Sunshine and The Stalker

His mood swings gave me whiplash. Back and forth.

When the ringing stops, I sigh a breath of relief, but it’s short lived. I knew she wouldn’t give up. I answer after the fifth ring. “Hey, Kia, what’s up?” I attempt a smile, but it’s forced. My voice is rigid with emotion.

“What’s wrong, chickadee?” she asks playfully, but there’s no humor coming from my end. “Oh no, what happened? Is it your dad? Did he finally propose to Cruella? Oh my God, don’t tell me you finally found out that hipster clothes are so last season?” She sasses me with a snort and giggle.

“No,” I sigh. “I think . . . I mean, I don’t know, but I met someone.”

“What?” Her screech is loud enough to wake all the damn cats in the neighborhood. “How am I only hearing about this now?”

“Calm down. I just got home.”

“Oh, my fucking God, did you fuck him? Is his cock big?” she gasps down the line, causing me to laugh out loud. This is why she’s my best friend. As painful as it is to think about how I walked out on him, I’m smiling because I’m happy. When I think about how much pleasure he gave me, my heart fills with emotion.

“He’s older,” I whisper, lowering my voice, but I don’t see the point since I’m alone. There’s something taboo about it, which only serves to send a tingle racing through me.

“Tell me everything, and I mean every-fucking-thing,” Saskia orders.

“Ugh, fine,” I respond, flopping onto the sofa, pulling my legs up and my feet under my ass. “Well, he owns the hotel chain Darden Hotels,” I start, recalling everything that happened last night. And when I say I recall everything, I mean each tiny detail. “He was so loving, so rough, but gentle. He made me orgasm more times than I can count, and I mean, like, the real thing,” I hiss down the line, blushing at my own words, at the memory of how my body responded to his.

“And then what happened this morning?”

“Well, that’s the thing, he’s . . .” I sigh, not knowing what to make of James Darden. He’s what? Broken? Hurt? Just an asshole? No. He’s not an asshole, at least not all the time. But there’s something he’s hiding from me. I didn’t expect us to confess our life stories, but I wanted more. Just a tad bit more.

“Will you see him again? I mean, you said he felt something too?” My best friend is always optimistic. Which in turn has me wondering if I should be like that too. Will I see him again? I don’t know.

“Well, I did invite him for dinner, but I doubt I’ll be hearing from him. I mean, it wasn’t a date. He didn’t say yes.” The sadness in my voice is loud and clear. My heart thudded against my ribs when I asked him, when I took the leap into the unknown. But of course, he seemed unsure of what to do. Perhaps that’s all we had, one night of bliss, and now I’m shoved out into the cold again.

“Listen to me, chickadee,” my best friend advises. “Men are assholes, there’s no doubt about that, but when they get a taste of some good pussy, there’s no way they’ll pass up the chance for a second taste,” she informs me as if she’s the parent educating me on romance and boys. Sometimes Saskia is older than me in that respect, but everywhere else, money and education, I’m the one who schools her.

“Do you have to be so vulgar?” I groan, recalling the dirty words James uttered to me. Each and every one of them made me wet and needy. Craving his touch, I dove in head first, not caring about the consequences.

“Come on, Cerys, don’t tell me he didn’t get vulgar with you.” She giggles then, causing me to follow suit.

“Well . . .” My words taper off, knowing she’s right.

“I knew it!” She sounds more excited than I feel. Perhaps I should paint and take my mind off the man from across the road. “Listen to me,” she says, sounding serious for a moment. “He’ll come around tonight. Just you wait.” I nod even though she can’t see me. Maybe she’s right, but I’m not holding on to hope again, only to be let down. The one man in my life who always lets me down is Dad. I don’t need another one.

“I guess. Listen, I’m spending the day inside. It’s way too cold to go shopping.”

“That’s fine. Daddy dearest has his business associates over for lunch, and I’m playing hostess.” Something in her tone hints at an underlying plan.

“Tell me more,” I encourage, knowing my friend does not do things like this for no reason. At least, not for her father’s benefit.