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Probably.
I pointed. “If you don’t get the fuck out of my house, you’ll be paying for a new set of teeth.”
Darren and his friend Will hurried out of the room. As soon as they were gone, the pain in my face flared up. Oh, right. I’ve been punched.
“Are you all right?” Alyssa asked.
“Think so. He got me good on the jaw.”
Alyssa’s eyes were wide and innocent. “Is it broken?”
“No, but it hurts like hell. Shit.” The joint they’d been smoking was on the ground, beginning to burn a hole in the carpet. I tossed it into a nearby cup of beer before it could do any more damage.
“Stay here,” Alyssa said, hurrying out of the room.
The scent of pot was still strong, so I opened both windows. Then I looked at myself in the mirror on the wall. My jaw was pulsing with pain now, but it was my eyes that I looked at. Slightly bloodshot, and bright blue. I knew my eyes were one of my best features, but now all I saw was the person who had given them to me. My father.
I hate myself, I thought. Why do I become this person when I’m around Alyssa?
I wasn’t a violent man. I felt strong and masculine when I was helping people. I didn’t like this version of myself.
Alyssa returned with a can of beer. “This might help,” she said with a hopeful smile.
“Is this for my face, or my stomach?” I joked.
“First face, then stomach,” she joked back with a smile.
I laughed, and all of my shame disappeared. This girl was worth whatever cost I had incurred by punching Darren. I would do whatever it took to protect her.
We sat on the bed, and Alyssa gently pressed the cold can of beer against my cheek. “What did he mean about his dad?”
“Fuck if I know,” I lied. “Darren talks a lot of shit. I’m not worried about it. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, though she still seemed shaken. “You didn’t have to do that.”
I turned to look at her.
“They were… weird,” Alyssa admitted. “Will pulled me into the room and wouldn’t let me leave. Darren said he would only let me go if I took a hit. I’m glad you showed up.”
I felt my anger rise up. In that moment, I would’ve punched Darren again. And that realization scared me. I turned away from her and said, “Any guy would’ve done the same.”
“No. Most guys wouldn’t.”
I felt her staring at me, so I said, “I was mostly pissed off they were smoking in my brother’s room. If my dad finds out, he’ll kill me.”
I was still looking away when Alyssa removed the can of beer and kissed me on the cheek.
I was so shocked that I whirled toward her, unsure what to say.
“Thank you,” she said, eyes full of emotion. “You’re a good man.”
Her words were like a bandage on a wound, or a soothing can of beer against a stinging cheek. It was exactly what I wanted to hear, what I desperately needed to hear. If I was a good man, then I was nothing like my father.
Without thought, I cupped Alyssa’s cheek and kissed her.
It was difficult to describe how I felt as our lips finally connected. It was the culmination of years of banter, years of smiles, years of teasing. Years of subtle flirting. I’d kissed girls before. I’d had as much sex as any high schooler could boast about. But all of those interactions paled in comparison to this. A candle’s heat compared to the blazing fire of the Florida sun.
She’s everything I’ve ever wanted.
