Chapter Six
Jet
I was feeling pretty good about myself as I headed back to my apartment. The day couldn't have gone better. I was finally starting to melt the chilly exterior that Natalie had. Although Natalie had sold me what had to have been an overpriced picture, I would have gladly paid any amount to see the shocked look on her face. She never believed for a minute I was going to shell out $300 for her painting.
I could definitely see talent in her work, but I was still pretty sure she had tried to rip me off. However, I was also pretty sure it softened her up enough to ask to be part of her project. In truth, I wasn't too sure how I felt about being a model, but if that's what it took to be alone with Natalie, I would do it. I couldn't help myself, I really liked the girl, but she was impossible to please. She didn't roll over for me, which was rare. Maybe that was why I liked her so much. Most of the girls on campus would bend over backwards for me if it meant getting a date with me. Not even a date, but just to have me talk to them in the hallway. Insecure girls were incredibly unattractive. If only they knew what it truly meant to play hard to get. Natalie most definitely had the art down pat; she may have even invented it.
I put the key into the lock of my apartment door and walked into my home sweet home, and saw my roommate, Kyle, on the couch watching TV. It was one thing that he liked to indulge in the most. He wasn't just my roommate, though, he was also one of my teammates. However, he was in a different weight class than I was. But he was an all-around good guy, and a solid competitor.
“What's with the perma-grin, man?” Kyle asked.
I hadn't realized I was grinning from ear to ear when I walked into the apartment. I probably looked like an idiot. Not that I cared. I was popular, and it didn't really matter what anyone else thought of me. But I wiped the grin off my face anyway; there was no need to let on that I was gaga over a girl.
“Ah, nothing.”
“Did you just get laid, man? Cause that definitely looks like sex grin,” he joked, and winked at me as I made a beeline for the couch.
I laughed, “Well I hope I don't ever go to the supermarket with that grin, ‘cause I'm pretty sure it's my usual grin.”
“Well, where were you, then?”
“I was at that art walk on campus.”
“Oh man, why would you go there? We could have grabbed a ballgame or something. Do you want a beer?”
“No, I have a fight coming up, man. What are you thinking? Anyway, I went because there was a girl there who I wanted to see. I also bought us something for the apartment that is much nicer than all the hockey posters you have hanging up here.”
“Oh yeah, sorry. I have a while before my next fight, so I'm cool.” I shook my head; sometimes Kyle didn’t think with both sides of his brain. “So yeah, cool, man. So you did see a girl, and you really didn't have sex with her?”
I laughed. Wow, maybe I did have quite the reputation. I wasn't sure whether to be proud or ashamed at that moment. Ah, well, it'll pass; I'll go with proud for now.
“No, no sex. Like where would we have done it? In an art tent amongst her canvases?”
Kyle laughed, “You can have sex anywhere, it doesn't matter. Canvas sex might be cool, don't knock it till you've tried it.”
“Yeah, no doubt. A little weird though, man. But seriously, I went to see this girl, Natalie. She’s in the art department at our school.”
“Oh yaaaaaa, I know her! She's kind of weird, isn't she? She's that girl who sits at the bar and just drinks all the time. Like seriously, she will just sit there and not talk to anyone but her friend, and get shitfaced.”
I laughed nervously, as I hadn't realized everyone saw her in that light. No wonder no one had approached her at the bar to pick her up. They thought her behavior was a little weird for a bar atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, it certainly was, but I had always figured there was a reason behind why she acted that way. I guess I didn't need to worry about anyone stealing my thunder, after all.
“Yup, that's the girl.”
“Why are you interested in her? She's a little different for you, isn't she?”
“Meaning what? I only go after bimbos?”
“Well partly, but mainly ‘cause the girl is antisocial. She doesn't dance, she doesn't socialize, she probably won't sleep with you either,” he said and started laughing, clearly enjoying himself.
“No she's not. Well ... I mean, the antisocial part, not the sex part. There is a lot more to her than that. I think she has been through something bad recently, that's why she drinks at the bar, and doesn't want people to bother her. But she's not doing it alone, she always has her friend with her, so she isn't exactly antisocial.”
“Right, but isn't the point of going out to a bar to meet new people, have some drinks, and go dancing? Those two girls don't do anything. It must be boring as fuck.”
“Well, like I said, I'm sure there is more to that story than we realize. I've talked to her a few times, and despite a certain amount of feistiness, she's no different socially than anyone else I know.”
“Well, what makes her so different, then?”
“How about this? For someone who isn't interested in meeting new people, or is antisocial, I have a date with her tonight?”
His mouth dropped open, and he actually started focusing on me, rather than the TV. “Are you shitting me?”
“No, for real. I asked her out at the art show, and she said yes. Pretty easy, actually.”
“Are you gonna bang her?”
“I hope so. It would be ideal.”
“She's easy ass, I bet. A girl like that probably hasn't had it in a while. And she's drunk all the time, so you should have an easy score, man. Nice job.”
I laughed along with him, more so because it couldn't be further from the truth. Easy ass? No way, it's the hardest ass I have had to chase in a long time.
“Where are you guys going out?”
“I’m going to her place to help with her art project.”
Kyle just shrugged, and I decided to leave it at that. If things went my way, then Kyle would eventually meet her himself, and see exactly what I was talking about. I wouldn't turn down sex at all, but it wasn't my main goal for the evening. I was just happy I finally got the girl to want to spend some time with me, even if it was for a school project. At least it was a step in the right direction.