The Perfect Booty Call
2007-05-14 4:47 a.m.
Once upon a time in the not too distant past, there was the perfect booty call. Although recent, it all began about 14 years ago, in a college prep school in Chicago.He was then dating some girl 2 years ahead of them. They spoke on occasion as friends with mutual friends and ran into each other at a school dance. He convinced her out of her shy corner for a slow dance and about half way into the cheesy love song, she looked up and lost it completely. Within a month they were together.
He was the popular dj, surrounded by pretty girls and all sorts of rumor and legend. She was the cute, quiet, studious and shy flipipino girl. Within a month she realized that he was nothing like all the rumors. He was soft spoken, a little awkward, clumsy and silly - a smooth talker, but not in the same way all the rumors said - just corny with good timing. She was adorably sweet, shy and cautious, silly and fun, and a complete sucker for his corniness.
He'd walk her home after school, offering crazy stories of a life that seemed so distant. She learned to understand that he lived two lives. That which they shared and that which he shared with the rest of his twisted world. He was gentle and kind in private but loud and obnoxious in public. When he wasn't around she would hear crazy and unbelievable stories, not just unbelievable for him but for anyone. It became difficult to tell where the silliness began and where real life ended.
Within another month, there was no way she could avoid the stories about the girls he flirted with and the crazy nights. With the reputation he held, there was no way to ignore the warnings. She confronted him. He laughed it off and told her to stop being silly. She knew him better than that - one of the few who knew that the rumors didn't fit. But she felt a fool and he underestimated that fact.
After they split, he couldn't look her in the eye. Just as he'd begun to understand what falling in love might be like and hoped he'd found a girl be with for a while, she'd left him to the curb. She was probably right to do so, but not because he'd done anything wrong. No use in being in love with someone she could never trust.
He despised her for leaving. How dare she get so close to know who he truly was and then believe the bullshit? She knew better and still gave credence to outrageous stories. He learned that trusting women was silly. Apparently no matter how much he opened up, they would always worry about what everyone else said. Why bother?
He stopped fighting the rumors and just laughed along sometimes adding ridiculous details to see how silly things could get. The world figured he'd slept with at least 7 or 8 other women by then. For some reason they seemed to keep track of a love life he could never even fathom maintaining. All sorts of rumors about who he'd been with and where continued to float around their peers. She looked at him from a distance and felt relieved she left him before he got so crazy. He refused to look at the distrustful bitch.
They hadn't spokem again until they ran into each other in college. The rumors were old memories. She would still hear them on occasion, but they didn't bother her any longer. He would still hear them, but after being in a 3 year relationship, just laughed them off as silly people with too much time. They found they were still attracted to each other. Whenever alone they couldn't keep away. There was obvious unfinished business between the two of them.
Two years later, they met again for dinner. And again, they couldn't help themselves around each other. And so it went, every couple years, they would catch up a little, find themselves reminiscing and the night would end with a kiss.
Finally, 11 years after graduation they got in touch. She was in Miami. Lost. Worried about where life would bring her next. He was in NY, Lost. Not worried about much of anything. She came up to visit so she could get her head straight. NYC was cold that weekend, so they stayed in and talked. Reminisced about the past decade. Jobs, school, exes, family, friends with families, etc.
They had known each other for ever and felt very comfortable and at home with each other. They could still see the sweetness they once enjoyed within each other, but still had known so little about each other. Some responses and stories were predictable. Some surprising. They'd both grown up in obvious ways, but grew to become people they didn't expect each other to become. He figured she would still be timid, overly internalized and self-centered - not expecting the more outgoing social worker she'd become. She wasn't not sure what craziness she expected of him, but programmer definitely wasn't the expected career choice.
By the second night, with the assistance of a bit of booze, they found themselves enraptured. And by morning they indulged a few more times just to be sure it wasn't just the booze.
And so began the perfect booty call. He could leave crazy and cold NY for a weekend in sunny Miami to be with a beautiful woman, whose company he enjoyed and trusted. She could leave her dull life in Miami to enjoy NYC and have someone to listen to her and be honest and open with.
After 2 months, it became a rather expensive booty call. But neither of them seemed to have an interest in stopping. Every time one would visit, the other would set up the next visit.
She finally decided to move to Vegas to get into real estate, which sounded like the 'adult' thing to do. He knew this was ridiculous. Real Estate in Vegas isn't what it was years ago. Real Estate anywhere in the US isn't what is was years ago. Vegas isn't what it was years ago. Vegas wasn't even all that back then. But he offered to help here drive her car there, because it sounded like a hell of a road trip. While she prepared for the move, he helped convince her that Vegas was a silly move.
Her next choice was NYC. And after 3 weeks of sharing his little one bedroom apartment with her. He still doesn't mind her decision. He's not sure how long that's gonna last. But so far, it seems it could last a little while longer.
For the first time in a long time, he's comfortable with someone who takes him for who he is and actually likes how corny he can be. For the first time in a long time someone likes her for who she is and allows her to just be.