Present Perfect(72)

Over her shoulder she said, “Amanda, the asshat’s here.”

“It’s always such a pleasure to see you too, Lisa,” Matt said sarcastically. “Hey Stick.”

That was his nickname for me. He thought I was stick thin. He gave it to me one night after we had slept together.

Rolling off of me he said, “Fucking you is like f*cking a stick. Hey, I just stuck my stick into a stick. That’s your nickname, Stick.”

He thought it was hilarious. I hated it. In fact, I cringed every time he said it.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” he asked.

“Yeah. Why?” I had on jeans, a blue sweater, and my black and gray peacoat.

“It would be nice if you fixed yourself up sometimes. Danielle always looks hot even when we’re just at rehearsal.”

Danielle was the female lead in the play Matt was in.

“I think I look nice,” I said.

“Nice is stretching it a bit. You look okay.”

Out the corner of my eye, I could see Lisa gearing up to let him have it. I quickly grabbed his elbow and rushed out the door before there was a bloodbath.





Like most young girls, I bought into the fantasy of finding Prince Charming, your knight in shining or plastic armor, your hero. You’re told that one day, you will find him and your world will be filled with rainbows, pink ponies, and lollipop fields.

The thing no one ever mentions is the definition of “fantasy”. By the time you figure out that rainbows are rare, pink ponies don’t exist, and lollipops don’t grow out of the ground, you’re screwed. You kiss frog after frog waiting for him to turn into a prince, but a frog only knows how to be a frog.





It was the weekend before Thanksgiving break. One of the fraternities, I never knew which one threw the parties I went to, had one final big blowout before we all left for the holiday. As usual, the people were packed in the house like sardines, the music was loud, and the beer was flowing freely.

Matt and I had been there for about an hour and we were already pretty drunk. We made our way around the house, stopping to chat with some friends. Actually, Matt chatted with his friends. I was so happy when I finally found Lisa in the crowd. She was as drunk as I was.

“A-MAN-DAAAA!!” she yelled, wobbling towards me.

We hugged each other like old friends who hadn’t seen one another in years.

“I love this girl! She’s my girl! Not in a lesbionic way. Fellas, I’m still up for grabs and grabbin’!” she slurred.

“You’re so drunk.”

“Damn straight, baby. I’m seeing three of you right now. Hey, where’s asshat?”

“He’s right behind me.” I turned to grab Matt’s hand, but he wasn’t there. “He must be getting us another drink or talking with someone,” I said.

Just then a strong muscular tattooed arm snaked around Lisa’s waist, pulling her back against a chiseled naked chest. The guy buried his head in the crook of her neck and started kissing it. She let her head fall back on to his tatted shoulder.

“Who is that?” I asked in a loud voice.

“I have no idea, but I’m about to find out.”

She turned and faced him. He picked her up, her legs wrapped around him, and they disappeared into the crowd.

Two more beers and forty-five minutes later, I was still looking for Matt with no luck. I passed Lisa and her tattooed mystery man twice. I didn’t know if she ever found out his name, but from the looks of it, she was getting to know him very well.

I was tired and ready to leave with or without Matt. I would just walk back to my dorm. I staggered through the crowd heading for the door when I felt a hand grab my arm and jerk me back. I fell into Matt’s arms.

“Where have you been?” I asked.

“Right here.”

His eyes were glazed over and he had a permanent grin painted on his face. He backed me up into a corner and started feeling his way up and down my body while kissing my neck.

“Matt, are you high?”

“Just a little,” he said against my skin. I could smell it on him now that we weren’t in the middle of the crowd. I pulled away slightly. “That’s why you left me, to go get high?”

“No. I left you because I saw Danielle. She looked awesomely hot. I needed to ask her something.”

“For almost an hour?” I asked, getting more annoyed.

He took a handful of my hair and studied it. “Have you ever thought about getting those highlighty thingys in your hair like Danielle? They might make you look hot.” I shoved on his chest, but he didn’t budge. “…er, hotter. I forgot the er.” He started laughing as he leaned into me, taking my lower lip into his mouth. Then I heard it.

“Everything” by Lifehouse floated through the room and hit my ears. I jerked my head away from Matt. I had to get out of there. I hadn’t listened to that song in over five months.

“Matt, stop it. I want to go.”

“Well, I don’t. I want to take you in the bedroom and f*ck your brains out. Come on.”

He grabbed my wrist and started tugging me through the crowd towards the back of the house. I struggled to pull my arm free.

“Matt, I don’t want to!” I yelled.

“Come on Stick. Don’t be mad because I hooked up with Danielle a little bit. She primed me up. All you got to do is lay there.” The grip he had on me had gotten so tight my arm started to burn. “You want me to get rough with you like before? You liked that. I know you did.”