Sagittarius A-Town

Besides knowing that it was night, I had no idea what time it was, so with great care I sneaked to the shower. I felt a great relief when I finally reached the bathroom. I didn't want to bump into my mom and have to explain why I was creeping naked through the hallway. I turned the shower on and immediately tried to lock the door, but the damn thing was broken. I made a mental note to fix it tomorrow, and washed the filth from my body. The shower, in reality, was a lot less eventful than my dreams.

When I finished my shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and went to my room to get dressed. I checked the time on my phone before dressing. It was just past 10 pm. Somehow, I had slept for over twelve hours today. When I got home for lunch, I got back into bed and slept the entire day away, something I hadn't been able to do for three years before Riley came along. Any inkling of an idea of going back to bed was completely destroyed by the newfound hunger that had suddenly began to ravage my gut. I pulled on comfortable clothes - a plain t-shirt and sweatpants - and went downstairs to the kitchen.

The wooden stairwell creaked under my bare feet as I slowly descended the steps. A quick glance down the hall told me Mom was still working in the office. Blue light from her computer seeped under the heavy door and slightly illuminated the dark hallway leading to the kitchen. She had been shut up in the office almost the entire time she had been back. It seemed like she worked more often now than before she decided to work from home. We mostly only got to see her at meal times, which Riley strictly enforced, by the way. Possibly, because my mother would otherwise forget to eat at all.

I found a leftover plate from dinner in the fridge, with my name written on the foil. I wolfed the food into me cold. Even at this temperature it was tastier than anything I could cook. It was fortunate for all of us that Riley was cooking the meals now. I was sure Kevin was secretly delighted he didn't have to endure my cooking any longer, too. He always cleaned his plate when Riley cooked, something he had never done for me. After eating, I made sure to wash my plate before leaving. Riley hated when I left dirty plates in the sink.

As I was passing the living room door, I noticed a flickering light and what appeared to be Kevin's feet on the arm of the couch. He must have fallen asleep watching TV, I thought to myself as I went to put him to bed.

The door creaked noisily when I opened it, and I was immediately met by the sounds of shushing.

"Be careful! He's sleeping!" I heard Riley whisper from the couch.

"Sorry," I whispered, as I walked to the front of the couch, "I was just going to carry him up."

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw him. He was lying splayed out on the couch, with his head on a pillow in Riley's lap. His limbs extended at such an angle that he looked almost like a doll or mannequin. A stream of drool sparkled on his cheek and his face was squished up like an animals. He was out like a log.

"How long is he out?" I asked and took a seat in an armchair to her left - Dad's armchair.

"About an hour." She responded bluntly. "I didn't want to wake him so I just switched the channel when he fell asleep."

She was watching a movie. A shaggy Ryan Gosling was building a house or something like that. The volume was barely audible and the flickering of the TV provided the room with it's only light source. Riley's eyes were fixated on the screen and never once glanced in my direction. She was wearing pajamas with small paw prints on them and her hair was tied up in a bun, with only a few lone strands falling past her face. It was a mystery to me how she always seemed to look so perfect.

"Want me to take him up?" I said, nodding toward Kevin.

She shrugged. "He's okay for awhile. I'll bring him up when I'm going to bed."

"Are you sure? He's kinda heavy."

She nodded her response, but continued to stare ahead.

"Mind if I stay and watch a bit of the movie?" I asked, suddenly feeling quite awkward.

"It's your house."

We sat and watched the movie in silence. It was the most uncomfortable experience of my life. Every second felt like a minute and every minute felt like an hour. After watching a bit more of Ryan Gosling, but in a boat now, I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to end the silence. So I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind: food.

"By the way, thanks for dinner. I didn't even have to heat it up and it was delicious." I said, laughing softly. "You're a lot better cook than I am."

"I hope you washed your plate." She replied in her usual wintry tone. "I'm not your maid.'

"But, technically- I mean, yeah, yeah, I know. Hey, listen, Riley. I was just wondering..."

"Shh...." She cut me off. "This is my favourite part,"

"What movie is it?"

"You've seriously never seen The Notebook?" She asked incredulously.

"Never."

"It's the most romantic movie in the world. I can't believe you haven't seen it."

