Distance
Fight.
When I woke up, Jordan was gone. I wasn't surprised, but still, my bed felt too big all of a sudden, and I missed having someone to share it with.
Ollie was seated at the kitchen table, sipping coffee. She looked up at me with a smirk.
"Busy night?"
"God, Mom. You know how gross it is, hearing you talk about sex?"
"Yes. That's why I do it. And I think your friend's a lovely young man."
I dropped my bowl of Rice Crispies in shock. "You...you met Jordan?"
"He was on his way out, I was on my way in. Shit happens."
"Aren't you...surprised?"
Ollie chuckled. "Baby, you told me that you were bisexual last year, when you came home so drunk you could barely walk. It was quite an amusing night, if I remember correctly."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "I love you, Mom."
"I love you too. Now get to school."
***
Convincing Mike and Tre I was serious about Jordan took a considerable amount of yelling, pot, and several obscene jokes, courtesy of Tre.
"So...you ran out of chicks, so you've moved on to the men?" Mike asked, eyes sparkling.
"I must say, Billie, I'm a little insulted. All those years of flirting, and then you ditch me for some strange boy with a lip ring?"
I laughed, glad that the news was finally sinking in. "Tre, I could never have a real relationship with you, mate. All I want from you is sex."
"Sounds familiar." Danica had entered the room, and her eyes were flashing fire. The cheery atmosphere vanished. Suddenly, we all felt awkward.
"Danie." Tre leapt to his feet, and promptly tripped over an amp.
"You said you were taking me to dinner." She said coolly.
"I know but that's not till...seven..." his voice trailed off as she held up her cell phone, displaying the time. 8:02.
There was an awkward silence. Tre was obviously trying to think up a valid excuse, while Mike and I were making a sincere effort to vanish into the backgroud. Hard work, because Danica was glaring at us as if we'd told her we wanted to eat her first born.
"Baby, I'm sorry. Billie's just told us he was bisexual, and we were trying to talk him through it."
"Thanks, Tre."
"Well, Billie. Thanks for ruining my romantic night out with my boyfriend." She snapped. "You just have to fuck up everything, don't you?"
Tre looked baffled. Mike's jaw hit the floor. I must have looked like a goldfish. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, trying to think of something to say in reply to the ridiculousness of her statement.
"Danica...I had no idea that you and Tre had plans...I would've..."
"Whatever." She dismissed me with a wave of her hand. "I don't have time to stand around and wait for you to think up a good lie to tell me." She spun around and vanished in a flash of swirling skirts and stiletto heels.
"What the fuck was that?" Mike asked, shocked.
"I wish I knew." Tre said, eyeing me suspiciously. I cursed silently, then turned to the pair of them.
"I'm gonna go try to talk to her. Maybe she'll tell me what I did to piss her off, and beat me up." I ignored the look of hope on Tre's face.
"I'll catch you guys tomorrow."
"Good luck." Tre called, accompanying his words with a salute.
***
"Danica, what the hell was that in there?" I demanded, grabbing her arm.
"You just can't let me be happy, can you?" She spat, jerking her arm out of my grasp. "I'm trying so fucking hard to be happy with Tre, and not to think of you, but you just can't stay the hell out of my head!"
"I'll...try harder?" I said slowly, dumbfounded.
"Oh...fuck you, Billie." She said. I was pleased to see that her voice had lost some of it's vemon.
"Been there, done that." I joked, trying to lighten the mood. She smiled weakly.
"I wish I could be happy with Tre...I wish I could be happy for you and Jordan. But I look at you with him, then I look at me and Tre, and I wish we hadn't screwed things up so badly."
"Yeah, we did do a pretty good job of fucking up our relationship. It was spectacular, to tell the truth."
"Nobody but us." She murmured. There was a pause, in which I lit a cigarette, and fell into step beside her. "We'd be a great couple, Billie." She said softly.
"Danie..." My voice carried a sharp warning, and she feel silent. "You and Tre are perfect. Now shut up, and tell me what he's like in bed."
She giggled, and snaked an arm around my waist as I draped my left arm across her shoulders, so we could walk like we used to.
We came to a halt at her house, where she slipped between the gate and looked back at me, standing on the sidewalk with a cigarette.
