Queen Of Hearts

There's two flies on the ceiling above me, buzzing around one another before eventually settling down, one giving in and letting the other mount it. I'm disturbed by how highly relatable that is right now. "Ugh. Uh-huh. You like that? You like that baby? I'm almost there." Well that makes one of us. "Not really Cal" I say as I jerk my head to the side awkwardly, trying to slide a chunk of my hair out from under his forearm. With a grunt, Calvin tenses for a moment and then rolls off of me. "That.." he says in between breaths, "was fire, babe. Wait, did you say something?" I sigh, "No.." "Ok, I didn't think so. Must be hearing stuff." he gets up off the bed and pulls on his jeans, "Make us some coffee?" "You can't do it?" "I mean, I could. But you do it so much better and I'm not even sure where the filters are. Plus, I'm due to sign on with the squad in five or so." "Right. Okay..." I slip on an oversized t-shirt and some panties and pad to the kitchen, measuring out the instant coffee into two mugs. I can already hear Cal yelling over his microphone. Head shot, prestige, something, something. I open the fridge and give the cream carton a little shake. Damn it. Walking back into the bedroom, Cal is sat crossed-legged on the bed in nothing but his boxers. The curtains aren't quite closed all the way, only a small sliver of sunlight slicing through the otherwise dim room. I look through the basket of laundry and come up short. "Cal? Where are my clothes? I need to run to the store and grab cream." "f**k boys. That was pathetic, get it together!" "Calvin" "Hold up, hold up. I'm laying low, cover me for a minute. Yeah. In case someone spawns behind me." he says before muting the mic and sliding his headset off of one ear. " 'Sup babe? Round two?" he waggles his eyebrows. "The clean laundry? I need a pair of pants. We're out of cream." "Riiight, right. So...I didn't do it. I had a lot of editing to do for that new review video I made. It already has three hundred views! Borrow my shorts, there's some in the top drawer." he says waving a hand in the direction of his dresser before unmuting the mic again. Once again, I'm invisible. The blue gym shorts are hideous on me and two sizes too big. f**k it, I never see anyone I know at Convenience Plus anyways. To top it off, I slide on my zebra crocs and make my way down to the store. It's about a ten minute walk, give or take, but I get so wrapped up in my thoughts on the way there that it only feels like five. I have to be at work an hour early tomorrow. We have a new manager starting first thing and he's holding a staff meeting so we can get to know him. As long as he fixes the snack machine, I couldn't care less. That reminds me, I need my work clothes clean for tomorrow. I shoot off a quick text. Melissa : Can you toss my laundry in? Just remembered it's an early day tmrw. Calvin : is typing... A bell chimes as I push the door open to the convenience store. "Hey Willie" I nod at the old store clerk. "Melissa. Couple of scratchers today maybe?" "Nah, not much of the gambling type. Just cream today" I laugh, heading to the fridges at the back of the store. Willie mutters something before opening his newspaper again. *Ping* Melissa : Can you toss my laundry in? Just remembered it's an early day tmrw. Calvin : Maybe. U know I'm not the best when it comes to running that machine. The weaponized incompetence is unreal. You can rebuild an entire gaming PC from the ground-up, but you can't work a washing machine and dryer? I'm so over this crap. Melissa : Just do it, pls and thx. I still need to cook dinner when I get home. Calvin : kk. strawberry milk? Melissa : ok Whatever, at least that's one less thing on the to-do list. I gather the cream and hunt down the strawberry milk. How anyone can drink this stuff is beyond me. As I turn to walk through the small aisles of chips and candy, I hear Willie arguing with a stranger. Holy... holy s**t. A beautiful stranger at that. Tall, short blonde hair neatly combed. A cream-colored cableknit sweater that does not look as though it has ever seen the likes of a place this dingey. "I told you. I did not rent this. For whatever reason, my bank won't reverse the charge." Willie adjusts the eyepatch that covers his left eye and slams both hands down on the counter, leaning in toward the man. "I don't give a rat's arse, boy. If the charge is on your card, you musta' rented it. No refunds from our exclusive section" That gets my attention. Exclusive section? As in porn? I inch a little closer to see if I can sneak a peak at the printed invoice he's holding. Not sneaky enough. Mystery man turns his head to look at me. He looks me up and down, wrinkling his nose up a little before turning back to Willie. Well THAT was f*****g rude. Looks don't equate to manners I suppose. Agitated, the man rubs his hand over his face. "Look..." he squints to read the name tag pinned to Willie's stained Budlight t-shirt. "Willie? Willie... Listen, I can assure you I have never once rented a digital download for-" he spares me a sideways glance before lowering his voice to a whisper "Granny Creampie Extravaganza..." Willie nods thoughtfully "Ay, that's a good one.." The snort I let loose startles all of us for a second. "What? No...No! I'm certain none of those words even belong in the same sentence but that's hardly the point. I did not rent this. I would never rent this. Not even for a second let alone an entire month? There is a $500 charge on my Visa!" "$16.67 per day lad. Sounds 'bout right" I clear my throat, "Clearly this is an issue to take up with the fraud department associated with your bank. I really have to get going, could we move this along so I can get out of here?" Mr.Wonderful fixes his baby blues on me now, looking more pissed than ever. "Sorry, but I was here first" "I mean, not really. You walked in after me" "But I was at the register before you" "Ok, but he said no refunds. I'm pretty sure there aren't any alternative meanings for that." "Listen lady, I'm just seeking some justice here, alright? You can wait ten minutes, and quite frankly, strawberry milk is disgusting. It tastes like chalk. You will survive a little while longer without it." Is this guy for real? "Hear me well, Grandma-lover. I once witnessed Willie stand-off with one of the racoons that lives in the dumpster out back when it tried to steal his short bread. When I walked by two hours later, neither had moved." "Ay, the wee bastard learned that day lass, ya don' f**k with one eyed Willie!" Willie exclaims proudly. "In other words, you could quite literally be here all day. I personally don't have that long, so kindly remove the stick from your ass and step aside" I say, slamming a five dollar bill and some change down on the counter and moving around the guy who now stands there looking dumbfounded. **** Beep. Beep. Beep. Ugh, make it stop Beep. Beep. Beep. What is that? Beep. Beep. Beep. Stupid alarm....wait. Alarm? Oh hell no.