Chapter 12

Promise kept, deadline met. As planned, Joy arrived in town two weeks later. Dan was not pleased. In fact, he was furious.

He had derogatorily nicknamed Joy, calling her " bitch", "whore", " slut", "viper", ... but of course, he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Get down. We're going to be late!"

As we all know, Dan, Jack, and Joy were attending the same university. They were in the same year and taking the same classes.

And Joy, whom Dan dubbed "the bitch" spent every night at their place. She slept with her boyfriend.

During the two weeks she was away, Dan had shared the room and bed with Jack, but since Joy's return, Jack only had eyes for her.

The wall of their room was thin, and Dan could hear their lovemaking on the other side. Joy exaggerated moans and cries were incessant. It sounded like a dying cow. Dan thought he knew how to excite Jack better than she did.

During the few days when Joy was staying with them, Dan could only rely on his trusty earphones. Without them, he would have been trapped listening to the sighs and gasps of the couple.

If only he could hear Jack's moans. Only his...that would have been sweet music to his ears.

"Coming. Coming."

"Why did you spend so much time in the bathroom?" Joy asked, in a friendly tone as if they were friends. "Hmnn," she joked. "Tell me!" She insisted, giving him a playful shoulder nudge. Jack knew what she was hinting at and chuckled.

"Haha. Very funny. Let's go now."

"Are you coming with us?"

"Why did you wait for me if..."

"She just wants to make conversation. You don't have to be so rude," said Jack. "He's coming with us, darling, he still needs to fix his bike." Dan felt uncomfortable hearing the word "darling" coming from his friend's mouth.

"Oh. Alright," replied his girlfriend.

"You could have just told him that, Dan," Jack pointed out. "No need to be rude."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, rolling his eyes and sitting in the back of the car. Before, he used to sit in the front with Jack, but since the arrival of the "bitch", everything had changed.

The three young people were in their first year of management. Their first class was with Mr. Martin, a renowned professor.

The amphitheater was packed to the brim. There was almost no space left, except at the back of the room where Jack and Joy found two seats. Dan sat in front of them, accompanied by a group of questionable boys.

"Can I sit here?" Dan asked.

"Of course," replied one of the boys, tattooed up to his neck. "Seats aren't reserved." Dan sat down, took out his books and pens.

The class went perfectly, except for the fact that Jack and Dan weren't sitting together. That "bitch" had ruined everything, once again.

Feeling anger and irritation, Dan left the amphitheater without waiting. Once outside, he realized they didn't have any more classes in the afternoon, so he decided to go back home. However, on the way, he changed his mind.

He didn't want to witness once again the passionate love between his best friend and his girlfriend. So he decided to "explore" the city, letting his feet guide him. They eventually led him to a fast-food restaurant where, unfortunately, there was a long line. Nevertheless, with nothing better to do, he waited.

Twenty good minutes had already passed since he had arrived.

He wasn't really hungry, but he just wanted to pass the time. He had endured all this waiting to get to this point, so he might as well enjoy it. He hoped that the food would be delicious, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to handle all that waiting for something ordinary.

"What's your order, sir?" Finally, it was his turn.

"A cheeseburger, fries, and a soda."

"Of course. Coming right up, sir."

He collected his order, thanked the servers, and left.

He found a bench under the shade of a tree, overlooking the lake. He sat down and savored his meal.

It was delicious. Really delicious. The best cheeseburger he had ever tasted. And that soda... divine. "That's why people line up to eat there!" he thought. "It's really addictive."

As he enjoyed his cheeseburger with its succulent fries, he heard the screams of a woman in a heated argument with what must have been her boyfriend.

"You slept with her!" she shouted. "Don't deny it, I saw you go into a hotel with her. The HOTEL where you brought me not even a week ago." Her voice broke at these words, she was crying.

"Stop making a scene near my workplace," the man replied calmly. "I don't deny it. I slept with her and, for your information, it wasn't the first time." The woman, her face furious, slapped the man who remained silent.

Daniel, curious as he was, decided to approach to observe the scene unfolding, more closely. Not to intervene, of course, but simply to witness the stupid argument between these two individuals. Although the place was relatively deserted, he could clearly see the expressions on the woman's face - shame, regret, and fear.

The man stood with his back to him, but Daniel could make out his relaxed posture, hands in his pockets. He removed one hand to nervously run it through his hair before speaking.

"Listen, Nicole," he began, his tone firm. "Between us, it's just sex. Nothing more. We're not in a relationship. You don't have to demand explanations from me or be jealous."

"But..." she tried to say.

"There are no 'buts'. You should know that. That's why I chose you."

"I'm sorry. I..."

"It's not necessary to apologize. It was me who acted wrongly by having sexual relations with..."

"Don't say that," she pleaded. "And please don't leave me. I promise to not be intrusive anymore and to not be jealous. It's just that..."

"There was the last time and here we are today. I don't want any more of..." the man began before being interrupted by the woman.

"Please, don't do this."

"Yes," he continued, but the woman called Nicole had already run away in tears, her hand covering her mouth to stifle her sobs.

"Wow, what a jerk!" Daniel thought.

"Did you enjoy the show?" the man turned to him.

Dan thought he had already crossed paths with the man somewhere before but couldn't remember where. Before...

"You!" they exclaimed at the same time.

"The old man's grandson," Daniel thought before saying out loud. "That was like something out of a TV series!" The man stared at him.

Daniel sat back down and the man followed, sitting on the bench at a certain distance. He watched the young man devour his cheeseburger before lighting up a cigarette and starting to smoke, seemingly unconcerned that it might bother Daniel, a non-smoker or potentially asthmatic.

Daniel stared at him without saying anything. The cigarette didn't bother him, he sometimes smoked in secret with Jack.

"What's your name?" the man asked, his gaze fixed on the lake.

"Why should I tell you?" Daniel retorted.

"Do you study at this university?" the man asked, pointing towards the large university building in the distance.

"Why is that any of your business?" Daniel replied.

"Is this how you always are?" the man continued.

"Meaning ?" Daniel asked.

"Answering a question with another question," the man observed.

"It depends," Daniel replied before standing up and leaving the man, muttering insults under his breath. Because the man truly was a big "jerk".