Remembering to Forget

Remembering that Night

All Rights Reserved © Shanice Kelly.

I was turning into a stalker! Like the kind you saw on television who are convinced that there was some inexplicable love between them and their victim.

That was the only explanation for these thoughts and my sudden irrational behavior.

Maybe I hung out with my cousin, Lium, for far too long but I was sure I was turning into an obsessed psycho.

And that was why I was sitting on my balcony, sipping beer at seven in the evening. Which seemed perfectly acceptable until I got to why I was sitting on my balcony, sipping a beer at seven in the evening.

I was watching Amy read.

I, Steve McMillan, was intrigued by a woman and she wasn't naked in my bed.

I shook my head and took another gulp of my beer. Yep I was going bat-sh!t crazy.

The only redeemable thing about this situation was that at least she knew I was here and I was not watching her from a dark alley or some creepy shit like that.

We even had a conversation earlier. One that comprised: Hi. Hi. How you doing? Good you? Good. The End.

Yep it was freaking long and interesting conversation.

She looked up from her book for a second. Our eyes met and a smile graced her lips before she was engrossed in the book again.

Every afternoon she would sit on her balcony and read. Reading was something she enjoyed doing, along with painting, singing and ballet.

Her favorite color was red because it represent passion and she had a birthmark that shaped like a key on her upper right thigh.

I also knew she was a virgin before she met me.

How did I know all this? She had told me herself except for the birthmark which I saw.

It was three months since that night and I couldn't seem to forget a single detail.

*

The guys and I were sitting in our usual area. This was how we spent all our Saturday night; hanging out at the bar, drinking and meeting women. It was three years ago when we all made a pact to be bachelors for life.

There were six of us then, me, my cousin Lium, Pete, Kevin, Donny and Ethan.

It was only three of us now, Pete  married Lium's sister Cleo, Lium was off being a teacher and Donny had ran off with a female body builder.

Kevin, Ethan and I were the sole survivors, the only loyal advocates left for our cause.

"You guys having your usual" the bartender, Rick asked once he got to our section. Rick was another one of our friends, even though he was in a long committed relationship with his high school sweetheart.

It was sad really, he was a goner long before we had a chance to save him.

I turned to him and nodded. "Yeah, make it a double this time, this week was hell and I'm looking forward to forgetting about it"

I looked around the club before turning back to Rick. "Anything new?" I asked.

Without needing any further explanation he nodded. "Yea, three girls walked in about thirty minutes ago, sisters I think. One is celebrating her twenty-first birthday."

That got all our attentions.

"Oh really!" Ethan said from beside me. A wide smile spread across his face. A smile that I was sure was mirrored on my face.