Page 28 of Unhitched
Chapter sixteen
Kace
I crack my neck, and between the release of tension and it sounding like the snap of a glowstick, it's a pure serotonin boost I desperately need. Fuck, I’m exhausted.
What an experience that was. For some idiotic reason, I thought I should try therapy based on the only advice my mom’s ever given me.
I should have gone alone. Then maybe I wouldn’t feel pressured to take part in a crazy Mya scheme.
I toss my keys into the leather bowl on the edge of the kitchen bar. Mya unclicks her fanny pack and hangs it over the back of the barstool. “Sooooo,” she says, twisting her hands in front of her. “That was fun.” Her gaze shifts slowly to mine.
I open the fridge and pull out a Best Day Ever beer, expecting her to push back a little.
Despite that ridiculous appointment being my idea, I want nothing more than to run away mentally.
My self-awareness makes me feel like even more of a coward.
Will I forever be the guy who runs from the things he can't control instead of facing them head-on or trying to gain perspective? Fuck. I don't like the thought of that.
I run my fingers through my hair, keeping my back to Mya so she can’t see my distress.
Therapy was supposed to meet the rules of our bet and give me a chance to satisfy my curiosity about whether it could have worked for Ruby and me.
But I put Mya in that awkward ass position, and she rose to the challenge.
I turn to face her. “I owe you an apology.” I rub the back of my neck.
“I didn’t expect things to get so…” I shuffle through a few words before settling on, “real.”
“It’s fine.” She gives a dismissive flick of her wrist as if people hurting her feelings is no big deal.
Suddenly I’m furious with myself, the cold condensation of the beer wetting my fingers under my tight grip. “It’s not fine. I’m angry with myself, and I continue to take it out on you.”
Expecting hurt to be written on her face, I’m shocked when her features soften. “Thank you,” she whispers. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I crack my beer. I’m not trying to reject her again, but talking is the last thing I want to do. “I’d rather not.”
“Okay, what would you like to do instead?” There’s so much hope in her voice that I think I actually want to hang out with her.
Taking a sip, I relax when I realize she's letting me off the hook. “Uhhh.”
“I saw that you have a Nintendo 64.” Her eyes light up, and I stare at her. “Do you have Mario Kart ?”
I take another swig of my beer. “I do.”
She tugs on the end of a curl. “Do you maybe want to play?”
If I didn’t clean my apartment fairly regularly, there’d be cobwebs on my console. It’s not that I don’t enjoy playing. It’s that I either didn’t have the time or Ruby wanted to do something else. “Sure.”
“Yay!” She bounces up and down before turning on her heel and heading to the living room. “Can I be Yoshi?” she asks over her shoulder.
“Yeah.” I like to be him, but with the way her ass looks in those leggings, she can have anything she wants. Not to mention, it’s the least I could do after that disaster of a therapy session.
Putting my beer on the coffee table, I set up the N64 in front of the TV and plug in the AV cables.
“There’s a drink in the fridge for you if you’d like.” I unwind the cords neatly wrapped around the controllers.
“Oh, no thank you. I don’t want a beer.”
I keep my eyes on what I’m doing. “I figured. I got you some cider.”
“You did?” I can hear the surprise in her voice without looking to confirm. It’s not a big deal. I saw it and thought she’d like it.
“Yeah,” I say, but she’s already on her way to the fridge.
She comes back a moment later, cracking the can on the way. Her lips press against it, her eyes lighting at the first sip and sending a rush of satisfaction through me. “Holy crap. This tastes like the red, white and blue popsicles I had as a kid.”
I chuckle. “It’s called ‘Rocket Pop.’”
“This is so good. It reminds me of running through the sprinklers in the summer.” I glance at her in time to catch a smile before she takes another sip. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I hand the transparent green controller to her as she settles on the floor with her back against the couch. I take the black one for myself as I sit on the cushion and select Luigi so she can choose Yoshi. “What track do you want to play?”
She tilts her head back, glancing at me over her hair twisted into buns on top of her head. “Rainbow Road is my favorite.” She smiles before fixing her gaze on the TV.
I toggle over to the “Special Cup,” and scroll down to select “Rainbow Road.”
Mya sits up straighter, her thumb hovering over the “A” button .
A giant “three” flashes on the screen. Her thumb, with chipped pink polish on the nail, presses down on the blue button.
