Created by Diane Brown, Buena Beach is an online soap opera, giving up all the juicy details of some of the hottest guys and gals of Buena Beach, a small town in Southern California. Check back everyday for a new episode here on HelloBeautiful.com.
The Voice
At the Buena Beach Café, nestled in the dimly lit back corner, Micah and Jen pour over their respective chemistry and recipe books. It’s their usual spot, where they share a cinnamon raisin bagel and a pair of mocha freezes almost every afternoon. At a rate of $10 a study date, it’s a nice gig for Micah. Although he could make a lot more money working at his dad’s auto shop or at the mall, earning a few bucks by pretending to be Jen’s boyfriend had other invaluable benefits. The whole thing started simply enough when the two were assigned as chemistry partners. As the semester progressed, it soon became clear that Jen’s idea of experimentation differed vastly from the rest of the class. She preferred taking on real world matters, like seeing how long it would take to drive her chemistry teacher to alcohol abuse by moving his desk over a quarter inch each day while he stepped out into the hallway between periods (3.5 weeks); or emptying a bag of random insects into the front pocket of an unsuspecting cheerleader’s backpack to see if it would make her scream “rah” upon discovery. And that one experiment she tried a few months back, testing her hypothesis that the goons who worked for her dad would jump at the opportunity if she ever tried to seduce one of them, even though she was the boss’s underage daughter. Her target initially was Mario, but when D-day finally arrived, he happened to be out sick that day. So, she set her sites on Chris when she happened upon him while roaming the building in search of the vending machines. Danny wasn’t there, gone for the day to a meeting at City Hall. Jen predicted the immediate outcome of her experiment as soon as they crossed paths, his eyes lingering a nanosecond too long on her body parts below the neck. Her approach was pretty simple, although something only seen in blockbuster big screen romances. After his nervous, “Hi, Jennifer,” she came in close, grabbed him by a belt loop, and kissed him like he was about to leave for a 9-month tour of duty oversees.
It was never intended to be a long-term experiment; just something that would last a few days or so – until she proved her point (which, honestly, she was able to do in about 4 hours). But after a few days, it was clear to Jen that her experiment had resulted in some unexpected side effects. Not only was Chris sprung out of his mind over the fearless, uninhibited 17-year-old wearing daisy dukes and a halters top aplenty (duh!), but Jen had developed something for this man that she’d never experienced in her short life: feelings.
So it was shortly after Jen’s seduction on D-Day afternoon that Chris and Jennifer decided to partake in a joint experiment with each other in the form of couple-dom. Sure, this new experiment would be tested much more rigorously, with the threats of statutory rape and being grounded for life and losing a job and social isolation, but they were both eager to take the steps necessary to make it work.
Jen was the one who came up with the idea to involve Micah. As Jen’s lab partner, he’d been heard about all of her previous experiments, often giving advice on her approaches (usually in the form of “Don’t do it!”). Hence, he knew all about her secret relationship with Chris, taking an oath over Bunsen burner as a solemn promise “not to tell a soul, dead, alive, or in-between” about Jen’s big secret. After letting the word ‘boyfriend’ accidentally slip out one day at home while chatting with her parents, Jen decided to ask Micah to play the role for pay. With the most overprotective father in the Northern hemisphere, Jen realized that she wouldn’t be able to get away with late night outings or blocks of time spent away from the family on weekends since they all knew she had no friends, and her hours at work were limited. If she kept a fake boyfriend, she knew word would get around to her father about the “nice young fellow that Jen’s always with.”
So far, it was working. EVERYBODY who worked for Jen’s dad stopped by the Buena Beach Café at least a couple times a week (less for the overpriced food, more to support their colleague Chris, who co-owned the place); and word had gotten around to Danny on several occasions about the “couple’s” study dates. As of this week, Micah has made over $200.
His problem, however, wasn’t about the money. Micah was conflicted because he wasn’t pretending, faking, or experimenting. His feelings for Jen were 100% real. From their first study date, in the same corner where they now sat, he wasn’t playing make believe. For a while, the faux-relationship did it for him. His parents (who’d met Jen one afternoon while stopping in the Café for iced coffees) thought she was adorable. Buddies of his were amazed and in awe at how he’d happen to snag such a hot chick. And most times, when the two were chitchatting, passing the time until he was off the clock, they seemed to connect. She didn’t seem to be pretending that time when she’d gently wiped whipped cream off his upper lip with her thumb. Or once when she’d grabbed his arm and clung to him tightly as a spider floated down from the rafters. All that was real to Micah, and he held on to the hope that one of these days, she’d feel the same way too. That one day, an epiphany would hit about her true feelings for him.
But until that day happened, he was content to break out the books and order their afternoon bagel and sit in their corner a few times a week. It certainly beat hanging out with his Chess Club homies.
“This bagel’s kind of stale today, don’t you think?” Jen asks him.
He could shrug and be honest, telling her it tastes exactly the same as all of the others have. But instead, he says, “Yah, kind of.”
Jen sighs and shakes her head while still feeding herself another piece. “I’m gonna have to talk to Alice about this vendor she’s using. Dude was all flirting with me the other day when he came in for a delivery. Pervert.”
He could also point out the irony of her statement. But instead, he says, “What do you know about vendors?”
She playfully throws a small piece of bagel at his face. “I happen to know a lot about vendors. Probably the only class I ever liked was my business class last semester with Ms. Sinatra. She always said – ”
Micah’s on the edge of his seat, waiting to hear exactly what Ms. Sinatra always says. But just like that, Jen’s kissing him, tongue and everything. A wonderfully perfect cinnamon and mocha-laced kiss that is entirely too short. Once he actually realizes what’s happening and a rush of endorphins kicks in, it’s over, and Jen is looking at him with her big beautiful eyes and pathetic smile.
“Micah,” she says, hushed. “I’m so, so sorry about that. It’s just that…” Jen turns to look back towards the counter. “Well, see that guy that just walked in, ordering?”
“Yah.”
“He’s this guy named Mario, who works with Chris and under my dad. Except for right now, he’s working in my dad’s position while he’s on leave. So, basically, he’s Chris’s boss, at least temporarily. Anyway, he came in here the other day when the place was, like, dead. Chris and I were in the back, you know…playing around some…”
A detail Micah could have lived without.
“And then, all of a sudden, Mario’s here. We hadn’t even realized that Alice took down the bell on the front door, so we didn’t hear anything. He didn’t say anything, but I just know his sneaky ass probably saw us. Or maybe he just thinks he saw something. I don’t know – I just don’t want him to suspect anything between me and Chris, so we have to really turn up the volume right now, okay?”
If it meant more kissing, he’d have no problem with that – they could get as loud as she desired. Only problem is, now that he’s tasted the goods, he wanted more. He’d had his first hit of Jennifer, and she was definitely something Micah couldn’t get enough of.
Check back tomorrow for the next episode of Buena Beach!
