Sagittarius A-Town

When he disappeared through the gate, I collapsed into my seat. I couldn't believe she had said yes to him. My heart was fluttering and my stomach was churning. I glanced across the pool to Riley. She was lying back with a smile on her face. I couldn't figure whether it was because of Ryan or if she could sense how I was taking this, but I felt angry at her. I knew in my heart that it was an irrational anger but I couldn't help the bubbling in my veins.

I ran my fingers through my hair and had to force myself to not tear it from my head. I just wanted to leap into the pool and sink to the bottom, letting all of the worlds problems, and this heat, wash from my body. Of all the people that she could have went out with, she decided to pick my best friend. I was sure she was doing this just to torture me.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and climbed from my seat. As I walked to the kitchen, I was sure I could see Riley's smile widen.

When I got to the kitchen, I opened the freezer and almost climbed into it. My face was mashed against a bag of frozen peas and the ice from the sides ran down my back. It was heaven.

"What are you doing?" Mom said from behind me, causing me to jump suddenly and bang my head. When I regained my composure, I turned to her, frantically rubbing the sore spot.

"Do I have to remind you of the heatwave outside?" I said sarcastically, as I shut the freezer door. I walked to the table and took a seat, holding the frozen peas to my head. Mom took the seat opposite.

"It's not so bad." She said, removing her sunglasses from her head and placing them on the table between us. "I got a call from your coach today." Her tone was sombre.

"What is it? What happened?"

"He told me a coach from Alabama was coming to talk to you soon."

"Alabama? Mom are you serious!? Did he really say that!? When is he coming!?" I was on my feet before I knew it. The peas hit the floor with a thud, and the pain vanished from my mind. "Tell me every word he said, exactly as he said it!"

"That's all he said. He said a coach was coming to talk with you, possibly after the State Championship. That he was extremely proud of you and I should be too." She was looking at her hands, becoming melancholy. This wasn't the reaction I ever expected. I wanted to jump around the room and dance like a crazy person and she looked like someone had just died.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you excited?" I asked.

"I am excited," She said, "This is wonderful news. It's just... I thought you would stay in Texas like your father wanted. And Alabama is so far away, too. How would I ever see you if you left? I'm hard pressed to see you when we're living in the same house, let alone opposite sides of the country." She laughed to mask her sadness, but it was clear in her voice.

"Mom, I know you're trying really hard," I sat in the chair next to her and wrapped my arms around her, something I had not done in years, "And I feel closer to you now than ever. I know how hard you have to work to give me and Kevin everything we want. That's why I want to get out of this town, I want to make some real money so that you don't have to work anymore. I want you to be able to retire and for Kevin to have his mother again. Besides, he only said a coach is coming to talk to me. He could come here and think I'm terrible. Then I'll be stuck here with you forever."

She half-laughed, half-cried, "That's your father coming out in you," she said, as she wiped away a tear. I squeezed her gently as I laughed, then released her. She rubbed her eyes before putting on a massive smile. "You know how proud of you I am. Your father was too."

"Don't worry about it, Mom. It's just some guy coming to have a conversation. Nothing is going to happen. It's already at the back of my mind."

Mom smiled again as I walked away as casually as I could. I continued this walk all the way to my bedroom.

When I got there, I jumped around like a little girl.

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

Days passed in a blur while I waited for Friday, and Riley's inevitable date with Ryan, to come. Ryan was taking every opportunity to rub it in my face as well. Sending me texts and telling me stories about everything he was going to do to her. That guy is an animal. I never let him know how much it was bothering me though, I just grinned and bared it.

To make matters worse, Ashley was now no longer talking to me. At all. Which was starting to become a real pain in the ass, to be honest. On Thursday, I realised a whole month and a week had passed since we last had sex. I realised this at dinner when Riley bent over to pick up a knife and my erection almost lifted my leg off the ground. I was beginning to notice something... different about Riley lately, too. She had an aura of confidence about her and an extra grace to her step. The weird thing was she was no longer acting like she hated me, even when we were alone together. We still weren't best friends. But I was happy enough with pleasantries.

