Gamer Girl - Holly Santos

"Cut the shit Holly." She rolled her eyes petulantly averting them from my face.

"Look, I was thinking we could, like go somewhere and have a little fun Derrick. Yeah, just the two of us, but you act like I'm trying to steal your fucking kidney or something. I mean, it seemed like you liked me enough when you was blowing jizz all over my fucking ass a second ago!"

I was watching her eyes the whole time noting how she looked away when she said certain things. It was a trick I picked up from my late grandmother. She always said lying people had a hard time looking you in the eye.

"Holly." I grabbed her hand pulling her into a kiss that silenced the natural fire. She was definitely up to something and I wasn't gonna give a blind acquiescence.

"Come on Derrick, what were you doing any ways on a Saturday afternoon, huh?" I peppered her cheeks with kisses hoping to get her off of whatever she was planning.

Before I could answer, we were both interrupted by rapping at my front door. I suddenly recalled my afternoon itinerary of gaming with my clique of friends. My large flat screen television was off, but my console was active with the expensive game I'd purchased the night before, likely downloaded. Holly Santos appearance on my stoop, understandably distracting me from a sexual point of view. The rapping continued unabating as I redoubled my grip on the towel at my waist.

"Hey, get that for me Holly."

"WHO IS IT?!!" She growled looking suddenly ready for a fight.

"It's just my friends; we're gaming today." I passed to her right intent on grabbing some clothes in my bedroom, but Holly grabbed my forearm.

"Hey, what about what we've got going on?"

"We can talk about that later; we've been planning this for a week and a half. Look, I gotta get some clothes on, alright?"

"But you're supposed to hang out with me!"

"What's the big deal? You can hang here with me and the guys; you like video games right, Holly?" I gently peeled her fingers off my arm but the expression on her face read of hurt. I was trying to find a middle ground as the knocking continued.

"Whatever fool."

"Get the door." I dipped into my bedroom pulling the door up before hopping into some sweat pants and a white t-shirt with the Atari logo emblazoned across the chest. My anxiety ramped up a bit as I could hear Holly stomping across the living floor to my front door throwing it wide open.

"Sí, ¿qué diablos quieres que venga a mi puta puerta de entrada golpeando esa mierda como si te debiera algo, perra?" My fears were well founded as I heard Holly loudly speaking in her native language to one of my friends.

"Uhm, we looking for Derrick?" I recognized Gerald's voice and the grumbling of some others.

"¡¿Quién diablos es Derrick?!! ¡No conozco a ningún idiota de Derrick! ¡¡Tienes el maldito apartamento equivocado y será mejor que patees piedras antes de que te ilumine el culo gordo con algunas balas, payaso!!"

"This, is Derrick's apartment, ain't it?" I had to admit how good Holly's technique was as Gerald sounded legitimately confused even though he knew I lived here.

He'd been over not two days prior as we talked of having a game day with friends. Holly was going the full "I don't speak no English" route with my friends as I finished abruptly dressing. I bounced up out of my bedroom finding her leaning into the still closed screen door using her bulk to obscure their view into my place.

"I DON'T KNOW NO FUCKING DERRICK!!" Holly's black side surged and bubbled to the top manifesting itself in stereotypical rolling of her neck faux sister girl mode.

"STOP PLAYING BABY!!" I brought my hand down in a loud resounding slap to her rear nudging her to the side as I unlocked my screen door.

I found Gerald and another friend Walter standing outside on my stoop. Another one of my friends Jimmy, appeared in the stairwell carrying a platter of sandwiches. Walter was holding a paper bag full of sodas while Gerald carried six packs of beer in both hands. The guys seemed reluctant as he spoke up for the group.

"Hey man, you got something going on; we need to come back or something?"

"YEAH!!" Holly yelled from inside earning a disparaging glance from me. She was skulking about, pacing in front of my television.

"We're cool Gerald; I got the game downloaded and ready to go, man. You guys brought eats like we discussed so let's do it."

"That your girl?" Gerald whispered as Jimmy pushed by us into the apartment. He was an avowed bachelor with too many baby mammas and no fucks to give. He also shared something in common with Holly in that he was mixed as well.

"Shut up." I mumbled back at the bone headed inquiry.

"Derrick, you know we can come back later; or maybe you could let us get that console bruh, and you can keep getting it in with the young lady there. We can take that shit to a motel and play; you just call us when you're done." Walter a tall, gentle shut-in at twenty-five years of age and six four inches of height shook his head in verbal step with my portly friend.

