Chapter 4

Kevin.

“One grande caramel frappucino no whip please,” said a girl voice while I was tapping the cash register.
“One grande caramel frappucino no whip", I shouted to my colleague, then I turned my head on the customer, it was the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard. Like her voice, she was indeed beautiful. She smiled and nodded to me at the same time.

“What are you doing?” asked Jim a while later when he saw me photographing this girl with my phone camera behind the cash register.
“Shut up!”

“I should bang her, dude!”, I texted Nate immediately, sending him a photo I took before.
“50 bucks if you can get her” he replied.
A minute later, “Dream on, Kev! She’s out of your league.” It was Jo, as usual. Damn Nate, he must tell Jo about this.

***

4 years before.

“Jessica Kumala Halim, is that you?”
“Errr, yes. You are… You look familiar. High school?”
“Kevin. Kevin Tedjakesuma. Bintang Laut Senior High. I’m your cousin’s, Nate, friend. Remember?”
“The one who dated Agnes, The Drama Queen?”
“Hahahaha…. Absolutely!”
“Oh, hi, how are you? Work here now?”
“I’m good. Yes, it’s my part time job. My dad owns this coffee shop. I’m taking graduate school now.”
“Oh great. Sorry, I have many things to run today. We should hang out later.”
“Sure. Sure. Leave me your phone number, I’ll call you.”

Jess wrote down her number at a napkin I gave her. Gosh, she was pretty, like she used to be. Jessica on high-heels, my mind wandered.

“Dude, one tall hot mocha please,” Jim, the store manager, shouted at me.
“Oh sorry, okay. Right away, Sir.”

I gave Jess a call the day after. She sounded nice on the phone. I asked her out for a coffee the next afternoon before I went to campus. She agreed. That was the beginning. We went to date for couple times. Sometimes it ended in my room, sometimes in hers. But that was just it. We liked each other but we both knew we went nowhere.

About a month later, when we walked to her apartment, laughing, touching and kissing all the way, I hit a girl that passed by me.
"Oops... Sorry, Miss. I am sorry"
"Jo, what's wrong?" It was Jess talking.
"Oh, hi Jess. I'm okay. I just need a fresh air. Talk to you later, eh? Bye!," then she walked away.
"Poor Jo..." Jess looked worried.
"What was that?" I asked impatiently.
"She was my house-mate. I guess she had another fight with his boyfriend. Come on, I'm freezing here."
It was only a moment I saw her face. But I knew my heart stopped that moment. Well, I didn't know what it was. I walked Jess home and I left for a drink, then I went to Nate's, fell asleep there, weirdly dreamed about that girl, Jo, I guessed.

Not long after, Jess had a relationship with Leo, and we became bestfriend, no more staying over.

I didn't have any regular after Jess. Girls came and went away. I was not a committed guy. Relationship, for me, was just sex. I didn’t believe in love, but made love. Why should I commit to one girl, if I could sleep with them all? I won’t get bored. No, I didn’t pay for sex. I had them with them who liked me, but no strings attached. I did a lot. I was addicted? Sure yes. It was fun.