A Different Slice

36 - Memories (Kieran)

Kieran met Brinny at a health food café where the sandwiches, wraps, and dishes seemed overpriced and built for nibbling rabbits instead of hungry humans. However, she happily ordered a salad with an iced, unsweetened fruit tea. They ate amongst skinny women dressed in athleisure wear who picked at their food at the pace one would sip a hot coffee and bearded hipsters with buns and vests. Off to the side sat one Rubenesque person with short blue hair and a black t-shirt that read 'I come in peas' with a UFO flanked by a few pea pods that made him smile. He had nodded to them in passing, and they did the same.

"How was the game?" Kieran stabbed the last piece of pork in his power bowl. It would have been more powerful if it contained double the meat and more sauce, but he enjoyed the savoury taste with a hint of bitterness.

She grinned. "Fun. I scored two runs! You should see Naomi though. My God, can she hit and sprint! Have you seen her play?"

He shook his head. She hadn't invited him to the game, and he suspected she wouldn't for the rest of the season. But he didn't hold it against her, especially if it kept their relationship free of drama with her ex.

"Only at the batting cages. But that was impressive."

Brinny sipped her drink and placed it on the square wooden table. "Ian's talented too."

"Oh, yeah?"

It had shocked Kieran to witness Brinny making out with that guy on the weekend. But perhaps that was encouraging if she was surviving break-ups without commandeering Kieran's evenings.

"He said he'll teach me to hit better too."

She speared a tomato and arugula but played with the fork in her bowl. She looked toward the women in fitted tank tops and short shorts. Kieran readjusted his position in these uncomfortable metal chairs. His knees bumped against the table and its narrowly-set legs, sending waves through their drinks without spilling them.

"So, what's the deal with you two?"

"He treats me like a goddess, and I am here for it." Nobody grinned that wide unless they won the lottery, were in love or getting laid, and Kieran suspected the latter.

"So you're hooking up?"

"It's a summer romance. Intense, passionate, and with an ending we've both agreed to ahead of time."

He finished chewing rice and black beans. "I don't love the sound of that. Don't you want something real and lasting?"

She chuckled. "Sorry, it's taking me a second to adjust to you advocating for long-term relationships."

"It's what you've wanted as long as we've been friends. Just because I wanted something different doesn't change that I wish you had it."

Plus, the combination of time after losing Katy and Naomi's presence made hookups lose their appeal.

"It's not that he wants to leave me, but he's committed to his degree. A temporary romance may be good for me. I know what to expect and can enjoy being happy while it lasts. He won't pretend he'll keep seeing me in the fall just to ghost me. And who knows what'll happen after he graduates next spring? Maybe it'll become more real or be a great memory."

Kieran finished his bowl while Brinny still had most of her salad to eat. "If you say so."

She was not talented at staying unattached, but it was her life.

"How's that salad?"

"It's great."

She stared at half a tomato and popped it in her mouth. Her bites were small and measured. How wasn't she starving? Once she'd finished, she leaned forward on her elbows, the sleeves of her long breezy cardigan billowing in the breeze from the overhead fans.