He Liked Her Drinking
Gecko had met Kristel at the bar, where she worked. She was intriguing to him from the first second that he laid his eyes on her. She looked fulfilled and whole. She spoke with everyone nonchalantly. She got the full attention of almost everyone. If the drinks were the reason that those customers came to the bar, she was the soul that they got from the drinks. She changed the atmosphere of the bar with her aura. And he envied that. Gecko envied all of that attention for himself.
He envisioned himself being friends with the cool guys that she seemed to have known for years.They liked Rock music, and he wanted that lifestyle for himself. He wanted to be cool. He wanted to be envied the same way that he envied Kristal’s presence. And so, he became a regular at the bar. Just to see her in action. And the more she served him, the more he laid each brick on her …until she fell for him. And, just like that, he had conquered her.
His tactics for getting closer to his preys were simple. To be associated with anyone was as simple as going to church. “Just mirror them …because everyone likes themselves. The more they see themselves in you, the more they’ll fall for you”, he had once confessed to one of his ex-wives at some point in his vulnerability. Phew! No wonder why psychologists have claimed that there’s a bit of narcissism in everyone.
So, to win Kristel’s attention: he’d bought new clothes …that reflected an image of a Rock ‘n Roll head. He’d started smoking …just because she was a smoker. He’d also presented himself as a drunkard. Well, he was a drunkard. At least that part was not an act. Gecko was, at few times, living a certain truth in his life. He could at least get credit for that part.
Anyway, even though Kristel seemed to be a free-flowing happy girl, she was also distant emotionally. Something about her that reminded him of his mother. ‘Someone present yet absent at the same time.’ She showed no emotional affection at all. Just physical action, and that was it. “Just physical action would be okay with most men.” So they said. But not for Gecko. Gecko longed to feel love. He longed to be emmerssed in love and emotional attachment … something he’d never felt in his life. Something that neither his mom nor his dad gave him. Or had the ability to give him.
But, how could they have given him any emotional comfort? Whereas they were broken people too. They too had emotional baggage. A family history that would make him a conniving salamander of note. Well, at least it was not entirely his fault. And he used that part of his history to gain sympathy from everyone from whom his association he wanted. Talk about turning lemons into a lemonade!
Kristel gave him his first physical intimacy experience …so what more did he want from her? She gave him some of her time. She allowed him to crash at her place for days, and days became weeks even. He almost moved in. But, she was not going to allow it. She did have other physical commitments with some of her male friends after all.. And she didn’t want to give it up …for a man half his age. A man who was lost and still trying to find himself.
The men were financially supporting her. And Gecko, on the other hand, was stingy. He had not learnt that to keep a woman warm, the pocket must also be warm. The best that he did was to offer to buy her some cigarettes and beer. Something that she could easily get for herself …without paying.
Their affair was a bit odd, unacceptable to many …but fun to him. He would discuss all of her weaknesses with his friends. He’d negatively criticise her to them. Either to get a reaction from them …or to make himself look better. To make his drinking problem appear miniscule. To make his blockage in education seem normal. To make his ‘black sheep’ role in his family seem like it was a blessing.
And so …everyone believed every single word from him.
Mitta Xinindlu 
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