The Sicilian Defense

Ch. 1

The tall, slim figure stood in the dinky, yet quaint New York apartment facing the mirror. Dirt and grime covered the bathroom tiles and sounds of brash taxi cabs could be heard through the open window.

"Hey..." he paused for just a moment, looking at his reflection in the mirror. "No, this is fucking stupid." Benny rolled his eyes, running his hand through his hair and continually messing with it. That night still hadn't left his mind, even with a full year's passing.

"Do you still like my hair?"

With a loud sigh, he carefully placed his hands on the countertop, pondering the year he let go by. Obviously, they remained close friends. She would come by from time to time and in turn, he'd drive down to Kentucky to visit. However, there would always be that missed opportunity lingering in his mind.

How could I let her get away? And with Townes of all people? Fuck, I need a drink. 

Decidedly, he fixed his hair one last time before heading out of his apartment, making sure to lock it. He threw on his long, black leather overcoat and dawned a black cowboy hat. It was an unusual look, but then again, Benny Watts was an unusual fellow. Speaking of unusual, he typically wasn't so fixated on romance or people, but rather chess. One thing was for certain, Beth Harmon had a way of getting in his head, blurring any sense of normality.

The streets were as you'd expect, bustling and full of people walking around. It was Christmastime and therefore, a larger amount of tourists filled the streets, gawking at the lights and bewildered by the sights around them. Although it was cold enough for spit to freeze on the ground in mere seconds, you wouldn't have noticed, given the happiness and cheerful mood set by the beautiful Christmas lights combined with the happy go-lucky tourists. Benny took out his leather gloves, putting them on his slim, bony fingers. With an edge to his step, he moved expeditiously in order to avoid the cold and the crowds.

The sound of a bell ringing once he opened the door was drowned out by the cheerful inside. People were dancing, laughing, singing and of course drinking. It was Christmas Eve, would you expect anything different? Grabbing the seat in the far back corner, he sat down and ordered a beer. His friends were spending the holidays with their family and Beth was with Townes. All alone and isolated, he couldn't have felt more cold in the warm, lively room.

"Hey, cheer up! It's Christmas Eve. This one's on the house." The bartender slid down the cold glass bottle. Benny looked up and gave him a short smile.

"Thanks," He couldn't help but want to do something other than drink a free beer on Christmas Eve at a bar.

Maybe I could get drunk? Haven't done that in a couple of years.

One after another, he downed beers as if he was Beth Harmon during her own downward spiral. Benny was pretty tipsy, especially considering he was a lightweight. The sadness turned into a temporary bubbly happiness, matching the crowd of people. At one point, he got up and started dancing, a very uncharacteristic thing for him to do. Benny was a fierce chess prodigy with almost nothing stopping him from thinking about chess... except for Harmon. She seemed to have this magical effect on him that he couldn't shake off. One of his favorite songs came on and he got up fully out of his chair at the bar and began to snap his fingers to the rhythm. Swaying his nonexistent hips back and forth, he looked so akward, yet exuberantly happy enough and drunk enough to fit in with everyone else.

A beautiful blonde about five feet and five inches tall, with heels on, came up to him and started dancing with him. She was wearing blood-red lipstick with a festive green dress, accentuating her curves. She nearly resembled Marilyn Monroe with her perfect flawless skin and beautiful face. Benny couldn't help but lust after her, especially in his drunken state. At this point, he just wanted to feel a little less lonely.

"Hey there," She raised her eyebrows and smirked at him, seeming to goad him, "what's a guy as handsome as you dancing all alone on Christmas Eve?" She batted her long, luscious eyelashes at him.

"Couldn't tell ya, to be quite honest."

"Well," She drew out the "l" sound in the word, as if to ask for his name.

"Benny," He took another sip out of his third beer.

"Well Benny, why don't we go back to your place and have some fun on Christmas Eve? Would you like that Mister Handsome?" Each word was fluid and drawn out, her lust apparent not only her outwardly body language but her verbose as well.

Benny didn't take long to ponder her proposition. It was a no brainer.

"Yeah, I'll call a cab."

---

"Fuck, Benny" She moaned loudly. His apartment wasn't soundproof so the neighbors definitely heard them. "That was-" She began.

"Good." Benny finished her sentence. His deep and fast breathing began to slow as he came off the high. Turning against her, he looked at the wall and couldn't help but visualizing chess pieces moving in the game played by Borgov and Harmon. No matter how hard he tried, she remained in his head, mocking and torturing his inner thoughts by her presence. Even another girl couldn't fully distract him from the painstaking love he had towards Beth. Benny reached over the bedside table to turn the lamp off and attempt to forget the entire night as he fell into a deep slumber.