Chapter 17 Austin - Tourist Escapades
Chapter 17
Austin - Tourist Escapades
I n the morning, I woke up to what I thought was an earthquake. My bed vibrated violently, and I didn’t know if I should stay there or crawl under it for safety. Then I heard the laughter.
“Wake up! Wake up!” Sydney giggled as she bounced on my bed. “I want to go out and have fun.”
I reached out my arm to swat at her. She jumped over my hand. “Stop it! You annoying bunny!” I sat up to get a better angle, but she hopped down to the carpet.
“Come on, Austin! It’s a beautiful day. I want to go do tourist stuff. See the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Maybe take one of those studio tours. Get the best fast food ever at In-n-Out. Dip my toes in the Pacific Ocean. The possibilities are endless!”
“Must have coffee first.” I rubbed my eyes. “Do you think you can find that?”
Sydney nodded vigorously.
“Okay. I’m going to take a shower while you go treasure hunting. Hot. Black. None of that fancy stuff with whipped cream and a straw.”
“Roger that. I’m on it!” She retreated backwards out the door and closed it behind her .
I chuckled at her performance as I made my way to the shower. The hot water steamed, and I stepped under the waterfall. The heat warmed my skin and woke me up. Some parts more than others. I indulged in the moment and rubbed myself to a fast, intense orgasm that made me groan. The best part about jerking off in the shower? No sticky cleanup.
When I stepped back into the bedroom, I could smell the coffee before I found it. A large paper cup with a green logo waited on my nightstand. Bless you, Sydney.
When I entered the living room with my coffee, Sydney sat on one end of the couch with her feet tucked to the side. She focused on her phone while she scrolled with her thumb. My boots clomped on the ceramic tile, and she assessed me while wearing a Cheshire grin.
“Are you ready for an adventure?” She waited, staring at me.
“Thank you for the coffee. I suppose I could do tourist things with you today.”
“Venus put her driver Justin at our disposal, and he’s waiting downstairs for us.” She hopped up from the couch. “That’ll be much easier than finding an Uber or Lyft.”
I nodded. “That’s cool. What did you have in mind again? The Walk of Fame and fast food?”
“In-n-Out. Best fast food in the country.” She assessed my wardrobe selection, a black George Strait concert t-shirt tucked into my favorite pair of Wranglers. “Is that what you’re wearing? We’re not going to be in an air-conditioned studio today. No shorts?” Her orange and pink plaid shorts skimmed her lower thighs, and her magenta V-neck tank top dipped low enough that I could glimpse cleavage and her pink bra. I averted my eyes before she caught me staring.
“I wear jeans all summer at home.”
“They crank up the oven a little bit hotter here. It’s going to be ninety today, minimum.” She shrugged. “Suit yourself. Let’s go find Justin.”
Justin happened to be a local, which he told us is an anomaly. His mother worked in the wardrobe department for various movies over the years, and as a single mom without family nearby, she brought him with her on the sets on the weekends. “The one time I got starstruck was when I got to meet my hero, The Rock, during the filming of The Mummy Returns . I might have been three at the time. He gives celebrities a good name—his kindness is unparalleled. ”
Justin provided us with invaluable tips about the area, including the fact that street performers expect to be paid if you want a picture with them. That surprised me at first, but Sydney said the same practice happened in Times Square too. He dropped us off in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater and let us know he would park nearby. We asked him to join us, but he politely declined. We walked around taking in the handprints and footprints. I geeked out a little at seeing Darth Vader, C-3PO, and R2-D2. The Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis plaques were pretty cool.
We both got excited over the prints of the cast of The Big Bang Theory . “Sydney, I had no idea you like that show.”
“There are lots of things you don’t know about me. That show is hilarious. It made me sad that it ended. Young Sheldon is good, but it’s not the same.”
“Agreed. I love catching random episodes on TBS. The napkin episode is the best 5 .”
“Without a doubt. Not to change the subject, but do you notice there aren’t as many women honorees here as men? I saw a few: Cher, Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Whoopi Goldberg. But there’s a definite majority of male personalities’ hand and footprints in the cement.”
It hadn’t crossed my mind, but Sydney never missed a trick. “I don’t know what the criteria are.”
“I don’t either, but I noticed. I wonder if the Hollywood Walk of Fame has a more even distribution.”
“There’s only one way to find out. To the stars!”
