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I squeezed her tight, hoping that just as she was sucking the venom out of my body, I could return the favor.
We stayed there for what seemed like ages, holding each other so close, not just physically, but emotionally.
At last, she pulled away, and I saw a small smile crossed her face.
“I have a pitch,” she said, looking pleased with herself.
“By all means.”
“Let’s have a fun night. I’m still not thrilled that you bought me — or rather, my virginity — but I think we’ve both earned an easy, enjoyable evening. We can do dumb shit, the stuff we never have the time or companionship to do. We could be each other’s friend, for tonight. How’s that sound?”
I thought my heart might burst. How did she know exactly what I needed? Sex was easy to get. Like I said, I didn’t need to buy that. But one-on-one time with another person, no fronts or airs? That was invaluable.
“I’d loved to,” I agreed readily. My cheeks went red, and I continued, “And I might have a suggestion. This is, like, nerdy but… how about a board game? Nobody I know ever wants to play and just hang around. They’re always trying to go out somewhere and get drunk and be photographed. I haven’t played one in years.”
Kiki grinned, which transformed her face from merely beautiful to totally radiant.
“That’s perfect!” she cried. “I used to love them. It’s been awhile for me too. Let’s do it!”
Could this be the beginning of the best night ever?
I tried to hold back the foolish grin that was threatening to take over my cheeks, saying, “All right, cool, then let me take you down to the rec room.”
“You have a rec room?” she asked, incredulous.
“Oh, sorry, is that like, too posh?”
Kiki rolled her eyes and winked. “I think the whole ‘playing board games’ thing counteracts it enough, so… I’ll allow your rich person shit.”
I laughed. “Thank you, your highness. Follow me.”
I grabbed our flutes of Champagne and jerked my head in direction of the stairs. We walked together, with Kiki trailing me just slightly. At this distance, I could feel her warm breath on my neck, which gave me all kinds of chills.
We descended the stairs as the music switched to the Leonard Cohen classic, Hallelujah.
“I love this song,” Kiki moaned, her voice ringing in my ears and sending blood pumping through my body. “Is that stupid? I guess everyone loves this song.”
We reached the bottom of the steps, and I pivoted to make sure Kiki was behind me, even though I knew full well she was.
“It’s not stupid. So do I. Before things, uh, turned bad, my mom used to sing this to me at night.”
Her eyes were misty. “That’s beautiful.”
I blushed, but for once, didn’t shy away from the emotion. “Yeah. Yeah, it was. Whenever I hear it, I think of her.”
“Should we turn it off?” she asked, clearly worried that it was too much for me to handle.
“Usually I do if I have company over,” I admitted. “But… with you around… I don’t know. It actually feels kind of joyous, instead of sad.”
Kiki looked at the floor, but I could still see the happiness in her eyes.
Okay, that was enough vulnerability for one five-minute period.
I clapped my hands together. “Come on, let’s hit this rec room.”
She nodded and we marched together to the end of a long hallway, illuminated by dim orangey lights that reflected off the stone statues that were scattered throughout the area. They were part of this series, Movements en Mise, and all were a variation on the theme of suffocation, of being overwhelmed. I wasn’t surprised I’d gravitated to the purchase.
Finally, we arrived at the rec room, and I hit a button on my watch that lit up the space.
“Daaaamn,” Kiki whistled, her forest green eyes widening. “This is, like, dope.”
The room was sprawling, and filled with every variety of entertainment. It boasted three TVs, a couple of vintage arcade games, a beanbag chair — my only concession to ugliness in the whole house — a pool table… you get the idea. Most of it was stuff I just amassed, because at some point you run out of things to spend money on.
No, no, that’s not true. The truth is that I bought it in the hopes that someone — maybe a friend, or further down the line, a kid — would play with me. I guess that time had finally come.
“Okay, sit tight for a second,” I said. “Make yourself at home.”
Kiki looked around the room. “I’m hitting that bean bag.”
“Ha, be my guest.”
I scurried over to the far side of the room to the wine wall.
I had wine from every major region of the world, more because it was considered “appropriate” to stock than anything else.
“What kind of wine do you like?” I called back.
