His Game

Chapter Twenty Six

I roll my eyes, "And she has some family thing tonight. Her dad needed to talk to her about something," I shrug, taking a long sip of my beer that was previously untouched.

Dino pours himself a small glass of straight bourbon, placing a few ice cubes before tipping the bottle to fill his cup.

"Tomorrow's the last day, yeah?" Dino asks.

I nod, "Correct."

"Well, how are you feeling?" Roger asks next. "Seems to me like things with her are going rather well."

My mind flashes with images of Joey throughout the last month; the first dinner date, when she met Belle, her party, the lake, the beach, everything. And, without realizing it, a small smile slips onto my face.

"They have been going great. I mean...she's beautiful, she's sexy, she's funny, she knows how to tease me, she knows how to make me smile..."

I could keep going, but I trail off and let the rests of my thoughts stay in my head as I think through just how much Joey has come to mean to me. It's to the point where though I'm with my two best friends right now, I just want to be with her.

As bad as it makes me sound, after I sleep with a girl, I tend to be done with her. Yeah, I don't mind continuing the month to keep getting her into my bed, but that's all I think about. Lust.

Not with Joey. Obviously I want to have sex with her again, I mean she was everything I imagined and better, but I crave more than just casual sex with her. I crave sitting with her, talking with her, joking with her, kissing her, laying with her; just being with her. Both innocently and sexually.

"Earth to Rhett," Roger says, snapping in front of my face. "Did you hear me?"

I shake my head to rid my thoughts, though Joey will never leave my mind, and direct my attention back to him, "What?"

"I asked what the verdict is. Month is up tomorrow, did she lose?"

Dino pipes in, "Yeah man, how do you feel about her?"

I look between them as one thought pops into my head from such a simple question, and it causes me to laugh in disbelief.

"I'm head over heels in love with her."

Dino drops his drink, and Roger chokes on his beer.

"You...you love her?" Dino echoes.

I look down, suddenly feeling completely elated. My heart won't stop beating fast enough to make it painful, the blood is pounding in my ears, and my whole body shaking from both fear and excitement of admitting it for the first time.

I'm in love with this girl.

"It's a miracle!" Roger exclaims through a laugh, shoving me in his own excitement for me. "Who knew this asshole could fall in love?"

I laugh with them, "I-I need to go tell her," I decide, abruptly standing up.

"Whoa, Calvetti! Slow down, dude!" Dino exclaims.

"What? Why?" I ask. "I need to go over there and admit-"

"No you've got it all wrong, my friend," Dino says, walking around the bar to place his hand on my shoulder. "No girl wants some spontaneous confession of your love like that."

I furrow my brow, "Isn't that exactly what girls want?"

He shakes his head and directs me back to my seat, "No, man. Here's what you do. You call her, you ask to set up some fancy dinner date, you buy some flowers, maybe some chocolates, and that's when you tell her."

Actually not a bad idea.

"Isn't that kinda, ya know, cliche?" I ask, scrunching my face up. "Joey isn't cliche."

"All love is cliche," Roger says.

"So, admitting it at dinner isn't too much? Does that make it too serious?" I ask.

"Dude, love is serious in general. You tell her you're in love with her, and that's a commitment to her. You can't sleep around, can't flirt with other girls. She's gotta be your one and only," Roger says seriously. "I know you, and I can tell she means a lot to you, but it's not easy to just drop a lifestyle for someone."

I look at him, "For her, yeah it is."

They look between one another and slowly start to smile.

"Alright man, give her the call. Set up that dinner date and get your girl."

I laugh once more from how peculiar this entire situation is, how foreign yet right it feels, and I dial her number. There was never a moment before her that I ever thought this game would actually result in love. It was always just a way for me to get some. 

I should have listened to everyone saying she was going to change all of that. They were right. And I don't care that I was wrong about her. 

However, when she answers, my good feelings slip away as I hear her sniffle on the other end.

"Hey Punk," she says, trying to make her voice as clear as she can, but I'd have to be a fool to not notice she's been crying.

"Joey? What's wrong?" I ask, standing from the stool to walk away from Roger and Dino.

"Allergies," she lies.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" I chuckle, "I can tell you've been crying."

"Yes, I do," she teases through another sniffle. "Think you're an idiot, that is."

I smile slightly, "Shouldn't have asked that. Now come on, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Punk," she says as firmly as she can.

I've never seen or heard Joey cry before. She's always seemed so confident, and even talking about sad topics I can see the strength in her eyes.

"You should know I don't believe that. I'm coming over," I decide, "I'll be there in fifteen minutes, okay?"

She sniffles once more, and this time the strength she was forcing herself to put in her tone melts away and her answer is soft. "Okay."

"I'll see you soon," I say before hanging up.

"Sooo," Dino says as I come back to them, "How'd it go? You's getting dinner?"

I pause for a second. Dinner. Chinese food.

I smile slightly, that could cheer her up a bit. Every time she sees something related to Chinese food her eyes brighten, and I'm going to do everything I can to get her to stop crying.

"Slight change of plans," I say, "But yes still dinner."

If it needs to, the confession can wait. 

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