No More Heartache: The MORE Duet

by Anders, Tarrah

  After three games, everyone has fallen into step with another and we’re all talking freely.

  “Davis buddy, you never told us that Katrina was a bowling shark.” Nic laughed. Katrina has aided our team to win each game, she is a natural.

  “We’ve been together for four years and I didn’t even know it.” I shake my head.

  Katrina is giggling with her head on Tatum’s shoulder.

  “We may have to join a bowling league and start placing bets.” Sammie jokes.

  “I swear, this is all just beginners luck. I haven’t bowled since I was a kid.” She lifts her head from Tatum’s shoulder.

  I look at my watch, it’s nearing 10 p.m.. “Kat, what time do you have to be at the paper in the morning?” I ask.

  She thinks for a moment. “Not until 7, I need to work on my revisions and then submit to copy.”

  “Guys, it looks like I need to get this ball buster home. It might be nearing past her bedtime.”

  “I’m not the one who has to go to school tomorrow.” She teases and sticks out her tongue.

  “Nu-uh. Tomorrow is Friday, you have class too.” I smile proudly.

  “Shit,” she pouts. My friends start laughing again.

  “Yeah, we all should go home too. We have school too.” Tatum laughs.

  We all depart the bowling alley together and go our separate ways once we reach the parking lot.

  With Katrina snuggled close to my side, we walk to the car. I stop at her side of the door and give her a soft kiss before opening her car door for her.

  “I like your friends, they’re nice.” She smiles and she leans her head against the window and closes her eyes.

  * * *

  It’s Saturday evening and I’m sitting on the couch with a beer and Chinese take-out on the coffee table. I’m relaxed and watching some kung-fu movie with sub-titles when I hear the front door open quickly and then slam immediately. I startle at the sudden noises, but no one has walked into the living space. I get off the couch and inch my way to the front door. The doorknob is turning from side to side and then the front door flies open again, this time Max’s hand shoots out and he stops the door from immediately closing again. He throws his body into the house; he’s currently all legs and arms. He hasn’t said a word yet, or noticed me watching his performance. Thankfully, he’s alone.

  He finally notices that I’m standing there watching him as he’s reached out and grabbed my foot. Which he is now using to pull himself up. Once he get’s back on his own two feet, he looks at me.

  “Hello Brother.” He slurs. His breath reeks of alcohol, and it looks like he hasn’t showered in a few days.

  “Hey Brother. You doing alright?” I ask, holding him up right as he keeps swaying backwards or to the right.

  “I’m peachy. Thirsty though.” He lunges towards the kitchen and by using the wall and the counters makes his way to the cupboard with the alcohol in it. He screws off the top of the bottle of vodka and brings the bottle to his lips and takes a long slug.

  He stumbles back as he sets the bottle down but manages to right himself.

  “Buddy, let’s get some coffee and bread into you.”

  “You aren’t my mother. You’re… you’re my brother.” He points the bottle at me.

  “Yup. How about we hang out and watch a movie?” I suggest walking slowly into the kitchen.

  “Fuck a movie. I’m thirsty. Where’s my phone?” Max starts to search his pockets.

  “Who do you need to call, let me help?” I offer slowly sliding the vodka bottle out of his line of sight and putting it behind my back towards the sink. I move to slyly pour the bottle down the drain, but Max stops fidgeting in his pocket long enough to notice the bottle missing.

  “What the–” He’s looking around. He looks in the alcohol cupboard again, and just pulls out another bottle. I can’t see what it is as I’m currently managing to dump the bottle behind my back down the drain. When finished, I place the bottle on the counter by the wall and move to get a glass and put some water in it. I pull down the loaf of bread atop the fridge and place two pieces on a paper towel in front of Max.

  I have no idea if he’s eaten, but I will try anything at this point.

  “I need to call Betsy. She’ll come over.” Max mumbles again fumbling in his jacket pocket for his phone.

  Fuck! He’s in a bad place.

  I need to get a hold of Sterling or Dane quickly, before this heads any further south. My phone is sitting on the couch, so as Max is chugging whichever booze he can get his hand on, I run into the living room.