"How long were you out here, nigga?" The awkward expression on Gerald's face spoke volumes immediately embarrassing me.

"Well, we knew you weren't gonna let us watch, so we hung back to the Bevmo for more drinks." I facepalmed realizing how loud Holly and I had to be for them to hear us through my closed front door.

"Get your ass in here."

Inside we found Holly already congregating around my dining room table with Jimmy. She was wearing an affable enough smile on her face while helping herself to the sandwich platter. Jimmy was a big, muscle bound guy with a face who juggled any number of girlfriends and a loose moral code. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that he would put the moves on Holly within moments of meeting her. The rest of us joined them at my table as Holly took note of the dual six packs of beer Gerald was holding.

"Get up off it, big daddy!" Holly helped herself to a can snatching one from the plastic binding holding them together before the six pack could even be placed on the table.

"EXCUSE YOU!" Gerald half growled definitely not feeling her.

"You're excused, and next time get some fucking Heinekens cause this Rolling Rock shit is for pussies." Holly snapped the tab off chugging down the beer in three gulps as we watched amazed. She immediately turned her attention to Walter.

"What you holding, slim?" I noticed that she sounded extra thuggish and not in the subtle way I was used to since our initial meeting.

"Soda." Walter replied meekly.

"I can see its fucking soda cutie; I wanna know what kind, okay?"

Holly spoke in patronizing tone, but Walter wouldn't have picked up on it. He'd long withdrawn into himself after a horrific breakup with a serial cheater. He never seemed to be the same after that when it came to dealing with the opposite sex.

"Grape."

"Brand?"

"Just uhm, grape ma'am." He reiterated.

"Fuck."

Holly snatched another beer from Gerald downing that one in record time as well. She wasn't fooling me one bit being purposely boorish and off-putting to get what she obviously wanted. Jimmy was checking her out but remained silent, looking for an opportunity. I wasn't mad, I knew him like the back of my hand.

"EXCUSE YOU TIMES TWO!!" Gerald exclaimed wide eyed.

"Do you ever say anything else?" Holly bumped chests with him, a static expression reading across her features. She was almost non-verbally challenging my best bud to a fist fight from the look of things.

"I don't think you wanna hear anything else I have to say, Miss Thang!" Gerald wasn't backing down in the least. I understood his point of view as my home was a refuge from his own antagonistic marriage.

"I-THINK-I DO, TUBBY!!" Holly's ego promoted her to press forward as she pivoted at an angle. I recognized her setting up to throw a haymaker stepping between them.

"Cut it out Holly; hey guys just help yourself to the television while I talk to her for a moment."

"WAIT A MINUTE, YOU'RE TAKING HIS SIDE?!"

"Chill out, I don't want no fighting in my place." I rubbed her back, but Holly rolled her shoulder rejecting my attempt to settle things.

"Hey, Derrick, I get that, so we can go outside, and I promise I won't knock him down those stairs." Holly reasoned making Jimmy laugh his ass off while Walter looked uncomfortable.

"AIN'T NOBODY AFRAID OF YOU, QUEEN LATIFAH!!" Gerald was hot and I couldn't blame him one bit. Holly singled him out from the get-go in stereotypical bully fashion.

"Hey, be cool man; you gonna throw hands with a girl?"

Jimmy squeezed in with an arm around Gerald's shoulder trying half heartedly to quell the situation. Holly's eyes narrowed into angry slits at being identified as a quote-unquote girl.

"¡Oye hijo de puta, no me conoces, así que no me llames maldita niña! ¡¡También te romperé el gran culo musculoso, negro!!" Holly went into her native language at the drop of a hat leaving me, Gerald, and Walter out of the loop.

"Lo siento cariño, soy un amante, no un luchador y parece que necesitas un montón de amorosa chica hermosa!!" Jimmy shot back instantly giving her pause.

"You can't handle this." Holly retorted unknowingly flushing at whatever Jimmy said.

My friend the lothario wasn't even bothered by her demeanor. There was no doubt he could run up in her if he applied more of his trademark charm. He had the face for it and way more than enough bad boy charm in spades. Jimmy routinely juggled one or two women at any given time.

"I gotta a license to operate heavy equipment, baby." Jimmy not so covertly patted his crotch caring little that I was standing there.

"You calling me fat?"

"That ass look fat, mamma." He was definitely shooting his shot regardless of my perceived connection with this petulant woman and I'd heard enough.

