“Come on, take your best shot!”
With this, Andrew winds up and then gives me his best punch on my jaw. I hear something crack and there’s a sharp pain at the hinge of my jaw. I take a deep breath and then move my jaw around to see if it’s broken.
“Next time you take a shot at me, you’re going to regret it.”
There’s something inside me that just snaps. I don’t like to be challenged. I step back, get my balance, and then lunge at Andrew.
We both fall on the floor and wrestle each other. Andrew smacks me with his hand, and I laugh. This enrages him more, and he grabs my head and bangs it on the floor. I’m not going to take this, so I use all my body weight to swing him underneath me.
All the things I learned in jr. high wrestling come back to me. I pin his body to the point where he can’t move. He is desperately trying to get loose; I don’t let him.
“Dylan, get the fuck off of me!” Andrew hisses.
I want to continue beating this man, but then I remember that we have a flight together to Athens Greece in two hours. I give him a medium punch in the gut, and I get off of him. As I walk away, I can still hear Andrew gasping for air.
Was there a real reason for beating up Andrew? Who was I really angry at? Andrew is my very best friend. We have been through a lot together. Why did I raise my hand to him and say all of those awful things?
It’s just the way that Hazel looked at me before she walked out of my life. She was angry but underneath that anger, I could tell that she was really hurting. The Bang Book made her feel cheap and used.
What were we doing adding up points for sexual acts? I don’t know why I ever thought that was okay. Sex shouldn’t be turned into some kind of game; it should be a respected act. Being with Hazel has brought all of these feelings out in me that I’ve never felt before.
I want to be with her and not score any points in that damn book. The real reward is in being with a creature so beautiful and so sensual. It would serve me right if she never talked to me again. The more I think on the subject, the more I convince myself that I was never worthy of her.
But what about Andrew? Have I ruined our friendship over this? It’s not fair that I put the whole thing on him.
As I walk through the airport, I think of all the things I have to make right. Hopefully, I won’t lose my best friend and the most amazing woman I have ever met in my life.