  I dial for Dane. “Hey, um. It’s about Max...” I start.

  “Is he alright?” Dane asks in rush.

  “I don’t know how much he’s had to drink, he just got home like 10 minutes ago and now he’s talking about calling Betsy and something about how she will come over. Do you think you can, I dunno, come over?” I honestly don’t know what else to do at this moment.

  “I’m on my way. Try to not let him leave.” Dane hangs up and I walk back into the kitchen.

  Max is slumped over the counter with his head resting on his extended arm.

  I pull up one of his barstools from the corner wall and make him sit on it. He lifts his head, his eyes are bloodshot and his skin is slightly pale, he has a few extra days of stubble on his normally manicured scruff.

  “She hasn’t answered any of my phone calls all week. Why isn’t she answering?” He mumbles as he lifts the bottle to his lips and takes another drink then puts his head back down.

  He smells foul. As I’m closer to him and more observant, his clothes are the clothes that we went to dinner in three nights ago. He’s pulled his sports coat over the shirt, but even that is dirty.

  The front door opens and closes, and Dane enters the kitchen. His eyes are wide and he’s out of breath.

  “Man, you look incredible.” He straightens himself and says to Max.

  Max lifts his head and he’s got a lopsided grin. “Dane, buddy ole’ pal! Whadya doin’ here?” He slurs.

  “I was worried about you, I haven’t seen you all week.” He puts on a smile, even though you can see he wants to cringe as he gets closer to Max.

  “Have you talked to Bets? She hasn’t answered my calls all week.” Max slurs from his head down position.

  “I’m sorry buddy. Betsy hasn’t been around lately. I haven’t spoken to her. But I’ll tell you what, let’s get you showered and I’ll have Davis call Sterling to see if he can get her to call Betsy. Okay?” Dane lies.

  Max lifts his head and takes another chug of his bottle and nods. Dane wraps his arm under Max and helps him up. He nods at me and shuffles Max down the hallway to his bedroom.

  I take advantage of the moment and drain the bottle that Max was drinking from. I then gather every other bottle in the cupboard and drain those as well. I’ve wipe off the counter, take a bite of the uneaten bread and then take the bottles out to the side of the house and drop them in the recycling bin. By the time I walk back inside, Dane is quietly shutting the door to Max’s bedroom wearing different clothes than he arrived in. He has a wet bundle of clothes in his hand. I imagine Max wasn’t too easy to get out of the shower.

  “I haven’t seen him that fucked up since college.” Dane breathes out wiping his brow. “Plastic bags?” He asks holding up his wet clothes.

  “Under the sink. I got rid of all the alcohol in the house, well except the few beers in the fridge, which I can take care of tonight.” I laugh uneasily.

  “I got him in the shower; fucker is heavy when he’s loaded. He’s passed out naked in bed now, don’t go in there unless you need to see a full moon.”

  “Thanks man. I appreciate you coming over. He wouldn’t listen to me, said that I’m the brother, not the mother.” I explain.

  “He’s a prick sometimes. He’ll be hung-over as hell tomorrow. How much did he drink?”

  “No clue. Haven’t seen him since last week. Even then he seemed totally fine. Th
en, tonight he stumbles in and yeah.”

  “I’ll check in with you tomorrow, but I’ve got to get back home to Sterling. He should be fine in the morning.” Dane pats my shoulder and then leaves me to my kung-fu movie and Chinese food. My mission for the remainder of the evening, if I should choose to accept it, is to drink the 4 beers sitting in the fridge. Challenge Accepted.

  9

  Max

  My bedroom stinks and there’s a draft. I open one eye and the light in my bathroom is on, from the looks of my window- it’s still dark outside and I’m buck naked. What the fuck? I manage to push myself up, but my arms are slightly wobbly. I scrunch my eyes and look for my alarm clock, it reads 1:15, it’s dark out, so that must mean in the middle of the night. I grab some pants from the chair in my bedroom and a sweatshirt and open my bedroom door slowly.

