by Claire Adams
“Should we make a bet, Natalie, or are you too scared?”
She glanced over and me and smirked. “Sure, what do you want?”
“Massages for a week straight.” I smiled devilishly, the thing that I loved most about Natalie's massages these days was that they always ended in special treats.
“And if I win?”
“Then I massage you for a week. We both win. You get a massage and I get to touch your body.”
“Easy guys! I am still in the room,” Kyle said.
She laughed. “Sounds good to me.”
We played Call of Duty for about 45 minutes, and it wasn’t long before I realized that I was once again getting my butt whipped by Natalie. She must have had a sex change operation at one point that I wasn't aware of, because no girl should be this good at Call of Duty. She not only beat me at the game, but she annihilated me. Kyle was on the couch behind us, laughing his ass off the entire time, and that was in between calling me a pussy every chance he got. I threw down my remote when the final kill shot came my way. Kyle was still dying laughing while he downed the beer that he had in his hand.
“Awe, man, are you kidding me? Natalie, where do you come from?”
“What?”
“Where did you learn to play like that?”
She looked sheepishly at me. “My ex-boyfriend was obsessed, so we played together a lot. If it makes you feel better, I eventually whooped his butt, too.” Ahh, the ex-boyfriend. The subject we never talked about. She didn't want to talk about it, and neither did I, to be honest, but some things just needed to be talked about, whether you wanted to or not. It was just a fact of life. But that was something I was willing to deal with another night.
“Oh my God, this girl is too cool. I cannot believe you got your butt whipped by a girl.” Kyle finished off his beer and got up to get another one. He shook his head the entire time he was getting that beer.
“A girl? What's wrong with getting your butt whipped by a girl, Kyle?” She was looking at him, her eyelashes fluttering about. She was reeling him in to kill him, too. She was inhumane, but I loved it. She played off like she was innocent, but I knew better; she was a killer. And she was about to take Kyle down, too. I was pretty okay with it. After all, I had already been humiliated, so it was only fair that he gets humiliated as well. Especially since he was enjoying my failures all too much.
“Well, it shouldn't happen, Natalie, that's why. You're a girl. You're supposed to be playing with Barbie dolls or something.” He started cackling again, and I had to wonder if he was starting to get drunk. Barbie dolls? She was a grown woman, for crying out loud.
“That's a little sexist, don't you think, Kyle? I don't even like Barbie dolls. Well, let’s go then, me and you.”
Kyle laughed. “Alright, but don't go crying to your boyfriend when you get beat up. I'm relentless, and believe me, no girl is going to beat me at my own game.”
She only laughed and didn't say a thing at all to him. She made you feel safe just before she struck you down.
She brutalized Kyle in a shorter span of time than it took her to demolish me. And she laughed the whole time she did it, which actually made me really happy inside. Kyle, too, threw his remote to the ground, but he looked far less impressed than I had been. He was not happy about losing to a girl, especially after he made such a big deal about me losing to one. He had thought for sure that he was going to kick her butt. I knew how he felt, though, I was starting to wonder if I could beat her at anything. She was really good at boys’ stuff, and it was shocking, since she wasn't really that kind of girl. It might be time for me to consider never asking her to play a game, ever. What was I going to do, spend the rest of my life losing to her? That didn't sound like much fun. And I always liked to have fun.
“So do you want to discuss that whole thing about girls and the likelihood that you will get beat by them?” I laughed as I said it, enjoying every minute of it.
“That was a fluke.”
“Oh, yeah, man, I'm sure it was.” I was nodding my head as I took a slug of my beer.
Kyle grabbed his beer and headed down the hall to his bedroom. He was what most would call a spoilsport. The door slammed and we laughed. He would be gone for the rest of the evening, then. He didn't like being made fun of, especially if there was a girl in the room. Since the girl had been the one to shame him, it made it that much worse for him. He would be sulking in his room at that very moment, and I almost felt bad for the guy. He couldn't help that he hated losing, or maybe he could. Either way, it was not my problem.
“Sorry, I guess I sort of killed your game night, right?” She winked as she leaned back into the couch, taking a slow sip of the beer in her hand.
I laughed. “Yes, I guess you did. That's okay, though, a couple of guys playing video games for an entire evening is sort of lame, right?”
“Yeah, sort of.” She was still smiling, and I liked it.
“Let me shut this down and maybe we can find something to watch on TV.” I switched some cords on the back of the TV, returned to the couch, and started flicking through the stations. Natalie sat patiently waiting while she snacked on pretzels from the bowl Kyle had made up. She took a swig of her beer and I finally found a show that might keep us both happy. I leaned back into the couch and she moved over and snuggled against me.
“Well, even though you beat me badly yet again, I'm glad you're here.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled like vanilla, and I took her scent in, enjoying her closeness.
“Me too.”
“I wanted to ask you, Natalie, if you would like to come to Thanksgiving dinner with me at my mom's house?”
There was a long pause, almost an awkward pause. “Is your whole family going to be there?”
“No, my brother and his girlfriend are going to my dad's. We usually split up over the holidays. My sister will be there, though.”