The two flashes, and she presses it again. I’m not sure why I’m surprised she’s played this before.
I wonder which of her exes of three months she played with. I press my own “go” as the countdown ends, and we both take off down the rainbow.
“So who won?” She tilts her controller and leans her body to the left like it controls her turning.
“Huh?” I curve down the road, barely ahead of her, using the controller joystick.
“Our dates. Rent.” Yoshi flies off the edge of the rainbow road in a gap in the yellow star railing and into the darkness.
“Whoops.” She rests her controller on her lap as the Lakitu carries her back to the track.
I don’t answer her, running straight through the mystery box and waiting for the carousel of options to flip through in the corner until it lands on bananas.
I immediately drop the fruit in her path, and it’s only a few seconds later that Mya–aka Yoshi–slips, and I catch her spinning in circles in my periphery.
“Hey, rude!” She spares me a glance, sticking her tongue out and refocusing on the screen as Yoshi straightens out.
“I was thinking...” I block out the bottom half of the screen, focusing on Luigi.
She hits pause, and the game freezes. She turns toward me and sighs.
“I hate to admit it, but I had some fun today.”
“Because you enjoy frustrating me?” I hit play and take off down the rainbow track again. Mya focuses in the nick of time to keep her from flying into the sky again.
“And it was better than you running away after I kissed you.”
Fuck. She’s still thinking about that kiss? I was hoping she erased it from her memory like I’ve been trying to do all damn week. I glance at her just long enough on the curve for Luigi to fly over the edge with the finish line in sight.
I don’t say anything, because what the fuck do I say to that?
I press forward as soon as Luigi is steady on the road.
I’m not too far behind because in my silence, Mya got eaten by a Chain Chomp.
Recovered, she unlocks a mystery box–a Spiny Shell–and fires it.
Damn. It finds me quickly, and I spin out.
“Ha!” she yells, tilting her body again, along with the joystick, as the road turns. “Anyway, I don’t want to concede, but I think despite us nearly dying from nuts and our obvious irritation at therapy, we’d probably both agree your date was more enjoyable.”
What I refuse to admit aloud is that I did have some fun on her date, but the majority of today has been good , and I can’t remember the last time I thought that.
I regain my place on the road and take off.
“So I win,” I tell her, coincidentally right as I cross the finish line a few cart lengths ahead of her.
She cruises over the line as the winner screen flashes and turns toward me. “I hate this.”
“Sorry.” I shrug. Scrolling through the options, I select “Frappe Snowland.” “But a deal is a deal.”
“Okay, then can I at least contribute any money I make from my new business?”
Dammit. I groan, sinking my head against the back of the couch. I managed to forget about that. I was hoping she forgot too. “You’re that set on it?”
She nods, twisting on the floor to face me. “I am.”
I go to press start but set the controller on the coffee table and grab my beer instead. “And you actually want me to help you?”
“I mean… I think you might have good ideas or push me when I need it. Plus, I think it would be nice for you to understand that…”
“Understand what?” I search her eyes.
“It’s just that you seem bothered by the fact that you were the catalyst of my breakup–enough to let me move in. I think it would be cool if you could see that sometimes the things we’re taught are bad, could actually be good. You aren’t the villain you think you are.”
I guess I do feel that way. I scan through my conversation with my mom and our session with the therapist. Reframing my mindset is probably the start of the path to moving past all this shit I’ve struggled with since Ruby.
“Plus,” she adds. “We might make a great team, and this is how we figure it out. Like Nicole Scherzinger suggesting the 1D boys work together.” I give her a pointed look, and she waves her hand like she realized she’s speaking a foreign language to me.
“Never mind. Please?” Her puppy dog eyes send me over the edge to insanity.
“Fine.” My hand reaches for hers in concession before my mind can put up a fight.
She stares blankly at it. “Really?”
I nod. “On a trial basis.”
“Okay. Okay.” She shakes my hand with a burst of excitement. “Yay! This is going to be fun.”
“If you say so.” I drop her hand, the warmth leaving me immediately.
“Thank you.” She grins wider, reaching for her controller.
“Yeah, don’t mention it.” I pick mine up and settle back into the couch. “Do you even have a plan?”
“I don’t need things to be premeditated.”
“Uhh.” Just like that, I’m bothered by the idea again. “You’re not a murderer. You have such a drink-out-of-the-hose mindset.”
She scrunches her face. “What does that mean?”