The Game Changer The Final Score - By L.M. Trio Page 0,75
years. She doesn’t have an ulterior motive and seems embarrassed by her past behavior. I think she is sincerely trying to make amends. “You will,” I tell her and give her a half-hearted smile.
“Thanks,” she says, then calls out as I’m leaving, “Jesse, congratulations to both of you.”
“Thank you,” I say, feeling somewhat relieved to have had that conversation.
Even though I told Alexa she wasn’t a factor in my life, obviously back then, she had been a huge factor. It mapped out the last two years of my life. I believed that Luke had slept with her that night. It’s why I stayed away from him. Of course, I’d never admit that to her.
“What took so long?” Luke asks as I walk up. I give him a kiss and tell him there was a line. I’ll tell him later about running into Alexa. Besides, we are having a good time and I don’t want to waste a second of it talking about her, no matter how much she has changed.
***
(Mikey)
It’s getting late and the bar is about to close. I take a walk around, looking for De to let her know we are about to leave. I don’t know why I always feel the need to push her away just as we’re getting close, but the way I feel about her is making me insane. I want to tell her, but it scares the shit out of me not knowing how she’s going to react.
I see her talking with one of the bouncers. He’s worked here for a while. I know him from when we used to hang out here and De knows him from the summer she worked at CJ’s.
As I walk up behind her, he holds out his hand to shake mine. I reciprocate the handshake but barely acknowledge him.
“Are you ready to get out of here? We’re leavin’,” I whisper in Deanna’s ear.
“Um… I don’t know. Where’s Cyndi?” she whispers to me with an attitude.
“Back there, do you want her?” I say sarcastically.
“No, do you?”
“Would I be standing here?” I ask. Fixated on her eyes and mouth.
Her bouncer friend can’t hear the bantering between us, but I can tell by the way he keeps shifting his stance that he feels uncomfortable, as if he’s in the middle of something, which he is. When she finally breaks her focus from me, she realizes that he’s still standing beside her. She politely turns to him and says goodbye. I feel the need to take her by the hand, so I do, and she doesn’t resist. We make our way to the back bar to say our goodbyes to our friends.
***
The next morning I overhear Deanna and Maria discussing Jeffery at the kitchen table. I hang back so I can try to hear what they are saying. I hear her say that he has been texting her, telling her that he misses her. I feel the back of my neck get warm when she tells her mom that she is confused and maybe she should hear him out. It leaves me feeling a little torn up inside, knowing that she still cares about him. I decide to head into the rec room and flick on the TV instead of being around anyone right now.
Not long after, she enters the room. I can’t help noticing that she looks just as beautiful now in her flannel pajama pants, thermal shirt and slippers as she did last night in her tight jeans and the short black sweater that hugged her body. She plops down next to me, putting her feet up on the table in front of us. She’s quiet as she rests her head against my arm. Without giving it a thought, I lift my arm and wrap it around her, giving her access to rest her head against my chest. I’m not sure why, it’s just a natural instinct and something we sometimes do whenever we watch TV together.
“What are you watching?” she asks quietly.
“Nothing really… here.” I hand over the remote. She looks up at me with those big, dark eyes. I’m usually not so passive, but I’m enjoying sitting here with her and being close. I don’t feel like bickering. I give her a slight smile while rubbing the top of her head with my fingers. I align my eyes with the TV, not wanting to make more of it. She surfs the channels and ends up on the Sport’s Channel.