Try to get cute (THE END) (Bitter Ending)

"Well... I mean, what if she comes on to me and you're both in the mood?" I suggested.

Kaila stomped on the brake, and the sound of squealing rubber could be heard as the car skidded to a stop. Behind us the blare of a horn sounded loudly, followed by several others in chorus.

"Get. The. Fuck. Out." Kaila pointed. "I am not doing this shit again. Out."

"Hey, look, I'm sorry, I was just trying to..." I offered the apology lamely.

"OUT!" She shouted again, pointing to the railing that separated the cars from the walkway.

"Hey, it's freezing out there, can't you at least..." I stopped talking as I noted the deadly serious expression on her face. "Well can you drop me at the... right, got it. It was ni..."

"I don't want to talk to you. Get out. Now." Kaila sat there, staring at the bridge ahead as the horns behind us continued to blare.

I did as she asked, unbuckling my seatbelt and opening the door. The air was cold outside as I set foot on the bridge, and I barely had the door closed before Kaila drove off again. I guess I should have expected it, considering that I'd just watched her do the exact same thing to someone else that pissed her off. Cars began to zoom past me rapidly as I placed a foot on the metal wire fence that separated the cars from pedestrian walkway. It was cold, and I slipped at the top, causing me to land on my ass on the other side. There didn't seem to be anybody around in the damp fog, fortunately, but I did end up with a few bumps from the fall.

I dusted myself off, feeling the chill of the air and the San Francisco evening. I momentarily wished I'd brought a sweater as I began hiking back towards the city. I tucked my arms about myself, wishing that there was some relief from the wind and the fog. The combination was downright bone chilling, and I made a mental note to always have my ride set up ahead of time beforehand.

Come to think of it, perhaps I'd just dodged a bullet. Kaila was nice, but she really liked to take charge. The entire evening, she'd pretty much directed the flow, and while it was a lot of fun to go along with, I couldn't see spending the rest of my life like that. My apartment might be shitty, but at least it was something that was mine. For once I hadn't had my folks help me out, or been reliant on anyone. Why was I so **** to throw that away?

It was a long walk through the Presidio, but fortunately one of the security guards took pity on me and tossed me a coat from lost and found when they saw me passing. I told him the story, and he agreed that it was an epic tale of a dodged bullet. The Crazy Bitch that kicked you out in the cold on the Golden Gate Bridge. Kinda poetic in a way, and maybe it would work.

It was when I got back to the apartment that I finally was able to relax. I changed from my con garb into my usual home attire of sweatpants and sweatshirt, popped open a beer and sat on the couch.

"Siri, show me pictures of a gal named Kaila." I said, and the large screen in front of me clicked on. Apparently it was a pretty popular porn star name, at least from what I could see from the search. Huh. Actually a few of them looked like her. Probably was her. Damn, REALLY dodged a bullet there.

I took a drink of my beer again, and relaxed onto the couch. Damn I had hated the Shindig. Felt like the entire time I was just walking on eggshells. I meet one girl who I think might be different, and it turns out, she's just like everybody else. I took another drink, letting my arm rest on the stained black couch. There was a soft sound of something that sounded like crackling from behind the fridge, but I paid no attention to it. If the guy next door was gonna keep leaving his trash out, we were gonna get roaches. No matter how clean I kept the place.

"Siri, turn on the news." I directed, watching the latest headlines flash by. I was finally starting to warm up, and although I had eaten, it felt like I'd burned it all off on the walk back and the shivering. I got bored of the news, noting that everybody who was evil was still evil, and everybody who wasn't, wasn't on tv.

I tried to think of something to do, and decided that falling back on old discipline would be a good idea. The mechanical process of field stripping a weapon helped, and I asked Siri to show me the pictures of Kaila again. Ugh. What a nightmare, come to think of it. Could I have really thought about sleeping with a gal who would do THAT? Some of those links I didn't even want to contemplate, merely the blurred out photo was more than enough.

I sat back on the couch once again, changing the channel to a random reality show, where a couple of women sobbed into each other's arms about being disrespected, while some helpless schlub looks on. Reality tv. Same shit, different characters. It wasn't enjoyable, but there was nothing else on. It was this or watch some schmuck try to sell me something. I hated Saturday evening TV.

I took another sip of my beer, allowing the weapon to sit comfortably beside me on the couch. Time to just relax here till the alarm went off and I returned to my work life day after tomorrow. Most of the time these days I had trouble sleeping, but that's pretty much true of all older guys, they say. Only thing we really want anymore is just a clean, well lighted place to sit, relax, and let our waiter take our troubles away. The shows... eh... could be worse. Always find it easier to sleep if I think of it as a waiting room.

The End

Credit Music

Author's Note: Yes, This ending makes No sense... how can Brent be telling this story if he never actually hooked up with Kaila? Just think of it as an alternate timeline, and it kinda makes sense. Or not. Depends on how seriously you take it.