“That's right. You have a sister; why have you never talked about her before?”
“No reason, really, Natalie. We aren't the closest family. It's not a big deal, but the whole divorce thing took a toll on us all, and I just don't talk a lot about them.”
“Well, I'm looking forward to meeting her, then.”
“Great, so you will come?”
“Sure, on one condition, though.”
“What's that? Though I'm sure I will say yes to anything you have to say.”
She giggled. “I want you to come to my family dinner at Christmas.”
“Absolutely, sweetheart.”
She smiled then, and kissed me hard on the mouth.
Chapter Seven
Natalie
I was a super nervous wreck when it came time to go to Jet’s mother's for dinner. I was starting to care a great deal for him, far sooner than I had anticipated, so it was really important to me that his family warm up to me. He liked me, but I worried that maybe they wouldn't like me. I wanted them to like me and accept me into the family. I wasn't sure what was going to happen for Jet and me in the future, but the fact that we were spending the holidays together was probably a really good sign of things to come.
We were driving to his mother’s house, and I was wearing a black long-sleeved dress that hugged my body just right, but that was still appropriate for a family dinner. Jet had gushed about my outfit when he saw me, and that pleased me immensely. We were holding hands as we drove there, and I felt happier at that moment than I had in a long time.
When we pulled up to the large colonial home, I got even more nervous than before. The house was enormous, and despite the divorce, it was obvious that Jet's mother was still very well taken care of. I was definitely not from the same world as they were, and I worried that I might be judged. It was a silly notion; I had seen them all at the fight and they seemed like really nice people, I was just letting nerves get the best of me.
When we got inside the house, it was warm and cozy, and the owner of the home had gone to gre
at lengths to decorate for the holidays. The inside of the home looked like something you would see in the movies. I smiled at Jet as the family all met in the entryway to see us in. His sister, Karen, was beautiful, and looked exactly like his mother. Their whole family was beautiful, actually.
Then I saw something that shocked me. Off to the side stood Katie. She had a small smile on her face, and when Jet saw her, he went to her and hugged her, wishing her a Happy Thanksgiving. I was speechless at first, and didn't know what to say. Karen noticed my shock and stepped in, “That's Katie; she's been like family to us. Her parents are best friends with our mother, so they often come and spend the holidays with us. I think she also knows Jet from school.”
“Yes, I've met her before. I was just surprised to see her, that's all.”
I could not believe the terrible luck I had. Honestly, what were the chances of Katie showing up for the holidays? One in a zillion? And why hadn't Jet have told me that she was so close to the family, especially if she frequented these events often? He had made it seem like they were just friends, teammates involved in the same sport. I was truly appalled by the fact that she was at the same event that I was. It was supposed to be something special for Jet and me.
A sharp pang of jealousy coursed through me as they hugged, a hug that I felt just lingered a little too long. I felt betrayed that Jet had invited me there without mentioning the possibility that Katie would be there. He must have known how I felt about the girl, because of the night at the club. Why would he bring me here when she was here? Was he really so insensitive? I teared up immediately, though I tried to stop it from happening. It took all my self-control to prevent those tears from spilling down my cheeks. I did not want to cry or make a scene at dinner. I wanted the family to like me, not to think I was a hysterical mess. I needed to control my emotions and just get through the night without strangling either Jet or Katie.
“Is everything okay?” Karen asked me, concern marking her face. I wasn't sure what she had seen. Maybe she saw the tears in my eyes, or maybe my face was flushed red. It certainly felt like it was burning with embarrassment. I felt like I was a fool for being at the dinner, the same dinner that Katie was enjoying with her family. It really made me wonder. How had the two of them never gotten together if she had been tight with the family for so long? How had they not even hooked up? Maybe they had hooked up and Jet just never told me? Calm down, I kept telling myself, just calm down. I was letting my thoughts run away with me, and it wasn't a very good idea.
I was aware that Karen was still looking at me, so I took a deep breath and turned away from Jet and Katie. “Yes of course, I'm sorry. I just feel a little warm in here. Is there somewhere I can hang my jacket?”
“Oh, of course. Let me take it.” I slipped off my jacket and handed it to her. She went down the hall to hang it up in the side closet. I turned back around to see where Jet was, and he was saying hello to Katie's parents before he made his way back to my side. He kissed me on the cheek and smiled. The smile didn't last long, however, as I glared at him as discreetly as I could.
“What's wrong?”
“Are you serious right now? Did you forget to tell me something?” I was whispering, or more like hissing at him, but I didn't want to alert the others to our conversation.
“Natalie, what's wrong? I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“What the hell is Katie doing here? She's practically family? Is this real life?”
He shot a glance over at Katie, and then looked back at me, looking rather stupid.
“Oh my God, Natalie, I'm sorry. I may actually be the stupidest guy alive. I quite literally didn't even think about her. And that should tell you something. Sometimes they come, and sometimes they don't, I had no idea whether she would be here or not. And to be honest, it never even occurred to me until now.”