  The house is silent and dark. I’m thirsty. I walk to the kitchen and open my alcohol cupboard. Empty. Everything is gone, except some margarita mix that is probably past its expiration date. I could have sworn that there was booze in here. I stand at the counter and then I look in the cupboard again. Still, nothing drinkable is in there.

  I shake my head and grab a pair of flip flops and my keys from the side table. I don’t remember coming home. Weird, did I come home alone, I was naked after all? I shake my head and walk back to my bedroom, grab my wallet and phone and I return to the front of the house and exit.

  * * *

  My hand is pressed between her shoulder blades as my hips thrust in a frenzy. I’m applying some slight pressure as with my other hand I’m pulling her hips into me. I’m grinding my teeth and focusing on my release that I feel coming.

  Any moment now, any moment

  The small tingling sensation at the base of my spine began to build as I pummeled into her hips. She made no noise as I grunted loudly. I halted my movements as I started coming and held her hips to my groin as I dug into her. I felt my dick throbbing as it emptied out into the condom and attempted to catch my breath.

  I rubbed my palm against the girls back and rounded to her ass as I pull myself out of her. She still hasn’t said anything, and to hell if I can remember her name right now. She turns to me and smiles as she leans over and picks up her panties. I doubt she finished, nor do I really care.

  “So, do you want a drink?” I ask her as I throw the condom in the waste basket.

  She shakes her head. “Um, no. I’ve got to get going, my friends are probably looking for me anyways.”

  “Okay. Cool. It was nice to meet you.” I feel like a dick, what’s her name? Meh, why should I care, she’s leaving. One and done.

  No Name has left my room and I pour myself another glass from the bottle on the counter in the bar area.

  I haven’t been home in a while, I don’t know which day it is, and No Name was the 5th female to leave this hotel room. I’ve spent my days drunk and my nights even more drunk. I’ve confused time and I really don’t care. I left my cell phone charger at home, so I haven’t spoken to my brother or Dane. I should probably check in with someone, but that seems like it’s too much work. This is the most irresponsible that I’ve ever been with my life, and there’s not one part of me right now that is feeling remorse. The hotel I’m staying at is a nice one along Mission Bay; I have the money, so I don’t feel bad for spending it. I’m purposely away from my normal haunts and instead of at my house in Golden Hill. It’s almost like I’m on vacation, and that’s how I’m treating it. The women that I’ve picked up on are usually just vacationing here and I’ve met a few of them in the bar downstairs, the pool or the hotel’s private beach.

  I put on some clothes, finish my drink, pocket my wallet, and my room key and I leave the sanctuary of my room. I head down to the hotel’s bar and take a seat in a booth. A waitress comes and takes my order, with my drink tonight I order something to eat as well, might as well feed the body while I give it something to drink.

  I’m not too stupid to admit that I’m on the prowl; I’ve been drinking non-stop for… I’ve lost count of how many days and I’m wallowing in memories. Memories that I can’t shake. I know that somewhere in the cloud of the past week or so that I’ve called Betsy’s old phone number several times and I briefly recall asking Dane to call her the night that I took off from the house and came here. Since my phone is dead, I haven’t been placing any calls.

  A red head and two brunettes are sitting at a belly bar table to the right of my booth. The red head has curly hair, pasty skin and I can only imagine freckles everywhere. I lick my lips in that thought and then train my eyes to her friend. From this angle, she looks to be exotic looking but I can’t tell, I can only see her profile. Her smile is beautiful though and even though she’s sitting down, she has spectacular legs. The two of them are talking and laughing, they seem to be enjoying themselves as a 3rd woman listens intently. This one is short, with shoulder length brown hair, she’s dressed much more casual than the other two. They fall into conversation and I can’t help but to continue watching them.

  I’ve caught the brunette with the killer legs eyes a few times as she would periodically scan the bar. Are these chicks looking for a good time? Or at least one of them, the brunette perhaps? I can’t help to smirk and think to myself that I could be their good time. I’ve fucked two chicks at once, three would be Olympic status fucking, or at least for me it would be considering my recent state of mind.

