Friendly Dating - Kira

Chapter 40 - Let's Double this Date!

Ethan convincingly kicks my butt playing foosball the way he always does, even though I keep on accidentally holding on to his rods, making it hard for him to move his players. It always works so much better when I play against Dell; she's not that much stronger than me.

I honestly wonder if Ethan even notices that I'm trying to cheat... I mean, make the game more fun.

I wipe the floor with him, playing the two-seater racing car game. I always do. I know, it's weird! Ethan has the license, driving skills, and experience; I'm the one who avoids learning because cars, driving, and traffic make me break out in hives.

That might actually be what is working to my advantage. I ignore rules, regulations and common scientific principles, defying gravity and using my absolute non-technique to ram his car from behind, laughing like a maniac when his car makes summersaults over the roof of mine.

It's awesome!

This game and my talent for causing magnificent crashes in it could be the root cause of my terrible fear of driving.

We both suck rather spectacularly at playing pool, which makes it extremely fun and have us laughing more than we're actually playing. We both excel at cheating, and we're not even subtle about it.

While we hang around in Game Galaxy, getting in each other's way, committing sabotage and mild acts of violence... generally having a blast playing all the 2-player games (especially the funky, pixelated retro ones), it becomes startlingly clear to me that I really love hanging out with Ethan.

Since when?

As though unleashed, my mind runs along hills, valleys, and dark caves, all filled with scattered memories of me giggling and shrieking while hurling abuse at Ethan. These memories form a chaotic timeline starting from the day I met him right up to this moment, where I'm trying to wrestle him away from the controls of the machine to stop him from preventing me from beating his high score.

Since forever?!

That cannot be! It's true, though. As if they've been subpoenaed to bear witness, the memories keep lining up to be counted, heard and seen. I've been a lot of things when Ethan is around, but being bored has never been one of them, and laughter has always been the solid common thread running through all our encounters.

That's impossible!

I hate the guy! He sets my teeth on edge and induces me to violence, and yet... I can see it now, clearly, as if I've just woken from a deep sleep. I love hanging out with Ethan! I've always been able to be completely myself with him. It's because I've never cared what he thinks of me before.

I care now, and it makes me feel a bit more tongue-tied and awkward than usual, but he is having none of that. His antics constantly cause me to forget that I care what he thinks of me, and I end up being myself anyway, which is why I am now shamelessly sitting on his back, trying to strangle him.

People are looking at us, but who cares? It's mostly kids from our school and the primary school hanging out here because they don't have anything else to do, and our unplanned show is probably the highlight of their day. I actually heard some applause a few times.

The place is starting to fill up as more and more bored teenagers trickle in; we see that as a sign that it is time to leave. That and the fact that Ethan's stomach is growling, and we don't want him to scare the little kids.

I let him drag me along the sidewalk like the world would run out of food before we reached the restaurant. Ethan and Hunger cannot hang out in each other's company for too long. When the guy has to eat, he has to eat, and I never argue with that... I could end up being the snack.