that could play guitar well enough for that one song on his record.
Putting the ice cream back in the fridge, James got out his coat and left the apartment within five minutes, not thinking about saying Kayleigh where he went or leaving a note, he had his cellphone in his jeans pocket for if she wanted to reach him and she knew it just as well as Mark or Chantal knew.
“Art school, art school, where the fuck is art school anyway?” James asked himself, not really knowing where he was going in the first place, he never left the familiar surroundings of his apartment but James knew there wasn't an art school around so he would have to go further than just the few blocks around his apartment.
“Art school? I'm just going that way, care to join me?” a voice said behind James, who jumped up slightly and quickly looked behind him to see who was talking to him.
“Sure, I don't know the way around the campus anyway so it'll be good for me to have someone around perhaps help me in my search,” James nodded, smiling at the man with the black hair and a small beard.
“What or who are you looking for then?” the man asked, leading the way to James before they both got on the bus towards the center of New York.
“A guitarist, I'm making a record, mainly on synthesizer but one of my songs really needs a guitar part, it would make it all sound so much better,” James informed the man, even though he didn't know him for that long yet.
“I play guitar to be honest, and why haven't I told you my name yet, I'm Steven Montano, or just Steve,” the man stook out his hand and gave James the time to consider shaking it or not.
“Nice to meet you Steve, I'm James, and if I would ask you when you could come to my apartment and record that small guitar part, what would you answer?”
“Today, around 4 pm probably when my classes end, there is a Starbucks nearby, perhaps we could meet up there around that time?”
“4 pm? That'll be perfect, I'm glad to have met you Steve.”
“Same here Jimmy, same here,” Steve nodded, smiling at James who frowned at the name Steve used before smirking and nodding himself.
“So, what are your plans for the future?” Chantal asked as she leaned back against James' chest as they laid on the couch, watching an old movie that both of them loved. James shrugged and wrapped his arms around Chantal's waist before giving her a small kiss on the crown of her head.
“Maybe try to make a full-length album with my Atari and messing around,” James said, still keeping his eyes on the screen of the television as he tried to keep his attention to the movie. But that proved to be more difficult than it was when Chantal decided it was a good idea to sit on his lap and blocking the screen. He sighed and tried to maneuver around her just to make sure he saw the screen but Chantal seemed to keep on trying to get his mind of the movie.
“Honey, you're blocking the view,” James muttered.
“I know,” Chantal shot back, smirking a little as she turned around and wrapped her legs around James' waist, something he didn't exactly mind but right now, it was just annoying him since he couldn't see the screen at all now.
“Aren't you going to do something about it?” James inquired, raising his eyebrow at the woman sitting on his lap. Chantal shook her head and wrapped her arms loosely around James' neck. The man sighed and pulled the woman close by the hem of her shirt, pushing his own lips against hers. Chantal didn't protest against the kiss when James carefully pushed her off his lap and placed her down on the couch, laying on top of her.
“You're blocking my view,” James whispered as he pulled back from the kiss and smirked at her, “then again, I think this view is much better than that TV,” he muttered as he looked at Chantal laying under him.
“Oh really?” Chantal looked at James, her arms still hanging loosely around his neck and resting on his shoulders. He nodded and bended down to give her another kiss when he heard the key get in the door. Giving Chantal a quick kiss, James winked at her before sitting up and looking at the front door.
“Kayleigh! I thought you weren't supposed to be home until 11!” James said, his eyes slightly widened at his friend entering the apartment while undoing her coat.
“James, it's midnight,” she said, frowning at him and wondering if he could even read the clock even if he had a wristwatch.
“Is it?” James asked, more to himself than to Kayleigh or Chantal who giggled slightly and sat up herself from the couch when she heard the other woman enter the kitchen. Touching James' cheek with the back of her hand, she gave him a small kiss before winking at him and walking towards the bedrooms. James sighed and tossed his watch on the coffee table before walking to the kitchen.
“Chantal here?”
“She sure is,” James said with a smile that could easily mistake him for a love-sick puppy. Kayleigh chuckled and patted his shoulder before walking out of the kitchen with a bottle of water.
“Going to bed already?”
“James ... it's midnight you dumb ass, I'm tired as hell,” Kayleigh said, pausing at the door frame when James asked the question. The man frowned and then nodded, pouting a little at the fact that she kept reminding him of the current time.
Taking a bottle of cold water out of the fridge himself, he opened it and took a long sip before frowning and taking another one out of the fridge and then making his way towards the bedroom, shutting down the lights in the living room and the hallway as he passed them. As he entered his bedroom, he smiled at Chantal sitting on the bed in one of her pajama's.
“I brought you some water, if you get thirsty during the night,” he said, putting the bottle down on her nightstand before bending down to give her a kiss. Chantal grabbed his shirt and pulled him down as she fell back on the bed. James smiled in the kiss and supported his weight on his hands while kissing her back.