  I contemplate my next move as my next drink is placed in front of me. I slowly stand, knowing that I’ve been sitting for a period and have been drinking. I allow my body to adjust to the new position and test my limits. The leggy brunette has noticed my standing and I feel confident in my prowl. I pick up my drink and confidently walk in their direction. I add a lazy smile to my face, one that I am well aware that works with the ladies and approach. Legs has smiled at my arrival.

  “Ladies.” I greet them, making eye contact with each one of them, lingering the longest on Legs.

  Up close, her hair is practically black and her eyes are a warm chocolate. She has a killer smile that shines against her smooth skin. She’s undeniably gorgeous, as well as the other two, although I’m drawn to Legs.

  “You’ve been staring over here long enough; we thought you were just a gawker.” The red-head smiles.

  Leg’s gasped and swatted at her friend. “What Sammie has neglected to say is simply, Hi.” Her voice is like music. It’s soothing yet extremely sexy. I must be drunk if I’m reacting to a voice, and thinking like that.

  “Blunt. I like it. I’m Max, and you ladies are?” I smile at Leg’s first.

  “I’m Tatum, the rude one is Sammie and this is my sister, Monica. It’s her 21st birthday.” Tatum introduces.

  “Extremely your pleasure?” Monica mumbles, obviously not impressed or attracted to me.

  “Well, Happy Birthday to you Monica, ladies it’s extremely my pleasure to meet you.” I play bow to them. Monica giggles at my gesture.

  “So Max, are you here alone?” Sammie asks. She doesn’t waste any time.

  “I am. Came down for a nightcap before I hit the hay for the night.” I say as I take a sip of my scotch.

  “You’re a guest?” Tatum asks me.

  “A temporary guest.” I nod.

  “Ah, where are you from sir Max, what wonderful adventures are you currently partaking on?” Sammie asks. This girl is odd.

  “I actually live here, in San Diego. I have no real reason for staying here, other than I needed a change of scenery for a few days. And I have to admit, the scenery here is much nicer than my little brother walking around my house in his boxers.” I shrug.

  “So you’re like, vacationing without traveling?” Monica innocently asks.

  “Exactly, I’ve even called into work.” I lie, I really should call in.

  “And what is it that you do for work Max?” Tatum asks.

  “I build things; or rather I help build things. I’m in a mixture of architecture and engineering.”

 
; “My friend is a Lego architect.” Monica says giggling as she brings her brightly colored drink to her lips.

  The table, including myself laughs.

  “Do you ladies mind if I join you?” I ask motioning to the empty high chair at the belly bar table behind me.

  They make room for me as I pull a chair up beside Tatum my hand accidentally brushes against her thigh when I position the chair. She inhales and manages a smile as she pushes a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “So ladies, you know a little about me, what about you? Are you visiting or from here and playing hooky too?”

  “Monica is visiting from Phoenix. She’s actually staying here in the hotel and we’re celebrating our pre-summer.” Tatum smiles as she fondly looks at her sister.

  “Tate got me a swanky room for my birthday weekend.” Now I know it’s closer to the weekend, score for picking up crumbs.

  “And Monica, what is it that you do in Phoenix?” I ask making sure that I get in good with the birthday girl in hopes to impress her sister.

  “I go to State out there and really that’s it. I’m a junior- I mean senior. I’ve got to get used to saying that now.” She hiccups.

  “She’s a genius and works too hard. She needed a getaway and here she is.” Tatum smiles, obviously proud of her sister.

  “And you Sammie?” I ask directing my attention in her direction.

  “Tatum and I are both teachers, locally. I teach 2nd grade and she teaches Kindergarten.” Sammie takes my chance at grilling Tatum.

  “Right on. Would you ladies like another drink, a celebratory birthday shot perhaps, Monica?” Man, I’m laying it on thick.

  Monica briefly looks to Tatum and then back to me. She’s a little blurry and I see a faint 2nd version of her. I know I don’t need another drink, but I could care less and motion for a waitress.

  “Ladies, please order whatever you would like.” I say as I turn to the waitress. “Please charge it to my room, thank you.” I smile.