GTA

I scrambled around the apartment, trying to find some clean clothes. It had been a while since laundry day, and there were boxes upon boxes in the bedroom filled with folded dirty laundry in an attempt to make the negligence seem a bit less daunting.

“Hey, have you seen…anything I could wear?” I called out to my roommate in desperation. A rattling laugh filled the living room, and when I turned the corner my best friend was looking up from her book with an amused expression on her face. “Are you nervous?” Lily asked. I nodded reluctantly.

“I haven’t slept in ages, and I’m so weirded out, man.” I said, diving back into the piles of clothing on the bed. Lily got up and walked into the bedroom, her hands busy rolling a joint. She had this look she’d get when we both knew we were in trouble, and held her hand out offering her shoddy piece of art. “Dude, I can’t, it’s the fucking first date.” I shook my head, but somehow felt like I was simultaneously nodding, accepting the joint. I walked back into the living room, crashing down on the couch “I’m not even wearing clothes yet.”

Half an hour later everything seemed less important, as I pulled my coat on and left the apartment. I stumbled my way to the cinema, and arrived slightly late as my date had already picked up tickets and a box of popcorn. All I could think about was to keep it together just enough to get through the first hour without talking too much, and hopefully no one would be wiser. We sat in the back and didn’t really have time to say much before the previews were over and the movie started. I found it hard to focus on the plot, and kept laughing loudly in all the wrong places, feeling self conscious suddenly. Bridget Jones stumbled around on the beach, having ingested a handful of mushrooms, and it was the most hilarious thing that could happen on this particular night. With a mouth full of popcorn I asked if my date was having fun, but couldn’t really make out the answer.

The cold air felt amazing as we walked toward the subway station, and I felt lightheaded still. This night has clearly gone awry, so I wanted to make up for it somehow. Earlier that night I’d made plans to meet another girl I had been casually seeing, so that I could call things off before it went any further. This thing seemed right, and I wanted my date to know I would be making it exclusive. “Hey, you know what, this was fun. I’m gonna have to go now, I’m meeting Cat.” I said, and my words clearly didn’t come across as the meaningful statement I had meant them to be, my date seemingly disappointed. Still, I couldn’t quite find another way to explain at the moment, so I settled with a hug goodbye and walked off toward the bar.

It was still early in the night as far as bars go, and the room was quite empty except for a few regulars. I found an empty table by the window and sat down with my newly acquired beer, waiting for Cat to arrive. My eyes shifted around the room looking for the bathrooms, forgetting they were hidden behind a bookshelf in the very back. I felt extremely distracted, trying to make sense of my own train of thought when a familiar face appeared by the entrance. As usual, I couldn’t help cracking up into a giant smile and got up to hug Cat as she approached the table.

“Hey you! How was your night?” she asked and I blurted out the events of my recent parting with my date at the movies. Cat looked confused, her eyebrows slightly furled as she listened to a nonstop stream of incoherent words. “Oookay. I’m going to go get a drink.” she finally said and walked over to the bar. I suddenly realised my plan may have been slightly terrible and tried to get myself together. When Cat returned, I wasted no time explaining the motive behind the invitation. “Oh…” Cat stared at the candle holder on the small table, and took another sip of her drink. I felt like I had confidently gone into a game of Jenga, swiftly yanking a piece out from the middle and now watching the tower topple over in slow motion. I couldn’t quite figure out where everything went wrong, but I had a hunch. We exchanged a few pleasantries as Cat finished her drink, and I followed her outside when she announced she should get back home.

I lit a cigarette. watching Cat walk away, and sat down at an outside table shaking my head to myself. I picked up my phone to message Lily, found it unresponsive and cursed under my breath. “Rough night?” A tall and handsome stranger appeared to my right. “I don’t even know where to begin…” I laughed, my head just now starting to clear up. We sat there for a while, sharing stories, drinks and cigarettes and he eventually asked if I wanted to come back to his to see his piranhas. How could I say no?

We arrived at his place minutes later, only a short walk from the bar. He lived above a well renowned Italian restaurant, and explained that he owned it. I was quite impressed. “So, you don’t actually have piranhas though?” I asked. He smirked and guided me into his narrow living room, lit up by a giant aquarium. There they were, their pointy tiny teeth sticking out from the bottom of their jaws. I was in awe. “Wow, that’s amazing.” I muttered, as he lit a joint and passed it to me. He mixed an awful drink and I sat down in his black leather sofa. He walked over to a cheesy IKEA bookshelf and when he returned, he held out an empty box of matches. “Wanna share?” I stared into the box. “What is it?” I asked, picking up the tiny white pill from the box. “Extacy.” he announced. He plucked it out from between my thumb and index finger, and set it down on a mirror, splitting it in half with a knife. Well, how could this night get any weirder, I thought and washed my half down with the bitter drink.

“Wanna play GTA?” he said.

GTA did not work the same way Tekken did, I concluded after profusely mashing buttons for a good while. My avatar looked like he was having some kind of indecisive seizure in the middle of the road next to a beaten up car, and I broke out in hysterical laughter at the absurdity of it all. “I think I have to go.” I told him. He smiled at me, and I was surprised that he didn’t seem remotely angry or annoyed. My experiences in this city had taught me to expect that much. He walked me to the door and kissed both my cheeks as he bid me goodnight. His soft lips felt like fireworks against my skin, or against my mind. I searched my bag for the mp3 player and pulled my headset over my head as I made pirouettes down the stairs of his apartment building. Walking into the starlit night, I could feel the full effect of magic overtake my entire being. Every single thing was full of love. The music, the night sky, the taxis passing by as I danced down the street back home. I’d never felt such pure bliss, like an explosion that just kept happening.

As I carefully jiggled the keys into the lock, the apartment door flew open and Lily was stood on the inside in her underwear. “Where the FUCK have you been?!”