"Well why don't you two get yourselves a fucking room; Walter, Gerald and I are gonna be hitting up this Mortal Kombat." I snatched up a thick pastrami sandwich accepting an offered soda from Walter joining a brooding Gerald in the living room. Walter followed seconds later with a hangdog look on his face.

Gerald looked like a smoldering volcano still bristling at being challenged to a fight by a woman. Holly Santos really did a number on his psyche maintaining a dismissive tone in regards to his manhood throughout the exchange. Things were obviously not settled, and he was likely thinking of throwing caution to the wind in the most egregious manner possible. His wife while initially a lovestruck obsession during their time dating in their mid-twenties, had become an unrepentant shrew after marriage. A number of kids had him locked into an abusive relationship and despite things; he still loved her as much as the first day he'd laid eyes on the woman.

"They got Robocop and the Terminator in this game, Gerald."

"I know." He replied sulking.

"Really that's awesome; I always wanted to see them fight outside of the comics. That's gonna be epic, Derrick." Walter was excited, obviously doing his best to ignore the tension in my apartment.

"Yeah, they got Spawn in there too." I added side eyeing Gerald who was staring at the wall across the room.

"I don't have a problem with Spawn. But Todd McFarlane is a douche." He added esoterically.

"Well, they got Joker in there too if you don't like Spawn."

"That's just a Johnny Cage skin, and it looks dumb too." Gerald fumed.

Silence followed for a few moments with Walter sitting there looking dumbfounded as I took the opportunity to glance over my shoulder into the dining room. My second floor apartment floor plan had it where the kitchen and dining room were merged bordered by the living room wall.

From my vantage point I was only able to see the side profile and back of my friend Jimmy. Holly had to be inside my rectangular kitchen facing him. They were conversing in hushed Spanish language obviously designed to keep us out of the loop. I knew it was tantamount that I reassert myself glancing back over in Gerald and Walter's direction.

"So uhm, are we uh, playing?" Walter asked, wholly uncomfortable with the atmosphere.

"Hey man, you get started; Gerald, a word outside." He raised an eyebrow in my direction as I got up, following me outside leaving our friend alone with Holly and Jimmy. I kept walking down the stairs without glancing back knowing he was following me.

"So we fucking up Jimmy?"

"Why?"

"He's obviously gonna run up in your butch girlfriend, that shit's so fucking foul, Derrick. I mean, he's a big motherfucking football playing dude; got his MMA thing down too, just saying."

"Man, I don't care about that other than them doing shit in my place. That's not why I called you down here anyway." Gerald looked visibly relieved at the likely losing prospect of jumping our supposed friend.

"Well, what you call me out here for; we ain't throwing hands, are we?"

"NO!"

"What's up, then?" We walked off the downstairs lot at the ground level below my apartment along the thick steel fence that bordered the property.

"You tell me brother; you were ready to toss hands with Holly and I really didn't wanna see you get rolled in front of the boys. Before righteous indignation sets in, she used to bully other bullies in high school and her first boyfriend."

"Seriously?!" Gerald craned his neck to one side, comedically.

"Yeah, said he was ignoring her, so she caught him around the block and jacked up his ribs against a mailbox."

"WHERE YOU MEETING THESE WOMEN?!!"

"Shut up, now spill because I know something's going on with you and it's not because Holly talking out the side of her neck." We walked across an alley to a strip mall adjacent to my apartment building as Gerald worked up the courage.

"Cheated on my wife, bruh." I stopped in my tracks turning to face him on the pavement.

"Gerald Robertson my man; what the fuck is going on in your life, nigga?"

I'd met his wife Shailene (Ironically nicknamed Shaila) on one or two occasions before Gerald lost his job at the temp agency, we were both employed at during that time. She was this extremely bottom heavy redbone with somewhat of a mouth, but he unequivocally loved every hair on her head. I wondered if our brief excursion to a porn convention was responsible for his marital troubles. Clearly the irony of ironies was the fact that I'd initially met Holly Santos there as well.

Somewhere off in the distance somebody was blasting Prince's song "Pop Life" providing an unintentional soundtrack to Gerald's confession.

"Shailene been real fucking nuclear lately because I haven't been working regularly. Treating me like a bald headed step child, no big piece of chicken or nothing, man!! I've been banned from the bedroom and she stay riding my ass all fucking day in front of the kids."

"So you cheated?"

"I wasn't looking for it, but Shailene kept talking all this shit about how my fucking "pussy privileges" were cut off. Man, she was doing that in front of the kids and bragging about it on the phone to her girls and cousins. None of them ever liked me anyway bruh; you know I was actually dating Shailene's cousin Deana before we hooked up!"