After dinner, Mom took some time from her work to bring Riley clothes shopping. It was scary how well they had been getting along. I had never seen my mom take to somebody so quickly before. It took her almost a year before she even referred to Ashley by name, and now she fawned over Riley like she was the daughter she never had.

"Wait until you see her tomorrow night!" She chirped excitedly to me when she got home, "You're going to wish you were the one who snapped her up!" Not knowing exactly how right she was.

When Friday night eventually came, Kevin, my mom, and I were standing in the living room waiting for Riley to come down from her room. She had locked herself in for almost three hours while she got ready for her date, with her only unlocking to run to and from the bathroom to grab beauty products. Mom kept telling us about how stunning she was going to look and to remember to tell her how beautiful she was when we saw her. I spent the long wait amusing Kevin with stupid faces behind my mom's back, which he found hilarious, unlike my mother.

The doorbell rang before Riley came out of the room and Kevin was quickest to answer. He was only gone for a couple of seconds before he returned again, escorting Ryan.

"Ryan, you look so handsome!" Mom said, and placed a kiss on his cheek. He smiled shyly and muttered a quick "thanks" while his cheeks burned. Mom wasn't wrong either, he scrubbed up well. Ryan was a good looking guy but I had never seen him put this much effort into his appearance before. It was definitely an improvement.

His hair was gelled and he was wearing a dark suit. He looked almost like a completely different person. He looked really good though. The suit was perfectly fitted to him and greatly augmented his heavily muscled body. I could feel a slight uneasiness in my stomach. There was no way he was going to fuck this one up.

"Couldn't find a tighter suit, huh?" I said to him, and he smirked.

"You have no idea how long it took me to get into it." He said with a laugh, then hugged me. His collar smelled heavily of cologne.

Our embrace ended when Mom suddenly gasped. "Oh Riley, look at you! You're gorgeous!" She squealed and brushed past me.

"Holy... shit." Ryan and I whispered together when we saw her. She was wearing a tight black dress that fell just above her knees, and drew eyes immediately to her legs. They were a shiny golden and the black, stiletto heels she was wearing made them seem to go on forever. Small straps ran from her bare shoulders and into fabric around her breasts. Her hair was curled at the ends and fell past her right shoulder, rocking to and fro with her every movement. On her lips was a pink gloss that sparkled in unison with her earrings.

I found it hard to breathe just looking at her. She looked like she had just stepped out of a movie. Mom was right. Again.

She gave a small curtsy and smiled shyly, as Mom clapped her hands excitedly and ran to hug her. After an awkward moment of Mom trying to fix the bit of Riley's hair that she had messed hugging her, she wrapped an arm around Riley's waist and turned to us, a grin on her face like the cat that got the cream. "So?" She said, "What y'all think?"

"You look amazing, Riley." Ryan said confidently, to which she gave a smile. I tried to tell her how gorgeous she was, but for some strange reason my tongue wouldn't work. I realised my jaw was hanging open but no matter what I couldn't shut it. My brain was screaming commands but my mouth wasn't receiving them. I couldn't do anything but keep eyes on her. Every time she flashed her ivory teeth, my heart gave a slight flutter.

"Jake?" Mom said, with a hint of concern, snapping me out of my daze.

"Huh? Yes?"

"I asked you how you thought Riley looked?" Her eyebrows were furrowed and she was looking at me with a certain apprehension, as if afraid I would say something I wasn't supposed to. I looked around and saw everybody was watching me expectantly, waiting for my reaction.

"Oh, uhh..." I tried to think of something to say. Just say she looks great! My inner voice bellowed, Say something! Anything! You're making yourself look like an idiot! "Uhh..." I stammered again. My cheeks were burning and I could feel a tingle in my throat. Mom was looking at me like I had gone insane, and I could see Ryan snigger in my peripheral vision. No matter what words came out of my mouth they wouldn't do her justice, anyway.

"Riley, you look... wow." Was all I could manage. I hung my head in shame the moment the words left my lips.

"Thank you." She responded softly, while looking at her feet.

"Yes, well," Mom said, "Y'all should get going. You don't want to be late for your reservation."

