HOTEL 97

TWIST

As we were drinking and sipping some champagne, he asked me, "So what is your name?" I answered, "Kim." He said, "You mean Kimmy?" I said, "Kimberly." He said, "My name is Jax. Nice to meet you, Kimmy." I told him, "Why would you already give me a nickname?" He told me, "Is it bad?" I just smiled. This guy was giving off stoic energy, like he's letting me know him, but at the same time, who is he? Mind you, he had already slipped a different outfit on, which was like sweatpants and a black T-shirt, so I asked him, "Is black like your favorite color or something?" He said, "Actually, I can't wear any other color because it makes my brain override." I was like, "So my colors are making your brain override?" He said, "No, only when it's on my skin," and I chuckled, thinking that's very funny.

We kept drinking. The first bottle was over, and he wanted to call Room Service to get another champagne bottle. I asked him jokingly, "You seem very young. How do you have money to order champagne bottles in hotel rooms and drive a G-Wagon?" He said, "You know my car?" I was like, "Oops, in my brain, because now I have exposed myself a bit." He kept asking me, "How do you know I have a G-Wagon? What color is it?" Boldly I said, "Matted blue." His eyes glowed. He looked at me and smiled as if he had realized something that I didn't realize.

Then he told me, "Have you had dinner?" I said, "Yes, I had two burgers and one large fry." He told me, "Where did you place the other one then?" I looked at him, and told myself so he noticed me at the burger joint. I asked him, "Have you ever met me anywhere else apart from here?" He answered me, "Well, have you, Miss Kimmy?" For a moment it felt interesting until it started feeling weird. It kind of felt like he was trying to get my attention. I know it's crazy because I am nobody and it's a very small town and everyone knows everyone, so I probably think I just don't know who Jax is because I don't.

Shortly after this conversation, his phone rang not once but twice. The other time that I heard his phone ring, it was a different tone. As I realized, he's holding two different phones. One was on the table and one was in his pocket. The one in his pocket rang. He stood up rushingly just in the middle of a sentence and said, "Excuse me."

He stood up, went to my balcony, and closed the mirror door so that I could not hear anything that he was speaking, but I could see his expressions. His hands were moving. He was pacing, and the conversation took about two to three minutes. When he was done with the conversation, he came out there like a whole different person. It was tense, and the only thing he wanted was to leave. I just asked him, "Jax, are you okay?" He looked at me with his eyes and then down at my feet. He did not say anything and he left. He left me wondering.

I was not really interested in being in a relationship with him because I'm a small-town girl. I don't dress luxuriously. I only have secondhand clothes. I eat junk food. I don't have anything. I'm just Kimberly, but he was a big-time baller. You could tell by the watch he was wearing on his hand. Mind you, it was black with diamonds all around it, so I knew he was a big deal. Not his money, though, intrigued me; it was what he was hiding, or I can say who he actually is, that intrigued me. Not to put too much mind to it, I switched off the lights of my lamp next to the bed I was sleeping and passed out.

Woke up around 7 a.m., and I was starving. I said to myself, "It would not be bad once in my life to eat breakfast that I did not make." I was telling this to myself because remember I was taking a break from home. When I say home, I mean my stepmother's house, my siblings, my grandma, everything. I just wanted a break, so I put on my custom robe that I got from my grandma on top of my nightdress. I went to the elevator with my flip flops, went straight to the restaurant, sat down, looked at the menu, ordered my breakfast, and then started eating. It was really good.

Soon as I was done, when I was putting the plates away, I just looked at the elevator, and I saw him come out. He was wearing gym clothes: a black T-shirt that exposed his triceps and biceps clearly, well, shorts that were black, black socks, and black gym shoes, with a black jean bag. I was like, "Okay." At first I thought he was just gonna pass me, so I just went on to do my own thing, but literally he came straight to me and said, "Good morning, Kimmy. How was your night?" I replied, I was a bit confused from how you left, and then he stopped and looked at the guy in the next table who heard what i said. He had just rolled his eyes and looked at me. He knew who I was. Obviously, it's a small town, so he basically assumed like he left me, but we both did not care. He said, "I'm going to see you later, Kimmy," and then left.

