“Then don’t talk to me.” At this point he was just saying shit to piss her off more. “I would prefer that. In all honesty, I would rather listen to…to Michael Bolton for the next three hours than listen to you.”
That was maybe taking it a step too far. A hint of a smile flickered on her face and he thought about taking it back, but he was in too deep now.
“It’s funny you should say that, Kevin.” Her tone was eerie, very similar to those thrillers when the little, innocent one admits that she was the homicidal maniac all along. “Because I just happen to have…” She glanced at him, her voice growing more sinister. “…Michael Bolton’s Greatest Hits. And IloveMichael Bolton. You wanna retract that statement?”
“Do your worst,” he taunted with defiance.
Switching on the radio, she flipped through a few songs until she found what she was looking for. The tune ofSaid I Loved But I Liedfloated through the speakers and he actually cringed. She smiled and it was perfect, because it was real this time. That smile was for him and he owned it too. Somehow he’d managed to return the favor, the Oreo she’d given him at the laundromat. He cheered her up despite the melancholy hanging in the air around them. Different method, same result. And listening to Michael Bolton– with her singing along– for the remainder of the trip was a small price to pay for it.
November, 15
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Kevin shut off the water, stepped out of the shower, and wrapped a thick, fluffy towel around his waist. He loved it when they stayed at these South Star hotels. It was like living in the lap of luxury.
He was running a few minutes late this morning, but there was still enough time to shave before Jasmin got back from her workout. Bathroom times had to be adhered to, or it inevitably led to arguments and he was trying to limit their arguments to three a day.
Despite their incessant disagreements, it hadn’t been as bad as he’d anticipated. Every day they developed a higher tolerance for each other and he found that the more time he spent with her, the less annoying she became. Either he was developing an immunity to her craziness or…or…
He stopped that thought right there. Those kind of thoughts were exactly the ones that led to complications.
Lathering up a handful of shaving cream, he smeared it across his jaw.
“Kevin,” Jasmin yelled from the other side of the door, “are you done yet?”
He gritted his teeth. She was back earlier than expected, so technically it was still his time in the bathroom. “No, Jasmin.”
“Well, how long are you gonna be? I need to tinkle.”
“Five minutes.”
The razor had only made its way down his jaw once before he heard her thumping on the door.
“I really need to go.”
“I said five minutes!”
A guy couldn’t even shave in peace. Two more strokes and then more thumping.
“Kevin, please. I can’t hold it in anymore.”
He tried to ignore her, but she wouldn’t stop banging on the door.
“You better make sure your average-sized penis is covered up, because I’m coming in.”
“What?!”
There was no time to react. The door swung open and she rushed to the toilet.
“Fuck, Jazz!” He found himself grasping the towel to make sure it was still secure. She was already pants-down on the toilet seat and he focused his eyes elsewhere. “You couldn’t wait five fucking minutes?”
“I told you I needed to go.”
He carried on shaving to distract himself from the fact that she was actually peeing behind him. “I think we’ve reached a stage of comfortableness that I’m not comfortable with.”
She remained uncharacteristically quiet and he shifted his eyes to glance at her. She was staring at the mirror, not at her own reflection, at his. He waited. He shaved. He waited and her eyes were still on him, brazenly roaming over his bare chest.
“See something you like, Jazz?”
