“Paul,” said Alma as she took his hands in hers. “You never had to earn me back, all you had to do was ask.”
“Well, then this is me asking.” He smiled down at her. “Alma Harper, will you take me back?”
She grinned and closed her eyes, then let go of his hands and abruptly turned. “No, I don’t think so.” She took a long, exaggerated step away as she toyed with him. Then she turned and leapt back into his arms. “Of course I will, you big dummy.” She got on the tips of her new, expensive pumps and was about to kiss him, but then put her finger over his lips and pushed his head to the side. She pecked him on the cheek like she had on their third date, when he fell in love with her.
He chuckled, and wrapped his arms around her. “Oh no, that doesn’t cut it anymore.” He kissed her and then started to spin, lifting her feet off the ground. He stopped, set her down, and then caught her before she tumbled over in her heels.
Alma laughed as she clung to his arm. It had been a long time since she’d worn high heels and she was struggling to get used to them again. The cut on her right foot didn’t help either. “Now hurry up and get me home so I can get my stuff and then screw your brains out.”
He scooped her up in his arms and walked toward his bike. “Hold on little lady. With a promise like that, you’d better believe I’m going to drive like a bat out of hell to get to your place!”
Alma let her head fall back as she laughed. She stared up at the stars as they twinkled in a cloudless night sky. She felt happy, and savored the moment.
Rachel had retreated to the bedroom to change into a pair of flannel pajamas. Alma and Paul had been gone longer than they expected, and Rachel was getting tired. She came back to find Stephen and Jacker playing a videogame.
“Oh crap.” Rachel sounded disheartened as she plopped down next to her husband. “Looks like I lost you two for the night.”
“Nah,” said Stephen, although he didn’t look away from the screen. “I just wanted to prove a point to our new friend here.”
“And what point is that?” asked Rachel.
“That I could kick his ass at Call of Duty.”
“And how’s that turning out for you?” asked Jacker.
“Don’t get cocky. There’s still plenty of time left.”
Rachel put her hand on Stephen’s thigh, but he writhed away from her and moved up to sit on the edge of his seat. “I hate this damn game,” she said and crossed her arms.
“Don’t worry,” said Jacker. “It’s about to be over.”
Rachel heard dogs start to bark and Stephen leapt up and yelled, “Fuck off! Are you serious?”
“What’s going on?” asked Rachel before she saw Stephen’s avatar get mauled by a dog.
“Who let the dogs out?” asked Jacker as he set his controller down on the coffee table.
“Oh wow,” said Rachel. “I didn’t even know this game had dogs in it. I’ve never seen you do anything like that.” She coyly leered up at her husband.
He grimaced, but tried not to let Rachel’s goading annoy him. He pointed at Jacker and said, “That’s bullshit. You were camping.”
“Call it what you will, my friend,” said Jacker. “I call it winning.”
“I want a rematch.” Stephen pointed at Jacker’s controller on the table.
“No!” Rachel swiped the game controller off the table and snatched the battery pack off the back of it. “Game over. I don’t want to sit here all night watching you two play video games.”
“Then what do you want to do?” asked Stephen. His tone started off like a petulant teen, but then changed as he decided not to pick a fight with her.
“I don’t know.” She pulled her feet up onto the couch, under her butt, as if nestling in for a long chat with a girlfriend. “Let’s just talk.”
Jacker and Stephen both groaned simultaneously.
“What?” asked Rachel, amused by their dour faces. “What’s wrong with talking? I’d like to get to know the guy that’s going to be driving us around for the next few days.”
“I’m getting a beer,” said Stephen with a defeated groan. “Who else needs one?”
Jacker raised his hand and then Rachel asked for one as well.
“So, Jacker, how’d you get that name?”
The big guy snickered and ran his hands through his shaggy, curly head of hair. “That’s a complicated story. The short version is that I’m a computer nerd. Have been ever since I was a kid.”
“Did you grow up with Paul and Alma?”
“No. I met Paul just this year, at the tattoo place near his apartment.”
“What was it that made you two start hanging out?” Rachel’s questions came quicker than Jacker seemed prepared for.
“I don’t know. He’s a nice guy. We just sort of started hanging out a lot.”
“Okay,” said Rachel. “Do you ride a motorcycle like he does?”
“No.”
“Do you get a lot of tattoos?”
“Jesus,” said Stephen from the kitchen. “Give the guy a break, Rachel.”
“What?” she asked as if defending herself. “I’m just trying to get to know him.”
“No you’re not,” said Stephen as he brought Jacker a beer. “You’re going into reporter mode. Stop it.”
“It’s okay,” said Jacker. “I’m sure it’s weird to have some stranger staying at your place right before hauling you through a couple states. I don’t mind answering a few questions.”
“See.” Rachel was quick to stick her tongue out at her husband. “So, do you have a bunch of tattoos hidden under that shirt?”
Jacker was wearing a long sleeve, black shirt with a band name that Rachel didn’t recognize. He pulled the sleeves up to reveal bare arms. “Nope. I never got a tattoo.”
Rachel was surprised and furrowed her brow. “Then how did you meet Paul at a tattoo place?”
“My friends hang out there,” said Jacker quickly.
Rachel adjusted her position as Stephen sat down beside her. He handed her a bottle of beer and then the glass that she’d left on the kitchen table from earlier. She started to pour the beer, but then Stephen took it away from her claiming that she wasn’t doing it right. She ignored his tutorial on properly pouring the beer and continued talking with Jacker.
“So what about Paul and Alma?”
“What about them?” asked Jacker.
“Alma told me how they’ve been an on-again-off-again couple ever since high school. What do you think of their relationship? Is it healthy?”
“Good Lord,” said Stephen. “Did you really make us stop playing Call of Duty to talk about relationship crap?”
“Yes.” Rachel slapped Stephen’s knee. “Now shut up and let us talk.”
“Today was the first time I met Alma,” said Jacker.
“Oh really?” asked Rachel.
“Paul talks about her a lot, but they’ve been broken up ever since I’ve known him. He’s been working up the courage to ask her out again.”
“No kidding? So he’s been pining for her all this time? That’s sweet.”
“Sweet or super creepy,” said Stephen, which earned another slap on the knee from his wife.
“It’s romantic, not that you’d know anything about that, asshole.”
Stephen groaned and shook his head. “Please. I’m a fucking Casanova. All my girlfriends say so.”
“Ha, ha,” said Rachel blandly. “Very funny, jerk.”
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone more in love with another person in my whole life,” said Jacker. “Paul was a mess when I met him. I kept trying to convince him to forget about her and move on, but he was determined to win Alma back. I figured he’d get over it after a few weeks, but he didn’t. I’m happy that everything worked out like it did. He deserves a chance to show her how much he loves her.” Jacker spoke as if lamenting an old, lost friend. There was a distant sadness in his words.