Reversal Shot
Cornbread muffins cooling off in the top stove. Cinnamon rolls iced with confectioners sugar. Puffy white sweaters to protect our warm blooded bodies. I feel the wine sit in the bottom of my stomach at Friendsgiving dinner. Henry and Jason stare at each other, their gaze like daggers wanting to incinerate the other. Ty’s smile tells me he’s enjoying this too much.
“I’ll be right back,” I interrupt, watching as all eyes immediately turn to me. I race towards the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I look at my reflection in the misty mirror, the smell of a vanilla candle burning atop the sink. I inhale the essence like my life depends on it. Maybe it does.
Mumbeling comes from the other room. Someone broke a wine glass. I wonder who is cleaning it up. I slip out of the bathroom, leaning against the wall for a moment. I take in a deep breath, needing the air like my life depends on it. It seems I’m standing on a cliff, not knowing whether to turn right or left.
“Was our kiss that bad you rushed off on another date already?” Jason asks, his voice slipping into mix with the vanilla bean. My eyes widen to see him approaching, his charming face inching too close to mine. I suck in a breath.
“No, not at all,” I tell him. “It was amazing.”
“You like him?”
“I don’t know.”
“You like me?”
“Yes,” I breathe, watching as he grabs me, colliding our lips together. The mint bubblegum and magic surprise me again, but this time it’s mixed with nutmeg as well. He must have had hot chocolate today. I gasp in surprise as he pushes my body against the wall, running his hands up and down my torso. I feel like lightning bugs are running all across my skin. He pulls back, a strand of hair failing in front of his eyes. I move to fix it.
The radio far away changes. Ty’s making Oliver tell the story of how they first met. Henry’s probably getting impatient. Cinnamon taints the air.
“That kiss convince you to get rid of the other guy?” Jason asks, still holding me close. I feel like I can drop into a puddle in front of him, my water translucent and reflective. My skin feels warm all over. Like a fire is lighting beneath my legs.
“It was pretty convincing,” I tell him, my smile widening on my face. I can feel myself grinning like a fool and yet I’ve never cared less. Jason tugs on a piece of my hair, twirling it in his fingers.
“I want you all to myself, no sharing,” He tells me, leaning in to let me taste him again. This time it’s soft, like a feather kissing my lips instead of him. The second his hands are on me I feel like my insides are going to explode.
“Shoulda figured you’d both be over here,” Ty interrupts, that classic smug smile stuck to his lips. If you looked close enough, I’m sure you could see it’s tattooed on there. Jason pulls back, looking at Ty, who just chuckles now. Laughter erupts from afar. The radio is already playing Christmas music. Someone’s grabbing their coat.
“Henry’s wondering where you ran off to,” He adds. I sigh, leaning my head against the wall in thought. I’m too kind to shut Henry completely down.
“Let me go check on him,” I suggest, beginning to walk away, but my hand is caught in Jason’s. He pulls me back, our bodies moving like magnets who are supposed to connect. Gravity.
“Dawn, I want to see where things go with you,” Jason pleads, fixing another piece of hair. “Don’t make me compete. You know I’d win.”
“And he’s confident too. You keep surprising me,” Ty jokes, still standing there. He doesn’t move, he’s stitched into the carpet like he’s supposed to be there.
“Ty, leave,” I tell him, watching as he sighs, stalking back to his boyfriend. He’s exactly where he should be. And I’m just wondering if I am.
“Are you confident you’d win over him?”
“Baby, don’t make me brag. I know I would,” Jason explains. He’s looking at me now with those blue sapphire eyes, the ones that have been haunting me in my dreams all week. I wake up just wanting to go asleep again so I can dream all over.
“So me getting dinner with him once wouldn’t be a problem then?”
“You really want to?” He asks.
“He’s been crushing me since we were kids. If I just give him one night, he’ll stop asking,” I explain, feeling Jason’s blue fire heat eyes on me. Coffee begins to brew in the kitchen. Sugar packets mixing into the caffeine. Midnight cookies taken out of the freezer. “You’re too nice, aren’t you?”
“I’ll be thinking about you the whole time,” I say, running my hands through his hair. It feels perfect under my touch.
“You better not forget about me,” He pleads, inching forward to kiss me one more time. The mint pulls me. I soften underneath him. His hands brush up against my most intimate parts. I sigh into him as he whispers into my ear, “Promise me, baby.”
“I promise,” I murmur back. Pumpkin spice swirls in the air. The door just brought in more cold wind. Dishes are getting loaded into the sink. I look into Jason’s deep eyes, and know I’m done for.