Friendly Dating 2 - Ethan

Chapter 7 - Come Test Drive My Heart

I need a reason?!

I mean, other than the obvious one... I want her to be my girlfriend... full stop. What reason could I possibly have for my request that will make sense to her and not cause her to run away screaming or assault me with her huge vocabulary of words, all synonyms for "idiot"?

Kira is no dating guru; she really couldn't teach me anything about dating.

I've had more girlfriends in one month than she's had boyfriends in her entire life. Sure, most of those girlfriends just kinda happened without me really wanting it to. One minute I think I'm getting along great with a girl; we might even be heading towards some kind of friendship, and the next, I'm informed that we're actually dating. Then the kissing starts, and I think to myself, okay, maybe I could make this work... but then I see Kicks in our living room, rubbing Lazy-Bones' tummy and playing with his long ears, telling the ten-year-old Basset Hound that he is still the cutest puppy at the pound and I know I'm lying to myself.

Yes, we got him from a pound when he was about a year old and the saddest animal I've ever seen in my life with his drooping face, short legs and long floppy ears the colour of rust. The three of us (Deli, Kira and me) fell in love with him at first sight. It was our eighth birthday, and I wanted a dog. Deli wanted an elaborate art set with pencils and paints packed into a wooden case.

Our parents never made us share the same present, except one year when we both really wanted a swing set.

When I see Kira being all sweet and gentle with my dog or glaring at me, not being sweet and gentle at all, I always realise that I cannot use another girl to plug the hole in my heart. It is not fair to the girl, and I'll never feel what she wants me to feel, so I end it.

The point is Kicks cannot go around giving out dating advice. She knows even less about being in a relationship than I do! I could tell her that I think our dating is a good idea because that way she can take me for a test drive and learn some things... so, I'd actually be doing her a favour, more than she would be doing me one. Yeah, how kind of me...

What could possibly go wrong when I offer her that reason? The idea almost makes me laugh out loud. So many things, Ethan, so many things...

Actually...

"You know my grandfather's Citroën DS?"

"I have no idea what car you mean, but please do go on," Kira says, innocently blinking her eyes like a cheeky little bird.

I narrow my eyes and rap her on the head with my fingertips. This girl is always messing with me!

"Ow!"

Kira knows exactly which car I mean! It looks like something out of an old James Bond movie. Avocado green with a brown roof. It's not the prettiest car ever, but it's so cool. Maybe I love it so much because inside, it smells like Grandpa and Grandma and fond memories.

When we were kids, the three of us and Lazy-Bones used to go for picnics in that car. Kira and Deli would pack a basket with loads of edible goodies, and we'd get in the car. Deli and the dog were in the back seat, and Kicks was in the front with me because we were always married in our games, and Deli was our child. A seriously bossy child that kept on referring to me as her little brother...

Maybe I was the only one who knew that Kicks and I were married and that Deli was our child in our games...

Anyway, I would pretend to drive, providing sound effects to make it realistic and then when we decided that we were hungry and we'd found a good spot, I would pretend to park the car, and we'd have our picnic on a blanket under the trees. The end of the driving and finding the good spot was usually done by Delia. She would simply say that she's bored and open the door and jump out with Lazy-Bones on her heels, completely ignoring the fact that the car is still moving and I haven't made the sounds for parking it yet.