Chapter 3
Mary
What is up with Casper? And what came over me at the diner? I couldn’t do anything but blush during the whole encounter.
Casper is a good-looking guy with a fantastic body.
But I’ve seen good-looking guys before and never acted this way.
His hair is so white I could almost believe he is all grey, but I doubt that’s true.
His eyes are so light blue they almost look silver.
He’s tall with muscles for days. I can feel my nipples get hard when I look at him.
That’s never happened before, even with George. I was so uncomfortably turned on with him sitting next to me. Fortunately, I wore a padded bra today.
Glancing in my mirror, I see him following me on his bike. I guess he really is going to follow me home. That’s a little scary, though not as bad since he was with Gemini today. And she does seem to know him pretty well. I’d probably be freaking out a little more if she didn’t know him.
Turning into my driveway, I turn the car off. Casper stops his bike behind me and gets out, reaching for my door before I even get the chance.
Holding his hand out to me, I grab his hand, and he pulls me out of the car.
“Keys,” he says, holding out his hand.
“Um, why do you need my keys? The door is unlocked. I just open the door and go in. No need for keys.”
Casper growls and stalks towards my door. Going in, I find him going through the house. What is he doing? What is he looking for?
Coming back into the living room, Casper stops right in front of me. “Babe, you need to lock your door. Always. Never leave it unlocked.”
“I always lock it when I go to bed at night. Does that make you happy?”
“Always, all the time. There should never be a time when your door is unlocked unless you are opening it for me or walking through it. It’s too dangerous. You walk through the door and lock it immediately after.”
“But Casper, nothing has ever happened. I’m in a safe neighborhood.”
“Babe, lock your door. All the time. Otherwise, I will camp out there to make sure no one will harm you.”
“You can’t just camp outside my door. You don’t even know me. This is crazy.”
“Oh, I will know you very well, babe. Trust me on that.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Babe. Tell me you didn’t feel anything when you saw me. You say the word, and I will walk out of this door right now. But I think you might feel at least a little something towards me. Attraction maybe?”
I can’t lie to him with a straight face. I can never get away with lying. I always looked so guilty when I’ve tried in the past.
So, I tell him, “I do find you attractive. You are gorgeous, and I think you know it. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“It’s a good start. How about you let me take you to dinner later? We can talk and get to know each other.”
Did he just ask me out on a date? Oh, my God! I haven’t been on an actual date since I met my husband. Aren’t I too old to date?
“I can see the wheels turning up in here,” he says as he taps my forehead. “Don’t overthink it. You might decide you like me a little more if you give me a chance.”
He is really asking me to go to dinner with him!
“Alright, Casper. I will go to dinner with you. What should I wear?”
“Anything is fine as long as you are wearing jeans. It’s warm out. We’ll go on my bike.”
I immediately start shaking my head. “I can’t go on that. Do you know how dangerous those things are?”
Chuckling, he says, “Yeah, babe. They can be if you don’t know what you are doing. I happen to ride very well and won’t allow you to be harmed in any way. Don’t worry.”
Chewing on my lip, I’m already a nervous wreck, but nod my head anyway.
“Alright, babe. I’ve gotta go. Make sure you lock the door after every time it’s been opened. I’ll see you tonight about seven. That good with you?”
“That’s fine. I have some things to take care of today.”
I walk him to the door. He leans over and kisses my forehead before walking out the door and standing on the other side.
“What?”
He sighs. “Close and lock the door, babe.”
“But I’m going to be leaving shortly. What’s the point?”
Shaking his head, he grabs my face in a gentle hold, bringing me closer to him.
“Babe, I’m going to need you to do this for me. Safety first. Always. OK? Can you do that for me?”
“Fine!” Stepping back, I shut the door in his face and lock it. I can hear him chuckling on the other side of it.
“Little spitfire. I’ll see you tonight.”
I hear him start his bike and ride off. What did I get myself into?
***
Groceries done, laundry done, house cleaned, I’m clean.
Now I only have about 2 hours to figure out what to wear.
So, what should I wear to go out with a biker?
I’ve been through my closet like twelve times now, and none of it looks right.
Should I go buy something new? No. I have plenty of clothes.
Looking through them again, I grab a black V-neck long-sleeved T-shirt. It’s form-fitting, and I don’t think I have ever worn it. But this is the winner. Hopefully it looks OK on me.
