ASHLEY

24

   Halfway through the first round I realize I messed up. At first I was afraid of beating them at their own game and couldn't decide if I wanted to take it easy on them or not. Now I know not. Its quite obvious these girls have been playing this game all their life. In obviously kidding but I'm so not.  I don't know how they figured out all the moves. Maybe it's just in our culture. They have no problem in insulting by ability to keep up. How rude.

   Once the song is over and Kandace comes in first place, I'm a little out of breath but decide to play them in another round anyway. This game is actually really fun and plus I'm determined to redeem myself. I can't let a little kid outshine me. Okay maybe I'm taking this game a little too seriously...nah.

   "Can you guys finish that up so I can get my girl back?" Isaiah pouts.

   "No," the girls and I say in unison, causing us to start laughing. I'm sure Isaiah is regretting bringing me over here while his sisters are home.

   "I promise we can do something later, okay?"

   "Sure."

   We continue playing the game. Every so often I would get to pick the song. Not because I won but because the twins decided to have pity on me and just allow me to pick the song. They are so sweet. By the time we finally stop playing its already night out. I'm sure the twins would have liked to play another round but everyone is just so tired. Well I know I am.

   Isaiah comes and plops down next to me on the couch, wrapping an arm around me to pull me closer. "That was fun," I say, gasping for air. I thank him for the bottle of water he hands me.

   "I can tell."

   "Just let me cool down for a little bit then we can go out."

   "Okay. What do you want to do?"

   I take a moment to go over our opions. A party sounds nice but I know Isaiah wouldn't be up to it. We just ate so there's no sense in going out to eat. He doesn't want to stay home. "Let's go walking downtown."

   "Go walking?"

   "Yeah. We can just talk and enjoy each other's company. You would like that wouldn't you. Just the two of us," I suggest.

   "Okay."

   After I get cooled down enough I run upstairs to his room to grab my shoes and my purse. I take out my iPhone and force him to take a couple of pictures. He stands behind me as I start recording on my new Snapchat account. "Grab that booty boy," I laugh. He grabs it just in time for the video to stop playing. We watch it over before posting. "That was cute. Now let's take another picture downstairs so it can be a full body one."

   "You and all these pictures."

   "Like you don't ask me to snap a few and record you at practice. Boy bye."

   I head downstairs and he follows, mumbling something under his breathe. I turn around to glare at him and he tries to cover it up with an innocent smile. Oh whatever. Judy takes a couple of good pictures of us to put on Snapchat. We get a lot of views. When I made my Snapchat I made a status about it on Facebook so everyone can add me.

   A couple guys comment sad faces under our picture or try to snap me but I ignore it. It's not like they could have had me anyway. It's not as if any of them had a chance anyway. That being said they should respect my relastionship and move on. I never understood why someone being in a relationship makes them more attractive.

   "Alright Ma we leaving," Isaiah calls to his mom.

   "See you later Jessica."

   "Alright," she calls from the kitchen. Preparing dinner for her children tonight.

   When we get downtown it takes us a good twenty minutes to find a parking spot. The downtown area is usually packed like this. Its ridiculous that some businesses decide to reserve their parking lots for customers only. I don't know but if I were them I would rather change a couple bucks than close it off.

   The night air is perfect for walking and the beautiful lights lit up all around sets the mood. We walk hand in hand down the crowded streets. Kids dance around us. Other couples hold hands as well. "Tell me about your family. When you were younger ," he means before my parents died. I told him about my parents getting into an accident but that's as far as it went. Most people feel uncomfortable or pity me when I talk about it so I try not to. "Only if it's okay with you. I don't want to-"

   It's surprising that he wants to hear about it. "No it's okay. Um well my mom she was so beautiful and had this energetic personality to match. Everyone just loved her. People say she looked a lot like me. I don't know if I would agree though. She was just...nothing...or anyone can compare to her. I remember when I use to have these really bad days-I was bullied in school-and so when I would come home she could just tell something was wrong. So she would take me on these trips, just across town. We would go all types of places and try to see the world through other people's eyes. It was mostly my way of picking on the bullied without getting beat up. Mom always came up with the best stories. She was real creative. It was so fun."

   "And your dad?"

   "Now he was a different story. He was more chilled and laid back. Nothing bothered him and people respected him. He knew how to make my bad days fun too. Only thing was he wasn't so creative so he mostly just bought me ice cream. He had it in his mind that that's all women need when they're having a bad day. I hated ice cream."

   "So why didn't you tell him?"

   I shrug as I recall the reason. "All he wanted was to make me happy. I didn't want him to think otherwise. Plus, I enjoyed spending time with him so it really didn't matter."

   "How can you hate ice cream? Every kid loves that stuff," his face scrunch up in mock discuss. I playfully punch him in the arm for making fun of my eating habits. Ice cream just always gave me a stomach ache and if it got on my teeth it hurt too bad. Isaiah doesn't think this is much of a reason but I can't help it.

   It feels good to be able to talk about my parents. I loved them dearly. They were good people who didn't deserve what happened to them but I know things happen for reasons none of can comprehend. We just have to learn to love with that it it eats you alive.