"That's fucked up."

"No it wasn't; Deana was playing the long game stringing me along and she kinda, passed me off to Shailene anyways, Derrick."

"Still fucked up."

"Don't judge, you do dumb shit too; or should we go back to your crib so we can watch Jimmy sticking it to your beard, homeboy!!"

"I don't wanna slap a brother, okay Gerald. I'm pretty sure there's no coming back from that as far as the friendship. So just tell me how you ended up stepping out on your wife."

"Shailene called herself going out on one of them girl's nights with her shady friends and I got left home on the couch. She was so shitty that she got her sister to take care of the kids so I couldn't talk to them and went so far as to block all the porn sites on the home computer, too!! While I sitting there considering doing an OJ on her ass, guess who turned up?"

"Who?"

"Yanira, remember her from the agency?"

"Yeah man, she was our supervisor at the agency; hot shit Boricua too. I still think that ass was fake though. Damn Gerald, I ain't hating because at least you hooked up in style!! Yeah, she used to wear all these tight ass clothes teasing everybody in front of her douche husband, Chad."

"She lost the account after I got canned, but Debbie called her up wanting me back for some reason. Yanira got one of those offers she couldn't refuse deals contingent on my reinstatement. So, Yanira knew she fucked up firing me and showed up at my house. Man, if my wife was home..."

"I get it man; complete World Star, right?"

"Definitely, she popped up in the middle of the night while my old lady was out, and shit happened. I wanted an apology and she needed that fucking contract back." We'd entered a liquor store as I bought more beer I didn't need under the watchful eye and security cams of the middle eastern owners. We just ignored the angry stares coming from the front counter. I turned to Gerald; brow raised.

"You blackmailed her?"

"Uh, yeah." Gerald picked a few oversized candy bars from an adjacent shelf holding them up so the counter men could see his intention to purchase the items.

"Gerald Robertson, who are you?"

"A nigga with a job."

"Fuck that's ratchet, man."

"Does it still count as cheating if I didn't cum? Well technically I boned Shailene right after and got it in with her monster butt, anyways; so, it's kind of like I didn't really cheat because I blew my load with my wife."

Gerald's mental gymnastics were incredible as he rationalized his egregious behavior in front of the counter. We were standing in a short line to the cash register as I noticed the store owner visibly amused by our exchange.

"Straight ratchet, nigga."

"She cheated too; some guy named fucking Marvin." Gerald snatched assorted large bags of chips from an adjacent rack.

"The guy's name is Fucking Marvin?" The Arab gentleman behind the counter was barely stifling his laughter as I peered over the counter noticing what appeared to be his wife and a toddler. She didn't look amused by our spartan banter in the least.

"Just Marvin, okay?!!" I snatched up a pack of condoms sitting out in the open within reach, tossing them into my pile of goods. The shop keep happily rang them up as I turned to Gerald.

"Yanira, huh?"

"Yeah, and just to let you know; the ass is fake as fuck."

"I knew it!"

The shop keep burst into laughter ringing Gerald up as his long suffering wife stood up holding their toddler in her arms. My buddy looked understandably shocked making the sign of the cross nodding his head at the angry woman before I audibly slapped him in the back.

"What?!!"

"They're Muslim, you nimrod."

"OH-uhm, sorry about that ma'am." Gerald apologized as I grabbed his bags of goods shoving it into his chest.

"Alhimar al'aswad laenat ealik." She replied earning a menacing glare from her husband that caused her to quickly resume her seat with their child. I was so embarrassed as we exited walking back to my place.

"You're gonna get a divorce, nigga." I cautioned.

"She cheated too."

"We live in a no fault state, dumbass." The realization set in Gerald's features as I chuckled. He was a lovable goof of sorts, but still my best bud.

We approached the edge of the parking lot leading to my place and were surprised to see our mutual acquaintance Jimmy behind the wheel of his refurbished '64 mustang barreling right past us into the adjacent street. Both of us got a fleeting glimpse of his strained features which left both of us puzzled. Jimmy was an affable enough type of fellow even when in the thick of things.

He'd once engaged in a street fight with two guys outside a club trashing both of them still smiling. He was still grinning when the cops hauled him off to jail for an all-expenses paid weekend. Now, Jimmy looked completely pissed, hot and murderous. His wheels actually burned rubber as he made a sharp turn disappearing into the horizon line.