Heart Of Gold

The Race Is On

"Dude?"

Will waved his hand wildly in front of Jake's face, trying to catch his attention for the second time that morning. Jake shook his head to clear the memories he was reliving of last night.

"Sorry," he said. "Just thinking of -"

"Yeah, I know. You were thinking of her." Will grinned, his eyes bleary and his sandy hair poking up in all directions. "Say, what time were you supposed to pick her up?"

Jake paused, thinking. "Noon."

"Well, it's almost noon so you might want to get a move on."

"Shit," Jake groaned, glancing at his watch. "I look like a dirt squirrel."

"Yeah, I mean, you definitely look like you haven't showered in a few days." Will didn't bother to contradict him.

"Does the water even work in here?"

Jake twisted the kitchen faucet hopefully. It sputtered pitifully through a faucet clogged with rust and calcium deposits but nothing came out.

"Shit!" Jake smacked the counter in frustration. "What am I going to do now? I can't go pick her up like this." He lifted his arm and gingerly sniffed his armpits. "Fuck, I definitely can't go like this. I smell like a sweaty brewery."

"You know," Will said, with a glint in his eye, "we do have some water." He gestured towards the window.

Jake's eyes followed his friend's movement, out the window frame and onto the huge expanse of Lake Okanagan in front of their cabin. "No way, that water's freezing!"

"Yep," Will grinned happily. "But unless you want to look like a grease monkey, I suggest you get moving. It's going to take some time to undo the shrinkage."

Jake whipped a pillow at his friend's head and set out for the lake. 

About twenty feet past their front door, the cold water lapped up against the rocky shore. There was no ice covering the surface but Jake was positive the water would still be frigid. 

Striping down to his underwear, he dipped a tenatative toe and swore. It was too cold to submerge -- a sponge bath would have to do. He bent over and soaped up his hair, swishing it through the water to rinse. 

A quick lather under his arms and a few splashes of cold water later, he was good to go.

Jake quickly toweled off and hopped back into his jeans and a plaid shirt, throwing his varsity jacket overtop. It would take about fifteen minutes for him to get into town and over to Rose's house. If he left now, he should make it on time.

"I'm heading out now," he told Will. "I'll be back in a few hours and we can go get some groceries."

"Yeah for sure, don't mind me. I'm just going to sit around here and twiddle my thumbs. And by twiddle my thumbs I mean -"

"I get it," said Jake.

"Have fun, man." Will plopped down on the green and orange polka dot couch.

Driving up over the bridge and into town, Jake was surprised at the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. It had been a while since he had liked a girl enough to get nervous before hanging out with her. 

Jake checked the address on his phone and couldn't help but wonder whether he should go up to her door to get a sense of what Rose so badly wanted to hide or just sit and wait for her in the car like she had asked. After a heated argument with himself, Jake settled on sitting in Rose's driveway with the window cracked.