Continued from Snake Charmer (Part 7).
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“I’m just…” Matt tried to finish the sentence but couldn’t.
Joe nodded in a way that he presumed came across as understanding and sympathetic. He couldn’t stop tapping his right foot as he had another mouthful of his pint.
“It’s fucked up. That’s all it is.” Matt slapped his hands down on the table and then grabbed his own pint, taking a long drink from it.
“What a slut,” commented Nick, hardly taking his eyes off the screen above Matt’s head. League was on, after all.
Joe winced at that. He glanced around the bar nervously, not wanting to talk about Nina any more. Nina hadn’t texted him since that night, and it seemed she was avoiding all the other guys as well. Nina had spoken to Matt that night and not once since.
“Mmm,” nodded Matt. Once upon a time he would have never even wanted to use that kind of language in regard to Nina. But with what she’d told him, he felt he had no grounds on which to argue with Nick.
The ads came on and a washed up cricketer endorsing a hair growth product beamed down at them from the screen. This was Nick’s cue to come back to earth.
“What’d she even say to you?” He asked.
Nick didn’t know much about Nina- not as much as Joe or Matt knew, anyway- but the way he treated women was enough to suggest that he’d have no issue with treating Nina as less than a person now.
Matt sighed loudly, “She was pretty drunk at the time. I got to that chick’s place where she was and she told me she’d gone down on some guy at the party.”
Joe swallowed and clenched his jaw.
“Guess it’s over then, aye mate?” Nick replied, before his eyes quickly snapped back to the television.
Matt looked down into his beer. “Guess so.”
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Nina knew she’d screwed up. She woke up in the morning with a sick feeling in her stomach and an awful taste in her mouth. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had enough to drink to forget all of the previous night’s events. Or perhaps fortunately.
She didn’t know how it worked for others, but drinking made her horny. She’d never been anyone other than herself, so how would she ever know how it worked for others? She’d just been on the deck with Joe, and she couldn’t help but look at his broad shoulders. His big hands. How tall he was. And there was no one else around, no Matt, no…… But that wasn’t an excuse.
She got out of bed and dragged herself to the shower. She turned on the water and turned the temperature to cool. She couldn’t stand being any hotter after a night of drinking. Drinking made her feel like she was on fire for the entire following day.
Nina had already known what it felt like to screw things up. Those mornings when she’d woken up and hated herself. When she couldn’t face someone or something for weeks, even months. But this- this was beyond screwing up. This was too far. If she’d stuck with Matt, at least then she would have been able to hang out with Joe. With all of their friends.
But with one reckless, lustful act, she’d lost them all. She couldn't face any of them again.
And that could take a very long time to deal with without a lot of distraction.
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Part 1 - Don't Fall Down Now, 'Cause You'll Never Get Up
Part 2 - What a Lovely Way to Burn
Part 3 - Pronails
Part 4 - Idealistic in Vision, Tactless in Expression
Part 5 - Glory Glory
Part 6 - Jet Pack
Part 7 - Snake Charmer
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3 comments:
This is too quick, I think. It's not bad, per se, but it reads like you're speeding to denouement. That out of the way, I'll reserve final judgement until I finish the next chapter.
I wanted more of Joe's reaction and more real feelings from Matt. Their reactions remind me of how the girls react at the break-up of the two day "marriages" I see among teenagers on Facebook.
I want to see this slowed down. The break-up. More detail. Maybe next chapter?
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