"Just put it there… yeah… like that," Erin said.
Kyle grunted. This was more work than he thought.
"Move it nice and slow…"
"Ok. Guide me… please…"
"Don't hurt yourself…"
"I'm trying…"
"Just a little bit more… and…!"
Kyle set the couch down. Erin was rearranging parts of her apartment. Hopefully, her roommates wouldn't mind. She had two of them so there was a slight chance one of them wouldn't like the new arrangement.
"You sure this is OK? You didn't need to talk to the other girls?"
"I don't think it'll be an issue."
"Ok," said Kyle.
"My hero!"
Erin hugged Kyle, looked up and then stood on her tippy toes to give Kyle a kiss.
"Hey, I wanna beat the traffic so I should head out soon," said Kyle. "Plus, I don't wanna be here for any kind of argument."
"Boo! I don't want you to leave, yet…"
"I know, but I gotta prep for the week, too."
"All right… eat before you leave?"
"If I eat, I'll get lazy and stay… you know this. Quit sabotaging!"
"A girl can try…"
Kyle grabbed his things, kissed Erin goodbye, and then drove back to Beale. He made it through the weekend without anyone else mentioning his lie. Of course, that's what he wanted. Now, he had to see the guys, again, and keep the lie going.
Why couldn't he just tell the truth? Was it really more believable than a lie? It didn't matter really, but the more he lied, the more he'd have to remember.
Just a little longer thought Kyle.
Training continued the next couple of days, and it was a lot calmer than Kyle thought it would be. The guys didn't poke at him or anything. Apparently, after the initial "loss" of innocence, every other day was… just a day. The guys didn't mention it or press for any details or anything. That was a relief to Kyle.
Maybe it was smooth sailing from there.
It was evening and Kyle was winding down for the night. He was on the phone with Erin, when he received a call from Heath.
"Hey, my best friend is calling. I'll call you back," said Kyle.
"Ok," Erin confirmed.
"Bye…"
"Bye."
He swapped over to the call with Heath.
"Yo, Ky."
"Yo, what's up?"
"Nada. Me and Jay are comin' up Friday."
"For real?"
"Yeah, man. He's got a homegirl in Stockton he wants to visit."
"Cool so y'all 'ill be up for the weekend?"
"Yeah, come through!"
"All right. Sounds good."
"Cool. See you Friday."
That was unexpected. Usually, it was Kyle visiting his friends down South—not his friends visiting him up North. It was a pleasant surprise.
The rest of the week's training flew by. It was Friday and Kyle let Erin know he was hanging out with friends from home. She was bummed out, but she understood they didn't come up often to visit.
Heath and Jay left late so they were still making their way up even after Kyle was off work. He was just waiting for their call.
"Text me when you're about an hour from Stockton," muttered Kyle as he keyed in the T9 text message.
The phone rang.
"Yo, Heath."
"Yo, we're about twenty minutes from Stockton."
Kyle was a little annoyed. It would take him at least an hour to get close to Stockton. How fast was Heath driving?
"It'll take me a little to get there. You got the address?"
Heath handed the phone off to Jay, and Jay gave Kyle the address.
"All right, cool. See y'all soon."
Kyle hung up. He left his dorm room and drove to the computer lab to save time. He printed out the directions and headed to Stockton. The address was a little outside of Stockton. He was able to make it in a little over an hour.
The house he pulled up to had a Viper and a Corvette in the driveway. Whose house was this?
Kyle got out of his car and rang the doorbell. Jay opened the door. He was a Filipino guy of short stature and hair so gelled it was shaped similar to a Super Saiyan do—just without the blond.
"Sup, guy!" shouted Jay.
"Sup, man."
"Hey, everyone," said Jay. He was talking to two girls and a dude. "This is Ky."
"Sup, y'all."
"Y'all?" asked one of the girls. "Are you from the South?"
"Nah, just something that stuck with me from Jersey."
The girls looked at each other for a moment.
"Ky," Jay said.
"This is my friend Elly, her friend Kate and Kate's boyfriend, Don."
"Hi," Kyle said as to not use the word "y'all."
"We're just about to head out to eat," said Jay.
