What We Search For (12 page)

“I know exactly what you
mean. I needed to go home to be with my sister, but as soon as she started to
get better my mind was already on my next adventure.” I started, nodding in
agreement, “I’m not quite ready to settle down just yet. There’s so much more
to see and do after all.” I added.

Looking around. I took in
the surroundings.  LAX was massive, and LA itself had seemed like an immense
sprawling wall of concrete. Not all that different from other cities I had seen
in the past. Not really my type of place, but LA was definitely not the reason
I was here. Glancing over at Amanda as she walked towards her car, a smile made
its way to my lips. Eyes on the prize, she was as beautiful as ever.

Once we were in the car,
sitting down had an immediate effect on me. Resting my head against the window,
I semi-watched as we made our way to Amanda’s house. Everything became a blur,
and after a time I fought myself to stay awake. It appeared Amanda had noticed
me falling asleep, so our drive home was very quiet with only the radio
interrupting the silence.

Upon arrival I was greeted
with a gentle nudge. “We’re here James.” Amanda said, as she got out of the
car.

Looking out the window I
saw her house for the first time. It was a simple white house with large arched
windows letting in as much light as possible. I hopped out of the car into the
fresh air, and started to come awake as I unloaded the car.

There was another car
parked next to Amanda’s which I assumed belonged to her house-mate. Looking
down the street, I noticed the neighborhood was filled with very similar styled
houses.

As we walked into the
house I followed Amanda closely, and noted the house was kept very neatly. It
had a feminine smell to it. We walked into the back of the house where the
kitchen was, and I set my bags to the ground. Her house-mate was there cooking
something.

She wore denim shorts and
a tank top that was far too big for her. Wavy brown hair rested against her
shoulders. As I watched her I couldn’t help but appreciate the way her hips
moved as she danced to music blasting in her headphones. Lifting my eyes just
in time she turned around and jumped from fright.

Taking her headphones off,
she laughed nervously. “You scared the hell out of me!” She said, attempting to
find her composure. With a quick movement she jabbed Amanda in the ribs.

“We didn’t mean to Rachel!”
Amanda replied, “I’m just glad you’re wearing clothes! Rachel, this is James.”
She said, as she pointed over to me. Waving like an idiot I smiled at her.

“Hi James, nice you meet
you! So you’re going to be hanging out with us for a while? That’s cool.
Welcome to our home!” She said, as she returned my smile.

“Thanks! Nice to meet you
too. Great dance moves by the way.” I said laughing, Amanda joined in, and
finally Rachel.

“Those are reserved for
private moments in the kitchen and shower usually!” She said as she repeated
the motions, “Are either of you hungry? I was just throwing some pasta together
if you’d like some?” She asked, turning around to stir her unattended pot.

At the thought of food, my
stomach rumbled softly. “If you have any extra I would be eternally grateful! I
didn’t really eat much on the flight.” I said, as I moved over to a stool at
the kitchen bench.

“I’m okay thanks.” Amanda
said as she took the stool next to me.

“Of course! There’s plenty
extra.” Rachel replied, as she worked her way around the kitchen.

While Rachel cooked,
Amanda took me on a quick tour of the house pointing out the room I would be
sleeping in. She pointed out the bathroom as well as her room, and Rachel’s
room. It was a nice little house. Very warm and welcoming.

It turned out Rachel was a
nurse and worked odd hours. She could cook pretty well too judging only from
the pasta, and had an extremely energetic personality, to say the least.

She was extremely
friendly, and after we had eaten we all jumped on the couch together. I sat in
the middle, surrounded by these two beautiful women. Rachel made no attempt at
moving to give me more space, so I sat nervously keeping my hands on my lap and
trying to make small talk as we watched TV.

“So how long are you
staying for James?” Rachel asked, as she looked up at me.

“As long as you’ll have me
for! No, I honestly have no plans, but can’t stay forever. I have a working
VISA in Canada, but not in the US. Plus, I wouldn’t want to outwear my
welcome.” I said in reply, looking back at her. She was so close to me it was
borderline uncomfortable, but she was obviously not concerned, so I shouldn’t
be either.

“You can stay as long as
you want. It’ll be fun!” Added Amanda, sitting closer to me and putting her
hand on my arm. This was way too confusing for me in my current exhausted
state. I was already dreaming up fantasies.

Managing to keep myself
together for a while longer, Amanda must have noticed me nodding off. “You need
some sleep. You’re about to collapse on top of me!” She said quietly. It was
true. My head was heavier than ever.

“That was the plan.” I
said with a grin.

“Oh really?” She replied,
arching an eyebrow, “You’ll have to do better than falling asleep on me!” She
said with a laugh. Rachel nodded her agreement and joined in with a laugh of
her own.

“I’ll keep that in mind! Well,
I wanted to stay up and talk to you both more, but honestly it’s getting the
better of me.” I said. Amanda stood up.

“Come on then. Go get some
sleep. We can always talk when you’re refreshed.” She said seriously, taking my
hand. She led me down the corridor and we entered what looked like a study
room.

Inside held a futon in the
corner and a computer desk against the wall. Unfolding the futon there were
sheets and pillows already laid out for me. Wishing me a good night, Amanda
left me to the room and I shut the door. Walking to the futon I collapsed fully
clothed not caring in the slightest and I fell into a deep sleep.

Waking up early, I noticed
every ache and pain in my body. Apparently, I had slept on the worst spot of
the futon. A metal bar down the middle had caused the most pain, as I had slept
directly on top of it. My legs hung over the edge as I tried to sit up and
stretch, and my back protested. I needed a shower desperately.

Still groggy from my sleep
and obvious jet lag, I found my towel after digging through my bag and opened
the door quietly. Remembering from the quick tour I was given last night, I
stumbled my way to the bathroom not even half aware of my surroundings.

