Ash and Sarah

I was to meet Erica and her new flatmates for dinner last night, but she never told me what time. Despite that, I decided I'd have enough time to sneak off to the gym after work before meeting up, so I ducked off for a ride on the bike, and everything else was being used so I left.

Also, before going to the gym, I bought one single rose for Erica. I remember her asking me on Valentine's Day why I didn't buy her one and now I wanted to surprise her, or at least show I was making a little bit of an effort. So I looked like a bit of a dork carrying the rose to and from the gym.

I went home, got changed and headed out. I called her, and she said she was at Ikea near Newtown, and said to meet at 8:30pm. I was a bit annoyed because it was 7pm now, she should've told me the time earlier, and also 8:30pm was a bit late for me since I had work the next day.

So with all this time on my hands, and some guilt on my conscience, I went to Macca's and bought some apple pies to bring home to my mom as she likes apple pies. I bought six and dropped them off back home before heading out to the city. I got out there at 8pm, parked and just sat in my car. I tried to sleep but ended up playing on my phone.

At 8:40pm I messaged her "zzzzzz..." and she messaged back saying she was on her way. Then my phone rang, and I answered with a loud "raaaaaaaaaaaaa", only to hear a guy's voice say "hello, this is Sarah's boyfriend" and having him tell me where they were.

I found them in a Korean restaurant between Chinatown and my old office. When I walked in I didn't see Erica, but this girl waved me towards her table. Without my glasses, I wondered if it was Erica but it wasn't. She said she was Sarah, and pointed to a pair of crutches, which I could only presume to be Erica's.

I sat down and later saw Erica and Yatcham. He introduced himself as Ash, and said that was his name, despite Erica calling him Yatcham. He was a shorter bloke than me, Indonesian, a bit younger (29), had a nice face and was pretty built. I wondered if he was a crim, but later found out he was in mining. I guess he was like me, some fool fallen in love with the wrong girl. Apparently he is based in Perth but comes here only for Sarah, and even decided to rent out an apartment for her, which is where Erica will be living.

Sarah was a bit older, slim, and kinda bubbly/loud. She reminded me of what Naby would look like now if she didn't have plastic surgery.

Erica was wearing a beanie and her right foot was in a cast. I gave her the rose and she really liked it.

The dinner went alright, but I couldn't help thinking that maybe it was an interview to see if I'd be ok to live with. I kept wondering when they'd bring the topic up, but it never came. Even though Erica said in messages before that I could visit after dinner, that was never brought up and so I didn't push for it.

We all got along fairly well, Ash seemed like a nice guy, and Sarah was outgoing. As the night went on, I found myself throwing an arm around Erica or her chair, and even Ash and Sarah started getting closer.

I didn't have to ask, but I knew Sarah was a working girl. Maybe I'm 'experienced' now, but the hat she was wearing just gave it away. It was the hat Naby wore - trying to be stylish yet wanting to remain hidden at the same time. For the briefest of moments, I felt tired of this world. I didn't want anything to do with working girls and wondered what the hell I was doing here.

Erica and I enjoyed each other's company, this time I wasn't as sick so was able to live it a bit more. She'd make food for me, and one time as I was eating, unbeknownst to me there was a piece of chicken hanging off, and Erica decided to push it into my mouth only to have me accidentally bite her finger lol.

Sarah and Erica went out for a smoke, so Ash and I got to talk to each other. Turns out he's a Kobe fan as well and went to watch the Christmas Bulls vs Lakers game last year. I could tell he was obviously making ok money.

Later, he and Sarah went out for a smoke and Erica and I snuck in a few kisses. They brought back some food for me, which was surprising. Erica and I then went out as she wanted a smoke, and I hugged her and kissed her at times.

Back in the restaurant, they were telling me about their plans to go to Bali on 8th January...Erica meant 'Bali', not 'valley'! Sarah asked if I could go and I gave a nonchalant "yeah" and she wanted me to react more positively, and when I didn't, she accused me of not wanting to go. This led to Erica asking me to go outside again and we went out to talk, but not about Bali. I just asked her if they knew I was going to live there, but she didn't understand me. She said she only wanted me there for a few days. I wonder why...to accommodate them, or because she was planning to work? The explanation she gave had something to do with me spending time with my family and not having enough time to see her.

We had some really spicy chicken, which they teased me about because I wasn't used to it. Erica made me drink soju even though she ordered a lemonade for me in the beginning (awwww, she understands me).

When Erica and I went out and came back in, she suggested I pay for the meal. Since they were nice people, and had brought me food, I didn't mind too much. I assumed this might also give me points in terms of having me live there, so I went ahead and paid. It was $124, even though I had only expected to spend $100 at most.

Afterwards we stood outside for a bit. I held Erica and Sarah seemed to want to compare my height with hers and Ash's. Ash said they'd catch a taxi, even though I offered numerous times to drive, and even Erica was reluctant for me to drive. Maybe they don't want me to know where they live?

When I got home, I saw Erica had called me. I texted her saying I was home and missed her already, and she said "me too" and called me, we chatted a bit and that was that.