Take Me Home: Chapter Nine: Drink It Down

Drink It Down

          Approaching the sleek white table by the pool, Carrie smiled and waved at Adele. The guys were going to some car show, while Adele and Carrie were going to have some bonding time at the hotel. Mrs. Fletcher was dressed in a black cover up and a huge sunhat that had an obnoxious orange flower attached to the front. Through her white rimmed sunglasses, she saw that Adele was already nursing a drink. After her morning adventure with Steven, Carrie had received a call from Adele for a lunch date, which she was now slightly late for.

          After taking a sweet across from her new neighbor, Carrie ordered a lemonade.

          “Hungry?” asked Adele, smiling.

          “A little. What do they have here?”

          “Just about everything. So, Peter and Steven have gone to a male event, and we’re stuck here at the hotel. Typical,” she said, taking a sip out of what looked like a daiquiri. Soon the waitress approached them, asking for their order. “I’ll just have your chicken Caesar salad,” Adele answered.

          “I’ll take a Caesar salad too, but I would like shrimp with mine if that’s alright,” Carrie responded, handing her menu to the waitress.

          “It’s no problem at all, I’ll get that right in ladies,” the waitress said with an over-exaggerated smile. Taking a sip out of her lemonade, Carrie scanned the pool area they were by. Young boys and girls were splashing and playing in the pool, having fun on vacation. The sun was shining, and the sky was free of clouds. Being June now, the weather was much more humid back in Stonessa, but here in Nevada it was drier. Adele had begun to talk about some new company that Peter had decided to invest in, and Carrie was nodding along and saying the occasional “yeah”. Lost in her thoughts, her mind wandered to Steven. Being here in Sin City gave her a whole new sense of adventure. She began to think about all the fun places Steven could take her to. Italy, New York, California, Greece.

          “So what do you think?” Adele suddenly asked, yanking Carrie from her mind’s train of thought.

          “I- umm, I think it’s wonderful,” she responded. Her answer sufficed, as Adele continued talking. Once their lunch arrived, she had dropped the business talk. Carrie enjoyed talking with Adele, because she had so much personality in her words. It was quite entertaining to watch her.

          “Excuse me, miss? I’ll take a house margarita, and so will Carrie,” Adele addressed the waitress passing by. After her first margarita, the feeling of last night started to return. ****************************************************************************************************************************************

          Jay pulled up to Octopus Garden at noon. Feeling pretty good from his alcoholic breakfast, he sauntered towards the bar. Grabbing a beer, he went to the side patio and waited. Just has he lit his cigarette a short sandy blonde figure walked up to him.

          “Are you Jay Canter?” the girl asked. He put on his signature smirk, removed the sunglasses and smiled.

          “Yes. And you are?” he responded, teasing her with his eyes.

          “Janie. Janie Moore. You actually came, I didn’t think you would,” Janie said. Her wide green eyes stared at Jay, and he was suddenly intrigued and curious. Standing in front of him in a pair of jean capris and a neon pink tank top, she looked an awful lot like Carrie.

          “You know where she is? My sister?” she inquired. Jay held up a hand and sighed.

          “Hold your horses girl. First off, would you like a drink? And second, may I ask why you are here? I didn’t know Carrie even had a sister,” after he said the words, the girl’s excited smile had faltered.

          “Well I am her younger sister. And I left home, just like she did. I got away. And I’m only seventeen; I’m not even old enough to drink. Or smoke,” she said eyeing Jay’s cigarette. In return, he smiled and took a swig of his beer.

          “Okay let me get this straight. You are seventeen, and you ran away from home. Somehow traveled from Michigan to Florida, and also somehow knew that your sister was down here. To my knowledge she never told anyone where she was going. Also, you have no plan, I’m guessing no money, and your sister doesn’t even know you’re here,” he said, the sarcasm thick on his voice.

          “Umm. Yeah,” she replied. This girl is truly ignorant. Should I call Steven? Or should I call Carrie? Do I call either of them? I don’t even know if this is worth my time. At least it gave me an excuse to get Chase and his whore to leave.

          “Hello?” she said, still waiting for a reply. Coming back from one of the strange conversations he had in his head, he laughed.

          “Well how did you even know to come to Florida, much less, Stonessa?” he asked. To make a decision on what to do, he was going to need another beer. **************************************************************************************************************************************

          “Oh my God! No he did not! Ha!” Carrie breathed out in between hysterical laughter. She and Adele had moved to the lounges near the pool and Carrie was being entertained by the famous stories of Jay and Steven Canter.

          “Yes, he did! Jay had to take Steven to the hospital and everything. It was just priceless,” Adele said, taking a sip of her margarita. After the laughter died down, Adele looked over at Carrie and her expression changed to something more serious.