I opened the door and
stopped. A small light illuminated the room throwing shadows against the walls,
and toweling herself off, Rachel stood naked in front of me. Gentle light and
shadow dancing across her body only accentuated her curves as my exhausted mind
took in the sight.

My eyes traced her body,
until I realized what I was doing and turned around with a yelp and a quick,
“Sorry!” My voice squeaking. I quickly went to close the door. Looking up as I
was doing so Rachel took it all in stride.

“Oh no it’s my fault. I
never lock the door it’s a bad habit. I’m about finished if you want the
shower.” She said, as she wrapped the towel around herself. Coming over to me
she put a hand on my back and ushered me into the room as she stepped behind
me.

“Okay.” I said dumbly,
still trying to wake myself up. The door closed and I moved over to the latch
and locked it.

Looking at myself in the
mirror I shook my head. After undressing, I hopped into the shower and let the
water do its work. The fog covering my mind began to clear. I laughed at the
childishness I had showed. Yelping and turning around with a squeaky ‘Sorry’ to
boot. I dismissed the encounter as a mistake and finished up my shower.

Morning light was
filtering its way through the blinds as I walked into the kitchen. It seemed Rachel
had already left for work. I must have been in the shower for longer than I
thought. Making myself at home I found some cereal and set to devouring a large
bowl full and let my mind wander. Wondering what my future held, was one of my favourite
new pastimes it seemed. I couldn’t help but think of where I was going to end
up. I let go of the thought, and just looked forward to the time I would be
spending here, and now.

Amanda emerged from her
room and saw me sitting on the couch. “Morning!” She said. She was wearing Elmo
PJ’s and looked ridiculously cute with her messy bed hair.

“Morning. Nice PJ’s!” I
replied, motioning with a thumbs up. She looked down and laughed.

“I’ve had these for years.
I just can’t seem to bring myself to get rid of them, and they are way too
comfy!” She said rubbing her hands on the fabric. “Besides, Elmo rocks!” She
added with a grin.

“You look good in them.” I
said.

“Thanks! I’m going to have
a shower. No peeking okay?” She said with humor in her voice. She knew!

“Peeking? I can’t promise
anything.” I replied with a grin.

“Rachel sent me a text
about your little encounter this morning.” She said, letting out a short laugh.

“Ah. That. In my defense
the door was unlocked and I was half asleep. I only stared for a few minutes...”
I replied holding my hands up in submission. A grin on my lips. Amanda was
quick to laugh.

“She never locks the door.
I’ve walked in on her plenty of times, and had an eye full on many occasions.
Don't even worry about it.” She said, as she walked into the bathroom. Looking
back, she poked her head out the door, “But don’t make a habit of it!” She started,
“Staring for a few minutes…you’re terrible!” She said with a grin of her own.
With that she vanished, as the door closed I chuckled and turned to watch TV.

Los Angeles turned out to
be more fun than I had thought. The company I was in was helping, but it was
cool to see some of the places you see in movies. Amanda took me to Santa
Monica Place and on to Third Street Boulevard, which I couldn’t help but enjoy.
Watching all the interesting and different people walking around was fun in
itself. We did plenty of window shopping too, and Amanda pulled me into various
shops.

“Does this make my ass
look big?” Amanda said, as she turned holding a gaudy dress against herself.

“Massive!” I replied
seriously.

“I can’t believe you would
call my ass massive! You’re so mean!” She said, using a childish voice. Moving
over to me with a pout she looked at me with her big eyes.

Watching as her eyes only
seemed to widen, I tried to keep my face as serious as possible, but finally
cracked, “Alright! Alright! Just stop, I can’t take it anymore!” I said,
putting my hands in front of me, trying to block her pouting attack. I laughed
as she swatted my hands away and continued to advance.

“You’re ass looks amazing!
Happy?” I said, as I was backed into a corner. She leaned towards me with her
big eyes and looked like she was about to cry.

“You’re just saying that.”
She stuttered between sobs.

“What? No! Seriously! You
look amazing in anything.” I said with a worried look. Her bottom lip quivered
and she blinked. Looking me dead in the eye she pecked me on the lips with a
kiss.

“Much better.” She said,
spinning around laughing. “You’re too easy James!” She added, still laughing as
she replaced the dress.

“What am I meant to do
against a face that cute?” I asked, walking over to join her.

“Not a thing!” She replied
happily.

We looked around for hours
enjoying each other’s company. We walked from store to store stopping at times
to watch street performers. Nudging one another whenever someone interesting
walked by, which seemed to happen frequently in LA.

Our day was over quicker
than I thought, and soon we were walking through the front door. Cheeks hurting
from laughing so much, we made our way to the lounge room and joined Rachel,
who sat cross legged with a bowl of cereal in hand.

“Hey guys, how was your
day?” She asked, as she noticed us coming in.

“Great! We went down to
Santa Monica Place and Third Street Boulevard. Was a lot of fun. So many
strange people in LA though.” I said, still impressed.

“Tell me about it.” Rachel
replied.

“So there was this one
guy, he looked li-” I started slowly.

“Not literally you
jackass!” Rachel said, throwing a cushion at my face. Catching it just in time
I looked over at Amanda and winked.

“But she said…?” I added,
utter confusion in my voice.

“I know. She’s just mean.
Don’t worry about her.” Amanda replied, patting me on the cheek.

We both laughed as I threw
the pillow back at Rachel. “We did some shopping and just walked around a lot.
I showed James around a bit, but we’re not in a huge rush since he’ll be here
for a while. Plenty of time to see other things.” Amanda added.

“Sounds like fun!” Rachel
replied. “Do you want to go out tonight? I’ve got the day off tomorrow.” She
added excitedly. I looked across to Amanda and shrugged.