Stupid Boys

04 My Puzzle Piece

"Bee," I awkwardly ask as I knock on the wooden door with a huge poster of harlequin stuck on it with old gum. The door opens slowly when my fist touches it like a horror movie. Yet it's not as scary when all that is revealed is the back of my sister, wearing a black and red stripy jumpsuit. She doesn't turn around and keeps on typing on the laptop in front of her.

"Talk to me, brother." she says like a game show host.

"Uh.. y'know on Saturday night.. this might sound crazy but did you- " my voice gets higher with every word until I'm squealing like a mouse caught in a trap. Bianca finishes my sentence for me.

"-pick you and Jake up in a car when you were high as shit?"

"So you did drive in dads car?" I say in disbelief yet this is something quite regular to expect from my sister. At this point she turns around and raises her brows.

"I'm fifteen. Of course I drive." she spits. I roll my eyes and as I'm about to leave my head fills with questions. I have so many questions for my sister all the time - she's a very complex person.

"Why did you drop us at Jake's?" I ask after she goes back to typing. She looks up and takes a deep breath.

"Cause I didn't want to go home. Everyone was asleep so I put Jake in the bathtub and you fell on his bed." she explains like it's completely normal that she managed to get Jake into a bathtub.

"Where did you go?" I ask and she speaks half way through already knowing the question and answer.

"Slept in the car."

After interrogating my challenging sister, I decide to see my girlfriend, Charlie. I know she works at Starbucks on a Wednesday afternoon so I go there. The bell rings as I walk through the door and a head turns as if knowing that it's me. A beautiful girl behind the bar with a cup full of orange sludge smiles at me. She's got long blonde hair, straight and reaching all the way down to her hips. Her lips are pink and glossy and her nose is shining so much I can't look directly at it.

After waiting in line for a million hours, it's my turn to talk to her and I feel like I'm dating a prison hooker.

"Well hello, sexy." she coos, her forearms lying flat on the counter, fingertips intertwined. She leans forward just enough that the crevice in between her chest is peaking out of her indigo button up. I smile and lean forward and peck her on the lips.

"I'm on my break in 2 mins. Wait for me?" she tilts her head to the side and winks. I smile and wink back, walking back to the seats. A guy in the line grabs my jacket and stops me in my tracks.

"That your girl?" he growls sweetly and I nod quickly, one hundred percent sure that he is planning to molest her.

"Good, hold onto her. That's the best you're ever gonna get." he slurs with so much slime, I can see it dripping out of his mouth. He holds his hand and I try not to wince when I take it.

When I get to the comfy seats by the windows, I wipe my hand on my jacket. I stare at the cars moving, peering through the drivers windows and then notice a very sharp jawline and a quiff that I'd recognise anywhere. Jake turns his head as he pauses at a traffic light and instantly sees me. His breaks into a smile and he nods at me, I nod back. Then Ramir pops his head around and waves energetically to me. Then the car behind them beeps and they both jump, noticing that the lights have turned green. I laugh as they drive away and jump myself when an angelic hand taps on my shoulder.

"On my break." she says with a toothy grin and I take her hand.

We walk around the shopping centres, my arm draped around her shoulders as we point at the clothes in the shop windows. We stop at a few ring shops, pretending to be engaged and go to the donut shop that we always go to. We each grab one and take them to the tiny bridge that cars zoom across. Of course, we go on the walking part.

We sit down, our legs hanging over the edge in between the bars holding us back, the donut box sitting in the middle. And we talk, eat and laugh. It's the kind of thing we do. The cute little dates that I spontaneously drag her into. And she comes along, laughing and fitting right into me (not in that way) like a puzzle piece.

I let her go back to her work after giving her a lingering kiss. And for a while I just sit and watch her work. She's so collected, the way she swiftly moves around behind the bar and even with me. And she's confident, smiling at each person who walks up to her and her coworkers who seem to relax at her warm gaze.

I think back to seeing Jake in his car, the way he smiled when he saw me. If he remembered, he wouldn't have smiled like that - knowing that Charlie works here. He can't remember. He doesn't have feelings for me.

Thank god, right?