Ordinary Amy Chapter Six and Seven (Patreon)

Chapter Six

A girl walks into a park. She’s terrified. She knows she’s cute, and she can’t wait to show off her outfit, but she’s scared of people, socializing. She never seems to do it right. She walks down a winding path that leads from the parking lot toward a covered picnic area.  Smoke rises from a grill, and she can smell charcoal and roasting burgers. There are so many people there, and– oh! That’s Matt at the grill, and he’s wearing a big, puffy white chef’s hat, and he sees her and waves, smiles. “Amy!” He yells

Amy smiles and makes a small wave back, hand close to her body.

“Get on down here and join the fun!” Matt shouts, and he seems right in his element, grilling, surrounded by his friends.

Amy makes her way to Matt. He steps away from the grill to give her a quick hug and a kiss.  He smells like smoke. “You look great,” he says, brushing a strand of hair away from Amy’s face, his knuckles just grazing her cheek.

“Oh, thanks,” Amy giggles, blushing, dropping his eyes. “You look cute in your little chef’s hat!”

“I was going to go for the big one,” Matt says, picking up on the irony, “but I didn’t want to seem ostentatious.” He touches Amy on the elbow. “Hey, I gotta stay here and keep this meat from burning. You gonna be okay?”

Amy nods, but his eyes are wide and full of fear at the thought of just– mingling. Matt sees it, and then he says, “You know what? Jill?  Hey, Jill?”

A bubbly blonde in a flowing summer dress comes over. “Yeah?”

“Amy, meet Jill. Jill, Amy.”

Amy reaches out as if to shake hands, but finds himself immediately smothered in a warm, loving hug.  “Hey!” Jill says. “Omigod, you’re so pretty!”

“This is Amy’s first time meeting our little crew, would you?”

“Of course!” Jill says, grabbing Amy’s hand and dragging him toward the crowd gathered under the shelter. “Come on!”

Amy follows, and it’s all hugs and air kisses and hey how are you and tell me about yourself and Amy mostly just smiles and nods and asks questions, but everyone keeps asking him about him. No one asks him about the flesh world, and no one talks about it at all. Everyone just shares what they do here in Mindstrike, who they are here, and Amy can only tell them a little because she’s so new, but everyone is excited when they hear she’s a newbie and they are all so sure she will love life in Mindtrike and love it and love it some more…

A spark ignites in Amy’s heart. Just a little flickering flame, but it grows bigger, hotter and soon it spreads through his whole body, and it’s a strange and even frightening feeling, because for the first time in his life he feels like he belongs, that these are good people, and he likes them, and they like him, and it’s so easy…

They play frisbee golf… volleyball… Amy is terrible, just as poor an athlete here as in the real world, but no one cares. It’s all in fun, and the usual hyper-competitive people who can turn chewing gum into a life and death battle are not here; they aren’t Matt’s kind of people. Amy forgets himself, his self-consciousness, his terror at being judged.  It’s a relief, a new kind of freedom he’s never experienced, and as the sun sets later in the day, he finds himself on a picnic table bench, curled up against Matt, feeling safe and cozy in his arms. People are heading out. A grinning ranger drives by on a scooter to tell them the park will be closing soon.

Amy is not surprised when Matt asks him if he wants to come back to his place for a nightcap.

Amy gazes up at Matt, Amy’s eyes wide and bleary.  He’s falling in love. He’s definitely falling in love. “I would love that,” he says, giving Matt’s hand a squeeze.

They fast-travel back to Matt’s apartment.  Neither one wants to drive. As soon as they materialize, Matt’s all over Amy, kissing, caressing, unbuttoning his shorts, pushing them down over his hips.

“Wait,” Amy says, pushing Matt’s groping fingers away, though he craves their touch. He steps away, turns his back, plays with his hair.

“What’s wrong?”

Amy turns. “In the real world, I’m not– I think you should know…?”

Matt waits. He nods. Tell me, his body language says. I’m listening.

“I’m a guy. In the real world. I don’t want you to find out later, I just think you should…” Amy starts crying. He’s sure Matt will hate him now, will be disgusted.

Matt takes Amy in his arms, hugs him tight, and then he whispers it in Amy’s ear, the most wonderful and terrifying phrase Amy has ever heard come from the mouth of a man: “I love you.”

“You don’t really know me,” Amy says, trying to push Matt away, wanting to run. Love. He has craved it his whole life, and now that he’s found love, it strikes him like a hammer, and he wants to run, to flee, it’s too much. “I should go.”

Matt doesn’t let go. He holds Amy tight, until Amy stops pushing and collapses against Matt, sobbing, sobbing uncontrollably. “If you knew who I really am, you would hate me,” Amy manages to say between sobs.

Matt leads Amy to the couch and they sit.  He holds Amy’s hands, tight, and looks him right in the eyes.  There’s a smile on his face: beatific. “Tell me,” he says. “Tell me everything.”

“You’ll hate me,” Amy says.

“Maybe I will,” Matt says, and Amy feels like he’s been punched in the gut. “But there’s only one way to find out. Tell me. Tell me everything.”

Matt’s eyes are soft, kind, loving.

Amy frowns, pruning up his face. Fine, he thinks, fine. I’ll tell him everything and prove just how wrong he is, just how much of a freak he’s gotten involved with.  It all pours out of Amy, then, freak, outcast… “I’m fat and disgusting…” he spits, “I have no friends and even my parents hate me…”

Matt’s eyes are wet as he listens, and then the tears rise and pour down his cheeks. “Oh, my God,” he says, shaking his head.

Confused, Amy shakes his head.

“You poor girl,” Matt says. And then he pulls Amy’s head against his chest and says, “I love you… I love you… I love you…”

Chapter Seven

“You don’t hate me?” Amy says in a broken voice.  They are both crying now, and when she draws her head from Matt’s chest she sees only the soft, blurry outlines of his face.

The apartment goes dark, and then the candles appear all around them, flickering. Matt’s tear smudged face draws closer, and Amy feels Matt’s salty lips cover his own. He kisses back, pushing forward, answering the needs of his body and his mind. He’s been so lonely. Matt is patient, gentle… hands… lips… flesh pressed on flesh… soft sighs and deep grunts… hair and legs entwined… and when Matt enters Amy with a hard, commanding thrust, Amy feels like they have never been so close… and he throws his head back and cries out… and omigod!

After, they kiss and nuzzle, and Amy drifts off to a blissful sleep, curled up in a corner of the couch, hugging her legs to her chest, whispering, “he loves me.”

****

They sit on the porch, enjoying the morning breeze, sipping from steaming cups of coffee. Amy wears Matt’s robe, his scent all envelopes her.

“I want you to move in with me,” Matt says.

Fear. Once more, Amy is presented with something she’s always wanted, and once more, she’s afraid. “I–  I’m not sure.”

“Amy,” Matt says. “I know this is all hard for you, but I am going to make you a promise right now.”

He stops there, lets the phrase hang in the air as he sips from his mug.  For the first time, Amy notices the mug reads, “Yes.” She waits for Matt to finish, but he just flashes a Cheshire cat grin and raises an eyebrow. The breeze tussles Amy’s hair. She squeezes the mug in her own hands.

“Tell me,” Amy finally says.

Matt leans forward and whispers in her ear.  A Jet passes overhead, the roar of the engines threatening to drown out his words. A pigeon flies down and lands on the balcony railing, turning its head to the side.

Amy smiles, and the tears come once more, rolling down her cheeks, and they are tears of joy, freedom, release.

“Yes,” she says.

The pigeon flaps its wings and rises, rises, gliding off into the clear blue sky, rising and rising toward the soft golden rays of the morning sun.

The End