          “You know, Steven really cares about you. I’ve known him a long time, and I know that he wouldn’t ask just anyone to move in. He wouldn’t help just anyone out the way he’s done for you. He truly cares for you, and I’m so happy for you guys. You’re the first steady person we’ve seen around since Charlette, and God knows how that ended,” she said with a wave of her hand. Carrie toyed with the small green umbrella in her drink, contemplating what Adele had just told her. Smiling, she replied, “You really think so? I’m happy to be where I am now. Life is good. But, can I ask you something Adele?”

          “Sure, what’s on your mind?” she responded, adjusting her sunglasses.

          “What happened with Charlette? I know that she and Steven dated, and at dinner last Friday it was clear that she still cares for him. We haven’t talked about it yet, what happened?” Carrie asked, still playing with the little umbrella.

          “You don’t know? Hmm. Well all I can really say is that she wasn’t who he thought she was. She wasn’t in it for the long run, and she crushed him. Sweetie it’s really not my place, but she hurt him, bad. I think you need to ask him about it; he should be the one to tell you what happened. But keep in mind that it is all in the past, and I can guarantee you that he has absolutely no feelings for her whatsoever,” she said, giving Carrie a warm smile.

          “Thank you Adele, really. I’m sure we will find time to talk about it. We’ve been moving so fast, I guess we still have a lot of learning to do about each other,” she responded. The sun was past its peak, and the guys would return soon. The girls continued to talk by the pool, until Adele’s shoulders started to get pink. They decided to go back up to the hotel rooms, and wait for Steven and Peter. To their surprise, the guys were already waiting in Steven and Carrie’s suite.

          “Well hey you!” Adele piped, coming up to Peter’s side.

          “Hi, how was girl’s day?” Peter replied, giving her a kiss. The couple continued to talk, until Adele’s cell phone rang.

          “Did you two have fun?” Carrie asked Steven, holding his hand.

          “Yeah, it was alright. Could use a drink though. How was your day?” he responded.

          “Good, we just hung out by the pool after lunch. Got my fill of margaritas.”

          “Nice. Well I was thinking that you and I could have dinner in a little bit, just the two of us,” he said, wrapping his arms around her, “and maybe go to a show? I’m not sure what Peter and Adele have planned, but I’m sure they’ll survive without us for a while,” he added, his eyes teasing her.

          “Alright, that sounds good. Just us two,” she said, turning to get in the shower. Having been out in the sun most of the day, she could really use a shower and some alone time to get ready. On her way to the bathroom, she could here Adele’s distinguishable laughter in the living room.

          “What do you two have planned for tonight?” Steven asked the couple in front of him. He heard the shower turn on, and figured Carrie was going to be at least a half hour.

          “Hmm? Tonight? I think we’re going to stop at The Luxor to meet up with one of Peter’s old friends, he works there. Then I’m not sure, what about you guys?” Adele replied.

          “I’m taking Carrie out to dinner, and we might go see a show or something. Nothing too extravagant, just a night out to ourselves. We’ll call you if we decide to meet up or something?”

          “Sure, sounds good. We’ll end up back here tonight,” Peter said, turning to leave.

          “Wait,” Adele chirped, “Steven, today when Carrie and I were by the pool we got to talking about Charlette. I was the one who brought it up, but she started to ask a few questions. I wasn’t aware that you hadn’t told her what happened, and I’m not saying that you have to. Just thought you should know, and if you’re really serious about her then you should let her in.” Steven nodded at her statement, and thought about his past with Charlette. It was definitely a life-changing event of his past, and Carrie should know the full story. He knew she was just being polite by not asking him more about it after their catastrophe dinner. Tonight, he planned on telling her about Charlette. It was time.

          Adele and Peter exited the suite, leaving Steven by himself. Pouring a drink for himself, he knew that Adele meant well telling him about her conversation with Carrie. He was pretty sure she was rooting for the two of them to stay together. In the past, Adele was always on Steven to find a steady relationship after Charlette. She had given up all hope on Jay a long time ago, but still pestered Steven about being in another relationship. Sighing, he lifted his glass to his mouth, taking a long drink while listening to the shower run in the bathroom. *************************************************************************************************************************************

          “I found out she was here from Danny. He is her ex-boyfriend, and apparently he went down here to find her. Said he saw her here, but decided at the last minute to just let her be. He said he had ‘other romantical interests’,” Janie said, looking up at Jay.

          “Hmm. I see,” he replied, putting out his cigarette. “Well this Danny did in fact come down here, and was a real asshole. We ended up chasing him off the property,” he said, looking at Janie. Best to keep quiet about the details. That’s Carrie’s story to tell.  Standing in front of him picking at her fingernail, the younger Moore sister appeared nervous. She was in unfamiliar territory, and looked uncomfortable. “So you’re here looking for Carrie? You plan on just staying with her? What do you think she’ll have to say about this? And why did you contact me instead of her?” he bombarded her.

