It’s a nice day, so I park a couple of blocks away from Manny’s truck and stroll to it, taking in the clear sky, the warm sun, and the chattering noise of Angelenos and tourists all around me. I love Venice Beach, but today the place feels a little different. A little happier, a little more colorful. A few more people laughing and a lot more going on. Then I realize that Venice Beach hasn’t changed at all—it’s me. Something in me has changed.
Maybe it’s the fact that my eyes aren’t getting dragged askew by every babe in booty shorts, or the fact that I’m not edgy with anticipation for the coming night and all the things I’m gonna be doing later. Either way, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Margo’s clicked something into place for me lately—and I have to admit, I kinda like it.
I catch sight of Manny (he’s kinda hard to miss) standing outside his truck, making a couple of blondes giggle like he’s running feathers over their feet.
“Whoa! There he is!” Manny booms out into the street loud enough to draw the attention of anyone within fifty feet. “Owen! I was just telling them about that time at Wanda’s party.”
“Which one?”
Manny laughs and wraps a muscled arm around my neck as he redirects his attention to the girls. “I couldn’t find this guy for hours—he just disappeared. Then I see this big line outside the bathroom, and I figure: ‘maybe…’ So I cut to the front and bang on the door. Boom, boom, boom! Screaming, ‘Owen? You in there, buddy?’ Five seconds later he comes out, looking like he’s been attacked by wolves. And I’m like, ‘What the fuck’s wrong? You feelin’ ok?’ Then Wanda walks out behind him, then another girl, then another girl! Ha!”
“I honestly don’t even remember that night,” I say, smiling.
“Shit. They did! They walked out of that bathroom with the biggest smiles I’ve seen since I went to Disneyland! I’m telling you, ladies: this guy is wild! Oh, Owen, this is Sandy, and this is Jessica.”
Manny and I have a code. It’s not one you’d pick up on, but it works. The fact that he introduced me to Jessica second, for instance, means that he wants Sandy for himself.
“Nice to meet you,” I say, nodding and holding out my hand.
That’s code for ‘not really interested but thanks, buddy.’
Manny looks at me, a little squint in his eyes as if to be sure I’m serious. I get where he’s coming from; both of the girls are blonde, blue-eyed, and possess more dramatic curves than a Tarantino flick. Jessica especially, boy shorts and a tight top struggling to contain her body in their limited fabric.
“Are you coming to the beach party tonight too?” Jessica asks, fingering her hair in a signal as clear as a billboard.
“Hmm…I don’t think I can make it,” I say.
Now Manny’s wearing a frown on his face. “Listen, ladies. Give me a minute with my boy here. We’ve got some catching up to do. I’ve got your numbers, so I’m gonna text you dirty things until I see you again.”
The girls giggle.
“Go ahead,” Sandy smiles, as they turn and walk away, looking back a couple of times as they go.
“Hey Jo!” Manny calls to the bald guy working in the stand. “Dos tacos for me and my boy, and make ‘em big ones.”
Jo salutes and Manny takes his arm from my neck to stand in front of me and study me intently, his face clouded a little.
“What’s up, buddy? Don’t tell me you got a girl hotter than that already for tonight…”
“Not for tonight…”
Manny looks at me with even more bemusement, then lets it go and punches my shoulder.
“Shit, dude! I haven’t seen you in ages! Where were you last week? I was texting you all night.” He stands back and puts out a hand, palm down. “No word of a lie: two AM last Saturday I’m inside this very food truck getting my cock sucked by a girl with bionic lips and I’m just hard for a fucking hour, this girl’s going like a fucking heavy metal fan on the end of my dick. So I finish, and when this girl fixes her jaw again she goes: ‘Why did it take you so long? Am I bad at that?’ And I’m like: ‘You’re fucking great at that. I’m just genuinely worried that my best friend might be dead right now.’”
I laugh and Jo calls from the stand for Manny to grab the tacos. I’m not sure a lot of Manny’s stories are entirely real, but then again, I’ve seen him do things even wilder than the tales he tells. He’s probably forgotten the best ones.
“Not dead. Far from it.” I take the paper plate from him and add, “I had a pretty crazy weekend, put it that way.”
“Oh yeah?” Manny says, taking a big bite from his taco. “Tell me about her.”
“Uh…” I say, looking around me at the crowds, figuring out how to word something I’ve barely articulated fully in my own head. “It’s kinda complicated.”
“Shit!” Manny says, pointing at me like he’s just remembered something. “Dude, I saw your videos! The dating thing, on your work’s website!”
“You saw the vlog?”
“That what you call it? All I saw was you being paid to go out with hot girls. Jesus,” Manny says, shaking his head. “Shit. Here I am busting my ass off to cover the truck rental and filling out forms for city permits and meanwhile you’re getting paid to get laid.”
“I didn’t get laid,” I say, knowing it’ll provoke a reaction.
Manny’s face goes deathly serious for a second, glaring at me like he’s about to break my face apart. “Hold on. The girl in the last video. The one hot enough to cook food on. You fucked her, right?”
I look at Manny and feel like I’m about to tell him Santa isn’t real.
“No way!” he says, my expression the only denial he needs. “Are we talking about the same girl here? You seriously didn’t hit that? She was all over you!”
I shrug. “I just wasn’t feeling it, you know?”
“How? What…? I don’t get it.”
“You know the girl I do the show with? The girl who goes on dates too?”
“Sure.” He nods. “The cute, funny one with the glasses? The one you knew from college?”
“Yeah,” I say, and let it hang in the air for a moment until Manny catches it.
When he does, his eyes light up and he slaps my arm so hard a piece of barbecue meat falls out of my taco.
“Nice! But wait, you work with her, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened to not fucking the girls in your office? ‘Cause if you’re opening that can of worms you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you. I was clicking on TrendBlend videos for about half an hour after yours just checking out all the talent.”
I laugh and swallow down another bite. “Let’s just say I made an exception. She’s…exceptional.”
“Ok dude,” Manny says, finishing his taco and tossing the plate in the trash. He smacks and rubs his hands together purposefully. “I’m not fucking Sherlock Holmes. You’re gonna start talking, or I’m gonna throw you into the sea right now.”
“Ok, ok,” I say. “It’s like this. Her name’s Margo—”
“I remember. I met her that one time.”
“Right. So she’s the girl I share a desk with—the one with the great legs—”
“Great legs. I definitely remember that.”
I laugh and continue. “Anyway, she’s really cool, and we’ve known each other a long time, but I never really thought about her like that, you know?”