Two of a Kind

Confessions

Joyce followed Hop up the stairs to his trailer. He made an uncomfortable face and stopped before unlocking the door.

"What's wrong?" Joyce asked, looking up at him.

"I'm sorry, Joyce. This isn't exactly the kind of place I'm proud to bring you to... If you want, we could go somewhere else and—"

"Stop it. Seriously. I don't care about that. C'mon, Hop. Don't you know me better than that? I don't live in a mansion either."

Hop felt a little better and reluctantly unlocked the door. He ushered Joyce inside, apologizing for the mess, feeling like a dick for not having at least dumped his ashtray out or dusted the place within the past month. He wanted to impress her, and this definitely wasn't cutting it.

Joyce didn't care about his place. She was just happy to be with him. She turned around and looked up at him, smiling, showing her beautiful, straight white teeth, and asking Hop what the plan was, cocking her head to the side.

Suddenly flustered, Hop looked around.

"Oh, uh, I dunno." He rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of what the rest of the night would have in store for the pair. The night was still young, it was only 9:30pm now. Hop sheepishly walked over to his liquor cabinet and pulled out his nicest bottle of tequila. "Margaritas?"

"Hell yeah!" Joyce laughed and walked over. She was feeling giddy and allowed herself to loosen up. Having had such a great dinner with the man whose house she was invited back to, she was feeling fun and energetic. Her light, giggly mood filled the room.

Hop smiled, walking over to his record player and started to play Jim Croce. He handed Joyce a margarita, hoping it wasn't too strong for her, and took a sip of his own. "Care for a dance?" he said, laughing and already starting to move his body to the music, holding out his free hand for her to grab.

Joyce grinned from ear to ear and set her drink down on his coffee table. She kicked her heels off to let her feet breathe, and started to jump around with Hop, dancing without a care in the world. She hadn't had this much fun in years. She soaked up the moment, laughing uncontrollably as Hop sung the lyrics in a silly voice.

They kept on like this for a while until Jim had started to lose his breath, much to his embarrassment. He never should've stopped going to the gym. Joyce didn't mind, though. She was getting tired, too. She waited for Hop to sit down on the couch, taking another swig of the drink he had made her. As he sat down, she hesitated, wanting to sit on his lap but not sure if she should be so hasty. This little teasing game they played was exciting, after all. Before she could decide, Hop pulled her down on top of him, their eyes only inches apart now. Their smiles began to fade as the mood got more serious. Hop looked to be troubled by something. His eyebrows furrowed and one corner of his lip pointed down into a small frown.

"What's wrong?" Joyce asked, brushing his stubbly cheek with the back of her hand.

"I haven't been honest with you," he said, looking even more distressed now.

Joyce was puzzled. What could he have said that was a lie? Was she coming onto him too strong? Did he want to take things slower? Maybe just stay friends? She started to feel ashamed of herself, her confidence snapping like a twig and she instantly felt unattractive like she usually did. She slid off his lap and sat next to him, looking up to his face with perceived rejection twisting her features. She waited for him to say more.

"This feels wrong. I can't keep doing this with you Joyce. Not until I tell you how I feel." He looked down to see her lips begin to quiver, and feared that she was about to cry. He felt horrible for putting her through this. He spat out his next words faster than he intended, attempting to quell her pain.