"I'll be back by 12." I heard Riley say before she left. As soon as I heard the front door click shut, I fell onto the couch, and put my face in my hands. What an idiot I was. I relived the moment over and over in my head, every successive time giving me more incentive to want to gouge my eyes out. I was beginning to feel like I was going insane.

"What was that?" Mom asked, with an amused tone, when she returned to the living room. She walked to the end of the couch and sat by my feet.

"What was what?" I groaned through my hands.

"The staring, the stupid smile, the babbling like a crazy person." She said, then gasped as if she had immediately realised something, "Ohmygod, you have a crush on her!"

"No, I don't!"

"Oh, please. It was obvious from the first time you met her you had a crush on her. I just didn't think it was this bad." I looked at her and saw her looking at me, her eyebrows raised as if daring me to deny it. I debated whether to or not but ended up sighing and placing my head back in my hands. I heard Mom excitedly clap her hands, "I knew it! I knew it all along! I can tell right now from the look in those big lovesick eyes! You love her!"

"Mom, please, promise me you won't tell her. I mean it, you can't tell anybody!"

She gave my leg a gentle squeeze.

"Who am I going to tell?" She said, then stood up and walked to the door. She was just about to leave, before she paused for a moment, then turned to face me, "But if I had any say in it, and I really hope that I do, I would tell you to go for it. Girls like her don't come along often. When they do, you should jump at the chance."

"You think so? But what about Ashley?"

"That's up to you." She said softly. "What do you want?"

That was the million dollar question, "I was hoping you would tell me."

"Well baby, I'd give an arm and a leg for you if I had to, but I can't tell you what you want." She said, then sighed and looked at me intently. "How about this? When you close your eyes and think of the future, of what your wedding day is like, or when you're 30 years old, who do you see there with you?"

"I've never done it before."

"Well, do it now."

I sighed and closed my eyes. I tried to think of the future, but for some reason I couldn't get Ryan's face out of my mind. It just bounced around in my head like those old computer screensavers. Just smiling and bouncing. If I didn't love him so much, I would hate him. I knew I was being petty and jealous, but the hurt in my stomach didn't.

"I can't think."

"Of course you can think. Just relax, breathe, and focus."

I shook my head, scratched it and tried again. I felt stupid. Kind of like I was in a therapists office in a movie. It made it hard to focus, but I squeezed my eyes shut, took a deep breath, and placed my hands on my stomach.

I could see myself lying in a four-poster bed. I had a goofy smirk on my face and my hands were behind my head. A strong sense of calmness radiated from me. The sheets felt cool on my skin, and I realised I wasn't wearing any clothes.

There was a figure to my left that was completely covered from sight by the bed clothes. The big lump of blankets began to shuffle slightly and I felt a leg brush along mine. Slowly, I ran my leg along it. It felt incredibly smooth, and goosebumps covered me as they touched. The body slid from under the sheets and placed a kiss on my cheek.

"Good morning, husband." She said.

"Good morning, wife." I replied, wrapping my arms around her. The heat from her body was warming my insides. I placed my fingers under her chin and brought her face up to meet mine. Her eyes twinkled as she looked at me.

"You're everything I ever wanted," I said to her, before kissing her deeply. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her on top of me.

"Well?" Mom said, waking me from my fantasy, "Who do you see?"

I opened my eyes and looked at her. She was watching me intently, waiting for my answer.

"I saw Riley."

"Well, now you have your answer."

"But what if she doesn't want me?"

"All this bickering you two have been doing since she moved in? You think she would be so angry with you if she didn't care? Baby, you might have hurt her but I see how she looks at you. Maybe, it's not too late to make it up to her. "

"Wait, you know what happened?"

"Please, baby. I'm a mother. I know everything that happens." She said matter of factly, and left.

It felt like a great weight should have been lifted from my shoulders, but if anything the opposite had happened. It felt like someone had placed bags of cement on my chest and my heart was being crushed by a vice. I was petrified that I had ruined everything between me and Riley. I couldn't figure out how I was ever going to work things out with her. I wondered whether I should even attempt to work things out with her in the first place. I mean, Ryan was my best friend. He would do anything for me and I would do anything for him. So could I really try to take her from him?

