Jason Gabriel [vs] Sha'ta Thor

MIN WORD COUNT: 500 WORDS

- RP HERE, GOOD LUCK

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In a hotel room…presumably in San Antonio, Texas, or somewhere between there and Oklahoma City.  If this were a screen shot, there would be slow teasing shot of the clothes lying at the foot of the bed, suggesting the order in which they were removed.  A skin tight black wife beater that looks much too small for any adult woman to wear (which is typically the point), a crumpled, black Helloween t-shirt, sized at least 2XL, white short shorts with black stripes up the outsides, a black lace bra, black mesh Nike shorts for someone extremely long-legged, and a pair of black satin or silk panties.  Amidst the wreckage of blended fabrics and unmentionables are four shoes placed with all the precision and uniformity of spent shell casings ejected from an automatic weapon; one pair is a medium-sized woman’s shoes: black strappy sandal looking things as well as two massive black and gold Nike gunboats.  

If this were a screen shot, it would slowly pan up to the king size bed and reveal a naked woman wrapped in the bed sheets.  However this isn’t a salacious movie or television show.  The woman, Lilah, is naked, but since this is the southern continental United States in late July, she’s long since kicked the covers off and lies in a decidedly not perfectly-posed position.  It’s not sexy, well, okay, it’s still a naked beautiful woman, but like anyone she’s got her arms and legs all spread and splayed, her hair has been demolished, and she’s lightly snoring.  Then the toilet flushes, water runs and out walks Jason Gabriel.  His black Jockeys are on him, hence not in the pile.  His hair is also in mussed ruins, and he examines himself in the mirror and shakes his head, trying to straighten it with his fingers.

Jason Gabriel: How the hell does Griffin keep his looking so good, it’s twice as long mine.

Suddenly the chorus of “Kickstart My Heart” shatters the silence from out of nowhere.  Well, that’s not true, it’s out of somewhere; specifically the Samsung Galaxy S4 plugged into the wall and resting on the table in the corner.  Stygian runs over to grab it, hoping to get there before it wakes up his lovely companion.  He grabs the phone and hits the mute, the reads the Call ID.  Even though it says Unavailable Number he sighs and swipes his thumb to answer it.

Jason Gabriel: Hello?


Jason Gabriel: Jaci?  Uh…hi.  I wasn’t expecting to ever hear from…


Jason Gabriel: Oh.  Yeah.  I actually did expect that, come to mention it.  I found them.  Just a few odds and ends of clothes you left behind.


Jason Gabriel: No I haven’t done that.  In fact I packed them for you.  I figure you only really want that shirt, but I packed all of them.  They’re in that closet under the stairs.


Jason Gabriel: Well, you can pick them up when you pass through Denver.


Jason Gabriel: I changed the codes; I change them once a month.  I’d rather not give them over the phone.  Why don’t you call Chuck when you get to Denver?  He has the code in case of an emergency.


Jason Gabriel: Uhhhhhhhh…I could be in Denver Thursday.  I mean, if you wanted me to.

About that time, Lilah rolls over and makes one of those soft little sleeping sounds, just loud enough to be heard over the phone.

Jason Gabriel: What?  


Jason Gabriel: No, I heard you.  Yes it’s a woman.


Jason Gabriel: You haven’t talked to me in two months!  You moved out and changed your number!   It’s not like I didn’t try.  Have you been entirely celibate this whole time?



Jason Gabriel: You’re damn right it’s fair enough!

Of course Lilah picks that moment to wake up, yawn, stretch and speak.

Lilah: Jason, what time is it?

Jason has to hold the phone away from his ear.

Jason Gabriel: I’m not going to lie to you.  It is Amber.

Lilah blinks her eyes open, sits bolt upright and mouths “Jaci?”  Jason nods.  Lilah covers her mouth with both hands and then dives towards the foot of the bed, furiously trying to separate her clothes from the carnage, as though covering her naked body will somehow make things better.

