Little Baby Pines

A boy with curly blonde hair was yelling curse words at the TV. “FUCK YOU, KING BOO! YOU AREN’T DOING SHIT FOR ME! MOVE YOUR FUCKING FAT ASS, GHOST BITCH!” The race ended with King Boo getting last place. Patrick tossed the Wii remote onto the empty seat next to him. “Fuck that shit. Why is a ghost so fucking slowly anyway? Nothing should be weighing him down!” He slinked lower into his seat. “This is fucking stupid. Parker is cheating.”

Kim leaned over the side of the Lay-Z-Boy. “Dude, I am not. The babies are the fast ones in Mario Kart. Boo is slow because of the crown, you retard.”

“Oh shut up. How does it stay on his head if he is a ghost? Right, because it is a ghost crown. So it weighs nothing! THEREFORE NOTHING SHOULD SLOW HIM DOWN!” Patrick slumped over in defeat. “That is it. Can we play a game I can win at?”

Jonny returned to the living room with three beers in his hands. “Can you stop yelling and crying like a baby, Kaner? You lost because you suck. Not because of King Boo and his crown.” He passed out the beers and sat down next to the Wii controller Kaner abandoned. He rubbed his face. “Kimmy, can you pick out a movie or something for us to watch? I don’t feel like playing any games right now.”

“Please put on something kick ass and not some slow indie drama.” Patrick kicked his legs onto the ottoman and slung back his beer.

Kim hopped off the Lay-Z-Boy. “Grave of the Fireflies it is then,” she said with a smirk. “Just kidding. I’ll get Sin City.” She padded off into Jon’s room where most of his DVDs were.

Jon looked down at his hands. “This is too good to be true, right Kaner?”

“You and Kim?” The beer sloshed around in Patrick’s bottle when he swirled his hand around. “She is a good fit for you. You have been happier since you two started boning. Congrats, man.” Patrick smiled at his friend. “You know, it is all thanks to me so you could like bow down to me or something.” Jonathan just smiled and shook his head. A couple of minutes lulled by. “Yo Kim! What is taking your Asian ass so long? If you don’t hurry your ass up, I will drop another bomb on your people.”

Naked feet pattered against the floor. Kim poked her head out of the bedroom. “Dude, I am half Korean, not Japanese. And the racism is uncalled for, mister I-have-been-dry-for-over-a-week-and-letting-out-my-sexual-frustration-on-other-people.”

“That was unnecessarily long.” Patrick jumped off the couch and took the seat on the Lay-Z-Boy. “Just throw in the movie so I can fall asleep and allow you two to sneak off into Jon’s room and make out. Or whatever it is you two do.”

The couple exchanged glances. Jonathan smirked. Kim tried to not burst with laughter. Instead, she buried her face into his arm. “Hey. Sully called me,” she mumbled into the cloth of Jon’s blue hoodie.

“What?” Jon and Kane said simultaneously.

The girl scooted closer to Jon. She positioned her face so that half of it was still buried against his arm. “When I was getting the movie I noticed I had missed call and a message. Sully called and left a message. He is in town and he wants to meet up and talk. I—” Her thin fingers danced on Jon’s thigh. “I texted him yes. Is that alright?” She looked up at Jonny.

There was a shimmering glint in her eyes. Jonathan thought she looked innocent and fragile. It made him crack a smile. “Yeah, of course it is alright.”

“Fuck that. That is not okay.” Patrick shouted from his slouched position on the Lay-Z-Boy. “I know you aren’t my girl, Kimmy, but seriously what the fuck. Why would you see some dude you used to fuck?”

“Whoa, dude!”

“Hey!” Jonny took Kim’s hand defensively. “Shut up, Kaner. I am cool with Kim seeing Sullivan because I trust her. And what happened between her and Sullivan is in the past. So shut the fuck up and worry about your own girlfriend. Oh wait.”

Kim kissed Jonny on the jaw line and then his lips. “Thank you. Now hand me that pillow please.” Jon passed her a pillow and she threw it at Patrick’s head. While Patrick mumbled and bitched about Kim, Kim grabbed Jon’s face and laid half a dozen kisses all over his cheeks and mouth. “I appreciate you sticking up for me,” she whispered.

“Come now. I will have your back. Always.” He kissed her and then smoothed out her shirt. “Sweetie. You are getting wrinkles in your crisp white shirt.”

“Eh. Shit happens.” She plucked at her suspenders. “You don’t mind that I dress kind of like a guy, right?”

“Everyone minds, Kim. God. Wear a dress and stay in the kitchen. I am going to lay a Lincoln log. Go make me a sammich and get me a beer while I do manly things,” Patrick said jokingly before he waltzed into Jon’s bedroom to the one bathroom of the apartment.

Kim smiled at Jonny. “Best friend is a douche.”

“Best friend is wrong. I don’t mind about your attire. In fact,” he pulled her onto his lap. “I find it cute.” What he didn’t tell her is that one of the things he loved about her. The fact that she could still be undeniably attractive while in men’s trousers, a slim fitting button up shirt, and suspenders made him shiver. But she didn’t always dress up like a guy. There were a lot of times where she pranced around in short sundresses and shorts with stocking underneath. Jon had never been with a girl that was that aware of the clothes they put on their body. He spoke with Mindy about it once. Kim could throw on an outfit in ten minutes and still look better than some girl that meticulously planned her wardrobe. It was some weird magical power of hers.

Jon kissed Kim again. “When are you going to see Sully?”

“This Sunday? Sunday, I think. He said he is free then. You guys will be gone won’t you? Phoenix, right?” He nodded. “I will keep Mindy with me. She can distract him so I can run away if things get too hairy. Will that be okay?”

“Sounds like a plan, Stan.”

“You’re the boss, applesauce.” The two tilt their heads closer together.

In the background they heard the flush of the toilet and running water from the sink. A few seconds later Patrick popped back into the living room. He was drying his hands on the side of his jeans. “Hey guys, hey.” The two barely moved to side glance at him. He perched on the ottoman in front of the couch they were lying on. “Hey, remember that time we all went drinking and went back to my place to crash. Except I left again to see that girl. Chelsea or Cheyenne or something. And I came back the next morning to find you two naked in my house after having sex God knows where in my apartment. Remember that? Your lovely dovey cuteness makes me sick. Stop it.” He jumped off the ottoman, stepping into the kitchen.

Kim played with the hair on the back of Jon’s head. “We were really drunk that night,” she said.

“I wasn’t. Not really,” he whispered. “I knew that was a new couch and I wanted to ruin it. It was payback. That asshole has ruined a lot of my things.”