"I'm not really into chick-flicks." I replied.

"But it's so romantic! It makes me cry every time I watch it. They are just so perfect for each other. I don't know, I just love it. It reminds me that there's somebody out there for everyone."

When I didn't reply, Riley spoke again, "Don't you want to find your soulmate?" She asked, before snorting. "Oh, you already found that in Barbie, didn't you?"

"Riley..."

"I'm joking." She interjected while rolling her eyes. "I really couldn't care less."

"... How long are you gonna act like this?"

Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed on me. "Act like what?"

"Like this! Like you're going to murder me in my sleep!" I said, the pangs of anger beginning to stir in my stomach. They were making it a struggle to contain my voice. I took a long breath and started again. "Listen, I get that you don't like me. I fucked up and I'm sorry. But if you're not going to hear me out, then can we at least be civil and stop this childish bullshit? I can't spend everyday of my life with you acting like this."

Riley looked offended. "You're blaming me for this?" She spat. "Don't you dare try to put this on me! None of this is my fault! You're the one who lied to me! You're the one who said... You know what? It doesn't even matter."

I attempted to defend myself but Riley's movement had caused a stirring with Kevin. He rolled onto his side, wiped the drool from his face, then slowly pulled his knees to his chest. Riley muted the television, then started to rub Kevin's head. The room was eerily quiet while we waited for his breathing to ease back into the gentle rhythm of before.

"Look, Jake," Riley said when Kevin had drifted off again, her voice hushed, almost inaudible, "This isn't ideal for either of us. I took this job thinking I was only going to have to take care of Kevin. I had no idea Elizabeth was your mom. If I had, I wouldn't have taken it. But it's done now and I'm here to stay. So can we make this as easy as possible and stay out of each other's way? Please?"

"But that's not how I want things to be!"

"Well, sometimes things don't work out how you wanted them to. You taught me that."

I sat back in the chair and sighed. I was angry. Angry at Riley for not forgiving me, and angry at myself for getting into this situation in the first place. Why didn't I just tell her I was in a relationship. How did I let things go that far? Just look at her! That's why! A voice screamed inside my head. It was true, even when she was angry she radiated an almost supernatural beauty. Something about her was compelling. Sometimes I would just sit and watch when she was playing with Kevin. She had a certain gentleness to her that he warmed to immediately. She had even managed to make my mom fall in love with her.

"I want us to be friends." I said, rubbing my brow, feeling the beginnings of stress lines on my forehead.

"I'm sorry, I have enough friends."

She unmuted the television and started watching again. I didn't want to leave things at this. As subtle as Riley was being about our... affair. It wouldn't be long before either Mom or Ashley saw through her act.

Ashley's defining emotion was jealousy. I could barely walk down the school hallways without her trying to stamp her ownership on me in front of the other girls, let alone live with somebody as attractive as Riley. She hated Riley from the moment she laid eyes on her, and everyday she seemed to be running lower and lower on her jealousy self-control. The last thing I wanted was to give her a reason to snap.

"Why haven't you told her about us?" I asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

She didn't say anything at first, just continued to watch the screen, her look somewhat pensive. "I thought about it." She finally said. Her voice was different now, carrying a faint, defeated tone. "The first night, when I saw her. I just wanted to scream it at her. To rub it in her pretty little face. But I couldn't say anything. I just stood there like an idiot, watching as she slobbered all over you. I was so mortified, I completely froze."

"And then last week," she continued, "I saw her in the grocery store... She gave me this stupid smirk, like she was after winning some sort of competition, or something. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself saying it."

"I'm sorry for all of this, Riley. Not a day goes by that I don't regret hurting you."

She forced a smile, then shifted in her seat, "On second thought, can you carry him to bed? He's a lot heavier than he looks."

I managed a small chortle. "Of course," I said and rose to my feet. I walked over to the couch and lifted Kevin from Riley's lap. He flopped into my arms without as much as a snore, fully back in his deep slumber. When I lifted him from her, Riley relaxed with a sigh of relief and began to massage her legs, trying to get her circulation back going. I turned to walk out the door when I heard Riley's voice.

"Jake!" She blurted out, "Before you go..."

She was sitting with her knees under her chin and was still massaging her legs, looking at me expectantly.