Jason Gabriel: No, it wasn’t a “got drunk and passed out” thing; I definitely fucked her.


Jason Gabriel: How does that make things worse?


Jason Gabriel: Look, Jaci, we were drinking, we were lonely, we were on the road…


Jason Gabriel: I’m not just trying to get them back!


Jason Gabriel: I keep the wedding rings in a safe in my garage with a bunch of other shit I never touch.  They’re valuable, I don’t want them stolen.  You were there the night I took mine off.  I took it off because of you.


Jason Gabriel: We have to be separated a year before we can file divorce.  Tina’s living with some guy out in Palo Alto anyway.  


Jason Gabriel: Jaci, it’s not like that.  


Jason Gabriel: Jaci?  JACI?

Jason slumps and holds the phone out in front of him.  It’s displaying his desktop.  His estranged ex-girlfriend has long since hung up.

Jason Gabriel: Goodbye, Jaci.

Lilah has managed to get her shorts and her bra on and is turning her shirt right-side-out as Jason drops into one of the chairs dropping the phone onto the table and looking at it.

Lilah: Ohmigosh!  Did I just ruin your last chance with Jaci?

Jason laughs spinning the phone idly on the tabletop.

Jason Gabriel: No, I’m pretty sure I did that myself.  If you weren’t the final nail in the coffin, Vanessa would have been.

Lilah: Vanessa…Cade?

Jason nods.

Lilah: Damn, she’s hot.  I heard about that.  What was that all about?

Jason Gabriel: For three days?  It was like…well, did you ever have a time when you were in high school and your boyfriend’s parents, or yours for that matter, went out of town for the weekend, so you spent that weekend together in the empty house doing…well, whatever you damn well pleased?

Lilah: Why do you think I spent summers at my dad’s house?  He was, like, never home.

Jason Gabriel: That’s kinda what Vanessa and I did.  

Lilah: Are you guys, like, a thing now?

Jason Gabriel: I asked her that very question when she left.  She just turned and smiled and said, “It is what is.  Don’t ruin it by trying to label it.  If we meet again, we’ll see what happens.”  Then she was gone.  She had one plane to catch, I think to California.  I had one to San Antonio.

Lilah: I see.

Jason Gabriel: You seem awfully casual about this, given last night.

Lilah sighs, leaning back against the headboard.  She folds her arms up behind her head.

Jason Gabriel: That bad, huh?

Lilah: Now, it wasn’t “bad”.  It was good.  You…clearly have a good memory.

Lilah has to look away from Jason a moment while she blushes.  She finally manages to look back to Jason.

Lilah: But it was wrong.  Like…it’s not us Jase.  It’s not you and me.  It’s you and her and me, you know?

Jason Gabriel: It wasn’t always, Amber.  Sometimes it was that, sometimes it was she and I, sometimes it was you and I, sometimes it was you and she…

Lilah: But we always were together.  Like…together.  You know?

Jason Gabriel: I guess.  So the odds of a repeat performance are not good.

Lilah: You could call her, you know.

Jason Gabriel: Did you tell me she’s living with some lit professor out at Stanford?  And she’s really happy with him?

Lilah sits up, pulling her shirt on and then resting on one hand as she turns to look at Jason again.

Lilah: It’s like, fake happy.  She’s always talking about you.  Jesus, you should have heard what she said about Vanessa.

Jason Gabriel: Really?

Lilah: “Slut” was the nicest thing she said.

Jason Gabriel: Well, so what?

Lilah: So?  SO CALL HER!

Jason raises a brow as Lilah shouts.

Lilah: Sorry.

Jason Gabriel: You’re fine, that was just unexpected.

Lilah: It’s like…god you two.  It’s so frustrating.  You two want each other back so fucking much and neither one of you will admit it!

Jason Gabriel: She doesn’t want me back.

Lilah: YES SHE DOES!

Jason Gabriel: Amber, dear, you want us back.  It’s sweet, it’s touching.  But let me remind you of one thing: Tina changed her number; right after I started dating Jaci.  I couldn’t call her if I wanted to.

