More Than Friends | Cody Herbinko

Duck Balls

"Oh god, I'm so fucking nervous," I say, rubbing my legs as I ride beside Cody in his Jeep. Union station is about 20 minutes from my house, thus making for time to be nervous in the car, unfortunately.

"There's not really anything to be nervous about," he responds, putting a hand on my knee comfortingly.

"I know, but I can' t help it!" I say, adjusting my bracelets. I'd added some bracelets and a choker to my outfit, but no amount of anything can make me confident in the death boots. I root around in my bag for some lip gloss while Cody turns on some music. "What are we even going to do?" I ask, applying some cherry lip gloss and smacking my lips.

"I have no clue, but we want an explanation, right?"

"Right." I get some mascara and run the brush through my lashes. We get to a stoplight. "How do I look?" I look at Cody, and he grins.

"Absolutely perfect." He nods, making me blush. "That bastard is going to regret screwing up."

"He did way more than screw up."

"True."

Eventually, we arrive at the station, right on time. Cody parks in front of the station, and we get out. We lean back on his Jeep, and he puts his arm around me. Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean my head on Cody's shoulder when I see a familiar face in the crowd.

"Hey," I say, nudging Cody and jutting my chin out in the direction of the guy.

"Oh, yeah. There he is," Cody says, squeezing my shoulder. Arden looks around, looking for Clari, most likely. He pulls out his phone, and I receive a DM.

Arden: Hey!! I'm here! Where are you?

"Wait until he sees or what?" I look at Cody.

"I'd say just go "Hey there! Hey! Duck bastard!", and you're good," Cody jokes, making me giggle.

"That could work," I reply, kissing his cheek.

"I'll holler," he says before shouting, "Hey! Duck bastard! Hey Arden!" making Arden turn toward us.

"Nice," I say as Arden sees us, his duck mouth forming an 'o'. I give him a wave, and he walks toward us.

"I occasionally come up with good stuff," Cody responds before pulling me into a kiss. I smile against his lips and bite his lip ring softly. When we pull apart, Arden is standing in front of us, his duck mouth open.

"Hello, Arden," I say, smoothing my dress.

"Amber?" Arden says incredulously.

"That's me."

"What the fuck?"

"You came here to see Clari, right?" I say, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"She doesn't exist," I reply curtly.

"What are you talking about? What the fuck is going on?"

"I want an explanation." I step forward.

"What explanation? What is this? And who the fuck are you?" he demands, making Cody tense beside me.

"I'm Cody. Her boyfriend," Cody tells him stiffly.

"You have a boyfriend?" Arden looks at me with a shocked expression.

"Why is that so hard for you to believe?" I ask, confused.

"You had a boyfriend this whole time, but you pretended to love me!" he says angrily.

"What the fuck?" I snap, clenching my fists. "I did love you until you fucking lied to me and hurt me, you fucking bastard! Are you fucking high or something?" I leave out how I don't even think it's possible to be in love with someone after knowing them for a grand total of seven days. I mean, that's not going to help my argument.

"You played me!" he counters lamely, throwing down his bag.

"I played you? Wow." I can't believe how ridiculous he is. I just wanted an explanation. Some form of closure for myself and Reb. But he's just proving to be impossible.

"I love you!" Arden spits, giving me a glare.

"Oh fucking hell! You don't love me, and you know it!" I retort, rolling my eyes.

"Why don't you believe me?" His face softens a bit, not that it helps with how creepy he looks.

"Why don't I believe you?" I scoff. "Why would I believe you?"

"I really love you, okay? I only lied about what I looked like because I though that was the only way to get you."

"You don't get women. They're not fucking objects," Cody interjects, glaring at Arden.

"I do love her!" Arden counters, puffing out his chest like a chubby bird. At least chubby birds are cute.

"You don't know what love is," Cody responds. His voice is soft yet meaningful, and judging by his body language, he's this close to punching Arden in the face.

"I know what love is! I care about her so fucking much, don't you get it?" Arden argues.

"Yeah, you care about me so much that you tell me to lie to cover your ass," I spit bitterly.

"Okay, so I did do that, but this is all because I lied about what I looked like, isn't it? I don't get what the big deal is!"

"How can you not get what the big deal is?" I snap, glaring at him.

"Please, just,"Arden starts, coming toward me. I step back, but he suddenly wraps his arms around me, burying his face in my chest.

"Oh my god, get off me!" I shriek, trying to push him off me. He wraps his arms around me tighter, his face pressed into my cleavage. "Get him off!" I snap at Cody, who grabs Arden and tries to pull him off. Suddenly, I feel something wet on my chest, and I scream. I knee Arden in the balls, and he stumbles back, hunched over in pain. "Did you just fucking lick me?" I scream in horror.

"He what?" Cody looks at me incredulously. Arden straightens and looks at me.

"Licks your neck, remember?" Before he can say anything else, Cody's fist connects with his face, and Arden collapses, his nose already bleeding.

"Why the fuck did you lick—and that was not my neck," I groan, pulling my hair.

"Are you okay?" Cody looks at me worriedly.

"I'm fine," I respond, watching Arden get up slowly and look at Cody, then me.

"I still love you." He picks up his bag, turns around, and walks off.