We moseyed around the Walk of Fame. Here, the tally of honorees appeared a tad more equal. Sydney wasn’t lying about the heat. I sweat in places I didn’t want to admit, and I wished for a pair of shorts. Telling Sydney about my misery would have sent her into fits of giggles. I had to suffer in silence. We did see quite a few street performers along the way, and I paid ten dollars to get my picture taken with Darth Vader, who brandished his light saber in my direction while I held my hands up in mock horror.
“I’m going to send that to Danny.” Sydney stopped to text him.
“Yeah, he would have loved to be here to see Darth.”
Before we left the hotel this morning, I had doubts about hanging out with Sydney. She seemed tightly wound at school. Today, though, she was an excellent companion in a strange place. She surprised me by asking strangers for directions without hesitation. After experiencing her paralyzing stage fright, her fearlessness seemed strange.
We saved the best for last: the carnival rides at the Santa Monica Pier. We rode the tilt-a-whirl, the bumper cars, and the Ferris wheel, then hit the carousel. Sydney chose a bedazzled pink horse that went up-and-down, and I picked the black, sleek one next to her.
From behind us a male voice hooted, “Earthquake! Elephant!”
I knew who they were referring to, and I watched Sydney to see her reaction. Her jaw and posture stiffened. She shook her head but remained silent. I wasn’t going to let him get away easily. I started to climb off my horse, but Sydney grabbed my hand.
“Don’t. It’s not worth it.” Her eyes pleaded with me. I nodded and she dropped my hand. We rode the carousel without speaking. The lively music rang out over the speakers, but it wasn’t fun anymore. I wanted to punch that jerk in the face, but I stayed on my horse. I didn’t know what to say to Sydney.
Later, as we watched the sunset on the ocean, I brought up the incident at the carousel. “How do you deal with assholes like that?”
She didn’t answer right away, facing the ocean. “I hate to say it, but I’m used to this kind of treatment from strangers. If I dare to go out in public, it’s like I consent to be ridiculed and scrutinized by people I don’t even know. I have a mirror at home. I know what I look like. I can’t shop at the trendy boutiques that my sisters like because they don’t carry my size. My mother has shamed me about my weight since I turned ten years old. Maybe younger. It’s a cheap shot. I’m an easy target for jackasses who want to feel better about themselves.”
The waves lapped the pier pilings. She went on, “But it affects my psyche. It makes me question why Danny wants to be with me. I’ve been on various diets for at least a decade. They don’t work. And no amount of exercise seems to make me smaller either. The only way I can escape their cruelty is to never leave the house. I refuse to live that way because then they win. I would give anything to be thin like my sisters, or Meghan, or any of the other skinny girls in my sorority. But since my Disney fairy godmother hasn’t shown up, I have to soldier on this way.” She kept facing the ocean.
I didn’t know how to respond. “I think you look fine.”
She shook her head, still not making eye contact. “That’s the worst kind of response. I know you’re trying to be nice, but lying to me to save my feelings does nothing for me.”
“I’m sorry, Sydney. I’m not trying to make you feel worse. I knew I should have punched that jerk.”
“That would have hurt your hand and not solved anything.”
We watched the sun dip below the horizon. The waves crashing and seagulls screeching filled my ears and cleared my mind of its swirling thoughts. The only time I experienced anything close to that type of ridicule was during Initiation for Kappa Sigma. Meghan made me feel horrible during one of their hazing rituals, and I would never consider her a friend.
When we finished, Justin picked us up at the entrance to the pier. He took a minor detour to In-n-Out so we could try it for the first time. “I worked here during high school. Your taste buds will not be disappointed.”
We devoured our burgers, fries, and shakes in the SUV long before we made it back to the hotel.
In the elevator, as we rode to our suite, Sydney tapped my arm. “I’m tired. I’m going to peel off my sweat-soaked clothes and crawl into bed. Call Danny if he’s still awake.”
“I’m not ready to call it quits. I’ll drop you off, then I’m going to find live music nearby.”
The elevator doors opened, and Sydney got out. She turned towards me. “Thanks for joining me. It was a great adventure.” She disappeared behind the closing doors.
In the lobby, I asked the concierge where I could find a good country bar. I slid a Lincoln across the counter in thanks. With a name in my head, I stepped outside to hail a cab. I didn’t feel like walking that far in my boots after being out all day.
5 “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis.” The Big Bang Theory , created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, season 2, episode 11, Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre Productions, 2008.