Sick Little Games

“Dude, can we just go? We’ve been sitting in this parking lot for an hour! Darby probably forgot and went home in her own car with that hot chick Laurel.” Jack groaned as he slammed his head on the back of his seat in frustration. Impatience must go hand in hand with hyperactivity because Jack sure had excessive amounts of both traits.

“Chill out Jack, she’ll be here. I have to be nice if I want to get with her again.” I snapped. I looked back at Jack who was rolling his eyes and sighed, “Sorry dude for bitching at you. It’s been weird lately is all.”

“I know bro, I know.” Jack nodded his head sympathetically, “Hey, is that her?” He pointed off in the distance to a girl walking out of the school laughing and talking with a guy who was wearing a school letterman jacket, “Is she with Scott Wheeler?”

I continued to watch as she laughed and flirted with the school Quarterback before they hugged. We made eye contact and she quickly let go before saying bye and hurrying across the parking lot before opening my car door and sliding in the passenger seat next to me. “Sorry for taking so long. I just ran into Scott and we got distracted catching up.” She shrugged as she pulled a tube of lip gloss out of her bag and applied it, “I hope you weren't waiting long.”

“It’s no big deal.” I forced a smile as I put the car in drive and sped off, “So do you like Scott?”

“I don’t know yet, maybe. I haven’t really decided.” Darby said. I could have sworn I saw her smirk as I gripped the steering wheel tighter causing my knuckles to turn white, “He’s just a friend though. We’ve been friends for a while now even though I haven't seen him all summer.”

“Dude you missed the turn!” Jack exclaimed from the back seat. I groaned as I pulled into a person’s driveway and turned the car around. Darby shouldn’t have had this effect on me causing me to not pay any attention, but for some reason she did.

“Sorry man.” I muttered as he got out of the car when we pulled up to his house. Still in Jack’s driveway, I turned to look at Darby who was staring out the window with an unreadable expression on her face, “So how about that coffee?” I asked with a smile.

“Sounds great,” She smiled warmly back at me causing me to relax a little, “Do you mind if I turn on some music?”

“No, go right ahead.” I said as I pulled out my iPod and placed it on a dock that allowed it to be played in the car. Almost immediately she began looking through songs to find a good one. Soon enough the song ‘What’s My Age Again?’ filled the car followed by the soft humming of the girl sitting next to me. I looked over at her while I was driving to see her bobbing her head to the music in sync with the beat of the drums.

“Enema Of The State is the most perfect album ever.” She gushed when she saw I was watching her.

I shrugged as I turned to face the road again, making the turn into the coffee shop parking lot, “It’s great, but Take off Your Pants and Jacket is so much better.”

“Bull shit!” She exclaimed as I turned off the engine and we both stepped out of the car, “Enema Of The State sold over 15 million copies and made Blink the biggest Pop Punk band of all time. Take off Your Pants and Jacket can’t even compare. Even if it is a great album, nothing beats Enema.”

“Tell that to Stay Together For The Kids, The Rock Show, First Date, Give Me One Good Reason, Reckless Abandon, Online Songs…” I began to count off the songs on my fingers as I shook my head at the girl.

“Okay I get it! You know all the tracks on the album congratulations!” Darby laughed as we walked in, “It still doesn’t make it a better album altogether.”

“Yes it does.” I argued. It wasn’t easy winning an argument with someone just as stubborn as I was. With Jack, we would just agree to disagree and I could already tell this wasn’t going to be the case.

“No, it doesn’t.” She scoffed as I watched her push all her hair out of her face. I just couldn't get over how beautiful she looked, especially when she was annoyed, “Are you done arguing with me now?”

“No, but I’ll stop while I’m ahead and just buy us coffee.” I chuckled.

“Oh, you don’t have to buy it for me.” She said awkwardly as she pulled out her wallet, “I’ve got it.”

“Please, Darb.” I pushed her hand away as we reached the counter, “I asked you to come with me to get coffee. Obviously I was going to buy you one from the beginning.”

“Awwww.” The barista behind the counter gushed, “You two are so cute together!”

“Thanks.” I smiled the same time as Darby quickly said, “Oh, we’re not together.”

“Oh, my mistake,” The barista turned almost as pink as Darby had turned, “It’s just you two look sort of like a couple and the way you were bickering and him offering to buy coffee, it was all just so cute!”

“Again, thanks.” I grinned at her, “We’ll both have iced coffees please.”

“Add some caramel to mine please!” Darby said quickly.

“Baby girl got a sweet tooth?” I mused as I looked down at the girl. I just noticed how short she was as I looked down at her small frame. If I tilted my head just right I could see directly down her shirt.

“Baby girl would like to not be called baby girl.” She rolled her eyes. Damn, she looked so sexy.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Babe.” I winked. My grin turned into a wince when I saw the look of displeasure on her face, “What now?”

“No nicknames please. It’s Darby, Darb for short, or nothing.” She shook her head and sat down at a table in a huff. I quickly followed over and slid into the seat across from her.

“Why don’t you like nicknames?” I asked as I rested my head on my hand and let my eyes catch her own, “I think they’re cute.”

“The last guy who used nicknames for me really fucked me over.” She spat and broke eye contact, suddenly finding the floor much more interesting to look at for whatever reason. I groaned internally knowing she meant me before I sighed and grabbed one of her hands. Her instant reaction was to try and pull away but my grip was too tight so she eventually gave up.

“I said I was sorry Darby. I really and truly am sorry.” I sighed, “Honest.”

“Actions speak louder than words, Alex.” She whispered after a few moments of silence, finally making eye contact with me again. I let out my breath that I didn't even realize I had been holding and squeezed her hand.

“Well give me a chance to prove it to you.” I whispered back, “I can change- I already have changed.” She was about to speak when someone called out our order number. I smiled softly and let go of her hand as I stood up and walked over to get the coffees.

“So if you really aren't dating her and you're single, here’s my number.” The barista from before winked as she handed me a small piece of paper with ten digits scribbled on the front of it. I smiled and thanked her before crumpling up the piece of paper and shoving it in my pocket. I probably wasn’t going to need it any time soon, but I was never one to pass up a phone number from a hot girl. That just wasn't me.

Hopefully Darby would believe I had changed, even if that wasn't the case.