Free Unavoidable by Yara Greathouse Page A

am I supposed to be mad at you when you say
     nice things like that about me?”
 
“I know!” She scrunches her nose and smiles. “Now, let’s go take a look at that closet
     and decide what you are going to wear for your big night!” I follow her in silence
     shaking my head the entire time. Unbelievable.
 

 
Colton
 
“You know you don’t have to go, don’t you?” I tell Traxx and Notso the same thing
     once again.
 
“We know. It’s lame as shit if you ask me. You don’t even need the money.” Traxx says
     with a bored voice.
 
“It’s easy money. How many of these have I won before?”
 
Notso looks at me and says “Five or six that I can remember.”
 
“And haven’t you guys had fun during those other times?”
 
“Yeah… girls always think that we are some kind of band. It’s easy to get girls there.
     They normally throw themselves at us.” He smiles then.
 
“I know Karaoke is not the highlight of anybody’s night, but we go, do the deed, and
     then we can go somewhere else, and I tell you what, the first round will be on me!”
     I wink at them.
 
Traxx and Notso get up to go get ready. Traxx asks “Do you know what you will be singing?”
 
“Nah, I’m going to play it by ear. Check out the crowd first to get me some ideas.”
     I go to one of the corners in my room, next to my desk, and grab my guitar. I need
     to make sure it’s properly tuned.
 
“Alright, then. See y’all in the living room in a few minutes.” I sit on the bed as
     they leave the room and I take out my old guitar. This guitar kept me company during
     all those times that I wanted to be with my family but they thought it was more important
     to fulfill their social commitments. It was a gift from my grandmother. The only one
     who really cared about me. When she died, my childhood died with her and I had to
     grow up really quick. I named the guitar after her - Alice. I learned to play it by
     ear, spending many hours in my room alone practicing. I guess it kept me out of trouble
     and from running the streets. Now when something bothers me and I need to work it
     out in my head, I come to Alice.
 
I start to play a melody and close my eyes to concentrate. Blue-green eyes stare back
     at me. Brianna . I see her smiling. I see her laughing, swimming and then later eating a huge burger.
     It makes me smile. She didn’t even know that I would look for her at any chance I
     got, just to see what she was doing. I wonder what she is doing now… I need more time.
     I don’t want her to shoot me down quite yet. I really don’t know what I am doing.
     She is out of my league – Damn! I can’t believe I just said that! She is different from all of the other girls I’ve met and dated. What I don’t understand
     is that if she doesn’t want a relationship, and I’m not a guy who is into relationships,
     why can’t we hang out? Have a few dates and call it a day.
 
As the melody becomes faster, my mind races on - hell, I can be her friend with benefits.
     Why does she think that I would want more? Then I recall the moment when that guy
     in the car wash was barely going to touch her shoulder and I remembered how I felt
     when I saw him. I wanted to extinguish him. I wanted her all to myself. I wanted to
     be the one and only man touching her. Is that what being jealous is like? Shit. Now I know. Maybe she is right. Now I understand what she means about me wanting more. I like Brianna so much
     more than I care to admit. And it is in this very moment when I realize that I have
     never felt like this for anyone else. Also, in this very moment, I realize that I’m
     not willing to let her go.
 

 
Brianna
 
I’m still trying to figure out why I agreed to do this. It’s not making a lot of sense
     right now. The place is packed. So much for not being a popular hangout. I really
     think Ciara was playing me big time.
 
We go in and it’s free entry because Ciara already has me signed up for the