Jason stands and looks down at his clothes on the floor.  He sets about pulling on the discarded shorts and his shirt as Lilah watches him in silence.

Lilah: Do you want to?

Jason Gabriel: I know you have her number, but that’s not the point.  She severed that connection with me.  She has to reestablish it.  I’m not going to turn ino a stalker on my ex-wife.  

Lilah: She’s not “ex” yet.

Jason Gabriel: That’s just a technicality.  She assured me of that the last time I did talk to her.

Lilah: When was that?

Jason Gabriel: The night before the first time I slept with Jaci.  She and I had almost had a night like you and I had last night.  Perfect storm of drunkenness, loneliness and horniness; wound up back in her room though, it was closer.  Got down to our underwear, and I looked down and saw my wedding ring, since I was still wearing it in those days.

Lilah: Oh, ouch!  What happened?

Jason Gabriel: A sheepish walk to the elevator, a cold shower and a phone call to Tina.  I told her I felt like I was cheating on her, and that she was still my wife.  She assured me that was only on paper, and sent my next ten calls to voicemail before I gave up.  Next day, her number was changed.  Amber, I haven’t talked to Tina since January.  I have no means of contacting her.  But my number hasn’t changed.  The house number hasn’t changed.  My email is the same.  She has ways of contacting me.  She’ll have to.  She made it clear that she didn’t want me finding her.

Lilah sighs an turns to the side of the bed to put her feet on the floor.  She slumps dejectedly.

Jason Gabriel: You want to grab breakfast?

Lilah: I should shower and change clothes.  If I show up smelling like sex and wearing the same clothes?  Dead giveaway.

Jason Gabriel: That’s what I’m doing.

Lilah: It’s not a badge of honor for girls like it is for guys.  Can I use your shower?

Jason Gabriel: Me casa es su casa.

Lilah: Thanks.  I don’t think I could persuade you to swing by my room and grab my suitcase could I?  The pink one with the black straps?

Jason Gabriel: I can, sure.

Lilah: It is still called the “walk of shame” when you’re 29?

Jason Gabriel: Only if you’re ashamed of it.

Lilah looks over her shoulder at Jason, but shakes her head.

Lilah: I’m not.  I just miss us.  Don’t worry about it.

Jason shrugs.

Jason Gabriel: I need your key.

Lilah: Right.

Lilah digs a plastic card key out of her pocket and turns, handing it across the bed to Jason.

Jason Gabriel: 834, right?

Lilah: Yeah.  

Jason Gabriel: It’ll be a few minutes.

Jason slips into some huge flip-flops and makes his way out of the room.  Lilah digs her phone out of another pocket and speed dials number 3.

Lilah: Jesus, took you forever!


Lilah: It’s 9 on a Sunday morning.


Lilah: Oh, sorry.  Timezones.


Lilah: I’m alright.  Have you thought anymore about…

Lilah’s sentence is cut off abruptly as if she’s interrupted.  She sighs, blushing again.

Lilah: ...I did, I slept with him.


Lilah: I know you’re not.  I’d feel better if you did get mad.


Lilah: I know you do.  You can’t lie to me, not about this.


Lilah: Because you were pissed about Jaci, and Vanessa Cade.  I’m still the only woman who can have sex with him that doesn’t piss you off.


Lilah: You so were.


Lilah: Fine.  Go back to sleep.  We can talk later.

Lilah lowers her phone from the ear as the call end screen comes up.  She thumbs open her contact list and scrolls down to the R’s, dragging her thumb across the entry to make her Android phone call the contact immediately.  She sits idly as the phone rings, doing that baited breath pause people do when they get someone’s voicemail an have to wait for all the extemporaneous instructions to finish.

Lilah: Hey Rosa, I know it’s like, 7 in Idaho…

Yes, Lilah thinks Idaho is in the same time zone as California…

Lilah: …but can you call me back when you get this?  I need help…uh…with Jason and Tina.  K, bye.