Page 111 of The Perfect Spiral
“Don’t I know it. If they only knew him.”
“Why don’t you like him?” “We just never got along. We used to annoy the shit out of each other. It would sometimes get so bad our moms had to hide the kitchen knives from us. Although neither of us was psychotic enough to use them.”
“There had to have been something that made you both pissed at each other? I mean, I know I shouldn’t be reading the crap, but from the magazines and TV, the way he looks at you shows different to what you’re saying.”
I mentally groaned and scanned the ocean for something, anything.
“There is something, isn’t there!” He beamed over at me. I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head.
“Tell me now! There’s definitely something that stemmed this hatred between you both. What was it? Tell me, tell me, tell me!”
“Ugh, you’re so annoying, you know that?”
“Yeah, I know. Now tell me and stop trying to change the subject.”
“Fine, if I tell you, you promise you won’t tell anyone! You have to pinky swear. I know where you live!”
“Alright, alright, I swear I won’t tell a soul! I promise!”
“Okay, so when I was nine and he was eleven, I did like him. We moved schools and I met him on the first day by sitting next to him. Then my older brother Kyle met him and they hit it off instantly.
He would always come over and talk to me, make me feel comfortable because I was younger and found it hard to make friends. He helped me.
I met my best friend a week later by chance in the only class I didn’t have with him. One day, all of Kyle’s friends came over to our new house and we were all in the basement, messing around.
We decided to play spin the bottle and do fifteen minutes in heaven. I know it’s seven minutes, but my brother changed the rules so he could kiss the girl he liked for longer in the closet.”
“Haha! My man! I like your brother.”
“It was Knox’s turn, and the bottle pointed straight at me. We were ushered into the closet for fifteen minutes, much to my brothers’ chagrin. We kissed, and the time seemed to evaporate. I enjoyed it, and I thought he did too. But after that kiss, he turned cold, his rudeness escalating with each passing day.”
“That’s not the end of it. When I was sixteen and he was eighteen, we found ourselves at a summer house party, playing the same game. And guess who the bottle chose when he gave it a spin?”
“Exactly. So, we were back in the closet, locked in another fifteen-minute kiss. It was more than a kiss, really. We made out, our hands exploring each other.
That is, until my brothers started banging on the door. They practically yanked us out of the closet and made us sit on opposite sides of the room.”
“And? Let me guess, he turned into a jerk again?”
“You’re catching on! He was even worse than the first time. We started to provoke each other, pushing each other’s buttons.
Our families had to separate us because we fought so much. He started it, and I was just defending myself.
I couldn’t stand being around him, and the feeling was mutual. But he was always there, always. It was like World War III whenever we were in the same room.”
Ben started to laugh so hard he nearly fell off the board. His laugh was infectious, and his surfer looks were irresistible. I couldn’t believe he was a programmer for Google.
“What? Why are you laughing?” I asked, smiling at him. His happiness was contagious. He stopped laughing and returned my smile.
“You have no idea, do you?”
“Oh, sweet cheeks, Carter liked you! I think he still does. You must’ve been his first crush.”
“What? No! Didn’t you listen to my story? We couldn’t stand each other! He doesn’t like me, and I don’t like him! You sound like my sister and my best friends now.”
“Thompson, he likes you! Let me ask you this, did he start dating a lot of girls, more than usual, after both times he kissed you?”
“Yeah, but... it’s because he knew he could get any girl... I don’t know where you’re going with this. And he doesn’t like me, he’s a grade-A jerk.”