          After a few deep breaths, she collected herself and stared him straight in the eye. “Yeah I’m here for my sister. I love her, I miss her, and I’m sick of living at home. The reason I contacted you was because Danny said she was at some big mansion in Stonessa. Well after I got here, I asked around about Carrie and everything. I found a few different names, and yours was one of them. A guy at some bar called The Orange or whatever gave me your number,” she explained.

          “The Nectarine. And you were misinformed. Your sister is indeed living with us, but she is with my brother, Steven Canter. I’m the older, smarter, and more obnoxious brother,” he said, leaning against the railing. “As for your situation of running away from home with no plan, money, or general common sense, I haven’t decided what to do with you yet. I don’t want to get thrown under the bus for bringing you to the house if Carrie will flip out at me. Also, I don’t want to piss off Steven, considering it technically is his house. On the other hand it’s clear that you really are Carrie’s sister, I can definitely see the resemblance. And from the little I know about Carrie’s past, she didn’t have anything good to say about home,” he added, thinking out loud to the girl.

          Looking a little puzzled, Janie tilted her head to the side and gave him a pleading look. “Please just let me see my sister,” she said, grabbing his arm and speaking with true desire.

          Backing away a little bit he sighed. Don’t get too close, you’re jail bait. Under eighteen. Oh God, I can’t believe I’m doing this. I swear if Steven gets mad I’m blaming this all on the girl. Maybe I can spin a story that she threatened me with a gun to take her to Carrie. Haha, ‘Janie’s got a gun.’ Oh that’s good.

          “Fine. You can come to the house. But I’m telling you right now, that your sister won’t be back for a few days. Since I’m guessing you have nowhere to stay anyways, you can stay at the house until her and Steven get back,” he said, shaking his head.

          “Actually I was staying at this motel outside of town, but I ran out of money yesterday. The only way I got down here was from the grocery money I’ve been keeping that my mom leaves each week. And after the bus fairs and a few nights in the crappiest motel I’ve ever seen, I’m completely broke,” she said sheepishly, blushing slightly.

          “Well we’re not leaving yet. I got a drink to finish,” Jay responded, heading back inside the bar. Janie followed him, looking like a lost puppy.

          “Hey you,” a voice said from their right. Turning, Jay saw one of his frequent overnight guests, Roxy.

          “Not today Rox, I’m having a rough day. Some other time, alright?” he responded. The woman frowned and rolled her eyes. She strutted away in her miniskirt and high heels.

          “Who was that?” Janie asked, her green eyes widening.

          “Just a friend,” he responded, slightly annoyed. “You mind if we stay a little bit? I could really use the night out. I’ll even buy you drinks,” he asked Janie, raising his eyebrow. She blushed in return, and giggled nervously.

          “Uh sure. I won’t get caught?” she asked him.

          “Not if you’re with me,” he said, swiveling towards the bar to get a couple beers. ****************************************************************************************************************************************

          Carrie felt like a celebrity. Steven had taken them out to a really nice restaurant, and then they went to a comedy show. Exiting the building, they held hands laughing.

          “Wanna head back to the hotel? I could really go for a two-man party with my favorite girl,” Steven said, widening his eyes.

          “That sounds perfect,” she responded. Soon they were walking down the hallway towards their suite. Using the key card to open the door, they walked in. Right away Carrie went to the bathroom to freshen up. After she was finished, she came out to the living room and saw that Steven was just getting off the phone.

          “Who was that?” she asked, putting her hair up into a pony tail.

          “That was guest services. I just ordered some more wine from downstairs,”

          “Ahh, I see. Thanks for tonight; I had a really good time. That comedian was hilarious! I totally want to do something like that again,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck smiling.

          “Listen sweetheart, Adele told me about your conversation by the pool,” he saw her get red in the cheeks and quickly continued, “I know that I haven’t told you everything about my past yet. I also know we’re moving pretty fast, but it feels right. I don’t want to screw this up with you, so I want to be honest. Charlette was my last serious relationship. We were dating for a few years and she seemed perfect at the time. Well she wasn’t,” he said as they moved to sit down on the couch. “The thing with Charlette is that she was so perfect in my dad’s eyes, and I wanted to please him so badly. She really was a good girlfriend in the beginning, and tried really hard to win me over. She’s from France, as I’m sure you realized, and she wanted to live in America with me. Being that she had no friends over here, I really think she used me and my family as a way to become more popular and create a living over here. Her family is in advertising and she’s done some modeling on the side. Anyway, she and I got pretty serious, and one day she found out that she was pregnant,” at this, Carrie’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. So now the guy I’m dating has a kid? With a psycho French ex-girlfriend?!

          “Yeah I know it’s a lot to take in. But when she found out, she was devastated, really upset. Like I mean really upset. I was confused and overwhelmed, but I was prepared to deal with it. Things like that happen. Charlette thought differently though. Much differently.”