Page 24 of Mending Me
“Yeah, you actually did. It looked like this.” Conrad made a face that was a cross between someone having a seizure and someone taking a massive shit.Did I really look like that when I thought about her?My other two friends busted out laughing at his impression of me.
“You guys are fucking assholes. Can we play now please?” I looked at Kolbi as he was the Dungeon Master and controlled the game. He gave me a small nod and started weaving tonight's story.
We were deep in the throws of playing when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. While we had a strict no phone rule while playing, I needed to know if the reason my phone was buzzing was because a pretty blonde was texting me. I pulled it out of my pocket just enough to see the screen and smiled to myself when I read the notification.
1 New Message: Blondie
I played my turn and waited for the guys to be talking before reading the message. Holding my phone at my waist, I read her text.
Blondie:
Hey, soldier. I know you’re with your friends right now, but I can’t stop thinking about last night. I hope we can have a repeat sometime soon ;)
The winking emoji in her message immediately set me on edge.
I would love a repeat. I can’t stop thinking about it either.
I sent it off quickly, trying to fight the smile I felt growing on my lips, and slid my phone back into my pocket. When I looked up, three sets of eyes were locked on me.
“It’s back,” Kolbi said.
“The stupid fucking look,” Malcolm added.
“This boy is so fucked,” Conrad finished.
My three best friends all started laughing in unison. I chewed on the inside of my lip to stop from scowling. I wasn’t in the mood for a ball-busting tonight. Not from them.
“Who’s the girl Hanky? Is it that hot blonde chick from the bar?” Malcolm took a swig of his beer.
“She’s not‘some chick’Malcolm. You might go through women as if they’re dirty napkins, but not all of us are like that. Some of us care enough to treat them like real people.”
“So itisa girl.” Kolbi gave me a knowing look. He was always like the big brother of our group and the tone of his voice made that clear.
“Yes, it’s a girl. We’re moving on now.” I reached for the die and started to roll when Malcolm reached across the table and grabbed it out of my hand.
“Oh, no, Hanky boy, we are not moving on from this so quickly. Tell us. What’s happening there?” Malcolm crossed his arms in front of himself, the die tucked away in his fist, and leaned back in his chair staring at me. I looked around the table and all three of my friends were waiting for me to speak. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
I guess I was telling them after all.
“Nothing is ‘happening there’. We went out last night, we had drinks. It was a good time. That’s all.”And that’s all I’m telling you fuckers. That’s all you’re getting.
“And?”
“And what?” I looked at Malcolm since he had asked the question.
“And,” he started, “Did you finish the deal? Were you man enough to get her naked? Tell us what she looked like.” He waggled his eyebrows at me and I wanted to punch the smirk off his face. I loved Malcolm, but his style was not the same as mine. He loved women, we all knew that. But he would love them and leave them before they even knew what happened.
“Malcolm, come on man,” Kolbi sighed.
“What? I wanna know if our Hanky here was man enough to get her in the sack. It’s been a long time, I assume? Since you’ve gotten any?” Malcolm was the only one at the table who laughed.
“Malcolm, don’t be an ass,” Conrad chastised.
“What? How am I being an ass?” Malcolm shrugged his shoulders and looked around the table. Kolbi was shaking his head and Conrad was rolling his eyes. We loved Malcolm, but he sometimes pushed things a little too far.
“You’re being a dick, dude. Stop,” Kolbi scolded.
“Whatever man. I was just bustin’ his balls. Do whatever you want Hank, sleep with her or don’t sleep with her. What the fuck do I care.” He rolled his eyes and tossed the die he was holdinghostage back onto the board, annoyed that my other two friends hadn’t joined him in trying to get me to talk.
