Page 40 of Bullet
“That’s the thing, I don’t really getanysenses. Not in the romantic sense, like I know I like her, and I know she likes me, but the rest of her is sort of an enigma.” I ran a hand through my hair. “She doesn’t give any signs that it’s serious or that it isn’t. She’s just kind of even-mannered. I don’t want to bethatguy, but I wish I just knew for sure that I wasn’t wasting my time. That going ahead with her a third time wasn’t a mistake.”
“So, you just have to ask her,” Seneca said. “Not just women, but people in general, arefarmore receptive to honesty than you might think. Don’t be weird about it, just tell her you’re checking in, want to know if she’s still feeling good about you guys, and be honest that her ambiguity freaks you out a little. We can only expect our partners to meet our needs if they know what they are.”
“That makes sense. So, I just say it? I don’t have to say it in any special kind of way?” I asked.
“Nah. I’ve only seen Celia a few times, but she doesn’t strike me as a fluffy kind of lady. Straight to the point is best. Don’t be cold about it, just be upfront.”
“Okay, I can do that. Thanks,” I said.
“Yeah.”
“So…” A smile found my face. “You and Avery?”
She recoiled. “Whaaat?” Her voice got an octave higher and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Shut up.”
“So, you like him, too?” I asked.
“Too?”
Ah, shit.I’d end up paying for that slip-up at some point. “I mean, he hasn’t confirmed it to me or anything, but I know him pretty well. I see the way he looks at you, and believe me when I say this, Avery doesn’t even know that hours before lunchtime exist. I saw him at the bar at seven AM and I nearly fell over. Then you came waltzing through the door and it all made sense.”
She chuckled. “Well then, today is just a good day for me all round.”
“So, how long before we can double date?” I asked.
Again, she sputtered on her coffee. “I’m gonna go with never, but thanks.”
“Never? Why?” I asked.
“Because, at the risk of sounding like your girl, I’m not really a commitment type. Relationships just don’t go well for me. It’s not even that I don’t trust men or anything like that, it’s just that nine times out of ten, I don’t get what I see. I develop feelings for someone thinking they’re one way, then they turn around and they’re the complete opposite. It just got exhausting trying to navigate. I gave dating apps and stuff a try and it was more of the same. Finally, I just gave up. It’s easiest for everyone if we get what we need and get out before anyone gets hurt.”
It was an odd sentiment coming from someone who had just given me sound long-term relationship advice, but her lack of good experiences had colored her view when it came to herself. “Avery’s not like that,” I said. “I’ve never met someone who presents a more genuine version of themselves, and honestly, I think he’s just a little too thick to do anything other than that. Don’t get me wrong, Avery is incredibly intelligent, like it’ll shock you, but he’s also kind of a dope. That’s why the only thing he can do is present his most honest self. It just comes naturally. I think it’s a virtue more than a flaw.”
“You know, I kind of got that sense with him,” Seneca said. “Maybe that’s why I’m staying away from him. If he’s so good at just purely being himself, the last thing he needs is for jaded ol’ me to come in muddying things up.”
“Well, I’m in no position to give advice, so I won’t, but if you ever need someone to put in a good word for you with him, I’ve got you covered.”
She smiled at me. “Thanks.”
We sat for a few more hours, enjoying a couple more cups of coffee, and then we decided to go our separate ways for the day.
“This was fun,” Seneca said. “Can we do it again sometime?”
“Yeah,” I responded, “I’d like that a lot.”
With that, she kicked on her bike and pulled off onto the road, leaving a wake of good old-fashioned Arizona dust behind her, bound for the bar for a long day of prospecting, and I decided to play hooky and go home to rest for my date. It wasn’t just going to be a fun-filled day of rollercoasters and junk food, but I was actually going to try my hand at Seneca’s relationship advice and see exactly how Celia felt about us.
Chapter Fifteen
Celia
Due to the fact that Hoppa, Arizona was a smaller town, there were no theme parks located within the city limits. Bars and restaurants were about all one had for entertainment there, although there was also a mall and a movie theater, but anyone looking for any actual thrills had to travel to the nearest big city. Hoppa was about three hours from Phoenix, Arizona’s capital, but about halfway between Hoppa and Phoenix, was the smaller, but still bustling city of Anukasan, which meant eagle in Lakota. It had just debuted a new theme park and Harry planned a date to go and check it out.
That meant two things for which I was very excited.
The first, was that I was going to get to saddle up against Harry for a little over an hour as we made our way to Anukasan. I was well aware of the fact that it was Harry and his bike that got my father killed, but whenever I was on his bike, he handled it like a champ and there was little I loved more than the wind in my hair while I had my arms wrapped around Harry’s waist. Most rides in Hoppa felt too short to me since everything was so close, so the long ride would be refreshing and welcome.
The second was the fact that we were going to a theme park specifically. I was a thrill-seeker by nature, but Hoppa didn’t have many thrills. Harry had been a huge thrill for me the past couple of months, but I was excited for a chance to turn my guts inside out. It’d been since before my dad died that I had been to a theme park and I was really looking forward to it.
