Driftwood (End)
The two of you watch a movie. It’s “Can’t Hardly Wait”. You really don’t know what made you choose to watch that movie but you like it and both of you agree it’s nothing like real life. A few beers deep and Morgan decides she wants to take shots. You tell her you have to work tomorrow but she’s convincing and, against your better judgment, you submit to her and the whiskey. You only take a couple, the both of you, but a couple of shots on a belly filled only with beer is a mixture made for mistake. But it’s fun. You’re fun together. You talk about the ocean and what it might be like to breathe underwater. She says she’d rather be able to fly than breathe underwater. You tend to agree with her. Sharks scare you. But what if there were dinosaurs still, you say. Would you fly then? She says yes.
The ones that fly, they don’t eat meat, right?
I don’t know. I think so.
So I wouldn’t have to worry about them.
But if they ate meat you wouldn’t fly?
No, I’d probably still fly but I’d need a weapon to carry.
Like a spear or something.
Yeah, or maybe some kind of slingshot.
You wouldn’t know how to use a thing like that.
What’s there to know? It’s a slingshot.
You’d still find a way to muck it up.
Muck it up? Every time you drink you talk like an old man.
I’m an old soul, what can I say.
You can not say muck it up.
You like it.
Only a little.
You flirt with Morgan like that for a bit more. Cautious and playful and because you’re both drunk and it’s fun. At some point in the night she curls up to you and you put your arm around her. There’s something on the television but you’re not really paying attention. She says she thinks we would be good together. Maybe it’s the alcohol talking, you think. She says she thought about it and would give it a try but that she wouldn’t want to ruin the friendship. You don’t think that it would, but you can understand her concern and agree. You tell her that she looked beautiful in her dress. It’s a slip in demeanor for you and you hadn’t planned on mentioning it. Waiting for her response your heart begins to beat faster. In reality it’s only seconds in between your words and hers, but in your head the gaps seems too grand. All she says is thank you. You didn’t really expect anything more and why would you. She looks at you and smiles and you look back, racing heart, with the notion that you’re going to kiss her. But you don’t. You can’t.
It’s really hard for me to not kiss you right now.
Why would you do such a thing?
Because I’m drunk.
That’s no good.
It really isn’t.
I wouldn’t mind if you did.
I’m trying to be a gentleman.
Those don’t exist anymore.
Last of a dying breed right here.
You’re so modest.
I’m really just an asshole.
But you’re not kissing me.
That’s a fact.
You’re something else.
I’ll take that as a compliment.
But she doesn’t let you dwell on it and, in a single moment, the two of you are kissing on her couch. You think this is a bad idea, that in the morning you’ll regret it, but you can’t stop now. She doesn’t stop either. Your hands roam from curve to curve and the two of you breathe heavily. But that’s where it ends. After the initial excitement you stop because you know it’s going to lead to a place you can’t go. She looks at you again with big eyes and a smile to level. She says, I’m sorry and you say it too.
That got heated quick.
I don’t regret it.
Neither do I.
I wish we didn’t stop.
I know.
I like you, Morgan.
I like you back.
Well now there’s that.
You lay there on the couch for a moment, still entwined, your arm around her. She lies on your chest and falls asleep and you think you have no idea what the Hell is going on. But you go with it because you don’t want to drive home. You’re happy there with her and the fear and concern that this isn’t a good idea disappears and all you do is enjoy it. Morgan is a good person and she gets you and you get her. Closing your eyes you think, whatever happens it’ll be okay.
In your dream there is water below you and the sky is clear. As you walk across the beach you see dolphins in the waves. A man walks up to you and asks you if you’ve seen his dog. You haven’t and so he asks you to keep an eye out for him. It’s a German Shepherd named Dino. You tell him that you will and wish him luck in finding his friend. As you keep walking Morgan appears in front of you from the patio. She’s smiling and saying something to you about food. You tell her you already ate but that you’d love to hang out anyway. She says you should come and see her new flying car. You say they don’t make flying cars and she says that it’s a secret car she got from the government. That doesn’t make any sense, you think, but you go with her anyway. You’re standing in front of a garage now but it’s not open. You ask her if she’s going to open it but she just looks at you and winks. There’s no flying car, is there, you say. She laughs and says you fell for it. You tell her that you didn’t fall for anything and she says that you fell for her. I fell hard, you say, and you smile and run your fingers through her hair. You tell her you saw some dolphins earlier and ask her if she wants to walk down to the pier. She says yes and the two of you turn toward the ocean, her arm wrapped around yours, and walk into the sunlight.
The end.