The stagnant passing of time was making my internal struggle feel infinitely worse. I couldn't ascertain whether the clock was broken or if it was just my imagination, but when it felt like hours had passed I would glance at the clock to be reminded that it had only been minutes.

I spent the night laying on the couch and staring at the television screen, never really registering exactly what was happening on it. Occasionally, a car would pull into the driveway and flood the living room with lights and I would jump to see if it was them. But it always turned out to be a car just stopping to turn around. After this had happened for the fourth time, I stopped getting excited and started to think the worst. Riley said she would be back by 12 and it was now... Only 11 o clock!? What the hell is up with that clock? Was it ticking backwards? Almost as if it heard me, the little man on it's face moved his left arm slightly clockwise and came to a halt. The constant ticking was beginning to drive me insane. Something had to be done about that clock.

I don't know if I drifted off or not, but the next thing I remember is hearing a key turn in the door and my eyelids shooting open. I sat up in my chair and tried to remedy my appearance. The arm of the couch had tousled my hair, and I could feel a painful cowlick on my crown. I fixed it as best as I could and sat back, pretending I was just watching a movie. I couldn't hear any voices at the door, and could only assume that Riley had come home alone. The front door clicked shut and I heard the clacking of heels across wood. The sounds got louder and louder until I heard the squeak of the living room door and then they suddenly stopped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anybody was still up." Riley's voice came from behind me. I heard two quick thumps, the shuffling of bare feet on carpet and then Riley collapsing onto the couch beside me. The air carried her perfume and what I assumed was some sort of fruity liquor.

"So how'd it go?" I said as calmly as I could. I didn't even look at her, I just stared at the television intently, as if I had been watching the movie from the beginning and it was the most important thing in my world right now. I wanted her to think I didn't care about her date, so I tried to pay it as cool as possible. It was a good thing she couldn't hear how fast my heart was beating in my chest.

"It was fun."

I glanced at her, but she wasn't looking at me. She was sitting directly to my right, leaning away from me. Her dress was bunched up under her and I could see the smooth skin of her thighs. Her lip gloss was gone and her hair was messy at the back, as if she had been lying down for most of the night. Paranoia put two and two together and my heart sank. It must have been a lot more fun than she let on.

"Good, I'm glad you had fun. Ryan's a good guy, isn't he?" I said, doing a terrible job of hiding the disappointment in my voice.

"Mmhmm."

Her face gave nothing away. She kept her eyes closed and her face expressionless. I had to get more details out of her. We sat in silence while I contemplated what to say. I didn't want to come off as too eager to know so I just relaxed into the chair and looked ahead.

"Was the food nice?" I eventually asked.

"Mmhmm."

"And the movie?"

"Mmh."

"What else did ya'll get up to?"

"Nothing, really."

"Nothing at all?"

When she didn't answer I turned my head and saw her staring at me. She was studying me intently, as if trying to discover the true motive behind my questioning. Her eyes were slightly glazed over and it was obvious she had been drinking. The corner of her lips curved into a smirk and her eyes narrowed slightly. I couldn't tell if the look was from amusement or because of the liquor, but it was so sexy I just wanted to ravish her right there and then.

"Did you wait up for me?" She asked, her smirk widening. Yep, definitely from amusement.

"Me? Wait up? Hardly. I'm only awake because I'm watching this movie. It's been awesome so far, I can't go to bed without seeing the ending or I'd go crazy."

She looked at the screen and then at me, her nose crinkling in confusion. "Really? It's in black and white."

"I like old movies."

"It's in Portuguese."

"I like old, Portuguese movies."

"Really? Name three."

My mind was blank.

"Okay, fine you got me. I waited up for you. But I just wanted to make sure you got home safe. For Mom's sake, more than anything. She has this weird girl crush on you. It kind of creeps me out."

She turned until she was fully facing me, crossed her left leg under her body and placed her right foot on the floor. She placed her elbow on the back of the couch and lay her head on her arm. The skirt of her dress covered her legs and I could no longer see those beautiful thighs of hers. She didn't say a word as she watched me. The look of amusement was still etched across her face. Right on cue, my cheeks began to flush.

I sighed. "When are you going to see him again?"

She shrugged. "Probably sometime soon. Not on a date, though."

"Y'all aren't going out again?"