River & Revenge

02 | an iron man impersonator

J A M I E

     'No knocking on my door between ten PM to ten AM.'

"Weird, but alright." Jamie gave a once over to the e-mail she had received this early morning from a potential tenant. The said guy claimed he was twenty-five and was going to occupy the apartment for a minimum of four months, and he was currently employed at a local restaurant. Along with a request that the rent would be paid on the seventh of every month, he had a no-knocking policy. Fair enough.

She wrote a quick reply that she was interested and put her phone back into her little purse.

Six months and there were only two applications, but this seemed to be her best shot compared to the other. She wouldn't have to go through the whole process again, and from their profile, they sounded. . . okay. She was running out of patience, so unless they too ended up asking to let their pet snake be the third tenant, they were a better choice.

Ignoring the countless beer bottles, as well as the joyful screams of strangers, Jamie Hyde walked towards the backyard door, pushing her way through a hoard of people. Empty bottles rolled on the floor, clinking with each other as a result of obnoxious irresponsibility. She was itching to pick them up, tidy the place and give an earful to everyone who didn't know how to use a trash can, but she walked off the temptation, nearing the pool instead.

She found familiar faces by the water, the glitter on their cheeks sparkled under the dim iridescent lights, and she desperately hoped they wouldn't notice her. Most of all, she hoped her ex-boyfriend wouldn't notice her. Between all her sparkly acquaintances, there was a specific devil her eyes were searching for, and she had every kind of lame plan figured out if it came to facing him.

Incoming calls, work emergencies, triggered home alarms or simply disappearing if she had to choose the immoral route, but thankfully, she didn't find his face anywhere among the crowd. She sighed with relief, thanking fate to be on her side today, but when the rough heels of the boots stomped behind her, she ceased in her place, feeling her glittering bodycon dress suddenly become tighter.

"Jamie, hey." She took a deep breath. "Jamie?" He repeated, and she gave up her breathing routine halfway, muttering a fuck under her breath. Was I too obvious? Did I stop too abruptly? The tables with drinks were right in front of her, and considering she hadn't fallen face-first on them, she could assume she was fine. The worst had not happened yet.

She clenched her eyes shut, finding the courage to face him again. She didn't know what impression he got from her back, but she turned around with grace. He would get a good front look, even if he was a cheating scum. "Mike," she tried to be polite, she really did, but she couldn't. "I didn't expect you to greet me. Where's Sila?"

A proud smirk latched onto her lips. She was courteous with that one, more than she'd have liked, but she finally stood up to him. After three months of their breakup she could, at last, make snarky remarks at him. Instead of having her eyes well up, she was confident and sarcastic, and it was a little victory she appreciated with everything in her.

"She's busy with. . ." His eyes roamed around, probably hoping to find what his sister was up to, and Jamie found the perfect opportunity to escape the frustrating conversation.

"Okay, I'll see you around," she flashed her teeth in a forced smile and turned her back on him.

Music blasted around her, but even with the EDM beat drop at its peak volume, it couldn't shield the clacking of his boots. Either the speaker was shit or his boots had grown a pair of drums on their sole. Oh, how she hated his boots, they were a pain to take off, smelled like rotten prawns and looked ugly on him in general. He paired it with a dress shirt and formal slacks, much to her displeasure.