While my brother kept his own place, he had moved in with my mother after the accident. Since then, Tuesday nights often ended with me at odds with both my brother and my mother.
Although she and I joked a little before I left, I’d still walked away feeling disappointed.
The silence of my apartment felt deafening. I’d enjoyed living on my own for years but lately something was missing. Corey’s question about my dating life came to mind as I sat in my living room. I’d told him I wasn’t opposed to dating, which was true. But how could I trust not to get my heart stomped on again?
For most of my life, I’d seen men cheat on the women they supposedly loved. Some of my clients had been dropped like a sack of bricks once their spouse found someone younger and prettier.
I clicked on the television and picked up the controller attached to my Xbox underneath my coffee table. A few rounds of kicking ass was what I needed to get my mind off my family.
After getting the game set up, I found myself smiling at the fact that one of my favorite players was on as well.
WFDPlayer04: Been waiting for you.
I widened my smile.
DeniseGamerChick: That doesn’t sound stalkerish at all.
He put up a laughing face emoji.
DeniseGamerChick: How’d you know to expect me?
WFDPlayer04: It’s Tuesday.
I blinked and reread his response. Thinking back over the past few months, it made sense. I often felt restless over the past few months, coming back from my mother’s. As a result, I’d throw on a game to play. Most often, it was Street Fighter. I needed to kick some ass to let out my frustrations.
WFDPlayer04: Still there?
DeniseGamerChick: Present and accounted for. Ready to get your butt kicked?
WFDPlayer04: You can try, but it’s not likely to happen in this life or the next.
I let out a laugh as we selected our players and started the game. As usual, he chose the fighter Ken while I selected Chun-Li. We dueled it out for a few rounds, him winning one to my two matches.
WFDPlayer04: You can’t quit on me after that last round. I need my redemption.
DeniseGamerChick: What’s the matter? Can’t your ego take losing to a woman?
WFDPlayer04: My ego’s just fine, baby. It’s my heart that’s broken.
Butterflies fluttered in my belly, and I frowned. It was a good thing I didn’t know this guy in real life. He’d probably try to charm the pants off me.
DeniseGamerChick: Ha! Typical male response. Trying to use flirtation to distract me.
WFDPlayer04: That doesn’t sound even the slightest bit bitter.
DeniseGamerChick: The only thing bitter will be you after this ass-kicking you’re about to receive.
Another laughing face emoji.
We fell silent as we went in for another round. He took that one, but I insisted on another game to make up for it. I refused to end the night in a draw.
I got caught up in the game and the easy back and forth banter between WFDPlayer04 and me. We’d been gamer friends for some time, but I didn’t even know his real name. Truthfully, I didn’t even know if he was ahe. I used the pronoun once, and he never corrected me.
Part of me wanted to know his real name, but the more logical part of my brain urged me to let it go. For all I knew, this dude could be a total psycho. Or, one of the men my clients came into my PI firm to hire me about. Most likely, he was the latter. That would be my luck.
While it was easy to get caught up in the banter and the easy conversations about nothing, it was best to leave it all in the game.
What was the use of building up my hopes only for the inevitable letdown to occur?
