Lawless Hero

It hadn’t all been a dream.

Had I finally found a man worthy of my time, two years after meeting him in Afghanistan, no less? Our story would be fun to tell around the dinner table, that was for sure.

Carefully, I slipped from under the covers and got out of bed, trying not to wake him. He groaned and rolled over, but appeared to be a heavy sleeper.

I wondered if he was a morning person, or the type who was super grumpy before coffee and breakfast. As I grabbed his white robe from the top of his dresser, I realized how little I knew about him.

At the same time, none of the mystery seemed to matter; it just made our blossoming relationship better.

In the spotless kitchen, I started a pot of coffee with his fancy machine. While it brewed, I returned to the bedroom, where he was still asleep. I gathered my clothes and dressed quickly, needing to get home to shower and change before work.

I didn’t want to go to work, but needed the money. Plus, a little time and space from Warren wouldn’t hurt anything because I needed to think things through. We were moving so fast.

Before I left, I wrote a quick note telling him I’d gone to work and would call him later that evening, and left it hanging on his refrigerator with one of his banana magnets.

Outside his door, in the small foyer with the elevator, I saw a door leading to a set of stairs.

A quick three flights should help me wake up, I reasoned and started my way down.

By the time I reached the lobby on the first floor, I realized I needed to get in shape.

The doorman, the same as the night before, smiled and nodded his head as I passed in a hurry.

I hailed a cab when I got outside Warren’s apartment building. The driver yammered on about some festival happening in Brooklyn later that night. I nodded politely but said nothing.

When the cab driver made it to my building about ten minutes later, I paid him before getting out.

Then I saw Melvin leaning against the brick wall next to the front door.

Ugh. I don’t need this now, I thought, seriously debating whether I should just walk away and go to work in old clothes. It wasn’t like my co-workers would mind.

Melvin spotted me before I could decide though. Smiling, he walked over.

Everything about him was broad—his shoulders, his gait, and even his thinking. The latter was the main reason I wasn’t interested in dating him anymore…

“Hey, girl,” he said, stopping in front of me.

“Hey, Melvin. I’m in a hurry.”

“You weren’t home last night.”

I tilted my head to the side and studied his face. “How do you know that?”

“Oh, let’s just say I’m the protective type.”

“No, that’s just creepy,” I said, walking around him. “Anyway, I need to go.”

“Hold on,” he said, grabbing me.

Agitated, I looked at his grip on my arm, and then up at him.

He let go. “You still haven’t confirmed our second date.”

“I’ve been busy. And, to be honest, I’m not interested.”

“You got someone else?”

“No,” I lied. “But even if I did, it wouldn’t be any of your business.”