Four

Richard had practically broken every rule she ever made for her sexcapades. He kissed her, they did it more than once, she fell asleep and ended up staying overnight. The man with the deep cold stare had turned her inside out, even though she didn’t want to admit it. She almost lost control of herself.

When she woke up with the sunlight warm against her face, she tiptoed to put on her clothes. Richard was still fast asleep with less than half of his body covered under the thin white sheet, what a sight it was.

She wrote a note and left $200 with it on the pillow next to him. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough. This guy was dangerous, he made her feel something she never felt before with any of her dates.

His warm touches, his soft lips against her skin, his eyes, the way he smelled, and his kiss. She touched her lips as she experienced it again in her mind. She smiled and fidgeted in her seat in the backseat of a taxi on her way home. She reached into her sling bag to find the note he left her. She never hesitated to throw any of their numbers away, but she put the paper back inside her bag.

“You almost gave me a heart attack!” Perry scolded her at the front door. “You know I almost called the cops on you?” he added.

She put her arms around him and rested her head on his chest, “I’m so … so sorry … I fell asleep.” She was heavy in his arms as if she had leaned all her weight on him. 

“It’s that good, huh?” he commented.

She shook her head and broke away from him, “I’m not doing that again anytime soon.” She walked in the door feeling lethargic from running away from what could’ve been something magical, a relationship she swore she would never have again.

“I told you one of these days you might end up meeting someone you’d like.”

She threw herself on the sofa, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Perry stood by the door, and folded his arms, “Wow … he must’ve been really good.”

She had never come home in that state before. “Worse … he was a gentleman, and a Greek God,” she laughed in irony. “Please remind me not to do anything like that again for a while.” She stood up, shook her head and shoulders as if to shake off what was left of Richard before going to her room.

She met Perry in one of her earliest sexcapades. She wasn’t experienced enough to assess that he wasn’t interested in sex. Perry was everything a woman would want in a man, tall, handsome, smart, have a good job, a good listener, and funny.

They hit it off very fast from the get-go like two long-lost best friends who were reunited at an unexpected chance. They even went out until late for drinks which she never did with anyone else. She preferred to stay sober on her dates to avoid any misunderstandings. But with Perry, she felt safe.

He declined her advances at the end of the day, politely, gentlemanly, and told her he was gay. He offered her a place to stay instead. He was tired of freeloaders disguised as dates, who traded sex for a free place to stay and food on the table. They found something in common in each other, they both had had enough of toxic relationships and they were both shunned from their families.

They fell in love with each other instantly, it was a match made in platonic heaven. Perry left his home to live on his own after he came out to his family. Meeting Jamie who was also disowned by her family was like destiny. They went through thick and thin together for the past four years, and they got through it with booze and laughter. They looked after each other.

Looking at how Jamie came home that day, he had hopes that she would finally change her ways. He never approved of her sexcapades, he thought it was too dangerous in a city like Lancaster, even for him.

But Jamie was her own woman, she does what she damn well pleased. Growing up in a rich family left a trace of the stubbornness of a spoiled brat. Even though she never wanted to be associated with her family ever again, she never really could shake off her hard-headed little rich girl attitude.

Jamie Knox was her real name. Richard was left with one set of a fake name, a $200, and a cheeky note “A good woman always split the bill.”

“You’re kidding me?” he muttered when he woke up and found the note. He looked around just to be sure she was gone. He was alone in an old damped sleazy motel room with a bitter aftertaste from the night before. It was definitely a night to remember, with a face he will never forget.