"I miss us, Billie."
"Me too."
There was a short silence, in which she leaned forward, and planted a gossamar kiss on my cheek. Then she chuckled, "You need a shave."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I don't appreciate the stubble."
"Well, Jordan does."
"Oooh. Does he like it rough?"
"Oh yeah. I could show you some nice bruises."
"I bet the ones I left were better."
Then the laughter died out of my voice a little. Truth be told, I missed the way Danica's body had fitted against mine, the way her skin felt under my fingers. But I shoved that thought away before it could take root.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Danie."
I turned, getting ready to cross the street when her voice reached me, small and uncertain.
"Billie...?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I come over tonight?" I hesitated, and she hurried to amend her statement. "We could watch television and eat ice cream and talk like we used to. Please?"
There was an emotion in her face, something thin and fragile that made me want to gather her up into my arms and never let anything happen to her.
"Sure, Danie. Bring some popcorn." Then I darted between the cars and headed home, making a mental list of everything I needed to do.
***
"You sure you don't need me to come over? Was Ollie freaked?"
"Nah, everyone's cool, Jordan." I said, ignoring the crackle of telephone static, praying the call didn't drop. "I just need to get a full eight hours, and that won't happen if you're here."
He chuckled, and my stomach flip-flopped.
"Point taken, Puppy. Tomorrow night, then?"
"Obviously." I said, my voice thick with suggestion.
God, I love his laugh.
"Alright, tomorrow night then. I'll catch you later, Puppy."
"Sleep tight, Jordan." I felt vaguely guilty about lying to Jordan, because I knew what was going to happen.
Danica was going to show up. We'd make small talk, pretend to watch some video. It would probably be some romantic comedy, because it was law that Danica and I watched those simply to make fun of them. But tonight there'd be a sex scene. Something slow and hot and beautiful. And I'd catch her eye and mutter something about 'wish that would happen'. And she'd probably giggle throatily, with that sexy twinkle in her eyes.
And then we'd be kissing, getting more and more horizontal until kissing turned to touching and touching turned to fucking and then we'd be right back at square one.
I wondered why that thought didn't upset me.
Ollie was seated at the kitchen table, sipping coffee. She looked up at me with a smirk.
"Busy night?"
"God, Mom. You know how gross it is, hearing you talk about sex?"
"Yes. That's why I do it. And I think your friend's a lovely young man."
I dropped my bowl of Rice Crispies in shock. "You...you met Jordan?"
"He was on his way out, I was on my way in. Shit happens."
"Aren't you...surprised?"
Ollie chuckled. "Baby, you told me that you were bisexual last year, when you came home so drunk you could barely walk. It was quite an amusing night, if I remember correctly."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "I love you, Mom."
"I love you too. Now get to school."
***
Convincing Mike and Tre I was serious about Jordan took a considerable amount of yelling, pot, and several obscene jokes, courtesy of Tre.
"So...you ran out of chicks, so you've moved on to the men?" Mike asked, eyes sparkling.
"I must say, Billie, I'm a little insulted. All those years of flirting, and then you ditch me for some strange boy with a lip ring?"
I laughed, glad that the news was finally sinking in. "Tre, I could never have a real relationship with you, mate. All I want from you is sex."
"Sounds familiar." Danica had entered the room, and her eyes were flashing fire. The cheery atmosphere vanished. Suddenly, we all felt awkward.
"Danie." Tre leapt to his feet, and promptly tripped over an amp.
"You said you were taking me to dinner." She said coolly.
"I know but that's not till...seven..." his voice trailed off as she held up her cell phone, displaying the time. 8:02.
There was an awkward silence. Tre was obviously trying to think up a valid excuse, while Mike and I were making a sincere effort to vanish into the backgroud. Hard work, because Danica was glaring at us as if we'd told her we wanted to eat her first born.
"Baby, I'm sorry. Billie's just told us he was bisexual, and we were trying to talk him through it."
"Thanks, Tre."
"Well, Billie. Thanks for ruining my romantic night out with my boyfriend." She snapped. "You just have to fuck up everything, don't you?"