So, now that I’m dressed, what should I do? Pacing my living room, and up and down the hallway, I keep thinking about what the heck made me say yes to a date. I don’t date. Not since George. Not that I haven’t been asked out before. I’ve just never been interested.
There’s something about Casper, though. He is totally overwhelming, pushy when he wants something, but I don’t feel like he would hurt me in any way. He seems to be very protective, by the way he was growling at all the guys meeting me this morning.
I mean, what is up with that? He doesn’t even know me. Why would he be interested in me? I’m not very pretty. I don’t have a great body. I’m getting old. I’m divorced from a pedophile.
My job is really the only thing going for me. I went back to school after Gemini’s trauma. Now I work as a pediatric registered nurse, specializing in children’s trauma. It always bothered me that I didn’t know how to help Gemini after George assaulted her.
I thought about going into counseling, but I wanted to see the patients coming in at the very beginning.
To provide immediate care after a trauma, whether it is from an accident or an intended injury, when they need someone to hear them.
Someone who will fight for them, advocate.
That is why I work in a Level 1 trauma center at a pediatric hospital.
I want to help as many children as I can.
I also handle molestation and rape cases as a forensic nurse. It wasn’t a position I really wanted to have, but no one else did either, and someone had to do it. I agreed and have been doing it for the past two years.
It’s heartbreaking work, and I wanted to quit on the first one. But now, I wouldn’t change anything about it. I know it stems from what happened with Gemini. But I feel like I am better prepared to make a little difference in these kids’ outcomes.
Seeing the clock on one of my sweeping passes, it’s almost time for Casper to get here. Shoot. Maybe I should cancel.
There’s a knock at the door. Dang. So much for canceling. I swing the door open to see Casper standing there with a scowl on his handsome face. How did I not hear him drive up?
“What happened? Are you OK? Why are you scowling?”
“I didn’t hear you unlock the door. Why is that?”
Oh… Oops. “Huh. I’m sure I did. How else did I get it open?” And just like that I can feel my face heating up. I look around, everywhere but at Casper.
“Babe.”
Nope. Not going to fall for that.
“Babe.”
No way.
“Babe!”
Shoot! “Yeah?” Dang, I feel so awkward.
He growls, reaches for my face and gently pulls me forward. “You didn’t lock the door. Again.”
“I’m sure I did, Casper. Right after I got groceries, I made sure I locked the door.”
“Did you go anywhere else after that?”
“Well, I ran down to the coffee shop before coming back to get my shower.” Good Lord have Mercy. Why did I tell him that?
The growling got louder. Have you ever seen any of the old cartoons where one character gets angry, and you can see steam coming out of their ears? Yeah, that’s Casper right now. I need to diffuse the situation. I’m pretty sure he is going to have a stroke if this keeps up.
“Look at me. See? I’m fine. Nothing happened to me. I’ve been showering my whole life. Not a scratch on me. Are we still having dinner?”
“With. The Door. Unlocked! Babe, you are pushing me. Keep it up and I will paddle that fine ass you have.”
Gasping, my eyes go to his. I can tell he is not kidding at all right now. Well, that’s… intriguing. I’ve never thought that a spanking would turn me on. Huh. Casper seems to be opening all kinds of doors for me. I’ll need to think about this.
“Babe, I’ve lost you. Come on, let’s go eat. We will discuss this later. Keys?”
“Let me grab my stuff.” Rushing back inside, I gather my phone, purse, and keys. Back outside, I hand my keys to Casper and watch as he locks the door and puts the keys in his pocket.
“I could have done that.”
“You don’t have to do any of these things while I’m around. I’ll take care of it. Now, let’s get you on the back of my bike.”
I’ve been putting off thinking about this all day. But now I am nervous. OK, now I’m nervous about riding the bike on top of being nervous about going out with Casper. Taking a deep breath, I take hold of the hand he has out to me and go to his bike.
“Now, riding is easy. I want you to sit close behind me and hold on tight. You will lean when I lean, in the same direction as me. I won’t let us fall. But I cannot have you leaning in the opposite direction. OK?”
“Um, say I did do something like that. What would happen?”
“That won’t happen because you will lean with me, and I will always keep you safe.
But if someone else were to do that, it could make the bike unstable through the turn, causing that person to lose control.
But that won’t happen because I trust that you will lean with me.
And you will trust that I will keep you safe. ”