The Definition of a Player in the Life of the Mac-Attack

Quick question: Does is sound strange that everything about my trip seemed to change after the 4th of July?

The morning after our nation's birthday, Laura left for a trip of her own. Italy was a lucky place to have such an amazing girl stepping on its soil. I had been spending a lot of time with Laura when we met in June. Of course, it wasn't anything more than a summer fling, but I sorta missed having someone to walk on the beach with every day.

I guess it was okay, because Ben was still in California with me; he and I could just hang out the rest of the summer. I'm sure his parents would be okay if he stayed in Malibu just a little bit longer.

"Mac, my parents called last night. I have to go home."

That was the sound of reality hitting me.

"You're gonna go home after just two weeks?"
"You know how my parents get. They have a hard time being away from me for a three-day USY weekend. I'd say two weeks was pretty reasonable."

I guess it made sense. Unlike me, Ben's actually close with his parents. He's also an only child, so his parents probably appreciate his company more than my appreciate mine; I have three siblings, my parents won't ever be alone.

Suddenly, my Grandma came out with an entire ice-chest full of food.

"Now, Benjamin, I packed you two sandwiches, chips, and a batch of peanut-butter cookies. However, you must promise not to eat the cookies until you've finished your first sandwich."
"Oh, it's a deal! Thanks, Mrs. Maccabbi!"

My grandmother gave Ben a hug.

"I'll give you two a minute. Oh, Michael, I have an eye appoinment today. Can you drive me?"
"Sure thing, Grandma."

I was DEFINITELY thrilled about that.

"So I'm outta here now. When are YOU coming home?"
"I'm not sure yet, Ben. Depends on how things go here."
"Why not just come home today? If we leave now, we can hit By the Slice for dinner."
"I don't want to come home yet, Ben. I'll be back before the summer ends."
"You better be."

Ben and I hugged.

"Drive safely."
"I will, don't worry."

As Ben got into his car and drove off, I thought about what I just said to him.

"Drive safely."

I meant what I said before I said that.

"I'll be back before the summer ends."

There was still a lot of summer left. If I didn't want to go home now, who's to say I'll want to go home before the summer ends. Who's to say I'll want to go home even WHEN the summer ends.

"Michael, are you ready to drive me to the eye doctor?"
"Yes, Grandma."

When we got to the eye doctor's office, I got a chance to sit in the waiting room and read old magazines while the doctor looked at my grandma's eyes. I was reminded of the first two weeks I was in Malibu, before I met Laura. I was always in the house or driving my grandma to appointments and stuff. I suddenly wondered if Ben was right and if I should've just gone home when he did. I thought about it for about two seconds until--

"Dr. Hayward's office, this is Lizzie speaking."

She had a sexy voice, and her appearance completed her. Her dark hair, her tan skin, her soft-looking lips, and her seductive eyes reminded me of exactly why I love California so much.

"So, your the one who answers the phones around here."
"Yup, that's me."
"We have something in common. I, too, answer phones for a living."
"Well, I just do it so I can pay my tuition at Pepperdine."

Holy shit, she's a college girl. This might be tricky.

"Pepperdine University? What's your major?"
"I'm a second-year Pre-Dental student."
"You may be working in the wrong type of office."

She laughed a little bit. So far, I was at the top of my game.

"What's your name?"
"They call me Mac-Attack."
"Oh yeah, why's that?"
"When I see something I want, I go for it."

Now I was just making it too easy on myself!

"That's a good philosophy. Does it work?"
"Is it working right now?"

This was the perfect time for my grandma's appointment to be over. You'll see why in a minute.

"Was your appointment good, Grandma?"
"It certainly was. You know, your grandpa always said that Bugs Bunny never needed glasses because he ate so many carrots. He used to say that every time he went to the eye-doctor."

Lizzie was definitely giving me the eye right now. In this situation, I figure most girls think: He's smooth, good-looking, AND he's close with his grandma. I want him!

This girl was no exception.

"It was nice meeting you, Lizzie. Good luck with everything at Pepperdine."

Most people would ask why I didn't give her my number. Well, in this type of situation, I feel the best way to handle Lizzie would be to leave her wanting more. This way--

"Mac, wait."

They always come running.

"I get off at 5. Here's my number."

Now this is what I call a vacation!

Right at 5:00, I decided to go back to the eye-doctors' office. I didn't feel it was necessary to make a phone call that would definitely end with "I'd love to go out tonight."

They were just closing up the office. I decided to wait outside the door.

"Mac?"
"I didn't really want to call. I just wanted to see you again."

I'm so good.

"I'm glad you came. Do you want to grab an early dinner?"
"I'd love to."
"Okay, let me just grab my purse from my car."

She grabbed her purse and got into my car.

