Letting out a bit of aggression helped for a little while, but it isn’t enough to make me forget that we’re broke. Seeing Roman’s nice house and car makes it all even more depressing. On the way to Roman’s, I let Michelle know that I had gotten fired and she assured me that I’ll make more money using my programming skill anyway. I hope she’s right, so I sign up as a freelancer and take a job right away. This way I can make money while working on my charity website.
After I make it to level 4 programming, I text Q to see what he’s up to. I’d like to spend as much time with him as possible before he moves.
Q agrees to meet me at the lounge. I don’t plan on letting him know that I was fired, but he picks up that something is wrong.
Quincy: You okay?
There’s no use in hiding it from him…
Alida: Well…I got fired from my job.
Quincy: It didn’t sound like you were very interested anyway.
Alida: I wasn’t but I needed the money.
Quincy: You can always freelance…eventually you’ll make way more money than you did on the job anyway.
Alida: Maybe, but what do I do in the meantime? I sort of like to eat, you know.
Quincy: Yeah…there’s that.
I know that he probably can’t understand where I’m coming from…that what I’m saying isn’t just figurative. With his well-to-do upbringing, I’m sure he’s never starved a day in his life. It’s better to just change the subject, so I suggest that we head inside.
Bubbles have a way of relaxing me in a way nothing else can. Just for a while, I can be in the moment…not worried about money and bills. I guess they have the same effect on Q.
We move over to a nearby sofa, where Q suddenly volunteers some surprising information.
Quincy: I’ve been fired before…sorta.
Alida: From where?
Quincy: I was basically fired from the military. I couldn’t make it through bootcamp. They said I was too rebellious. I’m not sure why they’d say that. My dad was pissed about it…he probably still is. I was like f it. It was my chance to do something that I loved.
Q’s revelation actually makes me feel a bit better. Now I know that I’m not the only one who has messed up on a job. Our conversation goes from that to something a little more intimate. He whispers a few words in my ear and grabs my hand…
Quincy: Did I already mention that I enjoy spending time with you?
Alida: Yes
Quincy: Well, I’d like to spend more…a lot more.
We get up to leave, but we don’t make it very far. Drawn together like magnets, we begin to kiss. His hands touch my bare shoulders and my cheek, but it’s not enough. I want to know what’s next.
Eventually, my hand finds Q’s most intimate spot. His body responds in lust, but his mouth with logic. He pulls back..
Alida: What’s wrong…
Quincy: It’s not that I don’t want this, but shouldn’t we go somewhere more private?
I look around…embarrassed about our public display of affection seeing that the lounge is pretty busy with other people.
Alida: Where? Your place?
Quincy: No…I still live with my parents and my nosey sister. What about your place?
After seeing where he lives…there’s no way in hell we’re going to my place.
Alida: No…we can’t go there.
He doesn’t question why.
Quincy: I know where we can go…
We leave the lounge. Q drives us close to his neighborhood but parks the car far away from his house. We get out and he leads me to another house, up the street from where he lives.
Alida: So…we’re going to break into somebody’s house?
It sounds risky, but I’m willing.
Quincy: We don’t have to break in…I have the key.
Alida: *confused* How?
Q unlocks the door and explains that this house belongs to his family, but they’ve never lived in it. His parents spent years fixing it up and now they rent it out to other people.
I’m in shock.
Alida: So you hustle rich people out of their money with a house?
Quincy: We don’t have to hustle. It’s a nice house so they want to rent it out. There’s one celebrity who usually rents it out the entire winter every year…it just so happens that they chose another vacation spot this time. My parents make a lot of money this way.
Alida: And it’s legal?
I’d never heard of such a thing.
Quincy: Yeah…it’s like an investment. Let me show you around.
Q directs me to the stairs.
Quincy: Just wait until you see the upstairs balcony.
I start ascending with Q right behind me.
Alida: Why move to Oasis Springs? Why not just live here?
Quincy: I can’t afford it. I’d have to pay my parents a lot of money for this place. It’s worth more to them as a rental.
Quincy takes me to the balcony…only I’ve never seen a balcony like this before. It’s huge and like something you’d see in a music video except there’s no pool.
Alida: This is amazing!
Quincy: Yeah, but I’ve actually saved the best for last. Let’s go down to the basement.
How can anything be better than this?
My jaw literally drops when I step into the so-called basement.
Alida: Are you serious right now? You all have a whole ass gym in your house?
Quincy: And a sauna, pool, hot tub…oh and a movie theater. It’s small though. Wanna see it?
Q guides me forward to see the rest of the basement.
The theater room is small, but that doesn’t take away from its elegance. If I had something like this in my house…I’d never get anything accomplished.
Quincy: Grab a snack from the refrigerator or cabinets. My parents keep it fully stocked for guests.
I’m happy to do so. It’s only until I’m walking over that I realize that I’m actually hungry. I grab some chips, then sit down next to Q…asking myself, ‘what the heck am I doing here with him’? The TV in this room is so big that it hurts my neck to look up at it. It’s something that a girl from Mirage Park can only dream about having, but to Q, it doesn’t seem to be a very big deal. I don’t even belong in his world.
(Generation 1a Chapter Summaries)