“How did we go from hugging on the couch to this?” Chantal said, pulling back from the kiss by pushing James away from her lips a little so she could breath.
“Hell if I know, admit it, you like it,” James said, slightly out of breath from the kiss.
“Actually, I love it,” she muttered before pulling him in another kiss.
“Now if you could let me go for a few seconds, I'm going to put on my own pajama's and we can go to bed,” James said, this time being him who pulled out of the kiss first.
“Or you can undress and stay that way,” Chantal suggested, looking at James with a sly smirk on her lips.
“No.”
“Spoilsport,” the woman mumbled, giving James another small kiss on the lips before letting him go so he could put on his pajama's, or at least his pants since they still slept with the winter blankets instead of somewhat lighter sheets, whenever Chantal asked James about changing them, he's just complain about how he was too tired to do so.
“Always honey, always.”
“Hey you two lovebirds, I'm off to bed, goodnight okay?” Kayleigh popped her head into the room and smiled at Chantal who nodded and said a goodnight to the girl at the door, “hey, where's our stick?”
“In the bathroom,” Chantal nodded towards the closed door of the bathroom where there was still a ray of light shining through from under the door.
“Well tell him I said goodnight alright?” Kayleigh winked before closing the door after Chantal nodded and smiled, laying down on her pillow and sighing as she felt comfortable.
“Don't you look comfortable,” James said, smirking a little as he entered the room again, only wearing a pair of pajama pants as he knew that the combo of the shirt and the pants would be too warm to wear anyway. Chantal looked up and nodded before yawning slightly and stretching her arms out in front of her. Climbing in the bed next to her, James leaned on his elbow and laid on his side, watching the woman next to him before giving her a kiss on the forehead and yawning himself.
April 29 1994
“I love you.”
“I love you too, but you got to let me go anyway because otherwise I'll miss my plane,” Chantal said, looking at James with a little bit of annoyance in her eyes. James sighed and let his arms hang next to his body before pressing his lips to Chantal's.
“Call me when you're in LA alright?”
“Sure, but I got to run right now, love you,” Chantal quickly gave his lips a peck before adjusting her bag over her shoulder and running towards the gate. James watched her check in and wave over her shoulder before she boarded the plane. A smile appeared slightly on his face as he walked over to the window so he could see her plane get up and disappear into the direction of Los Angeles.
Sighing, James made his way towards the Starbucks a little bit farther and ordered his favorite coffee before trying to find his car back on the underground parking lot of the airport. As he sipped from his coffee and tried not to burn his tongue, James thought of the month he would have to spend without Chantal, since she was visiting her family in Los Angeles.
A few weeks ago, she had chosen not to go back to film school for the rest of the year, wanting to focus more on actually trying to get a job instead of going to school. She knew that graduating in school would mean she could get a better job but right now, she didn't really care about what sort of job she had. Naturally, James had tried to talk her out of it anyway, telling her it would be better for her if she did finish her year, she could always take vacation after that but no matter how hard he tried, the girl didn't want to hear it.
Entering the apartment reading the newspaper, James frowned a little at the front page before tossing it on the table and walking towards his own mixing studio, where he spend most of his time 'messing around' as Kayleigh put it friendly. Even Mark hadn't heard anything from the things James did in there even though he had asked it plenty of times, James kept refusing anyone to hear it before he was finished with what he was exactly making.
Chantal had said several times before that he should get someone to work with, just to make things going again when he was stuck and to get more inspiration, or social contacts like she often added afterwards in a mutter, hoping James would catch it but not say anything about it. James himself, had also thought of getting someone to help him with some tracks, a guitar player to be more precise but he had no single idea to find one or where to look for that matter.
“James! Come out of your cave and get some food, Chantal is going to kill me if you still look like a walking stick when she comes back!”
The man sighed and looked at the equipment in front of him before pushing his chair away from it a bit, knowing it would be better if he just did what Kayleigh told him.
“Where's Mark?” James asked as he entered the kitchen and saw that Kayleigh was just putting the things on the table.
“He'll be here later why?”
“Just the fact that he's late for dinner, brothers these days,” James sighed, sending an amused glance at the girl bending down to get the lemonade from the fridge.
“Leave him alone, he's a busy guy!”
“I know!” James said back with just as much amusement in his voice as before, letting Kayleigh know he was just pushing her buttons and nothing else.
After dinner, James decided to disappear in his cave once again, much to the annoyance of Kayleigh who had decided to keep a marathon of Friends in the living room with ice cream to accompany her.
“I miss Chantal!” James slumped on the couch and looked at the television that was playing commercial, something James hated but had to endure whenever he watched television.