Tre looked baffled. Mike's jaw hit the floor. I must have looked like a goldfish. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, trying to think of something to say in reply to the ridiculousness of her statement.
"Danica...I had no idea that you and Tre had plans...I would've..."
"Whatever." She dismissed me with a wave of her hand. "I don't have time to stand around and wait for you to think up a good lie to tell me." She spun around and vanished in a flash of swirling skirts and stiletto heels.
"What the fuck was that?" Mike asked, shocked.
"I wish I knew." Tre said, eyeing me suspiciously. I cursed silently, then turned to the pair of them.
"I'm gonna go try to talk to her. Maybe she'll tell me what I did to piss her off, and beat me up." I ignored the look of hope on Tre's face.
"I'll catch you guys tomorrow."
"Good luck." Tre called, accompanying his words with a salute.
***
"Danica, what the hell was that in there?" I demanded, grabbing her arm.
"You just can't let me be happy, can you?" She spat, jerking her arm out of my grasp. "I'm trying so fucking hard to be happy with Tre, and not to think of you, but you just can't stay the hell out of my head!"
"I'll...try harder?" I said slowly, dumbfounded.
"Oh...fuck you, Billie." She said. I was pleased to see that her voice had lost some of it's vemon.
"Been there, done that." I joked, trying to lighten the mood. She smiled weakly.
"I wish I could be happy with Tre...I wish I could be happy for you and Jordan. But I look at you with him, then I look at me and Tre, and I wish we hadn't screwed things up so badly."
"Yeah, we did do a pretty good job of fucking up our relationship. It was spectacular, to tell the truth."
"Nobody but us." She murmured. There was a pause, in which I lit a cigarette, and fell into step beside her. "We'd be a great couple, Billie." She said softly.
"Danie..." My voice carried a sharp warning, and she feel silent. "You and Tre are perfect. Now shut up, and tell me what he's like in bed."
She giggled, and snaked an arm around my waist as I draped my left arm across her shoulders, so we could walk like we used to.
We came to a halt at her house, where she slipped between the gate and looked back at me, standing on the sidewalk with a cigarette.
"I miss us, Billie."
"Me too."
There was a short silence, in which she leaned forward, and planted a gossamar kiss on my cheek. Then she chuckled, "You need a shave."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I don't appreciate the stubble."
"Well, Jordan does."
"Oooh. Does he like it rough?"
"Oh yeah. I could show you some nice bruises."
"I bet the ones I left were better."
Then the laughter died out of my voice a little. Truth be told, I missed the way Danica's body had fitted against mine, the way her skin felt under my fingers. But I shoved that thought away before it could take root.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Danie."
I turned, getting ready to cross the street when her voice reached me, small and uncertain.
"Billie...?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I come over tonight?" I hesitated, and she hurried to amend her statement. "We could watch television and eat ice cream and talk like we used to. Please?"
There was an emotion in her face, something thin and fragile that made me want to gather her up into my arms and never let anything happen to her.
"Sure, Danie. Bring some popcorn." Then I darted between the cars and headed home, making a mental list of everything I needed to do.
***
"You sure you don't need me to come over? Was Ollie freaked?"
"Nah, everyone's cool, Jordan." I said, ignoring the crackle of telephone static, praying the call didn't drop. "I just need to get a full eight hours, and that won't happen if you're here."
He chuckled, and my stomach flip-flopped.
"Point taken, Puppy. Tomorrow night, then?"
"Obviously." I said, my voice thick with suggestion.
God, I love his laugh.
"Alright, tomorrow night then. I'll catch you later, Puppy."
"Sleep tight, Jordan." I felt vaguely guilty about lying to Jordan, because I knew what was going to happen.
Danica was going to show up. We'd make small talk, pretend to watch some video. It would probably be some romantic comedy, because it was law that Danica and I watched those simply to make fun of them. But tonight there'd be a sex scene. Something slow and hot and beautiful. And I'd catch her eye and mutter something about 'wish that would happen'. And she'd probably giggle throatily, with that sexy twinkle in her eyes.
And then we'd be kissing, getting more and more horizontal until kissing turned to touching and touching turned to fucking and then we'd be right back at square one.
I wondered why that thought didn't upset me.