“We’re heading out.” Kari repeated, this time placing me in her ear and rounding up all my things to put them away. Still somewhat half asleep, I was a little delayed in asking her anything until it finally dawned on me. After grabbing my phone (I basically kept the thing on my person at all times by this point), I texted her asking what exactly was going on.

“We’re going out.” She repeated a third time. “Tonight I’m dropping you off so we’re gonna do something nice before that.”

Well that was certainly all well and good but what did she have in mind exactly?

As it would turn out, “Heading out.” Meant going to the local 7-11, buying a few drinks and snacks, then driving over to a Red Box and picking up a few movies for a movie night. I expected, I don’t know, dinner, movies, maybe the beach? Though I guess my size ruled out all of those huh? Damn. Still, it was better than nothing I guess. I mean, it was still me and Kari being alone. Though last time we did a movie night…Well that mistake wouldn’t be happening again. That’s for sure. To be honest I was surprised she decided on this. It really felt like we were both biding time until I left to the next place. Not helping was the awkward tension you could cut with a knife.

More importantly this felt like my last chance, my last chance to win her back and my last chance to try and work through this wall between us. As much as it tore me apart inside I could deal with not dating Kari. I just wanted to at least go back to the lighthearted banter we had before we dated. Basically, I wanted an end to the totally reasonable awkwardness we had with each other for no other reason than it sucked.

Fast forward the hour or two it took to get everything Kari deemed necessary for movies and we were back in her living room in the all-too familiar positions of her laying on her couch and me on the table in front of her. On the screen was a superhero movie we both loved. Though since we had both seen it so many times before we were able to make fun of it the entire time. It wasn’t a conversation but it was at least better than strict silence while watching. It was fun, light-hearted, just the kind of thing I wanted. A definite baby step in the right direction.

After the first movie, during the switch between them, I finally spoke somewhat seriously. “Hey Kari?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

She put in the disc and turned around with a straight face, nonchalantly replying “Anytime.”

“No seriously. I…Things have been rough lately and this means a lot to me.” She didn’t reply but she didn’t do anything to make me stop either. She only listened. “I don’t say it enough but you mean the world to me. You…Kristen…Jaz…I think I would’ve gone crazy without you.”

Kari walked over to the table and leaned near me. Her titanic face loomed over like a mountain-sized blimp with two large, brown eyes staring intently at me. A finger gently poked over the edge of the table, slowly and considerately touching my back in what was probably the Micro version of patting it. “You always try to hold everything in…Don’t worry so much. Everything’s going to be okay Robby.”

Somehow, her saying that really made it feel like that was the case. “I hope so.”

“I know so.”

“How?”

One of her hands brushed her hair back and leaned onto the table, both of her eyes narrowed down at me. “Because you’re one of the smartest, sweetest people I know. And you deserve to be happy. I’m going to make sure of it.”

I laughed. “Good luck doing that if I wind up going to Europe or something.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen me serious. If I need to I will fly down there myself and get you back if things are rough.” Her voice gained something of a sassiness to it that was out of character for her. Wish you were there to hear it. She even did that hand thing sassy girls do when talking. If it wasn’t so heartfelt I’d have been laughing my ass off.

“All for little ol’ me?” I joked.

She didn’t smile. Her nod was totally serious. “Yeah. So don’t worry. Everything’s gonna work out. You’ll see.”

I nodded and we soon resumed the movies. Compared to the lengthy hours of talking we had last time I vented all my problems to Kari it was rather brief but it did its job. I felt better. Not depressed is a bit of a stretch. But significantly better for sure. I gave up any plans of trying to forcibly break that awkwardness between us after that. It’d go away on its own with time. Plus I had nothing to prove anymore. I was concerned about our relationship but that little reassuring spiel Kari gave me was all I needed to hear. As complicated and fucked as my situation made me feel I kinda felt like that, at the very least, things between us would be alright. You have no idea how much that one feeling comforted me. She was still an unobtainable goal; but she was also still my best friend. We were just going through a rough patch.

I began to think that maybe some time away from her might actually do some good. As hung up on her as I was I would inevitably relapse into the same desperate attempts to make her happy and do more harm than good. A couple weeks around a couple of other women might be just the thing to get a guy’s mind off his ex. Heh, if I was real lucky I might even get to see Jaz in her underwear again. Now that I was single I could actually enjoy the ogling without feeling too bad. There’s a thought.

A couple of movies and a few hours of poking fun at movies later we’d hit that point where it was finally time to get going. With a single push of the remote the TV flicked off and Kari’s finger laid behind me with a faint reassuring air about it. As always I was placed in her ear as she ventured to her car to drive off. Neither of us tried to force any dialogue this time around. Yet it didn’t feel awkward either. It was actually kind of disappointing in a way. Unless she stopped by I wouldn’t be seeing her for two weeks at least and with all we’d been through…I was a little mixed to say the least. But I did the adult thing and refrained from voicing these petty concerns to Kari. Conflicted as I was, I was at least in a passable mood. No need to ruin it.

The drive both ended too soon and took forever. There was a brief moment where Kari sat in the driver’s seat, parked, and not moving. Her hand brushed hair out of her ear and reached for me, signaling that it was finally time.

“Hope you had a good time.” She smiled down at me on her finger.

“I did. More than I expected after we started honestly.” I fired back a smile in her direction. “Oh yeah, you can’t hear me can you?” Her phone was nowhere near me so naturally that was the case.

It felt like she still got the message though. Her eyes looked at me with this apprehensive, but happy look. It was a complicated expression that seemed to tell me more than any words could. She leaned forward with her eyes like that and continued to smile. Her face came close to me, closer than it had all week. I could feel the warmth radiating from her body, gently embracing me in her aura. The soft breeze of her breath blew my hair back in a warm gust as her lips came closer until they finally made contact. I was immersed in her lower lip, embedded within a huge field of pink cushion while she gave me this last kiss. I returned the favor with my own lips, embracing the vastness around me in what was as close to a hug as I could hope for. The faint remnants of saliva made my whole body stick. My clothes stuck against my body as my hair started to look like a wet mess with the strong winds of her breathing coupled with the spit it pushed from her onto me. But none of it even registered. I was lost in this one kiss we shared. Our last kiss.

It could’ve have been long before I was pulled away and Kari was smiling down at me again, the same complex expression on her face. “Take care Robby. I’ll see you later. Okay?”

“I’ll hold you to that.” I mumbled to myself.

Kari got out of her car and quickly headed to the door of where she parked at. It was a building I barely recognized but even if I hadn’t I knew the woman who stepped out from the door as we approached. She and Kari briefly exchanged some courtesies, as well as the bag containing all of my stuff, before I was finally swapped between them.

“Bye.” Kari gave us both a wave and walked back to her car. Together with my new caretaker we headed inside. I was placed on a coffee table in a dining room as she placed her phone nearby. “I’ll go put your stuff up then we can hangout for a bit. Alright?”

“That works.”

Thus began my days of living with Kristen.