Oh my God, he was smelling so good, the mix of his sweat and his cologne. I don't even know why i liked it but; he smelled so good. I could just find myself staring back at him as he left but just for a little bit,like four seconds to five, as I was washing my hands to go back to my hotel room.

My day was so free; I did not have anything planned, but I wanted to do something for myself, so because I love paiting I went to the nearest, actually the only, arts building that I loved to go paint, because the owner is my friend and was my dad's friend. That's what my dad once told me. But I had always felt otherwise, something like they were together before he met my mom and, of course, my stepmom. My day was going quite well. I did my time. I spent like four hours there, took my stuff, went back to my hotel room, just chilled there, watched some TV, and I got a call from my stepmom. As I watched my phone ring, I was thinking to myself, should I pick it up? Mind you, I did not say goodbye. I just said yesterday that I'm going to grab a bite, so I pick up the phone, and I hear her screaming voice through the phone, literally. I had to just stretch out my hand and listen to her voice from a distance. She was like, "Kim, why did you leave the house? Why did you not say where you're going? Do you know that I'm worried about you? Do you know that if your dad was alive, he would be stressed, saying over and stuff, would you do stuff like that, blah blah blah?"

I was not listening at this point, because guys, I'm not being a bad person, but living with this woman is so chaotic, especially being the oldest. My responsibility was almost everything, and when I say everything, everything, let's not be boring and talk about my stepmother. I was just like, "I'm fine. Took a small trip, and I'll be back." As she was asking me where and everything, I just hung up the phone because I knew she was not gonna call me back anyway. Long story short, I did not want my mood to be spoiled, as it was already being spoiled. It was a sunny day; the balcony was super sunny, but I still took my joint and went up there. As I went up there and stared down the parking lot, I saw Jax speaking to a lady! I did not see the lady's face, because obviously it was from above, but I could see her hair was straight hair, black, of course. She looked Slavic. I'm not sure that's the energy I got, but she just took that envelope. There was another BMW parking; entered in the car, and then left. Jax was standing there looking at the car leaving until it actually disappeared. It's when he entered in the car, grabbed his perfume, sprayed on himself, and then entered in the hotel door straight. I just panicked; my heart started racing because I just felt that he was coming to me, but then I stayed half an hour when I heard that knock at my door.

Of course I knew it was Jax, but I wasn't so certain, because it was around 10 p.m. in the evening. It could be anybody; could be room service; could be anything, so I just put my dress, put my perfume, and went to the door. Opened the door; it was room service. I had ordered a bottle of wine, and then it was just arriving, so I was like, "There's no way Jax is coming to me." As I was sitting and drinking my wine, I decided to give myself a smoke, so I did not go outside. Now I just went to my tiny balcony at the hotel room. I was really mindful not to disturb my neighbors, but clearly nobody gets a s**t, so I light up my joint, start smoking it. I switched it off, went back to my TV, and I was bored as f**k. I could not stop thinking about Jax, asking myself too many questions. First of all, why did he put cologne on if he was coming back to the hotel room like I had so many things in my head, but then you know what, probably it was nothing, so I ignored every feeling I had and just decided to ignore it. It was my second day, and it was almost getting to night time, so I was like, "I want to grab a bite before the night falls." So I dress up very beautifully. I literally put on makeup, and I have this beautiful silver mixed with peachy colors. I put it on, where my heels, and go straight to the restaurant. It was a Saturday night, so of course there was music, and I took a shot at the bar. I was sitting there, on my right hand, and I noticed Jax talking to a man who looks like a mayor or like somebody in the government. The conversation was very, very deep, and he was wearing a black suit, not glancing in my direction or whatever.