Okay, the slutty part wasn’t.But the rest?Acting chops.At least I was using them for something.
She said, “If he’s really grown all this patience and understanding—”
“I don’t want it to be a test, though.It’s shitty to test people like that—it’s as bad as the weird lovebomb bait-and-switch you suspect him of.At least as bad.”
My turn to hearherrolling her eyes.
“I mean it,” I insisted.“I’m not playing any stupid games.”
“Yeah, fine,” she said.“Going into it with that mindset would just fuck it up anyhow.”
“Exactly.”I wasn’t gonna bring up a certain past relationship she’d had with a woman who was really into testing her like that.Because I was classy, goddammit.Butyeah.“I’ll take it slow.At least, on an emotional level.”Too late for the physical one.Classic me.
“Is he really being all romantic?”
“Yeah.The other night, he took me to this crazy expensive sushi place up on Mt.Washington where we watched the city light up as we ate.It was absolutely wild.I felt like a fucking princess.”
“Okay.Okay, fine.But you know what I’d do if I was you?”
“I bet you’re gonna tell me.”
“I’d really lay it on thick; reel him in.And then, when I had him all wound up super tight, I’d crush his meathead heart in my hands right before his eyes.”
“You’re a sick individual,” I told her.But with love.
She sighed.“Just give it a few months.At least.”
And seeing as I’d been telling myself the same thing all day—in spite of loving the fact that he was ready to jump in headfirst—I said, “Yeah.That’s smart.And fair.I got a little swept away.”
“I know.And it’s kinda nice to know you can still do that.I lost that capability somewhere in the last decade, I think.”
“A decade ago, you were sixteen.”
“Exactly.”She sighed.“I love you, though.You know that?”
“Yeah.I love you too.Now, tell me about your disaster of a love life, since I told you about mine.”
***
To keep my mind off Taran and his romance and his great dick on my days off, I bought an RPG I’d been eying for months and camped out on the couch with my Xbox.I was six hours in when Taran showed up at five thirty with a brown paper bag full of clinking bottles, and set to work making incredible old fashioneds for us.
“Did you actually bring egg whites?”I turned my bartender’s eye on the perfect foam on top.
“Well, yeah.Is it an old fashioned if you don’t?”
“You’re wild.”I turned my attention back to the pain in the ass battle I was halfway through.“Have you beaten this yet?”
“This battle, yeah.This game, no.I forget why I got distracted from it, though, because I really like it.”He settled in beside me.
“Story of my life.”I paused it and set the controller aside.“Sorry.”
“No, go ahead.I like watching people play.”
I shot him a sideways look and sipped my drink.“Weird for an only child?”
“Not really.I was always kinda lonely as a little kid, so now I’d rather watch someone play than be alone all the time.”
“Oof; sad.”But I cracked a smile.