"Where to?"
"Down for pho?" asked Jay.
"I am always down for pho."
They all reconvened at a pho restaurant. They ate and laughed. Kyle had his regular large bowl of pho of whatever the combination special was. It came with all the fixings, and reminded him a little of home. Having Heath and Jay there also added to the nostalgia. Life on the base was simple. All the food was Americanized or American. This was a nice change of pace.
After dinner, they headed back to Don's house. The Viper and the Corvette were his. He was in some tech industry. He must not have come from wealth because he definitely liked to flaunt his wealth or maybe he was. Either way, he loved showing off.
"See this plasma," said Don. "I bought it new. 8Gs."
Eight thousand dollars for a damn TV Kyle thought.
"Cool," Kyle acknowledged.
Don got up to do some karaoke. He had a machine in his house. Every song he did was a love song aimed at Kate. There was no one else in that room that had his attention.
He must really love her thought Kyle.
Elly, Jay and Heath got up to head to the garage to take a hit off Elly's bong. Kyle stayed inside. He couldn't partake, but that left him in this awkward situation where Don was singing to Kate, and he was just… watching.
Kyle decided to get up and head to the garage. He could just say no to them. He had a strong enough will.
As he entered the garage, Elly started laughing.
"Was it funny leaving me in that awkward situation?" asked Kyle.
"A little bit," said Elly. "What did you think?"
"That guy… must really really be in love with her," stated Kyle.
"Oh, yeah, dude," acknowledged Jay. "He's been that way since we got here. All eyes on her."
"Damn," said Kyle. "I mean, nothing wrong with that."
"You got a chick, Ky?" asked Elly.
"She booted him!" answered Heath in Kyle's stead.
Kyle was slightly annoyed.
"Actually, I started seeing someone," said Kyle.
"Oh, snap! That's mah boi!" shouted Heath.
Heath didn't know, but it seemed he was happy for Kyle.
Kyle spoke a little of Erin. Elly seemed intent to listen to what Kyle had to say. A thought ran across his mind: was Jay into Elly?
Kyle didn't want to blabber on the whole night so he shifted the attention to Elly.
"What about you, Elly? You and Jay…?"
"I mean, we're friends," said Elly. "We live so far away…"
That might have been a sore subject. There was something definitely there, but the distance was probably too much.
Kyle tried to switch subjects. Don had video games in the house so he suggested Mario Kart. The four of them headed inside. Don and Kate were nowhere to be found, but that also meant they could turn on the Nintendo without any objections.
"Lovebirds must have burnt themselves out with ballads," said Kyle.
"Or… theyre…" Heath made a tune to a bom chicka bow wow sound.
"That's probably it," said Elly.
"You don't mind being around that all the time?" asked Kyle.
"If I did, I'd never see her," said Elly. "Ever since they started dating, they're never apart so it's all three or none…"
It didn't sound like Elly was too fond of Don. Kyle pushed further for some friendly competition. Maybe it would keep Elly's mind occupied.
They rounded out the night with Mario Kart. The next day, they all hung out, too. Don and Kate were doing their couple thing and making everyone feel either awkward or like the third wheel in every situation. Regardless, it was fun. Kyle got to spend time with people he cared about—and that was what was important.
Heath and Jay wanted Kyle to stay another night, but he told them the same thing he told Erin the other week—he had to get ready for the week and prep himself. He needed a day to do that.
"Good seeing y'all," said Kyle.
"Yeah, man it was fun," Heath agreed.
"Let me know when y'all get home."
"Will do," said Heath as he shot Kyle a salute.
Kyle was preparing himself for the week. He had to shine his boots, press his uniform, and mentally prepare for anything the instructors would throw his way. He also just liked to relax a little and do nothing—maybe play some video games or watch a movie—alone. Something that was mindless and allowed him to be in a state of relative nothingness. That was the only way Kyle knew that he could feel like he actually rested.
His phone buzzed.
It was Heath. It was a photo message with an image of a car with a crumpled bumper.
Kyle was shocked. He immediately called Heath.
"Dude, are you OK?" asked Kyle.
"I fugged up, Ky."
End of Chapter 10