"Yeah?"

"Just... I have to ask. Why her? You don't seem like the type of person who would be with someone like that."

I was stumped. I just shook my head and left.

I tucked Kevin in and placed a soft kiss on his head. He whispered a "good night" and drifted back to sleep. I shut the door as quietly as possible and went back to my room. Sometime later, from downstairs, I heard the living room door shut and then the gentle creaking of the stairs. While laying in my bed, for the briefest of moments, I heard the floorboards shift outside my door and then everything went silent. A long moment passed before I heard the creaking slowly continue down the hall, then the click of Riley's door.

--------------

A dead heat and cloudless skies brought scorching days to the previously mild Texan weather. The sun beat down with relentless force and a sweltering heat wave dominated the past weeks' weather. The town was once again blanketed in the golden glimmer of sunlight that we had almost forgotten over the past months. Early spring fever had encapsulated the town, the smell of barbeque wafted through the air and music gently played from a neighbour's yard.

Kevin, not quite having the confidence to swim on his own, was drifting about in the pool using his inflatable armbands as support for his role in the imaginary naval war he was orchestrating with his toys. My mother was also taking advantage of the sun. Well, she took advantage as much as was physically possible for her, in that she had decided to work outside for a change. She wore a hat, bigger than any I had seen before, which completely shielded her from the sun. She tapped away on her laptop with such vigor I feared she would smash it.

For a bit of privacy, Ryan and I decided to relax on the opposite side of the pool. I lay back in my chair, closed my eyes and tried not to fry.

Minutes passed in silence before Ryan spoke. "Dude. Dude! Are you seeing this?" He asked incredulously and sat up in his chair.

I lifted my sunglasses and glanced across the pool. The thorn in my side and apple of my eye had emerged from the house and was flitting through the garden with her usual ardent grace.

"I think I'm in love." Ryan said, when she took a seat next to my mother. "One night with her and I could die a happy man. I mean, a real happy man. I'd just climb up inside her and set up camp. Y'know, just live in there for awhile."

I laughed. "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

He returned my laugh. "I'm serious, man! An excavator wouldn't get me out of her."

"There's something not quite right with you up here, is there?" I said, tapping my temple with my index finger.

"C'mon, dude. Are you honestly saying you wouldn't? Look at her! She's unbelievable!"

He wasn't wrong. She was her usual picture of perfection. She had been taking almost every opportunity to soak up the sun and it definitely agreed with her. Her skin had a deep olive tint to it and she was wearing a zebra-patterned bikini and shorts that served as a perfect contrast.

She yawned and stretched, displaying the delicate curvature of her body. Her face showed just sunglasses and lips, so I couldn't quite tell if she was looking our way. I prayed she wasn't or she would surely see us staring slack-jawed and drooling.

"Does she always dress like that?" Ryan asked when the show ended.

"You get used to it." I muttered, shutting my eyes again.

"I doubt that. Y'know, man. This is the life. The season is almost over.... We're in the playoffs. I'm relaxing by the pool on this most beautiful of days, with an ice cold drink in my hand and a smoking hot latina girl tanning her sweet, sweet body right in front of me. Yeah, it doesn't get much better than this."

"Don't enjoy yourself too much. We have practice later."

Ryan groaned. "You're such a killjoy. Why do you always have to remind me about fuckin' practice? Fuck practice, dude, we're relaxing. Although, you do seem extra wound up today, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing. Just stupid girl troubles." I waved my hand dismissively.

"Aww... Is there trouble in pasty white paradise? Goldilocks not giving you any?"

"God, no. Sex isn't even a fever dream at this stage. She hasn't spoken to me in almost three days. She's blaming me for Riley moving in. As if it had anything to do with me. She's gone insane with jealousy. She keeps looking through my phone when I'm sleeping and about a week ago I caught her checking my Facebook messages. When I confronted her about it, she started screamed something about Riley and left. She hasn't spoken to me since. It's ridiculous. We haven't had sex since the day Riley got here."

"So she finally snapped, huh?"

"I don't know. I left her a dozen messages telling her there's nothing going on between me and Riley, but she's just not interested. She hasn't responded once."

"And is there something going on with you two?"

