the strip, and then drank and gambled well into the night. Rather than going home, Kali texted her husband and said she was too drunk to drive and would be spending the night. Adam suggested that he would come get her, but she said not to worry and that she would be home in the morning.
Sebastian had money but wouldn’t talk about where it came from. Kali guessed it was a trust fund left to him by some grandparent or aunt or uncle and he was embarrassed by it.
T hat night in Vegas, he dropped easily twenty thousand on the tables, shows, meals and drinks. And when he bought drinks, he didn’t just buy for them. He bought for the entire bar. People would then come up and talk with him. Friends seemed to come naturally to him. He was outgoing and charismatic. The opposite of Adam who was intellectual and reserved. Adam seemed always to be considering the larger questions of the universe, whereas Sebastian lived fully in the moment.
After the gambling grew boring, and the drinks weren’t affecting them anymore, they stumbled up to their hotel room at the Bellagio. Their hands couldn’t stay away from each other’s bodies. Their mouths were glued together, inseparable. They didn’t make it to their hotel room. He pinned her against the wall and ravaged her from behind like some conquering soldier. She was screaming so loudly she thought for sure someone would come out of their room. But no one did. This was Vegas after all.
In the morning, they showered together and then made the three and a half hour drive back to Los Angeles in less than two and a half hours, thanks to Sebastian’s reckless speeds.
When he had dropped her off at the parking lot of his studio to retrieve her car, he told her he loved her. She couldn’t say it. The words just wouldn’t come. She knew she felt something for him but it was like some fiery, unnamable passion. Something that bubbled up inside her and took over.
“I’ll see you soon ,” she said, unable to look him in the eyes.
When she got into her car and sat in the driver’s seat, she cried. She couldn’t be certain for how long but it must’ve been a long time because when she looked up she didn’t recognize the cars around her. They had changed. She picked up her phone and dialed Elaina.
Elaina had been there for her through everything. Whenever she had a crisis, Elaina was the one she called. When Adam and she hit a rough patch, Elaina was the one that walked her through it. They discussed the meaning of life, why neither of them were religious, how you knew what you knew and every other topic that popped into their heads. The only thing Elaina couldn’t help with was advice about children. She’d had her ovaries removed. Her mother had died of ovarian cancer and Elaina had developed early onset as well. They removed the ovaries, and it hadn’t come back. But she could never have children of her own.
“Hey , hon,” Elaina said. “Just thinkin’ about ya.”
“Elaina,” she said, emotion choking her, the tears still rolling down her cheeks, “I need help.”
“Whoa whoa, what’s wrong? What happened?”
“I just… I need to meet you. Right now. It can’t wait so please don’t tell me you have to do something because I don’t have anyone else to talk to. And I need to talk to somebody about it or I’m gonna lose it.”
“Easy, hon, I’m not bailing on you. Where are you?”
“Santa Monica Pier.”
A long pause. “I’m coming right now.”
Kali sat across from Elaina at a seafood restaurant on the pier. It overlooked the beach and she could see several joggers running barefoot along the shore.
“I used to come to this beach with my mother,” Kali said, her eyes still swollen red and her voice fading from emotion that had poured out of her. “She never had any money so she would try to find me things on the beach. Trinkets other people had left behind.”
“You’ve never told me why she moved out here, other than the
Sebastian had money but wouldn’t talk about where it came from. Kali guessed it was a trust fund left to him by some grandparent or aunt or uncle and he was embarrassed by it.
T hat night in Vegas, he dropped easily twenty thousand on the tables, shows, meals and drinks. And when he bought drinks, he didn’t just buy for them. He bought for the entire bar. People would then come up and talk with him. Friends seemed to come naturally to him. He was outgoing and charismatic. The opposite of Adam who was intellectual and reserved. Adam seemed always to be considering the larger questions of the universe, whereas Sebastian lived fully in the moment.
After the gambling grew boring, and the drinks weren’t affecting them anymore, they stumbled up to their hotel room at the Bellagio. Their hands couldn’t stay away from each other’s bodies. Their mouths were glued together, inseparable. They didn’t make it to their hotel room. He pinned her against the wall and ravaged her from behind like some conquering soldier. She was screaming so loudly she thought for sure someone would come out of their room. But no one did. This was Vegas after all.
In the morning, they showered together and then made the three and a half hour drive back to Los Angeles in less than two and a half hours, thanks to Sebastian’s reckless speeds.
When he had dropped her off at the parking lot of his studio to retrieve her car, he told her he loved her. She couldn’t say it. The words just wouldn’t come. She knew she felt something for him but it was like some fiery, unnamable passion. Something that bubbled up inside her and took over.
“I’ll see you soon ,” she said, unable to look him in the eyes.
When she got into her car and sat in the driver’s seat, she cried. She couldn’t be certain for how long but it must’ve been a long time because when she looked up she didn’t recognize the cars around her. They had changed. She picked up her phone and dialed Elaina.
Elaina had been there for her through everything. Whenever she had a crisis, Elaina was the one she called. When Adam and she hit a rough patch, Elaina was the one that walked her through it. They discussed the meaning of life, why neither of them were religious, how you knew what you knew and every other topic that popped into their heads. The only thing Elaina couldn’t help with was advice about children. She’d had her ovaries removed. Her mother had died of ovarian cancer and Elaina had developed early onset as well. They removed the ovaries, and it hadn’t come back. But she could never have children of her own.
“Hey , hon,” Elaina said. “Just thinkin’ about ya.”
“Elaina,” she said, emotion choking her, the tears still rolling down her cheeks, “I need help.”
“Whoa whoa, what’s wrong? What happened?”
“I just… I need to meet you. Right now. It can’t wait so please don’t tell me you have to do something because I don’t have anyone else to talk to. And I need to talk to somebody about it or I’m gonna lose it.”
“Easy, hon, I’m not bailing on you. Where are you?”
“Santa Monica Pier.”
A long pause. “I’m coming right now.”
Kali sat across from Elaina at a seafood restaurant on the pier. It overlooked the beach and she could see several joggers running barefoot along the shore.
“I used to come to this beach with my mother,” Kali said, her eyes still swollen red and her voice fading from emotion that had poured out of her. “She never had any money so she would try to find me things on the beach. Trinkets other people had left behind.”
“You’ve never told me why she moved out here, other than the
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