Chapter Six
Jet
“Come on, man, what the hell is this? I'm killing you. When are you going to step up to the plate here?” I couldn't stop laughing the whole time I was giving Kyle the gears. It made it all the better that he was a poor loser. He usually lost his shit at some point and stomped out of the room. It was only a matter of time. Kyle usually only liked playing video games with people he could beat, and I wasn't one of them.
“What are you talking about? I'm doing just fine, and I'm pretty sure I've been killing more zombies than you have.”
I turned to Kyle when he said that. “Are you joking right now? It's been Slaughterhouse 5 because of me, and you have been dying left and right. There is blood everywhere, and none of it is mine.”
We had been playing The Walking Dead game on the Wii U for just under an hour while we were slugging some beers. I wasn't a huge fan of the Wii U system, but I loved the TV show, so it was fun to get in there, work with familiar characters, and really kick some zombie ass.
That night was the perfect night to just sit there and vegetate in front of the TV. I was still really sore from my fight, and I didn't have any desire to be out partying. Playing games seemed like the perfect evening in, and it was stress-free. I was determined to take it easy for the next little while, and allow my body and mind to heal themselves. There was always the next fight to prepare for, and as long as I took care of my body, then I would never have to worry about injuries or wrecking my body to the point where I could no longer fight. I could also eat whatever I wanted for the time being until training started for the next fight. We had ordered a huge meat lover’s pizza, and my mouth was watering just waiting for it to get here.
My phone chirped, and I paused the game to check to see who it was. A smile formed on my face when I saw it was from Natalie. I answered the call, “Hey Natalie, what's up?” God, I loved the sound of her voice.
“Not much, I was just wondering what you were up to. I'm kind of bored and thought we could get together.”
“Just playing video games with Kyle. We're about to play Call of Duty, I think.”
“Oh cool. Can I come and play? I mean, as long as I'm not interrupting some male bonding thing.”
“You want to play Call of Duty? Seriously?” I raised an eyebrow at Kyle, who just laughed.
“Yeah, why not?”
I laughed. “I just didn't take you as that kind of girl. But sure, you can just hop over whenever you want. We'll be waiting to kick your butt.”
She giggled. “Okay, I will be there soon.”
I clicked off the phone. “Natalie is coming to play. If you can believe that.”
Kyle laughed. “That should be interesting.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. The girl surprises me every day. Most girls cringe at the idea of playing games, and mine is heading over to play COD.”
We switched game systems and got ready to play Call of Duty. It was time to say goodbye to the zombies and try our hand at something a little more challenging. Kyle went in the kitchen to grab some snacks and refresh the beers. There was a knock on the door, and I went to answer it. Natalie was standing there, looking as beautiful as ever. She walked into the apartment and headed over to the couch, where we were playing games. Just as I was about to close the door, the pizza guy walked up. I ran to grab my wallet, paid for the pizza, and closed the door. I brought it to the table and opened it up. It smelled fantastic, and it was layered high with meat. Steam was rolling up from the pizza, which made me pretty happy; it was nice and hot―ready to eat. I pulled out plates and some paper towels and started piling the pizza high on the plates.
“Kyle, grab a beer for Natalie, too, okay?”
“Sure, how are you doing Natalie?” Kyle asked her.
She looked up and smiled. “I'm great, thank you.”
We all settled down on the couch with snacks, beer, and a boatload of pizza.
“I hope you're not a vegetarian, Natalie.”
She laughed. “Not a chance.”
We all sat there quietly as we scarfed down the pizza. Bellies were getting full, and it wasn't until the plates were empty that we started conversing again.
“Now Natalie, I know you can kick my ass at darts and pool. But this one is a whole new level, and you are about to get you butt whipped.” I winked at her.
She laughed with both eyebrows raised. “Okay, hot shot, let's go then.”
Kyle got the game started and signed us in. We got the gear and characters needed, and began playing. I looked over at Natalie, and she was looking at the TV screen as intently as she did when she was painting, like she was on a mission. That look worried me, because she did so well with her art that I wondered if it was that focus that made her so powerful at everything she did. The girl was a mystery; there was no doubt about it. It was all part of why I liked her so much; she went after what she wanted, and dammit, she usually got it. Whether she wanted to believe it or not, she was fearless. How many times had she already gone up against me and won, no matter what? She knew she could beat me, and she went for it, regardless of how intimidating I could be in everyday life. She was relentless, and I admired that a great deal.
“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.