“Have you called her already?” Kayleigh asked, coming back to the television with two pots of ice cream and handing one of them to James who opened it and also took one of the spoons the girl gave him.
“I called her an hour ago,” James pouted.
“I'm just about to watch some reruns of Friends, care to join me?”
James shrugged and took a bite from his ice cream before pulling his knees up to his chest and keeping his eyes on the screen.
May 2 1994
“Are you kidding me?” James said to the phone in his hand and his mouth slightly open from what Chantal had just told him.
“No I'm not, now close your mouth,” Chantal said, probably smiling a little at the sound of James' voice.
“But, but, you can't stay another month! I miss you too much!”
“Trust me James, that month will go by so quickly you'll probably won't even notice it,” Chantal assured him.
“But I miss you!”
“I miss you too James, but I got to go now, we're going shopping alright?”
“Alright,” James sighed, “love you Chantal.”
“Love you too James, see you in a month.”
Hanging up, James sighed and looked at the cellphone in his hand before putting it back on the table and walking towards the fridge with the left over ice cream in his mind. Another month without Chantal would be hell to him, who knows, maybe he could indeed handle it like she said, but then he would need a lot more ice cream, and a good workout program to loose all the pounds again before she got home.
“Ice cream again?” Kayleigh asked as she entered the kitchen, drying her hair with a grey towel in her hands, “I'm guessing Chantal isn't coming back anytime soon by the looks on your face.”
“Another damn month!” James complained as he sat down at the kitchen table with the ice cream in front of him. Kayleigh shook her head and took a spoon herself before taking a bite from James' pot. Even though the man protested against it by slapping her hand away, the girl ignored it and still took a bite. James glared at her but was more interested in his ice cream anyway to keep on glaring at her.
“Another month? Come on, that's not that long,” Kayleigh said, looking at James who sighed and took a big chunk from the cold dessert in front of him.
“It's another whole month of me not seeing her!” James said, his eyes wide open as Kayleigh looked at him with a raised eyebrow and trying to figure out if he was just acting or really freaking out about that small fact.
“So, how is the messing around going?”
“Pretty good actually, I just need a guitar guy for a few things and then I should be done,” James smiled, slightly cheering up as he talked about his project. A week ago he had told both Mark and Kayleigh of his project of making a solo-album, he already had 7 of the 8 songs finished but refused to let anyone hear them until it was completely finished.
“Now are you sure I can't read it?”
“Yes, stop asking,” James rolled his eyes at the question that had been coming from the girl's mouth ever since he had told her and his brother about his project. Not that it annoyed him, he loved how she kept asking about it and seeing her face every time he said 'no' to her, something that was proved very hard to do because Kayleigh kept using puppy dog eyes.
“Stop giving me those puppy dog eyes, they won't work anyway!”
“It's worth a shot,” Kayleigh pouted, hanging the towel around her neck before rubbing James' shoulder and giving him a peck on the cheek.
“Try art school!” the girl yelled over her shoulder as she walked out of the kitchen and back to the bathroom. James looked up from his ice cream and sighed, realizing that it was worth a shot, after all, it is art school, there is bound to be some guy out there, or girl, that could play guitar well enough for that one song on his record.
Putting the ice cream back in the fridge, James got out his coat and left the apartment within five minutes, not thinking about saying Kayleigh where he went or leaving a note, he had his cellphone in his jeans pocket for if she wanted to reach him and she knew it just as well as Mark or Chantal knew.
“Art school, art school, where the fuck is art school anyway?” James asked himself, not really knowing where he was going in the first place, he never left the familiar surroundings of his apartment but James knew there wasn't an art school around so he would have to go further than just the few blocks around his apartment.
“Art school? I'm just going that way, care to join me?” a voice said behind James, who jumped up slightly and quickly looked behind him to see who was talking to him.
“Sure, I don't know the way around the campus anyway so it'll be good for me to have someone around perhaps help me in my search,” James nodded, smiling at the man with the black hair and a small beard.
“What or who are you looking for then?” the man asked, leading the way to James before they both got on the bus towards the center of New York.
“A guitarist, I'm making a record, mainly on synthesizer but one of my songs really needs a guitar part, it would make it all sound so much better,” James informed the man, even though he didn't know him for that long yet.
“I play guitar to be honest, and why haven't I told you my name yet, I'm Steven Montano, or just Steve,” the man stook out his hand and gave James the time to consider shaking it or not.
“Nice to meet you Steve, I'm James, and if I would ask you when you could come to my apartment and record that small guitar part, what would you answer?”
“Today, around 4 pm probably when my classes end, there is a Starbucks nearby, perhaps we could meet up there around that time?”
“4 pm? That'll be perfect, I'm glad to have met you Steve.”
“Same here Jimmy, same here,” Steve nodded, smiling at James who frowned at the name Steve used before smirking and nodding himself.