Eight
JAMIE
When our hearts beat at a more normal pace, I eased Jess into a fully seated position on the back of the couch.
Still mostly hard, there was no desire to pull free of her.
My pulse quickened at the thought of gathering her close, staying locked inside her, and having her again.
Logistically this wasn’t possible, for so many reasons, ranging from a full condom to I was leaving in less than a day, and because I didn’t do “staying.”
Gazing into her eyes, I saw she was mostly back with me.
“You okay, little goddess?”
She nodded, but said nothing. Her hands framed my cheeks, and she placed a gentle kiss on my lips. Her lips softly lingered, and instantly my body hardened. Either she ignored it or she rode high on endorphins because she swung her body around and slid off the couch on the other side.
I got rid of the condom and used some of the skin wipes left in the drawer of a small cupboard, which had a variety of items for before, during, and after activities.
By the time I tucked myself away and put back together, she had re-wrapped her dress and tied her hair in a ponytail with the laurel wreath string.
She stood there looking a little lost. I empathized. She was new to the one-night-stand etiquette, and for the first time, I didn’t know what to say or what to do.
I didn’t want her to go.
But I couldn’t stay.
She had to go home.
I had a job to go to.
She deserved to find someone who could give her the suburban package.
I was gone for more months out of each year than I was around.
I actually felt sick to my stomach. My brain was so twisted up in itself I felt my mouth open to tell her three words I never thought I’d ever utter. Words it was too early to say. Before it could happen, my back pocket buzzed.
Fumbling for my phone, the screen told me Cosmos was calling. I couldn’t ignore it.
I swiped the answer button. “Chaos.”
“Hey, I’m bringing Abigail back. Are you two good?”
“Yeah, we’re f—” I looked up and found myself alone, the curtain slightly twitching from where she’d passed through. “What the hell?” I whispered.
“What’s wrong?”
“Little goddess. I mean, Jess,” I corrected myself. “She’s gone. She was just here, but now she’s nowhere.”
I disconnected from the call and pushed my way through the curtains, darting my eyes in all directions to see where she had gone. What the fuck? She didn’t have much of a head start. Where the hell could she have gone?
I thought I spotted her up toward the lobby, so I tried to push my way through the crowd to get to her.
One of the side rooms near our booth showed short films, and apparently one had just let out because I found myself swept along with the exiting crowd.
Christ! I could fight my way through the worst environmental conditions…
blizzards, monsoons, sandstorms, jungle foliage…
but I couldn’t get out of the path of a bunch of horny club goers.
When I finally cleared the crush, I no longer saw her.
I dashed into the lobby, called for the elevator, and rode up to the street.
Bursting through the door and out onto the sidewalk, I looked left.
Right. There was not a soul in sight. The corner was twenty feet away, so I propelled myself there and looked both ways. Nothing.
Where the hell did she go? This couldn’t be happening. I finally got my shit together. Found someone I wanted. And she was just gone? This had to be some kind of cosmic joke.
A figure came up next to me. Cosmos. His face showed concern. “Dude, what’s going on? You look like you’re chasing the enemy.”
I ran my hands over my head, clasping them behind my skull. “Jess. She’s gone. I — We — Fuck!”
“She and Abigail just left to go back to Chicago.”
“How?” I roared. “She was barely out of my sight!”
“Relax, man. She’s safe. You’re acting as if she’s been kidnapped. We ran into her in the lobby, and they left right away.” He frowned. “What’s going on?”
She needed to know that she was different. Maybe we couldn’t be together, but she needed to know!
I stared down the deserted road, hoping that seeing the taillights of their car would make them magically appear. But magic wasn’t real. She was gone. She left when I got distracted by Cosmos’ call and didn’t even bother to say goodbye.
The man who always walked away got left behind.
Cosmos clapped me on the shoulder. “C’mon. You’ve got a big day tomorrow. I think we kept you out too late tonight.”
“Yeah,” I said vaguely. “Yeah, maybe.”
Together we turned and walked back toward the parking lot. When we made the turn to go into the structure, I stopped for a moment and looked back down the road.
“Hey! Chaos! Let’s go!” Cosmos called from his open car door.
“Goodbye, little goddess,” I said out into the night, then went to the car.