Short story in 2024 by BW Derge about modern love and its unimpressive death at the hands of man’s stupidity. Six scenes with two main characters, Melissa and Gavin, plus two supporting roles of Barry and Tina. Not based on any actual occurrences or people.
The Death of Love in Modern Times
Scene I: The Basement
Pot smoke filled the air along with an intense sweaty odor. One of the guys had his fist buried in a bag of chips. Gavin, whose mother always proudly proclaimed he was named after the lead singer of the band Bush, was gripping a video game controller. His elbows rested on tight thigh muscles.
“I got with Tina last night,” Barry announced from across the basement. The rest of the group restricted their reactions, trying to keep their focus on the game, beer, and snacks. Gavin’s eyebrow lifted slightly.
Another dude on the sofa, who was scrolling through his phone as Barry trotted over, grunted, “How was it?”
Barry’s face lit up. “Oh my God, dude, she’s a goddamn freak.”
The video game continued to captivate Gavin’s stare. “You going to see her again?”
“Why?” Barry laughed. “You suddenly interested?”
Scene II: Wine
Tina was leaving her office one evening when Gavin texted her. She didn't respond until the following afternoon when riding the bus to her girl Melissa’s apartment.
“Barry?” Melissa’s face crinkled with confusion. “I know. It was a low point for sure.” There was a pause as she uncorked a wine bottle. “Never again.”
“How was it?”
“Meh. Could’ve been worse. But now his friend Gavin is texting me.”
Wine was splashed into Melissa’s chalice. “Oh. Well Gavin is cute.”
“Too cute,” she replied. “That can be dangerous.”
Melissa rose her glass in agreement. “Well go on and get it, girl.”
Scene III: A Goodbye Kiss
On their third date, Gavin sat with Tina at a bar downtown. He noticed her expression sparkled when she saw him. After a few drinks and easy conversation, he said, “Why don’t we go back to my place this time?”
She smiled, “Maybe. How about one more drink first?” She blushed as she felt his eyes coast along her cleavage.
The pair of them woke up next to each other naked in Gavin’s bed. She asked if they would go out again and he said, “Maybe.”
There was a goodbye kiss.
Scene IV: Nothing
“He ghosted you?!” Melissa’s shocked face was dusted with rage.
“Three dates, gets in my pants, then fucking nothing. Creep.”
“What did you text him?”
Tina pulled out her phone. “I said ‘hey,’ then, ‘everything okay?’ Then…” She glanced down at the texts. “Six days after not getting a reply I said ‘Really?’ And then I left it at that.”
“Let me see your phone.” Melissa’s eyeballs raced through the text messages. “What an asshole.”
Scene V: Beer
Barry’s thumbs tapped away on the controller while a bong bubbled in the background. A beer leaned in Gavin’s limp palm as his head was propped up by a fist and bent elbow. “You fuck Tina yet?” Barry asked.
His buddy on the couch passed over the pipe as Gavin responded, “Yeah. But you’re full of shit, bro. She was not really a freak.”
“Oh fuck!” Barry threw down the controller, having lost the match. He then turned to Gavin and said, “Well she must not have liked your cock as much as mine.” The three other guys in the basement erupted with laughter.
Gavin pretended to brush it off. “Pssh.”
Scene VI: The Parking Garage
Early one Tuesday morning, Melissa was leaving the gym when she spotted a familiar figure in the parking garage. “Oh, this motherfucker,” she muttered under her breath. “Gavin!” she shouted, jogging to catch him.
The unshaven hungover boy turned to find Melissa of all people yelling at him. “Huh?”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?" She shoved his shoulder a little.
“What are you talking about?”
“Tina. My girl, Tina. She liked you, dude, and you ghost her? That’s trashy.”
“Tina?” He said, “That was over a year ago.”
“I don’t give a fuck. You’re a goddamn asshole and I want to know why you did it.”
“Did what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me,” Melissa scolded. “Why did you act like you liked her and then ghost her?”
There might’ve been a few other souls wandering around the garage, but none who were awake enough to really care about these two individuals. Gavin sighed with bloodshot eyes. “I did like her, but I don’t know. She wasn’t that great, you know, like in the sack.”
Melissa was clearly flustered by this. “What? Was she bad?”
“Well, no,” he answered sheepishly. “Just uh, well, after I talked to Barry, I was expecting… well, something else.”
“Barry?” she repulsed. “What about him?”
“Hey,” said Gavin. “I thought if they had such wild sex and it was just okay with me, then she must’ve liked him more, and yeah, you know how Barry is.”
Melissa shook and made a rumbling sound like a truck engine. “For Christ’s sake, men are so stupid.”
Gavin’s forehead wrinkled. “What?”
“Barry was lying, you dumb shit. He obviously made the night he had with Tina sound better than it was to impress his boys. It was probably worse or just as good as with you because she was actually falling for you. Like not sex but love. You could’ve had love, you dumb fuck.” She took in a large breath. More people were quietly gawking now. “So I need to know what is wrong with you.”
The man looked at Melissa with a stern countenance. “I don’t know.” After an awful awkward silence, he asked her, “You want to go out sometime?”
“Oh my fucking God, no!” There was fierce look of disgust on the young woman’s face. “Ew!”
And then they went their separate ways…
Written by BW Derge, All Rights Reserved 2024
© USA
This was a short story composed in 2024 called "The Death of Love in Modern Times: A Tragedy in 6 Scenes"
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