"No, of course there isn't. You know how much she hates me. We've only had two conversations since she moved in last month, and one of them was a full blown conversation on the myriad of different ways I could go fuck myself."

"Yeah, yeah. I believe you." Ryan said, slapping my shoulder. "That girl fucking hates you. I don't know what you did to her, but she despises you. It's kind of hilarious, to be honest. It doesn't matter either way though, she is way out of your league anyway."

"Oh, and she's in yours?" I replied with a laugh.

"Nobody in this shitty town is in that girl's league. I just have to be the best of a bad bunch."

"So you're going to ask her out?"

His eyes were primed on Riley, like a bear stalking it's prey. "Definitely. You see, I have a theory: Girl's like that are so attractive that guys feel too intimidated to ask them out. All you have to do is walk right up to her, show a bit of confidence and she's yours."

"I somehow doubt that's how it works."

"Whatever, dude. Spoken like a man who hasn't had sex in a month. Wait 'til you see. The second I get some alone time with her I'll have her in the palm of my hand."

It didn't take long for his opportunity to arise. After about ten minutes, Mom finally finished with her work. She closed the laptop, rose from her seat and walked toward the backdoor. In a flash, Ryan was gone from my side and was heading toward Riley.

I chuckled to myself. She was going to tear him apart. I could visualise the look on his face as he made the journey back to his seat, his face beet red from embarrassment.

A pit suddenly formed in my stomach. But what if she likes him?

My blood raced through my veins and my heart thumped in my chest. My mind whirled with thoughts that only assumed the worst. What if she actually said yes to him? What if they go out and start dating? What if they get married?

The pit grew deeper in my belly.

I hazarded a glance at them. Ryan was sitting at the end of Riley's chair, but from my angle I couldn't quite make out either of their faces or what they were talking about. Like myself, he was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. Sure, I had what most people would call a nice body, but next to Ryan's it was nothing. I couldn't stop picturing them together. Their naked body's writhed together in my head, over and over and over. I took deep breaths and tried to think of something else.

I lay back for another minute, before I just couldn't take it anymore. In an attempt to rescue my sanity, I rose from my chair and sat on the edge of the pool, close to where Kevin was still battling with his toy ships. The cool water felt incredible on my legs, offering a small respite from the glaring heat.

"Hey, little man." I said, splashing water in his direction. "Who's winning?"

"The blues!" He chirped, flailing toward me.

"That's good. The blues are my favourite." I smiled and splashed him again. "You having fun?"

"Uh-huh. I love the pool!"

Ryan and Riley's conversation had gotten louder and more animated but I still couldn't make out what they were saying. Ryan waved his arms around like an idiot and Riley laughed. It was a sweet laugh and rang like chimes in my ears. I suddenly resented Ryan for being the reason behind it.

"What are they talking about?" Kevin asked.

I shrugged. "Oh, I dunno. Football stuff, I guess."

"But Riley hates football."

"That's right, she does... I dunno, Ryan's just being an idiot, you know how he is. So tell me, what do you think of her?"

"Who? Riley?"

I nodded and he responded excitedly, "She's great! She plays videogames with me and she lets me stay up later than you did!"

I laughed and pushed one of his battleships along the water. It wasn't a genuine laugh and even to my own ears it sounded fake. I was too nervous to mean it. Why is my heart beating so fast?

"Not too much later, I hope."

A cheeky smile spread across his face and I returned it. He went back to fighting his imaginary war while I absentmindedly watched. Finally, Ryan left Riley and made his way back to his seat, where he began to gather his things. Swiftly, I followed suit and hurried to him. A grin covered his face from ear to ear.

"How did it go?" I asked as nonchalant as humanly possible.

"Just like I said it would." He replied with a wink. "Like taking candy from a baby."

"No shit!? She said yes?"

"Of course, she said yes. When Ryan Allen gets his game face on he wins. You should know this by now. I'm taking her to Fernando's on Friday night. Mexicans like Italian food, right?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

"Dude, she's Brazilian."

"Who the fuck cares where she's from, man? You just sit back, relax, enjoy the view. I'm going to be seeing it a little more up close and personal Friday night, if you know what I mean." He shot me a sly wink and a smile, and started to walk away. "I'll see you at practice."