One Game | Benny Watts

032

"So," She trailed as she lay in bed.

"So," Benny repeated from beside her.

"Uh," She began before she cleared her throat. "I don't like him,"

"Who? Oh, one of your workers?" He asked rhetorically.

"I'm sorry, it was only once,"

"Mhm. How often do you see him?"

"Not a lot," She lied, he was her assistant. The one Cleo called cute, but she didn't feel like dropping that on Benny. 

"Hm," He nodded slowly. 

"I dont know what you want me to do," 

"What the hell, Jennifer? You fucked your assistant," 

"Huh? Assistant? How do you know that?"

"Cleo," He answered sharply "She said he was cute,"

"..." She went quiet.

"What the hell," He whispered.

"How can I make it up to you?" She asked, he looked at her with slow eyes before he glanced down...

***

The two lay, breathing heavily. "Still mad?" She asked through breaths.

"I don't know," He replied.

"Well make up your mind, Watts," She told him, moving her head from his chest to rest on his shoulder and looking up at him.

"I think I forgive you, but I don't like him," 

"Thats fair enough," She sighed moving her head back down. It was quiet for a long minutes with only the two heavy breaths filling the silence.

"I really hate you sometimes," Benny breathed

"What?" Jennifer asked, taken back by his comment.

"You don't make any sense,"

"What the hell are you on about?"

"Your play,"

"Huh?"

"You know," 

"I don't,"

"The game we play... The game we've been playing since we met,"

"I don't know what you're on about, my dear," She smiled, slightly turning her head to the side. It was quiet again while the two looked at each other. "Bishop to B4," She said shortly.

"What?" No reply. Benny thought for a moment, maybe she did know about this mental chess game they had played against each other since they had met. "King to F2,"

"Bishop to A3," Benny went quiet as he thought.

"Pawn to D7," They went back and forth as the game began to close in on Benny as he lost pieces left and right. Until it was just his King left. Jennifer had a Queen and Bishop... Hypothetically of course. 

"Queen to F7," She spoke quickly,

"King to..." He began before the silence engulfed them. "That was mate," He whispered.

"It was," She settled. Benny went quiet for a long second, he was unsure of how he felt. The game they had played since the time they met in the club has now ended. But the truth was, he had lost a long time ago. He had lost the moment he laid eyes on her. 

Because at that moment he sold his life to the devil. And she was Satan. No matter what he ever did, it would only ever be her he found himself with. Because at that moment, he fell in love. He fell so deeply in love that he found himself in the depth of hell. But that didn't matter as it was her depths and he was with her.

Benny had been a loser this whole time, she had always been the winner, There was absolutely nothing they could do about that. After a long time, the two had finally decided that this game wouldn't go on much further. Nothing could continue to change. They were stuck now with each other, and they didn't complain.

They spent the rest of their mornings playing chess, and their evening at restaurants or in each other's arms. They went to Stanly and Shelia's wedding, just a few years later Jennifer was celebrating her niece's first birthday.

Benny had proposed in Paris just a few years after but Jennifer said no, which he didn't mind. She always said she was a bit put off by marriage as it was too permanent. They never had any kids and spent their time growing old side by side while they travelled around for chess tournaments.

They were happy, permanently happy when together. But this was the end, an end to their chess match, an end to their story as it was no longer interesting. An ending. 

Or maybe it wasn't, maybe their story wasn't at an end. Maybe there was more to tell.

But maybe was loosers word.