Infidelity

13

When my shift ends, I notice that he still hasn't touched the bottle.

"Good boy. I like when you listen to me", I tease him.

He takes the bottle, opens it and he drinks almost half of the whiskey. I sometimes forget that he thrives on antagonizing me.

"I love it when you drive. It puts me into one peaceful sleep", he gives me a foolish smile.

"I don't want to drive your car", I tell him.

"Why? Do you want us to get arrested? Is that on your bucket list?", He waves the bottle in the air.

God I just hate him.

You love hating him.

I imagine my subconscious sticking her tongue out at me like a childish little kid. I ignore her anyway. Mostly because she's right.

"I don't know how to get to your place", I regret the words as soon as I utter them. I'm really not good at coming up with excuses and this one is really weak.

"I'm good at giving directions", he finishes the rest of the whiskey.

"Fine", I say. I'm obviously defeated.

He hands me the keys.

He keeps looking at me whilst I'm driving. This makes me a bit nervous. I concentrate on the road but I can still feel his stares.

               ***

We finally make it to his house.

"Make yourself at home. I'll just warm up the food real quick", he gestures for me to take a seat.

I don't hesitate.

"Can I help?", I ask him.
"No. You've had a long day. Just sit back and relax", he says.

"You cooked?"

He gasps and acts as if I've just offended him. He exaggerated each and every one of his movements.

"No. I conjured it with my magic wand", he's so dramatic.
"No. You hired someone to cook for you"

"Oh my, the nerve!!", He exclaims.

The food is really nice and the conversation is nice too. Nothing deep. It's just small talk about how our days went.

He doesn't go into detail as much as I do though. He keeps his answers short and his stories are a brief summary.

I think he doesn't like talking that much unless of course when he is taunting me.

Maybe he just doesn't like talking about himself.

He clears the table after dinner. He refuses my help, still. He brings the dessert. Ice cream. Homemade ice cream.

"Are you sure you're not a chef?", I ask him.
"Of course I am. Self taught and self made", he winks at me and I laugh.

He asks me if I'd like to watch a movie and I agree to one since it's a school night.

I insist on helping out with the popcorn.

We both begin to yawn halfway through the movie.

"Let me put you to sleep", he tries carrying me but we both fall.

We laugh at each other. I could do this everyday.

"It's fine, I'll take the couch", I say whilst yawning.

"No. I refuse"
"I can't have you sleeping on the floor in your own house"

"You're far too kind. I really don't mind but there are plenty of rooms in this house if you don't want mine.", I think he's teasing me but something about his face tells me otherwise.

He tries lifting me again but it's hopeless.

"You're such a gentleman", I tease him. "Don't worry about me, I can walk. I'll even crawl if I have to. You must be ready exhausted."

He nods. He leads me to the room. He directs me to the kitchen before leaving.

"You sure you don't need a bedtime story?!", He shouts from a distance.
"No!", I shout back.

"You're not afraid of the dark?!"
"No!"

"You don't want a goodnight kiss?!"
"Oh please just stop it!"

"Remember you didn't say  "no". Sweet dreams and beautiful nightmares. Don't let the bedbugs bite!!"

I laugh to myself. What on earth have I brought into my life?