"So I wanted to ask: are you from around here?"
"No, I'm just in town visiting the grandmother."
"Oh, that's so sweet!"
"That's just the type of guy I am."
"I can tell. She seems like a nice lady."
"Oh yeah, Grandma's a doll. She's been the only consistent woman in my life."
"Oh, really? You don't have a girlfriend?"
"I tried that for a while, it was definitely an interesting experience."
"Yeah, I'm definitely not looking for anything serious. I just got out of a really serious relationship."
"What happened?"
"I'm an independant woman. I don't like being tied down. My boyfriend wanted to control my life, so I left him. I've been without him for over a month."
"And how are you enjoying single life?"
"It's been great. I go out with whoever I want and I have a lot of fun. What can I say; I'm a girl who loves to have a good time."
"Lucky me."

She pointed me in the direction of this great steak and seafood place. Dinner went just as well as the ride over. We talked, we laughed, we did exactly what she told me she loved doing: we had a good time.

Before I knew it, we were walking out to my car, holding hands. I swear we must have been in the resaturant for 2 hours, cus it was 7:30 at night by now.

"You definitely know how to pick a good place to eat."
"Yeah, I used to go there with my boyfriend all the time."

There was a pause.

"You sure you're over this guy?"
"Of course I am."

I wasn't really convinced.

"What can I do to convince you?"

I thought about it, but before I could say anything--

"Would this help?"

Suddenly, she was kissing me. Her lips were just as soft as they looked, and her hands were tightly girpping my back.

"Alright, I'm convinced."

She laughed for a little bit.

"You're cute."

She kissed me again.

"I wanna show you something."

She pointed me in the direction of this hill. From the top of the hill, we could see the entire city of Los Angeles.

"You know your spots."
"I'd like to know your's."

From this spot, we could even see the stars. I'm a real sucker for the stars, mostly because they can make anything romantic. They can even make backseat car-sex romantic, as I learned on this fun-filled evening.

I remember my phone vibrating, but I wasn't exactly in a position where I could answer the phone.

So Lizzie and I stayed out all night. I drove her over to the office where her car was parked the next morning.

"Last night was fun."
"Yeah, it was."

We kissed one more time before she got out of the car.

I waved as she got walked into her place of work. I knew that I probably wouldn't be seeing her again, but I knew that I would remember the night forever.

I don't know if you all remember, but months ago, before I started dating Dara Karpen, I was the definition of a player. I hooked up with all sorts of girls all the time, and I never really realized how much I genuinely missed that lifestyle. The more I thought about it on the drive back to my grandma's place, the more I convinced myself that I shouldn't have ever left my former lifestyle, that I shouldn't have ever changed my ways.

This lasted for a little while, until I finally looked at my phone to see who my missed calls were from. Both missed calls were from one person: Melinda Moskowitz.

I thought about calling her back, but I seriously had no idea what I could say to her. Still, I decided to call her back anyway. I figured I could probably just do small-talk the whole time and be fine.

"Hey, I called you twice."
"I saw that. I was, uh, busy."
"How's California? I miss you."
"California is great."

There was a pause.

"How are things with Aaron?"
"Oh, it's amazing. Aaron is such a sweet guy."

There was another pause.

"Have you been with any girls in California."

What's the point in lying?

"Yeah, two."
"Oh...that's nice."
"Yeah, it was fun."
"So are you officially back to just having fun?"
"Maybe."
"The same Michael Maccabbi we all know and love. I guess some things don't really change."

I didn't exactly like her tone.

"What's that supposed to mean, Melinda?"
"It doesn't surprise me."
"What doesn't surprise you?"
"You changed your ways, it didn't go your way, you ran away, and then changed back into the man-whore you've always been."
"So what if I did, Melinda? It works for me."
"Have you ever met a girl who resisted your charm?"
"Nope, and YOU couldn't resist my charm either."
"Don't even start. You had your chance with me and you left me standing there. I moved on. It looks like you moved on too."
"You're right, I have moved on. It wasn't easy. In fact, it was the hardest things I ever had to do, but I have moved on."

There was a pause. Melinda may have been shocked.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out for us, Melinda."
"Yeah, me too."
"I'll be home before summer ends. I'll talk to you then."
"Alright, Michael. Take care of yourself."
"You too."

I got off the phone and suddenly began thinking of the events leading up to my trip to California. I remember Dara dumping me the week before. Melinda attempted to seduce me a couple days later, but I rejected her. That weekend, at Convention, I was about to tell Melinda how I felt about her when I walked in on her with Aaron Youngston, a friend of mine. She had moved on, and I needed to move on. Maybe that's why I came to California in the first place.

All I can say was that the trip was full of surprises. However, no surprise compared to what I saw when I walked into my grandmother's house that morning.

"Hello, Michael."

Standing in my grandmother's living room were my Dad and my Mom.

Things were most definitely about to get interesting.

Sincerely,
Mac-Attack