“Ouch again. You’re being mean tonight.”
“Well, it’s true.”
It still feels like an insult, no matter how true it is, but I don’t tell her that part. Instead, I continue driving, trying to look as unaffected as possible.
I’m not bitter about Charlie and my dad anymore. I’m over it. I don’t care. It’s not like I thought Charlie was the fucking love of my life or anything. We broke up. She was too needy and wanted way too much from me…which I guess, looking back, was literally the bare minimum but that’s why I’ve said fuck off to dating all together. No matter what I do, it’s not enough, and I can’t keep anyone happy. And vice versa. No one holds my attention or makes me want to give them more.
Charlie is just better suited for my dad, and I’m happy for them. They can continue doing whatever the fuck it is they do at that weird club of his, and I can show up to Taco Tuesday every week with a smile on my face and it’s fine.
It’s fine.
“So are you going to talk to him?” I ask as we pull into Sophie’s neighborhood. “The wizard, I mean.”
“Probably not,” she replies, clearly forgetting that she just said I was the last person on earth she’d talk to about this.
“Why not?” My defensive instincts flex inside me, but I keep my cool. Sophie is as tough as nails, and I know she wants me to treat her like every other girl, but I can’t help but feel a little extra protective of her. It’s hard enough being a teenager these days, but then those fucking transphobes out there want to make it especially rough on her.
“Because I don’t want a boyfriend,” she replies in a flat tone as she types out a text on her phone. I furrow my brow at her, readying to ask my next question, which she clearly anticipates because she looks up and answers it before I get the chance. “And no, I don’t want a girlfriend either, if that’s what you were going to ask.”
It was.
“I just don’t want anything right now. My best friend, Chloe, has a boyfriend and it seems like a pain in the ass. So much work and stress.”
A laugh trickles its way out of my chest. “Smart choice.” I mean, if anyone knows what it’s like to be a pain in the ass boyfriend, more stress and work than I’m worth, it’s me.
As I pull up to her house, she starts to reach for the door handle, but I stop her. “You know, I think it’s smart that you avoid that drama. But if that little wizard fucker gives you any trouble, I’ll kick his ass.”
She smiles as she shakes her head at me. “I know you think you’re being chivalrous, and I appreciate you looking out for me, but beating up jerks isn’t going to make anything better.”
“It’ll make me feel better,” I joke.
“Exactly. You want to beat up guys who pick on me because it makes you feel better.”
“Well, what do you want, Smurf?” I ask, even though most of the blue in her hair has grown out. Nicknames are just hard to shake, I guess.
She lets out a sigh. “First of all, someone who will take me to D&D night without cussing out the Dungeon Master.”
“He killed me!”
“You got yourself killed with those reckless moves,” she argues. “Which I clearly warned you against, but you’re a barbarian through and through. Destroy, smash, kill,” she says, obviously mocking me.
“I thought that was the point.”
“You obviously need more guidance. What you need is a girlfriend who you’ll actually listen to for once. Find her and bring her to D&D night.”
I arch a brow in her direction. Not likely.