He looked genuinely sorry, and I had to consider the fact that I might just be losing my mind. It probably was just an innocent little mix-up, and I should cut him a little slack. It wasn't the end of the world, as long as Katie kept her claws out of Jet for the evening. I didn't have the patience for her at all.
“Come on, everyone, let’s gather in the kitchen and have some dinner.” His mother waved for everyone to follow her into the kitchen. I took Jet's hand and smiled up at him to let him know everything was okay.
We all gathered around the table and found seats. I was happy to see that Katie and her family were not sitting directly across from us at the table. Dinner was a bit overwhelming. I had Jet's family asking me all kinds of questions about myself, which normally wouldn’t be too bad, except Katie seemed to watch me intently as I answered them. Everyone, however, seemed to be in good spirits, and dinner went by without a hitch. The meal itself was incredible. There was far too much food on the table for the amount of people that were there. It was way too much; I was sure a whole village of people could have fed off of the meal. There were three types of meat: duck, turkey, and ham. There were mashed potatoes and gravy along with various kinds of vegetables. That was just dinner; dessert consisted of pies of almost every kind, and a seven-layer chocolate cake. I worried that I was going to have to be rolled out of there. I had eaten so much food just to be polite, and I worried that Jet would have to get a crane to haul me out of there for the evening.
When dinner was over, we all retired for the evening to the sitting room. Everyone engaged in their own conversations, and Jet came over with a deck of cards and suggested we play.
“Well, aren't you a glutton for punishment. Haven't you learned your lesson by now?”
“I can't help it. I feel like I should win at something here.”
I giggled. “Would it help if I let you win?”
“No! I want an honest win. What do you say to some Rummy 500?”
I laughed. “Sure, sounds good.”
We played five games total, and I won every one of them. He fought some hard rounds, but in the end, I prevailed. It was actually hilarious how frustrated he became.
“Baby, how on earth do you keep kicking my ass at everything? It's rather heartbreaking, actually.”
“I know. I actually did consider letting you win to help you save face, but in the end I thought I would just bring you down.”
He laughed. Karen walked over and stood beside where Jet was sitting.
“What are you guys doing?” she asked.
“Well, we were playing cards but Natalie has been kicking my butt. She always does, actually, it's kind of embarrassing. She's like a card shark, and I can't quite figure out how she does it.”
I laughed. “It's really not that dramatic. My dad just taught me a lot of stuff.”
Karen laughed. “Don't be a spoilsport there, Jet; you can't win them all.”
“Well, why not?”
We all laughed, and Jet got up from the chair he was sitting in. “Well I have to hit the little boys’ room. I will be right back, Natalie. I will leave you in the care of my lovely sister.”
Karen sat down in the seat that Jet vacated and smiled at me warmly. I really liked his sister. She seemed sweet. I was just about to engage in a conversation with Karen, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katie get up from her seat. It wouldn't have seemed unusual, except for the fact that she went the same way that Jet had gone. I sat there for a few minutes, wondering what I should do. I wanted to be able to trust Jet, and I was sure the two of them going down the hallway had just been a coincidence. But something was nagging at me to go find Jet.
“Natalie, are you sure you're okay?”
Startled I looked at Karen and nodded. My God, she must think that I'm a basket case.
“Sorry, Karen, I'll be right back.” I stood up abruptly, not offering any type of explanation, and headed down the same hallway they went down in search of the bathroom. I knew there had to be a main floor bathroom for guests, and when I turned another corner, there was Jet against the wall. They appeared to be talking when all of a sudden, Katie kissed him
. It was the worst thing I had ever seen, and I wanted to scream.
“What the hell is going on?” I yelled at them, and Katie separated from Jet immediately, looking embarrassed. I spun around and walked away, hearing Jet call to me from down the hall. I wasn't about to have any type of a conversation with him at that moment. All I wanted was to get the hell out of that house. I made my way around the corner and headed for the closet to grab my coat. I didn't want to alarm any of the other guests, so I slipped my coat on and quietly left the house without looking back. I just needed to get out of there.
Chapter Eight
Jet
I stood in the hallway with Katie, unable to believe what just happened. Staring at her, I just shook my head; I didn't even have words to say to her at that moment. I turned away and ran down the hallway to find Natalie. I couldn't find her at first. I checked the other bathroom, and the sitting room where my family was. I asked Karen if she had seen her. It hadn't occurred to me that she would actually leave my house. But as I stared at the front door, I knew that she had done exactly that.
I rushed out the door and saw her walking down the sidewalk. She was actually planning on walking home alone on Thanksgiving. I could have just killed myself at that moment. After all the time it took to get her to be mine, and now this had to happen. How could I have been so stupid? To have allowed anything to upset Natalie this way? She didn't deserve things like this happening to her, especially after she went through what she did with her ex.
It killed me to see her walking away from me. I called out to her a few times, yelling her name down the street, but she didn't even turn to look at me. She just kept walking. I start running after her and grabbed her by the arm. I turned her around, and the look on her face should have turned me to stone.
“Natalie, please let me explain.”
“Explain what, Jet?”
I sighed. “Natalie, it's not what you think at all. Please, I know what it looked like, but it wasn't what you think.”
“Oh no?”
